Page 16 of An Unexpected Turn
“Plus, I can show you the sights around town, make sure you’ve seen all five of them.”
I laughed as I tried to buckle my seat belt. “Am I doing something wrong? It’s not clicking in.”
“The lock is tricky,” he said, reaching across my body until it clicked. “There, got it!” When he lifted his head, both of us stilled. Now that I was close enough to breathe him in, he did smell of sandalwood and soap. His body was draped over mine, but neither of us was as quick as we should’ve been about backing away. His arm grazed my breast as he finally eased off me. My surge of desire was replaced by relief and a trace of disappointment.
I was breathless when he started the car and clueless as to how I’d convinced myself that being in proximity to Jake for the whole afternoon would be a good idea.
“Mike should have fun today.” I cleared my throat when my voice screeched. “The twins have that new virtual reality game that’s kind of cool. I tried it a few times, but they both got a little annoyed trying to teach me how it worked.”
Jake smiled, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Mike has one of those too. I thought at least the boys might keep him busy enough not to brood.”
“Has he been doing that at home? At school, he seems fine.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I guess no more than usual. I’ve just been watching him a little more closely after that phone call with his mother last week.”
I nodded, hating the tension knitting his brow.
“Off the record, I can tell you when I brought him in to chat he didn’t mention it once. It was all robotics and his new friends and a camping trip they may be going on. Superficial stuff, and he didn’t seem broody to me.”
Jake nodded. “So either he’s getting used to the fact that his mother dumped him with me, or he’s learning how to hide it better.” He shut off the engine after we pulled into a spot. “Either way, I hate it, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
Before I could help myself, I draped my hand over where he still held the steering wheel. “I hate it for him too, but from what I can see, you’re doing everything right. This is his normal now—you’rehis normal. Since he seems to be acclimating to it, maybe you could try to relax. Just a little.” I pinched the air between my index finger and thumb.
His lips curved, the slow smile making it up to his eyes when he glanced back at me. “I guess I could always try.”
The blue in his irises was even more translucent in the sunlight. I was used to concerned parents unloading their worries on me, but I’d never wanted to leap over the console and wrap my arms around any of them. But Jake wasn’t just any parent or just my uncle’s best friend. I’d never gotten to know the man behind my teenage crush all those years ago, and now that I was learning about the beautiful heart inside the gorgeous package, he was that much harder to resist.
But I had no other choice.
EIGHT
JAKE
“This is adorable,” Peyton said, scanning the space as we stepped into Mary’s, a tiny coffee shop near my office.
“Adorable?” I laughed. “Four tables and a counter make it adorable?”
She shrugged as we settled into seats at a table toward the back. “It’s cozy. Just like I’d expect from this town.” She smiled, picking up one of the placemat menus. “So, what’s good here?”
You.
I took a long moment to answer her question, too fixated on the lock of hair falling in front of her face and the inappropriate urge to reach forward and tuck it behind her ear.
Stopping my eyes from roaming up and down her body for the past few hours had given me a splitting headache. Now that she’d peeled her jacket off, the temptation to look was that much worse. In leggings and a long-sleeved T-shirt, she was every bit as gorgeous as when I’d last seen her.
And I still wasn’t supposed to notice.
She chewed on her bottom lip as she studied the menu, calling even more attention to that pretty mouth and those full lips. I’d had the silly thought that maybe spending an afternoon with her would take the edge off the attraction, but all it had done was make it worse.
“Hey Jake, who’s your friend?”
Mary, the owner and main waitress, smiled while glancing between Peyton and me. She always reminded me of my mother, although maybe a few years younger. She was petite with fiery red hair and a matching attitude. Her kids had moved out of town, but she’d never leave Kelly Lakes or this shop.
“Mary, this is Peyton. She’s a new guidance counselor at the high school and Keith’s niece.”
“Chief Keith is your uncle?” Mary’s hand flew to her chest. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing? Did your uncle’s friend offer to buy you lunch?” Mary cut me a look I didn’t like—as if she’d just caught my hand in a cookie jar. Or maybe that was because it felt that way.
