Kelly Jamieson

Sweet Deal

Chapter One

Shelby approached her boss’s corner office with all the enthusiasm of approaching the cockroach exhibit at the zoo. Stomach in knots, she sucked in a long, slow breath and straightened her shoulders. She knew why he’d called her to his office. Everyone had been waiting all week for the announcement. He’d made a decision about who was going to manage the new claims’ payment system project.

She paused outside Andrew’s door where his secretary sat behind her desk, laughing and talking in low tones with two other women. When she saw Shelby, her smile disappeared and she stopped talking. Both the other women turned to look at Shelby, and their laughter immediately dried up, an uncomfortable silence thickening around them.

Shelby smiled at the women. “Hi, Susan,” she said brightly. “Andrew wanted to see me.”

“He’s waiting for you,” Susan said in a chilly tone. “Go on in.”

“Thanks.”

Shelby poked her head in the office at the same time she gave a few soft raps on the door. Sunlight poured in through floor-to-ceiling windows, flooding the plush carpet with light and illuminating the green leaves of the tropical plants arranged in one corner. Andrew sat behind his desk at the far end of the spacious room, his dark blond hair gleaming in the bright light.

A smile spread across his tanned face when he saw her. “Shelby.”

He pushed back from his desk and rose. He strode from behind the L-shaped furniture and walked toward her, warmth sparkling in his hazel eyes, his expensive suit tailored to his broad shoulders. Only two years older than she, he’d already risen to the position of Director of Project Management at Gold Shield Insurance.

“Hey, nice dress.” His eyes moved admiringly over her. “Is that new?”

Her smile tightened just a fraction. “Yes, it is. Thanks.”

“Have a seat.” He gestured toward the round table where they often had meetings and she pulled out a chair, sat and crossed her legs. She set her leather-bound notebook on the table and folded her hands over it, trying to ignore the fluttering sensation inside her.

Andrew pulled out a chair and dropped into it with an easy, athletic grace. He swept a hand over his short hair. “So, you probably know why I wanted to meet with you.”

Her stomach cramped even more, but she kept her smile firmly in place. “I assume it’s about the payment project.”

“Yeah.” His own smile broadened. “I can finally announce who’s going to be the project manager on that one.” His eyes glowed with fondness as he gazed at her across the table.

No. No. Please, please don’t let it be me.

“It’s you, Shelby.”

His words were no surprise. She’d known he was going to tell her that. But the sudden accumulation of saliva in her mouth and the churning of her stomach made her afraid she was going to vomit right there in her boss’s office.

She wanted to protest. No, not me, she silently insisted. Please not me. This is a huge mistake.

But Andrew waited with an expectant smile for her reaction. Feeling almost dizzy with the effort to not burst into tears, she pulled her mouth into what she hoped resembled a smile. She tried to speak, but the words stuck in her throat.

Get a grip, get a grip.

“Thank you,” she finally managed to croak. “I’m so happy.”

She wasn’t the best person for this job. She knew it. Everyone else at Gold Shield Insurance knew it too. There were already too many people who resented her, just like Susan, and there were too many people who were talking about her. About her and Andrew.

About how he kept giving her the best projects to work on even though other project managers had more experience than her. About how she’d been promoted while others who’d been at Gold Shield much longer than she had—men and women—were passed over. About how she and Andrew often had coffee together. And lunch together.

“There’ll be some travel involved in this project,” Andrew said. “We’ll need to go to New York next month.”

“We?” The question squeaked out before she could stop it, but once again she already knew the answer. Her stomach swooped again.

“Yeah. I’ll be coming with you,” Andrew said easily, leaning back in his chair and smiling again. “I plan to be fairly involved in this project, since it’s so high profile.”

“And costly,” she added unhappily, eyeing him across the table, her fingers curled around the edge of her notebook.

“That too.” His brow creased just a little. “But it’ll have a big impact on customer service. You’re happy about this, aren’t you, Shelby?”

“Of course I am!” Again, she stretched her mouth into a smile. “You know I’m always interested in new challenges. In learning more. Although, I do think Brad Amando would have had a lot to contribute to this project. He has a lot of experience working with both those departments and he’s very smart.”

Andrew frowned. “Well, yeah, you can tap him as an additional resource if you want to bring him into the project team. But you will be the manager.”

“Of course.”

She tried to relax her tight fingers, tried to calm the flock of fluttering birds in her abdomen. She could do it. Truthfully, heading it up was exciting. She did love a challenge. She wanted to take on additional learning opportunities. She wanted to advance in the company. And she desperately, painfully, wanted to keep this job.

She needed to keep that confident façade firmly in place, even though on the inside she couldn’t help but wonder if Andrew’s faith in her was somewhat misplaced. She’d been successful in the other projects she’d been involved in since starting at Gold Shield Insurance a year ago, but even that hadn’t completely rebuilt the confidence that had been eroded at her last job.

And working her way up wasn’t that much fun when she was as popular with her coworkers as a telemarketer at dinner time.

“This weekend is the big company picnic,” Andrew noted, his eyes still fastened on her with disturbing warmth. “You’re coming, of course?”

“Oh yes, of course I am.”

Another opportunity to network and socialize with management. She knew how important those social events were.

“We should go together,” Andrew said.

What the hell? Go to the picnic together? Her stomach bottomed out and her mind raced. That was such a freakin’ bad idea. She had to get out of this! But how?

“With you and your wife?” she asked, heart thudding wildly.

“Oh, Gianna probably won’t come,” he replied, that faint crease appearing between his brows again. “She doesn’t enjoy company functions.”

Yeah, that wasn’t good. All the other spouses would be there. That was how it went at Gold Shield. Even kids would be there. The social committee had been busy organizing events for the younger guests, including volunteers who would supervise the kids so the adults could still have a good time on their own.

Shelby sucked briefly on her bottom lip, her mind still searching for a way to get out of this. There was no possible way she could go to the picnic with Andrew. People were talking about them enough already, and would be even more after the announcement about the new project was made public.

Shit. She lifted a hand and pushed her hair back. “Actually,” she said, trying desperately for light and casual. “I’ve been seeing someone and I was going to bring him to the picnic.”

Andrew’s brows snapped together and his posture tightened. “Oh,” he said. His gaze lasered onto her. “Really? I didn’t know you’d been seeing someone.”

“Oh yeah, for a while now,” she said, waving a hand and smiling. “He’s such a nice guy.”

Now his eyebrows flew up. “Really?”

She nodded and smiled. Damn, damn, damn. This was a total fabrication but she had to get him off her case somehow. Ambitious and driven as she was, she did not want her reputation being ruined yet again by a horny boss who couldn’t keep his pants zipped.

Although that wasn’t entirely fair to Andrew. Despite all the favoritism he’d seemed to show her, she couldn’t say for sure he had anything more than business on his mind. He’d never been overtly inappropriate. He’d always been friendly and encouraging, even though she’d felt an uncomfortable twinge of unfairness at some of the decisions he’d made, and his most recent statement that they’d be travelling together made her want to squirm in her chair.

The temperature in the room dropped by several chilly degrees. “You never mentioned him before,” Andrew said slowly.

True. In their coffee chats they talked about their personal lives as well as work, about Andrew’s wife and her issues with his workaholic tendencies, about Shelby’s friends and social life. The usual kind of chit-chat you have with coworkers—“What did you do this weekend?” “Went to a movie with friends on Friday night, then Saturday night was my friend Riley’s birthday so the girls went out for dinner.” That kind of thing.

And no, she’d never mentioned the new boyfriend because…he didn’t exist.

How was she going to find someone to bring to the picnic? She was so screwed.

Jake Magill smiled at the cute barista behind the counter as he accepted his coffee from her, then turned and walked out of the coffee shop. He had a million things to do back at the office, and he should’ve sent his assistant to get his coffee for him, but he’d needed a break, needed to get up from his desk and move, even if it was only down the elevator and across the street. Sitting in his office all day, in the same routine, day in, day out, doing the same things, was turning him into a stagnating nutcase. Sometimes he just had to get out of there.

Outside on the downtown sidewalk, he stopped. It was a beautiful summer day in Rocky Harbor, California, the sun shining, the sky a clear, cloudless blue above the office buildings surrounding him. Tables and chairs were arranged under a yellow-and-white-striped awning outside the coffee shop, every table occupied with people sipping their coffees, chatting in pairs, a few people there alone reading the newspaper. A man was hosing off the sidewalk in front of the next building, filling the morning air with a fresh, damp scent.

His eyes fell on the blonde sitting at the end of the small patio. She was alone again.

One corner of his mouth kicked up. He saw her there almost every day ordering her skinny cinnamon latte, while he ordered his Americano. Their eyes had caught, assessed, warmed. They’d said hi a few times, had made a bit of small talk, but had never really talked. But he’d imagined they had.

He figured her to be a secretary. Or should he say, sexetary. Long blonde hair, bedroom eyes and big boobs all added up to sex in his mind. The little suits and dresses she wore hugged her curvy body, and heels added inches to her petite height, drawing attention to the hottest pair of legs he’d seen in recent memory. She was like a kitten, but a sexy kitten, soft and cute and little.

She looked up and their gazes connected in the way that sometimes happens when you’re checking someone out and they seem to sense it. Her lips lifted into a smile, recognizing him from all the mornings they’d seen each other there.

What the hell. Yeah, he had work to do, but dammit, he deserved a coffee break before the mind-numbing boredom of his job drove him around the bend. The beautiful summer day made him want to sit at one of those tables too, and enjoy the sun, the warmth, the fresh air. Every table was occupied, but there was an empty chair at the little sex kitten’s table. Why not?

“Hi,” he said with a smile as he approached her, carrying his coffee. “Mind if I join you? There are no empty tables.”

She returned the smile, though the shadow he saw in her eyes had him pausing. “Sure,” she said. “I was just leaving anyway.”

“No, no, stay. I don’t want to disturb you. I’ll sit somewhere else.”

A lie. He wouldn’t mind disturbing her. He started to turn away.

“That’s okay,” she said. “Have a seat. Please.”

He slowly pulled out the chair and sat. “Okay, but don’t run away on my account.”

“I’ll finish my coffee.” She lifted the cardboard cup with its domed plastic lid.

“Your skinny cinnamon latte.” The faint cinnamon scent drifted across the table.

They shared a smile. “Yes.”

“My name’s Jake,” he offered.

“Shelby.”

“We’ve sort of already met, but it’s nice to know your name.”

“Yeah.”

He watched her assess him, felt the tug of attraction, the flare of interest.

“On your coffee break?” he asked, removing the lid of his cup and setting it on the small table. The rich, dark-roasted aroma rose to his nose.

“Sort of.” She made a face. “I just needed to get out of the office for a few minutes. I kind of had a run-in with my boss.”

“Uh-oh.” He lifted a brow and sipped his coffee, hot and black. “Everything okay?”

She gave a heartfelt sigh and the emotion behind it pulled at something inside him. “Yeah, things are okay. I was just given a great new project to manage. If I do a good job, it’ll probably get me another promotion.”

He tipped his head and gave her a curious look. Okay, not a sexetary, apparently. “And the problem with that is…?”

Her wry smile held a hint of uncertainty, though intelligence gleamed in those blue eyes. “It’s a long story.”

“Go ahead.” He waved a hand. “I have time.” He tried to encourage her with his smile, curious about why she was so clearly upset over something she should be celebrating.

“I’m afraid my boss is…I don’t know how to explain it.” She looked down at her cup, both hands wrapped around it. “I think he’s…”

Her glum expression had him leaning closer, concern swelling inside him. “Is he harassing you?” His voice went rough and he frowned.

Her ocean-blue eyes flew back up to meet his. “No! No, not really. It’s just…he keeps giving me the best assignments, the best projects to manage, even when I think someone else might be more qualified. He calls me into his office and sometimes he just wants to talk. He takes me out for lunch. People are noticing and it’s making things…very uncomfortable.”

The shadows in her eyes and the way her voice went a little shaky told him how much this disturbed her.

“At first I was happy,” she confided. “I was glad he liked my work, and I was doing so well. Then I started to realize what was going on. Now he’s given me this big, high-profile project and he says we—he and I—have to go to New York together next month. I really don’t want to do that.” She bit her bottom lip.

“I see.” His frown remained in place.

“Oh heavens, why am I talking about this to a total stranger?” She gave a light laugh and shook her head.

“Hey, sometimes it helps to talk about it. And sometimes strangers are the best ones to talk to.”

“I suppose.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. But I kind of screwed up this morning. I told him I have a new boyfriend. I thought that might get him off my back. But he actually got…kind of annoyed, I think.”

“Hell.” His shoulders tensed. What kind of scumbucket did she work for?

“I know.” She shook her head, her eyes troubled. “This weekend is the big company picnic. It’s a schmooze-fest and I have to go. He’s going to expect to meet this nonexistent new boyfriend.”

“That was a good idea, though. Maybe the boyfriend could be sick that day. Or out of town on business.”

“Yeah. I guess that’s what I’m going to have to do, make up some excuse. If my boss was bringing his wife, it’d be better. With her there, he wouldn’t try anything. But he says she doesn’t like coming to company functions.”

“He’s married.”

“Yeah.”

What a rat bastard. Jake shook his head. “That’s shitty.”

“I get the impression things aren’t so great between him and his wife. But I don’t know if he’s ever really cheated on her. Maybe I shouldn’t complain. I’m probably reading too much into all this. It’s just…” She hitched one small shoulder and another soft sigh escaped her pretty mouth. “I know people are talking and jumping to conclusions, and I hate that. I’m good at my job and I want to be judged on my work.”

“Absolutely.” Guilt stabbed him at how he’d thought she was a sexy secretary. Little blonde-bimbo sex kitten. Maybe that was exaggerating, but she was definitely giving him a different impression than he’d had before they’d talked. “He shouldn’t be doing that to you. Even if he doesn’t mean anything. And I hope to Christ he doesn’t, because if he is looking for more than just a professional relationship, he should be punched. He should know people talk. Asshole.”

She wrinkled her nose and smiled. “Thanks.”

“Wish I could help somehow.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine.” She straightened her shoulders and smiled with a determined optimism.

Their eyes met with an almost physical force. Her smile faded and he knew his did too, and with sudden sureness he knew they both had the same idea.

The words came out even though he knew it was crazy. But she was so sweet and pretty and distressed, her good reputation being trashed by a jerk-off boss. “I can come and pretend to be your boyfriend.”

Chapter Two

“That’s crazy,” she breathed, still staring at him.

“Yeah, it kind of is.” He grinned. “But what the hell. Maybe it’ll get him to back off once and for all if he sees you with someone else.”

“You don’t have to do that. You don’t even know me.”

Well, he wasn’t going to insist. He was almost regretting making the wacky offer, so if she didn’t want to do it, fine. “Whatever.” He shrugged. “I’m not busy this weekend. But if you have some other way of dealing with it…”

“I don’t.” She sighed again. Golden eyebrows slanted down over those sexy eyes. “I just feel bad. It seems like a lot to ask of a complete stranger.”

“Hey, we’re not complete strangers. We see each other here every day. You know I have a steady job at least, and I’m not likely an axe murderer.” He smiled and the answering smile that spread across her face warmed him inside. Damn, she was gorgeous. No wonder her boss was hot for her. Who wouldn’t be?

But you had to have some kind of ethics in the business world. In a way, it would make him happy to piss off this guy who was being a dick to such a nice girl.

“Saturday. Four o’clock. At Pacific Park.”

“Should we meet there?”

She thought about that. “We should probably arrive together.”

“Give me your address. I’ll pick you up.”

She hesitated.

“Okay, never mind.” He smiled reassuringly so she’d know he wasn’t a serial rapist or something. “We’ll meet somewhere else and then go together. How’s that?”

“Um. Okay.”

“Let’s exchange phone numbers,” he said. She gave him her cell phone number and he punched it into his phone, and then she did the same with his. They arranged a meeting place and time.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she said with a little laugh.

Jake shrugged and smiled. “Like I said, hopefully it will get him off your back.”

She nodded. “I should get back to the office.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

They both stood, picking up empty coffee cups that they tossed into the trash as they made their way through the other tables and onto the sidewalk.

“Good luck,” he said, and resisted the urge to reach out and move a strand of hair that had drifted across her face. “I’ll see you Saturday.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Jake.”

They turned and walked in opposite directions down Sierra Street, but when Jake glanced back at her over his shoulder, she was looking back too. His chest got a funny feeling inside it and he lifted a hand in a casual wave before striding down the sidewalk away from her.

Shelby.

Huh. He’d just wanted a quick break from the monotony of work and ended up with a date.

No. Not a date. He was doing a good deed, helping a damsel in distress. A smile tugged at his mouth. Him, doing a good deed? But hey, she was hot and cute. Spending a few hours with her wouldn’t be a hardship. He didn’t do relationships after the disaster his last one had turned out to be. Ironically, the only relationship he’d ever really had. Thinking about how his girlfriend and his best friend had betrayed him still made his gut cramp. He’d been an idiot to get involved with someone. He knew anyone he cared about would leave eventually. That’s why he was the one who left. Always. And he planned to continue that way.

But man, there was some kind of spark between him and Shelby. They’d made eye contact lots of times, awareness shifting between them. Maybe he would’ve asked her out at some point. Maybe this was a perfect excuse.

“What’s wrong with boinking the boss?” Shelby’s friend Myra demanded. She sat across the table from Shelby in the tiny sushi restaurant where the two of them, along with Shelby’s two other best friends, Riley and Kiara, had just finished dinner on Friday evening. “Where else are you going to meet men at our age, when you spend more time at the office than you do anywhere else?”

“You don’t really believe there’s nothing wrong with it,” Kiara said mildly to Myra. “It’s a bad idea. Isn’t it, Riley?”

Riley twirled a strand of brown hair around one finger. “Well. It could be a bad idea. But Myra is right in one way.” She shrugged and narrowed her exotic dark eyes. “It’s hard to meet men. Once you’re out of school or college, where else are you going to meet them?”

“That’s right.” Myra smiled. “Forty percent of people have had office romances.”

Shelby shook her head. Myra and her numbers and stats and spreadsheets. “I don’t want an office romance. Especially with my boss. Look what happened to me at RBM,” she pointed out, her stomach going tight at the memory.

“You just got involved with the wrong guy,” Myra said, tossing her auburn hair behind her shoulder.

“I don’t want to do that again,” Shelby replied, frowning at the chopsticks she was turning over in her fingers. “I lost my job over it last time. Plus had my heart broken. And besides, Andrew is married. That makes him totally off limits, even if he wasn’t my boss. Not happening.”

“Dating the boss is tricky,” Myra conceded. “And okay, yeah, a married man is a big no.”

“I also really, really want to keep this job,” Shelby said, leaning forward. “I had a hard time finding it and I really like it there. I don’t want to piss him off.”

“Well,” Myra said. “You don’t have to sleep with him. Just…take advantage of his interest.”

Shelby shifted her gaze to Riley then Kiara. They too exchanged glances. Then Shelby snorted. “I can’t do that.”

“He just gave you a primo project,” Myra pointed out. “He gave you tickets to Riverdance. He lets you leave early whenever you need to. There are all kinds of advantages to having a boss who wants to boink you.”

“Myra!”

“You know what I’m saying. And you said this project could lead to a lot of attention from the big shots. Maybe a big promotion. Take advantage of it.”

Shelby frowned. “Yes, I want to hang on to my job. But not that way!”

“I get it, Shelby,” Riley said with a sympathetic smile. “You want to be judged on your work.”

“Yes! Exactly. I just want to do a good job.”

“And you don’t want people talking about you.”

“Yeah. Like at RBM. Apparently they used to make bets on how long it would take Mark to leave after I did every night.” Bitterness edged Shelby’s voice. Her fingers tightened on the chopsticks.

Riley reached out and covered Shelby’s hand, giving it a brief squeeze. Riley still worked at RBM Pharmaceuticals, which was where they’d met and become friends, so she knew all the ugly details of that debacle. “I understand why you don’t want people talking like that. And Mark’s an asshole. There are already rumors about him and the new girl.”

Shelby grimaced. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“We tried to tell you…” Kiara began.

Shelby groaned. “I don’t need another lecture about my pathetic love life.”

She knew they did it because they cared about her, but she’d heard enough of her friends’ analysis of all her romantic disasters, even as far back as high school when Myra had been her best friend. Myra, the analyzer. “And I can’t believe you’re telling me to take advantage of Andrew’s interest in me,” she said to Myra with growing heat. “What kind of friend are you? That’s exactly what I would have done in the past, all desperate for male attention!”

Riley intervened. “Shelby, you know you can’t take half the stuff that Myra says seriously.”

Myra sat back in her chair. “Yeah. You’re right. Sorry, Shelby. I wasn’t serious. I didn’t think you’d get so worked up about it.”

Maybe she was a little oversensitive about the issue. And she should know Myra didn’t always think about what she said. She was a great actuary, but not always so great with people, even though she had a good heart.

“Telling your boss you have a boyfriend was a great idea,” Kiara said, taking pity on Shelby, no doubt, and diverting the conversation. Shelby sent her a grateful smile, watching her friend sip her soda.

“It won’t work,” Myra stated.

Shelby lifted a brow. “Why not?”

“If he’s married, he’s a cheater. He’s not going to worry about you cheating on your boyfriend.”

Damn. She could have a point there.

“And the other problem is you don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Well, actually…I do.”

All three women gaped at her, mouths open wide enough to drive a truck in.

Shelby laughed. She loved when she could shock the unshockable Myra, who’d say and do just about anything.

“Shut the front door!” Myra said.

“Well. Not really.” Shelby had to relent and tell the truth. She related what had happened at the coffee shop earlier in the week with Jake.

“He offered to pretend to be your boyfriend?” Riley asked.

“Yes.”

A broad grin broke out on Myra’s face. “Wow. There’s a new pick-up line.”

Shelby still couldn’t believe she was doing something so ridiculous. She was sure she’d read a dozen romance novels where a man and woman pretended to be boyfriend and girlfriend, or even husband and wife for some crazy reason, but stuff like that didn’t happen in real life. Not with a freakin’ gorgeous guy like Jake.

“Maybe he was just kidding and he’s not going to show up.” And if he didn’t, that was probably just as well, because she had no idea if they were going to pull this off. They didn’t even know each other, for god’s sake!

“Why would he do that?” Riley asked.

“I have no idea.” Shelby grimaced.

“I’m telling you, he’s hot for you!” Myra grinned. “So what does this guy look like?”

“He’s really tall, and big.” Shelby licked her lips, warming inside just thinking about how Jake looked. “He has dark hair and eyes.”

“That doesn’t tell us much,” Myra said, with her usual let’s-just-get-to-the-point impatience. “Is he hot?”

“Yeah.” Shelby frowned. “Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“He’s kind of…scary.”

“Scary?”

She hitched one shoulder and looked down at her drink. “He’s really good-looking, but whenever I see him, he looks really serious. Intense.”

Myra looked disappointed.

“Wait. I thought you just met him,” Riley said.

“Er…well, we’ve seen each other before. Chatted a little in the coffee line-up. You know.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So he looks like a stick-in-the-mud,” Myra said.

“No, no! Not like stick-in-the-mud serious. Just like someone who’s maybe had some hard times. Maybe been hurt.”

“Ooh.” They all nodded, feminine interest piqued by that. “Interesting.”

“But he has a nice smile, and when we talked he was really listening. Not fake listening, you know? You can tell when people aren’t really paying attention. He’s always dressed to the nines. Expensive suits. Gorgeous ties.”

Myra lifted a brow. “Gay?”

“No!” Shelby would stake her life on that. “Not even metrosexual. Just very…well-groomed.”

“That is metro.”

Shelby had to laugh. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t go for manicures and pedicures. Although, he might use styling products in his hair.”

“Well then, this is perfect!” Myra leaned forward.

“It’s not real, My,” Shelby reminded her. “He’s just doing me a favor.”

Her cell phone buzzed in her purse and she reached for it without thinking. She blinked at the call display. Jake. As if he were someone who actually belonged in her contacts list so his name popped up when he phoned.

“It’s him.” She looked up at her friends.

The other three women made little noises of surprise and pleasure. The phone buzzed again as she studied it. Was he calling to cancel?

“Answer it!” Riley urged her.

Taking a deep breath she answered the call. “Hello.”

“Hi. Shelby?”

“Yep, it’s me.”

“Jake here. From the coffee shop the other day.”

“I know.” She smiled. “How are you?”

“Good. Listen. I was thinking about tomorrow…”

He was canceling. And damned if a small wave of disappointment didn’t wash over her.

“And if we want to fool your boss into thinking we actually have a relationship, we might need to know a little more about each other. So I thought maybe we should get together for a drink.”

“Uh…when?” She sat up straight, her mind racing.

“Tonight. In an hour? Or is that too short notice?”

She looked at her friends around the table all watching expectantly. “I’m with my friends right now. We just finished dinner.”

“Oh.”

“Let me just check with them about any plans for tonight.” She lowered the cell phone down beside her chair and whispered, “He wants to meet for a drink. Tonight!”

“Go!” they all said in unison.

“We’re done here,” Riley added. “And we didn’t have anything else planned for tonight.”

“I’m just going home,” Kiara said, folding her hands over her six-months-pregnant belly. “Adam’s not feeling well tonight. So go!”

Shelby bit her lip, studied Kiara’s serene face, her soft, brown hair lying on her shoulders, and briefly worried about the mention of Kiara’s husband not being well. Seven months ago Adam had been diagnosed with cancer and given only a few months to live. Only thirty-three years old, it was tragic. He and Kiara had demonstrated amazing strength and determination and love since then. They’d made some difficult choices that Shelby and her other friends had questioned among themselves, though never to Kiara’s and Adam’s faces. They were living the rest of Adam’s life the way they wanted to, even though things were going to be difficult for Kiara.

Then she lifted the phone to her ear again. “Okay, that works,” she said to Jake. “And you’re right, it would be a good idea.”

“There’s a little bar on the corner of Juniper and Sequoia. Amigos. Let’s meet there.”

“I know it. Sure.” She glanced at her watch. More insanity. “About nine o’clock?”

“Yeah. That sounds good.”

She lowered her phone to the table and gulped. Holy crap. Her body quivered.

“He thinks we should know a little more about each other so we can be convincing tomorrow.”

Myra folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, smirking. “See?”

Shelby scowled, her insides all fluttery. “I see nothing.”

“Well, he’s not going to stand you up,” Kiara said in her gentle manner. “If he wants to see you tonight.”

“This is not a date. Tomorrow is not a date either. He’s doing me a favor, probably because he feels sorry for me.”

And she wasn’t looking for a real boyfriend, anyway. She’d had enough of guys who’d only been interested in one thing. And it wasn’t her mind. She was entirely focused on her career, putting in long hours to prove she was able to take on all these assignments and projects Andrew kept giving her. She was determined to make a success of this job after what had happened with her last one.

In a way, it really pissed her off that she had to go to such lengths to get her damn boss off her back and let her be successful at her career on her own merits. Geez. Why did things have to be so freakin’ complicated?

“Yeah. Sorry for you. I’m sure that’s how he’s feeling,” Myra said, still smirking.

“Oh crap.” Shelby blew out a breath. “Don’t even start. You know my track record with men.”

“Oh, Shelby. You can’t let what happened with Mark turn you against all men.”

“It wasn’t just Mark.” She rolled her eyes. “And you know it.” A knot of pain lodged in her chest. In the past, she’d had the unfortunate tendency to fall into bed with guys. To equate sex with affection. And to then be hurt when she never heard from them again. Dammit.

“She has had a string of bad luck,” Kiara said to the other women.

“I know,” Riley said. “If we looked like her, we’d probably have the same problem. Instead of guys lining up outside my door, I can’t even find one guy to go out with.” She sighed dramatically.

“That is not true, Riley.” Shelby shook her head. “You’re just too picky.”

Riley snorted. “Yeah. Right.”

“You are. No guy ever meets your high expectations. Anyway.” Shelby leaned down and picked up her purse from the floor. “I better go. I need to change.”

“Shelby!” Riley exchanged amused glances with Myra and Kiara. “Why are you going home to change? It’s not a date!”

Shelby pressed her lips together, glad they’d already taken care of the bill so she could escape. “I know, but…but…oh never mind.” With a scowl she couldn’t stop from tipping up into a smile, she waved a hand as she hurried out of the restaurant.

Amigo’s was a fun, casual place, and she didn’t want to show up there in her suit and silk blouse. She took a mental inventory of her wardrobe as she drove home. Her new jeans, the flowery pink and blue top and her favorite shoes, the dusty-pink stilettos—that’s what she’d wear. Then she planned her time, something she was very good at, quickly coming up with a plan of action that would get her out the door, dressed, hair and makeup done, and to the bar by nine o’clock.

She did it, of course. Her anal tendencies—no, she was supposed to call it detail oriented—were what made her such an excellent project manager. She walked into Amigos at exactly nine o’clock and looked around the dimly lit bar for Jake.

He was there, sitting at a table for two in the back. She started toward him before he saw her, taking the opportunity to admire him—his strong jaw with that sexy dimple right in the middle, his chiseled nose and cheekbones. He was probably nearly a foot taller than her five foot two, and wide through the shoulders. He wore his dark brown hair long on top, artfully messy, with neat sideburns. He had a definite presence, an air of masculine confidence, but he sat there staring into space looking almost sad.

Her footsteps slowed. His expression tugged at something inside her.

An axe murderer. She smiled as she recalled his comment. Yes, she’d been cautious when he’d suggested picking her up at her home, because really, she didn’t know him from a hole in the ground, but she had no doubts he was an upstanding citizen—professional, successful, judging by the quality of the suit he’d had on, the Baume & Mercier watch on his wrist, the hi-tech phone he carried. He was well spoken, confident, and dammit, sexy as hell.

He looked up and spotted her, and the lost boy look changed into a warm, sexy smile that had her tummy fluttering.

Uh-uh. So not happening.

But she couldn’t help smiling in return as she dropped into the other chair at the table and hung her soft leather purse over the arm rest.

“Hi.” He held a beer between two hands. “I already ordered, but we’ll find the waiter and get you something right away. What would you like?”

“Um. A glass of wine, I guess. Chardonnay.”

Jake lifted a hand, and someone came over immediately. A pretty waitress with an eager smile for him. Sure. Shelby would just bet he got great service wherever he went, especially from females.

“So,” he said, after he’d ordered her wine. “I guess we need to get to know each other.”

“Yes.” She glanced at her watch. “We should be able to cover a lot of the basics pretty quickly.”

He grinned. “Efficient, aren’t you?”

She gave him a pleased smile. “Yes I am. Efficient is my middle name.”

“I’ll remember that tomorrow if someone asks me.”

She laughed and held up her hands. “Okay, okay. My middle name is really Rose. What’s yours? And what’s your last name, by the way?”

“Yeah, last names would be good to know.” He shook his head and smiled ruefully. “Jacob James Magill. I’m thirty years old; I’m a Senior Business Analyst and team leader at Coast Power Inc. Single, never married. I enjoy basketball and hockey—playing and watching—I’m a triathlete and I like to play Texas Hold’em with my friends.”

She laughed again. “You sound like a singles ad.”

He grinned. “Those are the basics. Now you.”

“Shelby Rose Leighton. I’m a project manager, as you know. I’m twenty-eight years old, and I could probably kick your butt at Texas Hold’em.”

His grin nearly melted her panties. “In your dreams, blondie.”

She shifted in her seat, feeling very warm and charmed by his easy teasing and sexy smile. “There’s something we have in common if anyone asks.”

“Favorite food?” he asked.

“Ice cream. I live for ice cream. Butter pecan is my favorite. You?”

“Steak. Well, any kind of beef. Rare.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Eeew.”

“Are you vegetarian?”

“No, I eat meat, I just don’t like to see blood on my plate. Favorite drink?” She nodded at the beer in his hand.

“Yup, this is it. Surf Coast Pale Ale. Yours?”

She lifted her wine glass with a smile. “Though I’m pretty addicted to caffeine.”

“Another thing in common,” he said. “So if anyone asks, that’s where we met, right? Java the Hut.”

“Right. Over our mutual appreciation of fine coffee. Um…family? Parents? Brothers? Sisters?”

A shadow darkened his eyes briefly, and she caught a glimpse of pain and vulnerability that made her insides soften and warm. Then the corners of his mouth turned up. “I have three sisters.”

Her eyes widened. “Omigod. Really?”

“You bet. I’m the youngest. They tortured me with unbelievable cruelty when we were kids. Curled my hair, painted my nails.”

She choked on a laugh and eyed his large masculine shape. “That seems very unbelievable.”

“I wasn’t always this size.” One big shoulder lifted and the smile still hovered on his lips. “There was a time when all three of them were bigger than me. No longer, I’m happy to say, and they don’t get away with that shit anymore.”

She sensed the affection for his sisters in his tone and dammit, she liked it. She liked the confidence he had in himself and his masculinity to share something like that with her.

“They’re all married now and I have eight nieces and nephews.”

She tipped her head to one side. “Holy crap. That must make for some crazy family get-togethers.”

“Well. We don’t get together that much.” He looked down at his beer, then back up. “We kind of lost touch when I was about fourteen. My mom left and took my sisters with her.”

Shelby could only blink at him in disbelief and dismay. “She took your sisters with her? But not you?”

He gave a careless shrug. “Yeah. She said she didn’t know what to do with a teenage boy. Thought I’d be better off with my dad. Who she didn’t want to be married to anymore.”

Her heart squeezed. She knew what it was like to feel unwanted, but that was just because her parents had basically ignored her. To be the one child left behind…how awful. How rejected and abandoned he must have felt.

“But I’ve connected with my sisters again,” he said with a smile. “It wasn’t their fault, what happened. My mom’s gone now, but I see my sisters and all my nieces and nephews sometimes.”

“That’s good.”

“What about you?”

“I’m an only child and my parents are separated. For the time being.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

“They have an unusual relationship,” she said carefully. “I guess what you’d call a love-hate relationship. When they’re together, they’re crazy for each other, then they start fighting, like, really fighting—doors slamming, things being thrown, smashing dishes—and then they split up. But when they’re apart, they’re even more miserable, so it usually doesn’t last long. I think this might be the seventh or eighth time they’ve split up.”

“Wow.”

“I know.” She smiled ruefully and hitched a shoulder. “What can you do?”

“Your hobbies?” he asked.

“I don’t have time for much fun these days. Too busy working. I do things with my girlfriends. I guess they’re kind of like my family. I’ve never been athletic, like you, but I do run to stay fit.”

“Do we run together?” he asked, arching a brow. She laughed at the crazy question.

“No.” She gave her head a firm shake. “You’d leave me in the dust with those long legs. But I am pretty good at poker and I like dancing.”

“Dancing. Ugh.”

Their eyes met and even though they had different opinions on dancing, amusement shimmered between them.

“I’m trying to get you to take ballroom dancing lessons with me,” she said, tapping her chin. “Because we watch Dancing with the Stars together and I want to dance like that.”

Now he gave a shout of laughter. “Dancing with the Stars, huh? Okay, honey.”

This was fun. Even though it wasn’t real. Maybe because it wasn’t real, it took away all the pressure of a real date, of really trying to get to know someone. Shelby had never felt so relaxed with a guy. Though awareness of him did create a few tingles. His big hands holding the beer bottle were lightly sprinkled with dark brown hair, his fingers long, nails neat and trimmed short, but definitely not manicured. The cuffs of his loose button-up shirt were folded back on strong forearms and she swallowed hard as her eyes moved over bulging biceps and the open neck of his shirt.

“So how long have we known each other?” he asked.

“Hmm. When do you think we first saw each other at Java the Hut?”

“April twenty-fifth.”

She blinked at him, her smile fading. “April twenty-fifth? Really?”

His cheekbones darkened, but he maintained the cheeky grin. “I remember it well. It was the day I got promoted to Senior Business Analyst.”

“Ah.” Whoa. For a minute there, she’d been a bit freaked out that he remembered the exact date they met. “Okay. Let’s go with that. We had coffee a few times, started dating.”

“Sounds good.”

They looked at each other, and the music and loud chatter in the bar muted, the rest of the room shrank away into dark corners, leaving them sitting in a circle of awareness at the small round table. Shelby dropped her gaze to the table then lifted it again, a tentative smile touching her lips. She licked them, then wished she hadn’t as Jake’s gaze fell to her mouth.

Heat slid down inside her, pooling between her thighs. Oh heavens. She was getting all girly mushy and this wasn’t even a real date. Shit.

“What kind of movies do you like?” Jake finally asked, his voice taking on a faintly rough edge.

They chatted about movies and music and their work. He convinced her to order another drink, and pleasantly mellow from the wine and a little beguiled by his charisma, she was happy to sit there and talk. He was so easy to talk to. He didn’t make her feel stupid. And though he’d given her admiring glances, he really hadn’t looked lower than her mouth, unlike most guys who seemed to think they had to talk to her boobs. His interest in what she had to say seemed genuine, and that was probably the sexiest thing about him.

She was tired of guys who thought she was a brainless, big-boobed blonde, guys like the last few she’d dated who’d never called again once they’d gotten her into bed. Guys who didn’t want to talk about current events or even play a smart game of poker unless it involved the removal of clothing.

She bit her lip as the thought entered her mind that maybe Jake was expecting more than she’d planned. It seemed far-fetched that he was going to all this trouble out of the goodness of his heart. For her.

“I have to go,” she said, standing so fast her chair wobbled. She grabbed her purse and forced a smile. “Sorry, but I have work to do in the morning.”

“Saturday?” He stood too, although more slowly, a faint frown creasing between his eyes.

“Yes.” She nodded vigorously.

She opened her purse and dug for her wallet, intending to pay for her drinks. He laid a gentle hand on her arm, and she paused, lifted her eyes to his face.

“I’ve got it,” he said quietly.

“No. I want to pay.” She rummaged farther, lips pressed together. She did not want to owe him more than she already did for agreeing to do this. Lord knew what he’d expect in return for drinks. Her stomach clenched painfully and she tossed a bill onto the table. “There.” She flashed him her brightest smile. “Thanks again for doing this.” She made her voice cool and brisk. She extended a hand to him and, after a brief pause, he took it. She gave a firm shake then released it. “We’ll still meet at the North Beach parking lot?”

“Uh. Yeah. Sure.”

“Great. See you then.”

Chapter Three

“Hey, Mom! I’m here. And I brought you cookies.”

Silence greeted Shelby as she let herself into the house where she’d grown up, where her mom still lived, at the moment alone.

“Mom? You home?”

Shelby frowned at the lack of response. She’d told her mom she’d drop over Saturday for a little while. Why wasn’t she here? Then she heard muffled noises down the hall of the spacious bungalow. She moved through the front foyer, through the living room and paused, listening. Her heart picked up its pace a little. Was her mom okay?

“Shelby?” Mom’s voice called from her bedroom down the hall.

“Yeah, it’s me. You okay, Mom?”

“Fine, fine. Just hang on a sec.”

Shelby let out the breath she’d been holding and walked into the kitchen. She set the container of chocolate-chip cookies on the counter. Breakfast dishes still sat there—a couple of plates, knives, two coffee mugs.

She turned at the sound of her mother entering the kitchen. “Hi,” she said, smiling. Her mom was tying a robe around her waist and her short, blonde hair stood up all over her head. Her cheeks were pink. “Um…did I come at a bad time?”

“Oh no. Well. I forgot you were coming.”

No surprise there. Shelby tried to keep the corners of her mouth from turning down. But when her dad appeared in the doorway behind her mom, she saw why she’d forgotten. She sighed.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hi, Shelby sweetie. What’re you doing here?”

“I made cookies this morning. I brought some for Mom.”

“That’s so sweet of you,” Mom said. “You make such good cookies.”

Shelby wasn’t sure why, at her age, she still made these stupid little efforts to please her parents. She should have moved past that, shouldn’t have the need for their approval anymore, but it seemed that she liked to continue to torture herself. She knew her mom would eat the cookies or serve them to guests without even remembering Shelby had made them. Her mom hadn’t even remembered she was coming that afternoon.

She would’ve asked her dad what he was doing there, but it was pretty obvious. “Are you getting back together?” she asked.

“Yes.” Her mom beamed and shot a smile over her shoulder at Dad. “We already are. Your father moved back in yesterday.”

“Wonderful.”

Her mom frowned. “You don’t sound very happy for us.”

What could she say? Wasn’t it always better when love triumphed? When a marriage survived, got another chance? But she knew it wouldn’t last, and sometimes she wondered if it wouldn’t just be better if they split up for good and quit riding this rollercoaster they’d turned their lives into. “Of course I’m happy for you,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks for dropping in,” Mom said.

“And for the cookies,” Dad added.

Okay then. So much for maybe a cup of coffee, a cookie and a little chit-chat. “You’re welcome. I have to go now. I have a company picnic to go to later this afternoon.”

“Oh, how nice. That RBM seems like such a nice place to work for.”

“I don’t work there anymore, Mom,” she said patiently. “Remember? I left there a year ago. Now I’m at Gold Shield Insurance.”

“Oh, of course!” Her mom slapped her forehead. “I’m so scattered! I knew that.”

Shelby smiled and nodded. “Well, I’ll talk to you both later.”

She paused outside the front door and closed her eyes, sucked in a deep breath and let it out, then shrugged her shoulders. Maybe this time things would be different for them and they’d be happy together. And maybe she’d win the fifty-million-dollar lotto this weekend.

Jake waited in the parking lot for Shelby Saturday afternoon, leaning against the fender of his SUV in the warm summer sun, wondering what the hell he was doing there.

He wasn’t exactly the knight-in-shining-armor type. One girl he’d dated had called him a player, a term that made even his lip curl, but hey, he wasn’t looking for a relationship, just fun and a little companionship sometimes, and yeah, sex. He tried to make sure the women he hooked up with felt the same, made it clear upfront whenever he met someone, so there were no hard feelings, except sometimes, there were hard feelings. Girls got all emotionally involved even though they knew they shouldn’t, said they wouldn’t, and then they blamed him when he had to pull the plug.

So doing a good deed like this was a little out of character for him, and he had to question his own motives. Shelby was a hot blonde he’d been eyeing with interest for months. Was he just using this as an excuse to get into her panties?

He rubbed his face, adjusted the sunglasses sitting on his nose. Hell, he didn’t even know why he’d made this crazy offer. But he was here and he had to go through with it. After this, she’d be on her own. She’d have to find some other way to get her dickhead boss off her case.

But, man, he hated to think of some asshole doing that to anyone. Whatever. The world was full of assholes and she was a big girl. Well, not literally. Literally, she was a tiny little thing, a blonde kitten in pink high heels.

A kitten he’d been thinking about since last night. Last night had been fun.

He straightened and glanced at his watch. One minute before three o’clock. He paced to the back of his vehicle, watching the parking lot, hands shoved into his jeans pockets.

It had been fun until suddenly out of the blue, it was as if she’d thrown up a wall of ice and had practically sprinted out of the bar. He’d racked his brain the rest of the evening trying to figure out what he’d said that had shut things down so fast, and couldn’t come up with a damn thing.

Far be it from him to pretend to understand women. His track record in that area was pretty pathetic.

A car turned into the lot, a little silver Pontiac GT convertible, exactly on time, and his body went on alert, a small adrenaline rush singing through his veins. The car slowly approached, pulled into the spot next to his and he recognized that gleaming blonde hair.

She emerged a moment later, slammed her car door shut and, as she walked toward him, held her remote over her shoulder and locked the doors with a chirp. She wore jeans, like he did, sitting low on her hips and rolled up above her ankle. Instead of pink heels, today she wore pink flip flops, and a modest tank top hugged her body, not hiding her impressive chest but certainly not displaying it in an overtly sexy way. She was sexy nonetheless. Christ, she could dress in a sack and she’d still be sexy as hell. What was it about her? Yes, she was pretty, with a sweet oval face, plump lips and big eyes, and yes, she was blonde, though her long hair was straight and silky, not teased and bimbo-big. And though she was small, she was definitely stacked and probably had a cute ass, too, in those jeans.

But there was more to it than that, and damned if he could put his finger on what it was.

She greeted him with a determinedly cheerful smile. “Hi. You came.”

He lifted a brow. “You thought I wouldn’t?”

“I wondered. I still don’t know why you’re helping me like this.” She gave him an assessing glance. “But I do appreciate it.”

“Wait till the day’s over,” he said, setting his fingertips on her lower back and directing her around to the passenger side of his vehicle. “If we convince your boss you’re taken and get him to lay off, then you can thank me.”

She laughed. “Okay.”

He drove the short distance to Pacific Park, the big, beachside park where the picnic was being held, and soon they pulled into another parking lot, already half-filled with vehicles.

“It’s a nice day for this,” Shelby commented as they walked toward the crowd of people. The scent of hot dogs and hamburgers floated in the warm summer air. The laughter and cries of children could be heard from a distance, and as they approached the group, Jake saw the kids being organized into some kind of race.

“Seems like a good turnout.”

He reached for her hand and she started as he closed his fingers around hers. She shot him a glance and he smiled reassuringly. Hey, they had to make it believable.

Her hand, small and cool, relaxed in his.

As Shelby began to mingle with her coworkers, Jake trailed after her, being introduced to a bunch of strangers. He didn’t know a soul there. This could be a long evening. Ah well. Maybe they’d get a chance to be alone for a while and…

And what?

All they had to do was convince the boss they were in a relationship—they didn’t have to actually have a relationship. But the memory of how much fun he’d had talking to her last night tugged at him and made him strangely want more.

And where was the slimeball boss anyway? Shelby had never mentioned his name so how was he going to know when she introduced them to each other? She’d likely say something. He checked out the crowd.

Lots of people—men, women, kids—laughed and talked in the sunshine. This was a nice corporate event.

Shelby introduced him to more people and he couldn’t help but notice that everyone treated her very…carefully. They were polite and friendly, yeah, but distant. Almost cool. And then he remembered her comment about how things were getting uncomfortable at work because of the favoritism her boss was showing her.

Anger surged in him. Didn’t the asshole realize what he was doing to sweet little Shelby? Jesus. He wanted to curl his hands into fists and his fingers tightened around Shelby’s so much she shot him an inquisitive glance. He smiled as they made small talk with her coworkers.

And then across the crowd he saw her.

His old girlfriend. The one who’d dumped him for his best friend. His heart lurched into a wildly unsteady rhythm and his gut tightened painfully. Christ. What the hell was she doing here?

He didn’t want to see her. Ever again.

Jesus. He had to get the fuck out of here. Now. He looked down at Shelby and opened his mouth, but she was laughing at something someone had said.

They couldn’t leave. He’d committed to this, and they were here and he had to see this through. He swiped a hand across his sweaty forehead.

But wait. Maybe it would be good for his ex to see him with a hot little blonde on his arm. Show her he was over her.

He wasn’t. He wasn’t over her betrayal and he wasn’t over being betrayed by his best friend either. The two of them had screwed him over so badly and the old anger, humiliation and hurt rose inside him. He wasn’t listening to the conversation, had no idea what was going on, just stood there in a fog of growing panic, until Shelby finally pulled him away from the group.

“You’re breaking my hand,” she muttered, trying to extricate her fingers from his. “Geez, Jake.”

“Sorry.” He released her fingers and dragged a hand through his hair, trying not to look at Gianna, and failing.

“Are you okay?” Shelby demanded in a low voice, though she kept a smile firmly in place.

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” He was sweating as if he’d just run 20K of a triathlon.

“My boss is over there,” she whispered. “Let’s go say hi.”

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Let’s get this the hell over with and get the fuck out of here. But what if…what if…

And then his “what if” became reality as Shelby led him over to—Gianna. And Andrew. Ex-girlfriend and former best friend. Standing there, their smiles fading as Shelby approached and they saw him.

“Hi, Andrew.” Shelby stopped in front of them. “Hi, Gianna, how are you?”

Gianna gazed at Shelby, glanced sideways at Andrew, then focused on Jake. “Hello, Shelby. I’m fine, thanks.”

“I want you to meet my…boyfriend, Jake Magill.” The hesitation was barely perceptible. “Jake, this is Andrew Haddon, my boss, and his wife, Gianna.”

“We know each other,” Andrew said, his expression wary.

Jake plastered on a smile. “Andrew! Gianna! Good to see you!” He could not fucking believe this was Shelby’s boss. His mind worked furiously to process all that was happening.

“You’ve met?” Shelby repeated, a cute crease between her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Long time ago,” Jake said breezily, waving a hand, still smiling so hard his face hurt. He did not want to get into all that old shit right then and there. Jesus. Sweat trickled down his back and his underarms prickled. “How are you?”

“Great,” Andrew said, though he kept looking back and forth between Jake and Shelby. “I can’t believe Jake is your new boyfriend, Shelby.”

Shelby smiled and Jake had to hand it to her—out of all of them she was the only one who seemed relaxed and at ease. She was apparently a talented actress. He, meanwhile, was totally screwing this up, flummoxed by learning who her boss was.

He flicked a glance at Gianna, as stunning as ever, her glossy, dark hair sliding over her shoulders, bare in a little baby doll top with narrow straps and a pair of short shorts that showed off her long, tanned legs. When he met her eyes, dark and delicious, what he saw there made him freeze. Pity.

She fucking felt sorry for him!

That was hard to swallow. He’d tried to so hard to be big about the whole thing, to not let on how heartbroken he’d been when she dumped him. He’d tried not to stand in the way of “true love”, had stepped aside as graciously as he could so they could be together. But still, she pitied him? Argh. That really blew.

The tension was as thick as chowder, but Shelby chatted on about the beautiful day and the great turnout, thankfully not asking questions about how he and Andrew and Gianna knew each other.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” she said to Gianna.

“Oh?” Gianna dragged her gaze away from Jake and lifted a brow. “Why would you think that?”

“Oh, uh…” For the first time, Shelby stumbled. “Something Andrew said.” She quickly changed the subject.

Finally Jake got a grip on the situation. He wasn’t helping Shelby much, standing there with his mouth open. He dragged his gaze away from Gianna’s dark beauty and slid his arm around Shelby’s waist. Gianna didn’t need to feel fucking sorry him, for Chrissake, and having a hot, little blonde under his arm would show her that. Show her that he was so over what had happened.

Andrew’s scowl could have singed his hair, startling Jake. What the hell was he upset about? Jake was the one who’d been dumped. Betrayed. Now Andrew was trying to cheat on Gianna? Jesus! Focusing his thoughts, Jake zeroed in on the remembrance that Andrew and Gianna’s marriage might be in trouble, from what Shelby had told him.

Well, there was no fucking way Andrew was going to cheat on Gianna with Shelby! Not for Gianna’s sake and not for Shelby’s sake either. He tightened his hold on her and dropped a kiss to the top of her silky blonde head for good measure, deepening Andrew’s scowl and causing a funny look on Gianna’s face. He smiled at them, to show them how happy he was.

This was so screwed up. How the hell had he gotten himself into this mess?

Shelby smiled brightly as she made casual party chit-chat with the other couple.

“The food smells really good,” she finally said and smiled up at Jake. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

He smiled back at her. “Good idea, Shelby Rose.” He looked at Andrew and Gianna and gave them a bared-teeth kind of smile, earning a startled glance from Shelby. “Nice to see you again.”

“You too, buddy.” Andrew wore a faintly puzzled frown as he said good-bye.

As they walked hand in hand toward the tables loaded with food, Shelby blew out a long breath. “That was awkward.”

“No shit.”

“Um…how do you know them?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Long story. Ancient history.”

She nodded and he knew she was curious but didn’t ask anything more, thank god.

“‘Shelby Rose’?” she murmured.

He grinned. “I like it.”

She shook her head, smiling, but then as they stood in line waiting for hot dogs, she went onto her tiptoes and whispered, “Thank you so much.” Then she bit her lip, casting an anxious glance back at Andrew. “He looked kind of annoyed.”

“Yeah.” Jake’s voice came out flat. “He did. You were right, Shelby. He did not like seeing you with me.”

She lifted onto her toes again—wearing flip flops, she was so little, it was kinda cute how she had to stretch up—and kissed his jaw. He slid his arm around her again and pulled her up against him, bending his head to kiss her mouth. And he hoped like hell Andrew and Gianna were watching.

Chapter Four

Jake’s mouth brushed over hers, his lips warm and firm and whoa, heat washed down through her in a shocking rush. Even though she knew it was an act, and she hoped Andrew was watching, having Jake’s arm around her and his mouth on hers felt really, really good. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest, nerves stretched tight at the importance of convincing Andrew she and Jake were a couple, but also with the sexual tension buzzing between them. Dammit.

Jake released her with a sexy smile and she blinked and tried to focus.

She’d been prepared for Andrew to be annoyed, but man, the black look on his face had almost scared her. Was he that pissed off about her seeing someone else? If so, this was worse than she’d thought.

And with his wife standing right there beside him! Though Gianna’d looked a little gobsmacked, too. Shelby couldn’t figure that out, but didn’t have time to pause and think about it much as she tried to maintain the act between her and Jake.

They moved forward in the line, filled their plates with hotdogs, salads and potato chips, accepted plastic cups of beer from the makeshift bar set up, and found a place to sit at one of the wooden picnic tables, sitting across from one another.

Shelby studied Jake as he lifted his hotdog to his mouth. He’d looked so disturbed. Was it because Andrew had been so annoyed? Something soft and warm unfurled inside her. He actually cared about her. Even though they didn’t know each other, he was glad he’d helped her, she could tell.

She looked down at her plate momentarily, feeling strangely emotional. This whole situation was stressful. Her coworkers, while not openly hostile toward her, weren’t exactly friendly. She had to force herself to act all cheerful and friendly, while her insides were tight and knotted. Added to that, the stress of introducing Andrew to Jake, anticipating how displeased her boss was going to be, and she was strung as taut as the finish line at the kids’ races. Jake’s support in a world where she felt out of place and unwelcome made her go all mushy and warm inside.

She sucked briefly on her bottom lip, then took a fast breath, blew it out and straightened her shoulders. She lifted her head and smiled at Jake.

“So, Shelby, is this your boyfriend?” Susan, Andrew’s secretary, sat down beside her.

Shelby smiled at Susan, a bit surprised but grateful for her new friendliness. “Yes. Susan, this is Jake Magill. Jake, Susan.” Susan introduced her husband, Steve.

“I didn’t know you were seeing someone,” Susan said, and Shelby knew exactly what she was thinking. She was thinking about Shelby’s long coffee breaks and closed door meetings with Andrew. “How long have you two been going out?”

Good thing they’d gotten together and covered this last night. They managed to answer Susan’s questions and chat with the other couple. Another couple joined them and even though the conversation became shop talk, Jake was able to participate with his technology background. In fact, he charmed the other people so much, they seemed to be relaxing and warming to her too. Shelby had to shake her head. Man, if this was what it took to get her coworkers to like her…well, it’s not like she could’ve come up with a fake date before this, but her gratitude toward Jake continued to grow. Dammit again.

After they ate, they mingled with other coworkers. These were good people, a lot of people she liked and respected, one of the reasons she enjoyed working at Gold Shield. She just wanted to fit in with them and not be the subject of icky gossip.

She and Jake schmoozed with some of the higher-ups from the company in a relaxed social atmosphere, watched the band that played, danced in the grass as the sun set and the crowd grew smaller. Families with small children left, leaving only the adults, and eventually the sky darkened, stars twinkling above, and the music grew slower and sultrier, accompanied by hushed waves washing onto the beach not far away. Jake had done his duty and they could leave, but still they danced in the warm summer evening.

Andrew and Gianna danced together too, several couples away from them, Shelby fully aware of the glances the two of them kept shooting at her and Jake. So she linked her arms around Jake’s neck and pressed her body against him. A few beers had mellowed her, and hell, his body felt so damn good against hers. Those troublesome sexual urges that so often got her into trouble were rising up inside her, making her pelvis feel full and achy, making her breasts need to press into his chest.

“You’re just a little thing, aren’t you?” Jake set his hands on her hips as they moved to the music and smiled his sexy smile down at her, his dark eyes heavy-lidded and sensual. They were both putting on a good act, but Shelby knew she was kidding herself. This was no act. She was so attracted to Jake. More than attracted. His charming personality, the easy way he talked to her coworkers, just the way he’d stepped in to help her and how he’d been so convincing in his role as her boyfriend drew her to him.

She could pretend this was all just an act. Yeah. When the evening ended and they parted, Jake’s favor over and done with, she’d be fine. But right now, pretending was so much fun.

“I hope Andrew doesn’t give you a hard time at work next week,” Jake murmured, a small crease between his thick, straight eyebrows.

“I’m hoping he’ll just leave me alone. I mean, I still need to work with him. Well, you know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean, Shelby Rose.”

The way he called her that made her go all soft inside. They shared a slow smile, gazes fastened on each other as they danced.

They drank another beer, chatted a bit more, danced again. As the evening grew cooler, Shelby slipped on a hoodie she’d brought. She almost forgot to be aware of where Andrew was, and whether he was watching them. As the crowd dwindled, she looked at Jake with regret.

“We could leave now,” she said softly. “I think our mission is accomplished.”

“Yeah. Okay.” He nodded and set down the cola he’d requested instead of beer last time. “I’ll drive you back to your car.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She hesitated. “You know, that wasn’t very smart of me, but I think I’ve had too much to drink.” She bit her bottom lip as she met his eyes. “I completely forgot I had to drive.”

“That’s okay. I’ll just drive you home then. Will you be able to get your car tomorrow?”

Things were pleasantly blurry as they walked hand in hand toward the parking lot. “Yeah, I’ll get it somehow. But thanks for driving me home. Geez, I feel so stupid.”

“You are far from stupid, Shelby Rose.”

“I like how you call me that,” she confessed. He opened the passenger door of his Audi SUV, and she paused. “Man, this is a high vehicle.”

“It is for an elf,” he said. “Here.” He lifted her and sat her on the passenger seat, then closed her door.

“Hey!” But he was walking around the vehicle to his side. She glared at him when he slid in and he grinned.

“I’m teasing.” He leaned over and brushed his mouth across hers, sending tingles cascading over her whole body. She blinked at him, then remembered to fasten her seatbelt.

He parked on the street in front of her apartment building in the quiet residential neighborhood and walked with her to the door. As she paused at the door, the shadows of the tall queen palm shifting moonlight over and around them, he slipped his fingers beneath her chin and lifted her face. She stared back at him, her gaze moving over his dark eyes, crinkled at the corners as he smiled, the cleft in the middle of his chin, the sexy curve of his lower lip. Oh. Her breath whooshed out of her.

Heat expanded, the air around them feeling like it might ignite, and then they were wrapped in each other’s arms, mouths fused together in a hot, impetuous kiss, bold, frantic and hungry.

His arms crushed her to him, her purse thunked to the ground and her feet lifted as he hauled her higher and tighter to his body.

“Jesus,” he muttered against her mouth, before taking it again in another devouring kiss. She kissed him back, mindless, frenzied. The sexual tension that had been smoldering inside her all evening burst into flames. Heat swept over her.

His tongue dragged over hers, licked her bottom lip, then his mouth sealed over hers again. An intense ache bloomed low in her belly, and she slid her hands into his hair, holding his head, and she kissed him back, a full-mouthed, full-bodied kiss that had more heat exploding between them.

Eventually, she pulled back, panting, heart hammering, and gasped, “Wait.”

He made a sound like a groan.

“We don’t have to do this,” she wheezed. “This was supposed to be an act.”

He made a derisive noise. “Yeah. It was supposed to be. But don’t tell me you don’t feel it too, Shelby Rose.”

His hands tightened on her ass, pulling her against him, and she felt his erection against her belly. Holy crap, he was big. She’d made him that hard. And he’d made her so wet her panties were soaked. You couldn’t fake that kind of reaction. She gazed up at him, uncertain of what to do now.

“Invite me in,” he ordered softly.

She licked her lips. She wanted to, she really, really did, but she’d made this mistake before. Slept with guys too soon, because they got her all hot and bothered, because dammit she liked men, and she loved sex. Her friends had analyzed to death her tendency to fall into bed with men and she knew it had to do with wanting attention from them, and she was determined she was done with all that. But all those old doubts fell away when she studied him, remembering what he’d done for her that evening, how he’d helped her, how he’d really cared that she fixed things with her boss, and a tender warmth spread through her. She was lost.

“Okay.” She bent to pick up her purse where she’d dropped it, but he was faster scooping it up and handing it to her. She took it, dragged her eyes off his face, and led the way through the small lobby toward the elevator.

“Third floor,” she murmured inside, and he punched the button. Awareness crackled around them in the small space and then they were all over each other again, kissing in deep, wet, sliding kisses. Her hands dug into his big shoulders and she gasped when he spun her around and pressed her against the elevator wall with his body. Dear god in heaven, that felt good, his big, strong body crushing her, and she strained to get closer still. He lifted one of her legs up to rest on his thigh and oh yes, that was so very good, with added pressure right between her legs.

The elevator doors slid open and they fell out, still clutching each other, and somehow stumbled down the hall to the door of her apartment. Lust and adrenaline surged through her veins like liquid heat as she tried to get her key in the lock with shaking hands. He crowded her from behind, nuzzling her hair, and then the door opened and they surged inside. Jake kicked the door closed behind him.

She should have been nervous, afraid even, of bringing a stranger into her apartment, especially someone who was so dominant and big and almost overwhelming, but all she could think of was that she wanted to strip him naked and lick him all over.

Foreplay had apparently been occurring over the course of the picnic, with the sexy dancing and touches and heated looks they’d shared all for the purpose of convincing people they were actually together. Now heat had built to the point of combustion and neither of them needed, nor wanted, to wait any longer.

Clothes flew off on the way to the bedroom between hot kisses, her tank top landing on the hall floor, his T-shirt on the knob of the bathroom door. She’d left the hall light on, and some light spilled into her dark bedroom as somehow they found their way in there, hands all over each other.

“Christ, you’ve got me so hot, I don’t even know my own name,” Jake muttered against her jaw.

“Oh I know.” She moaned at the rough texture of his beard stubble against her face. “Me too.”

He caught her chin in one hand and turned her face back to his for another long, heated kiss, his other hand finding the button of her jeans. His fingers slipped inside, pushing the zipper down, his fingertips just brushing the edge of her panties. She moaned again.

His fingers slid down from her jaw to gently cup her throat in a dominant, possessive gesture that sent a ripple of excitement through her as they continued to kiss, mouths moving together. His tongue slid into her mouth, tasting faintly of the cola he’d been drinking earlier, dark and sweet. Then he trailed his fingertips down between her breasts, which ached and swelled in the lacy cups of her bra. She rubbed against him, bringing forth a low growl.

He pulled back a bit and looked down between them. “Sweet god have mercy,” he whispered, just staring at her breasts.

Yes, guys generally loved her breasts. And because this was the first time Jake had appeared to even notice them, she was inordinately happy that he was so appreciative, and affection for him swelled even bigger inside her.

He studied them, then slid both hands up to cup them, almost reverently. He pushed them together then rubbed his thumbs over her nipples through the lace, and heat flashed over every nerve ending.

“Very nice.” And then he grabbed her and picked her up. With a small shriek, she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his head, and he carried her over to her bed. “You’ve got me so hot, I can’t fucking wait,” he growled. “This first time isn’t gonna be slow and gentle, sweetheart.”

“That’s okay.” She landed on the bed and he kneeled beside her, grasping her jeans and dragging them down over her legs, leaving her in pink lace bra and matching thong. “I can’t wait either.”

This first time. She’d be crazy to let hope and affection mingle, like it did every other time she had sex with a man, knowing that he was probably like every other guy and once he’d gotten off, he’d be gone and she’d never see him again.

But really, wasn’t that what this was all about? He’d helped her out by pretending they were a couple and that was it. Done. Never to be seen again. So what did it matter if they had sex? Why couldn’t she have hot, one-night-stand sex with a gorgeous guy? And if she was going to, wasn’t it better that it was Jake instead of her boss?

Her pussy throbbed and burned with need for Jake, and she couldn’t stop him any more than she could have picked up that big SUV of his and tossed it. The admiration in his eyes as his gaze moved over her warmed her even more. He looked down her bare legs, trailed his fingertips over the edge of her panties and down one thigh, then slid his gaze up over her torso lingering again on her breasts.

“So pretty,” he said hoarsely. He stood, wrenched open his own jeans and dragged them off, kicked them aside. In his underwear, soft cotton stretched to bursting by what was inside, he fell down half beside her, half on top of her and started kissing her again.

His bare skin was hot against hers and her hands went to the satiny skin of his shoulders, fingers digging into the big muscles there, then her palms slid over hard bones. He was big, so big, and she loved it, loved the strength, the weight of him pinning her to the mattress, the heat emanating from him as he licked her mouth, his hand cupping her cheek.

“This is crazy,” she murmured, sliding her hands into his short hair, tipping her chin so he could kiss her neck.

“Hoo yeah. Crazy. You’re so sweet, Shelby Rose. So damn sweet.” He licked her neck with a long drag of his tongue and she melted into the mattress. Her breath soughed out of her and she closed her eyes, drifting away on a wave of sensual pleasure.

He moved over her, finding the clasp of her bra at her back, dragging it off her, down her arms. Her nipples tightened and tingled almost painfully.

“Sweet Jesus,” he whispered as he filled his hands with her now bare breasts.

Her nerve endings jumped and sensation sizzled across her skin. She arched into his touch, eyes closed, reveling in the drag of his palms over her nipples, the jolt of pleasure when he squeezed the soft flesh. So good, it felt soooooo good.

She whimpered, and oh dear lord, he kissed one nipple, licked it then sucked it into his mouth. Her whole body twitched as a streamer of sensation unfurled from nipple to pussy. He spent a long time suckling at her breasts, moving from one to the other, plumping them up with one hand as he tasted the tender tips, until she was a writhing mass of ecstasy, making soft, little pleading noises.

“Not this first time,” he muttered, his voice low and raspy. “But some time, I wanna fuck your breasts.”

Lust sliced through her at his incendiary words. Geez, no one had ever done that to her, but it sounded hot. So hot. She was already burning up from his words, his touch. He pressed his face between her breasts, inhaled deeply, then licked his way down her stomach, pausing at her belly button to flick the piercing there. “Nice,” he murmured.

He moved lower down the bed, and then his lips grazed the lacy edge of her panties. Oh, she was so wet, she knew it, and he was so close to where she needed his touch, but this was so intimate for their very first time. When he hooked his fingers into the strings at her hips, she wanted to stop him…but she didn’t. As if giving in to the inevitable, she lifted her butt so he could tug the panties down her legs.

He pushed her thighs apart and knelt between them, hand still resting on her quivering legs. He looked down at her and her pussy spasmed at the urgent lust on his face.

“You’re so wet,” he said. “So pretty and wet, Shelby Rose.”

He’d been calling her that all evening but at that moment, in this intensely intimate pose, it pulled at her heart. He slid a hand sideways and cupped her pussy gently, just holding her. She bit her bottom lip, tried to keep her eyes open and focused on him because he was so beautiful, his face tightened into lines of desire, his dark eyes glittering, a flush coloring his high cheekbones. She wanted to press up into his touch, to take what she needed, but she tried to lie still, gazing up at him, taking in his broad, powerfully muscled chest. Wow. Just…wow.

Chapter Five

“Can’t do it,” Jake muttered, inhaling the sweet scent of her pussy, filling his head with it. Excitement pounded in him, his balls tight from it. Jesus, you’d think he hadn’t had sex in years, he was so hot for her. Her plump folds, excitingly bare, pulsed into his palm. There was so much he wanted to do to her, but white-hot lust stabbed through him, his cock on fire. He had to be inside her. Now. “Can’t wait. Sorry, Shelby Rose.” He shifted his body over hers, lifting her knees, exposing her pretty pussy. He sucked in a breath at the sight of it. “Damn, I wish I could play longer, but I have to fuck you.”

“Yes!” Her voice broke on the word. “Yes, please.”

Her words inflamed him even more, and knowing she was just as desperate as he was even more of a turn on. He rose to his knees between her thighs, pushing her legs back and apart. He rubbed the head of his cock through those folds, and her pussy scalded him. “Shelby, sweetheart, you’re so wet.”

And then he realized he was bare. Fuck! He needed a goddamn condom. With a low growl he rolled away from her and off the bed, dropped to the floor to paw through his jeans for his wallet, where thankfully he found one. He rolled it on with urgent speed and returned to his place between her thighs.

She watched him, moaned when he found her center and pushed into her. “Tight,” he groaned. “Tight and hot. Take me in, baby. Take me.”

“Yes. Yes.”

“Don’t wanna hurt you.”

“No, it’s good. It’s so good, Jake.”

He drove in deeper, his head going foggy, his vision blurred, pressure building and expanding inside him, pleasure racing through his veins and lighting up every nerve ending.

Her hands reached for him, pulled him closer, her hips lifting to his downstroke, meeting him push for push, making each stroke deeper, harder. She panted, watching him, her eyes dark and glazed. Perspiration beaded on his forehead, his chest, and his whole body tightened as pleasure spiraled.

She was gorgeous, not just lying there passively beneath him, but fucking him back, so damn hot he thought he was going to explode. He had to…make her…come. He reached between them, found her clit, a hard little knot, rubbed over it with his thumb. She made more little noises in her throat that were sexy as hell, and then he did explode, electricity shooting down his spine and out his cock.

Goddammit, he couldn’t tell if she came or not, his release taking over every sensation in his body. He gritted his teeth, dropped his head back and made noises of his own, low guttural sounds of pleasure.

When he’d emptied himself, he let out a long, heartfelt groan and tried to focus on Shelby’s face. Cheeks flushed, hair clinging damply to her forehead, eyes dazed, she lay there blinking up at him, her hands tightened around his biceps.

“Oh man, Shelby, I can’t believe I did that.”

She blinked again.

“That was way too fast,” he continued, lowering himself atop her, holding some of his weight on his elbows. “Did you come?”

Her lips parted but no words came out. Oh shit.

Then she whispered brokenly, “I think I still am.”

Oh yeah, he was Mr. Slick all right, just pounding into her and not even realizing she was still orgasming. As his body relaxed he became aware of her pussy pulsing around him. What the hell had happened to him? He’d lost his fucking mind.

“It’ll be better next time.” He kissed her mouth, a soft promise. “So much better.”

“If it’s any better, I’ll be dead,” she whispered, hands slipping up and down his back. Her eyelashes fluttered and he kissed her again. Okay, maybe it hadn’t been that bad for her. Maybe he hadn’t totally screwed up by screwing her. Ah hell.

He kept kissing her, dragging his tongue over her bottom lip, rubbing his lips over hers. Her breasts were like pillows against his chest. God, he could do her all night, a million different ways. He was getting hard again already and he was still inside her.

In a used rubber. With a sigh, he lifted his mouth from hers, brushed some hair off her face and smiled down at her. “Gotta get rid of the condom,” he said. “Bathroom?”

“Right there.” She waved a lethargic hand toward a door in the wall behind him. He slid out of her, not liking that feeling at all, not one bit, and heaved his still-tingling body off the bed. He strode into the small bathroom. The glare of the light he flicked on burned his retinas and he squeezed his eyes shut, then blinked a few times.

The bathroom was small but surprisingly luxurious with a separate shower and tub, but holy hell, what was all that crap all over the counter? His gaze moved over bottles of lotions and potions, jars and pots and about a dozen tubes of lipstick. Wow. She didn’t look that high maintenance but man, she had a whole Sephora store in there. Apparently she liked her girly stuff.

He got rid of the condom, washed up, looking past all the shampoos and lotions and cream to study his surroundings as he did so, liking the gray and taupe slate tiles on floor and walls, the sleek brushed-steel fixtures and thick charcoal towels. He made a face at himself in the wall of mirror behind the sink, hung the towel back on the holder and flicked out the light.

If he’d made one huge mistake by having sex with Shelby, he was about to compound it by about ten.

Or maybe not. She better have condoms. If she didn’t, he might cry.

She’d buried herself under the covers and he slid in under a puffy duvet and reached for her. She snuggled up to him as if they were magnetized, her body fitting itself to his in a pleasing cuddle. Huh. Cuddling wasn’t his thing either, but damn, she felt good and he was so not done with her.

“Shelby Rose.”

“Mmmm.”

“Do you have condoms?”

She went very still, then tipped her head back. “I don’t know.” She gave him a weak smile. “Um, why? You don’t?”

“Just used my only one.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Oh. I’ll go look.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t exactly plan this.”

She paused beside the bed, her body sweetly naked in the shadows. Lord have mercy, she was all curves and soft skin and shiny hair.

“I know,” she finally said, her voice sounding a bit funny, then she turned, giving him a view of the ass he’d wanted to see all night. And hoo yeah, it was worth the wait, firm high little buttocks he wanted to sink his teeth into. He swallowed a groan as he watched her walk into the bathroom. He heard the slide of a drawer opening, the snap of it shutting, and then another one. He heard a muffled curse. Oh hell.

He closed his eyes and rolled his head a bit on the pillow. If he had to leave to go out and buy rubbers…would he even come back?

Yeah, he would. Although there were other things they could do, things that didn’t involve condoms and dragging himself out of this cozy nest of warmth and sweet-scented softness.

He heard a triumphant sound from the bathroom and relief washed over him. He watched for Shelby’s return, and she grinned as she crossed the room toward him holding two packages between her index and middle finger. “Success,” she said.

He grinned and lifted the covers for her. She tossed the condoms onto the night table and slid back into bed, resuming the exact position she’d been in before.

“Thank Christ,” he said, tucking her into his body. “I did not want to go out to find a drugstore.”

“I could’ve checked my purse, too,” she said, nuzzling her nose into the side of his neck. “I might have some there.”

“That’s good, because two more isn’t enough for what I have planned.”

She drew back, her lips pursed, eyes wide. “Really?”

A flash of alarm heated his veins but he kept it casual and drawled, “D’you want me to go, babe?”

She didn’t immediately demur. Shit, why’d he ask such a lame-ass question? Then she slowly moved her head from side to side. “No,” she finally answered. “I don’t want you to go.”

He didn’t want to sound too relieved, so he casually said, “Good.” And he wrapped her up against him again, letting his hard cock nudge at her. He rubbed a hand down the length of her spine, enjoying the firm ridges of muscle that dipped into the sweet curve and then back out into that round ass.

Some guys were ass men. Some were leg men. Some guys liked breasts.

Jake liked it all. The whole package. Every female part, including fingers and toes and pretty pink hidden parts. He liked the way girls smelled, every one of them different but sweet. Shelby’s peachy-pear fragrance mingled with her unique female scent, a combination that was heady to his senses.

“Ah, Shelby, sweetie.” His fingers played with her butt, drifting across the firm flesh, teasing just below in that crease above her thighs, and she squirmed a little. Ha. She liked that. He trailed a fingertip up the furrow between, making her squirm more.

Okay, this was a woman he could seriously make love to all night. Not only did she go crazy when he sucked on her nipples and played with her breasts, but it seemed like she might enjoy a little ass play just as much. And he was ready to play. So ready.

Jake woke up in the softest, sweetest smelling cocoon of bliss, a warm feminine body cuddled into his, and for a few long, delicious moments he thought he was still dreaming, still asleep. He let himself enjoy the sensations, full breasts pressed against his forearm, hair that smelled like peaches and pears, and silky sheets swathed around both of them.

And then realized what he’d done. It wasn’t a dream. He’d spent the night with Shelby.

Fuck. What had he been thinking? He was supposed to be helping her, for Chrissakes, not fucking her! What was wrong with him?

She stirred against him, lush curves and warm skin, and he resisted the urge to bolt out of bed and make a run for it.

She snuggled in closer, made a funny snuffling sound as she breathed in. She was still asleep. His chest tightened at the way she nestled against him, all intimate and trusting. Shit.

The events of the previous evening started playing through his mind. Andrew and Gianna. Jesus. How had he not known that’s who Shelby’s boss was? She’d never mentioned she worked at Gold Shield, he was sure of it. If she had, he might have twigged to what was going on. So he’d shown up there like a clueless idiot.

Shelby moved again in his arms, stretching her legs out, sliding them over and between his. Christ, she was sexy. His cock swelled. How could he help it? She was right there, naked, in his arms, in a bed. “Mmm.” She made a little purring noise, buried her face in the side of his neck. He felt her draw in a breath, as if she was smelling him. Maybe she was. He liked smelling her. He smiled and slid a hand up into her hair. He tugged the strands so he could see her face and their eyes met.

With a small starburst of light and heat.

“Hi.” Her voice was a whisper, and when he saw the uncertainty in her eyes he had the strangest urge to make it go away. Hell, he wasn’t the kind of guy to stick around the morning after. But how could he leave with her looking all sweet and vulnerable like that?

He couldn’t. And fuck it, he didn’t want to leave. He was hard to the point of pain, his balls tight and aching already, even after the sex marathon they’d shared the night before. He stroked a hand down her bare back, over the sweet curve of her ass, fingers lingering on the crease between, and her eyes went darker blue and her soft lips parted.

“Hi.” He smiled at her, and loved the answering curve of her mouth. “You feel good in my arms.”

“Mmm. I like it too.” She brushed her mouth over his jaw and even he could feel the rasp of his beard. She rubbed her cheek there, like a little cat, apparently liking the roughness.

Christ, he wanted to do her again, he couldn’t help it, and how the hell was a guy supposed to resist in a situation like this, anyway? It was impossible. He rolled her under him and kissed her, pressing her down into the pillows, filling his hand with one lush breast.

And then another memory poked him in the head. They were out of condoms. All three had been used last night, and used well, he had to say. That was all they’d had, even after Shelby had checked in her purse. Though four times in one night may have been a bit of wishful thinking on his part. Now, however, he needed that damn fourth condom.

He sighed and rolled away from her.

“What?”

“No more condoms.”

“Oh. Oh yeah.”

She lay there beside him, quiet, and then she moved over him and kissed his chest. Heat rippled over him. When she flicked her little tongue over one nipple, then closed her lips over it, flames licked over his body. “Shelby.” He closed his eyes against the sensations. “Don’t.”

She made a noise of soft protest then started kissing her way down his abs. Pushing the covers back, she shimmied her body down in the bed, her mouth moving closer and closer to his straining erection, her silky hair dragging across his rigid abs. His cock twitched in anticipation, his testicles already drawn up tight against his body. Sweet Jesus. Was she…? She was.

Chapter Six

Shelby curled her fingers around him, so thick and hard, heavy veins pulsing beneath velvety skin. Jake lifted his head to look down his body and watch her, shoving a pillow behind him. She held his gaze as she parted her lips and leaned in, loving how he licked his lips and watched with avid fascination.

A long groan tore out of him. She licked the underside of his thick, rigid maleness and he shuddered, and pleasure warmed her too.

“Hell, Shelby.” He lifted his hands and his fingers threaded through her hair, sending delicious waves of sensation pouring over her body.

She explored his cock with her tongue, studied the ridges and veins, licked up a drop of moisture from the smooth rounded tip. She licked all up and down the shaft, over the bulging veins and velvety skin, getting him nice and wet and slippery because it was going to be a challenge getting her mouth around him. Then she opened her mouth and took him in, letting the wet flesh glide over her lips and deep inside.

She liked that. Very much.

“Oh yeah, baby. Suck me.” His grip tightened in her hair and his hips lifted. Feminine power rolled through her. She loved giving head, having a guy at her mercy like that, but this time there was an added dimension of pleasure to it. She wanted to give back to him so much, for all he’d given her last night, a series of mind-destroying, body-melting orgasms, so focused on her, she felt she’d gone to heaven. Now it was her turn.

She opened her mouth wide and took him in, sliding her lips down his shaft, holding him firmly at the base. Her other fingers found his balls, firm and round, and she played with them with her fingertips.

“Jesus,” he gasped, arching up, pushing deeper into her mouth. “Jesus Christ, that’s good.”

She hummed her agreement and he grunted.

“Oh yeah. Play with my balls. Lick them too, Shelby.”

She let him slide out of her mouth and, with a smile, ducked her head lower, holding his cock out of the way so she could press little kisses to his thighs, then inward to his sac, so taut. She kissed his flesh there, soft, closed-mouth kisses, then opened her mouth over one and sucked gently. His moans encouraged her, and her tongue flicked out to lick one testicle. With her other hand, she pushed his thigh, to give her better access, and inhaled the musky male scent of him, so primal and intimate. Lord, she loved that, and she closed her eyes as the fragrance filled her head.

She continued lapping and sucking, dragging her tongue up his shaft then back down to his balls until she finally took one testicle right into her mouth and gently sucked it, rolling it over her tongue.

“Christ!” His fingers found her hair and twined themselves into it, tugging, and sensation flared from her scalp. “You’re killing me, Shelby.”

The ragged tone of his voice told her how close he was, his body tense, hips lifting off the bed. She wanted to play there forever, but she moved up and opened her mouth over him again, loving how he filled her mouth, thick and heavy on her tongue. She took him as deep as she could, sucking, swirling her tongue over it as she moved up and down. He jerked against her mouth and hands and she sucked him deep again, picking up the rhythm of his hips. He filled her mouth and throat. His fingers tightened in her hair. “Shelby. Honey. I’m gonna come.”

She kept going. If he was giving her a chance to move off him, to not have to swallow, that was sweet of him—lots of guys didn’t care, and in some cases she might have taken the chance to avoid that—but not now, not with him. She wanted all of him, wanted to do that most personal of acts.

She looked up at him again just as he opened his eyes, and the blaze of heat in them seared her to her core. She wanted to give him his ultimate pleasure and she paused in her movements, their eyes locked on each other. Something drew out between them, something warm and almost unbearably intimate.

“Love that,” he whispered, his hands pushing her hair back to hold it behind her head. “Do it. Suck me dry.”

Yes. She wanted to do that for him. He palmed the back of her head and drew her closer. Heat raced through her veins as she watched his face tighten, his eyelids growing heavy, his lips parted.

“Oh yeah.” His pelvis lifted, and he fucked her mouth, faster. She let him bump the back of her throat, and then felt the hot liquid there, so far back she couldn’t really even taste it, but she loved the feel of him filling her mouth, his seed sliding down her throat, and when she swallowed he let out a roar of pleasure.

His thrusts slowed and stopped, his cock pulsing against her tongue, and she slowly slid the tight ring of her lips over and off him, giving one last gentle lick to the head.

“Holy shit,” he gasped, releasing his grip on her hair so she could climb up his body. “Holy fucking shit.”

Hopefully that meant it had been good. With a secret smile, she snuggled into him, his arms coming loosely around her, as if he could barely move them.

Their bodies both slick with sweat, they lay together, hearts thudding, his cock softening beneath her. Wow. She’d loved that. Her body soft and her mind softer, she drifted back to sleep in his arms.

A thudding knock on Shelby’s apartment door had them both jumping and blinking heavy eyes. At first Shelby didn’t even know what the noise was. She searched her mind for who it could be, and then she remembered—it was Sunday and she’d offered to help her twelve-year-old next-door neighbor bake cookies for school. She shot a glance at her alarm clock—holy crap, it was eleven o’clock!

“Oh, dear lord,” she muttered, sliding out of Jake’s warm embrace and then naked out of bed.

“Who is it?” Jake sat up, the covers falling to his waist, his impressive chest and ripped abs on display. He’d said he was a triathlete and his body was clearly in fabulous shape.

“I think it’s my neighbor.”

“Can’t you just ignore her? Him? Whoever?”

She paused. Actually thought about that. For about half a second. Tempting, but she couldn’t do that to Taylor. She looked over her shoulder as she reached into her closet for a robe. “I can’t. She’s only twelve and I promised her. Her mother’s not around much, so I…well, it’s a long story. I’m so sorry.”

“That’s okay.” He shoved a hand through his hair, still looking lethargic and satisfied though he wore a faint frown. She took a breath as she yanked on the robe then scurried out to let Taylor in.

“Hey,” Taylor said. Then she frowned as she took in Shelby’s robe and mussed hair. “Whoa. You’re not even dressed. Did you sleep in?”

“Um…sort of.” Shelby forced a smile. “Come on in, hon. Want something to eat? Juice?”

“I had some toast at home,” Taylor said. “But I’ll have some juice.”

Shelby poured her a glass of orange juice while Taylor perched on a stool at the counter. “Here you go. Hang on while I go get dressed.”

She needed a shower, probably smelled like Jake’s citrusy-spicy aftershave, not to mention sex.

She turned and saw Jake leaning against the door into her small foyer, dressed in his jeans and loose shirt half buttoned, stubble darkening his square jaw, his hair attractively tousled, eyes gleaming. Lord, he was gorgeous.

Shelby glanced at Taylor, whose eyes had widened. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said, ambling into the kitchen. “I’m Jake. A friend of Shelby’s.”

“I’m Taylor.”

“Nice to meet you.” He lifted a brow at Shelby. “How about I make coffee while you get dressed?”

“Um, sure. Great. Thanks.”

She needed a shower, but she’d have to forego that for now, making do with a quick wash, then dressing in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She gazed at her reflection in the bathroom mirror—pink beard burns on her cheeks and chin, and a satisfied gleam in her eyes. She swiped on a couple of strokes of mascara because she looked like an Albino rabbit without it, then returned to the kitchen where Jake and Taylor were chatting about school.

“So it’s my turn to bring the treats next week,” Taylor said. “But Mom always just buys something at a bakery, and everyone else brings homemade stuff, so Shelby said she’d help me make cookies.”

“That’s nice of her.” Jake met her eyes and her cheeks warmed.

“She does lots of stuff like that,” Taylor continued. “’Cause my mom’s really busy.”

“I see.” He turned and poured the coffee into two mugs he’d apparently found in her kitchen. Both he and Taylor seemed very comfortable there, which was kind of freaky, but whatever. Shelby accepted a cup from him and added some milk from the fridge. She held the milk carton up to him, but he shook his head. “Black,” he said, lifting the cup.

She nodded. She knew that. She gave him her back to replace the milk in the fridge, feeling a little flustered, hoping the cold air from the refrigerator might cool her hot face.

“So what kind of cookies are you going to make?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. Shelby?”

“I have the ingredients for chocolate chip. But I also got some pecans to make those sandies you like. Or we could make sugar cookies and cut them into shapes and ice them.”

“Oh.” Taylor sucked briefly on her bottom lip, her legs swinging on the stool. “With colored icing?”

“Sure.”

“Do you have any sprinkles?”

“I do.”

Taylor’s eyes lit up. “Okay. Let’s make sugar cookies. If that’s not too much trouble,” she tacked on politely.

Shelby smiled. Taylor’s mom didn’t spend much time with her, but had raised a good kid, always polite and appreciative of whatever Shelby did.

“I should go,” Jake said. “I’m not so good at baking cookies.”

“Shelby bakes the best cookies!” Taylor said. “She bakes cookies all the time and gives them to people.”

Once more Shelby met Jake’s eyes and gave a tiny lift of her shoulder and huffed-out laugh. He smiled at her, their gazes connected. She didn’t want it to end like this. They hadn’t talked about what had happened last night or…anything. She gazed back at him, a small knot forming in her stomach.

“Okay,” she finally said. “Thank you. For…you know…helping.”

He nodded then brushed a kiss over her mouth. “You’re welcome. And thank you for…you know.”

That was it. They’d had screaming hot sex, several times, and now he was leaving, his obligation fulfilled, and she’d probably never see him again. Until possibly next week when they met up in Java the Hut again. Was that going to be awkward? “You’re welcome too,” she murmured. Then he lifted a hand to Taylor in goodbye and let himself out of her apartment.

Shelby turned back to Taylor and smiled brightly. “Okay. Sugar cookies it is.”

Chapter Seven

Jake let himself into his house and was immediately attacked by an ecstatic Golden Retriever. “Hey, buddy!” Jake pushed the dog down then crouched to rub him all over. “I left you all night, didn’t I? You must’ve been wondering where I was. Sorry, big guy.” He rubbed Wayne’s ears. Guilt rose up in him. God, that wasn’t fair to the poor dog, to be left all night. Thank god he’d asked his neighbor to let Wayne out last evening, since he hadn’t known how late he’d be. Even so… “Need to go out?”

Wayne leaped toward the door and Jake let him out into his small backyard and watched him, leaning on the door. Poor Wayne.

When Wayne came back in, all happy, tongue lolling, Jake said, “C’mon, buddy, let’s go for a run.” He quickly changed into his running clothes, laced up his sneakers and grabbed Wayne’s leash, which made the dog delirious with pleasure. He gave a couple of short, sharp barks and Jake laughed.

Hopefully the run would clear his mind. Was he kidding himself when he told himself sleeping with Shelby wasn’t what he’d planned when he’d offered to help her?

He had to admit he’d always found her attractive, every time he’d seen her in the coffee shop. He truly didn’t think he’d had that ulterior motive when he’d made the crazy offer, but the chemistry between them was pretty damn explosive. It was no surprise they’d ended up burning up the sheets in Shelby’s bed.

He wiped sweat from his brow as he and Wayne ran through the park, the same park where the picnic had been held yesterday.

What was eating at him was the dilemma of what to do next.

Shelby was a sweetheart, and he’d done her a favor and that should be it. He’d complicated the hell out of things by having sex with her. It didn’t mean he ever had to see her again. But he wanted to. He’d had fun with her. And not just in bed.

And as if that weren’t complicated enough, because hey, if he wanted to see her again, why the hell shouldn’t he—there was Andrew.

Andrew was Shelby’s boss.

Fuck, what did it all mean? Jake actually stopped running and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. His heart was pounding and sweat dripped off him, soaking his loose, sleeveless shirt. If he’d had any notion of actually calling Shelby and seeing her again, the fact that she worked for Andrew should make him put that thought firmly out of his head.

He lowered his hands, chest heaving, lungs straining for oxygen, and grinned at Wayne, sitting patiently and panting. They started into a slow jog along the paved path lining the beach. Palm trees provided some shade from the hot summer sun for all the people out enjoying the beautiful Sunday afternoon beside the Pacific Ocean.

Did Andrew want Shelby? Andrew had seemed annoyed when Shelby’d introduced them. Was it because it was him? Or would Andrew be annoyed at whoever she was dating? Jesus, he hated to think that Andrew would be like that. Would he cheat on Gianna? Would Andrew put the moves on someone he worked for? Jake had to admit he didn’t have very friendly feelings for Andrew since the day he’d found out his girlfriend was in love with him, and maybe that was influencing his take on this whole thing. But hell, if Andrew had been such a douchebag as to steal his best friend’s girlfriend, who was to say he wouldn’t cheat on her with someone else? Fuck. Jake picked up the pace of his running, his Nikes hitting the pavement in a steady rhythm.

And maybe that was a good enough reason to see Shelby again. To make sure Andrew didn’t screw around with her. To make sure he didn’t cheat on his wife. Gianna. Jake’s gut tightened at the thought of Gianna.

She’d left him. For Andrew.

But that had been a long time ago. Over a year ago. She was married to Andrew now, and that wasn’t going to change. Or was it? What was going on with their marriage? Strangely, he would’ve thought he’d feel some sort of satisfaction if things didn’t work out for them after what had happened. But he didn’t.

Shelby didn’t need to know about all that. She was the one who’d needed a fake boyfriend. And he’d already admitted he liked her. A lot. The attraction between them was real. Why not explore it?

He could just tell her the truth—that her boss was an asshole who’d stolen his girlfriend. He mulled that idea over as he reached the end of the beach where the smooth rocks that gave Rocky Harbor its name rose in rounded heaps. The paved path ended, and he stopped at the edge of the grass. “But what good would that do?” he asked Wayne, sitting there looking at him with his tongue hanging out of his mouth in what appeared to be a wide smile. Wayne had no answer for him so he started running again, now across the grass toward Ocean Drive.

He didn’t want to make Shelby and Andrew’s working relationship even more awkward. He also didn’t want Shelby feeling sorry for him, like he knew Gianna had been at the picnic. Shelby already suspected Andrew was scum. She just needed a way to keep him away from her and keep her job. And Jake could help with that. She didn’t need to know all that history.

Maybe Shelby didn’t want to see him again. Maybe he was stewing about this all for nothing. She’d gotten what she wanted—and he didn’t mean the three orgasms!—and maybe that was enough to let Andrew know she wasn’t interested in a little office nooky.

The only way to find out was to call her.

He crossed Ocean Drive and started a sprint toward home.

“That was quite a surprise seeing you with Jake Magill.”

Shelby smiled at Andrew across the small table in his office Monday morning despite the tightening of her stomach. “Oh that’s right, you two know each other. I forgot about that.”

“It’s funny he never mentioned me to you. How long have you two been seeing each other?”

“Um…” Shelby’s mind went blank. What had they talked about Friday night? Something about meeting in April…which was two months ago. “About a month,” she finally said. Crap, she was such a bad liar. Why had she thought she could get away with this? She smoothed damp palms over her knees beneath the table. “I guess I never mentioned your name to him.” Which was true.

Had Jake had forgotten to share something significant with her? Now she might blow the whole thing because she didn’t know about it.

She hadn’t thought much about Andrew and Jake knowing each other, though she’d commented to Myra when they’d gone antiquing yesterday afternoon on the uncomfortable tension she’d noticed between Jake and Andrew. Something had happened and now she was curious. But she’d have to ask Jake that question, because for once Andrew changed the subject from personal to business.

“Have you started on your project charter yet?” he asked.

She blinked once, twice, then opened the file folder on the table. “Yes, I’ve started it, but I wanted to ask you about a couple of things.”

They finished their business meeting, and as Shelby passed by Susan’s desk, she paused to smile and say hello. This time Susan returned the greeting with a smile of her own and Shelby spent a few minutes chatting with her about the picnic before returning to her cubicle, for once without feeling frozen by Susan’s animosity or weirded out by Andrew’s attention. He’d been quite cool, actually. She nibbled her bottom lip as she entered her password into her computer. She’d just wanted him to not have any ideas of being more than business associates, but she didn’t want him to hate her. Guilt at lying to him gripped her insides and twisted.

She opened the document she’d started for the project charter just as her cell phone rang. She reached for it and flipped it open, typing with one hand. “Hello.”

“Hi.” Jake’s deep voice had her fingers going still.

“Hi.” She straightened, and her tummy fluttered.

“How are you?”

“Good. I’m good.”

“You’re at work?”

“Yes. You?”

“Yup. Monday mornings. Hate ’em.”

She laughed softly and leaned back in her chair. “I know. Me too.”

“How’s Andrew this morning? Did we pull it off?”

“Um, yeah. He’s…well, let’s just say our first meeting this morning was very businesslike.”

“Good.” His voice deepened.

“What happened between you and him?” The question popped right out.

“Uh.” A heavy beat of silence, then another. “He didn’t tell you?”

“He said I should ask you.”

“Well. It’s a long story. Why don’t I tell you over dinner one evening?”

Dinner? Was he asking her out? What was this?

This wasn’t a normal situation. This wasn’t your usual post-first-date phone call. Because they hadn’t really dated. They’d just been pretending.

But they sure as hell hadn’t been pretending to have scorching hot sex.

“Are you asking me out?” she said, throwing all the usual dating rules out the window. “Like, for real? Because you don’t have to, you know. You offered to come to the picnic…” She suddenly became aware that although her cubicle had walls on three sides, it wasn’t exactly private and anyone nearby could hear her conversation. “Er, maybe this isn’t a good time to talk about this.”

“How about over dinner?” he said again, amusement shading his voice and making her instantly wet.

Oh, this was crazy.

“Okay,” she said slowly.

“Tomorrow night. What time do you get home?”

That all depended on how long she wanted to stay at the office. With nothing but Lean Cuisines and her television to lure her away, she often worked late into the evening. “By about six.”

“Pick you up at six thirty, then. Did you get your car yesterday?”

“Oh. Yeah. Myra took me there. We went antiquing yesterday afternoon.”

“Find anything good?”

“I’ll tell you over dinner.” She smiled, all warm and tingly inside, leaning back in her chair.

He laughed softly. “Okay. Good. See you tomorrow.”

She clicked her phone shut and leaned her head back, staring up at the white acoustic tiles of the office ceiling. Well. What was this? Maybe the sex had meant more to him than just getting turned on by pretending to be in lust. Did that even make sense? She shook her head.

Myra, with her usual logic and reason, had been most helpful in convincing her that she hadn’t made a mistake by having sex with him, pointing out that Shelby had had a number of extremely satisfying orgasms—okay that didn’t even begin to describe how hot they’d been—and she’d definitely gotten something out of the night too. So she’d managed to come to terms with the fact that she’d had a hot one-night stand and she was okay with it, but she couldn’t help the deep-down little wish that it could happen again.

Because even though it had all been an act, or was supposed to have been an act, the truth was she’d had a lot of fun with Jake, both Friday night when they’d talked over drinks, then at the picnic and even in bed. Well, fun might not be the best word to describe the sex—how about off-the-freakin’-charts hot? Whatever. She liked him. And though she really didn’t want to admit she harbored secret feelings like this—she kinda wanted to see him again.

“Are you okay, Shelby?”

She jerked upright and blinked at Andrew standing at the entrance to her cubicle, his wide shoulders in the expensive suit jacket taking up much of the opening.

“Oh.” Heat washed into her cheeks. “Yes. Sorry. I was just thinking about…uh…the project charter.”

He gave her a skeptical look. “Sure. Listen, I need to reschedule the status update meeting tomorrow. I’m going to be in other meetings with Carl all day.” He named the CEO of Gold Shield Insurance. “I’ll be done by five, so I thought maybe we could grab dinner and do the update while we eat.”

“Tomorrow?” She stared back at him. “I can’t. I’m having dinner with Jake tomorrow night.”

“But this is important, Shelby.”

“It’s just a status update. We can do it Wednesday morning.”

“My schedule is full Wednesday.”

Shit, shit, shit. Would this never end? She did not want to have dinner with him! “Well, then I’ll email you the status reports and you can look them over.”

Andrew’s mouth tightened but he nodded. “Okay. But I need them for my meetings Wednesday afternoon with the project business units.”

She gazed after him as he walked away, rolling her lips in. Oh hell. A string of curses ran through her mind. This tension between them wasn’t exactly what she’d wanted.

Chapter Eight

Jake pulled up in front of Shelby’s apartment building and parked on the street. He’d hardly even noticed what the building looked like the other night—it had been dark, and besides that, he’d been in a total fog of lust. He grinned, remembering their frantic entrance that night.

He studied the white stucco building with its arched windows and red tiled roof as he walked up the brick sidewalk. Only three stories high, there were probably only about twelve apartments in the Spanish-style edifice. Palm trees lined the front of the building, their fronds swaying gently in the soft evening breeze.

A moment later he knocked on Shelby’s door and waited for her to open it. When she did so, he swept his gaze from the top of her shiny blonde hair down over a loose, drapey top that slipped low on one shoulder, a short denim skirt sitting low on her hips, and all the way down her bare legs to her pink-polished toes in a pair of sandals. Oh yeah. She had it going on.

He smiled at her and her answering smile warmed him.

“Hey.”

“Come on in. I’m ready to go. I’ll just get a sweater and my purse.”

He followed her into the small entrance, once again taking in the details he’d completely missed the other night—shiny hardwood floors, the potted palm next to the chocolate brown leather sofa sitting in front of the arched window, a floor lamp at the other end creating a soft illumination in the room. A glass and wrought iron coffee table sat on a rug patterned in shades of brown and moss green and gold.

Shelby disappeared down the short hall to the bedroom they’d headed directly to last time.

“So what did you find on your antiquing trip?” he called to her.

“Oh.” Her voice drifted down the hall. “I’ll show you. Hang on a sec.”

He wandered across the living room and paused in front of an old bookcase filled with white dishes, all different shapes and sizes. He turned as he heard Shelby’s flip flops on the wood floor. “That’s my ironstone collection,” she told him with a smile. “I found two new pieces—this pitcher and this soup tureen.”

“Uh-huh.” Didn’t do much for him, but she seemed happy.

“And I got this chandelier.” She turned and lifted a metal chandelier that had been painted shiny white. “We found this great little shop up the coast in Seaview. The woman who owns it fixes things up and sells them. Usually I like to fix things myself, but she does such a nice job! Look at this.”

Again, he nodded. “Where are you going to put it?”

“Above my table.” She pointed to the ordinary fixture on the ceiling that no doubt came with the apartment. “I’ll have to get an electrician in, I guess.”

“I could do it.” The words just popped out.

“Really? You know how to do that? Without electrocuting yourself?”

She looked so impressed he couldn’t help the masculine pride that expanded in his chest. “Yeah. Of course.”

“That would be awesome!” She set the fixture back on the floor. “And I got this little table. It’s already refinished just how I would do it.” She stroked her hand across the surface of the golden oak table. “Isn’t it nice?”

“Yeah.” Her entire apartment was furnished with those kinds of pieces, he realized, scanning the room and noticing more details—the old floor lamp with a new-looking shade, the antique pedestal-style dining table with six chairs, none of which matched. At all. “Looks like you’re really into antiques.”

“A little. I’m not obsessed or anything.” She grinned. “I started collecting things when I moved into my first apartment, mostly because it was all I could afford, but I’ve kind of fallen in love with the way it looks. I used to like things all matchy-matchy but now, I like this.”

He had to admit, her place did look good. Despite the mismatched furniture and accessories, it was almost excruciatingly neat and tidy, unlike her bathroom which was an explosion of girl stuff. How could a person be so neat and tidy in every room of the home but one? Of course, thinking of his own messy house, he wasn’t exactly one to talk. But even orderly and spotless as her apartment was, it felt comfortable. “I like it.”

“Thanks. Should we go?”

“Sure.”

They walked out to his car parked on the street. “I thought we could go to Ambrosia.”

“That sounds great.”

A short time later they were seated in a booth in the casual restaurant drinking margaritas on the rocks. And then she asked the question he’d been stewing about all day.

“So now are you going to tell me what happened between you and Andrew?”

He kept his face in a careful, casual smile. “It’s not that big a deal. We met in college. About a year ago we were talking about going into business together. It didn’t work out.”

A small crease appeared between her sexy bedroom eyes. “Oh. What kind of business?”

“Consulting. Project management, business process renewal.”

“What happened? Why didn’t it work out?”

“We both decided with the economy the way it’s been, we were safer to stay employed than trying to start a business. That’s risky at the best of times, never mind in a recession.”

“That’s true.” She gave a vigorous nod. “Probably worked out for the best. Will you still do it when the economy picks up?”

“Maybe.” Although not with Andrew. He made a face. “I’m not exactly happy with my job right now, but it’s a regular paycheck anyway. Our company is coming through the recession okay, so I’m pretty safe.”

“Why aren’t you happy there?”

Now he could be more open with her and he relaxed a little, having moved on from talking about him and Andrew. “Ha. Where should I start? The company I work for has out-of-date processes and they’re completely resistant to change. Even when upper management agrees they need to make changes, they don’t want to commit enough resources to the project and the staff are all so resistant to change, it’s hard to get anything moving. I got promoted to Senior Business Analyst a while back, and I feel like all I do is sit in an office and analyze shit and check the work my team is doing.”

She laughed. “Analyze shit?”

He smiled back at her. “Yeah. I like solving problems, thinking up new ideas. I like to be doing new things all the time, otherwise I get bored.”

She nodded, her lips pursed. “I guess I can relate to that. I like project management because it’s always something new.”

“Yeah.” He hitched a shoulder. “That’s why I wanted to start my own business. Be my own boss. My boss is a clock-watching, by-the-books paper pusher, and that is so not me.”

She gazed across the table at him, sympathy shining in her wide eyes. “That doesn’t make work fun, when you’re not working for a good boss. Even with the problems I’ve had with Andrew, I have to say he’s actually great to work for.”

“Really. I got the impression you don’t like him.”

“Oh no! It’s not that I don’t like him. He’s very smart and knowledgeable. He really goes to bat for his staff, I’ve seen him.”

Jake didn’t really want to hear how great Andrew was. “But you said his attention was causing problems for you.”

“Yes. That’s true.” Her smile faded. “I don’t know what it is, he seems like such a fair-minded man, but he seems to be treating me differently. Well, you know all about that.”

She hitched one shoulder, and the thin fabric of her loose shirt slipped off again, exposing one pretty, smooth shoulder. Did she not have a bra on underneath? His gaze dropped to her chest, but he couldn’t really tell. Focus, man.

“Did we convince him the other night? That you’re not ah…available?”

“I think so.” A tiny furrow wrinkled her forehead. “He was a little cool yesterday. And not very happy that I couldn’t work late tonight.”

Hell. He didn’t want to make things worse for her. But still, it was good that she hadn’t had to work late with him. Who knew what could happen?

He wanted to ask what she knew about Andrew’s marriage, but couldn’t think of a casual way to throw that out there. “Well. We should order.” He didn’t want to talk about Andrew anymore. He was the last thing Jake wanted to talk about to Shelby. Or maybe the second last. Luckily she hadn’t even mentioned Gianna.

They looked over the menu then gave the server their order. “Tell me about the project you’re working on,” he invited Shelby. They worked in similar fields and had a lot in common, and talk flowed easily, moving on to other topics like Jake’s training schedule for his triathlon and Shelby’s friends.

When Jake had paid the bill and driven Shelby back to her place, heated memories of Saturday night had him swelling in his jeans, but this time he was gonna be a nice guy and leave her at her door. This time.

“How did your cookies turn out the other day?” he asked as he walked her to her door.

“Oh.” She smiled. “Good. Taylor was very excited to take them to school.”

“That’s nice of you to do that.”

“I guess.” She lifted one shoulder and her top slipped a little again. “Her mom’s a single mom. She goes to school all day, works two part-time jobs, so Taylor’s on her own a lot. She’s at that in-between age where she doesn’t really need a babysitter, but she’s not quite old enough to be on her own all the time, so I ask her over sometimes. I know how it feels to be alone.”

He studied the faint shadows in her eyes as she said that, remembering what she’d said about her parents. “I’m sure they appreciate that.”

She just smiled.

“’Night, Shelby.” He kissed her mouth, a soft and gentle kiss though he wanted to shove her up against the wall and devour her. “Mmm.” Her long eyelashes fluttered.

He kissed her again, just because she was so soft and sweet. “Wanna do lunch on Thursday?”

Her eyes opened and she straightened. “Oh, Jake.” She touched her fingers to his cheek and smiled. “You don’t need to do that. I appreciate your help—coming to the picnic. And thanks for dinner tonight. But it really wasn’t necessary.”

Damn. He flipped through some thoughts in his mind, the first one being, she was saying no to him, the next that she didn’t want to see him again, and the next was—what the hell was he doing? He wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship. He should just walk away from this too.

But he wanted to see her again. “I’ll come pick you up at the office for lunch. Andrew will see us. It’ll just help make it more convincing.”

She eyed him for a moment, lips pursed as she thought. “Okay,” she finally said.

He smiled. “Great. I’ll give you a call Thursday morning.” He brushed a kiss over her mouth, turned and left.

Thursday morning at work Shelby had to determinedly push away thoughts of Jake and lunch with him and what a potentially bad idea that was, for her meeting with the two business units involved in her project. The meeting didn’t go well, and back in her cubicle she pressed her fingers to her temples. Then she got a call from Riley.

“It’s Adam,” Riley said, referring to their friend Kiara’s husband. “He’s in the hospital.”

“Oh no.” Shelby dropped into her chair and stared across her cubicle. “Is it bad?”

“Yeah.” Shelby could sense Riley’s struggle to get the words out. “This is probably the end.”

“Oh lord.” They’d known this was coming. “We’ll go visit him tonight.”

“Yes. We should. Kiara says he may be able to come home, but if he does, it will be…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, her voice catching.

“Yeah.” Shelby rubbed her forehead, her eyes burning. “I know. I’ll pick you up after work.”

“Okay.”

Shelby put down her phone and bit her bottom lip, fighting back the tears. The office was no place for tears. She had a hard enough time being taken seriously without sitting there sobbing, but damn, it was hard. Adam was a great guy, a talented lawyer, a faithful, devoted husband, fun to be around. He and Kiara were so much in love. It was so not fair, and Shelby hated the helplessness of not being able to do anything to stop this tragedy from happening to her friends.

“Shelby? You okay?” Once again Andrew appeared in her cubicle at the worst possible moment. She quickly swiped the moisture from her eyes and faced him.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“How did your meeting go?”

She sighed. “Not that well.”

“Are you that upset about it?” His brows jerked together.

“No, no. I just got some bad news from a friend.”

His frown eased into concern. “Oh. Is everything all right?”

“No, not really.” She gave a small sigh. “I’ve mentioned my friends Kiara and Adam. He’s just been hospitalized. This might be the end.”

“Oh.” His face softened even more. “I’m so sorry. Do you need to go?”

“No.” She shook her head and lifted her chin, pressing her lips together. “We’re going to see him tonight.”

“Okay. But if you need anything, let me know.” His eyes fastened onto her intently, and she sensed the sincerity of his offer and once again was seized by guilt at the act she was putting on.

“I will. Thanks. So, um, the meeting this morning was a bit difficult. The new payment system has to meet the needs of both Short Term Benefits and Long Term Disability. Davis and Bram were almost coming to blows when I was trying to determine what their needs are.” She shook her head. “Why is there so much competition between them?”

“Always has been between those two departments,” Andrew replied, leaning one shoulder against her cubicle wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “Come to my office, and we can talk more about it.”

“Sure.” Trying to put aside her thoughts and worries about Kiara and Adam, she followed Andrew to his office. There was no privacy for sensitive discussions in cubeland.

Andrew shut the door of his office behind her and held a hand to the chairs at the round table. “Have a seat.”

She lowered herself to a chair.

“Sure you’re okay?” Concern shadowed his eyes. “You know you can take off if you need to.”

“I’m fine. I will probably need some time when…” And she, too, wasn’t able to finish the sentence. Geez, this was hard.

“Of course.”

She was grateful for Andrew’s understanding and flexibility.

He told her some of the history of the rivalry between the two departments, how Short Term Benefits always felt as if they never got their share of budget, staff, or any resources, for that matter. Davis Cooper seemed to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it came to negotiating anything with the division that handled long term disability claims. Understanding some of the history helped, but Shelby knew it was going to take a lot of effort to get both men on board with the project and cooperating. Great. She so much wanted this project to be a success, but conflict among the business units involved was not a good start.

“Have you decided who your team is going to be?” Andrew asked her.

“Well, that’s a bit of an issue too. I’ve talked to a few people, but Davis says he can’t let the staff I want go. They’re too busy to take on any additional work.”

Andrew frowned. “He can’t do that.”

Shelby bit her lip. “I know he’s not supposed to, but that’s what he told me.”

“This project is important. Its success is important. We were promised whatever staffing resources we need to make it successful. I’ll talk to him.”

“No.”

Andrew looked at her, brows raised. “No?”

She shook her head. “I want to handle it. If you’re telling me that I’m supposed to have access to whatever staff I need to resource this project properly, then I’ll deal with him.” During the meeting, the two men had argued over top of her and ignored her attempts to mediate their disagreements. “If I’m going to manage this project, I need them to know I’m in charge. Having you intervene won’t help that.”

“True,” he said slowly. “Okay. You handle it. But let me know if you need anything from me.”

“I will.” Shelby glanced at her watch. “Oh, look at the time. I have to go.”

“It’s lunch time,” Andrew said. “Why don’t we go get a bite and we can talk about strategy for dealing with Davis?”

She gave him a cautious smile. “I actually have lunch plans. Sorry.”

“Oh.” Andrew’s dark blond eyebrows pushed together. He studied her for a moment and she resisted the urge to blurt out, I have a date! With my boyfriend!

“All right. But if you want to talk more just let me know.”

“Of course. Thanks, Andrew. I appreciate your support.”

She rose and left his office, hurrying to her cubicle for the suit jacket she’d left hanging on the back of her chair and her purse.

She pushed her arms into the lightweight gray jacket as she walked through the office, then lifted her hair out from under the collar. With another glance at her watch, she made a quick stop in the ladies’ room. Jake had said he’d come by at noon. She brushed her hair and touched up her lipstick, straightened her gray pencil skirt and smoothed the silk blouse beneath her jacket. The meeting had frustrated her, the phone call from Riley had dragged her mood down, but anticipation at seeing Jake again brought on flutters of excitement inside her.

Chapter Nine

Jake figured the chances of running into Andrew were slim, given the size of the Gold Shield offices, but he was standing in the small reception area on the twenty-first floor, not really reading a copy of the Wall Street Journal, when Andrew walked through the door leading to the offices. Jake waited, knew the exact moment Andrew’s gaze landed on him. His eyes narrowed, his step faltered ever so slightly, his jaw tightened.

After a brief hesitation, Andrew approached him. “Jake. Hi. Here to meet Shelby for lunch, I take it.”

“Yeah.” Jake smiled.

The two men sized each other up. “What are you doing with her, Jake?” He spoke in a low voice, aware of the receptionist across the room.

Jake lifted one eyebrow. “What do you mean, what am I doing with her? What do you think?”

“I know what you’re like with women. You don’t do relationships.”

Jake tossed the magazine down on the table, shoved his hands into the pockets of his suit trousers and rocked back on his heels, frowning. “I had a relationship once.”

Andrew opened his mouth then closed it again. He looked at Jake, and goddammit if Jake didn’t see pity there, just like he’d seen on Gianna’s face at the picnic. Oh, for Chrissake, they both felt sorry for him. Still. What kind of sad loser did they think he was?

“No reason I can’t have a relationship again,” he added, trying to sound cheerful.

Andrew gave him a stern glare. “Listen, she seems like she’s really into you. Just don’t hurt her.”

“You’re telling me that?” Jake’s fingers curled into fists.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, you’re her boss. Leave her alone.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Andrew’s voice rose incredulously. “We work together.”

“You know what I mean.” Jake kept his voice low in the small reception room, but the warning in his tone was clear. Andrew’s mouth dropped open, and then Jake looked up as the door opened again and Shelby walked out.

She spotted him immediately, smiled, then noticed Andrew, and her smile faded as she tap-tap-tapped across the tile floor. Jake directed his attention to her, because she was much more pleasant to look at than Andrew—her hip-hugging, knee-grazing skirt, high-heeled pumps and fitted jacket, all very professional, couldn’t fully hide the lush body beneath, and certainly did nothing to hide her long blonde hair and sexy eyes and mouth. A mouth that was now tightened into a straight line.

“Hi,” she said as she neared. Her gaze darted back and forth between them.

“Ready to go, sweetheart?” Jake took her arm and leaned down to kiss her cheek, fully aware of Andrew’s gaze on both of them. “See ya later, Andrew, buddy.”

Andrew said nothing, but Jake felt his gaze follow them into the elevator.

“He looked kind of pissed off,” Shelby said, with an anxious glance over her shoulder as they stepped in. “What did you say to him?”

“Nothing.” Actually, Jake was kind of regretting the conversation. He was supposed to be helping Shelby, not getting her in trouble with her boss. He hoped Andrew wasn’t going to take out his annoyance on her. His gut clenched at the thought.

He was such an idiot. He’d been so determined to protect Shelby, he hadn’t really thought about the possible consequences. And Shelby didn’t need to know he’d warned Andrew away from her. That would just embarrass her. And quite possibly make her mad at him too.

Hell. Jake cursed mentally as they walked to the nearby restaurant he’d chosen for lunch. They were seated on the patio outside, beneath the shade of a spreading fig tree.

He watched Shelby open her menu, look it over, close it. She gazed off into the distance, then opened the menu again.

“Are you okay, Shelby?” She seemed distant, distracted. Oh man, was she angry at him? Dismay twisted inside him.

“I’m okay.” She focused her attention on him and gave him a small smile that was totally not okay. His concern deepened. “Actually, I got some bad news this morning.”

When she told him about her friend, he forgot all about asshole Andrew. Sympathy flooded through him along with a somewhat awkward helplessness. Problem solving was one of his strengths, and if Shelby had told him any other story, he would have been all over trying to fix that for her. But this…this was beyond him. His chest ached as he watched her struggle with the words.

“And Kiara’s six months pregnant.”

His forehead tightened as his eyebrows shot up. “Oh no.”

“Yeah, but don’t ever say that to her. They planned it. When they found out Adam was dying, they got pregnant on purpose.”

Jake stared at Shelby across the table. “You’re kidding.”

“No.” She shook her head, with another small, sad smile. “They wanted children. They decided to do it, even though Adam would never see his child. And their child would never know his dad.” Shelby’s voice thickened and she coughed. “Kiara says she’ll make sure their child knows all about his or her dad. She loves Adam so much, she wanted to have his baby even though she’s going to end up raising the child alone.”

“Holy hell. That is…” Jake shook his head, his pathetic little problems reduced to insignificance, his insides feeling hot and tight. “That’s an amazing story.”

“I know. We all admire them both so much for how they’ve handled this, although privately we’ve wondered how Kiara is going to do it.”

“I give her a lot of credit,” Jake said. “Wow. I’m not sure if I would want my wife to do that, if I would want to leave her with that burden.”

“See, that’s why we don’t say anything about our doubts or misgivings to Kiara, because she doesn’t see it as a burden. She sees it as a gift, as a part of Adam that will live on after he’s gone. Someone for her to love.”

Jake rubbed at his chest and blinked up at the waitress who stood at their table smiling. Her cheeriness seemed incongruous following the astonishing conversation. He and Shelby quickly ordered.

“What can I do?” he asked as soon as the waitress had left.

“What do you mean?”

“For you. For your friends.”

“Oh.” Her blue eyes softened as she picked up her goblet of water and sipped it. “That’s so sweet of you.”

Jesus. Had anyone ever called him sweet in his life? He didn’t think so. Sweat popped out along his hairline.

“I don’t know if there’s anything right now,” she continued. “I feel so helpless myself. I wish I could do more. I know after Adam’s gone, Kiara will need us, her friends. I’m going to be her birth coach when she has the baby, and I know she’s going to need lots of support then.” She shook her head, but this time her smile held a hint of happiness. “A baby is a joy and a blessing for sure, but also a lot of work, especially for a single mom. So we’re all going to be there for her.”

“Your friends are obviously very special to you.” He envied that. Jake hated to admit that he still felt a hole in his life since Andrew and Gianna had gotten together. At the time, Jake had assured them no hard feelings, they’d all still be friends, yadda yadda. But the reality had been that he couldn’t bear to be around them, and his friendship with Andrew had tapered off into nothingness. They’d been best buddies in college, shared so many interests. Including the same woman. He pushed those depressing thoughts away.

“They are.” Her smile warmed. “I don’t have much family and my parents aren’t really there for me much, so I guess Kiara and Riley and Myra are like family. I’m lucky to have them.”

“They’re lucky to have you.”

Her cheeks pinkened and she looked down at the water glass in her hands. “We’re going to visit Adam at the hospital tonight,” she told him.

“I know I’ve never met the guy, but let me know how he’s doing.”

“Thanks.” Her voice came out soft and floaty, her big blue eyes fastened on his. “I will.”

With his emotions all stirred up hearing the gut-wrenching story about her friends, he couldn’t take his eyes off Shelby through their entire lunch. They talked about other things, again the conversation easy and fun, even when it came back to Adam and Kiara. Shelby was so loyal and caring of her friends and he fucking hated that she was hurting over this.

Jesus. What was happening to him? He barely knew her and he was getting all sappy. Shit.

Although Shelby had lived on her own for years, she felt so alone when she walked into her apartment after visiting the hospital that evening, shaky, emotional and on the verge of tears. She stood looking out her window into the darkness, aching for her friends, and the unfairness of everything that was happening to them, when her cell phone rang.

It was Jake, calling to see how the visit had gone. It almost seemed as if he’d sensed she was going to be upset and lonely afterward. She curled up on her couch and they talked on the phone for nearly an hour. He offered to come over, but she refused. She liked talking to him, though, and felt a lot steadier when they finally said good-night.

It was crazy. She knew herself and she knew the more time she spent with him, the more likely she was to get involved. Already she found herself liking him more and more, feeling all warm and distracted when she thought about him. And the more she got involved, the more likely she was going to get hurt. Again.

She wouldn’t see him again. He’d served his purpose, though that thought made her wince at the cold-bloodedness of it. He was messing up her mind, making it hard for her to concentrate on work, and she had to be sharp to stay on top of things in this project.

The next morning at work, she tried to focus on the meeting she was facilitating, and not thoughts of Jake.

“I’m not giving up four full-time staff positions to work on this project, when Long Term Disability is only giving up two,” Davis said.

Shelby smiled at him across the boardroom table. “But your division is much more impacted by these changes,” she said calmly. “You handle eighty percent of the claims payments. And I know you’d want to have as much input into the end product as possible.”

“Which means we’re too busy providing customer service to be able to spare staff for a project.”

Shelby swallowed her sigh of frustration. She smiled at Davis. “I understand what you’re saying. We do have sufficient budget to backfill the positions, though.”

He snorted. “That means we have to recruit and hire someone new and then train them—that will take months.”

“Maybe we can find another way. Ideally I need four full-time people to work on the project. But I could probably make it work with two full-time dedicated resources and two part-time. At least until your new staff is up and running.”

Davis ignored her and spoke to Bram. “Why don’t you give up four people?”

Bram gave Davis a flinty stare. “Because we don’t have to.”

Okay, she’d had enough of this bullshit. Why had she planned this meeting for a Friday afternoon, anyway? Shelby leaned forward and laid her hand on the desk, not in a smack, but firmly enough to make a noise and attract their attention. She smiled again, this time with an edge. “He’s not giving up four people because I’m the project manager and I’m the one who came up with the resource requirements for the project. I need four people from Short Term and two from Long Term. I can be flexible about whether it’s four full-time or two full-time, two part-time, but I will have four people from your division, Davis. This project is important and Paul has committed the resources we need.” Mentioning Davis’s boss, the Vice President of Benefits, got his attention. His eyes narrowed.

“I suppose two full-time and two part-time would be more manageable,” he muttered.

“That’s a great idea,” she replied smoothly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “I’ll be setting up a meeting next week for the project team. Now, next on the agenda is our risk and mitigation strategy.”

Davis and Bram launched into a debate about risks to customer service, and once again Shelby had to intervene. Once she got through these initial stages and had her team assembled, things would be easier. Maybe.

“I don’t think you fully understand our processes,” Davis snapped at her. “How long have you worked here?”

“Almost a year.”

He nodded and Shelby felt herself grow warm. She knew what he was thinking. How could she be managing a project of this magnitude with such little experience?

“I have six years of project management experience from my previous employer,” she said. “I worked on two similar projects when I was with RBM Pharmaceuticals. Also as the project manager, I don’t need to have knowledge of every small business process in your division, but I do need to have a good project team who does. Which is why it’s important that I have your expert input, as well as those staffing resources.”

Bram shook his head, and glanced at Davis. “I’m afraid I’m with him on this one.”

Great. She was uniting the two enemies in their distrust of her. Her stomach clenched and every muscle in her body tightened as she dug deep for control.

She gave them a bright smile. “I’m so glad to see both of you on the same page about something.”

That got her a startled bark of laughter from both of them. They exchanged another glance.

“I still think we have to change the whole intake process,” Davis said.

“That’s not within the scope of this project,” she said firmly. “It’s all in the draft of the project charter I gave you.” She nodded her head at the documents in front of each man. “If there are processes that need to be reviewed, we’ll make note of them and I can include recommendations for future changes. But we won’t be including that in this project.”

They both nodded, seeming to accept her answer, and Shelby moved on with the agenda. When the meeting had concluded, she wrapped things up with her usual summary of what decisions had been made and next steps. She sent each of them away with tasks they grumbled about but didn’t outright refuse to do.

“Thank you so much for your help,” she said sweetly as they walked out of the meeting room. She clutched her folder of papers to her chest, trying not to look like she was tense enough to snap. “I so much enjoy working with both of you. Your experience here is invaluable.”

The sucking up seemed to work and they walked back to their offices smiling.

In her own cubicle, she let out a long breath and collapsed into her chair. She could do this. She could do this. She was a good project manager, task-focused, detail-oriented, well-organized, but managing the conflicts that always seemed to arise was a challenge for her. She’d always hated conflict and it didn’t take a psychologist to know why after growing up surrounded by it. Although, she knew she was better at dealing with it than some managers she’d worked with. It was also a challenge working on such a big project when she was relatively new to the company and didn’t know all the hot buttons. What she’d said was true, and she had faith in her brains and ability to learn, but she couldn’t help some of the self-doubts that swirled inside her, especially faced with such a lack of confidence on the part of the directors, not to mention their rivalry. And she knew that wasn’t going to be the only conflict she’d have to deal with.

Oh well. She sucked in a big breath and again let it out, trying to release as much tension from her body as she could along with it. She began tidying her already neat office, arranging folders and papers into perfect piles, straightening pens and plucking a yellowed leaf from the plant on the corner of her desk.

Seeing Adam and Kiara last night had put some of her problems into perspective. Of course she wanted to do a good job, and her career was important to her, but witnessing what her friends were going through, the brave fronts they put on in the face of such tragedy, definitely made her realize her career was actually pretty insignificant.

Oh, who was she kidding? Her career was important to her. She needed to prove to herself as much as everyone else that she could do this, after what happened at her last job. Hence stooping to the level of making up a boyfriend and lying to her boss.

She sighed. In a weird way, she envied Kiara and Adam. She didn’t envy what they were going through, but she did envy the love they had for each other and the strength they were finding to help each other through this. They’d talked about so many things, important things, knowing how little time they had together, becoming closer than any two people she’d ever known, and seeing the depth of their feelings for each other was truly humbling.

That was what was important in life.

On the other hand, she wasn’t about to give up on this new job either. Losing her job wasn’t going to get her a love like Kiara and Adam. She had to hold on to what she had in her life.

Feeling drained from the stressful meeting, not to mention her worry about her friends and most of all her confused thoughts about Jake, she began typing up minutes of the meeting she’d just held, including all those action items that needed to be done to move things forward. She looked forward to going home, changing into her yoga pants and curling up on her couch.

Then Jake called. “I thought you might want to have dinner,” he said.

She closed her eyes. She’d just determined she wasn’t going to see him again. She felt herself weakening, wanting to see him. This was crazy! What had she gotten herself into with that impulsive plan for him to pretend to be her boyfriend?

She opened her mouth to say no, when Andrew walked by on his way out. He paused at her cubicle, then saw she was on the phone.

“Hang on,” she said to Jake softly, and lowered the phone. She looked at Andrew questioningly.

“Time to go,” he said. “Want to get a drink?”

Her stomach tightened but she forced a smile. “Sorry. I’m still working on a few things.”

Disappointment crossed his face. “Oh. I kinda wanted to get a drink.” He lifted one shoulder, the corners of his mouth tipping down. “And, you know…talk.”

She gazed at him in dismay. “Is something wrong?”

“Nah.” He gave her a weak smile. “Just…stuff.”

Was it his marriage? She nibbled her bottom lip. She shouldn’t feel sorry for him, shouldn’t feel like she should go for a drink with him, because that was what she was trying to avoid. “I’m sorry. I do need to finish up a few things and then I’m…um…going out for dinner.”

“With Jake.”

She nodded brightly and indicated the phone in her hand.

Andrew just stood there, looking at her. What? What did he want? Confusion mounted in her. Then he shook his head. “Have a good weekend, Shelby.”

“Thanks. You too.”

Pushing her hair off her face, she lifted the phone back to her ear. “Sorry about that. Andrew was just leaving.”

“He asked you to go out.”

“Just for a drink. We often do that on Fridays.”

“Just you and him?”

Shelby frowned. “Sometimes. Sometimes others come too. You know, happy hour, Friday-evening stuff.”

“He asked you even though he knows you’re seeing me.”

Shelby waited a beat of silence. “First of all, it’s not like he was asking me on a date. He wanted to talk business. And second—I’m not really seeing you.” She kept her voice low. The office had emptied and was quiet but she didn’t know who was still around to possibly overhear. “I’m not really sure what we’re doing or why you’re asking me out for dinner. This started out as a favor but…”

Silence prickled between them over the phone.

“Yeah, I did you a favor,” he said finally, his voice rough. “But, hell, Shelby, I…look, let’s talk about it over dinner.”

She sighed. “I don’t think it’s really a good idea for us to actually get involved.”

“Why not?” Stubbornness edged his voice.

“Because…” She hesitated. “I’m not really looking for a relationship. I just needed someone to…” She glanced around again and lowered her voice to a near whisper. “Help me. You know.”

More silence.

“So I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea,” she said, even though she kind of felt like her insides were being shredded, forcing the words out because dammit, she really did want to see him again. But this was for the best.

“You just told Andrew you were having dinner with me.”

She frowned. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean we have to really do it.” She sighed. “I’m really tired, Jake. It’s been a long week, with Adam being in the hospital, and stuff at work.”

“You have had a rough week,” he admitted. “We don’t have to go out.”

Disappointment flooded her that he wasn’t going to push a little more to convince her. Man, she needed to screw her head on straight.

“Okay then,” she said. “Bye, Jake.”

And she snapped her phone shut.

Chapter Ten

Tears prickled Shelby’s eyes and she closed them for a moment. Dammit! She should not be so upset over a guy she barely knew. If this was just a ruse to make Andrew think she had a boyfriend, she had no business caring that much whether she saw him or not. All the more reason to end this right then and there.

She was just stressed. She needed the weekend to relax and decompress.

Feeling heavy and lethargic, she finished up her work, shut down her computer and gathered up her purse and suit jacket.

A short time later she walked into her apartment, dropped her keys on her new table inside the door, kicked off high-heeled pumps with a satisfying lob across the living room, and winced when one crashed onto her glass-topped coffee table. She threw down her purse and shoved both hands into her hair.

Dammit. She could’ve been getting ready for a date. With Jake. Which could have turned into another night of hot sex.

She allowed her bottom lip to pout as she padded barefoot down the hall to her bedroom and changed into the black yoga pants she’d thought of earlier and a soft, gray T-shirt. In her bathroom, she popped out her contact lenses and slipped her glasses on.

Moments later, a glass of wine in one hand and the remote control for the television in the other, she reclined on her couch and leaned her head back.

Andrew had been cool and distant all week. Especially every time he’d suggested they have lunch or a drink or dinner and she’d turned him down. For Jake. That was what she’d wanted. So why did she feel so depressed?

The knock at her apartment door had wine sloshing over the edge of her very full glass, darkening the gray T-shirt with a small wet spot. Damn. Who the hell was that? She set the glass down and climbed to her feet, still tired.

Jake.

He stood outside the door, visible in her peephole. She leaned her forehead to the carved wooden door for a brief moment, her body going all quivery, her heart lurching into a thuddy rhythm.

Then she opened the door. He stood there, holding a large flat box—pizza?—with a paper bag on top and a six pack of beer.

“Hi.” He gave her a small sexy smile, eyes steady on hers.

“Hi.” Her breath slid out of her. “What are you doing here?”

He lifted his packages. “I brought dinner. Since you were too tired to go out.”

Her heart swelled up so big she thought it might burst. “Oh.”

“And beer.” He held up the other hand. “And…” He lowered his chin toward the paper bag. “Ice cream. Butter pecan.”

She just stood there, blinking at him, her throat tightening, her mouth trembling. She couldn’t believe he was there and he’d brought food and beer and her favorite ice cream. He’d actually been listening when they’d talked that night before the company picnic. Her throat ached and she squeezed her eyes closed.

“Are you okay?” He peered at her closer. “Hey, Shelby Rose, what’s wrong?”

“I’m just…just…stressed.” She stepped back. “Come in.”

He walked past her and went straight to the counter separating her small kitchen from dining room, and set the packages down. He turned to her. “C’mere. You look like you need a hug.”

She wasn’t wearing a bra.

He was a pig for noticing that when she was so visibly upset, but he couldn’t help but observe the enticing jiggle of her breasts beneath the thin T-shirt as she moved across the room toward him. Heat rushed to his groin and he went hard as a post.

Then she was in his arms, her cheek pressed to his chest, those soft breasts pillowed between them, and his arms went around her small body and tightened. Damn, she felt good there.

“Hey little girl,” he murmured, his face pressed against her silky hair. “It’s okay.”

He had no idea what he was talking about, but comforting her seemed the thing to do. “Are you hungry?” He was starved and the smell of the pizza, all spicy tomatoes and pepperoni, had driven him crazy all the way over there.

“Mmm. Yeah.” She lifted her head and gave him a shaky smile.

“I didn’t know you wear glasses.” He smiled down at her, studying the rectangular frames, stylish and a bit funky.

“Oh. Yeah. I don’t wear them often.”

“I like them.” He tipped his head. “They make you look very intelligent.”

“I am very intelligent.”

He laughed and gave her butt a little pat. “Yes, you are.” He moved into her kitchen. “I better put the ice cream in the freezer,” he said, making himself at home in her kitchen. She pulled plates out of a cupboard and they piled slices of cheesy pizza on them then sat on her couch. Jake popped the top off a beer while Shelby wiped up a small puddle under her wine glass.

“So what are you so stressed about?” he asked.

Duh. Stupid question. One of her best friends’ husband was dying.

But she gave him a wary, indecisive look and said nothing.

“What?” He took another bite of pizza.

“I’m stressed about a lot of things,” she admitted. “One of them being you.”

“Me?” He gazed at her.

“Yeah.” She took a breath. “I didn’t mean to act like a bitch on the phone.”

He gave a crooked smile. “When you hung up like that, I was just going to suggest doing this.” He gestured with the piece of pizza in his hand. “If you were too tired to go out. And then you hung up on me.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry. Like I said, I’m stressed about a lot of things.”

“Hey.” He reached out and touched his fingertips to her cheek. “It’s okay. Wanna talk about it?”

She gazed back at him thoughtfully. His gut tightened.

“Okay,” she finally said. “What are we doing, here, Jake?”

“Uh…eating pizza?”

He’d been putting off the conversation about what exactly they were doing all week. Now he was going to have to deal with it.

She gave her head a small shake, a smile playing on her mouth. “Men. All I want to know is…why are you doing this? Is this still just to make Andrew think we’re going out?”

Andrew. Fuck. He’d forgotten all about Andrew. Annoyance tightened his insides. He’d overheard Andrew asking her out for a drink. Andrew, a married man. Jake’s back molars ground together briefly. What had started as a little help had now become a mission. He sure as hell wanted to protect Shelby from Andrew, but there was also Gianna, who didn’t deserve to be screwed around on.

Jake had called to ask Shelby out, not even thinking about that, and he wasn’t even sure himself why. He could tell her it was all about pretending, but deep inside he knew that was a lie. He just couldn’t offer up any reason other than he didn’t like her turning him down. Which made him sound like a perverse little kid who only wanted what he couldn’t have. Shit.

“What do you want it to be?” he finally asked.

She met his eyes. “Here’s the deal. I don’t have a good track record with men. I don’t want a real relationship, not right now when I’m trying to rebuild my career. But…” She bit her lip. “But the sex was pretty good. And I want Andrew to think I have a relationship.”

“Pretty good?” He lifted one eyebrow.

She blushed. “Okay, better than pretty good. It was unbelievable.”

He grinned. “That was my opinion too. Okay then. Sounds like we’re on the same page here. I don’t do relationships, either. And I don’t mind helping you out with Andrew.”

She tipped her head to one side. “And what do you get out of this deal?”

“Same thing as you.” He gave her a wink and a look that made her cheeks even pinker. “Hot sex.”

There. They’d both said what they wanted and it was the same thing. It was a sweet deal all around. Win-win. No need to feel guilty, because they understood each other.

He met Shelby’s gaze and held it. He did like her. A lot. She was so much more than the sex kitten he’d tried to flirt with in the coffee shop last week. She didn’t deserve whatever sinister plans Andrew had for her, Andrew a married man with a wife who also didn’t deserve to be screwed around on.

“Okay,” Shelby said softly, her smile tipping up the corners of her lips. “We are on the same page.”

Guilt smacked him in the back of the head even though they’d been honest with each other, because he hadn’t been completely honest, and he guzzled down half his beer. He wasn’t pretending to care when he asked, “What else is stressing you? Work? Your friend?”

“Yes and yes.” She told him about the power struggles going on with her new project and she’d barely gotten started on it. He knew what she was talking about, had experienced similar issues.

“That’s one reason I wanted to start my own business. Be my own boss. Be the one calling the shots and if the client doesn’t want to listen, fine. In my experience, businesses who’re paying a consultant big bucks to make the changes they know they need usually pay a lot more attention than they do to someone inside the company, even if that person is trying to tell them the exact same things.”

“You’re probably right about that.”

Yeah, the economy had been part of his decision not to start his own business, but the truth was he and Andrew had planned to be partners. Their strengths and weaknesses complemented each other, they’d worked out the whole business strategy including the financing, and they’d been solid in their plan. There was just no way he could have worked with Andrew after what had happened, so not only had he lost the woman he loved and his best friend, he’d lost his business plan too. And ended up stuck at Coast Power.

But Shelby wouldn’t be hearing any of that story. He knew he should tell her, but at this point it felt…weird. Too late. And besides, he didn’t want her pity, either.

They talked about her friends too, and the fact that Adam was probably going to be released from the hospital on the weekend with nursing care at home. Their goal was to keep him comfortable by pumping him full of morphine, which made him pretty much out of it, but aware enough that he wanted to be in his own home when the end came. And Kiara wanted to be with him.

“No wonder you’re stressed,” he said. They finished the pizza and set the plates on the table. He tried to keep his eyes off her luscious breasts, which he was painfully, throbbingly aware were loose and bare beneath that thin covering. Jesus. His hands itched to fill themselves with her softness. Desire buzzed inside him, and it became more and more difficult to focus on their conversation when all he could think about was touching her skin, tasting her mouth, and fucking her.

He’d been such a gentleman after dinner the other night. Then lunch had not been conducive to any kind of fooling around. But tonight, there was no way he was gonna be able to keep his hands off her.

So he kissed her. Soft. On the mouth. Her lips parted and he slid his tongue in, tasting her sweetness. Lust surged through his veins like an intravenous injection, every nerve ending zinging, and his cock hardened even more.

She lifted a hand and rested it on his cheek, so gentle, and he deepened the kiss, sliding his own hand under her hair to the back of her skull. He held her there for him so he could slide his tongue into her mouth and taste her, so sweet. He rubbed his tongue over hers, opened her wider for him in a long, hard kiss.

When he drew back long moments later, her eyes sparkled, her cheeks glowed and her breasts rose and fell with shallow breaths.

“Jake.”

“Right here.” His fingers moved in her hair and he rested his nose against hers, sharing her breath. He closed his eyes and drew the scent of her into him, that light, sweet scent of peaches and pears and something a little flowery. “Wanna make out?”

She choked out a little laugh and then she wriggled onto his lap, just about blasting the top of his head off. His hands went to her hips as she turned in to him and he kissed her again, deeper, hotter, wetter. Her tongue slid over his teeth and he was done. A hot thrill ran through him, his hands still tingling to get on her bare skin, and he slid them under the T-shirt, up her satiny back, then back down. She shivered when his fingertips grazed over the spot at the base of her spine, so he went lower, beneath the loose drawstring of her pants, and into her panties.

She made a noise low in her throat and her hands fisted in his T-shirt at the shoulders, yanking him closer even though they couldn’t get much closer, not with two layers of clothes between them. Two layers. No bra. Christ.

Her glasses bumped against his face and he paused. “I love these glasses,” he murmured, taking hold of them in two hands and slowly pulling them off. “But let’s just take them off right now.”

He set them on the coffee table and returned to her body, sliding his hand back inside her panties, feeling the curve of her ass, the other hand sweeping around to her front and stroking over her tummy. So soft, the skin there, and she shivered again. He slanted his mouth to take her deeper, to take more of her, every sweet sound, every soft breath.

His hand inched higher until it brushed the undercurve of one breast and he slowly, deliberately rubbed there, shifted his hand to rub the side of her breast. She sighed into his mouth again, loosened her grip on his shirt, twined her arms around his neck, and leaned back in his arms, resting on the cushioned arm of the couch. His hard cock pressed up against her ass, and he shifted her weight just fractionally to ease the pain and pressure.

He moved his hand, not over her breast even though he still wanted to touch her there, to feel the hard little nipple, the firm resiliency of her flesh, but rather up between her breasts, over the smooth skin between. She moaned as the T-shirt rode up on his arm, and he let his fingers slide higher until he cupped her throat.

He kept kissing her, alert for her response to the dominant gesture. Some women didn’t like that. But she melted into him, apparently confident that his touch there wasn’t a threat. He kept his touch carefully gentle, softly possessive as he kissed her, breathed her in, stroked her tongue with his, then let his fingertips glide down between her breasts again.

And finally, finally he cupped one full mound and he couldn’t stop the groan that escaped him at the feel of her softness filling his palm. Jesus. She was exquisite. Her hot whimpers and cries filled his senses as he took one nipple between thumb and forefinger and squeezed.

His mind fogged, his body burned. “So I’m guessing that’s a yes.”

She tipped her head back and blinked at him. Fuck, she was sexy! All heavy-lidded eyes with smudgy eye makeup now revealed without the sexy librarian glasses, her mouth all swollen and shiny. “What?” she murmured.

One corner of his mouth kicked up. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I asked if you want to make out.”

The slow curve of her mouth sent another shaft of heat right through him. “No. I don’t.”

He laughed. Out loud. With a hard-on, for Chrissakes. Shoved a hand into her tousled hair and brought her head back to his for another long, drugging kiss. But he couldn’t leave those breasts alone for long and after a moment he broke the kiss, slid his hand out from her panties and used both hands to draw her shirt up and over her head. She lifted her arms obediently to assist.

He could only stare in awe at her naked torso, full round breasts gleaming in the lamplight, pretty nipples all pulled into dark pink peaks right in the center. “Sweet Jesus,” he breathed, running both hands up the sides of her rib cage. “You are so fucking gorgeous, Shelby.”

Her mouth went soft and her eyes hazy as she watched him, and she lifted a hand and pushed the hair back from his forehead in a tender gesture that tugged at something way deep inside him.

He laid her carefully back onto the arm of the couch and bent over her, taking a nipple into his mouth and sucking. It fit perfectly to his tongue, lengthening so sweetly. Her fingers slid through his hair, over his scalp, sending waves of pleasure rolling over his entire body, coalescing at his groin where he was so hard he hurt.

He cupped her breast with his hand, lifted it to his mouth, closed his eyes and suckled. Let the nipple slide out of his mouth, slow and seductive. Then he moved to the other breast. He wanted to eat her up, all of her, somehow. So he spent endless long minutes there, tasting and nibbling and playing. She arched her back, lifted herself to his hungry mouth, hands on his head pulling him to her breast.

He could stay there forever licking and sucking, rubbing his face over soft curves, breathing in the scent of her skin.

“So sweet, Shelby Rose. So damn sweet.”

“Love that.” Her voice whispered over his skin like a caress. “You’re making me so hot, Jake.”

“Good. Wanna make you burn, baby. ’Cause I sure am.”

He was about to burst, his balls agonizingly tight, and he wanted to bury himself in her sweet pussy. Sweat dampened the back of his shirt and cooled on his forehead. A ferocious hunger for her had him tugging the drawstring of her yoga pants until it released, then hooking his fingers into the soft fabric and drawing it down her thighs. She helped him push them off and lay across his lap wearing only sheer, black lace panties, a striking contrast to the casual clothes she’d had on. He blinked at them, fascinated. “These are nice,” he finally croaked, touching his fingertips to the scalloped edge.

She smiled at him, a secret, feminine smile that told him she loved his reaction. His body sizzled with the need to be inside her. He was about to start inching the lacy underwear down her legs when a loud knocking noise erupted in the room.

His head jerked up. What the hell?

“Someone’s at my door,” she whispered, eyes wide. She sat up, arms crossed across her chest.

He could have wept. Why now?

“Don’t answer it,” he urged her. His cock throbbed insistently.

She bit her lip then reached for her glasses. Then her cell phone buzzed somewhere in the room.

“What if it’s about Adam?” she hissed, sliding the glasses on her nose and rising off the couch. She grabbed her clothes and, clutching them to her, hurried to the door.

He watched her pretty little ass in those tiny black lace panties as she crossed the room, admired the elegant curve of her bare back, her blonde hair brushing her shoulder blades. He heaved a heavy sigh and put his hand to his aching cock. Shit.

“Just a minute!” he heard her call to whoever was on the other side of the door. Then a rustling sound as she tried to dress hurriedly, a thump, a muffled curse and then the door opened. “What are you two doing here?” Her voice sounded breathless.

Chapter Eleven

Shelby’s heart raced as she let Myra and Riley in.

“What’s going on?” she demanded, trying to breathe. She was all hot and bothered from making out with Jake, and seeing her friends at her door unexpectedly just totally threw her off. “Is it Adam? Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s okay, as far as we know. We just thought we’d come over and see how you’re doing.” Riley snapped her phone shut and Shelby’s phone stopped warbling as Riley walked past Shelby toward her living room. “You seemed upset last night after we saw him in the hospital and I had nothing to…” She stopped in the doorway. “Oh. Uh…hi.”

Myra, following behind Riley, stopped too.

Shelby pushed her hair off her face and swallowed her sigh. “You haven’t met Jake, have you?”

Riley swiveled her head and stared at Shelby. “No. We haven’t.”

Riley turned back to Jake, still sitting on the couch. He sat up straight, very carefully, and Shelby winced as she realized why. Would her friends notice?

Riley might have, because she turned to study Shelby and amusement tipped up the corners of her mouth. “Jesus, Shelby, I’m so sorry.”

Myra’s grin widened. “Uh…Shelby, hon, your shirt’s on inside out.”

Shelby looked down at the inside-out T-shirt, her hard nipples poking through it, and heat swept from her cheeks right down to her chest. Her braless chest. Oh crap. She gave her friends a weak smile.

She expected them to leave once they realized what they’d interrupted, but no, Myra sauntered over to a chair and plunked herself down in it. “I’m Myra,” she said to Jake with a wide smile.

He held out a hand. “Jake Magill. Nice to meet you, Myra.”

“We thought Shelby might not want to be sitting at home alone. Though she clearly isn’t.” She winked, then sobered. “I guess you’ve heard about our friends Adam and Kiara?”

“Yeah, I have. I’m sorry.”

She nodded. “Yeah, it sucks, huh?” She glanced at Shelby. “We could use a drink.”

“Myra, we should go,” Riley said, giving Myra a pointed look.

Shelby stood there, fingers curling into her palms. Her body still tingled everywhere, her pussy aching, her nipples on fire from all Jake’s attention to them. Lord, the man knew how to turn her on.

Hell, all he had to do was look at her to turn her on.

“We can stay for one,” Myra said to Riley, returning the look.

Shelby wanted to tell her friends this wasn’t very good timing but clearly they already knew that. She sighed and walked toward the kitchen. “Wine?”

“That’d be great.”

The twinkle in Myra’s eyes told Shelby that Myra knew exactly how annoying she was being and didn’t care. What was with her? She shot her friend an evil glare from behind Jake’s back as she poured white wine into two glasses. While she was there, she snagged two beers out of the fridge and tucked them under her arm so she could carry the wine to her friends. Riley had taken a seat on another armchair.

“Here you are.”

“Thanks.” Myra seemed extremely interested in Jake. “So, Jake, I didn’t realize you and Shelby were seeing each other again.”

Shelby dropped to the couch beside Jake and handed him a cold beer, meeting his eyes. She tried to look apologetic and his mouth twitched. Thankfully the guy had a sense of humor. If he was half as frustrated at the interruption as she was, he was doing a good job of hiding it.

Her gaze went to his lap. Okay, not so much. The thick bulge behind the fly of his jeans told her he had to be feeling pretty frustrated too.

“It was a last-minute thing,” she answered for both of them as she took the cap off her beer. “Jake brought over pizza.”

Riley and Myra exchanged another look Shelby didn’t like. Were they worried about her? Or maybe they were worried about Jake.

She took a gulp of her fizzy cold drink. She needed something cold, because she was burning up. Just like Jake had wanted her to. Her body tingled and she glared again at Myra, who grinned.

Bitch.

She shook her head, her own lips twitching, as Riley and Myra got into a conversation with Jake, clearly checking him out. She sat and watched in bemusement as Jake laughed and flirted a little with her friends, evading their unsubtle questions with quick humor. Much as she’d been annoyed at the interruption, something hot and soft expanded in her as Jake charmed her friends into giggles and fluttering eyelashes.

“We should play poker,” Myra suggested eventually.

Riley groaned. She set her empty wine glass on the coffee table and stood. “No,” she said firmly to Myra. “Enough. We’re going.”

Myra didn’t even protest as she stood too, still smiling. “All right, all right,” she grumbled but Shelby saw the twinkle in her eyes. “Shelby, you put that shirt back on the right way, okay?”

Oh geez, she’d totally forgotten about that. She pursed her lips and shot Myra a look that made her laugh. She followed the girls to the door.

“I like him,” Myra whispered to her. “But be careful, okay?”

Shelby pursed her lips and looked back and forth between her two friends, then nodded and smiled reluctantly. She locked the door behind them and returned to the living room.

“I’m so sorry,” she said as she slid down onto the couch beside Jake again.

“That’s okay.” His smile stole her breath. “I was annoyed at first, but they were just concerned about you.”

She rolled her eyes.

“They were fun to talk to,” he murmured and hooked his index finger into the neckline of her T-shirt. He quirked an eyebrow. “Like she said, we really need to fix this shirt.”

As he slowly lifted the T-shirt over her head for the second time that night, cool air brushed over her nipples and tightened them into sharp points. She longed to feel his hands on her again, like he had earlier. He’d teased her and heated her up into a frenzy of need for him. That lust and heat was banked deep inside her, glowing coals of desire, and it wouldn’t take much for him to stir that up into a roaring inferno again.

He took the T-shirt and carefully turned it right side out, then made as if to put it back on her. She bit her lip and gazed up at him through her lashes and he laughed softly.

“I’m just kidding,” he said. “You’re not getting this back on.” He tossed it behind his shoulder. “In fact, we need to get those pants off you again.”

He had her on her back on the couch and naked in seconds, leaning over her, kissing her, opening his mouth wider over hers, sucking her tongue inside his mouth. He moved between her legs and lifted one thigh, his fingers lingering behind her knee and sending shivers of delight cascading over her.

His other hand speared into her hair and held her head as he kissed her again and again, the weight of his body heavy on hers, his mouth stealing her breath. The hand on her leg slid down the side of her thigh and under her butt, cupping her, lifting her to him, and she moved along with him, needing that pressure, seeking the hardness of his erection.

They’d sat there practically quivering with frustrated lust the entire time her friends had been there and now it all exploded into flames, burning her up, every nerve ending alight, her skin on fire. Heat grew and swelled in her and she kissed him back as avidly as he kissed her, opening for him, tasting his tongue, nipping his bottom lip.

Her hands moved over his back and shoulders and she wanted him naked, too. She tugged ineffectually at his T-shirt, trying to find bare skin, until he finally sat up and reached behind his back and dragged the shirt over his head.

She lay there gazing up at him, again wonderstruck at the beauty of his body, all sculpted muscle and smooth, tanned skin. He was perfect, male perfection, heat practically shimmering off him. She wet her bottom lip with her tongue and saw his eyes darken as he watched her, his lips parted.

Then his gaze drifted from her mouth down over her breasts, her nipples tightening and tingling, then lower to her stomach, and lower still. Her body tightened with anticipation. With gentle hands, he parted her thighs, shifted backwards on his knees, and then it was his shoulders pushing her thighs even farther apart and his breath on her pussy rather than just his gaze.

Oh lord, oh lord. She closed her eyes then opened them again, his dark head between her legs, and then his tongue licked her, one side, the other, long, slow swipes of exquisite pleasure. His lips closed over sensitive flesh and sucked gently, again one side and the other in soft, suckling kisses then little closed-mouth kisses until he reached her clit. She quivered, ripples starting in her pelvis, heat building, her insides squeezing, her hands going to his head, threading through silky hair.

He licked her clit at the same time as his finger slid into her. She cried out again, lifted against his mouth and his hand, that unbearable sweetness swelling, everything tightening inside her. She was going to come, oh god, and then his mouth closed over her clit in a long, electrifying pull. She shattered, colorful spots dancing behind closed eyelids, flames consuming her body and her fingers gripping his hair.

“Sweet, Shelby.” He rained more little kisses over her sensitive, swollen folds, her quivering inner thighs, her tummy, as he shifted back onto his knees. She tried to breathe, her arms now limp at her sides, dragged her eyes open to see his hands at the fly of his jeans, and with sexy efficient moves he had them undone and shoved down his hips. So hot. More heat swept over her.

Her gaze dropped to his erection, more male beauty, thick and heavy, ridged with veins, so hard. He paused and reached down to his jeans and she swallowed tightly, waiting, still pulsing from her orgasm, until he rose again, a condom package in his hands. After quickly gloving up, he fell over her, jeans still around his knees.

On his elbows, both hands in her hair, he held her head again and kissed her, thumbs near the corners of her mouth, his mouth hot and wet, and she tasted herself on his tongue. He throbbed against her and she lifted her knees, opening for him.

“I can feel how wet you are,” he whispered close to her ear. “Wet and hot.” He opened his mouth on the skin of her neck, just below her ear, and gently sucked. Shivers swept over her again and she tightened her thighs around him.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered back. “Please, now.”

“Oh baby.” He reached between them, nudged at her entrance, and then pushed into her with a thrilling, stretching burn of pleasure. Still sensitive, with his thick shaft filling her, she started tingling again, a swirl of sensation inside her, contracting around him. He groaned and kissed her again and she arched against him with a small cry into his mouth.

He felt good, so very good, in her, on top of her.

“So good, Shelby,” he muttered. “Hot and tight around me, and you taste so sweet. I loved tasting you like that, feeling you come in my mouth.”

His words inflamed her and she wasn’t sure if she’d even stopped coming from the first orgasm or if this was another one, but it swelled inside her and she burst into flaming pieces again as he moved in her, against her, his face pressed to hers.

He groaned her name, a long drawn-out word, his body going rigid against hers, pulsing in hard, heavy jolts. “Oh man,” he moaned long moments later. “I so wanted to do this again, after last weekend.”

“Me too,” she confessed, hands stroking his sleek back. She was pretty sure she’d never been so turned on, so hot for a guy, so instantly orgasmic. Holy crap. Not even with Mark. Funny how Mark seemed like such a pale, anemic memory. At the time, she’d thought sex with him was hot. She hadn’t even known the meaning of the word hot.

Now she did. Burning up, feverish, explosive. Hot, hot, hot. She smiled and Jake lifted his head to look down at her. She loved the gleam in his eyes, the quirk of his lips. And that made it even hotter—the fact that they could talk and laugh and have so much fun.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

As if she was going to tell him she’d been thinking about her ex, even if it had been a comparison entirely favorable to him. “Nothing,” she said, twining her arms around his neck and stretching beneath him a little. “Just feeling good.”

“Ah.” He kissed her mouth lightly. “You’re welcome.”

She laughed, but dammit, that made her inner muscles tighten and push him half out of her. They both sighed and he rolled off her. He used a couple of tissues for the condom, then hiked his jeans back up, leaving them unbuttoned. Shelby licked her bottom lip, sat up and tried to run her hands through her tangled hair.

“Leave it,” he said, voice deep. “It looks sexy.”

She smiled, sitting there naked, amazed at how comfortable that felt. He stood in front of her, jeans low on his lean hips, emphasizing the hard muscles of his abs. Was he going to leave now?

He held out a hand to her. “Let’s go to bed,” he said.

She took his hand and rose, warmth swelling in her chest.

Chapter Twelve

They made love again, this time in her bed, this time with slow, easy touches and long, lingering kisses, lush licks and soft sighs.

And they talked.

He’d been dismayed when her friends had showed up earlier, and not just because they’d interrupted them. He never usually got to know girls’ friends very well and he didn’t want to, because that just made it into more of a “relationship”. Friends got pissed off when their friends got hurt, which he tried to avoid but which still happened, and he didn’t need every female on the face of the earth pissed off at him. But somehow, he’d found himself wanting Shelby’s friends to like him for some crazyass fucking reason, and then he’d found himself relaxing, liking the way they cared about Shelby and actually—Jesus—enjoying himself.

And now he found himself talking about stupid shit that he never talked about to anyone, telling Shelby more about his sisters and their kids. And she talked about her parent’s marriage and how alone she’d always felt because of their focus—their destructive focus—on each other. And they’d ended up talking about Andrew.

“He’s never done anything inappropriate,” Shelby said, curled against him, rubbing her hand over his chest, over one nipple, in a way that made him tingle.

“But you feel uncomfortable.”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible you misread him?”

Shelby thought about it. “I suppose. I might be a little paranoid.”

“Huh? Why?”

She smoothed her hand over his shoulder. “Because of what happened at my last job.”

“What happened?”

She rolled away from him and flopped onto her back with a groan.

He rolled toward her and lifted up on one elbow to look down at her, stroking hair off her cheek. “Tell me.”

Her eyes closed. “I worked at RBM Pharmaceuticals. As a project manager. It was a really interesting place to work. My boss…”

His gut clenched.

“When I’d been there about five years, I got a new boss. He and I got along great. We did the coffees, the lunches, the business trips.” She licked her lips and swallowed. Her eyes opened and he gazed down into that beautiful liquid blue. “He paid a lot of attention to me and we started seeing each other outside of work. I thought I was in love with him. He was my boss, and I knew it was a bad thing to do, but…”

His belly muscles went rigid, and the hand smoothing her hair back stilled. A feeling of pressure rose in his chest.

“But I fell for him, and I thought he loved me too.” A small smile touched her lips. “Stupid me. People were talking about us. It was quite the gossip fest even though we thought we were keeping it totally on the down low. What an idiot I was. Anyway, it seemed like things were going great. I was working hard, but I didn’t know that Mark was taking all the credit for the work I was doing, with his bosses.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” The tension in his chest built.

“He kept telling me what a good job I was doing, what great ideas I came up with, and how everyone above him recognized it too, and I believed him. And trusted him. And then…the project was going way over budget. I brought it to his attention. He said it must be my fault.” She stopped, her voice thick, and she blinked rapidly. “I looked back through all the project documents and I discovered that he’d screwed up a budget projection. It was a big mistake and it was going to cost the company a lot of money. It was going to look really bad for us. I felt sick about it, but…” She paused again. “But he told his bosses that it was my fault. He saved his own ass and let me take the fall for it.”

“Oh, Shelby Rose.” He pulled her into his arms, rolling again so she was tucked against him.

“It was even worse because I thought I was in love with him. He let them fire me. My reputation was a bit uh, tarnished in the project management world. I didn’t get a good reference. All RBM would do was confirm I’d worked there for six years if anyone called them for a reference.” Her tone was casual but he could hear how hard that had been for her. “It kind of made job hunting hell. And there aren’t that many companies in Rocky Harbor with project management departments. But you know, you can’t let stuff like that take you down, right?”

Many people would. He tightened his grip on her.

“So I was ecstatic when Gold Shield offered me a job. It was less money, but it’s a good company, and it turns out I’ve gotten two promotions already in the last year. But…” She hesitated. “But that’s what makes me paranoid. That Andrew’s only doing that because he wants something from me.”

A noise like a growl rumbled in Jake’s throat. He wanted to growl. Hearing her confession of love for that bastard kind of stung a bit. Huh. But that was clearly why she wasn’t interested in falling in love again, and that was fine by him.

“I don’t want that to happen again,” she said fiercely.

“That’s why your friends are so protective of you, isn’t it?”

She paused. “Protective?”

He smiled, remembering their interruption. The last thing he wanted was to get involved with her life on a deeper level, when all they had was their little deal, and meeting her friends and getting to know them was bad enough without them clearly concerned about him and what he and Shelby were doing together. “Yeah, protective. They were giving me the third degree.”

“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. “You didn’t seem too offended.”

“I wasn’t offended. I thought it was sweet. But…” He hesitated to tell her about his reluctance to get to know them or let them get to know him. Which strangely hadn’t stopped him from talking to them and actually enjoying it. “I just felt a little put on the spot.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure they understand what’s going on. I guess they are a little protective.”

“They’re good friends.” He stroked her hair. “And they care about you. That’s nice.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Sometimes they annoy me, but I love them. Anyway, that’s why it’s so important to me that I keep this job. I don’t want to piss my boss off, though. I just want to keep my job.”

“Just do a good job,” he said, stroking a hand down the curve of her back. “You’ll be okay if you just do a good job.”

“That’s not true.” She lifted her head and gave him a wry smile. “I was doing a good job at RBM and look what happened. There’s more to the business world than doing a good job, and sometimes I think I suck at all that political shit.”

He smiled up at her. “That political shit is one of my strengths.”

Her answering smile eased the burning pain in his chest. “I believe that, you charming devil, you.”

And he rolled her beneath him again, his mouth on hers, his hands on her sweet body, wanting to make her forget any other man, wanting to make her feel so good.

Jake spent the whole weekend with her, not just having sex, although they passed a good part of the time in bed. She’d never had so much fun in bed, making love slow and lazy, talking and laughing, even eating, then making love again, faster, hotter, rougher. But they did things out of bed too, like going shopping for food at the farmers’ market just outside town, walking on the beach, stopping to buy wine and coming across a new little antique store Shelby’d never seen and browsing through it. He’d even installed her new chandelier.

The thought crossed her mind that maybe this was a bit more than they needed to do to convince Andrew, since Andrew never actually saw them. But then, she wasn’t a very good liar and this way, when Andrew asked Monday morning how her weekend was, it would certainly be sincere and convincing when she told him it was the best weekend she’d ever had.

Monday morning was back to reality though, with project meetings and much work to be done on her project plan. She had a team to assemble, deliverables to nail down, and a communications strategy to plan. And that was just a start.

When Andrew called her to his office, she hesitated. What was this meeting going to be like? Another casual chat about anything and everything? Or was he still annoyed about all the invitations she’d turned down last week?

She smoothed her skirt down as she walked along the carpeted corridor between gray fabric panels dividing the cubicles, through the hum of computers, tap of keyboards and low voices discussing business. She smiled at Susan, who waved her into Andrew’s office with a brief smile and not even a bit of attitude.

“Good morning.” She smiled at Andrew too.

“Morning, Shelby. Come on in. Shut the door.”

Oookay. It was going to be a closed-door meeting. Her stomach tightened as she shut the office door and sat in a chair. He moved around from behind his desk and also sat.

“How was your weekend?”

Fanfreakingtastic. She nibbled her bottom lip briefly. “It was good,” she said, unable to stop her smile from breaking free. “Nothing exciting. Jake and I did a little shopping, a little cooking. Went for a walk.” She lifted one shoulder, trying to downplay the amazing time she’d had with Jake, her insides doing a little flip of excitement thinking about him again. “How about you?”

“It was okay.” He paused, watching her. Normally, he’d invite her to go for coffee, tell her about the chick flick Gianna had dragged him to and how bad it was, or how she’d made him have dinner with her parents who he always called the “outlaws”. He hated Gianna’s family and that apparently caused conflict between them. She’d heard it more than once. But he said nothing like that.

“Last week you met with Davis and Bram.”

Okay. On to business. “Yes. Twice.”

He nodded, his face serious as he took a chair. “How did that go?”

“Well, I mentioned to you earlier in the week that there seems to be conflict between their divisions. But I think after Friday’s meeting, I’ve gotten them more or less on board. Why?”

“Davis came to see me first thing this morning. Both he and Bram are questioning your ability to manage the project, given how short a time you’ve worked here.”

Her mouth fell open and her stomach swooped. Heat swept over her, burning her face. “You’re kidding.”

He leaned back in his chair. “No.”

“Well.” She searched for something to say. “They did mention that in our meeting, but I thought I’d addressed it.” She frowned at Andrew. “Are you concerned about that?”

Geez. He wasn’t going to take this project away from her now, was he? Was this all because she’d turned down his invitations last week?

The heat sliding over her intensified and a flare of anger burned inside her. If that’s what this was about…oh, man. This could not be happening to her. Not again.

“No,” he said, putting his fingertips together. “I chose you to lead this project and I have confidence in your abilities.”

Relief filtered through her, but even so her stomach was still knotted and tight. “Thank you.”

“They also weren’t happy because they think the whole intake process needs to be revised.”

“They mentioned that.” She gazed across the table at him. “That’s not in the scope of this project, though. I told them that, and I told them if there are processes that need to be reviewed, we would make note of them and I can make recommendations for future changes. They seemed fine with that.”

The fact that the two men had gone to her boss behind her back was starting to piss her off. Heat slid through her veins. She felt like slamming her leather portfolio on the table. Repeatedly.

Andrew nodded thoughtfully.

“You don’t think I should include that, do you?” She leaned forward. “You know how scope creep can destroy a project.”

“Yeah. I know. But the intake process is critical. What if it compromises the success of this project because it wasn’t included?”

She gritted her teeth. “Fine. I’ll look at it. But I’m not committing to including it in this project.”

“That’s okay. If you look at it, hopefully it will satisfy them.”

Shelby inhaled a deep breath and met Andrew’s eyes. “What about the bigger problem here?”

“What’s that?”

“The fact that they came to you behind my back, instead of coming to me.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed and his chin lowered. “Oh. Yeah.”

She shook her head, her mouth twisting. “I wish you had told them to come to me if they have concerns, Andrew.”

His eyes widened and he sat back a little in his chair. He gazed back at her. “I…”

“That’s okay.” She waved a hand and stood, trembling on the inside but wanting to appear confident and in control. She smiled. “I’ll go talk to them about it.”

She walked out of his office, fury boiling inside her, both at Andrew and at the other two men. What kind of bullshit was this?

She wanted to walk straight to Bram’s office while she still had the momentum, but paused outside her own cubicle. Maybe she should let the emotion die down a little and plan what she wanted to say to him before she went storming in there. Yeah.

So she sat at her desk and stared at the dark computer monitor for long moments.

It wasn’t as if she’d never encountered this kind of problem before. In her years at RBM she’d dealt with a whole lot of problems on various projects. She knew what she had to do. Why was she second-guessing herself?

She picked up three squares of sticky notes and stacked them one on top of another in a perfect neat pile. Straightened some files into an equally neat pile. Smoothed some dust particles off the corner of the desk. Replaced a paper clip in the holder.

Was it just because of Andrew and her worries that he was giving her too much responsibility? Or was it her past coming back to haunt her, making her doubt her abilities? Making her too sensitive to things she should be able to easily deal with.

She’d automatically jumped to the conclusion that Andrew was going to pull the project from her when he’d mentioned the problem. She shouldn’t have assumed that, but after the things her last boss had done, she was jumpy and paranoid. She rubbed her aching forehead and leaned her hand into it, elbow on her desk.

The fact that he hadn’t taken the project away from her, had stood up for her, caused her even more confusion. Yes, she should be happy her boss supported her. That’s what she’d expect from a boss. But there was still that niggle of worry about his attention to her and what his intentions were. Although this morning had been completely businesslike.

She’d give it a couple of hours and then go talk to Bram and Davis.

Chapter Thirteen

Jake’s Monday morning wasn’t going so well. It was getting more and more difficult to ignore the frustration he felt at the lack of vision his superiors had for the company and the boredom of doing the same work day in and day out. Yes, times were tough, yes, they had to be careful about decisions they made, but they were really in a good position to take on new challenges and, in fact, to take advantage of the markets the way they were. And Jake missed the excitement of being on the front lines of something new.

Maybe if he went for coffee at Java the Hut, he’d run into Shelby.

Maybe he was losing his mind.

She lifted him up, though, with her sense of humor and eternal optimism, how she didn’t let things keep her down for long, and strangely, after spending most of the weekend with her, not being with her left him feeling hollow. What the fuck was that?

He poked his head into Drew Rutherford’s office, one of his colleagues he’d gotten to be buddies with, who shared some of his frustrations. “Hey, Drew. Wanna get a coffee?”

“Hell yeah.” The other man looked up from his laptop. He appeared to be working on both the laptop and the computer on the desk. Jake grinned. Drew rubbed his face. “These budget projections are all screwed up.”

“Let’s go to Starbucks,” Jake suggested, now for some reason not wanting to take the chance of running into Shelby. He needed to put some distance between them. This idea that he might be—fuck!—missing her after the weekend scared the crap out of him. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

“No, too far,” Drew complained as they rode down in the elevator. “Let’s just go to Java the Hut.”

“Sure, okay.” Jake swallowed his sigh.

They ordered their coffees and decided to sit outside on the patio. Another perfect sunny day in Southern California.

“How was your weekend?” Drew asked.

Jake hesitated. “Actually it was pretty unbelievable.”

Drew grinned. “Hot chick?”

“Oh yeah.” And that’s all it was. A hot chick and a lot of time in bed.

“Sounds good. You have all the luck. I’m jealous, man.”

Drew was happily married and Jake knew he didn’t really mean that.

“What do you think about this idea of implementing a new database for Payroll?” Jake asked him, changing the subject away from anything to do with Shelby.

Sexy, funny, spunky Shelby Rose.

God. Get a grip man.

They talked about business. Drew was a finance guy and had a good head for numbers, which sometimes Jake wasn’t all that interested in. He’d forced himself to deal with that part of the business, but he knew his strengths were his vision, his big picture thinking, his creativity. That’s why Andrew and he’d been such a good team—Andrew with his logic and details.

He waited for the familiar wave of depression that rose inside him every time he thought of Andrew. But it didn’t come. Huh.

“You know, if you’re that unhappy, you should just make a change,” Drew said to him. Jake focused on him and frowned.

“Unhappy?”

“I can tell you’re frustrated. You need more of a challenge than you’re getting here, buddy.”

“This isn’t a good economy for looking for a job,” Jake said slowly, looking down at the paper cup of coffee in his hands.

“Why not? You don’t have to quit until you find something. Seriously. Don’t waste your life being miserable.”

“You like it here?”

“You know I have my issues too.”

“Ever thought of starting your own business?” Jake asked.

“Nah. I’m too chickenshit for that. That’s a big risk.”

“Yeah. It is.”

“Not so much for you.” Drew lifted his chin. “You’re a single guy. I’m married with two kids and a wife who likes to live beyond our means. I’m not about to take that chance when I’m nice and secure where I am, even though it’s not always perfect. What have you got to lose?”

Jake stared back at his friend. He still had all the money he’d put aside that was supposed to cover start-up expenses and support him for the first year while the business he and Andrew had planned together got going. So what if he didn’t have Andrew?

Bah. He couldn’t do it on his own.

Could he?

“Let’s head back,” Drew said. “I have to figure out those projections.”

As they were leaving the café, Jake looked up and saw Shelby walking down the street. Their eyes met and she smiled. Their steps brought them face to face. Drew continued on walking and talking, not realizing he’d left Jake behind standing on the sidewalk in front of Shelby, looking down at her, nearly touching her.

“Hi, little girl.”

“Hi.”

Their slow, shared smile sent a zap of heat through him.

“Are you just leaving?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Regret sifted through him. “Gotta get back.”

Drew stopped on the sidewalk fifteen feet away, realizing he was talking to nobody, and turned around with a frown. Jake lifted a hand to him with one finger raised. Drew’s gaze moved to Shelby and he grinned and shook his head.

Jake touched Shelby’s cheek. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

She nodded. “Sure. See you.”

And he watched her walk into Java the Hut, dressed in a taupe suit with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, a coral-colored shirt beneath it. He turned to see Drew watching him and laughing.

“Who was that?” Drew demanded when Jake caught up to him.

How the hell did he answer that question? She wasn’t his girlfriend. She was…she was… “Just a girl,” he finally said, and his gut clenched as he said it.

“She’s hot.”

“Yeah.”

Drew shot him a sideways look as if he suspected Jake was being a dickhead. Which he was. Shit.

“Is that who you saw on the weekend?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh. Hey, maybe next weekend bring her for dinner. Marnie was just saying she hasn’t seen you for a while.”

It had been a while since he’d gotten together with Drew and his wife. Much as he liked Drew, hanging out in domestic bliss with him and his wife wasn’t an exciting way for him to spend a Saturday evening. But strangely, the idea of getting together with another couple and Shelby appealed to him.

“Maybe,” he said, confusion tangling inside him yet again. Why would he be thinking thoughts like that? He should be thinking of ways to be seen with Shelby where Andrew would see them so he could make sure he knew she was his.

Except she wasn’t. Shit.

He tried to clear his brain as they talked more business on the way back to the office. “Let me look at your projections,” Jake offered as they got off the elevator. “Maybe I can figure it out.”

“Sure.” So Jake followed him into his office. Drew threw himself down into the leather chair behind his desk. His fingers flew over the keys of the laptop and then he turned the computer around so the screen faced Jake. Jake pulled a chair up and started looking at the columns of numbers. It only took a few minutes for him to see something that made him pause. “Hey.” He pointed to the cell. “This has to be wrong.”

Drew frowned and turned the computer around, did some more clicking. Then his face cleared. “Hey. You’re right. Somehow I linked to the wrong spreadsheet. Jesus.” He grinned and looked up at Jake. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem.”

Drew paused. “You know, you always say you’re not good with the details and the analysis shit.”

Jake grimaced and forked his fingers into his hair.

“But you are,” Drew said. “You bail me out like this all the time.” He shook his head.

Jake stared at him. Yeah, actually, he did help Drew out sometimes like that. It wasn’t something that came naturally to him, but maybe over the years he’d learned to be more logical and analytical, more detail-oriented. He grinned as he returned to his own office. No one would ever call him organized and anal if they saw his messy condo.

At his desk, he tried to get his head around work, but he kept thinking about the conversation with Drew about not wasting his life there if he was unhappy.

Was that what he was doing?

He minimized the spreadsheet he was working on and hovered the cursor over the folder in his USB drive labeled “Consultant”. He stared at the screen for a few seconds then clicked to open the folder, found the spreadsheet titled Contacts and opened it. The long list of names, titles, companies and addresses came up on his screen. Slowly he scrolled down, eyes moving over the list, all the names familiar to him, all people he’d done business with and kept in touch with. All people he knew would still be interested in working with him. Yeah, there were some names there Andrew had contributed, but the majority of the list they’d put together of potential clients had come from Jake. He was the one who liked to network, the one who remembered people’s names and whether they were married and where they’d gone on vacation, whereas Andrew liked to sit in the office and crunch numbers.

He sighed and closed the document, rubbed his forehead. He needed to finish that report and not waste time daydreaming about what might have been.

Only instead, his mind turned to Shelby.

Chapter Fourteen

“So I went to Davis and I told him that I’d be looking at the intake process. Then while he was all smug and happy and ‘see, I told you’ about that, I brought up how he’d gone to Andrew behind my back.”

Having dinner with Myra and Riley later that week, Shelby dipped her chopsticks and picked up some chicken lo mein. Kiara was at home with Adam. Worry still gnawed inside Shelby about that.

“How did that go over?” Riley asked.

“It was okay. I asked him what his intention was by doing that. And he was all apologetic and just said he wasn’t trying to get me in trouble, yadda yadda. So I told him that if he has questions or concerns about the project, he should come to me, and I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate someone going to his boss without telling him, and he agreed.”

“What about the other guy? Bram?”

“He was even more apologetic. He seemed really shocked that I was even bringing it up and he stuttered and stammered all over the place.”

“Some organizations just have that kind of culture,” Riley said, poking her kung pao chicken. “They might be surprised at someone who confronts them head on.”

“I wasn’t confronting him, exactly,” Shelby said. She picked up her wine and took a sip. “I was being assertive.”

“Yeah. That’s good. Good for you, Shelby. You’re really toughening up.”

Shelby pursed her lips. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“You know it is! You always say you want to be tougher.”

Shelby nodded. It was true. Her dislike of conflict had too often gotten her into trouble, in her personal life and her professional life. “I was pretty tough,” she said with a small smile and a toss of her head.

“But you did it without pissing them off,” Riley added. “That takes skill. That is good conflict resolution.”

Shelby blinked at Riley. “I guess I’m learning,” she replied slowly.

“So enough about work crap,” Myra said. “Tell us more about Jake.”

Shelby laughed. She was surprised they hadn’t brought this up earlier. “It’s really nothing,” she said. “Neither of us is into relationships and I kind of need someone to keep Andrew at a distance and he’s willing to help out.”

Myra and Riley exchanged glances. “Really?”

“Plus the sex is hot,” she added with another grin.

“Okay. So you’re telling us this is just about sex.”

“Pretty much.”

“Uh, Shelby.” Riley leaned forward. “I hate to remind you of this, but…”

“I know, I know.” Shelby waved a hand, though a small knot had formed in her stomach. “It’s okay, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

Once again her friends divided a look between them. Shelby’s smile faded. What were they thinking? That she was going to do something stupid like fall in love with yet another guy who they thought was going to take what he could get and then break her heart? The knot in her stomach started to hurt.

“Really, guys,” she said. “It’s just a fun thing and it serves a purpose. And Jake’s a good guy.”

“Well, that’s good then,” Riley said. But she wasn’t smiling and Shelby knew Riley was concerned.

She firmed her lips and tipped her head to one side. “Seriously, Riley.”

But Riley just shook her head. “I know you better than that, Shel.”

“I know myself better now too,” Shelby said. “I’m busy rebuilding my career right now. I know in the past I may have gotten involved with guys I shouldn’t have, but this isn’t like that. This is helping me keep my job.”

Riley nodded, her eyes still shadowed with doubt.

Shelby sighed. “Are you trying to talk me out of doing this?”

One corner of Riley’s mouth kicked up. “I don’t know, hon. I’m glad you and Jake are having fun together, but I’m worried about you.”

Shelby sat back in her chair, her insides twisted into knots. “You don’t need to worry about me. I know what I’m doing. This time I’m not being used. I’m using him.” She smiled brightly at her friends. “Right?” Actually, that sounded really crappy, too. She didn’t like the idea of using someone. Oh hell. Was this a big mistake?

“If you say so.” Myra grinned. “I’m assuming he has a big cock?”

Shelby choked on her mouthful of wine, almost spewing it over her food. She grabbed for her napkin and raised it to her mouth, looking reproachfully at Myra through watery eyes. “Myra!” Trust Myra to break through the building tension.

“Yes or no?” Myra’s eyes twinkled.

Shelby shook her head, lowered her eyes and smiled. “Yes.”

“I knew it!”

“You just never mind about his cock,” Shelby said, lowering her voice and leaning across the table. “It’s mine.”

“Oh honey, I know.”

Shelby shook her head, her cheeks scorching. “And I’m not going into details about the sex, so you can just forget about that.”

“Damn.”

“I talked to Kiara,” Shelby said, changing the subject. She poked at her food, her smile disappearing. “Adam’s not doing so well.”

“Oh hell.” They all went quiet.

Shelby’s throat constricted. “They didn’t want him to go home but he insisted. It might be any time now.”

“Fuck.”

“It’s so not fair.”

“I know.” Shelby sighed. “We’ll be there for her. Whatever she needs.”

“Of course.”

“That won’t make a damn bit of difference,” Riley said with a touch of bitterness. “Her life is still going to be devastated.”

“D’you think any of us will ever experience a love like that? Like Kiara and Adam?” Myra asked.

Shelby looked at Myra with surprise, Myra the tough, cynical one of the bunch, who at that moment looked wistful and sad. Shelby’s throat ached and she looked down at her plate. “I don’t know. I guess we can only hope.”

Every time she talked to Jake that week, Shelby wondered if she should be putting an end to whatever it was they were doing together. Friday when he invited her out for lunch, she almost said no—until Andrew walked past her cubicle, effectively reminding her of why they were doing it. So she agreed to meet Jake at a nearby restaurant.

She ordered a spinach salad and smiled when he ordered a triple-decker clubhouse sandwich with fries. “You eat a lot,” she said.

“I work out a lot.” He smiled at her as he handed the server the menu.

“I know.” His training schedule was crazy.

“I have to work hard if I want to do the Iron Man later this year. It’s been my goal for a long time.”

“It’s a lot of work.”

“Yeah. But I like it.” On Mondays he worked out with weights at the gym and every other day of the week except Thursdays he biked, ran or swam, some days both, some days at six in the morning. She’d teased him about what seemed borderline obsessive-compulsive and he’d all but admitted that yeah, maybe he was a little obsessed.

“How can anyone swim for an hour?” she asked, sitting back as the waitress set a cup of coffee in front of her. “That just amazes me. I can barely dog paddle for five minutes.”

He grinned at her. “I’ll teach you to swim.”

“Not necessary. I’m happy dog-paddling around the pool.”

“It could be fun.” His grin went wicked.

“Mmm. You could be right.” Being nearly naked in a pool with Jake could definitely be fun. She smiled and leaned a little closer, their gazes connected in a heated eye-lock.

“Shelby?”

Still smiling and warm, she looked up at the person who’d stopped beside their table.

Mark. Her former boss. And lover. The asshat.

Her body went instantly cold. Then hot. She blinked up at Mark. “Mark. Hi.”

He gave her a cautious smile. “How are you, Shelby?”

Her heart picked up a little speed. “I’m fine, thanks,” she said coolly. “And you?”

“Great, thanks.” His eyes shifted to Jake and then back to her.

Well, shit. “Mark, this is Jake Magill. Jake, Mark Temple. Mark and I used to work together at RBM.”

Jake’s eyes flickered and she knew he’d picked up on the tension and the significance of that. He rose from his chair and extended a hand. She watched them shake hands, taking in Mark’s faint wince at the pressure of Jake’s grip.

“Good to meet you,” Jake said with a near snarl that belied the polite words.

Mark’s gaze turned back to Shelby.

She relaxed a little in her chair, a smile pulling at her lips. “Jake’s a Senior Business Analyst at Coast Power,” she said, watching Jake fold his big body back into his chair.

Mark nodded. “Is that where you’re working now?” he asked her.

She shook her head. “Oh no. I’m at Gold Shield Insurance. Senior project manager.” She lifted her chin and met his eyes. Scumbag.

He nodded again. “Oh, that’s great! Glad to hear it. I thought I’d heard…” He glanced at Jake again.

“Heard what?” Shelby smiled and tipped her head to one side.

“I heard it took a while for you to find another job.”

She resisted the urge to narrow her eyes at him and scowl, keeping her smile firmly in place. “I took my time,” she agreed. “I wanted to find a good fit. This time.”

He blinked. “Uh. Good. That’s good. Well, I’m glad to know you’re doing so well. You look really…happy.”

She couldn’t help it. She looked at Jake. He turned his gaze from Mark toward her and met her eyes and the cool hostility immediately shifted into a warm smile. Her smile deepened. Thank god Jake was there, this first time she’d run into Mark after what had happened. Gratitude poured through her and she held his gaze as she said, “Yes. I am. Very happy.” She glanced at Mark. “Nice to see you again.”

He got the dismissal and with a short nod turned to leave.

Jake reached across the table and covered one of her hands. “That’s the asshole boss who used you and hung you out to dry?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.” Her smile went crooked. His hand felt so nice on hers, strong and warm. “That’s the asshole. Thanks.”

“Thanks for what?”

She sighed. “Just for being here, I guess. That’s the first time I’ve seen him and I was kind of…nervous, I guess.”

Jake’s eyelashes swept down as he lowered his gaze to the table. “Do you still care about him, Shelby?”

She looked across the restaurant where Mark had taken his seat at a table with three other men. “No,” she said slowly. “I don’t. It was fine. I was just…I didn’t want him to feel sorry for me.”

He sat back in his chair, a strange expression on his face. “Yeah.” He paused, then shook his head. “He has no fucking reason to feel sorry for you. You’ve got a great new job and you’re moving on.”

Sort of. She smiled at Jake. Yeah, she had a great new job, with just the tiny little problem of her new boss seeming to be going down the same damn path as Mark had. No, not fair. She had no idea if Andrew could be as nasty and selfish as Mark had been. But as for moving on…she wanted Mark to think so, but the truth was, she and Jake weren’t really in a relationship.

Whatever. It couldn’t have worked out better that Mark saw her with Jake, all tall, dark, well-groomed and gorgeous, and she’d loved how he’d reacted to Mark, how Jake had nearly broken Mark’s hand when he shook it. So what if it was pretend? It felt good. Damn good.

And so what if her friends were worried about her getting involved with Jake? This was working out fine.

“Why are you so determined to do this Iron Man thing?” she demanded breathlessly as they cycled together along the beach path Sunday afternoon, Jake on his expensive racing bike, her on her rented bicycle from the little shop on the beach.

“I don’t know. It’s just a goal. Something to work toward.” He grinned beneath the helmet and sunglasses that made him look sexy and athletic, whereas she knew hers just made her look dorky.

“Goals are good.” She’d seen how much pain he was in one day after a long ride on his bike, though, and didn’t quite understand the motivation. She supposed she should just enjoy the results of him punishing his body like that, with his lean hard muscles, bulging biceps and ripped abs. His body was amazing. And she loved how his strength gave him the ability to take charge in bed, lift her up, turn her around, even do her standing up, which had been an incredible experience. Heat slid through her at the memory of that.

“Can we stop for a rest?” she asked.

He laughed. “Sure. Let’s go a little further. There’s a café we can stop at for a cold drink.”

This wasn’t even a workout for him, this was a leisurely little ride on top of his usual workout, whereas she was sweating and panting.

Maybe she needed to work out a little more. She did run, but only a few miles, and if she squeezed it in two or three times a week, she was doing well. As they sat in the sun drinking bottles of water, she flexed one bare arm to view her biceps. Then she looked up and caught Jake’s amused eyes on her.

“I should lift some weights,” she said.

He leaned over and kissed her mouth. “You look perfect the way you are, little girl.”

“It’s not about looks,” she objected. “It’s about being strong. And healthy. Right?”

“True.” He touched his finger to the tip of her nose. “Come to the gym with me, then. I’ll get you started.”

“Well. Maybe some time.” It might be better to start off somewhere else, in a gym full of strangers.

They returned her bike to the rental kiosk a while later, locked Jake’s up on the rack attached to his SUV and went back to his place where he’d promised to cook her dinner.

“I like to cook,” he told her.

Another surprise.

“I kind of had to learn when I was a kid. My dad was pretty useless in the kitchen, so after my mom left, I had to figure things out or we would’ve starved.”

Her heart tightened at being reminded of his mother’s abandonment. How could she have done that to him? She knew his mom was dead, but even so, a spear of dislike shafted through her at someone who would do something like that to fourteen-year-old Jake.

Her first visit to his home stopped her in her tracks. She walked into the modern new building, expecting something sleek and masculine, and indeed, his place was masculine and she supposed sleek might be one word. Chaotic might be another.

He kept his bike in his condo, leaning against a wall, along with a whole lot of other sports and exercise equipment including a weight machine. “For the days I can’t get to the gym,” he explained.

A huge dog came running at them, and she all but leaped into Jake’s arms. “Down, Wayne,” Jake ordered the giant beast. The dog sat, mouth open to reveal large teeth and a huge tongue.

Shelby watched him warily, clutching Jake. “Does he bite?”

Jake laughed. “No. Of course not.” He extricated himself from Shelby’s grip and rubbed the dog’s head. “This is Wayne.”

“Wayne?”

“I named him after the greatest hockey player of all time. Wayne Gretzky.”

Shelby bit her lip on a smile. “I see.”

“Gimme five.” Jake extended a hand and the dog laid a big paw on his palm. “Good boy.” He looked at her, still nearly hiding behind him. “Are you afraid of dogs?”

“Um…no. Well, maybe a little. I like small dogs.” She eyed Wayne. “He’s pretty big.”

“But he’s very gentle. C’mere and meet him.” He pulled Shelby forward and he lifted her hand and brought it close to Wayne’s face, palm up, for him to sniff. The dog carefully sniffed, gave her hand a small lick, and looked up at her, head tilted to one side.

“Hi, Wayne,” she said tentatively. She looked at Jake. “Can I pat him?”

“Sure.”

She gave the dog’s head a rub, surprised by the silky softness of his fur. He was kind of cute. She straightened and looked around.

Surveying his living room, she managed to locate a black leather couch amid sports equipment, computer equipment, DVDs, CDs, books and magazines on an impressive variety of topics—running, cycling, men’s health, business and news—scattered everywhere. That she expected. And the big screen television. She held her bottom lip between her teeth as she walked around and took it all in. She picked up a running magazine and noted the date—a year old!

Jake stood there also surveying his place. “It’s kind of messy, isn’t it?”

“Um…” Her smile broke free. “Kind of? It’s a freaking disaster!”

“It’s not that bad.”

Well, it was reasonably clean. The kitchen was clean anyway, counters spotless, stainless steel appliances gleaming. There were no dust bunnies lurking in corners that she could see.

“I have a cleaning lady,” he said. “So it can’t be that bad.”

She pressed her lips together to again stop from laughing, and nodded. The urge to organize, tidy and throw away a ton of junk made her itch and twitch.

“And I don’t like things too neat,” he added. “It stifles creativity.”

Now she did laugh out loud, but he grinned too. The state of his condo took her by surprise—he was always perfectly groomed and dressed impeccably, and somehow she’d expected where he lived to be the same.

“Have a seat,” he said, nodding to stools at the granite counter. “We can have a glass of wine while I cook.”

“I can help.” As long as it was simple. Cooking wasn’t her thing, unless it was cookies.

“We’ll see.” And he started pulling food out of the refrigerator, pulling pans down from the rack above the counter, expensive-looking gourmet cookware. Wow.

He was a multi-faceted guy, that’s for sure, and as she watched him, her heart tilted dangerously.

As he cooked and then as they ate, they talked more about his Iron Man goal.

“When did you decide to do this?” Shelby asked, spearing a pillowy ravioli coated in tomato sauce. “Or have you always wanted to?”

Jake’s face tightened a little and he looked down at his own plate. “I got the idea about a year ago,” he said. “I needed something to fill my time beside work. I wasn’t feeling all that satisfied with my job, and I wasn’t going to be starting my own business. I actually started going out a lot—hanging out in bars, partying all night. That didn’t seem very healthy, so I decided to take up something that would be good for me. I’ve always liked swimming—I was on the swim team in high school and college. But the triathlon appealed to me because it was a challenge.”

She nodded. “Do you want to win?”

He laughed. “No! This year will be my first time. I’ve done smaller competitions, but not an Iron Man. My goal is to finish and live to tell about it.”

She grimaced. “That doesn’t sound like fun to me.”

His eyes crinkled as he smiled back at her. “Yeah, sometimes that’s just how I feel. When I’m in agony I ask myself, why am I doing this again?”

“I have to admire your determination, though.”

“Thanks.”

After dinner they moved into his living room and he cleared magazines and newspapers off the couch so they could sit. “Sorry about the mess,” he muttered. “I kind of don’t notice it so much when I’m here alone.”

His apology touched something inside her. “No worries. I can live with a little clutter. Well. Not for long. It might drive me crazy after a while.”

He slid one arm around her and tipped up her chin. “I’ll clean up before you come next time.”

Next time. Her heart missed a beat as she gazed into his eyes. That made it sound so…real.

Jake’s office phone warbled and he absently grabbed for it Tuesday afternoon, not taking his eyes off his computer screen.

“Jake Magill,” he barked into the phone, then regretted the sharp tone. Drew had already accused him of being a grouchy sonofabitch earlier that day. And yeah, he was feeling irritable and ornery. Because he’d wanted so much to see Shelby last night but hadn’t let himself give in and call her. Why he was denying himself, he had no fucking idea. Oh yeah, he did. Because Sunday night at his condo he’d had the weirdest thought that he didn’t want her to ever leave, and that was just not acceptable. It irritated him.

“Hi, Jake. It’s me.”

The voice startled him bolt upright in his chair.

“Gianna.”

Chapter Fifteen

Jake thought his heart might have stopped, then started again with painful thuds in his chest. He actually laid a hand over his dress shirt and tie.

“You’re probably surprised to hear from me,” she said, sounding hesitant and quiet.

“Uh…yeah. You could say that.” He stared across his office, not really seeing anything, mind racing. What the hell?

“I wanted to call you ever since I saw you at that Gold Shield picnic.”

Jesus Christ! The thoughts flying around in his head picked up speed. “Oh.” Brilliant answer, genius. “Why?”

Stupid question. Shit.

“I don’t know.” A soft sigh sounded over the phone line. “I just…after I saw you, I realized how much I miss you.”

He gave his head a sharp shake, not sure if he’d heard right. “Gianna. You’re married.”

“I know.” The high pitch of her voice told him she was nervous and near tears. Christ, what was going on? “But I’m…I think I…oh dammit.” A few beats of silence. “Maybe we could get together…for a drink or something…and talk.”

“Gianna. Jesus. What’s going on?”

He felt as if a giant fist had just been driven into his gut, all the air knocked out of him. He could hardly draw a breath. This was fucking insane.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m confused. I miss you and I want to talk to you.”

Jake covered his eyes with one hand and slumped back in his chair. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please, Jake. I know you were hurt by what happened…”

Jesus, there she went with the pity again. Was that what this was all about? “It was a long time ago,” he said.

“I know, I know. You probably can’t forgive me, but I realize now what a mistake I made.”

“It was over a year ago!”

Disbelief had his own voice rising and he fought back the emotions churning inside him.

“I’m sorry. I am so sorry. You have no idea…”

“What about Andrew?”

She didn’t answer.

He’d waited so long for this day. Actually, he’d given up hope this day would ever really come, had come to terms with the fact that Gianna and Andrew were together, although for a long time after the break-up he’d had dreams about it almost every night. And now it was really happening. She wanted him back. Unfuckingbelievable.

He’d loved her. Once. Man, in his dreams he’d been pretty quick to take her back, but now he hesitated. When he’d seen her at that picnic he’d been rattled, but probably more because of the unexpectedness of the encounter. Did he really still have feelings for her?

He tried to sort out the tangled knot of emotions inside him and gave it up.

“I don’t know, Gianna.” Then he frowned. “Are you and Andrew having problems?” What if that bastard was screwing around on her? He already knew Andrew had his eye on Shelby, so it was entirely possible he had other women too. Shit.

“Sort of.”

Huh. Not much of an answer. He pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut.

Another soft, sad-sounding sigh. “Would you think about it? About maybe just getting together some time for a drink? You still have my cell phone number, right?”

Pathetic fool that he was, yeah, it was still programmed into his own cell phone. “Yeah.”

“Think about it and call me,” she invited in that breathy voice. He pictured her, all dark hair and eyes and sexy mouth. And kind of felt sorry for her.

He hung up the phone and sat there for a long time, replaying the conversation in his mind, trying to make sense of it all. But there was no sense to it. He could imagine a hundred different scenarios. What if Gianna and Andrew’s marriage had been a mistake? What if she still had feelings for him? Could he actually forgive her and take her back?

Did he want to forgive her and take her back?

He felt like his head was going to explode.

This was a freakin’ nightmare.

“Do you think your parents might get the wrong idea about us?”

Jake had picked Shelby up and they were on their way to visit her parents. He had no idea how this had come about. After Gianna’s call, he’d been distracted and confused. Should he be ending things with Shelby? Should he call Gianna? How could he call her when she was married? How could he even think of doing that? But he did think of it, because hell, he’d thought about nothing else for months after they’d broken up. Wasn’t this what he’d been waiting for?

Or was it? Because only moments before Gianna’s call, he’d been all confused about his feelings for Shelby and how he hadn’t wanted her to leave his place on Sunday night, which was not supposed to be part of this little deal they had going on.

So when he’d picked up the phone to call Shelby, he wasn’t even a hundred percent sure why he was calling her. He wanted to see her. He felt guilty about talking to Gianna. He felt guilty about even thinking about calling Gianna. But why should he feel guilty when he and Shelby had only a no-strings-attached deal between them? Then he was talking to her and asking to see her that evening, and she was telling him she’d already made plans to visit her parents, and invited him along.

First he’d said no. No, as in hell no, no freakin’ way he wanted to meet her parents, like he was her real boyfriend or something. He never did the whole meet-the-parents thing—his hookups never got that far and that was fine with him. Meeting parents was way too serious for his casual life.

But somehow, there they were, sitting in his car on their way to see her parents.

She snorted at his question. “Don’t worry about that. They’ll barely notice we’re there.”

He laughed. She’d told him about her parents getting back together yet again and how her mom hadn’t even remembered she was coming the last time she’d gone over. She had another container of cookies on her lap, though.

“What’s with the cookies?” he asked as he drove. “Taylor says you’re always making cookies for people. I thought you didn’t like to cook.”

“Cookies are about the extent of my culinary skills,” she said. “I don’t know why I do that. Okay, yes I do.” She sighed. “When I was a kid, one time my parents were having this huge blow up, in their bedroom yelling and throwing things at each other. I went into the kitchen, and to distract myself I made cookies. I had to focus on all the measurements and it…helped. I guess. And then my parents came out of their bedroom and they smelled the cookies and they stopped fighting. And they…” She looked out the side window of the car, pausing in her story. “They ate the cookies and they said what a good job I’d done. They were actually paying attention to me and they stopped fighting.” She shot him a wry smile. “For a while. I guess I have this weird feeling that if I make cookies, everything will be okay. Even though I know it won’t.”

He reached for her hand and squeezed it, kept it within his as he drove. “You’ve never made cookies for me.”

She grinned. “I don’t think you need cookies from me. Your life seems pretty together.” He snorted and she tipped her head as she looked at him. “Isn’t it?”

“Sure.” Yeah, right. As if he wasn’t confused enough about his career, that phone call from Gianna had messed his head up but good. What the hell was he supposed to do about that? And oh yeah, why was he meeting Shelby’s parents again? Jesus.

Following her directions, he pulled into the driveway, and they walked into the house.

“Hey, Mom and Dad! I’m here.”

A woman sat on the couch in the living room, alone, a small woman like Shelby, a little plumper, her blonde hair cut short. “Oh, Shelby. Hi.”

He caught Shelby’s eye roll even though her mother apparently didn’t. “Don’t tell me you forgot I was coming again.”

“I’m just a little distracted,” her mother said, rising and coming toward her for a hug. “And who’s this?”

Shelby introduced Jake to her mother. “What are you distracted about, Mom?”

Mrs. Leighton sighed and sank back down onto the couch. “Your father’s not home yet.”

“Oh.”

“And he hasn’t called.”

“Uh-huh.” Shelby shot a glance at Jake who lifted his eyebrows. “Well, I brought you some cookies.”

“Oh thank you, honey.” Mrs. Leighton waved a hand. “Just put them in the kitchen. Would you two like a drink?”

“Um…” Again she looked at Jake.

“I’d like a cookie,” he said softly with a faint smile.

A slow smile tugged at Shelby’s pretty lips. “Oh. Okay. Let’s go into the kitchen.”

She led the way, found a plate and arranged some cookies on them. “A glass of milk would go good with these,” she said. “Want one?”

“Sure.”

She poured them each a glass of milk then carried the plate of cookies into the living room and set it on the coffee table. She and Jake each took a seat and Jake reached for one of the cookies and took a big bite, savoring the buttery richness, the sweetness of brown sugar.

“Awesome,” he pronounced. “You do make good cookies.”

“Thanks.” She looked into her glass of milk, licked her lips, then took a cookie for herself. “So, what’s new, Mom?”

Her mother sighed. “I think your father is having an affair.”

Jake’s jaw dropped and his head whipped around to look at Shelby.

“I doubt it, Mom.” She seemed unconcerned by this accusation. “You and Dad have had a lot of ups and downs in your relationship, but I’m pretty sure he’s never actually cheated on you.”

Jake blinked.

“In fact, I’m pretty sure neither of you has even dated anyone else, even during the times you were separated, have you?”

Mrs. Leighton frowned.

“Did you try calling him?”

“No. I’m not going to be a nagging wife who keeps tabs on him all the time.”

Shelby bit her lip. “Well. That’s good.” Then she muttered under her breath, “For a change.”

Mrs. Leighton stared out the front window, oblivious to the fact that Shelby had brought a guest, not even trying to make small talk. Jake almost grinned. So much for his worries about being grilled by the parents, maybe interrogated about his intentions toward their daughter. Then Mrs. Leighton straightened. “Oh! There he is.”

Jake spotted a man walking up the driveway through the front window.

“Oh, we parked in the driveway,” Shelby said. “He couldn’t get into the garage.”

Her mom rose to her feet and sniffed. “Don’t worry about it. If he’d been home on time, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

The man walked in the front door and Mrs. Leighton rushed over to him. “Where the hell have you been?” she demanded as she grabbed his shirt.

“Working late,” he said. He looked past her. “Hi, Shelby sweetie. Didn’t know you were coming over or I would’ve been here sooner.”

She sighed. “You did know I was coming, Dad.”

“Your mother never told me.”

“Yes I did!” Mom screeched. “You never listen to me!” And she turned and disappeared down the hall. Shelby winced at the bang of the bedroom door slamming shut.

“Okay,” she said standing. “We should go.”

Jake rose too. “Uh…” He looked at her dad.

“Dad this is my friend, Jake. Jake, my dad, Steve Leighton.”

They shook hands and Mr. Leighton said, “Nice to meet you. Sorry you couldn’t stay longer.” He started down the hall. “I better go talk to your mother.”

Shelby’s eyes met Jake’s and the frustration in them made his heart clench. He wanted to pull her in for a hug, comfort her, reassure her that she was important. To somebody. To him.

Hell. What was that?

“Well,” she said to him once outside the house. “Sorry about that. But that’s pretty typical.”

“Didn’t they even care that you brought some guy with you?” he asked. “Jesus, if I had a daughter and she brought a guy home, I’d be all over that.”

She sighed. “Yeah, well. Like I said, they kind of distract each other from everything else.”

Jake held up his hand and she saw two cookies. He grinned. “I stole a couple of cookies, since you won’t bake any for me. These are really good.”

Her laughter made his heart constrict even more.

“I hate the way my mom is so needy,” Shelby said as they drove back to her place. Once again she looked out the side window, so his sidelong glances at her revealed only her shiny blonde hair. “I wish she’d have a little more confidence in herself. And in Dad.”

“That’s a crazy way to grow up,” he said.

Now she turned to look at him. “I’m sorry. At least I had two parents.”

“From the sounds of it, not really. Hey, don’t be sorry for me. I survived.”

She nodded, her lips curved into a sad smile. “Yeah, you did. And so did I. But even so, stuff like that messes you up, you know?”

Yeah. He knew. He knew he hadn’t handled Gianna leaving very well because of his mom and sisters having left. And Shelby apparently knew she hadn’t handled her relationships with men very well after growing up all but ignored by her parents. Neither of them had a particularly good example of a healthy relationship in their lives.

But that didn’t mean they weren’t capable of having a healthy relationship.

Why was he even thinking of that, seeing as neither of them even wanted a relationship?

Jake called on Saturday to see if she wanted to go for a run along the beach.

Shelby grinned. “Are you kidding me?” she demanded. “I already told you I can’t run with you. Your legs are three times as long as mine. I have to run to keep up with you when you walk, for heaven’s sake.”

He laughed. “Oh come on. I’ll run real slow.”

“As it turns out, I can’t,” she said, eyeing Taylor in her kitchen carefully cracking eggs into a bowl. “Taylor’s here. We’re making cookies.”

“Oh.”

She hesitated. “You can come over and help if you want.” Then she closed her eyes briefly. Why would he want to bake cookies with her and a twelve-year-old? She wasn’t even sure why she’d offered. But she would like to see him.

“I’ll go for my run with Wayne. At least he can keep up with me.”

She had to smile even as disappointment washed over her.

“Then I’ll come over after.”

“Oh.” Her smiled widened. “Okay. What’s your favorite kind of cookie?”

“Hmm. I think peanut butter.”

“All righty.”

She hung up, then opened a cupboard and pulled out a jar of peanut butter that felt disappointingly light. She unscrewed the cap and peered in. Yup, nearly empty. Damn.

“Hey, kid,” she said to Taylor. “We need to make a trip to the store.” When Taylor looked up she waved the empty jar.

“Okay.” Taylor wiped her hands on a towel.

“It’s time for lunch. You hungry?”

“Starving!”

“What’d you have for breakfast?”

“I…uh…didn’t have breakfast.”

Shelby made a shocked face. But she wasn’t shocked, she was sad, because Taylor often skipped meals when she was home alone. Taylor was capable of making herself something to eat, a sandwich or piece of toast, but she often just completely forgot about eating when she was on her own.

“I’ll take you out for lunch,” she said. She surveyed the counter. “We okay to leave this stuff for an hour? We should put those eggs in the fridge.”

Taylor was happy with fast food, although Shelby wished she’d suggested cooking a meal for her instead. Even if her cooking wasn’t all that great. They were probably better off with burgers and fries. And they had fun, laughing and talking over their lunch in the noisy restaurant.

Then they stopped at the grocery store and picked up peanut butter and a few other things Shelby needed. She added a six pack of beer…just in case maybe Jake stayed later. And a bottle of wine for her. And a package of Eggo waffles for Taylor to take home. “For your breakfast tomorrow,” she said sternly. “You have to eat breakfast.” It wasn’t the healthiest breakfast but it was easy for Taylor and better than nothing.

“I love these!” Taylor said, clutching the box. “My mom won’t buy them.”

“Do you have syrup to put on them?”

“I don’t know.”

A bottle of syrup went into the cart and then a jug of Taylor’s favorite juice.

They arrived back at Shelby’s apartment at the same time as Jake, just emerging from his Jeep parked on the street. She waved at him as she turned into the parking lot.

“Hey,” he said when she climbed out of her car, having followed them. “Where were you? I thought you were baking cookies.”

“We went to McDonald’s!” Taylor jumped out of the car. “And we had to go buy peanut butter.”

Shelby’s eyes met Jake’s and heat washed into her face. A faint smile touched his lips. “Ah,” he said. “Here, let me help.” He reached for the two heavy bags Shelby held and she got the other two out of her trunk.

In her little kitchen, the music of Jason DeRülo played from speakers in her living room as Jake helped unpack the groceries and put them away, and she and Taylor resumed their baking. Shelby moved a little to the music as she found ingredients and set them out and they measured and mixed. She caught Jake’s eye at one point, her mouth curving in response to the half smile he sent her, watching her groove a little.

“If you dip the fork in flour it won’t stick to the cookie dough,” Jake offered helpfully when Taylor had dropped spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet. She was carefully pressing the tines of a fork into the mounds to create a criss-cross pattern but was getting frustrated when the dough stuck. Jake dumped a little flour onto the counter and showed her. Shelby smiled as she watched him, her insides warming at the way he was so…present. He listened to Taylor and helped and made jokes that had them both laughing. It felt like he really wanted to be there, baking cookies with them. Shelby’s hands paused, holding a big mixing bowl, and she swallowed.

Once again she had that strange feeling, almost like fear, her stomach tightening, her skin prickling. What were they doing? This felt so normal and real, and it wasn’t, it shouldn’t be. It couldn’t be.

Shelby was at work Thursday, starting to feel sick because of what she was learning about the intake process that needed to be addressed in her project plan, and also because she hadn’t heard from Jake for a few days. They’d texted back and forth but she was annoyed at herself for caring that much that she hadn’t seen him.

She rubbed at the ache at the back of her neck that was spreading up over her scalp and turning into a headache. This intake process was so screwed up. She’d barely gotten into the process diagnosis phase and was finding all kinds of pathologies in the existing processes. This was going to have huge impact on her project. In fact, this could be a whole project on its own.

But that wasn’t what she’d been told to do. She sighed then reached for her phone when it rang.

“It’s me,” Riley said. “I just heard from Kiara.”

The thickness of her voice told Shelby this wasn’t good. Her stomach immediately clenched so hard it hurt.

“He’s gone,” Riley continued, almost choking on her words. “Adam’s gone.”

“Oh no.” The world slowed to a stop around Shelby, sitting there in her cubicle, everything fading away around her. “Oh no.” Her eyes stung, her throat ached and she pressed a hand to her trembling lips.

“Yeah. This sucks so bad.”

Shelby didn’t even know what to say. “Where is she?”

“At home. He died a few hours ago.”

“Was she with him?”

“Yes.” They both sniffled together and Shelby fought not to burst into tears.

“Is she okay?”

“Oh god, you know Kiara. She sounded all together, but Christ, she must be hurting.”

“I’m going over. Are you coming?”

“Of course. I’m calling Myra next.”

Shelby tried to swallow, her throat painful. She hung up the phone, stared around her cubicle in a daze, not even sure what to do first. She couldn’t just get up and walk out. She stood, put on her suit jacket. Her head whirled and she lifted a hand to her eyes. Her purse. She needed her purse.

It was in her bottom drawer as usual, but it took her a moment to figure that out in her confusion. Then she walked to Andrew’s office. He was out for lunch.

She turned to Susan. “Could you tell Andrew I had to leave?” she asked. Susan’s eyes widened with concern.

“Are you okay, Shelby?”

“I’m okay. My friend just…died. I have to go.”

“Of course. Go! I’ll tell Andrew.”

“Tell him I’ll call him. Later. Or something.”

Susan nodded vigorously and made a shooing motion with her hands.

Shelby wasn’t even sure how she got to Kiara’s house, the big ranch-style home she’d shared with Adam since their marriage. A big house for a woman all alone, now. Except she wouldn’t be alone for long. Her baby was due in less than three months.

Shelby parked on the street and had to stop and put her head on her arms on the steering wheel and cry. She knew she had to get that out of her before she went in to face Kiara. Painful, bitter emotion rose up inside her, and she cried and cried as she thought of the baby who would never know his or her father, and how unfair, how fucking, fucking unfair it was.

Then, sniffling, she rummaged in the glove box for something to blow her nose and sat there for another moment while she pulled herself together.

When she opened her car door and stepped out, Myra was just pulling up to the curb, so she waited for her. She watched her friend approach. Myra might seem tough, but her eyes were red and her mouth wobbled when she tried to smile. They hugged tightly there on the street before going in to see their friend.

Riley was already there, and so were Kiara’s parents and Adam’s parents and his brothers. The house seemed full of people. Did Kiara really need her friends there?

“Kiara.” Shelby took her in her arms and held her for a long, long time, rocking her friend a little, the tears starting again. “Oh, Kiara.”

“Thank you for coming,” Kiara whispered. “Come with me.” She dragged Shelby down the hall to her bedroom, motioning to Riley and Myra to come too. Once inside, she closed the door then sat on the bed, her hands going to her rounded tummy. “They’re driving me crazy,” she said.

“Who is?”

“Adam’s parents. They knew this was coming. Why are they acting like they’re all in shock about it?”

Shelby met Riley’s worried eyes. “Maybe they were in denial,” she suggested. “Maybe they still thought he would get better.”

“Maybe.” Kiara shook her head, took a deep breath. “I know you guys understand me. They think I’m all cold and unfeeling. They think I should be a puddle of grief on the floor.”

“I know you’re grieving,” Riley said. “We all know it. Of course you are.”

Kiara bowed her head. “I have to hold it together. I’m afraid…” She looked up with shiny eyes. “I’m afraid if I let go, I’ll fall to pieces and never get back together.”

Shelby’s heart contracted and she squeezed Kiara’s hand.

“I have a baby to think of,” Kiara continued, patting her belly. “I have to look after the baby.”

“Yes, you do,” Myra murmured. “But it’s okay to give in to it, Kiara.”

“I will. Some time. Just not now.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I…I guess.”

“Were you with him?”

“Yes.” She told them about Adam’s last hours, the things they’d talked about, bringing another painful lump to Shelby’s throat, but she let her friend talk. And she listened. Because that was really all she could do.

“Last night…” Kiara stopped, suddenly choked up. Her lips pressed together and she blinked. “Last night he said…”

“What, honey?” Riley probed gently, her arm around Kiara’s shoulders.

“He said…he was afraid.” Her voice fractured on a sob.

Shelby met Riley’s eyes, a fist squeezing her throat.

“He said he was afraid to go without me,” Kiara said, and then a harsh sob tore from her throat and tears poured down her face. “He’s been so brave about this, all along, through everything. I didn’t know he was afraid.” And she cried in heart-wrenching gusts of tears. All three of them converged around her, Shelby taking one hand, Myra the other, Riley still hugging her, trying to offer comfort though Shelby felt helpless and inadequate, her heart squeezing painfully.

“And I didn’t tell him…” Kiara looked up at them with drenched eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. “I didn’t tell him—I’m afraid too!” She sniffled and swiped hands over her cheeks. “And…and I’m mad at him! He left me. He really left me.” She gave another small sob. “How stupid is that?”

They looked at each other helplessly.

“What am I going to do without him?”

There was no answer to that question.

“We’re here for you, hon,” Shelby choked out, a sick churning feeling in her stomach, her throat hurting so bad, and then tears started pouring out of her eyes too. “Whatever you need. I know nothing we can do can really help, but we’re here.”

“Just you being here helps.” They sat in sniffling silence for a few moments, then Kiara wiped her face with tissues Myra plucked from a box on the dresser and straightened her shoulders. “Oh god. I was so mad at them for not holding it together and then I lose it. I’m sorry.”

“Jesus,” Myra croaked. “You don’t have to apologize, hon.”

“I guess I’d better go back out there.”

The other three mopped themselves up too, all of them having succumbed to their powerful emotions, then followed Kiara back to the living room where Adam’s mother sobbed on the couch. Shelby wasn’t sure if she could do this, but clearly she needed to step up and help her friend, so she went over to Adam’s mother and father. Myra took care of the brothers and Riley went into the kitchen, emerging a while later with platters of sandwiches, which nobody really wanted, but it gave her something to do to make them, and it gave them something to do to eat them.

“The funeral is planned,” Shelby heard Kiara telling her own parents. “Adam helped me do that. I have to contact the funeral home, but there won’t be much to do.”

“When will you have it?” Kiara’s mom asked.

Kiara bit her lip. “I think Monday.”

“That sounds fine.”

The afternoon passed in a blur. Adam’s family left and Kiara’s mother said, “Kiara, come home with us tonight.”

She shook he head. “No, that’s okay, Mom.”

“You shouldn’t be alone tonight.”

Kiara smiled. “I’ve been alone before, Mom.”

Her mother gnawed on her bottom lip.

“I’ll stay with her,” Shelby spoke up.

Kiara shot her a grateful look. “Thanks, Shelby.”

“We’ll all stay,” Myra said. “We’ll look after her, don’t you worry, Nadine.”

So the four of them sat and drank wine, except for Kiara, talked and laughed, remembering things about Adam. At about nine o’clock, Kiara yawned.

“I’m tired,” she said. “So, so tired.”

Shelby felt exhausted, so she couldn’t imagine how Kiara must feel. “Go to bed, then,” she said. “We’ll clean up.”

Kiara hugged her and disappeared. Shelby looked at Riley and Myra. “Thanks, guys, for staying too.”

“Of course.” Riley picked up empty glasses and headed to the kitchen.

Shelby glanced at her watch. She wanted to talk to Jake so badly. She needed to let him know what had happened. So she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and called him.

“Hey,” he said. “How’s it going, little girl?”

“Not so good.” She told him about Adam’s passing.

“I’ll be right over,” he said immediately.

“No, I’m not at home. I’m at Kiara’s. I’m going to stay here tonight.”

“Oh. You okay, Shelby Rose?” His voice went deep and gentle.

“I’m okay. I just wanted to…to talk to you.”

“Ah. Yeah. Listen, tell me what I can do to help. D’you need anything? Food? Family picked up at the airport? What?”

That was so sweet, so very sweet, and she leaned back into the soft couch and closed her eyes. “Thank you. I don’t know. I just feel so sad.” Her voice broke on the last word.

“Ah, baby. It’s okay.”

She nodded, her throat closed up, and she waited for it to relax so she could speak.

“Sure you don’t want me to come over?”

She did. She so much wanted to see him, so much needed a hug. She glanced at her friends, busy in the kitchen. “Okay,” she whispered. She gave him the address and snapped her phone shut.

She rose and walked to the big island that divided the kitchen from living room. “Jake’s coming over,” she said.

Riley turned from the dishwasher where she loaded glasses. “Aw, that’s nice.”

Myra studied Shelby. “You’re getting in pretty deep with him, aren’t you?”

Shelby frowned. “No. Of course not.”

“You’re also deep in denial,” Myra retorted.

“I’m not. We’re just…you know what it is. I guess we’ve gotten to be friends over the last couple of weeks.”

“Friends. Uh-huh.” Riley nodded and closed the dishwasher. “Sure.”

“It’s not like that.” But Shelby knew her words were hollow. She could deny it out loud all she wanted, but deep inside she knew feelings were developing for Jake that shouldn’t be there. Feelings that had no place in this little deal they had. Feelings that scared the crap out of her.

“Obviously he likes you too,” Myra pointed out, “or he wouldn’t be coming over.”

“I suppose. He feels sorry, I think. After all this.” She waved a hand, knowing they would understand what she meant. “Loving someone and then losing him—it’s scary.”

“We’re all scared, honey,” Myra said in another moment of vulnerability.

“I know. Here, let me help with those dishes.”

The three of them busied themselves in Kiara’s kitchen. Cleaning and tidying, putting order to things always soothed Shelby, so she put away food, wiped counters and did dishes until the doorbell rang. She took the dish towel with her to the door, drying her hands.

She opened it to see Jake standing there, looking so damn good, his dark brown hair a little ruffled, his shoulders wide enough to lean on. He gave her a small smile as he stepped inside. She closed the door and then she was in his arms, right where she wanted to be.

Chapter Sixteen

Jake just wanted to make things better for Shelby. He hated feeling helpless, knowing there was no way to take this pain away from her. He wanted to punch something, especially seeing her face all pink and puffy from crying, still beautiful but so mournful. So he just wrapped his arms around her and tried to absorb the hurt.

“Ah, baby,” he said, stroking her hair, all soft and silky. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

She nodded, face buried against his chest. “I know. I’m sorry too.”

Jake looked up and saw Riley and Myra standing across the large great room in the kitchen, watching them. He smiled briefly and they smiled back, and he could clearly see the affection in their eyes for Shelby, but it was mixed with something that looked like concern. Yeah, there it was—the concerned girlfriends. He wanted to assure them he’d look after her, but kept the words inside him. Because who was he kidding? Much as he wanted to make things all better for her, he wasn’t exactly good at looking after other people.

“Where’s Kiara?” he murmured, bending his head.

“She went to bed. She was exhausted.”

“No doubt. When did it happen?”

“About nine o’clock this morning. Come on in.”

“We’re gonna call it a night,” Riley said. “Come on, Myra.”

“But…”

With a wry grin, Riley pushed Myra out of the kitchen and down the hall.

“Let’s sit down,” Shelby said, leading him over to the couch where she curled into his arms. For long moments they were silent and he rubbed his hand up and down her back. He didn’t know what to say, so he just stayed quiet, figuring she’d talk if she wanted to.

“Thank you for coming,” she mumbled. And the next thing he knew, her breathing had deepened and she had dozed off against his chest.

Huh. He smiled as he moved a strand of blonde hair off her cheek, smoothed it back, let the silky strands slide through his fingers. She must be exhausted too. He shifted into a more comfortable position so he could just hold her and let her sleep.

He’d been avoiding seeing her and talking to her all week, but when she’d called tonight, there was no way he could deny the immediate need to be with her. Nothing else mattered, not his confusion and dilemma about Gianna or his confusion about what he was doing with Shelby. She was hurting and he wanted to help.

He let his gaze wander around the spacious living room, over modern leather furniture and sleek tables, expensive electronics and funky art. So different from Shelby’s cozy, eclectic apartment, not to mention his pigsty condo.

Shelby made a soft breathy sound, not a snore exactly, just a gentle intake of breath that made him smile again and stroke her hair. He leaned his head back onto the couch. This wasn’t the comfiest sofa he’d ever sat on, but oh well. He stared up at the white ceiling, one hand resting on Shelby’s head, the other on her back.

Life was short, and what there was of it was confusing as hell. Choices and decisions. Plans that got messed up. Plans that were messed up. What was he doing with Shelby? She’d wanted this deal too, but he felt like things were growing and building between them that shouldn’t be, and it scared the shit out of him. Panic surged inside him, almost choking him. He closed his eyes.

He should have told Gianna to forget it. Instead he’d led her on too, telling her he’d think about seeing her again. What a jerk he was. He needed to get his shit together, get his life together, make some good choices and decisions and get on with it.

When Shelby stirred in his arms a while later, lifted her head with hair hanging in her face, blinked at him with drowsy eyes and said, “Will you stay with me tonight?” he couldn’t say no.

Over the next few days, Jake helped Shelby deal with her friends and her friends’ families. He ran errands, picked up flowers and dropped them off, picked up food, booze and more booze. He accompanied her to the funeral. He held her at night when she cried, laughed with her and her friends when they shared memories of Adam.

When Kiara started having what she thought were contractions, and everyone started freaking out thinking she was going into labor, Shelby called the doctor who said they were likely Braxton Hicks contractions. Then she went on-line for more information, reassured her friend, got her calmed down, got everyone calmed down including him, even though he’d tried to hide the panic rising inside him at the thought of a woman in labor. Jesus.

Shelby went to work in the mornings, took afternoons off to help her friends, stressed about her work on this damn project and some problems that had come up with it, torn between that and her friends, killing herself trying to be there for both. At least her work was something he could actually help her with, since business process reengineering was his vocation. His area of expertise. They spent a couple of hours one evening going over her work, although she didn’t seem too happy about some of the stuff he told her about inputs and outputs and the technology they were using at Gold Shield. He knew enough about the business from the many conversations he’d had with Andrew that it was easy for him to apply his knowledge to the processes she was looking at.

And over those days he felt himself sliding into something, something sweet and warm, something hot and exhilarating, something he couldn’t name, but it both soothed him and tied him up in knots.

Finally the funeral was over and it looked as if life could go back to normal. Well, sort of normal. And certainly not for Kiara.

Jake took Shelby back to her apartment that evening, and didn’t think twice about going in with her. In her living room, they turned into each other’s arms, seeking comfort, consolation, life.

He pushed the little cardigan she wore off her shoulders and began unbuttoning the silk blouse beneath it. She stood there gazing at him, a small smile on her lips.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?” He concentrated on the small pearl buttons.

“For being here. For being you.” She pushed his hair back off his forehead, let her fingers trail over his cheek and jaw. The tenderness of her gesture made him feel like a fist was squeezing his heart. “Take me to bed.”

Her words inflamed him. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t had sex at all the last few days—they had. But tonight felt like an ending.

And a beginning. It felt…significant. Like it meant something.

He parted the sides of her blouse, tugged it out from her skirt, skimmed his fingers over the top curves of her breasts above the lacy bra. It had been a funeral, for Chrissakes, and he’d still been imagining what she had on underneath the tidy little skirt, blouse and cardigan. He tugged the double strand of pearls she wore at her neck, getting all kinds of dirty ideas about that, using the pearls to pull her closer to kiss her mouth.

“Oh yeah,” he muttered. “Wearing nothing but these pearls.”

She moaned and clutched his shoulders.

He pushed off the cardigan, and then the silk blouse fluttered to the floor. Her zipper rasped open and the skirt joined her other clothing, leaving her standing in black high heels, black lace and pearls. Jesus. He took a moment to appreciate her with his eyes, the visual stunning and erotic and lovely.

Twisting the pearls in his hand, he turned and walked toward her bedroom, tugging her along with him. Her soft moan made him twitch hard. In her dim bedroom, he flicked on the small lamp then turned to her, still holding the pearls, making them snug against her throat, and he kissed her.

She’d had a rough day. A rough few days. He wanted to make her feel better. So much better. His tongue slid into her mouth. She tasted sweet, her tongue against his making him hard, and he wanted her. Fire lit up every nerve ending in his body and he lifted his mouth from hers and kissed her bare shoulder, licked her skin, still holding the pearls. Her soft moan inflamed his senses even more.

He managed to flick open the bra at her back and she wriggled out of it with an enticing jiggle of her lush breasts, and still he held her by the pearls as he kissed her throat and licked his way down between those breasts. Her head fell back and he took his time sucking at her tight little nipples, loving the sweetness, the feel of them fitting to his tongue, the soft resilient flesh pressed to his lips.

His other hand slid down her back and slipped into her panties, cupping one smooth cheek. She trembled and he lifted his head. “Take your panties off,” he ordered hoarsely.

Without a pause she pushed them down over her hips and stepped out of them, now wearing heels and pearls. “Oh baby,” he groaned. Reluctantly he released the necklace and lifted her. He carried her to the bed where he laid her down, gently, reverently, as if she were fragile. And he quickly stripped out of his own clothes, too many clothes, the damn suit and tie he’d worn to the funeral.

She toed off her sexy shoes, letting them fall to the rug with a thunk-thunk, and she slipped under the covers. He slid in beside her and moved over her. Her hands reaching for him, her soft murmurs of pleasure, had heat pouring over his body, liquid pleasure running through his veins.

Her body rippled under his hands as she gave herself up to him, and he got lost in it, in the sensation, in the heat, in the unbearable sweetness and erotic pleasure, but also in the emotion of it, swelling inside him, powerful and huge.

They rolled and twisted together, mouths fused in long, endless kisses, hands all over each other, sliding into a hazy, erotic dream. She bit his shoulder softly, licked his skin, made him burn. He worshiped her with his mouth, his tongue, his hands, everywhere, slipped his hand between her legs, found her soft, wet center, and rubbed his thumb over her clit until she vibrated.

He shifted away from her to reach for a condom beside the bed, and her hand on his shoulder stopped him. “No,” she whispered. He met her eyes, huge and shadowed in the dim room. “I don’t want that tonight. I want to feel you inside me—just you.”

He nodded. They’d danced casually around the subject one night, knew they were safe with each other. And he so wanted to be inside her, bare, flesh to flesh, feeling her sweet heat. He fell over her, buried his face in the side of her neck, breathed in the familiar peachy-pear scent of her. He felt something clench in his chest, struggled to breathe, then levered himself up above her.

The pearls lay at her throat, creamy and gleaming softly in the low light. Her lips parted, her eyes gazed up at him, her hands on his chest. Their gazes held for a long moment while heat built and shimmered around them. His heart beat in a slow, heavy rhythm against his ribs at the raw emotion on her face, her shining eyes, soft mouth.

He twined his fingers into the pearls once more, made them a snug collar, the gesture utterly dominant, possessive and claiming. And still she held his gaze, submitting to him, surrendering to him, allowing him to claim her and in doing so, completely captivating him and making him hers.

He lifted her thigh, pushed into her body, and as his bare flesh met hers, scalding hot and wet, as she surrounded him and tightened around him, sensation poured over him, and the overwhelming intimacy of it made him feel like he was dying and flying up to heaven, lost, completely lost. He slid in and out of her silky heat as she squeezed around him, her small hands pressed to his chest.

“Jake.”

He gazed down at her, riveted by the sight of her beautiful face, his hand holding the pearls at her throat, her bare shoulders, as he thrust deeper, harder, felt her lift into him. He watched her eyelids drift closed, her mouth open, drank in her hot little whimpers and soft sighs that built to a climax of pleasure, her fingernails digging into his pecs in a sweet bite of pain. He’d never seen anything as beautiful as watching her come, her body tightening, her pussy rippling around him, and it undid him, the surge of sensation and emotion inside him almost unbearable.

This was what he wanted, what he needed, what he wanted to give, this was everything. It was sex. It was life. It was love.

His thighs quaking, his balls tight, the tension at the base of his spine sizzled painfully. His vision darkened, electricity sparked up his spine, frying his brain, singeing every nerve ending in his body. He dropped his head between her breasts and he came, his cock jerking with every wrenching pulse inside her, so hard and violently, he was afraid he’d completely lost his mind.

And his heart.

Chapter Seventeen

A melting sweetness throbbed through Shelby as Jake’s heavy weight pressed her into the mattress, and tears welled in her eyes at the perfection of it, the overwhelming intensity of it, the rush of emotion inside her so strong, so sweet.

She wrapped her arms around his back and held on tight, as tight as she could. His face buried between her breasts, he drew in long, ragged breaths. He had to feel it too. It was too powerful not to.

Oh dear lord. This wasn’t supposed to happen to them. This was a deal. A sweet deal, yes, but a deal nonetheless, both of them on the same page about not wanting a relationship, not wanting anything more than hot sex and a fake boyfriend for her.

There was nothing fake about the emotion swelling in her, so achingly lovely, so terrifyingly real. He consumed her, he took possession of her, and she’d willingly let him, given herself over to him completely, and not just her body, knowing that giving herself to him was not only what he wanted and needed, but was what she wanted and needed. He was what she wanted and needed.

She was in love with him.

She sucked in her bottom lip, eyes stinging, heart constricting. She knew he’d felt something, but he was a guy, and maybe it was just his orgasm that had made him look so…what? What had that look in his eyes been? It looked like tender possession, like worship and devotion, but was it really love?

“Oh, Shelby.” His murmured words had her blinking tears as he moved on her, lifting himself so he could kiss her. A long, tender kiss that had her heart turning over. “You undo me, baby. Completely undo me.”

She blinked up at him and gave a shaky smile as he rolled to his side, pulling her with him, still inside her in the most intimate of connections. He pulled her thigh over his hip and tucked her head under his chin.

She wanted to talk. She so wanted to talk, to ask him a million girlish questions about his feelings. But she’d done that before—asked all those questions right after sleeping with a guy, a guy she probably shouldn’t have slept with, then felt him withdraw and cool off. Never to be seen again. So she kept her questions to herself, snuggled into Jake. She loved how he felt against her, big and hot, hair roughened and masculine. She loved how his hand stroked absently up and down her spine, sending a torrent of tingles over her when he reached that sensitive spot at the base of her spine and lingered there.

“Back to work tomorrow?” he asked her, his hand sliding back up her spine.

Okay. So this was where the after-sex talk was going to go.

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Thanks for your help with my project stuff. I’m going to have to meet with Andrew and go over it all.”

“You’re welcome. I like doing stuff like that. Better than my own job, in fact.”

She lifted her head. “If you don’t like your job, you should quit. Life’s too short to be miserable all day, every day.”

“I guess.”

“The economy is picking up. Are you sure you couldn’t do it?”

“I need a partner.”

“Why?” She rubbed her hand over his shoulder. “Really, why? You’ve got everything you need. Look how you helped me with that problem. You know your stuff. That wasn’t even your company and you knew how to help me. You didn’t make me feel like an idiot. You even came up with a great idea for how to fix things.”

“No. You came up with the great idea.” He smiled at her. “Maybe my suggestions sparked something, but you came up with it on your own, and I have to say, it’s brilliant.”

Warmth spread in her chest. “I’d hire you.”

“Thanks.” His smile deepened.

“Seriously, Jake. Is it the money? Do you need someone else to make it work financially?”

“No.” He ran his hand over the curve of her butt and she wriggled against him in response. “I have enough money put aside. There aren’t huge start-up costs for a consulting business. I could even work from home at first.”

“You might need to tidy up a little.”

For that he gave her a little swat on the butt, but he smiled.

“I just need money to keep me going until revenue starts coming in. That could take a while.”

He told her then about his plan, about the contacts he’d made, about how he’d approached many of them about whether they’d use his services and how he’d felt confident he had a good start on a client base.

“There you go. You could totally do it.” She paused. “Look at what happened to Adam.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was only a few years older than you.”

“I know. It’s scary, isn’t it?”

“But in a way, it makes you think. What if we only had a few years to live? How would you want to spend it?”

He gazed back at her and then his eyes closed and his arms tightened around her. “Yeah,” he said, raw emotion roughening his voice. “Yeah.”

The next day both Jake and Shelby returned to work full time, ready to get caught up. In his office, that feeling of a new beginning stayed with Jake. He remembered how Shelby’s faith in him when they’d talked last night had made his heart squeeze, how he’d gazed back at the beautiful, loving, supportive woman in his arms, and how that sensation of falling had come over him, and how he’d grabbed on to her and held her tight.

He also recalled the conversation he’d had with Drew.

Having just attended the funeral of a thirty-three-year-old man must have shaken him up a bit, made him think of all kinds of shit. Shelby made him think of all kinds of shit. The bigger picture of his life. He was usually so good at seeing the big picture. But now he saw how for the last year he’d been so narrowly focused on how wrong he’d been done, rejected, abandoned, full of self-doubts, that he’d lost sight of his goals and plans and hopes and dreams.

He went back to the file he’d kept on his USB drive for the last year. The business plan for the consulting business he and Andrew had been starting he’d told Shelby about. The financials. The market research. The list of potential clients. The economy was picking up. Things were a lot more positive than they’d been a year ago.

She’d been right. He didn’t want to sit there working for someone else for the rest of his life, all safe and secure, but bored and frustrated. He’d never been afraid to take risks.

He thought of Shelby getting fired from her job for something she hadn’t even done, how she’d been kicked in the teeth, but hadn’t let it get her down, how she’d gone on with dogged determination and optimism that everything would work out fine. And how when he’d been kicked, he’d let it drag him down and keep him there.

He wasn’t going to be like that anymore. He closed his eyes briefly as he considered what he was about to do. Yeah. He was going to do it.

Then he rose to go into his boss’s office.

“You’re kidding me,” Tom said, moments later, staring at him. “You’re quitting?”

“Yeah.” Jake ran a hand through his hair and gave a weak smile. “I’ve given this a lot of thought and it’s what I want to do.”

Tom leaned back in his chair. “We’ll miss you, Jake. You’re bright and talented. Could I convince you to stay? Is it more money you want?”

“No. It’s not the money.” He briefly explained his plans to Tom, who, despite their different styles, had been good to work for. “The usual notice is two weeks, but if you need me to stay longer while you find a replacement, I can be flexible.”

“We’ll see, thanks. Maybe we have someone internally we can move into your position.” He shook his head. “Wow. That takes some guts. I wish you well, though.”

“And keep me in mind if you need a consultant.” Jake grinned.

His boss laughed. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”

Jake returned to his office, excitement building in him now that he’d done it. Holy shit! He’d quit his job. He laughed out loud, alone in his office, eager to share his news with Shelby. He didn’t want to tell her over the phone though. He’d go see her later, tell her in person, and celebrate with some sheet-twisting sex, maybe. He knew she’d be happy for him, after her encouragement last night, and he wanted to see that approval on her face, to know she had his back.

Oh man. He was in deep, no doubt about it. It was terrifying. Exhilarating. But terrifying.

He worked late, emerging onto the sidewalk in the evening sunshine. Much of the rush-hour traffic had disappeared, although the downtown street was still busy with people going for after-work drinks or dinner. His eye was caught by a woman standing at a parking meter, fiddling with it.

She looked up and saw him. His footsteps slowed but he kept walking toward her.

Her smile was lovely, if a bit hesitant. “Hi.”

“Hi, Gianna. What are you doing here?”

“Just…um…parking.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

“I never heard back from you,” she said in a rush. “You said you’d think about it. I’m going crazy, Jake! I wanted to see you!”

“I’ve been busy.”

Her eyebrows slanted down. “With that girl? The one who works for Andrew?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you in love with her?”

He stared at her, unwilling to go there even in his own mind.

“Just have a drink with me,” she said, laying her hand on his arm.

Were they really having problems, her and Andrew? He searched her face. Maybe he should talk to her, find out what was going on. Maybe in some way this would help him help Shelby.

“Okay.”

“It’s late and my mind isn’t working.” Andrew leaned back in his chair. “Let’s call it a night and talk more about this tomorrow.”

Shelby nodded and gathered up her papers. “Okay.” But even though her head was pounding and she was so, so tired, she wasn’t finished. She’d shared with him what she’d learned about the intake process and changes that needed to be made to it, and how it impacted the new payments system project. She’d wanted to make sure she had all her facts and figures straight before she talked to him. He liked facts and figures. Now she and Andrew had spent hours going over everything, and she sensed his concern about the project. But she still hadn’t shared her potential solution.

It was late. She rubbed her throbbing temples, still tired from the funeral and everything that had happened, and then catching up with work.

“Go home,” Andrew said gently. “Better yet, let’s go get a drink. You could probably use it.”

She bit her lip and looked away from him. How many times could she say no? He knew she had a boyfriend now. She’d made sure to mention Jake as much as she could when he’d asked about Adam’s funeral and how Kiara was doing. She was tired and all she wanted to do was go home, but maybe she could still talk a little business and tell Andrew she thought she knew how to fix things so the project could move forward.

“Sure. Okay.”

They left the office together and walked down the street and around the corner to the small bar they sometimes went to for happy-hour drinks, Callahan’s, a popular after-work place.

They walked into the dimly lit bar, and the noise of voices talking mingled with music and clinking glasses surrounded them. Shelby blinked. Why had she agreed to this? She really just wanted to go home. And see Jake. But Andrew was her boss, and her job was important to her.

She scanned the room for an empty table, and they walked a little farther into the room. Booths lined one wall, but they were all full too. “Maybe the bar?” she said, going on her toes to speak into Andrew’s ear.

“I guess.”

They moved toward the long bar of polished oak and glass, a huge mirror behind it. They found two stools near the end of the bar, and Shelby climbed up onto one. The mirror behind the bar reflected the room back to her. Reflected the image of a man who looked like Jake. A smile breaking across her face, she swiveled on her stool to look at him in person, to make sure it was in fact him, ready to go over to him.

It was him all right, but he wasn’t alone. He sat at a small table in the dim recesses of the bar with a dark-haired woman who had Shelby’s eyes almost popping out of her head. Andrew’s wife!

Her mouth fell open as she stared at Jake and Gianna, sitting side by side, their heads bent close together, talking in what appeared to be an intense conversation.

“What’s wrong?” Andrew turned too to see what she was looking at. Shelby made a squeak of warning but it wasn’t even a word and it was too late. He too had spotted Jake and Gianna. She turned her gaze up to Andrew, sitting beside her, watched the reaction on his face—eyes widening, brows drawing down, mouth opening and closing and then opening again.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he breathed. His cheeks got very red and his breath came fast and shallow.

Chapter Eighteen

Shelby turned back to Jake and Gianna, her own heart doing a tap dance beneath her ribs, a chill gripping her as if someone had just turned the A/C in the bar on full blast. A million questions flooded her brain, backing up and spilling over each other. What were they doing here? Why were they together? What? What?

Okay, she knew he already knew Gianna, because he and Andrew had planned to go into business together. But the way they were sitting there, side by side, heads close together, looked intimate. It made her stomach hurt.

Andrew slid off his stool. Shelby put out an arm to stop him, but why she had no idea. It was his wife, sitting there with another man. He shook her hand off, fire blazing in his eyes, his mouth a grim line, and strode toward the small table.

Jake and Gianna hadn’t apparently noticed them either, but Jake looked up as Andrew approached and came to a halt in front of the table, his hands curled into loose fists.

Shelby scrambled down off the stool and trailed behind Andrew. Was he that furious to see his wife with another man? There couldn’t be anything going on between Gianna and Jake. Could there?

But it hurt to see him with another woman, she had to admit, even though she tried to tell herself nothing could be going on. Even though technically she had no stake in this. She and Jake didn’t have a real relationship.

Except, after the night after the funeral, she’d realized maybe Riley and Myra had been right and she had been in denial about the truth. Now she knew she was in love with Jake.

Andrew, on the other hand, had a right to be pissed. The way Jake and Gianna had been sitting there and talking so intimately didn’t look like two strangers having a casual drink together. It just didn’t make any sense.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Andrew demanded, earning a couple of startled glances from the three men at the next table.

“Andrew!” Gianna’s head whipped around and her hand flew to her throat, her dark eyes huge. Shelby’s throat tightened and she pressed her lips together. She turned her gaze to Jake. He blinked at Andrew, but of all of them, he was the only one who seemed unaffected. Then he looked at her. Their eyes met.

Shelby stared at him, every question bouncing around in her brain surely showing on her face. And a flicker of something—what?—passed over Jake’s face.

What the hell was going on?

Okay, this wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he’d agreed to have a drink with Gianna.

Shelby stood there staring at him with such confusion and pain in her pretty blue eyes it felt like a knife in his own chest. And Andrew…hell, the guy was ready to burst out of his skin with rage. When Andrew turned furious, hurt eyes on his wife, another twinge of remorse snapped inside Jake. Maybe he hadn’t really thought this through. Yeah, he’d thought if he had a drink with Gianna, which would be only a drink and would be completely innocent, he’d be able to convince her that maybe she and Andrew should get some counseling or something. He’d thought that if they fixed their marriage problems, maybe Shelby wouldn’t have to worry about Andrew anymore. He’d never thought Andrew would come along, or that he’d look so…decimated by seeing them together.

And so did Shelby. He hadn’t thought about her knowing about this, either. She looked so hurt and bewildered, which kind of confused him. Did she really care that much? About him?

“Andrew, relax,” Jake said to the man who used to be his friend. “We’re just having a drink.”

“No.” Andrew shook his head. “Uh-uh. You don’t have ‘just a drink’ with the person you were once in love with.”

Shelby’s gasp had everyone turning her way. Her eyes widened, but she never took them off Jake.

“In love with?” she asked, voice quivery and soft.

“Shelby…” Jake began, but wasn’t sure what he was going to say.

Andrew scowled at her. “You didn’t know?”

Shelby shook her head slowly. She still didn’t take her eyes off Jake, and perspiration broke out beneath his shirt and suit jacket. He ran a finger inside his collar. The tie was already loosened, the top button undone, but it still felt constricting.

“You and Gianna…?” Shelby’s face drew into lines of confusion and disbelief. He could see her agile brain processing things. “I knew you two knew each other…but…I don’t understand.”

“This is fucking nuts,” Andrew snarled. “Gianna, what the hell are you doing here with him?”

Oh boy. Jake waited for more shit to hit the fan when Gianna told Andrew what she’d told him. She bit her lip, glanced at Jake. His whole body went tense.

“We ran into each other on the sidewalk outside,” Jake said quickly. “She suggested having a drink. I thought, what the heck? We’re old friends.”

“Friends!” Andrew snapped. “Bullshit.” He slapped both hands flat on the table, the impact sloshing the wine right out of Gianna’s full glass. He ignored it. “What the hell are you playing at, Jake?”

“I’m not playing at anything.” Jake tried to swipe up some of the spilled wine with a paper napkin before it ran off the table, his heart still jumping. Jesus, Gianna was the one who was stalking him, begging to see him.

“Oh for—” Andrew’s jaw tightened as if he was grinding his teeth. A vein pulsed at his temple. “You know you are, you sonofabitch. You’re still not over her. Maybe you had some twisted idea of getting back at me by going after Gianna, but you’re an asshole for doing this to Shelby. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.”

White-hot anger rose inside Jake at the accusation but he fought for control. “Andrew…be careful…” Acutely aware of both Shelby and Gianna taking all this in, Jake tried to warn his old friend not to say too much with his wife there. If Andrew showed his feelings for Shelby right in front of Gianna, well, there was no way Jake was going to be able to avert that fucking train wreck. He cast a look at Shelby again.

A frown creased her forehead. “Get back at you for what?”she asked slowly. “What went on between you two? You told me you were thinking of starting a business together. Why would you want to get back at him?”

“Because of me,” Gianna spoke up. Her fingers trembled and her voice shook but she lifted her chin and spoke up. “Jake and I were in a relationship. We were thinking about moving in together. Jake and Andrew were best friends and we all spent a lot of time together. It’s true, they were going to start a business together, and then Andrew and I fell in love.”

Shelby made a small noise that struck Jake like a hammer blow and made him wince. He looked back and forth between Gianna and Shelby, watched Shelby’s throat move as she swallowed, saw her eyes close.

“I broke up with Jake, married Andrew and of course, that put an end to their business plans.”

Shelby’s head slowly moved from side to side. She covered her mouth with one hand. “I can’t believe this.” She turned those blue eyes, now shiny with tears, on Jake. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Because…because…”

Why the fuck hadn’t he told her that?

Because he was a stupid fucking dickhead idiot, that’s why. He’d only been trying to help, trying to keep Andrew from hurting her and possibly hurting Gianna. He’d been stupid to not be upfront with her at the start. But none of that came out, his heart racing so fast he could hardly breathe, sweat pouring off him enough to fill the damn beer mug sitting on the table in front of him, a dark, scary feeling of doom creeping over him.

He must look guilty as hell to Shelby, and okay, yeah, he did feel guilty. Fuck, he was such an asshole, but even more than guilt he felt terror—terror that he had hurt her, that he might have messed up the best thing that had happened to him in…well, ever.

“Oh hell,” Andrew said to Shelby. “I thought you knew.”

Jake shot Andrew a glare.

“Shelby.” He pushed to his feet, the chair scraping back on the wooden floor. She stepped back from him, eyes flashing, mouth tight. “Shelby, please, let’s talk…”

“Are you kidding me?” she cried. Jake was vaguely aware of the attention they were receiving from other bar patrons. But who gave a shit? “Were you using me to get back at him?” Her eyes narrowed. “You bastard!”

“Wait a minute,” Gianna said. She frowned at Andrew. “Using her to get back at you? Oh my god! So that’s why you’ve been working such long hours!”

“Oh no.” Andrew held up a hand, shaking his head. “You are not turning this on me.”

It was like watching a train wreck.

Jake turned his attention back to Shelby, hating the look on her face. He wanted to deny her accusation, tell her it wasn’t true, he hadn’t been using her.

But the truth was—he had. Not the way she thought—but he had been using her.

Shelby could hardly hear over the roaring in her ears, a red haze floating in front of her vision. Pure rage swelled inside her so huge she actually felt a need to do physical violence. She wanted to lunge at Jake, hit him, punch him, scratch him. The pain in her chest took her breath away, squeezing her so tightly.

“You fucking bastard,” she said again, this time quieter, through lips stiff with control. And she turned on one spiky heel and walked out of the bar. She could hardly see anything in front her, almost blind with fury, and bumped into one person, stumbled over another’s foot. She didn’t even try to apologize, just had to get the hell out of there.

On the street, she set off walking, the fastest steps she could in her heels, almost running down the sidewalk, clutching her purse under her arm. A coolness on her cheeks told her she was crying. People shot her strange looks, but she didn’t care.

She flew across the street, heedless of the red light and the honking car that narrowly missed her, wondering if she was going to throw up right there on the sidewalk of downtown Rocky Harbor, her stomach hard and tight.

Last night she’d been ready to tell Jake she loved him.

The wrenching pain made her sob out loud, and she stumbled into the parking garage where her car was, clattered up two flights of concrete stairs, panting, sobbing and cursing under breath.

How had he known who she was? How had he known she worked for Andrew? To be able to insinuate himself into her life like that? That picnic must have been very convenient for him. A small growl rose from her throat.

And no wonder Andrew had been pissed off when he’d seen who she was dating. Why hadn’t he said anything? He’d just changed the subject, and then Jake had lied.

He’d outright lied to her!

Well, okay, more by omission, but still it was the same thing. The only reason he’d wanted to keep seeing her was because he thought Andrew wanted her and he wanted to pay him back for stealing his girlfriend.

Another sharp stab of pain lanced through her as she started her car and roared out of the parking structure way too fast. She had to get home. Before she fell completely apart.

Inside her apartment, she shut the door, locked it, walked into her bedroom and threw herself facedown on the bed and inhaled the scent of…Jake.

The citrusy bergamot and lime scent of his shampoo and body wash and the unique male scent of his skin marked her bedding. With another sob, she kicked her shoes off and rolled herself up in the covers, her nose buried in the soft sheets, torturing herself with the memories his scent evoked in her, letting pain wash over her.

Hadn’t she cried enough the last few days? Dammit, this was too much.

She’d even dared to dream she and Jake could have something as special and rare and beautiful as Adam and Kiara had.

A fresh wave of sobbing overtook her and she cried until the covers were damp with her tears.

Chapter Nineteen

Jake stared at the cell phone sitting on his kitchen counter. He popped the top off another beer and drank deeply. A row of empties sat on the counter. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

He had fucked up. Royally. Monumentally.

He wanted to pick up the phone and call Shelby. He ached to talk to her. But how the hell was he going to explain himself?

He didn’t deserve her. Just as he’d always known, he didn’t deserve anyone. After Gianna had dumped him, it had reinforced his bone-deep certainty that he wasn’t worthy of any kind of lasting, meaningful relationship and he’d proceeded to fuck his way through a string of unimportant bed partners, knowing, as he always had, that every woman he cared about would leave him. So he didn’t care. And he always left first.

He totally deserved what he was now getting. Which was a big fat nothing.

He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, slouched against the cupboards, and drank more of the beer. Last night had felt full of so much promise for him and Shelby. It had felt real. It had felt important. But real and important only meant heartbreak when she decided to leave him, as he knew she would. So it was just as well this had happened. Except he truly did regret hurting Shelby. He’d hurt women in the past, and he never liked it, but this was like a giant fist squeezing his heart.

And earlier in his office, he’d come to terms with what he needed to do. He’d quit his job. It was scary but exciting, it was what he’d always wanted and he’d let himself be miserable for too long.

Now, that all held little appeal without Shelby there to share it with. Shit. Like Drew had said, what did he have to lose? Nothing, that’s what. He had nothing.

He picked up the cell phone, flipped it open, found her number. Stared at it. Snapped the phone shut. Nah, he couldn’t do it. She was better off without him and it would only have been a matter of time before she dumped him anyway, before she called off the deal once she didn’t need him anymore.

Shelby sat in her cubicle the next morning staring blankly at the gray divider.

She should have just called in sick, like she’d wanted to. She did feel sick. Very sick. She pressed a hand to her stomach.

She could be coming down with the flu. Her entire body hurt, especially her head. Her eyes felt gritty and raw, so much that she’d actually worn her hated glasses to work. There was no way she could get contacts into her swollen eyes. She rolled her eyes at herself. Crying herself to sleep like a besotted teenager. Geez. Surely to god she was past that kind of foolishness.

Apparently not.

She’d dragged herself into work feeling like a bag of crap, knowing she had to face Andrew at some point. This was all so humiliating. Was he going to realize she and Jake had faked their relationship because of him? Oh dear lord.

Heat swept over her, burning her cheeks. Her stomach heaved yet again. Really, it could be the flu. She should go home.

She straightened her shoulders. It would be fine. Andrew was pissed off at Jake, not at her. She hadn’t done anything, as far as he knew. She bit her lip. It wasn’t exactly fun watching your boss catch his wife cheating with another man, but he was probably more embarrassed by the whole thing than she was.

No. That wasn’t possible. In front of a whole bar full of people, including her boss who didn’t need to know such personal things about her, she’d been betrayed by the man she thought she loved. Found out he’d been using her. Just like every other man.

Used. Anger sizzled up her spine. Fuck him and his cute chin dimple.

She picked up the file folder that held the work she’d done on her project. Never mind the personal shit that had gone on last night, they had business to do. They had to finish what they’d started yesterday and she had to tell him her idea for fixing the problem.

She stood, smoothed her skirt down, then picked up the jumbo coffee from Java the Hut she’d gotten on her way into the office. She was going to have to give up Java the Hut if every time she went there she found herself looking for Jake.

She walked down the hall, head high. Nobody else there knew what had happened. She’d tell people she and Jake broke up. No big deal. He’d served his purpose, having taken people’s attention away from what was happening—or what they thought was happening, rather—between her and Andrew.

“Is he in there?” She jerked her head toward Andrew’s office as she stopped by Susan’s desk. Susan looked up, and her smile quickly faded to dismay.

“Shelby! Are you okay?”

“Actually, I think I’m coming down with the flu.” She grimaced.

“Go home! If you don’t feel well, you should be at home in bed.”

Shelby forced a tight smile. “Good idea. But I need to meet with Andrew first.”

“He’s in his office. Go on in.”

“Thanks.”

Susan’s concern for her touched something inside Shelby. It was nice to work with people who cared, even if only a little. Much better than the icy vibe she’d encountered a few weeks ago.

She walked into Andrew’s office, clutching her coffee and file folder. He looked up from his computer. His hair stuck up in all directions, he had dark circles under his eyes and strain tightened his mouth. Guess he and Gianna had had a rough evening.

“Do you have a few minutes to finish talking about the project?”

“Sure. Have a seat.”

Silence thickened around them as she sat waiting for him to join her. He sat there still staring at his computer screen.

“Are you okay, Andrew?” She bit her lip. He was her boss, but geez, he looked like hell.

“Yeah. Fine.” He rose and joined her at the small table. “That was a mess last night, huh?”

“Yeah.” She bowed her head, but then quickly lifted it. She was not going to be a victim this time. “But I’m okay.”

“I’m really sorry. I thought you knew about Jake and me. And Gianna.”

“I asked him. He lied to me.” She narrowed her eyes and her fingers tightened on the cardboard coffee cup. “Whatever. At least I know now. Before things got too…serious.” Her voice cracked on the last word. Dammit. She cleared her throat and swallowed hard.

“I know how he rolls. He’s not the kind of guy who sticks around long,” Andrew said. “I actually warned him not to mess around with you.” Then he muttered one word under his breath. “Asshole.”

Shelby flinched. She didn’t really like hearing someone else call him that. She’d call him an asshole. Nobody else, though. “Uh…thanks.”

“Anyway.” Andrew shook his head. “You wanted to talk about the project.”

Oookay. He didn’t want to talk about personal stuff. It appeared the easy, friendly relationship they’d had was gone. She’d succeeded in what she’d wanted when she’d told him she had a boyfriend, when she’d let Jake play that part. This cool, impersonal relationship was just what she wanted from her boss. So if he didn’t want to talk about it, wanted to go on as if nothing had happened, she was so down with that.

“So I thought about the information you gave me yesterday,” Andrew said, lowering his big body into a chair across from her. He eyed her coffee for a lingering moment. “And I’ve come to the conclusion that we have to cancel the project.”

She gaped at him. “What? Cancel it?”

“Yeah.” He shook his head. “It’s clear that it’s not going to be successful unless we deal with the problems with the intake process first. Everything is so closely tied together. If we don’t fix that first, the project is doomed to fail.”

“But I…”

“I already asked Brad Amando to head up the new project,” he said. “Working on the intake process. He may ask you to be involved.”

She stared at him, speechless. “He may?”

Andrew shrugged. “It will be up to him.”

“But—”

He held up a hand. “Sorry, Shelby. I know you were invested in this. But we just don’t have enough resources to do both right now.”

She knew that! That’s why she’d come up with Plan B! “But…”

Andrew looked at his watch, shifting his gaze away from her and standing. “I have another meeting right now.”

Dear sweet Jesus, it was happening again. Was he blaming her for having to kill the project? Black spots danced in front of her eyes and she felt like her head was floating off her shoulders.

What was she going to do? She still had some things she was working on from her last project, still some follow up and analysis to do, but…

She lifted a hand to her forehead. She stood too, since he was clearly ending the meeting, turned and tried to walk to the door, barely able to see.

“Shelby.”

She paused and looked over her shoulder.

“Your coffee. And notes.”

“Oh.” Blinking rapidly, enveloped in a haze of heat, she scooped them up and stumbled out of his office. Susan wasn’t at her desk, thankfully, so she didn’t have to pretend things were okay. She staggered down the corridor to her cubicle, wishing she had an office with a door. She was going to have to hide in the ladies’ room. Or maybe even go home. Yeah. That’s what she should do. That flu-like feeling was taking her down.

Swallowing hard, her throat tight, head pounding, she sent a quick email to Andrew and Susan to let them know she was going home sick. Even in her bewilderment, she couldn’t just walk out. Though she wasn’t sure if she was ever coming back.

Chapter Twenty

Jake sat in his office, unable to focus on anything except what he’d done to Shelby. And Andrew and Gianna, even though him having that drink with Gianna was evidently the least of their problems. He felt like crap about it. The six or eight beers he’d drunk the night before didn’t help. Other than that, he felt great. Really great. Pumped. Ready to move forward with his life and his new business.

Yeah, right.

But he’d done it. Even if everything else in his life was fucked up, this was one thing he could do. One positive step. One thing he could make right.

His phone rang and he reached for it. “Jake Magill.”

“Hi, Jake. It’s Courtney at reception. There’s someone here to see you.”

Every nerve ending in his body went on alert. Shelby? It had to be Shelby!

“Who is it?” he demanded.

“Andrew Haddon.”

Huh? Jake frowned. “Andrew?”

“Yes.”

Jake licked his lips. What the hell was Andrew doing there? “Ah. Okay. I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks, Jake.” Courtney’s perky voice didn’t fit with the disturbing news she’d just delivered.

He thrust both hands into his hair and stood like that for a moment. Okay, whatever. He’d face him and get it over with. Curiosity about why Andrew was there led him out the door of his office and down the hall.

Andrew sat on one of the chairs lining the reception area. They didn’t get a lot of visitors on this floor, so it wasn’t all luxurious, just basic tables, chairs and a few ancient copies of the Wall Street Journal and Time.

“Andrew.”

Andrew looked up. He stood. The two men faced each other.

“Got a few minutes to talk?” Andrew finally said in a low voice.

“I’m pretty busy.”

“Oh for shit’s sake, get over it, Jake.” Andrew kept his voice down, but Courtney still sent them a puzzled glance.

Jake sighed. “Come on in.”

He led the way to his office. Inside he gestured to one of the chairs and he threw himself down into the one behind his desk.

“What’s up?” he asked, ignoring the rapid thump of his heart.

“That was a pretty ugly scene last night.”

Jake’s mouth twisted. “Yeah.”

Andrew’s eyes shifted and it seemed he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. Jake folded his arms across his chest and waited. He wasn’t going to help the guy out.

Finally Andrew spoke again. “What’s with you and Gianna?”

“Maybe you should ask her that.”

“I did.”

“And?”

“She wasn’t speaking to me last night.”

“Great.” Jake rubbed his forehead. “There’s nothing going on between us.”

“Bullshit.”

Jake sighed inwardly. “It’s the truth, Andrew. I told you last night—we were just having a drink.”

Andrew gave him a hard stare. Jake met his gaze head on and challenged, “And what about you and Shelby?”

Andrew’s brow furrowed. “What about me and Shelby?”

“What were you doing with her?”

“We were having a drink.” And then understanding dawned. “Oh.” He was silent for a moment, and then once again went on the offensive. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Did what?”

“Hurt Shelby like that.”

“I can’t believe you were trying to get with her, you asshole.” Jake leaned forward, arms going to his desk. “You’re married! You’re her boss! What the hell were you thinking?”

Andrew half rose out of his chair. “Are you fucking kidding me? I wasn’t after Shelby! Do you think I’m that stupid? She works for me! Ever heard of sexual harassment? Jesus Christ.”

“You’re saying you weren’t?”

“Yes! That is what I’m damn well saying!” Andrew rubbed his jaw. “Shelby is a very bright and talented project manager. I hired her. I want her to do well. And besides, I’m married.” He glared at Jake.

“You were making her life miserable.”

“What?” Andrew’s mouth fell open.

“People are talking about you. Maybe you’re walking around with your head so far up your ass you don’t know what’s going on, but everyone at Gold Shield thinks—or should I say, thought—you two were having an affair. You gave her the best projects. Passed over people with more seniority. You two go out for drinks after work, business dinners with clients. She gets to travel and take long lunches with you. No wonder people were talking. She’s still new there and everyone hates her guts.”

“They do not.” Andrew’s forehead furrowed. “Do they?” Confusion lined his face.

“Okay, nobody hates Shelby, she’s too sweet to hate, but it was damn uncomfortable for her. I was doing her a favor, making people think she had a boyfriend.”

Andrew lowered his chin and gave Jake a yeah-right look. “A favor?”

“She told you she had a boyfriend to get you off her back. I volunteered to act the part for the barbecue.”

“To get me off her back?” Andrew’s eyes widened. “Is that what she said?”

“Well not in those exact words. She said you never did anything inappropriate. She just felt uncomfortable.”

“Holy shit.” Andrew passed a hand over his hair. “Holy shit. I didn’t know how I was coming across. But I swear to you, Jake, it was just professional interest. Mentoring. Shelby came to Gold Shield with not a great track record from her last job.”

“That was not her fault.”

“I kind of thought that. Our HR department said we should avoid her, but I wanted to give her a shot.”

“And that had nothing to do with what she looks like?” Jake scowled suspiciously.

“No. Seriously. After I went to bat for her, I wanted to make sure she succeeded.”

“But what you were doing was putting her in the exact position she was at in her last job. She’d had an affair with her boss.” Telling this made his gut hurt, but, oh well. “The guy used her then let her take the fall for his screw up. That’s why she got fired.”

Andrew winced. Dropped his chin to his chest for a moment. “Shit.” Then he looked up at Jake and narrowed his eyes. “So if you were supposedly just doing her a favor, why are you still seeing her?”

Jake stared at him. “Because…because…I like her.”

“Bullshit.” Understanding dawned in Andrew’s eyes. “You thought I was after her. Jesus Christ! You were trying to get back at me!”

“No. I wasn’t. The truth is…” He heaved a heartfelt sigh and rubbed his aching chest. “When I saw you and Gianna again, I thought you still felt sorry for me. I didn’t want your goddamn pity. I wanted you to think I’d found someone else.”

“Oh hell.” The two men sat silent as time ticked by. “It’s not like that,” Andrew finally said. “I didn’t feel sorry for you. Like, pity you. But I did feel sorry…I do feel sorry…for what happened. Hell, Jake. I fell in love with Gianna. I couldn’t help it. She loved me too. You were a fucking hero about it all back then, but I knew you had to be hurting.”

Jake nodded. With distance and time and a whole different perspective on things thanks to Shelby, he could admit it now. “Yeah. I was.”

“I would never do anything to hurt Gianna. I love her.” Andrew closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “For all the good that does me.”

“What I said last night was true. There was nothing going on,” Jake told him. “I really am over Gianna.”

Andrew eyed him doubtfully. “What about Shelby?”

“What about her?”

“She’s a mess.” Andrew scowled. “She came in this morning looking like hell. And I had to give her some very bad news.”

“What bad news?”

“Business bad news.”

“Don’t you even fucking think of firing her over this!” Jake’s blood pressure shot up and he almost leaped out of his chair.

“Jesus Christ! Would you quit being so emotional and reactive about this? Get a grip, man, I’m not firing her.”

Jake leaned back again in his chair, sweat breaking out under his arms. “Okay.”

“We had to pull the plug on the project she was working on,” Andrew continued.

“What?” Oh holy hell. Shelby would be devastated. “Why?”

Andrew waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Jesus Christ, it’s happening all over again.”

Andrew frowned. “It was a business decision. But now I can see why she might have been so upset.”

“No fucking kidding. Didn’t she tell you? She has a solution to the problem.”

Andrew squinted at him. “She does?”

“I can’t believe she didn’t tell you.” Jake shook his head. “It was brilliant.”

“How the hell do you know?”

“We talked about it.” Now it was Jake’s turn to dismiss Andrew’s question. “Oh man. This is so bad.”

“Well, personally, I think she’s more upset about you. You hurt her.”

“I know.” His lips twisted glumly. “I fucking know that. And I never meant to.”

“She talked about you all the time. She worships you, man.”

Jake let the words sink in. Then he shook his head. “No, she doesn’t. We had a deal. She needed a boyfriend. I wanted you to think I had a girlfriend. We got along okay and neither of us wanted to get involved.”

“You’re an idiot. It might have been a deal to start with, but she clearly has feelings for you now. How could you do that to her?”

“I’m an asshole, all right?” Jake almost shouted the words.

After a moment of dense silence, Andrew said, “No, you’re not.”

Jake stared at him.

“She told me all the stuff you did to help when her friend died. You didn’t have to do that. If you were just using her, you’d have run the opposite direction.”

Jake blinked. Gripped the armrests of his chair.

“Look. Whatever twisted reason you had for hooking up with her, you need to fix this.” Andrew rubbed his forehead. “She’s a mess, I tell you.”

Jake’s throat tightened. “She’s better off without me.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Oh, get over yourself.” Then he sighed. “Hell. I’ve got woman problems of my own. I believe you when you say you’re over Gianna, but hell, Jake.” He paused, swallowed hard, looked away. “I’m not sure if she’s over you. She’s been acting weird lately.”

Jake gaped at his old friend.

He could tell Andrew about Gianna’s phone call, her begging him to see her, her hanging around his office building last night waiting for him.

At that moment, he felt like someone had just handed him a weapon and with it, with a few words, he could make Andrew suffer for everything he’d done to him. Everything he’d taken away from him.

Revenge. Is that what this had really all been about? Had Andrew been right? Had he been using Shelby to get back at Andrew for what he’d done to him?

What had happened to her life?

Shelby sat cross-legged on the couch in her living room, wrapped in a blanket, with a thermometer in her mouth.

She’d had such high hopes for this job, relieved at having found such a good job in her field, working for a good company and for what she’d thought was a decent boss. Then things had gone kind of sour, even though she was getting good assignments and lots of perks, when she started to worry about what Andrew really wanted from her. Then Adam had been diagnosed with cancer. Her parents were too busy fighting with each other and making up to care about her career problems or friend problems.

Then she’d met a guy, a hot guy, but a nice guy, the first guy in a long time—or maybe ever—she’d believed wasn’t using her for his own reasons. Well, other than the reasons they’d agreed on. But then she’d stupidly fallen in love with him, and it turned out he was using her. And now her boss had screwed her over, yet again.

Did she have “kick me” written all over her, or something?

The thermometer beeped. She slid it out and peered at the digital readout. Normal. Huh. She turned it off and tossed it to the table.

She didn’t have the flu. She was just heartbroken.

Her bottom lip pushed out and she let it, indulging in one more moment of self-pity. Then she sighed.

It was her own fault for letting her feelings get involved with Jake. She should have known she wasn’t going to be able to not do that. She’d started off great, making that deal with him, confident she could do it, but then she’d gotten all soft and hopeful, dammit, with her usual sickening optimism, and actually started having crazy thoughts about love and a future when she should know what men were like.

And that included her boss. A guy who’d steal his best friend’s girlfriend. What the hell? That was low. For a moment she almost felt sympathy for Jake after having that done to him.

And now Andrew had killed her project.

Restlessly she threw off the blanket, suddenly feeling hot.

There was no reason they couldn’t do the two projects that needed to be done simultaneously, if they hired an external consultant. She knew they didn’t have internal resources to run two big projects simultaneously, but her cost-benefit analysis showed the savings they could make if they did it with an external consultant, even taking that additional expense into consideration.

She had to tell Andrew that. Why hadn’t he listened to her earlier?

Well, for one thing he’d had another meeting to go to. And for another thing, she hadn’t even really tried to tell him. She’d been so shell-shocked she’d barely been able to speak.

But what could she do? He’d already assigned the new project to someone else. Which made her burn with anger. That was not fair! Then she had to heave a huge sigh, because when Andrew had given her this project, she’d totally thought Brad should’ve been the one to run it.

But she’d been doing it. It wasn’t her fault their internal processes were such a huge barrier. Now people were going to think she couldn’t handle this project, just like Bram and Davis had been afraid of. Nobody would ever take her seriously on any other projects she was given.

If she had to leave this job too, her professional reputation would be trashed for sure. She’d never get another job, other than maybe waiting tables. Impotent fury rose up in her, fast and hot, and she clenched her hands into fists.

She fought her way out of the blanket still tangled around her hips and stood. She wasn’t going down without a fight this time. She was not going to let this happen to her again. If Andrew didn’t want to hear this, she’d go to his boss. She was not going to let her career be trashed yet again.

She’d changed out of her suit when she got home, into her favorite yoga pants and T-shirt. Damn. She looked down at herself. Much as she didn’t give a shit right then how she looked, the VP of Benefits was not going to take her seriously if she stormed into his office looking like this.

Trembling with determination, her stomach tight and her jaw clenched, she hurried into her bedroom and whipped her clothes off. The suit she’d worn earlier lay on the bed and she grabbed it and put it back on. She washed her face, briefly thought about the contact lenses, but her eyes still stung, so she gave up on that idea. Ah well, Jake had said she looked intelligent in her glasses. She hated wearing them, they interfered with her vision and hurt her nose and ears after a few hours, but right now she didn’t care.

She fixed her makeup, not wanting to look like her world had just fallen apart.

No. She straightened her shoulders and studied her reflection in the mirror. She was in charge of her world. Two guys who had some kind of bad history and wanted to stab each other in the back over a woman weren’t going to destroy her world. Let them battle it out over her. Gianna. Her mouth twisted, a sharp pain slicing through her at the memory that Jake had been in love with her.

And likely still was. Why else would he have tried to get back at Andrew like that? Well, if he was still carrying a torch for Gianna, he was an idiot. She was married.

Breathing caused a jagged pain in her chest, sharp and hot.

He was an asshole to use people the way he did. So there.

She turned on the spiky heel of her favorite pumps. She looked fine, even with the stupid glasses.

Chapter Twenty-One

As soon as Andrew had gone, Jake picked up the phone and called Shelby’s cell phone. She didn’t answer. Of course not. Then he called her office number. He didn’t expect her to answer there either, waited impatiently until it had rung four times and gone to voice mail, then stabbed the zero on his phone so he’d be connected to a live body.

“Susan speaking.”

“I need to talk to Shelby Leighton.”

“I’m sorry, but she’s gone for the day. Did you want her voice mail?”

“No. Thanks.” He slammed the phone down, knowing it was rude. She’d gone. Had she gone home?

He told his secretary he had an appointment out of the office then jogged to the elevator. He tapped his foot as the elevator descended to the underground parking garage. Fuck! Could this thing go any slower? Why the hell did people get in on the fourth floor and out on the third? Had they never heard of stairs? Come on, people!

Finally he was in his car, peeling out of the concrete garage and driving toward Shelby’s home. Traffic was slow and leisurely. Nobody else seemed in any hurry to get anywhere, dammit.

Why had she gone home? He could only think it was because she was upset about the project.

And maybe about him. But he wasn’t worth being upset about.

He couldn’t believe she hadn’t told Andrew about her idea. It was beautiful and he’d helped her do the research she needed to build her business case. It would totally work.

He slammed a hand on the steering wheel as the traffic light in front of him turned red. Another red light.

As he sat there waiting, he started wondering why he was going to see Shelby. She clearly wanted nothing to do with him and he didn’t blame her, but if she was upset, he wanted to help. And dammit, maybe he could talk to her and…and…tell her the truth.

The truth. Whatever that was.

He swiped a hand over his forehead, started forward with the traffic.

The truth was he was in love with her.

His gut cramped. Well, no wonder he didn’t give a shit about Gianna. He really was over her. And if this was how Andrew felt about Gianna, and she about him—well then, no wonder Gianna had dumped him.

That thought didn’t even hurt like it used to.

It did make him wonder, though—if he’d been in Andrew’s position, what would he have done? What if Shelby had belonged to Andrew, and Jake had had to choose between Shelby and his friendship with Andrew—what would he have done?

He didn’t know the answer and he never really would because it was impossible to say how someone would react in a given situation until they were actually there. Which sadly made him think that maybe Andrew had faced the same dilemma and been just as conflicted. If it meant losing Shelby and seeing her with another man for the rest of their lives, would he have had the strength to resist? It’d be different if Andrew had loved Gianna from afar, but the reality was Gianna had been in love with Andrew too. That must have made it a hundred times more difficult.

Yeah. He was in love with Shelby.

She wasn’t supposed to get hurt in all this, but he’d fucked things up. Now he had to try to fix things.

He pulled up on the street in front of Shelby’s apartment building and was just getting out of his SUV when he saw her car pulling out of her parking lot. Hey!

He took a step toward it, without really thinking, but obviously there was no way he could stop her. He watched her tail lights disappear down the street. Where was she going?

He jumped back into his own vehicle, started it up and laid some rubber as he pulled away from the curb.

He spotted her car a block up. She was driving fast, damn fast, and it took some effort to keep up with her in traffic. He didn’t care if she saw him, he just had to keep her in his sights. It soon became obvious she was headed back downtown. Was she going back to work?

Apparently, yes. She drove into the parking garage where she parked during the day. He hesitated only a few seconds. He had a parking spot below his own building but that was two blocks away. Or he could just go in this building and pay to park. Another car got between them, but that was okay now he knew where she was. So he waited to pull a ticket from the machine, waited for the arm to lift, waited while the goof in front of him drove slowly up each level, carefully rounded the corner and drove up the next until he finally found an empty spot. The only empty spot.

Jake kept his eyes sharp for Shelby, spotted her car on the fifth level, but no sign of her. Damn! She had to be going back to her office. Finally he found a spot, jumped out and locked his vehicle, jogged toward the elevator.

Why was he doing this? He shook his head while he waited for the elevator. Was he nuts? If she was going back to work, she must be okay.

His guts felt twisted up, though, because he’d gotten all psyched up to go see her and then she’d left. He needed to see her, needed to make sure she was okay, needed to tell her to get back in there and fight.

It took a few minutes to walk from the parking garage to the office tower that housed Gold Shield Insurance. He took the elevator up to the twenty-first floor and faced a receptionist. “Hi,” he said smiling. “I’m here to see Shelby Leighton.”

“Is she expecting you?”

“No. But…” He broadened his smile. “She’ll see me. Jake Magill.”

“I’ll try her line.”

He waited, but the receptionist hung up. “I’m sorry,” she said with a smile. “Her voice mail says she’s not in.”

“Yes she is.” Desperation edged his voice. She blinked at him. “I know she is. She left earlier but she just came back.” God, she was going to call security on him if he kept babbling like an idiot. “Maybe you could try Andrew Haddon for me.”

“Sure.” She called Andrew’s number. “I’m sorry. He’s not in either.”

Jesus. Where had he gone when he’d left Jake’s office? He turned away from the reception desk just as Andrew walked in.

He saw Jake and scowled at him. “Now what?”

Shelby stood alone in the elevator, the button for the twenty-sixth floor lit up. She pressed her lips together as she waited, flutters of anticipation and nerves like wings inside her.

The elevator came to a halt on the twentieth floor and Bram got in. They greeted each other, Shelby still feeling a touch of annoyance at how he’d gone to Andrew behind her back with complaints about her ability to manage the project. She recalled her meeting with him where she’d told him he should have gone to her, instead of going to her boss behind her back.

Exactly what she was about to do to Andrew.

Bram got off on twenty-four. Shelby stood frozen as the elevator doors closed, staring at the lit-up button for twenty-six, where the executive offices were located. Then she stabbed twenty-five, not sure if she was fast enough. The elevator glided to a stop. She stepped out of the elevator, turned and went into the ladies’ room on that floor.

She set her purse on the counter and took a breath.

Dammit, if she hadn’t already kissed this job goodbye, going above Andrew’s head would definitely do it. Her insides twisted into knots. Firming her lips, she picked up her purse and left the ladies’ room.

Jake glanced at the receptionist and smiled, moved closer to Andrew and spoke in a low voice. “I need to see Shelby.”

“She’s not here. She went home earlier. My secretary said she was sick.”

“She’s not sick. I went to her house. She was just leaving, and she came back here.”

Andrew’s forehead creased then he moved toward the door. “Come to my office.”

Jake followed him through a maze of cubicles to a corner office, glancing into each cubicle, wondering if it was Shelby’s. But he didn’t see her. Andrew paused at his secretary’s desk.

“Have you seen Shelby?” he asked her. Jake recalled sitting with her at the picnic. Uh…Susan, that was it.

She shook her head, looking up at him from behind her desk, her face full of confusion as she saw Jake. “No. She left this morning, remember?”

“Yeah, but she may have come back.”

“Oh, I doubt it. She really didn’t look well.” She squinted at Jake but he said nothing.

Andrew gave a short nod and walked into his office. Jake followed. He looked around. He’d visited Andrew’s office a few times, a long time ago. Weird.

“Did you try her cell phone?” Andrew asked.

“Yeah, but she didn’t answer. She’d know it was me.”

“Let me try.” But she didn’t answer Andrew’s call either.

“You’re sure she’s here?”

“Well. I didn’t see her walk into the building, but she parked in the parking garage.”

Andrew shrugged. “Don’t know what else I can do.”

Jake sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Short of searching the building, which I guess is a bit much, huh?”

Andrew regarded him thoughtfully. “Yeah. Not that I don’t know how you feel.”

“Andrew, can we…oh.”

They both turned at the feminine voice in Andrew’s open door. Jake’s mouth dropped open to see Shelby standing there, staring at both of them.

She was stunning in a little suit that hugged her curves, killer heels, and those glasses that made her look like the sexiest little librarian he’d ever seen, even though her nose was faintly pink under light makeup.

She glared at Jake. “What are you doing here?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Shelby stared at Jake, her heart pitching into an unsteady rhythm. Her palms went sweaty, her face hot.

“Looking for you,” he said, not moving.

“Why?” Her eyes flickered toward Andrew and then back.

“I heard about your project. I tried to call you and they said you’d gone home. I went to your place and saw you coming back here. So I followed you.”

“I don’t understand. How did you hear about my project?”

“From Andrew.”

Her head whipped around to stare at Andrew.

He ran a finger inside his shirt collar. “Uh, yeah. I went to see Jake this morning.”

“Why?”

“We had some issues to talk about.”

“As do you and I,” Jake added. “Shelby, we need to talk.”

She frowned. “I don’t think so. Besides, I’m working and I have business to discuss with Andrew.” She lifted her chin and looked at her boss. “If you have time.”

He met her eyes and nodded. “Yes. I have time.”

Jake stared at her for a long moment. “Business, huh.” He nodded slowly, rubbed his chin. “What are you going to talk about?”

What? What? “Business!” she snapped.

And then he smiled. A slow, kind of sad smile, but a smile. She blinked at him.

“Okay. Good.” He walked toward her, stopped right in front of her and spoke right into her ear in a low voice. “Stand up for yourself, Shelby Rose. Don’t let the past mess up your future. You don’t have to drag that crap around with you forever. You’re smart and talented and you can do this.” He brushed his lips over her cheek.

Her mouth fell open as she watched him walk out of the office, closing the door behind him.

She turned to Andrew.

“What is it you wanted to discuss, Shelby?” He regarded her with an expression on his face she had a hard time identifying. Probably felt sorry for her. Dammit.

“Um.” Her mind was a snarl of confusion. “I…ah…didn’t get a chance to finish telling you my solution to the project problems this morning.”

“I had another meeting to go to. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Well. I didn’t feel you were very open to hearing about it. Since you’ve already assigned the new project to someone else.”

He said nothing, but his mouth tightened and he gave a short nod. “I’m open to hearing whatever solutions you think you might have.”

So she laid it all out for him, including her cost benefit analysis and the research she’d done. Her projections for time, money, resources. He looked over the documents she showed him and listened.

Finally he leaned back in his seat. She waited, breath suspended for his reaction. Then he nodded. “It could work.”

She let the air seep slowly out of her. “I think it definitely could.”

“Such a simple solution, really.”

“The best ones usually are.”

He grinned. “True.”

“What would you do about the other project and Brad?”

He bit his upper lip briefly. “He could still manage it, but it would mainly be monitoring the work of the consultant. It would give him time to work on other things as well.”

She nodded slowly. “And I could keep this project?”

His eyes flickered. “Yes.”

Relief flooded through her and her head went light. “Thank you.”

“Shelby. We need to clear the air about some things.”

Her body tightened. “Okay.”

“I know about what happened at your last job.”

“You know?” She blinked rapidly.

“Jake told me.”

“You two had quite the conversation apparently.” Her mind raced.

Andrew gave a huge sigh and sank down into a chair. “Yeah.”

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth briefly. “Oh. Anyway. So you know what happened at my last job. It might’ve…uh…made me a bit paranoid about…some things.”

“Ya think?” He gave her wry smile. “I was never trying to sexually harass you, Shelby.”

Oh Jesus, he knew everything. An inferno roared to life beneath her suit, scorching her cheeks. “Oh.”

“Let’s just get it all out,” he said. “If we’re going to work together, we need to clear the air here. I went out on a limb to hire you because I thought you had a lot of talent. You’re smart, experienced, you have great technical skills and people skills. That’s rare in this business.”

She gaped at him. “Uh, thanks.”

“I wanted to make sure you succeeded here at Gold Shield. So I spent some extra time with you.” He rubbed his forehead. “I never gave you projects I didn’t think you could do, Shelby. I wanted to challenge you. I had faith that you could do it.”

“Oh.” Her mouth fell open even more as she watched and listened, her mind racing to process it all.

“I never realized the impression I was creating. Jake filled me in on that too.” He winced.

“Oh,” she said again.

“I’m sorry about that. You’re so easy to talk to, I came to enjoy having coffee with you. I like talking to you and you always seemed to have good advice about Gianna. But I want you to know that I love my wife and I had no intention of starting anything with you other than a mentoring relationship.”

Relief mingled with embarrassment inside her.

“And this morning…okay, I apologize for that too. I didn’t have time to listen to your suggestions. But seriously, Shelby, I would have listened if you’d come to me later.”

“I’m sorry.” She twisted her fingers together in her lap. “I was just so afraid it was happening again. My last boss destroyed my career at RBM.”

“Do you think that little of me?” he asked, almost looking disappointed.

What could she say? “No. I don’t. I’m sorry. I do like working for you, Andrew. I’ve learned a lot. You’re a good boss. I was just paranoid, like I said.”

He nodded. Took a deep breath. Let it out. “Okay. Let’s start fresh. Your idea for how to continue with the project does sound like it would work. Your business case was well thought out. So let’s see if we can do it.”

She grinned. “Okay.”

“We don’t need to be friends to work together,” he said. “But we need to be honest with each other.” He met her eyes and she nodded her agreement.

“I agree.”

“I’m sorry you felt like you had to lie to me about having a boyfriend.”

More hot embarrassment washed over her at that. What could she say? “Well. I’m sorry I did it.” She rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how sorry. Are things okay with you and your wife?”

His eyes shadowed. “I don’t know.”

Anger at Jake spiked again. “Jake’s an asshole for doing that. He shouldn’t have used me to get back at you. To try to steal your wife away from you.”

“He wasn’t trying to steal my wife away from me.”

Her chin dropped again. “He wasn’t?”

“No. Though maybe he could have. She wouldn’t talk last night, but after I saw Jake this morning, I went to her office and we had it out. She was the one who instigated that. She says she’s confused. After she saw Jake at the company barbecue, she started to wonder if she’d made a mistake.” He looked like someone was squeezing his testicles, but he kept going through gritted teeth. “I guess I should have known that someone who’d ditch one guy for another would probably do the same to me.”

“I’m sorry.”

He grimaced. “Anyway, Jake didn’t rat her out. He was going to let me keep thinking he was the one who’d done it. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think he was using you either.”

“Y-you don’t?” Her thoughts ground to a halt yet again.

“No. He also told Gianna…” He stopped, shook his head. “You should talk to him.” He gave her a crooked smile. “How about you take the rest of the afternoon off and we’ll start fresh tomorrow morning?”

She swallowed through a dry throat, gave a short nod and rose to her feet. “Thank you, Andrew.”

“Shelby.”

She paused with her hand on the door, looked over her shoulder. “Yes?”

“We can talk more about this tomorrow, but I think I know who the consultant should be to work on the project.”

“Oh. Okay. Who’s that?”

“Jake.”

She went very still. “But he’s…not a consultant.”

“Yes, he is. He quit his job yesterday.”

She didn’t move. Tightened her fingers on the door knob. He’d quit his job. Joy swept over her, joy for him that he’d finally done it. All her insides quivered with excitement. “And you’d hire him?”

He smiled. “Hell yeah. I can’t think of anyone better.”

Oh. Her heart almost exploded out of her chest. Maybe things would be okay between him and Jake too. Or maybe not. Lots had happened. But this made her pulse leap with excitement and feel a little giddy.

“Thank you, Andrew.” Their eyes met in a brief connection. He nodded.

Well. She still had her job. She still had her project. Her relationship with Andrew might take a little while to rebuild, but it sounded like he didn’t want to get rid of her. In fact, it sounded like he really liked her. Liked her work, she amended in her mind. He’d never been after anything else. Relief blossomed and spread through her, but then her heart tripped as she remembered Jake.

She’d put on her big-girl panties and come back to work and dealt with the problem. But thinking about Jake still hurt. A lot.

She almost ran a red light on her way home, she was so preoccupied thinking about him and what had happened. Once safely inside her apartment she changed her clothes once again, back into her comfy yoga pants and T-shirt. She sat on her bed.

Andrew didn’t think Jake had been using her.

She rubbed at the tightness between her eyebrows as she tried to make sense of it all. He and Gianna had been in love. Andrew was his best friend. Then Andrew and Gianna had fallen in love with each other.

She touched her fingertips to her lips and closed her eyes as she imagined how that must have hurt Jake. She knew about his past, about his mother, and how he didn’t do relationships. He’d gotten involved with Gianna though, and although it hurt her to think about, it hurt even more to think about his pain when Gianna had fallen in love with his best friend. How much that must have hurt Jake.

Her throat constricted. So when he’d run into them that day at the picnic, it must have been like getting slapped in the face yet again.

He’d told her about his and Andrew’s plans to go into business together and she knew how disappointed he’d been about that even though he hadn’t told her the whole story. So not only had he lost his girlfriend, he’d lost his best friend and his business plan. That was a lot to lose all at once.

She wanted to hug him, to kiss him, to tell him she understood. Then she remembered that he’d used her and anger rose again. Except…Andrew didn’t believe he’d been using her. And thinking back over the last few weeks, and all the time they’d spent together, it didn’t feel like she’d been used. She remembered laughing with him, crying with him, bike riding, walking Wayne, baking cookies with Taylor, and all the things he’d done for her and for her friends when Adam died.

No. That wasn’t using her.

Maybe her stupid optimism was going to be her downfall yet again, but she just couldn’t stop the buoyancy that rose up inside her. He did care about her. He might not want to admit it, probably because he was afraid of getting hurt again, and okay, she got that, given his history, but she was suddenly, absolutely positive that he did care.

What had he said to her? Don’t let the past mess up your future? Something about dragging crap around with her?

Yes. That was what she’d done. All her life, basically.

She’d known she shouldn’t get involved with her boss at RBM but she’d done it anyway. She’d tried to learn from it. And yet, she’d brought that hurt with her, and it had colored everything, made her think that Andrew wanted more from her than he really did. She’d made a mess of things when she should have just had a conversation with Andrew.

So she knew what it was like. She knew what Jake was dragging around with him. And he needed to realize that too. He needed to know that everyone he cared about wasn’t going to leave him.

She rose to her feet. She had to see him. She looked at her watch. Would he still be at work? She didn’t want to go see him there. She’d wait until he was at home. And she knew what she’d do to keep herself busy until then.

He opened his door to her, his hair messed, shadows darkening the skin below his eyes. He must have just gotten home, hadn’t even changed, his usually impeccable business clothes rumpled—tie loosened, top button of his shirt undone. He’d taken off his suit jacket and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up, revealing his big strong forearms. He looked so sexy and handsome and sad, it made her heart squeeze.

Wayne came rushing at her, tail swishing with fond recognition, and she put out a hand to rub his head, looking briefly away from Jake to greet the dog.

“Lay down, Wayne,” Jake said abruptly. Wayne went to the tile floor and laid his chin on his front paws, looking up at them with big dark eyes.

Jake turned his gaze back to her. “Hi.” She heard the question in his tone.

“Hi.” Her stomach tightened with nerves, despite her conviction that she was right about him and his feelings for her.

“Everything okay?” he asked. “With you and Andrew?”

She nodded slowly. “Pretty okay. I still have a job. And Andrew might get over being pissed at me.”

His lips quirked. “I think he will.”

She wanted to kiss his mouth. She wanted to breathe in the scent of his skin. She wanted to feel his arms around her. She remembered how he’d looked after her during the time of Adam’s death and funeral, how he’d looked after all her friends, actually. And when she looked deep into his eyes, she saw the pain there, the uncertainty, the same longing and fear she felt.

“I brought you these.” She held out the container and he looked down at it even as he automatically reached for it. He opened one corner of the plastic lid and peered inside, then looked up at her, his eyes bright.

“Cookies?”

“Yes.”

He rolled his lips inward briefly and gave a short nod.

“Can we talk?” she asked.

“Sure.” He led the way into his living room. She stepped over a few dog toys and a stack of newspapers and sat on the couch. He set the cookies on the table, then sat beside her, but not too close.

“Tell me what just happened at work,” Jake invited. So she told him. She told him what her first plan had been, to go to Andrew’s boss, and how she’d realized that would be a mistake. Jake laughed about it and shook his head, admiration gleaming in his eyes. “Good for you, Shelby,” he murmured. “Good for you.”

His praise lit her insides up and made her head go light. A shaky smile tugged at her lips. “So tomorrow we start fresh, and we’re going to try to make that project work.” Which reminded her. She shifted closer to him on the couch, her gaze fastened on his face. “Jake. Andrew told me you quit your job.”

“Yeah.” He grimaced. “Finally got over feeling sorry for myself. Got my courage up. It feels good. Scary, but good.”

“You’re going to do great.” She wanted to tell him what Andrew had said about hiring him, but held off, until it was more definite. “I know you will.” She paused, and then slowly, deliberately echoed his words, holding his gaze steadily. “I’m glad you realize you shouldn’t let the past mess up your future too.”

He stared at her. “Huh?”

“That’s what you told me. Not to drag that crap around forever. And you’re right. We don’t have to be bound by all those stupid messages drilled into us. My parents ignoring me. My boss screwing me over. Men using me. And you…” She paused and swallowed. “Not everyone you care about will leave you.”

He regarded her for a long moment, emotions flickering across his face. Should she tell him? Her stomach tightened.

“Did you use me to get back at Andrew?” she asked.

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “No. Not to get back at him. But…I did use you.”

She sucked in a breath between her teeth. “How so?”

“When I saw Andrew and Gianna at the picnic that day, they both looked at me like they felt sorry for me. I didn’t want them to think I was a big loser, a year later still all broken up over what had happened. I didn’t want them to feel guilty, because, hey, they love each other and they should be happy together. So, I wanted them to think that we were together and I was happy with someone else and everything was good.”

“Oh.” She turned his words over in her mind while something hot and soft expanded in her chest. Just like she’d felt when they’d run into Mark. “Oh, Jake.” She hesitated. “Did you love her a lot?”

“Nah.” He looked away, then back at her. “I mean, I thought I did. But I think it was mainly my self-esteem that took a kicking. I just hung on to that, because I felt I’d been wronged. By both of them. All those old feelings of being abandoned and not wanted came back to life.”

She nodded.

“Last night at Callahan’s, Gianna and I were talking and she told me…” He paused, rubbed one eyebrow. “She told me she always felt like I was just…there. She never felt like she really got close to me, always felt like I was keeping her at a distance. And it’s true. That’s what I’ve always done. I make sure girls know up front I don’t want anything more than…than…”

“Sex.”

He made a face. “Yeah. Sometimes. Okay, usually. She told me that’s why it was so easy for her to fall for Andrew. He was there for her. I wasn’t.”

She swallowed hard and nodded, her eyes burning. “From what Andrew told me about their conversation, I’m not sure she really loved either of you. I mean, I don’t know Gianna, but it sounds like she’s interested in whoever will pay the most attention to her.”

“Huh.” He tipped his head to one side. “You could be right.”

She hesitated. “But you were there for me.”

“It’s different with you. Maybe because there was no pressure, because we had a deal, I relaxed enough to…”

“To be there?”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah. But even though we started off with a deal, I should’ve been honest with you right from the start. That wasn’t fair. But then…I started to care about you.”

Her eyes widened.

“I didn’t realize what was happening. It changed, Shelby. Maybe it started out as a deal, but it changed.” He grinned crookedly. “I guess you’d call that scope creep. The goal of the project changed.”

She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. Trust Jake to make her laugh when they were having the scariest conversation of her life. “Scope creep is bad.”

“Yeah. But I think maybe the original deliverable wasn’t uh…feasible.” He gave a wry smile. “I was hanging on to everything I thought I’d lost, but you made me realize that didn’t even matter anymore. It wasn’t until Gianna came after me that I realized I didn’t want her back. I just wanted you.”

His words started a cyclone in her heart and her lungs seized up. She could hardly breathe and her hands shook so bad she had to link them together tightly.

“And I did not go after her,” he added curtly. “No matter what Andrew thought.”

“He knows. When he talked to Gianna, she told him.”

“Oh hell.” He stared back at her. “Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t know if they’ll work things out. He seemed pretty angry.”

“Oh man.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I hope they do.”

And she believed him. He could’ve told Andrew what Gianna had done, knowing how much that would hurt Andrew. But he hadn’t. He still cared for his friend, even after what had happened between them.

“Andrew’s been busy today.”

Jake laughed. “You know, he has. He definitely has. I, uh, may have misjudged him.” He bowed his head briefly. “For believing he was interested in you and would cheat on Gianna. And he definitely kicked some sense into me. He told me if I’d just been using you, I wouldn’t have stuck around when Adam died. And he’s right. I didn’t have to do that. I could’ve bailed right then. Who needed all that drama?”

She lowered her chin. “Drama?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do.” Relief that she’d been right poured into her, like water rushing over a waterfall, and she smiled. “Well, I’ve screwed up some things too,” she murmured, looking down at her hands in her lap. “Andrew told me he was never trying to be anything more than my boss or mentor. I was so paranoid because of what happened at RBM, I guess I read too much into what he was saying and doing. I was so embarrassed when he told me that.”

“Ah, Shelby Rose. It’ll be okay.” He paused. “I’m sorry I hurt you. That’s the thing that makes me most mad at myself. Because I didn’t think about that. I really didn’t think feelings would get involved. You wanted a fake boyfriend and I wanted a fake girlfriend. It seemed like a sweet deal.”

She closed her eyes. Let his words seep into her brain. He was right. It had been a deal. A deal she’d agreed to. And, like him, she’d thought she could do it without getting emotionally involved. Her body tensed and trembled and she clasped her fingers together.

“The truth is, I got upset that night I saw you with Gianna because I was hurt. But also because I was jealous.”

“Really?”

She nodded, holding the eye contact, watching the cautious hope dawn in his expression, letting it encourage her to go on. “Yes. Because it may have started off as a deal. But…I fell in love with you, Jake.”

His eyes closed and she faltered. She took a breath. Licked her lips. “And I think you care about me too,” she said, her voice wobbly. Her throat aching, her insides shaking, she waited. She studied his face, his beautiful face, dark eyes full of emotion, that dimple in his chin deep, showing his jaw was tight. Was she setting herself up for yet another rude awakening?

“I love you too, Shelby.”

Her body moved toward him, unable to stay away. Tears stung her eyes and then she was in his arms, his mouth on hers, tasting so damn delicious and warm. His arms wrapped around her so she could hardly breathe, but that was okay, she didn’t need to breathe, she just needed him. Wetness slipped between their faces as they continued to kiss, mouths fused.

“I love you too,” she murmured, kissing his jaw, his cheek, his closed eyelids. “I love you.”

“You’re the best thing in my life, Shelby,” Jake said, their faces still pressed together, nose to nose. She inhaled the familiar scent of him, let her fingers play through his silky hair. “I need you. But I gotta tell you—I’m terrified. I thought it was bad when Gianna dumped me, but you…” His eyes closed. “You might as well rip my heart out of my chest and jump up and down on it with your stiletto heels.”

“I’m not going to do that,” she said softly, stroking his hair. “I promise. I’m here.” She understood what an impact the past could have on him and how scary it was for him to admit his feelings. To take that risk, the risk of rejection, once again. “And I’m afraid too, you know. My whole life I doubted my self-worth. My parents ignored me and I got attention where I could—from boys.” She swallowed. “In high school, when boys started paying attention to me because of how I looked, I liked it. But I always ended up feeling…used. Even later, when I was an adult, it seemed like guys just wanted one thing. I liked the attention at first, but then I just felt empty. That’s why it hurt so much. I thought you were the one guy who wasn’t using me. I mean, other than what we agreed on. And then it turned out you were.”

He groaned and tightened his arms around her. “I’m sorry,” he choked out. “So sorry, Shelby.”

“But you made me feel good too,” she whispered, laying her palm on his whisker-roughened cheek. “You did. You made me feel like I could stand up for myself.”

“When I heard about your project being cancelled, I had to see you. I couldn’t believe you hadn’t told Andrew your idea. I was going to kick your butt and send you back there to talk to him. But you’d already gone.”

“Yeah.” She drew back a little and smoothed her palm down his cheek. “You made me believe I could get over the past, shake off that garbage and move forward. And you can too.”

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes briefly. “I might be broke. In two weeks I’ll be unemployed.”

“I don’t care.”

“And I might drive you crazy with my uh…messy tendencies.”

“I might drive you crazy trying to clean up after you.”

“We could make a deal,” he suggested with a gleam in his eye.

“What kind of deal?”

“Don’t worry.” He kissed her mouth. “It’ll be sweet.”

Content

Kelly Jamieson
Sweet Deal

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two