Retribution

Chapter 9 - Puzzle Completed

At eight on the dot, Jake was knocking on my door. I took a deep breath, repeated Dr Strawson's words to myself and let him in.

He strode in with a glowing smile on his face which eased my nerves immediately. He was holding a bottle of wine and a bouquet of white and red roses. Stooping down slowly, he kissed my cheek, leaving me burning up within seconds. His now familiar scent of oranges and cologne wrapped around me, making me want to stay next to him.

"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady," he said, passing me the expertly wrapped flowers.

I took a moment to remember to accept his compliments. "Thank you."

Taking them from him, I focused on the budding roses in the hope he wouldn't notice my lobster coloured cheeks.

"Well done," he whispered, winking.

A shiver ran down my spine. "For what?"

"Taking a compliment."

I all but internally combusted. My entire body burned flaming hot. "I better get these in some water," I said, rushing to the kitchen.

He followed, grinning as he watched me fuss over the flowers. My heart was pounding so hard it was difficult to think clearly. All fingers and thumbs, I wasn't careful enough when handling the thorny stems. One of the sharp spikes stuck in the end of my thumb. I yelped and dropped the scissors without a second thought. They clattered onto the tiled floor, wide open, and inches away from my little toe.

Jake rushed over and picked them up. "Here," he said, standing behind me. "Let me sort these. My hands are as tough as old leather boots."

He placed the scissors down on the worktop and hovered his hand over mine for a minute. When I didn't move it away, he took hold of it and looked at my wound. Blood had sprung to the surface, a single drop spilling down my white skin.

"Not going to faint on me, are you?" he said, giving me an inquisitive look.

I shook my head. "I'm ok with blood."

If only you knew why.

He gave a single nod and reached into his jeans pocket with his other hand. The washed-out denim looked fantastic on him; all the highlights in just the right places. Well aware I was months away from intimacy with anyone, I forced myself to look away. I felt like a teenage girl all over again, crushing on her first boy.

He pulled his hands from his jeans and wrapped a pale blue handkerchief around my thumb. "Go and relax whilst I sort the rest out."

I stared at him, my mouth wide open. "But—"

"No buts. I don't want a trip to A&E because you've gotten a thorn stuck in your finger or cut a toe off. You decide what we're having for tea—I'm easy with food—eat anything as long as it's not alive or rotten."

This was mind overload territory. I didn't know what to process first—the fact he'd tended to my wound, the fact he was now arranging my flowers in a vase, or the fact he'd left me with the choice of what he will be eating this evening.

I stared at the soft blue material folded around my thumb, watching my blood creep through each thread of fabric. It was quite entrancing, staring at this trivial item, knowing it was Jake's and realising I was literally leaving my mark on his things.

"Louisa," he said, snapping me out of my trance. "Go on and sit down. I'm fine."

I felt rude. It didn't matter how many times he said he was fine with it, I would still feel impolite to leave a guest doing something in my house whilst I did nothing.