Chapter 56
In Jake's penthouse, the question lingered. I turned away and sank onto his sofa. Jake remained standing. He said nothing.
"Seriously," I said. "Why am I here? Is it only for me? For my safety, I mean?"
"Does it matter?" he said.
"Of course it matters."
"Why?"
"Do I really need to spell it out for you?"
"Go ahead." He made a forwarding motion with his hand. "Humor me."
"Okay," I began, "let's say that everything in my life was fine. Let's say no one was 'looking' for me, or for anything like that. What then?" I glanced around. "Would I even be here?"
When my gaze returned Jake, I knew the answer. And from the look on his face, so did he. The silence stretched out beyond the point of discomfort, but I refused to break it.
Finally, he spoke. "You want the truth?"
Did I? I wasn't so sure. Bracing myself, I nodded anyway.
"No," he said. "You wouldn’t be here."
My heart sank. I knew it. I had known it all along. So why had I let myself get caught up in some stupid fantasy? This wasn't real. I had known it wasn't real. I looked around the penthouse. My gaze landed on my two crappy suitcases. I felt so adrift, so lost, and more than a little foolish.
And then Jake spoke again. "But," he said, "that only means one thing."
"What?" I asked.
"I wouldn’t know what I was missing."
Bleary-eyed, I looked up at him. "Huh?"
He looked around, letting his gaze drift from one luxury to another. "It's different with you here," he said. "The place is different. I'm different. Everything's different."
Something in his voice made my heart give a little flutter. "You said that when I first got here," I said. "But you never said what you meant."
He remained standing, and part of me wondered if he'd turn around and walk out the door. But he didn't. Instead, he took another long look around and asked, "You know how long I've been living here?"
"How long?" I asked.
"Maybe a year, year-and-a-half. But you know what?"
"What?"
"It's never felt like home."
"Never?" I said.
His gaze met mine. "Not until you showed up."
The words felt like a dream. Yet somehow, I managed to say, "Technically, I didn't show up." I smiled through my confusion. "You practically dragged me here. Remember?"
"Best thing I ever did."
I caught my breath. "Really?"