Page 57 of Love Unbound
Kit laughed gently, reaching out to touch Jodi’s shoulder. “Is that such a bad thing?”
Jodi raised and lowered her shoulders quickly, then let her head fall back until she stared at the ceiling, willing the tears she felt building not to fall. Last night had been… intense. Something had shifted between them, and she wasn’t sure what, yet. Free had looked at her this morning before he left with an intensity that startled her. An intensity that she felt, too.
“Even if I do, he’s leaving in a week,” Jodi whispered dejectedly. “I… I had a nightmare last night. It was… awful.” Taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly, she looked over at her friend. “I was married, and never felt for him the way I do for Free. What if he leaves and I never feel this way again?”
“Have you told him how you feel?” Kit asked gently.
Jodi shook her head with a vehement, “No.”
“Do you think he feels the same way?” Kit questioned.
Jodi swallowed and shrugged her shoulders again. “I know he feels something, but I don’t know what, exactly. Obviously, there is an attraction…” Jodi said and blushed to the roots of her hair, remembering the delicious things he’d done to her last night. “We have a lot of fun. It’s simple, easy, when we’re together.” Turning to place a stack of books on one of the shelves behind her, she said quietly, “But what if it’s just curiosity? We had this thing that happened so long ago between us, what if he just wanted to know what it was like? Just idle curiosity while he’s stuck here with nothing else to do? And what if— what if I’m not worth it, in the end?”
Kit sighed heavily, looking her friend up and down. “Is it so hard for you to believe that someone might actually like you, really like you, even love you, foryou?Just you? With no ulterior motive behind it?” Without waiting for Jodi to answer, Kit continued, “I know Josh did a number on your self-confidence, but girl,I’m telling you; the way that man looks at you… phew. My guess is he’s been in love with you just as long as you’ve been in love with him.”
Kit’s phone rang then, and she dug it out of her back pocket before excusing herself to the back of the stockroom to answer it. When she came back, she grimaced. “I’m so sorry, I have to run. My apartment is flooding.”
“Oh no!” Jodi exclaimed. “Go, go! We will be fine!”
Kit rushed out moments later, and the remainder of the day flew by in a whirlwind of customers, orders, and deliveries. By the time Jodi and Tessa turned off the lighted Open sign and locked the doors, they each slumped against the nearest solid object and laughed, thankful the hectic day was over. Even Tessa’s typically infallible red lipstick was looking a little lackluster by the end of the day.
Free met them there about twenty minutes later, waiting on a bench in the park until they exited the building. He stood when he saw them, and sauntered over to Jodi, reaching for her hand. Jodi’s body zinged at the simplest contact from him. They walked Tess to her car, hand-in-hand, before walking the block to the truck. Ever the gentleman, he opened the passenger door for her, assisting her up into the seat, before closing the door and rounding the truck to climb in behind the wheel.
He had prepared a delicious dinner of grilled steak and roasted vegetables, and the kitchen smelled heavenly when they walked in. The evening was mild, and they decided to eat out on the back porch. Jodi brought Free a beer, and he took it with a thank you and a smacking kiss.
“A girl could get used to this,” Jodi teased as they sat side by side in the Adirondack chairs that they had christened the week before.
Free grinned over at her as he took a bite of the perfectly cooked steak. “Happy to be of service, my dear.”
They were different, though. Jodi sensed that shift between them that she’d felt this morning, and last night. His hands lingered on her body longer than normal, his lips stayed pressed to hers for heartbeats longer, his eyes locked with hers more frequently. That night as they’d laid in bed on their sides, he’d tucked her back against his front. He’d pressed into her from behind, sinking into her. It was slow and unhurried, so different from the night before. He rocked them both to climaxes, coming together as he pressed kisses to her back, her shoulders. Jodi blushed as he removed the condom and put it in the trash in the bathroom. He’d then tucked her back against him, wrapping his arms around her, and minutes later she knew by his slow, even breathing against her neck that he was asleep. Jodi lay awake for a long time, sadness creeping in and tinging the warm glow that she had allowed herself to feel with him.
They didn’t talk about it, but she was excruciatingly aware that each day that passed, that dreaded day of his leaving drew nearer. She hated it.
Chapter 42
Jodi woke with a start, sitting up and looking around the sun brightened room. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she listened, trying to figure out what had woken her so suddenly.
A knock on the door.
The other side of the bed was empty. Free must have left to go to Shane’s, as he usually did in the mornings. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to see how late it was. Midmorning sun shone through the windows.
Another knock, more impatient this time.
Tossing the blankets off, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and picked up the closest article of clothing she could find; Free’s discarded t-shirt from last night. It fell halfway down her thighs. Another banging knock from the front door. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror over the dresser, blushing furiously at the memory of Free standing behind her, inside her. Her hair was a mess, but it would have to do.
Padding down the hallway, another knock. Opening the door just a hair, she wished she would have stayed in bed.
His insolent hazel gaze raked over her state of undress, clearly wearing a shirt that did not belong to her, her hair tousled from Free’s hands. His eyes found the love mark on her neck and scoffed.
“Classy,” he sneered derisively.
“What do you want, Josh?” Jodi snapped, torn between using the door as a shield and crossing her arms over her unrestrained breasts beneath the shirt, aware that the majority of her legswere bare. But then she squared her shoulders and refused to back down. Why should she be ashamed?
He shrugged, then showed his teeth in what was supposed to be a snarky grin. “Idle curiosity.”
The words tripped something in her mind, but fury won out and she bristled with anger. “Why can’t you leave me alone? Huh? And stop with the ‘your wife’ bullshit. We’re divorced. Period.”
Josh shrugged again, leaning his shoulder against the door frame, his hands in his pockets. He crossed his ankles casually. It made Jodi want to kick in his knee, that she knew he had injured trying to waterski two summers ago.
