Lessons of the Heart (14 page)

Luckily for us, there’s a restaurant attached to the hotel so we don’t have far to go. The hostess seats us in a booth in the back. We peruse the menus briefly before I set mine down first, resting my elbows on the table while propping my chin up with my folded hands.

“Decided already?”

“Yep. My breakfast staple is on the menu and I’m all for it.”

“And what’s that?” he asks. His eyes dart from the menu to mine and the makings of a small smile form on the corners of his lips.

“A Denver omelet.”

He raises an eyebrow at me once he looks over at my choice. “Three eggs, a heaping pile of vegetables, loaded with cheese on top and served with a side of hash browns. Are you sure you’ll be able to eat that much? I mean let’s face it, you’re tiny and don’t exactly look as if you pound down the food very often.”

I lean forward slightly and narrow my eyes. “Is that a challenge?”

He nods his head and meets me halfway. “That is most definitely a challenge.”

I reach across the table and extend my right hand. “You’re on.” He shakes my hand with a firm shake but then surprises me by pulling it to his mouth and placing a gentle kiss on top.

“And what are the terms?”

Oh shit. I should have thought of those before I agreed. “Well, I don’t know. What do you think they should be?”

James releases my hand and runs a finger across his lips. “If I win, you have to do something fun with me.”

“Something more specific or is that it?”

“I can’t give everything away. For all I know you’d try to lose on purpose then.”

“I never lose on purpose. Have you seen my GPA? Pretty sure that means I win at everything.”

He laughs. “Book smarts has nothing to do with this, sweetheart.” My heart flutters at his term of endearment. “You’ll just have to trust me.”

I huff in my seat. “Fine. If I win, though,” I start, tapping my finger against my chin. “If I win you have to do something fun with me.”

“How original of you,” he says with an eye roll.

“You have no idea what I’ve got planned so don’t get too confident there, buddy. For all you know it could be something you absolutely detest.”

James crooks a finger at me as I lean forward. “There is nothing you could ask me to do that I would dislike.”

That makes me chuckle. “We’ll see about that.”

The waitress brings our coffees and smiles brightly at James, who doesn’t seem to notice her flirting attempts. His eyes never leave mine, making me feel like the only person in the restaurant. She writes down our orders and walks away with a slight frown at her rebuffed attempts.

“So tell me,” I start, taking a tentative sip of my coffee, “what was the great James Dumont like in high school? Let me guess, the super jock, popular with the ladies with two or three of them hanging on your arms every day?”

He laughs and takes a sip of his own coffee. “Nothing like that. I was just your typical high school guy. Played sports, sure, but I wasn’t the star by any means.”

“What’d you play?”

“Football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring.”

“Ooh, the triple threat. I was almost afraid you were going to say track and field for a minute.”

His eyes crinkle at the corners with amusement. “That would have made my parents happy. Less money for them to shell out for sure.”

“So what positions did you play for each sport?” I ask, enjoying the ease of this conversation.

“Well, in football I was a receiver.”

“Damn. I had you pegged for a quarterback.”

He shakes his head. “That was Brady Williams. He was the super jock of the team. Made all-state three years in a row and got a full scholarship to Florida State.”

“Impressive. But did he have the brains to go with that scholarship?”

“He was smart but not like you. He did well in school. Definitely didn’t rely on the teachers to pass him simply because he was in sports, unlike a few students I know.”

I sigh and twirl my mug around. “Yeah, I know who you’re talking about. They could be so much more if they just applied themselves.”

“But Brady and I worked well together on the field. I was his go-to guy and we scored a lot of touchdowns in our high school career.”

“Where did you go to school?” I can’t believe I’ve never asked him this before. Somehow we’ve never talked about where he grew up.

“Hartford.”

“I see. A big city guy. This must be quite the culture shock for you, living in our little town.”

James shrugs. “I like the smaller towns. They’re quiet, peaceful, and generally filled with nicer people than the larger metro areas.”

I lean forward and smile. “Really? You’re saying you’d rather live there than a large city? I mean there’s not exactly a whole lot to do around town other than the bowling alley and the movie theater. Oh, and the mall. Can’t forget the mall.”

He laughs. “You make it sound like Somerset is this incredibly tiny town. It’s actually one of the bigger cities, you know. Just nothing along the lines of Hartford.”

“I think I’m just jaded because I’ve lived there my entire life and I’m used to everything. I need something new, something exciting. Something that will make me love it there again.”

“We can fix that.”

I raise an eyebrow to him. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” James gives me another smile, one that turns me into a puddle in my seat.

“We’ll see I guess.”

“So do your parents still live in Hartford?” I turn the focus back on him, right where I want it to be.

“Yeah, they still live in the house they bought after I was born. My dad is an engineer and my mom owns a local bakery.”

I smile. “That’s quite the combination. How’d they meet?”

“They were high school sweethearts. My dad stayed in Hartford to complete his degree because he couldn’t leave my mom’s side. She didn’t have enough money for college so she worked for the family business. Eventually, she took it over from my grandma and has never been happier. She even started recruiting my sister into the business so she can retire with my dad within the next ten years.”

“How old is your sister?”

“Twenty-four.”

“Wow, you’re close together in age.”

He nods. “Seventeen months to be exact. And she reminds me of it every time we argue.”

Another thing we have in common.

“Did she go to culinary school then?”

He takes a sip of his coffee. “No, she went to school for business, but she’s been baking with my mom since she was little. It’s second nature to her.”

“So three generations will have run the bakery?”

He nods. “Yeah. It’s pretty cool.”

“I agree. Definitely cool.”

Just then the waitress brings us our food, putting an end to the conversation. I look down at my plate and bite the inside of my cheek. Perhaps my eyes were bigger than my stomach when I ordered this.

James laughs and shoves a forkful of hash browns into his mouth. “You better get working if you want to win our bet.”

I point my fork at him and smile. “Don’t you worry about that bet. I’ve got this.”

Maybe
.

I blow out a puff of air and start in on the omelet, knowing that I can always eat the hash browns. They’re my favorite. Everything tastes just wonderful. The veggies are crisp and there’s just enough cheese covering the top so it’s not overpowering.

“So what are your plans for after high school? I guess we’ve never really discussed it before,” James says around a piece of bacon.

My hand hovers in front of my mouth while I chew. “College.”

That prompts an immediate eye roll from him. “More specific. Local, far away, community, four-year, Ivy League?”

I swallow the food and laugh. “I’ve got several applications out right now, some local and some not so much.”

“Which local ones?”

I fold my lips over my teeth and think. “Yale, of course, because it’s close, Brown because it’s also not too far away, and Harvard because I adore Boston.”

“With your grades I’m sure you’ll probably get accepted to all of them. Which far away ones did you apply to?”

“Stanford and UC-Berkley.”

James tilts his head to the side. “California? Why those?”

“Just for a change of scenery I guess. I want to go to med school and all of these schools have some of the best programs in the country. And with my SAT and ACT scores being what they are, plus my GPA, I should be able to get into whichever college I want.”

James is silently staring at me, not really moving except to breathe. “I’m glad you’ve done your research and know what you’re getting into. More importantly that you’ve created the means for you to go anywhere you want.”

I put my fork down and reach across the table to touch his hand. “Do you have a contract with the school? You know, stating how long you have to be there to teach?”

He shakes his head. “I’m on a temporary contract for right now since I was a replacement for Mr. Ward. It’s up to them after the school year to offer me one or not.”

“What will you do if they don’t offer you one? Will you move back to Hartford?” A twinge of panic settles into my chest at the thought of him leaving, even though I won’t be staying either.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I mean, I could teach just about anywhere so maybe I’ll see where my passion takes me. Whether or not it’s Somerset has yet to be seen.”

“Did you always want to be a teacher?” I ask, pulling my hand away from his.

He takes another bite of his eggs and nods. “I did. Actually, I’m halfway through my Masters program so once I’m done with that, more opportunities will open up for me. You know, possibly teach at a university or become a Superintendent of a district. Teaching has always been my thing. I love to watch kids learn something new, to see when the light bulb goes off as they finally get a concept.”

“Wait, back the train up. You said you’re halfway through your Masters program?” I ask, swallowing another bite.

He nods. “Like you, I’m also kind of a brain. I skipped a grade and graduated early from high school at seventeen. Then I spent the next four years in college getting two degrees and went right into my Masters program. I’m doing the majority of it online and rarely have to go to physical classes. If I do, I take those in the summer when I’m off already.”

I set my fork down and wipe my mouth with the napkin. “Wow, I’ve never known anyone who’s skipped a grade before. Your super nerd powers must exceed my own.”

James laughs. “You basically have skipped a grade. I’ve seen your transcripts. You could graduate now if you wanted to.”

I shrug and dig back into my halfway eaten plate. “I could, but I don’t want to. I want to graduate with everyone else in my class.” I look down to avoid his eyes. “Plus then I wouldn’t get to see you every day if I did.”

Our feet tangle together beneath the table and I wrap mine around his ankle. “Hey,” he whispers, drawing my gaze back to him. Our fingers entwine together and he gives me a reassuring smile. “I’m glad you’re staying until the end.”

“Me too.”

The waitress stops back, asking how things are going. We both respond at the same time, sending a new round of laughter between us.

James releases my hand and points to my plate. “You better get moving. At this rate, you’re going to lose.”

I shove another piece of omelet into my mouth and I’m starting to agree with him. “I won’t go down without a fight.”

“Okay, but we’re leaving in fifteen minutes so you better step it up.”

My stomach rolls at the thought of eating this too fast and I groan. “You never said there was a time limit.”

“I’m not sitting around here all day. You and I are going to go out to do something before you meet up with Penny.”

This gives me two options. Leave now and lose or stay here and win. Either way, it means I get to do something with James so I’m a winner no matter what. I shove the plate forward, tossing my napkin on top.

“Screw it. Let’s go,” I say, starting to get up from the booth.

His eyes grow wide as the smile takes over his face. “Really? You’re admitting defeat?”

I shake my head. “Not admitting defeat but I’m done sitting here trying to make myself sick. And trust me, I would not be good company if I’m puking the entire time we’re out together. So let’s move it, buddy. You’re taking me sightseeing.”

He bolts upright and tosses his napkin on the table while flagging down our waitress for the check.

“How am I going to take you sightseeing if you love Boston?”

I wrap my arm through his and press myself against his body to whisper in his ear. “I’ve never seen it with you so it’ll be like I’m seeing it for the first time.”

That familiar spark is back in his eyes, making my blood heat and run faster through my veins. I love it when he looks at me like that. He presses his lips to mine and I can feel him smile against them.

“You’re going to be the death of me, you know that?”

I nod. “Same goes for you. So take me around town for the next few hours before we’re both six feet under.”

He signs the credit card slip for our food and wraps an arm around my back, escorting me out of the restaurant.

“Jackets first, then tour,” he says, walking us back to the elevators.

“I knew I liked you for a reason. You’re so smart.”

He kisses my temple and I melt into his side. A morning with James all to myself without worrying about repercussions? Sounds like heaven to me.