“You’re fidgeting like a second-grader during a spelling test,” she murmured. “Calm down.”
Her thumb brushed lightly against my hand again, and weirdly, the nerves actually settled. The noise in my head quieted, the tension eased, and I stopped spiraling. Exhaling slowly, my grip on her tightened before I could stop myself.
“Okay, I’m calm. I’m good.”
She let out a quiet laugh at my side. “Sure you are. We’re almost done, okay? Just breathe. We’ll be back on the beach before you know it. Just make it through a little bit longer.”
I dipped my chin in a nod, grateful that she obviously thought the boredom of it all was what was getting to me. It was that too, if I was being honest. At least if there was something happening, I could’ve focused on that, but as it was, by the time we could finally leave, there had still been nothing different going on. Just the same careful politeness. But we had a deal on the table and an understanding that I’d likely sign tomorrowor the next day. After the contract had been emailed to Nate to review.
That gave us at least a couple more days before we had to fly back to Chicago. I just didn’t want to think too hard about what would be waiting for us when we got there.
Back at the house, Jacqueline disappeared almost immediately, walking out onto the deck with her laptop in hand, muttering something about emails and deadlines. “It’s time for me to be a responsible adult now too. See you later, Jesse.”
I gave her ten minutes, maybe fifteen, before I got bored. The house was suddenly significantly less interesting without her in it, so I strode out to where she was curled into one of the lounge chairs overlooking the pool.
Her laptop was balanced on her knees, the soft glow of the screen lighting her face. I propped a shoulder against the doorframe, just watching her for a beat. “You’re really working.”
She didn’t look up, but one corner of her mouth twitched. “How very observant of you.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on PTO?”
“I’m a lawyer,” she replied. “PTO is a myth.”
I finally stepped out onto the deck, slowly crossing toward her. “You cannot be serious. You’re in Hawaii.”
“Ah, but the law persists.” She finally glanced over at me. “Not for nothing, but you’re in Hawaii too and you’ve been working plenty since we got here.”
“Yeah, but I’m not on PTO.” I scoffed, nudging the edge of her chair with my foot. “It’s really tragic that you’re spending what could be one of our last nights here like that.”
“What’s tragic is you standing there, hovering like a bored golden retriever.”
I grinned. “Iambored and I will totally retrieve some gold for you if you want.”
“Go entertain yourself.”
“I am,” I said. “I’m entertaining myself withyou.”
She rolled her eyes before turning back to her screen. “Go swim. Or bother a fish. Just do whatever it is you do when you’re not harassing me.”
“I’m not harassing you,” I argued lightly. “The fish just aren’t nearly as interesting. Especially not in the dark.”
I reached down, snapping her laptop shut before she could stop me and she sighed, exasperation written all over her features when she looked up at me again. “I wasworking, Jesse.”
“It’s time to take a break,” I said.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “I only just started.”
“Exactly. You started when you’re supposed to be resting and I mean, come on, it’s after ten at night.”
She huffed and pushed herself up from the chair, clearly ready to argue, which was exactly what I wanted. I’d been starting to crave this back and forth with her, the easy, stupid, unnecessary bickering.
“So what if it’s after ten?” She took a step forward and I took one back. “You’ve been working all night. It’s my turn. Surely, you can keep yourself busy for an hour.”
“I can?” I shook my head, feeling my lips curve as I watched her eyes light with righteous indignation. “How? If you can give me any better ideas, I’ll back off.”
“Give you any better ideas? I’m absolutely certain you can come up with those all by yourself. Besides, after what you just did, you’re lucky I’m even tolerating you.”
“You love me.”