Something More

Chapter Nine

"So, she liked the place setting I suggested, didn't she?" Lisa asked, her lips curled in a grin.

Jennie didn't expect gloating to be Lisa's response when she told her which place setting her mother had chosen. But she had to admit, gloating looked damn sexy on Lisa. She could tell Lisa had a small amount of swagger she could probably dole out any time she wanted. Maybe if Jennie was lucky, she'd be able to see that again. In a more private setting.

"If you must know, yes she did. I didn't even have to show her the others," she muttered. "Happy?"

Lisa shrugged. "Maybe. Does it show?"

Jennie scoffed. "You can get off your high horse there, Ms. Manoban."

Lisa chuckled. "I guess I can do that."

Her smile made Jen's breath hitch. Something that hadn't happened since the night at the bar. Jennie met Lisa's gaze. Probably staring too long as the next noise she heard was the clearing of Lisa's throat, making her look up to see hesitancy in Lisa's eyes.

"So, next step will be for us to nail down the menu and organize the tasting. I know you've seen our general meal options, but Jisoo informed me she has a few additional choices for you. I'll have those plus photos of their platings so we get a better idea of how everything will be presented. How about we have a quick meeting on October seventh? Say, two o'clock?"

Jen looked at the calendar on her phone. "That'll work. At my office?"

"Sure. After that, we'll set up a meeting so Chu and I can have a small tour of your mother's house. We need to see the room we'll have available and what the kitchen space is like. Would you like to talk with your mother and find times that work best? Or would you like me to call her?"

"I'll talk with her." The less exposure Lisa had to her mother, the better. Jennie didn't even want to talk to her, but the party planning was adding more contact between them than she preferred. Soon it would all be over and she could go back to only suffering during their monthly dinners.

"Great. If you know of options before the seventh, then call me. If not, you can just let me know the dates and times then," Lisa said as she turned to collect her notes from the table.

Jen made a mental note to do that, but her thoughts drifted to the night at the bar. The softness and heat of Lisa's lips and mouth. She wanted to feel them again. Over the past two weeks, Jennie had found every excuse she could to text Lisa. Each time she'd started the conversation by asking inane questions about the party before segueing into whether Lisa would want to get together. Each time Jennie had been met with refusal or silence.

Now that she had Lisa in front of her, she wanted an actual explanation. Jennie took a couple slow, deep breaths, trying to calm an unusual amount of nerves. "Lisa?"

"Hmm," she replied, her gaze focused on the papers in her hands.

"Are we ever going to have a real conversation about that night at the bar?"

Lisa sighed and turned toward Jennie, lifting one leg to half-sit on the table. "It's not a good idea."

"Talking about it? Or what might happen once we do talk about it?"

"Both."

"Care to explain your reasoning?" Jennie asked as she stepped forward until only a foot of space separated them.

"It's just not a good time right now, Jen." Lisa ran her hand through her hair and looked away briefly. "Plus, if I was looking for something, it'd be something more than a hookup. And I don't think that's something you can give me."