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“Good afternoon,bellissima.”

“Good afternoon, sexy.”

He chuckled. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your call midday?”

She warmed inside and tried to suppress a blush. “Well, I just received some flowers, and they got me to thinking about you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“And what about those flowers made you think of me?”

“Because they’re just as sexy, beautiful, and had me awestruck when I walked in the room.”

His deep guffaw splintered her skin with heat.

“You’re easy to adore, you know that?”

“Am I?”

“You are.”

“So are you, Mr. Rose.”

A bell rang, and the cafeteria door down the hall could be heard opening as the students’ voices filled the hallways.

“I’ve got to get going, but I wanted to say thank you for the roses. I love them. And, if you don’t mind, I want to run something by you later. That’s if you have the time. No pressure.”

“I’ll make time.”

She shivered at his assertiveness. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

“Me with you as well.”

Students entered her door.

“Who you talking to, Ms. Jones, your boyfriend?” a student asked.

“This is the part where you mind your business,” she responded.

Jacob chuckled. “Talk to you soon.”

“You too.”

She ended the call and haphazardly stroked her lips with her tongue, thinking about what was to come out of dating Jacob Alexander Rose.

Chapter Ten

“In today’s news, Lennox Jenkins is challenging incumbent Mayor Luke Steele in Chicago’s upcoming election. Mayor Steele couldn’t be reached for comment, but we are told he is no stranger to the Jenkins family and is ready to run a non-aggressive race against him.”

Jacob watched WTZB for a moment more before shutting the broadcast off. “I see it’s that time of the year.” He sat the remote on a table and glanced at Luke Steele, his long-time friend and the mayor of Chicago.

“Can you believe it’s been three years?”

“Time is flying. Before the day can begin, it’s ending.”

Luke agreed with a head nod. Inside Luke and Jasmine’s three-story, five-bedroom home, Jacob strolled to the minibar across the Mediterranean-styled room and poured a shot of Patrón. “We were prepared for a challenger.”