Running To Him - Forbidden Hearts Series Book 6

15| Landing on GO

I knew Jamie was a competitive person. For Christ's sake, I could easily remember the few poker nights that I was invited to at Ryan and Danielle's place where I got to watch Jamie, Lanie, and Harper almost breakup their long-time friendship over a few games of twenty-one. Ryan warned me every time he invited me, telling me that the women tended to get a little ruthless. He wasn't wrong.

And as dangerous as each of those instances had been, Jamie came out on top every time. Even if that hadn't been the case, I knew I was going to win our bet tonight. Little did Jamie know that thanks to a tip from little birdie named Cherise, this victory was mine. 

Nearly a year later and I could still remember that night with absolute clarity. Jamie was off with Harper and Danielle on the screened porch, burying her anxiety in another bottle of wine. I was in the kitchen with Cherise, helping her prepare the dinner she was serving that night. 

"Jamie told me you like to cook, Ollie. Do you have any favorite dishes you like to make?" 

The white and black old-fashioned timer on the counter went off, letting us know the meatloaf was ready. Seeing the small relic that was clearly from the eighties made me chuckle. Jamie told me her mom hated things like smart phones and all this new technology. She preferred the old-fashioned stuff. Hell, she still used a Polaroid camera for taking pictures. 

"That's a complicated question, Mrs. Lovette." I walked over to the oven and pulled the door down to get the meatloaf out.

"Cherise."

"Sorry. Cherise." I set the pan on the oven mitt and turned back to her. "My favorite dish is one I tried the first time I visited Paris. Croque Monsieur." I reached over to the bowl of fruit to the right of the stove and picked out a few grapes before leaning back against the counter. "It's common over there, but there's this little restaurant tucked away in Paris that's serves the best. I tried making it myself a few times. It came out great, but I was never able to get it close to the original."

When silence answered me, I looked up from my grapes and noticed that Cherise was watching me very closely. 

"What?" I put my hand to my cheek. "Do I have something on my face?" 

Cherise walked over to the meatloaf to check it. "You know, Atticus, if you and my daughter were actually dating and not putting on this charade, you would see that you are perfect for each other." 

I inwardly groaned when I heard my first name. Who knew how she found that one out. "What makes you say that?" 

"Because the one dish Jamie has been dying to try when we finally make it to Paris is Croque Monsieur."

Feeling uncomfortable by her words, I shrugged and popped another grape in my mouth. "Just because we share that interest doesn't mean we're meant for each other." 

She arched an eyebrow at me and smiled. "Maybe not. But let's just chock this one up to good old-fashion mother's intuition."

Thinking about that memory of Cherise made my chest ache. I didn't get a chance to know her as much as I wanted, but one thing I did know was that woman was amazing. 

And that was why, when I watched Jamie's eyes widen when I ordered our meal, I knew I already won this bet. Yeah, I guess I cheated a little bit. But all in all, I wasn't going to make Jamie play a game she didn't want to play. Regardless of my rules. 

So that's what led us to this exact moment. Where once again, I was the one coming up on the winning side. 

"You owe me four hundred dollars."