Ashley blushed and glanced away from him.
“Don’t forget. You’re going to share my fries too,” Jin asserted a moment later, holding out his plate towards her.
“Hmm.” She glanced from the fries to her cake. “Poutine? Or chocolate cake? How do I choose?”
“You don’t. Just eat them both,” Jin laughed.
“Together?” Ashley made a face. Then she pouted up at him.
He grinned at her. “Absolutely.” He grabbed a fry and dragged it through the chocolate frosting before popping it into his mouth.
“Oh, gross!” Ashley exclaimed. “At least it didn’t have gravy on it too,” she muttered.
And Jin guffawed. “Good idea!” He reached for a fry.
But Ashley defended her cake. “No. No way. I draw the line. You may not eat poutine with chocolate frosting.”
It was Jin’s turn to pout. “If you insist,” he sighed.
“I do. I absolutely do!”
He flashed that gorgeous grin at her again before reaching for another fry. Ashley had the same thought, and their fingers collided once more. And she froze as another wave of heat flooded her cheeks. Jin glanced up into her eyes, and his smile died. He didn’t even blink for several moments. He simply sat staring down into her eyes. And Ashley felt like she was drowning in his.
But then she felt something brushing her lips. Dragging her gaze away from his. She glanced down and saw the French fry he was holding up to her mouth.
“Would you like it? I promise – there’s no chocolate frosting on it. Oh, wait!” His eyes grew wide as he reached down to drag the fry through some brown gravy. Then he held it up to her again. “It must have gravy, right?”
“That was the whole point,” she muttered before opening her mouth.
Kim Seok Jin was feeding her a fry. Kim Seok Jin. Of BTS. Her ultimate bias. Her soulmate. Lover of dad jokes. Mr. Worldwide Handsome himself. Feeding her. Ashley.
Maybe being an adult did feel different after all.
She glanced around. Wondering if anyone was capturing this moment with their camera. Would her face be plastered all over the internet within the next few minutes? Right next to Jin’s?
Alarm spiraled through her at that thought. But relief quickly followed it as she noted the disinterest on the faces of the few people seated across the patio from them. No one was even looking at them. Let alone photographing them.
She sighed. She wouldn’t have a memento of this moment. It wasn’t like she could frame a fry or encase that chocolate cake in Mod Podge. Perhaps she’d keep the fork. After all, Jin’s fingers had touched it. So had his mouth.
That thought led her gaze back to those stunning lips. And Ashley wondered what it would feel like to receive a birthday kiss from her bias.
Those lips curved into another smile as he swiped his fry through some gravy before popping it into his mouth. “Mmm,” he responded. “That’s good.” Another fry was baptized before it met its end behind those luscious lips. Pretty soon, Jin was chomping away on his fries, bathed in her gravy.
Ashley simply watched him. Stunned by the beauty of this moment. Sharing a meal with Jin. It was like her own personal episode of Eat Jin.
He glanced up at her after a moment. “You were right. Poutine is delicious. But,” he frowned, “I still think chocolate would improve it.”
Ashley shook her head firmly. “Absolutely not. There are clear rules when it comes to food. Brown gravy does not mix with chocolate frosting.”
“Why not? They’re both brown.”
She giggled. As her head bobbed from right to left and back again. “I can think of several other brown things I wouldn’t want to eat. With fries, gravy, or chocolate frosting.”
Jin guffawed again. “Touché.” He glanced down at what was left of her chocolate cake. “Are you going to eat any more of that?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’ll let you have it…on one condition.”
“One condition?” He blinked as his face went blank.
Ashley yanked her chin up and down. “Yep.”
“What condition?” he asked suspiciously.
“You walk me home.”
“Home?” He glanced around as though expecting to find her house had suddenly materialized across the street.
She nodded. “It’s that way. Just a couple of blocks.” She pointed down that street.
His deep dark eyes found her face again. And seemed to probe the depths of her own orbs. She felt her heart beginning to thunder. Jin’s eyes were so…pretty. Gorgeous. Darker than even the darkest chocolate.
She found herself sighing. She was tempted to pinch herself to see if this was just a dream. But if it was, did she truly wish to discover that she was simply fantasizing his presence here? Definitely not. Let the dream go on!
It seemed to as his generous lips stretched into a wide smile. “I’d be happy to.” He glanced down at her cake. “After I finish that, of course.”
“Of course,” she murmured as their waitress approached them with his steaming cup of coffee clutched between her fingers. Ashley pushed the plate of cake towards him. Again, his fingers brushed hers. This time, along the edge of the dessert plate. And this time, Ashley didn’t move. She simply basked in the warmth emanating from those long fingers where his hand was now covering hers.
“You sure you don’t want another bite?” he queried as their server set his coffee down to the right of that plate. He glanced up at the girl. “Thank you.” He smiled at her.
Was it Ashley’s imagination, or did their waitress sigh? Of course, even if the girl didn’t recognize him, she was sure to be fainting over his good looks now, wasn’t she?
“Can I get you anything else?” she quizzed him. Her eyes didn’t leave his face.
“Just the check,” he responded.
“Oh!” the waitress started. “Yes, of course.” She rushed off to do his bidding.
And Ashley found herself curious. How much would Jin tip the girl?
She had her answer a few minutes later when he tossed a large bill down on the table. It was three times the total of his receipt. Jin was beyond generous. Just as Ashley would have imagined him to be. She sighed with relief when the waitress disappeared around the corner without asking for his autograph. Perhaps she really didn’t know who Jin was. Ashley shook her head. How could the girl be so clueless?
Jin watched her. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just shocked that she didn’t recognize you.”
“Perhaps she did. Maybe she’s simply too nice to say anything. Or…she didn’t recognize me.” He smiled.
“But how can that be?” Ashley gasped.
Jin chuckled. “Not everyone in the world knows who I am.” He bent towards her and whispered, “Do you know BTS?”
Ashley giggled. “Come on. You can walk me home now. Unless you want to finish your coffee.”
He grimaced. “It’s not very good.” He stood up, and Ashley followed him.
A few moments later, she found herself wandering down the street beside him. After several seconds, she gasped. Her eyes flew to his face. “Is your car back there? At the restaurant?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s at the bed and breakfast. I walked to the café.”
“Ah.” She glanced away. Uncertain what to say now. “I could make you a cup of coffee,” she blurted out after a moment.
Jin quirked a dark brow at her. “A cup of coffee? Do you drink coffee then?”
“Uh, no.” Her eyes slid away from his.
“Do you even know how to make coffee?”
“Who doesn’t know how to make coffee?”
“A polar bear,” Jin responded hilariously.
“A polar bear?” she queried, confused. Her eyes collided with his once more. “What on earth made you think of a polar bear?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. But I think a polar bear would need a cup of coffee, don’t you? I mean it’s so cold at the pole, right?”
“The pole?”
“The North Pole.”
“Ah, yes. I guess so.” Suddenly, her lips quirked upwards. “Do you know why the polar bear was sad?”
Jin squinted at her. “Uh…because he didn’t know how to make coffee?”
She giggled. Shaking her head, she responded, “He was home alone and feeling ice-olated.”
Jin snorted. “Of course. I bet I know what his favorite kind of food is.”
“What?” Ashley furrowed her brow at him.
“Icebergers.”
Ashley snickered. “And ice cream too, of course.” She considered Jin for a second as she wracked her brain. Finally, she queried, “Did you hear about the polar bear social media influencer?”
Jin frowned.
“She loves taking polar-oid pictures.”
“Ah, yes. Probably of bears experiencing love at frost sight.”
Ashley groaned. “That one was terrible.”
“Yes, well, there’s only so many jokes about polar bears.”
“Are you kidding me?” Ashley quizzed him. “There must be a trillion jokes about bears.”
Jin nodded. “Yes, of course. You’re right. Thank you beary much.”
Ashley shook her head. But she was chortling again. “You’re beary welcome.” She grilled him then, “Why don’t polar bears wear shoes?”
Jin frowned. “I don’t know,” he replied after a few seconds spent thinking. His brow had buckled, and he was stroking his chin in the most adorable manner ever.
Ashley grinned before releasing her salvo. “They love walking bear foot.”
Jin groaned. And smacked himself on the forehead. “Of course!” He smiled at her for a moment. “Did you mean it?”
“What?” Ashley blinked at him, baffled.
“Do you really want to make me a cup of coffee?”
“If you would like one.”
He grinned wickedly at her then. “You’re brewtiful. Words cannot espresso what you bean to me.” As she giggled, he continued, “Thank you for always beaning there. I love you a latte.”
Ashley laughed. She reached out to slug Jin on the arm. “You win. I think you out-dad-joked me.”
He cocked a black brow at her. “Did I? How on earth did I manage that?”
“Hmm…” She appeared thoughtful. “Well, you do have eleven years on me. That’s a lot more practice.”
Jin looked horrified as his mouth fell open in consternation. “Are you saying I’m old?”
“Never!” gasped Ashley. But then she chuckled, completely ruining her expression of mock shock.
“Do I look eleven years older than you?” he asked as he turned towards the picture window of a store they were passing. He stopped to gaze at the pane of glass. “You don’t see any wrinkles, do you?”
“Only the one between your eyebrows,” she answered honestly.
Jin gasped. And reached up to smooth the area above his nose.
“Relax, Jin. You’re gorgeous. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. You didn’t get the nickname Worldwide Handsome for nothing.”
“I gave myself that nickname,” he grumbled.
“Yes, well, it stuck.” She smiled at him. “For good reason.”
His lips traveled upward in a rueful smile. “You think I’ll manage to hang onto it for a few more years?”
“Decades, Jin. You’ll hang onto it for decades. Forever if you marry me,” she mumbled.
And Jin glanced sharply at her.
“That was a joke,” she burst out. “Of course, you’re not going to marry me. But if you did, I’d still find you handsome at 142.”
“142!? You think I’ll live to be 159 years old?”
She shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
That silly grin of his was in evidence again. “Why not? Come on. It’s chilly out here.” He reached down and folded his long fingers around hers. Engulfing her hand in his heat. And sending a flutter scurrying across her heart. She gazed at him in shock as he tugged her down the street.
His voice echoed around her. “How much longer? By the time we reach your house, I’m going to need that cup of coffee. Is it an espresso?”
She grimaced. “Did I mention my coffeemaker’s a Keurig?”
