That’s when it came to him: the perfect plan to seduce Kate Meredith. It was a little unorthodox, but then, so was she.
“I have an idea about that,” he said casually. “Jacob’s going away this weekend to visit his grandparents in Philadelphia. How about I come to your place on Saturday? If you’ll supply the milk, I’ll bring the Oreos—and I could bring Dungeons & Dragons, too. It would be fun to flex my Dungeon Master muscles after so many years.”
He could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she thought about it. Everything about his proposal sent friendship signals instead of date signals, which should make Kate feel comfortable.
It worked. “Okay, that sounds like fun. I’d love to play Dungeons & Dragons. Maybe it’ll get my imagination going and I’ll be able to come up with a project I actually want to pitch to someone.”
He felt a twinge of guilt. “You’ve been having trouble finding a new gig?”
She shrugged. “Don’t worry about me, Hart. I’ll figure out something eventually. I always do. Of course, I wouldn’t have to figure out something if it weren’t for you,” she added, but she smiled as she said it, and there was no sting in her words.
Maybe she’d forgiven him for cancelling her show. He hoped so. Not only because he still felt guilty about it, but also because his plan for Saturday night would be a lot easier to execute if she wasn’t still harboring resentment towards him.
But even if she were, he’d find a way around it. He wasn’t going to let anything stop him this time. He wanted Kate Meredith, and he was going to have her.
Even if he had to use Dungeons & Dragons to do it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jacob had a big smile for her when Kate picked him up after school on Friday.
“Hi, Kate!”
“Wow, you look happy. Are you excited to see your grandparents this weekend?”
He nodded. “I always have an awesome time with them.”
He was quiet for a few moments while Kate was hailing a cab. Then, after they’d climbed into the back, he suddenly said, “They asked me if I wanted to live with them after Mom died.”
Kate was startled, but she managed not to show it. This was the first time Jacob had mentioned his mother’s death to her.
“That was nice of them,” she said. “Did you think about doing it?”
Jacob turned his head away to look out his window, and for a minute she thought he might not answer. But then he turned back. “I did think about it, but . . . Mom wanted Ian to be my guardian. She said so in her will. I figured . . . I figured . . . if that’s what she wanted, then that’s what I should do.”
Kate nodded. They rode in silence for another minute or two, and then she said, “You’ve been living with your uncle for almost a year now. How do you think it’s going?”
Jacob shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
He didn’t say anything else, and Kate didn’t push it. By the time they got to Ian’s apartment, they’d started talking about the new Spider-Man movie coming out that summer.
Jacob’s grandparents were driving into the city to pick him up, and they’d left a message to say they’d be there around five o’clock. It turned out that Jacob hadn’t packed yet, so Kate helped him fill a suitcase while he continued chattering about Peter Parker.
The suitcase was packed and ready to go when it occurred to Kate that Jacob should bring a jacket. He wouldn’t want to wear it now, since the day was so warm, but you never knew when it would cool down. She grabbed one from his closet and opened up the suitcase again.
Lying on top of his clothes was something she hadn’t seen Jacob put in there, something that looked like a—
Suddenly he was there beside her, closing the suitcase again and pulling it away.
“I think this is all set. I don’t need anything else. It’s too warm for a jacket. I don’t—”
He stopped and bit his lip. After a moment, Kate sat down on his bed.
“Listen, Jacob, whatever you might be working on is none of my business. I’ll forget I ever saw it, if that’s what you want.” She paused. “But I have to say, what I saw looked pretty amazing. I’d love to see more, but only if it’s okay with you.”
He looked torn. “Well . . . I guess I have to show it to somebody sometime, right? I mean, if I ever want to do anything with it. And you’ve made awesome TV shows, and I know you like comic books.”
He chewed on his lip for a few more seconds, and then he opened the suitcase again. He pulled out the bound pages she’d seen and held them close to his chest.
“Okay, so, I’ve been working on this for a long time. Do you want me to tell you about it, or do you want to just look at it?”