He awakened her with a kiss to the cheek; he smelled of soap, had a towel wrapped around his lean waist. “I gotta get going,” he murmured.
“Me, too,” she said, sleepily, and yawned. “I have to go to Burdette today.”
Jake stopped, turned to look at her. “To Burdette? Why? You were just there.”
“We’re going back to talk to Girt about a couple of things.”
“We?” Jake groaned, and glared at the ceiling for a moment. “Why is he going? I thought you pretty much had this under control.”
“Yes, but he’s got more insight into this than I do and says there are some questions we need answers to before we can go further.”
“So why doesn’t he just tell you what they are and let you deal with it?”
This was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. Robin hugged the pillow tightly to her. “I guess because I’m still learning.”
With a snort, Jake shook his head and proceeded into the bathroom. “Like hell. He’s going to Burdette to make a play for you.”
Oh Jesus, not again. “No, he’s not!” she yelled after him. “God, Jake, I know he was an ass last night, but there is nothing between me and Evan! He knows it, I know it—it’s been over, like, forever!”
Jake grumbled something in response that she couldn’t quite make out. Robin got up, pulled on her cutoffs and T-shirt, and ran her hands through her hair. She was slipping on her sandals when Jake reappeared, his face lathered up for a shave.
“I gotta go,” she said.
“I’m serious, Robin. I know how guys think, and this guy wants you back. He’s not flying to Burdette with you because you need any help. He’s flying to Burdette to win you back.”
“Oh my God,” she muttered. Jake’s jealousy was a little much to take before coffee, and Robin snatched up her purse. “I don’t know how to convince you,” she said, rooting around in her purse for her keys, “You won’t listen! You’re so determined to be jealous of Evan—”
“Jealous?”
He said it like it was the most preposterous thing he had ever heard. Robin looked up, incredulous. “Yes, jealous! You don’t like him, you think everything he says or does is some dig at you, and you keep reading a whole lot more into him than what is there. Jake, Evan and I work together. And we made a deal a long time ago that it was nothing more than that. Your insecurity keeps bubbling up and it’s not necessary.”
Jake gaped at her in obvious disbelief.
Robin rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Wait!” Jake said and came striding out of the bathroom. “Let’s just back it up and assume I don’t have this . . . this insecurity, and pretend for a moment that what I am saying is plausible. What if he wanted you back? How would he go about it? He’d take you to fancy restaurants, buy you gifts, send you flowers, and make sure he got every opportunity there was to be with you. And if he knew you were going out with me, someone he puts on a par with a slimy bottom feeder, he’d do everything to make you see he was the better deal. And he is the better deal, Robin, we both know that. He’s got the means to support you—”
“Oh, for the love of God, this is not about money!”
“I hope not,” Jake said. “Because if it is, I’m sunk. All I’m saying is that he knows the kind of luxury you are used to, the way you live. He knows how to play it to his advantage.”
Jake was confusing her. She needed a cup of coffee, and slung her purse over her shoulder. “You’re forgetting one thing. I don’t need Evan to spend money on me. I obviously have plenty of my own. Honestly, I don’t need anyone.”
Jake sighed, rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s sad, Robin. And not very reassuring.”
Exasperated, Robin shook her head, strode toward him. “Can we talk about this later? I have to get some coffee.” She pecked him on the mouth. “I’ll see you later.”
She left before he could say much of anything, hurtling down Montrose and right past Java the Hut without even noticing. Her mind was too full wondering what, exactly, she did need.
Jake was wondering, too, and by the time he got to work, he was beginning to think he had seriously overestimated what was between him and Robin. She didn’t see what he saw so clearly, would not admit Slickpant’s motives, and when it came right down to it, he was struggling to compete with the lavish attention that man gave Robin. He’d been ready to take her to Paulie’s for a burger—not for lobster on some yacht.