“My pleasure. I should get going,” he said, gesturing toward the stairs. “I need to grab a shower after that run.”
“Right,” Amy agreed. “I need to shower and change, too. I’m a mess right now.”
His eyes warmed as he flashed her a grin. “You look perfect.”
She laughed as she headed back up the stairs with Jason behind her. “I don’t, but I appreciate the gesture.”
“Your place is a lot nicer than mine,” Jason said admiringly. “I could use a decorator or something,” he chuckled. “I’ve been here for months, and it still looks like I just moved in. I love those abstract pieces. Where did you buy your artwork?”
“Oh, I actually painted those myself,” Amy said, feeling a slight flush come over her. Usually everyone she had over already knew that she painted. It was actually pretty flattering to have someone that had no idea they were her own work give her a compliment like that.
“You’re a painter?”
“Preschool teacher actually. But I paint in my spare time.”
“Consider me impressed. These are amazing.”
“Thank you,” Amy replied with a genuine smile.
“Seriously, you could sell these if you wanted. They’re that good.”
“Maybe someday. For now, teaching it is.”
Jason eyed the painting of the ballet dancer a moment longer before locking eyes with Amy. “So, I’ll see you soon,” Jason replied, flashing her another grin. “Just give me a holler if you have any more ex-boyfriends leaving TVs or other large stereo equipment at your front door.”
“Right,” she said, blushing again. What was it about him that got under her skin? He was just teasing her for heaven’s sake. “See you soon.”
Jason turned and pulled open the door, sauntering down her driveway without so much as a backward glance. He didn’t mean anything by that, Amy told herself as she closed the door behind him.
They were neighbors.
Of course she’d see him again. Soon.
She smiled and practically bounced into the kitchen to grab a glass of water before her shower. Why did it suddenly feel like her day had ended on a much better note than it had started with?
Chapter 6
“So he came over with his new girlfriend?” Amy’s friend Beth asked the next evening.
The girls were out at a local restaurant and bar, waiting for Melissa and their friend Kara to arrive. Melissa had already texted them to say that she’d be running late. She’d spent the afternoon with Michael, presumably sorting through all that needed to be cancelled for the wedding that would never be.
Amy was certain that Melissa would be heaping mad by the time she arrived, and this was probably her only chance to vent to Beth about her own ex.
Their friend Kara was married and the mother of twin baby girls. It was a given that she’d be late on the rare occasion that she joined the rest of them for dinner or drinks.
“Yep,” Amy replied. She took a swig of her beer and glanced around the crowded bar area. It wasn’t likely that she’d see any of her students’ parents while out, but she tried to be careful when in public. Not that she was really one to go wild anyway. That was more Melissa’s forte, she thought with a smirk.
“What’s so funny?” Beth asked, catching her expression.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“So what’d you say?”
“To who?”
“Ben,” Beth said, looking a little frustrated.
“Oh, when he came over? I didn’t say a thing. I snuck out the back door.”
Beth choked on the margarita she was sipping. “You’re kidding! Did he know you were there?”
“Nope,” Amy said with a grin. “I left his things on the front porch for him to pick up.”
“What’d you do out back?”
“I went for a run,” Amy recalled with a laugh. “I cut across the neighbor’s yard and headed out to the main road before eventually looping back. I was feeling pretty good, too. Then I ran into my neighbor, who was also out jogging. Melissa has the hots for him,” she added confidentially.
“Melissa? But Michael just broke up with her like two seconds ago!”
“Oh, I know. I’m just teasing. She saw him the other day when she came over and was going on and on about how gorgeous he was.”
“So you ran away from your ex to go jogging with another man instead.”
“Well, we didn’t really run together. We ran into each other and jogged by about five houses as we returned to our own. Oh, and get this....” Amy proceeded to tell her about the TV on her front porch and Jason carrying it inside.
“That’s really weird. Why would he bring over your TV if he was on his way to the airport?”
Amy shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe his new girlfriend wanted it gone or something. His fiancée, I should say. I probably would have left it right there on the porch if Jason wasn’t around.”
“God, too bad he didn’t show up when you and Jason were jogging down the street together.”
“Yeah, that would’ve been ideal, wouldn’t it? Letting him think I’ve moved onward and upward?”
Beth chuckled. “Men always want what they can’t have. He’d probably propose to you, too, if he saw that.”
Amy snorted, nearly spitting out her beer. “Trust me, we’re not getting back together.”
“Well, like you said. Onward and upward.” She raised her margarita, and Amy clinked her beer bottle against the glass as she laughed.
“I’ll drink to that,” she said, taking a pull of her beer.
They’d moved on to other topics and their second drink each by the time Kara and eventually Melissa arrived. Kara looked completely frazzled after leaving her husband home with their twins, and Melissa, as predicted, looked furious.
“Aaaaand we’re through,” Melissa announced twenty minutes later, slamming her shot glass down on the counter. She’d insisted on ordering them all a round of shots before telling them about her afternoon with Michael. Only Beth had joined her as Kara was still breastfeeding and Amy didn’t do shots.
“You really don’t want yours?” Melissa asked Amy, fingers winding round the glass.
“Have at it.”
Melissa downed it in one gulp. “Ah, I really needed that this afternoon. What a massive headache I have from even attempting to have a conversation with that man.”
“So it’s definitely over?” Kara asked, attempting to be the voice of reason. “Are you sure he won’t have a change of heart?”
“Absolutely. Michael offered to reimburse me for some of the wedding costs I’d paid for. I mean, my God, it’s the LEAST he could do. The very LEAST. Who calls off their wedding with only two months to go? I am over men. OVER them. And if I see that bastard out here tonight with another woman, I swear I will—”
“Shhh, calm down!” Amy chastised.
“Trust me,” Melissa said, rolling her eyes. “If the same thing happened to any of you, you would be pissed off as well.”
“Touché,” Beth said
“So he wasn’t sorry at all?” Amy asked, looking doubtful. “You guys were together for three years—you’d think he’d have some regrets.”
“He was sorry he came over, that’s for sure.”
The girls all laughed. Melissa was known for her melodrama, but there was no doubt that she would have given Michael hell now that she’d had a few days to stew over their cancelled wedding. What had been a sob-fest at Amy’s house a few days ago was no doubt a shit storm today, Amy thought with a smirk. She imagined the burly Marine quaking in his boots at Melissa’s wrath. Ha.
As the wedding day drew closer, Melissa was no doubt going to be feeling upset all over again though. They were probably all going to be in for a long couple of months.
“You know, you never texted me back yesterday,” Melissa suddenly recalled, glancing over at Amy.
“When did you text me?” Amy asked, confused.
“Yesterday morning, when I was desperately in search of
coffee.”
“They sell that stuff at the grocery stores now,” Beth commented dryly.
“Ha ha, very funny,” Melissa muttered. “This was more like a coffee emergency.”
“I have plenty of those,” Kara chimed in. “I’m running on no sleep.”
“Well, you have twin babies and can hardly ever leave the house. Melissa is a grown woman perfectly capable of driving to the store. Or the nearest Starbucks.”
“She was at my house,” Amy explained. “Apparently opening the cupboard to search for coffee was out of the question.”
“Look, I was in the middle of a crisis,” Melissa said. “And maybe just a touch hung over.”
“A touch,” Amy commented with a laugh. “I was in the middle of a room full of preschoolers. Plus, Ben had been texting me about his damn ski equipment, so I had other things on my mind.”
“She was busy planning a rendezvous with her hot neighbor,” Beth added with a grin.
“What?!” Melissa shrieked, suddenly looking happier than she’d been all evening. “You went out with your neighbor? Details, please!”
“I didn’t go out with him,” Amy said, rolling her eyes. “I ran into him while out jogging. Or actually, he kind of chased me down the street,” she said thoughtfully.
“You left out that part earlier,” Beth said, raising her eyebrows.
“Well, I certainly didn’t plan to see him. But Ben had helpfully left a gigantic TV in front of my front door, so Jason offered to haul it inside for me. And yes, he is incredibly hot, but I’ve sworn off men for a while.”
“As you should,” Beth said, rolling her eyes. “You dated a guy for a couple of months and broke up. Time to become a crazy cat lady and never date again.”
“You’re one to talk,” Amy said. “You’re extremely happy with your man. And Kara is married with cute babies. I’m doing just fine on my own, thank you very much.”
“Amen to that,” Melissa agreed. “Men? Who needs ‘em!” She gestured to the bartender to bring them another round.
***
Jason walked out of the restaurant that night, a bag full of carry-out food gripped in his hand. The intoxicating aroma of a freshly grilled burger and fries hit him, and his stomach rumbled.
There was nothing like seeing all the fun-loving groups of friends and happy couples inside to remind him he was very much alone. He’d been gone so much since he’d moved to Virginia, what did he expect?
He had his buddies from base. His friends stationed around the globe.
Hell.
You knew you were getting old when you wished you were home with your wife and kid on Saturday night, not picking up carry-out alone. Not that he and Kristin had been happily spending Saturday nights together in a long, long time. The constant deployments made sure to kill any real shot their relationship ever had. But even a night in with his son would be a million times better than spending the weekend alone.
He clicked the remote to his sports car and was just opening the door when he did a double take as a woman across the parking lot caught his eye.
And not just any woman.
Amy.
She was wearing tight jeans, those knee-high leather boots all the women seemed to have nowadays, and a long red sweater. He wasn’t sure what it was—maybe the loose way her hair cascaded over her shoulders, or the way those jeans made her legs look a mile long—but the overall look was sexy as hell.
She searched through her purse, standing right beside her SUV. His gaze swept the lot around her, but it didn’t seem like she was with anyone. He watched as she flipped her brown hair back off her face. He assumed she must be looking for her keys—why else would she be standing there alone in the parking lot at this time of night?
Setting his bag of food down on the floor, Jason shut his car door and clicked the remote once again to lock it. By the time he had walked across the lot, she was stepping back from the SUV as her eyes scanned the ground.
“Amy.”
She looked up, surprised, a slightly distracted look on her face. Her cheeks were a little flushed from the cool night air, but her sapphire blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight.
“Jason, hi.” She glanced toward the ground again and then back at him. “I was just trying to find my keys. I swear I had them a second ago.”
“Need some help?”
“Yes,” she said gratefully. “I just had dinner with some friends, and they all left. Would you believe all of them parked in the other lot?”
He watched her rosy lips as she spoke, imagining what it might be like to kiss them someday. Would she taste as sweet as she smelled? Whatever perfume she had on right now was simply intoxicating. He’d lean closer to take a whiff if that wouldn’t have been entirely inappropriate. As it were, she shivered in the cool night air, and he felt like a jerk for just letting her stand there. “Here, take my jacket,” he said, shrugging out of the brown leather one that he was wearing.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t. You’ll be cold.”
“I’ll be fine. And you look like you’re cold right now. I insist.”
Amy hesitantly took it from him and put it on. “Well, if you’re sure. Thank you.”
Amy did look happier now that she was warm, even if she was still locked out of her vehicle. Not to mention pretty damn cute wearing his leather jacket. It engulfed her, covering her feminine shape, but somehow the contrast made her look that much more attractive.
They both stepped farther out from her SUV at exactly the same time, accidentally bumping into one another.
“I’m sorry,” Amy said, colliding into his chest. He reached out to steady her, and she flushed as she met his gaze. Jason had to resist the urge to pull her closer. She was the perfect height for him, her head just beneath his chin. It would be so easy to bend down right now for a kiss—not that he’d be doing that here in the parking lot when he was supposed to be helping her look for her keys.
Hell, it’s not like they even knew each other.
Not really.
The attraction between them felt almost palpable though, with her gaze locked with his, and the two of them standing mere inches away from one another. He worked to keep his face neutral, wondering if the heat in his eyes might give him away.
“It was my fault,” he disagreed, feeling somewhat chagrined now that she was backing away. Damn if she wasn’t cute though, all flustered yet sexy and feminine at the same time.
“Maybe I left them inside,” she said, seeming uncertain as to what to do next.
“Let’s go check. If they’re not out here, I’m sure someone already found them and turned them in. But I’m happy to give you a lift home if you need it.”
“Okay, thanks. I’d really appreciate it,” she said, looking slightly relieved.
Had she really thought he’d just leave her stranded here alone in the parking lot late at night? Man, he’d have to work harder at being a friendlier neighbor if that’s how little she thought of him. Then again, her own friends had left—not knowing she was locked out, of course. But that would leave a person feeling rattled. And they didn’t know each other that well—maybe she’d thought he’d just continue on his way and let her figure it out on her own.
“Come on,” he said, gesturing toward the front of the restaurant. “Let’s go check for those keys.”
He rested his hand lightly on the small of her back, guiding her forward.
That was something that felt damn right about escorting her back inside. Which was crazy. She wasn’t his girlfriend, much less even his date for the night.
He felt protective of her though.
Not to mention incredibly attracted to her.
He barely even knew the woman but liked everything he’d found out so far. She loved to run. She painted. She obviously loved kids.
And hell.
It didn’t hurt that she was gorgeous.
He’d love to take the time to get to know her better. Ask her out. Kiss her goodnight.
It was
n’t exactly the right time to ask her out now though when she was flustered and locked out of her SUV.
Something about her stirred his protective instincts though, and he wanted her to feel safe and secure when she was with him. Content that he would handle things. Drive her home, sort out a way to get her a new set of keys if she couldn’t find hers.
Jason reached out to open the door to the restaurant and caught another whiff of her scent. He resisted the urge to groan. That floral perfume she had on was nearly killing him.
***
Amy blew out a sigh as the hostess took down her name and phone number.
“We’ll call you if anyone turns in a set of keys,” the hostess assured her. “Things like this happen all the time—people lose cell phones, keys, wallets. You name it. You’d be surprised by what people come in looking for sometimes,” she added with a laugh.
“Okay, thank you,” Amy said, her heart pounding in her chest. It was silly to be worked up over something so trivial. She had a spare key to her car at home somewhere. Jason had offered her a ride. She’d catch a cab back to the restaurant to pick up her car once she found the spare key. No big deal.
“Are you okay?” Jason asked, eyeing her as they turned away.
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” releasing a breath. “Just flustered I guess. Nothing like standing around the parking lot in the dark realizing you have no way to leave.”
“I’ll give you a lift,” Jason reassured her. “I’m sure your keys will turn up. And no worries, you’re right on the way,” he added with a wink.
Amy laughed despite herself. “Good timing on your part I suppose. My friends would’ve come back if I called them, but wow. What an ordeal.”
“Do you have your house keys?”
“Nope,” Amy said as Jason pulled open the passenger side door for her. “They were on the same keychain.” He waited until she was snugly seated before closing the door, and she pulled on her seatbelt as he climbed in.
“Oh, you were picking up food!” she said with a frown as she spotted the forgotten bag on the floor of the car. “I’m sorry—it’s totally cold by now.”
“It’s no problem,” Jason said as he climbed in the driver’s seat. “That’s what they invented microwave ovens for.”
One Night with a Marine Page 4
