You Can't Hurry Love

by Lee Kilraine

  And suddenly neither one of them was smiling. Jo’s gaze stuck to Paxton’s for so long it felt like a tractor beam pulling her in. Had she noticed the blue specs in his eyes that turned his eyes aqua when the sun lit them up? Surely she would have noticed how his aqua eyes made it harder to breathe.

  “Two coffees.” Renee slid the mugs onto the table, breaking up whatever weird thing that had been. “Were you thinking of a meal with the coffee? We have a prosciutto-wrapped scallop appetizer and the special is mini chicken and waffles.”

  “Two specials.”

  “Just coffee.”

  Renee lowered her order pad and studied them closer. “About how long have you two been dating?”

  “A few months.”

  “A week.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, when I tell the Grapevine—and you know I will—I’m just going to split the difference and say a month and half.” Renee pointed at them both with the eraser end of her pencil. “I’m putting your order in for two specials, an appetizer, and two pieces of pie. I’ve got my eye on a new pair of earrings and I’ll need bigger tips to splurge on them.”

  Jo shook her head as she watched Renee walk away. “Well, that was awful.”

  “Not that awful.” Paxton reached across the table and took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. “Nothing we can’t study up for. This first outing is all about being seen. People won’t care what we say. They’ll notice how many times we touch, how we touch, and if you only have eyes for me or if you just checked out Hawk’s ass when he walked by.”

  “Hawk walked by?” She still couldn’t pull her gaze from his. Not a good sign.

  “That’s my girl.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, the whole time focused on her eyes.

  My girl. The air rushed from her lungs at the feel of his warm, firm lips against her skin. She tensed her muscles to stop the shiver that wanted to roll up her spine and down her arms. Wow. She’d thought being his enemy had been frustrating. It was suddenly feeling like a walk in the park after just these few minutes of being his pretend lover. That time she couldn’t stop the shiver that rumbled through her body.

  “Relax, Jo.” He sandwiched her hand between both of his before tracing the lines in her palm with the pad of his thumb. “We’ll spend some time getting to know each other’s deepest, darkest secrets.”

  Jo pulled her hand away from his. “Maybe I don’t have any deep, dark secrets.”

  His gaze moved over her face as if he was cross-examining her and looking for her weaknesses. “Everybody has secrets. Except me. I’m an open book.”

  “No. I don’t think I’m buying that. There’s something in your eyes right now, as a matter of fact.” Something bright, steely, and passionate. She took a quick sip of coffee, trying to quench her suddenly dry mouth.

  “Is that right?” He leaned into the table, lowering his voice until it sounded like he was revealing a private confession. “Well, we’re going to get pretty damn close over the next six months. If I do have a secret or two tucked away in the deepest part of my soul—you’re welcome to them.”

  “That sounds a bit too much like dumpster diving. Too messy for me.” It was probably a bad thing that the idea of delving into the deepest part of his soul sounded so tempting. “How about I pull out my old Cosmo magazines and we can take some of the couples’ quizzes and leave each other’s secrets alone?”

  “Couples’ quizzes?” He said it the same way men said proctology exam. “I’m willing, but I’ll go on record as saying I’ve never found them to be very enlightening. Or helpful.”

  He didn’t have any sisters, so an old girlfriend must have made him take them. Chloe? She’d heard the two had begun dating after they’d both moved to D.C. after law school. And then, a few years ago, Paxton had moved back to Climax and Chloe hadn’t.

  “I think this date proves we should try a few anyway. I can’t guarantee it, but I don’t think they’ll deplete your testosterone levels. We can take a Myers Briggs test if you think that will help.”

  “I can think of a few ways to get to know each other faster.” Paxton’s mouth slanted into a crooked grin. That one-dimpled, lopsided grin she’d always hated in high school because it had made her feel left out of the joke.

  Not this time. She kept her face serious because she didn’t want to encourage him, even though deep down she sort of did. “Let me guess: half of them involve taking our clothes off.”

  “That just shows how much you don’t know me.” His eyes flashed with humor and wicked heat. “All of them involve removing our clothing.”

  She would have laughed at him if the idea hadn’t sent a shock wave deep down in her belly. Holy heck, this man was confusing her. How could he go from lifelong adversary to someone she’d like to get naked with in less than a week?

  “Here you go.” Renee slid the plate of scallops onto the table between them. “In case you don’t know it, you two are the trending topic on the Grapevine. No one saw a romance between you two coming.”

  “It sort of snuck up on us too.” Jo looked across at Paxton, not sure what else to say that would be more convincing.

  “Like an ambush.” He smiled the sexiest smile at her. “As if it’s been lurking, lying in wait for years.”

  * * *

  “What the heck was that?”

  Paxton stopped playing tug-of-war with the puppy to look up at Jo. Was this a trick question? He’d sensed Jo wasn’t happy with him since the appetizer, and her pacing around her living room meant she was still upset. “The best chicken and waffles we’ve ever had?”

  That stopped her in her tracks and she turned to him with a smile. “It really was. Lu has been the greatest addition to Climax since they built the library in 1939.”

  “Ah well, I’m guessing my brother would agree with you, but then, she lets him see her naked.”

  And sometimes, Paxton told himself, he should just shut up. Because Jo’s smile was wiped clear off her face and she pointed her finger at him with a growl. About as menacing as the puppy growling and pouncing on his shoe.

  “Speaking of naked . . . what the heck was that with Renee?”

  “You didn’t like that I said it was an ambush?”

  “I think you’re being obtuse on purpose.” She finally stopped pacing and sat down on the other end of the couch.

  He really wasn’t but decided to stay quiet and let her work her way around to what was bothering her. That was the way their arguments over the years had always worked best anyway. Sadly, it had taken him until after high school to figure that out.

  “The lurking part.”

  “Ah yes, that . . .”

  “Lying in wait for years?” She huffed out a breath, crossing her arms over her chest and letting her gaze penetrate his skull. “Years? Really?”

  “No.” Pax watched her face carefully. “Yes. I don’t know, maybe. I mean, I was just trying to cover for anyone who wouldn’t buy us suddenly liking each other, that’s all. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you.”

  She picked up a sand-colored throw pillow, smoothing her hand along the surface while she eyed him. To be honest, he wasn’t sure why she was so upset. What was wrong with people thinking that maybe, just maybe, they’d liked each other since high school?

  “I’m not upset; it just threw me for a loop.” Curling her feet up on the couch next to her behind, she sat back with a sigh. “We need to get our story straight so I don’t have to be so nervous about what you’re going to say. And maybe get to know each other better too.”

  “I agree, but I’m not sure quizzes like ‘Does He Like You?’ or ‘Which Movie Hero Is Your Soulmate?’ are going to help.”

  “You make a good point.” Jo leaned over, grabbed her purse off the coffee table, and pulled out her phone. “Surely there are lists on the internet of getting-to-know-you questions for couples. Aha; here we go. Ready?”

  Paxton settled further into the couch, careful not to move his foot because the puppy had
fallen asleep with his head on his shoe. “Hit me.”

  “Favorite color?” Her gaze moved down to his light blue dress shirt. “I’m going to guess blue.”

  “You cheated, but yes. My turn.” He looked around Jo’s living room and into the small kitchen. Off-white walls, beige-and-sand-colored furniture with white, soft brown, and gray accents. Even her clothes fit the subdued color scheme: white blouse, light brown pants, and an almost nude-colored sweater. It all looked nice. Classy . . . but subdued bordering on stark for its lack of color. Not that he’d say it aloud, but his grandmother’s house had had more color than Jo’s. “I’m going to go with beige.”

  She blinked at him before looking around her own place as if she’d never seen it before. The more she looked around, the deeper the frown on her face got until she shook her head. “Well, it sure looks like it, doesn’t it? Moving on: What three items would you take to a deserted island?”

  “If I’m stranded alone? My copy of Huckleberry Finn, a pen, and a journal.” That should keep him busy on a deserted island. “Totally different list if I’m stranded with a woman.”

  “I don’t even want to know.” She put her hands over her ears with a smile.

  “I bet you’ll be wondering, though.” He smiled at her blush. Yeah, he loved teasing Jo and getting a reaction from her. Hell, it had been a pastime of his since middle school. “I’ll guess yours: your library card, dental floss, and a daily planner.”

  “We really don’t know each other, do we? My copy of Pride and Prejudice, my family photo album, and my iPod.”

  “Your iPod? I would never have guessed that.” Looking at her, he tried to reason it out so this exercise wasn’t in vain. Understanding the answers was how they’d each get to know each other. “I get the book because you teach English. The family photo album because you’re close to your family, but music . . . wait . . . wait . . . I remember. . . you used to dance.”

  “I did. I took ballet lessons for ten years. Also modern and jazz. Music is so much a part of that.”

  “Why did you quit? I recall hearing you were heading off to New York to dance our freshman year of high school. That must have been amazing.”

  “I never went.”

  “What do you mean, you never went? It was a big deal around town. There was even an article in the paper, ‘Local Dancer Off to New York.’”

  She shrugged, her eyes glued to her hands, tightly fisted in her lap. “I quit dancing.”

  “You just quit? After years of—”

  “Haven’t you ever quit something?”

  “Not something I loved.”

  “It’s not a big deal. I just—just decided to switch to cheerleading.”

  If it wasn’t a big deal, why was she all of sudden curled up in a defensive ball, her arms wrapped tight around her drawn-up knees, on the couch? Why did her face look sad and her body tense? Why was she avoiding his gaze? The cross-examining lawyer in him said this was a big deal. A sensitive deal he’d leave alone for now, but there was something important here no matter how much she denied it.

  “Well, getting to see those long, long legs of yours in your cheerleading uniform was a big deal.”

  Jo rolled her eyes at him. “On to the next question: Why did you choose your profession?”

  “I can guess why you did. You always had your nose in a book, so it was either teacher or librarian.”

  “Close. Next to dancing, books have always been my favorite. A new world to explore.” She laughed at herself. “Only safer because I’m horrible at taking risks.”

  “I don’t know, Jo, breaking into a county building and stealing a puppy is a pretty damn big risk for a buttoned-up high-school teacher.”

  “You aren’t kidding. What about you? I bet you became a lawyer because you love to argue.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “See, you do know me.”

  “Seriously? That’s why?”

  “Well, I wasn’t captain of the debate team for three years running for nothing. But my Uncle Cullen was a lawyer for twenty years before he became a judge. I saw him argue a case when I was in fifth grade, and from that day on, I knew that was what I wanted to do.”

  “If he’s anything like your father, I can understand.”

  “He was. Both men I aspire to be as good as. But Uncle Cullen passed away just after I graduated law school.”

  “I’m sorry. Nice that he knew you were following in his footsteps, though.”

  “I still remember the last thing he said to me: Paxton, it’s one thing to make a living but something else entirely to make a difference.”

  “Sounds like you’re well on your way and I can see why you want this next step so much.” She gazed at him thoughtfully for a few seconds before refocusing on her phone. “Next question—oh, hey, is it really that late? Not to be rude, but I’ve got a stack of essays to grade.”

  An image of Jo grading papers in glasses and her high-school cheerleading uniform flashed through his mind. He thought he’d been joking about being hot for teacher, but hell, maybe not. It was a good time to leave, before his imagination got him in trouble.

  Of course as soon as he stood, the puppy stretched itself awake looking ready to play.

  “You want me to walk this little guy down the street before I head out?”

  “Uh, no. I’ve got it.” Jo’s gaze shifted quickly away from his as she scooped the puppy up in her arms. “I just take him out back to take care of business and let him run around until he’s tired.”

  “Okay, well, I think this was helpful. We should do this a few more times before we attend our first bar association function.” Together, they walked to her front door. He turned, pausing to look into her face, and reached out a hand, smoothing one long blond curl off her face. “Brace yourself: I’m going to kiss you again.”

  She nodded tentatively, as if he’d said, I’m going to give you a flu shot.

  Paxton meant to keep it light, just a kiss between friends. But one touch of his lips on hers and he lost his cool control. He cupped her jaw with one hand, wildly hungry to taste her. The kiss was greedy and impatient and perfect. It lit a fire in his gut and had him craving more . . . much more. Which had to be wrong, though it didn’t seem to matter. The kiss veered out of control. It was the lick on his chin that brought him back from the edge, pulling abruptly out of the kiss.

  He’d forgotten about the puppy in Jo’s arms. Hell. He might be in trouble here.

  Chapter Nine

  The next night Paxton stayed working late in his office. He would have spent another date with Jo happily playing twenty questions, but she’d looked a bit shell-shocked when he’d left her house yesterday. His family had told him more than a few times that he could be overwhelming sometimes, the way he focused on a goal and went after it with everything he had.

  He understood, which was why he was working and not bothering Jo. It was true he was a very goal-oriented person, always had been, but he’d become even more so after his last relationship broke up. He and Chloe had dated for almost two years while working for opposing law firms in D.C.

  Both being lawyers, they had a lot in common and grew closer as they helped each other in their careers, whether that was prepping for a new case or moving in legal social circles. They’d just begun to discuss moving in together when he’d asked Chloe to move back to Climax with him. She’d turned him down. That was where their relationship had unraveled.

  It wasn’t that either one of them had talked marriage or the future. They’d both been too busy giving everything they had to their budding legal careers. But Paxton must have been envisioning them there, or he wouldn’t have been blindsided when Chloe had decided to stay in D.C. Maybe he’d taken her—taken them—for granted.

  Either way, he’d moved on and decided he wasn’t putting himself through that again. He had big career goals still ahead of him and was more than happy to focus all his energy on his work. His Uncle Cullen had been a lifelong bachelor and if Paxton ende
d up half the lawyer his uncle had been, he’d consider himself a success.

  As it often did, time got away from him and he was still hammering away on his computer around midnight when his phone rang.

  “Paxton, stop working and go home.”

  “How the heck do you know I’m working?” He stood, stretching out his back and legs as he did, and then looked out the window to find Quinn’s patrol car at the curb. “Ah, looks like you’ll be working later than me.”

  “Don’t rub it in. Call it quits and come keep me company for a few. I’ll even share the thermos of minestrone Ma made me.”

  “I’ll be right out.” He’d worked through dinner and his ma’s minestrone was the best. Maybe in the midnight hour he could catch Quinn in a weak moment and get him to tell him his baby’s name before the big reveal in two days. He quickly shut down his computer and joined his brother after locking up.

  “You know you’re not a big shot D.C. lawyer anymore. There’s no need to burn the midnight oil.” Quinn poured soup into the thermos lid and passed it over to him, along with a plastic spoon.

  “Just because I work by myself in the satellite office here doesn’t mean I don’t have to compete with the lawyers in the main office.”

  They finished off the soup in record time while Quinn filled him in on his life as a first-time daddy. Basically, Quinn loved everything about it.

  “Are you going to tell me my niece’s name or make me wait for the big reveal?” Paxton looked at the pure happiness on his brother’s face and felt a small twinge of... what? Not jealousy, no. Quinn and Delaney deserved all their happiness. Some emotion he didn’t want to excavate his soul for, that was for sure.

  “Heck no. Delaney would kill me.”

  “Delaney won’t know.”

  “So says the innocent bachelor. You know women get some magic psychic abilities with the wedding vows.”

  “Dude, Sijan gets home on Friday; we’re only talking two days here.”

  “Exactly. Look, you know Delaney’s family life sucked growing up. So I’m not going to begrudge her celebrating every little thing with our family.”