Page 96 of Unexpected Prejudice

“I don’t know yet,” I mumbled while checking my options. After deciding on a fish burger, we ordered and waited for the food to arrive.

“So, where have you been?” Jessie asked while playing with his straw in his mouth.

“Had some errands to run. Nothing interesting. What about you?” Why was this conversation so awkward? It made me think of a couple on a first blind date.

While still chewing the straw, Jessie leaned one arm behind the leather chair. “I came from the hair salon. I thought you knew I had work today.”

Right. He mentioned it this morning.

“Before work, I went to the beach with Kai. Guess what?” He paused when the waitress returned with our food and placed it on the table.

“Can I have some ketchup?” Jessie reached for the bottle beside me, and I handed it to him.

“So, you were saying?”

“Oh, right.” Putting down the ketchup, he leaned closer. “So, I went to the beach with Kai, and he told me that Paris and Zoe will spend Christmas with us.”

Paris was Kai’s fourteen-year-old son he had with his ex-wife, Zoe, when they were still in high school. Yep, our Kai had been a teen dad. Nowadays, Zoe was a marine biologist who worked around the world. For the past four years, she had been working on a large research project in Australia, where she and Paris stayed. They came to visit at least twice a year. Zoe was a brilliant woman, and Paris was a total Golden Retriever boy.

“I told Andrei the news, and it seemed to have cheered him up a little.” Nearly a week ago, Andrei and Miles had a huge fight after they both attended Miles’s sister’s wedding. I’m not familiar with the details, but after school today, Andrei told me he’d go talk with Miles. Hopefully, they’ll work things out.

“You think he and Miles would make up?” Jessie then asked.

“Probably,” I said and took a bite from my fish burger. I preferred herring over this greasy food, but Jessie liked it.

“So, you’re probably wondering why we’re here.”

“To eat?” I asked and cleaned my mouth with a napkin.

My comment made him chuckle and he shook his head. “No, I mean, yes, but not just for that.” Jessie leaned forward and grabbed my hand. “I wanted to go on a date so we could talk.”

“We’re talking.”

He rolled his eyes, and I couldn’t fight the smile that crept to my lips. “You know what I mean.”

“I know, you’re right. I’m glad we’re here.”

“You are?” His green eyes sparkled.

I cleared my throat. “Absolutely. I think I owe you an apology about the other night. Drawing is not a waste of time, and I’m sorry I said that.”

Jessie tightened his squeeze before he tangled our fingers together.

“Don’t even worry about it. I know I can be a bother.” He chuckled, and I wanted to poke him for that comment.

He is never a bother.

He furrowed his brows as he grew serious. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

I straightened in my chair as nerves trickled down my spine and my gut turned.

What was he about to say? Was he going to—

“I think something is going on with you, and you don’t want to tell me,” he said warily. “You don’t have to tell me everything, but I want you to know you can. I mean, if you want to.”

He offered me a big smile that warmed my heart and helped to ease my nerves. Maybe I shouldn’t overthink and give Jessie more credit. After all, we’d been together for so long, and he knew how I felt about my mom. He might get angry at first, but I’d explain, and we could—

“Jordan told me we should talk so we wouldn’t have those silly miscommunications. I’m glad he did. I already feel better.”