Page 41 of More than Friends
He already knew the answer to that question.
But these feelings had to be nipped in the bud. Jenna and him as a couple? Bad idea. What if they got together and things didn’t work out? He didn’t want to ruin their friendship. Not to mention he wasn’t ready for a romantic relationship with anyone. His marital heartbreak was still in his rearview mirror, reminding him of the gut-wrenching loss and rejection he’d suffered. When someone who was supposed to love you discarded you so easily, it left a mark.
It had taken him months to see that Britt’s leaving had picked at the emotional scars from his father’s abandonment. Had left him feeling unworthy. He’d dealt by distracting himself. But that wasn’t a fix. He had to work on himself. And he needed to be single for that.
Also, he wasn’t in a hurry to go through that kind of pain again.
He just needed to ignore these weird feelings for Jenna and keep things as normal as possible. Just because they were both single and available for the first time in years didn’t mean he should be thinking of her this way. Maybe his season of dating around was responsible for this sudden attraction. He’d gotten into a routine of noticing and appreciating women, and now he’d turned that attention on Jenna.
If that was true, it was a bad habit he needed to break. So no more gazing into her eyes. No more vulnerable revelations that stirred her empathy and resulted in comforting touches.
No more touches period.
He pulled into his driveway and exited his Silverado. He was glad he’d arrived before Jenna at least. As he rounded his vehicle he spotted an irregularity on his passenger-side door and stepped closer. Probably just a bit of dirt. But he was soon corrected of that assumption. He frowned as he ran his finger over the half-inch divot in the door.
Jenna pulled in beside him. Her smile fell as she exited her car. “What’s wrong?”
“Looks like someone opened their door into mine and dinged it pretty good.”
“Where’d that happen?”
He shrugged. “Not sure. Could’ve been at the B and B. Or maybe it didn’t even happen today. Might’ve been a day or two ago and I’m just now seeing it.”
“I’m sorry.” She followed him up the walkway to his house.
“It’s probably not even worth getting insurance involved.”
“Probably not. Hopefully it won’t be too expensive to fix.”
“I have a buddy at a repair shop. He’ll give me a good deal. It’sjust the fact that someone had to know they did it and didn’t say anything.” Islanders were generally respectful and considerate.
“It would be nice if people always did the right thing.”
“Right there.” Jenna’s finger shook as she pointed to the laptop screen where Whitepages.com was open. “‘Gordon Smith, sixty-one years.’ Has to be him, right?”
“We’re about to find out.” Ty clicked on the link and a page opened, full of basic information. “There’s his address, and a few relatives are listed.”
“None of them live in DC, which is where he said his daughter lives.”
“But this Joe Smith lives in Detroit.”
Jenna perked up. “Has to be his son. This is definitely the right Gordon then.”
“We’re making progress.” Ty clicked a button that readView Two Background Records, which opened another screen:Unlock Gordon’s Full Report. When he clicked he got a list of plans and their prices. “It’s only twelve dollars—a literal bargain.”
“I’ll pay you back.” Jenna’s leg jittered against the sofa seat as Ty went through the payment process using Apple Pay. How would her mom react if Gordon had a criminal record? What if even that didn’t dissuade her? What if Mom confronted him and he just fed her some flimsy explanation and she believed him? Anxiety snaked through Jenna’s system at the thought.
She shook her head as the program downloaded the results of the search. She was getting way ahead of herself.
Tyson set his hand on her knee. “Settle down. It’ll be okay.”
She hardly heard what he said because the heat of his palm burned into her bare skin. Her heart gave a few hard knocks against her ribs before he cut her an awkward glance and withdrew his hand. There was that awareness again. The one she’d committed to squashing.
But the memory of that kiss on the cheek resurfaced even as the scent of his cologne wafted over her. In her attempts to see the screen she’d moved in close. Her upper arm was flush with his, and their legs...
The warm press of his thigh was suddenly the only thing she could think about. That point of contact usurped every brain cell. She glanced down at his muscular legs, nicely tanned, just a sprinkling of dark hair.
“Here it is.”
