Showing Jessie

by JoMarie DeGioia

  “No. Nadine, that’s Max’s mother, and I never had a relationship.”

  Whoa. “You never loved her?” she had to know.

  “I didn’t even know her. It was a mistake, but the best one I ever made.”

  “Max is pretty awesome.”

  His smile was wide now. “I love that kid. I just wish I could have him more than I do.”

  “You share him?”

  “Sort of. Nadine has the most time with him. I’m hoping I can change that, now that I have a place here in Cypress.”

  “Would you want him full-time?”

  “Honestly?” His lips thinned as he thought over her question. “I don’t know if I could handle that, even if Nadine wasn’t a great mom. I’m hoping to split our time, though.”

  “I bet you’ll figure something out.”

  “We’ll see. This Paul guy she’s seeing gets to spend more time with Max than I do.”

  She could feel his frustration.

  “My dad was always busy,” she said. “He worked at the high school not far from our house and students were always coming by for help or guidance. But he made the time he spent with us memorable. Pretty awesome, actually.”

  “I’m sorry you lost him.”

  She thought about all she’d lost since her dad died. Her independence, when she was with Mitch. Her sister, when they quickly grew apart.

  “I have a sister,” she said.

  His brows rose a bit. “Yeah? Are you close?”

  Surprisingly, tears pricked in her eyes. All the pleasure Noah just gave her, and the intimacy of this particular moment, must have overwhelmed her.

  “No. Shannon and I are very different people. We didn’t used to be, but I guess we both dealt with our dad’s death differently.”

  “Maybe someday you can reconnect.”

  She doubted it would ever be that easy. “I never say never, but I can’t see that happening any time soon.”

  “Does she live around here?”

  “St. Cloud, actually. We used to share an apartment.”

  He narrowed his eyes for a second. “Does she work at the End Zone?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “When I went there with the guys last week, I thought I’d imagined that one of the servers looked a little like you.” He smiled and held her a bit closer. “I just thought that was because I couldn’t get you out of my head.”

  “Shannon and I were often mistaken for twins.”

  “I’d never make that mistake.”

  “No?”

  His smile crinkled his eyes at the corners. “She’s pretty, but you’re fucking gorgeous.”

  The compliment, even with a touch of profanity, made her grin. “Thanks.”

  “I should get going, not that I want to,” he said.

  “Mmm hmm.”

  “If I stay, we’re going to do a lot more together.”

  “Maybe.”

  “I don’t want to be the guy who makes you think you owe him anything.”

  God, he was so sweet.

  “Speaking of owing, how about dinner at the tavern tomorrow after the tour.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oliver gave me a gift card for helping him with the Atkins sisters. I bet we’ll need some sustenance, and maybe a drink or two, after touring the Chapman guys.”

  He kissed her quickly, then pulled back. “You’re on.”

  ***

  “Meeting in fifteen, Pixie,” Oliver said.

  Jessie looked up from her laptop screen, blinking rapidly. “What?”

  “Mr. Forbes called a meeting, Jessie.” He crossed his arms. “This isn’t like you. You usually text the schedule to yourself. And everybody else.”

  She nodded. “True. I’ve been wrapped up in the new specs for the green neighborhood.”

  “Those guys from Chapman Financial are here. Rick’s been showing them around, but Forbes wants to introduce them to everyone.”

  She closed her laptop and gathered her notepad and pen. Pushing her glasses up on her nose, she stood. “Let me just grab a bottle of water and I’ll meet you in the conference room.”

  Oliver nodded and headed toward the hallway. Jessie took a second to catch her breath. She’d had trouble focusing this morning, and she knew the reason why. Noah. Pleasing him had made her feel so strong. Almost powerful. And when he’d given that and more back to her? She’d nearly cried, it had been so intense.

  As she shrugged on one of her new sweaters, this one in Wedgewood blue, she made her way to the break room. Tammy was there, holding two bottles of water.

  She held one out to Jessie. “You’ll need this.”

  “What? Why?”

  Tammy shook her head. “Remember how you were when Noah first started working here?”

  Jessie fought a blush, and hoped that if Tammy noticed she’d think it was because of the silly way Jessie had become flustered whenever Noah was around. It seemed that every guy who came to Cypress was, as Tammy described them, gods among men. Now that she’d seen Noah up close and personal, Jessie knew her friend hadn’t been too far off the mark. He was magnificent all over.

  “Are these guys, you know, hot?” she asked.

  Tammy gave a slow nod. “As the sun. And I can say that, since I’m married to the hottest guy in three counties.”

  Jessie laughed. “So are you saying I should brace myself?”

  “I know you, Pixie. But maybe the meeting is a good thing. You’ll have gotten a look at them before you have to give them their tour this evening.”

  “Yes, and thanks for that. Rick didn’t want you to give the tour. You just had to go and marry a Chapman, didn’t you?”

  Tammy grinned. “It’s not my fault Rick wants this tour to be Chapman-free.”

  “No matter,” Jessie said. “I can handle myself.”

  Tammy narrowed her eyes for a second, her lips pursed. “Maybe you can. There’s definitely something different about you lately. You just seem, I don’t know, more.”

  “More what?”

  “More you.” Tammy tilted her head. “Maybe it’s wearing clothes that fit you.”

  Jessie coughed. “Maybe.”

  “Let’s get in there before it starts,” Tammy said. “Come from a place of power.”

  “We’re just meeting them, Tammy.”

  “These guys are from Chapman, Jessie. Hand-picked by Bill himself. Who knows what they’re here for.”

  “That’s not my problem, thank goodness,” Jessie said. “I’m just giving them a tour.”

  “You and Noah,” Tammy added. “Rick told me that. Are you going to be all right spending all that time with him?”

  Jessie nodded, keeping her mouth shut. If anyone, especially Tammy, knew just how much time she and Noah had been spending together there would be no keeping their secret. And she was determined that no one find out what they’d been doing. Living in Cypress Corners meant that everyone knew everyone else’s business. She wasn’t ready to add any grist to the rumor mill, and she was sure that was the last thing Noah wanted. That might be the last thing he wanted but she now knew what the first thing was.

  She hid a smile as she followed Tammy to the conference room.

  “I have to say, the townhouse looks fantastic,” Tammy said as they went into the empty conference room. “You did a great job.”

  “Thanks. It was fun. Like staging, but for someone’s specific tastes in mind.”

  “It doesn’t even look like my place. You really made it Noah’s.”

  “He said he wanted it to remind him of the ocean,” Jessie said. “So I gave him beachy.”

  “That’s not all you gave him,” Oliver added as he joined them.

  “What?” Jessie nearly swallowed her tongue. “What are you talking about?”

  “You cooked dinner for him and Max Friday night,” Oliver said. “Tammy told me.”

  Jessie managed to nod. Before she had to make some sort of excuse or explanation, Rick came in and they were soon being introdu
ced to Bill Chapman’s guys. Jessie had to admit, they were hot. One guy was tall and broad with dark hair and a chiseled face. His eyes were intense and she suspected his looks would be lethal if he ever smiled. The other guy seemed a little more easygoing, but that could be because he smirked a little bit. But as good-looking as they were, neither had Noah’s golden hair or sculpted lips or crystal blue eyes. The way his beard stubble glistened like gold dust in the sunset. The way his throat worked as he fought for control when she’d…

  “And Jessie will take over for me this evening,” Rick said.

  Jessie started as she found both guys staring at her. The stern-looking one gave away nothing on his face while the other guy’s eyes twinkled like he was sharing an inside joke with her.

  “I’m happy to do it,” she said.

  Twinkle-eyes, Eli, she remembered was his name, smiled while tall, dark and gloomy merely nodded. Everyone filed out of the conference room, leaving Jessie jotting down a few notes. She missed half of what was said, a first for her, but she knew just how to schmooze these Chapman guys.

  By the time she got back to her desk it was nearly five o’clock. She didn’t have much time to regroup and get ready for the tour, but she’d already met the two guys anyway. They were no longer a pair of unknowns. Besides, she knew that once she started talking about the green aspects of Cypress she’d just get into her groove and it would be as natural as breathing.

  “You okay, Pixie?” Oliver asked.

  She was shutting down her laptop and readying for the tour. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Oliver shook his blond head. “Did you see those two? Mmm, they were smokin’.”

  “And?”

  “Just saying. Besides, if my usual luck holds they’re both straight as arrows.”

  Jessie laughed. “I don’t know if that’s true, but you just let me know.”

  Oliver groaned and Jessie left him there, heading out to the lobby to wait for the two smokin’ Chapman guys.

  Chapter 16

  Noah put his hand on the small of Jessie’s back as the hostess led them to a table in the Town Tavern. The tour had gone much like he’d expected. Derek, the more serious of the two Chapman guys, asked a lot of pointed questions while Eli did his best to flirt with Jessie. Double-entendre and effusive compliments seemed to bounce off of her like bullets off of Superman. He’d had to bite his tongue to keep from telling the guy just where he could get off.

  “We survived,” Jessie said as they settled at their table next to the hearth. “What did you think of them?”

  Noah thought before he ventured an answer. “They definitely have an agenda. They weren’t going to tip their hands to us, though.”

  She nodded as she opened her menu. “I think they both rated us below their notice.”

  “Yep. Derek did seem like a prick.”

  “Derek?”

  “The dark-haired one.” He smiled. “You know, the one who wasn’t undressing you with his eyes.”

  “You think Eli was checking me out?” She shook her head at him. “Maybe, but I think there’s something more there, Noah. He seemed like he was all light and laughs, but he was clearly thinking as we showed them around.”

  “So we did our duty, then,” he said. “And Rick owes us big time.”

  “He paid it forward with me, giving me yesterday afternoon off.”

  He remembered just how great that had been, discovering her running toward him out there near the turn-off to her place.

  “Mmm, yesterday afternoon. I gotta tell you, I’m a big fan of yesterday afternoon.”

  She sparkled at him now, her face a pretty pink and her eyes golden. “Stop that,” she said with a smile.

  “Your call.” He folded his arms on the table and leaned forward. “This feels like a date, Jessie. Is this a date?”

  Her smile teased him. “It’s Oliver’s treat, so I don’t think so.”

  He made a show of looking around before facing her again. “You sure about that?”

  “I don’t think anyone here will think we’re dating, Noah.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, are we dating?”

  “I think we just might be.”

  She gave a tiny shake of her head. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

  He wanted to reach over and cover her hands with his, but seriously thought she’d worry people might take that the wrong way. Or the right way, since this did feel like a date.

  “You know, I haven’t dated in a long time,” he told her.

  “You?” She apparently didn’t believe him, if the curl of her lip was any indication. “Yeah, right.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Have you seen you?” She clicked her tongue. “Fair-haired god among men. Kissed by the sun.”

  He laughed out loud at her description. “You’re killing me, Jessie. Is that how you see me?” At her nod, he looked her over. “How should I describe you, then?”

  She gazed at him, obviously worried about what particular words he would use to describe her. Her worries were misplaced. His biggest problem was coming up with something to say that didn’t sound like he was only thinking with his dick.

  “Hmm,” he began. “I think sweet, gorgeous Pixie with a smokin’ hot body will do. For now.”

  “Noah.” She was smiling, though.

  The server came by with two glasses of ice water and they each ordered burgers. He chose a beer and she asked for a glass of Pinot. When the server left them, Noah broached the subject again.

  “I get why you want to keep things quiet,” he told her.

  “I would think you would want that, too.”

  “Why would I want that?”

  “Because of Max, Noah. Your son might wonder just what was up with us.”

  “He already is.”

  She gaped at him. “He is? What did he say?”

  Noah wasn’t going to tell her Max asked if they were getting married. He suspected she’d run screaming out into the night hearing that little tidbit.

  “He asked if you were my girlfriend.”

  She seemed to tense. “Seriously?”

  “I told him that you’re my friend and you’re a girl.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For making you come up with some story for your son.”

  “I didn’t come up with a story, Jessie. I try to always tell Max the truth.” He held up one hand. “On a need-to-know basis, of course. No need for him to know just what we got up to on my new couch pillows.”

  She smiled, her shoulders lowering a notch. “Okay, good.”

  Now he was at a loss. He’d never dated much. He hadn’t had to, as egotistical as that might sound. He just seemed to take what fell in his lap. This thing with Jessie, though? He might have to pull his head out of his ass and actually work to not fuck this up.

  After dinner, they stepped outside onto the wide concrete patio surrounding the tavern and Clubhouse. She crossed to a carved metal bench, this one resembling a dragonfly, and sat. The action made her skirt ride up a little, and he took a minute to appreciate her new work clothes. No wonder that tool from Chapman kept staring at her on the tour.

  “About that conversation in there,” he began.

  Her body stiffened for a beat. “What about it?”

  “Are we friends, Jessie?”

  She ran her hands over her thighs, staring down at her toes. “I suppose so. I like you.”

  Her simple statement sent a spike of heat through him. “I like you, too.”

  “So then we’re friends,” she said. “With benefits, I guess.”

  “No,” he snapped. Her head jerked toward him and he winced. “I didn’t mean to bark at you. I just don’t think of us that way.”

  She looked away again. “You think of us.”

  It wasn’t a question, and he didn’t really need to come up with an answer. He moved a little closer, breathing in her scent. Everything they’d shared the previous evening came back
to him in a rush. Her mouth on him. Her eyes gazing up as she tried, and succeeded, to drive him out of his mind. And later, as he’d made her feel just as good.

  “Come back to the townhouse with me,” he said softly.

  She looked at him again, her eyes huge. “I want to.”

  He managed to keep from throwing his fist in the air at her admission. “So?”

  ***

  Her mind worked. Oh, she wanted to go home with him. It had been so nice being with him yesterday. Heated and close and not scary in the least. But sex? Because, she had to face it, they were going to have sex if she went home with him tonight. Could she let go of her fear and focus on Noah?

  She licked her lips, willing her heartrate to slow. “Okay.”

  He smiled, slow and wide, and she felt the warmth of it. “Then, let’s go.”

  She stood, fisting her hands at her sides to keep from trembling. Taking a breath, she realized what was making her shake. It wasn’t apprehension or worry. No. It was excitement.

  “Oh, what about my Jeep?” she asked.

  “I’d be happy to walk back here and get it later.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want anybody seeing it just sitting there in the lot.”

  Noah nodded. “Do you want to drive it over?”

  “Yes, thanks,” she said.

  They walked over to the lot and she slid behind the wheel of her Jeep.

  He leaned in to kiss her. “Promise me you won’t drive home instead.”

  She placed one hand over his. “I promise.”

  “Park behind, if you like. On the driveway.”

  She knew he was giving her another layer of security, knowing a pink Jeep parked out front would tell everyone who passed by that she was at Noah’s.

  “I think I will, thanks.”

  He slid her that slow smile that gave her goosebumps in the best way. “See you a few, then.”

  They each drove to the townhouse. As the Jeep ate up the short distance from the Sales Center to his place, her mind worked in circles. Was this a good idea? Should she finally end her self-imposed celibacy with him? God, she really wanted to. She wanted to lose herself with him. Wanted to let go of everything she’d been carrying for way too long. The self-consciousness. The nervousness. The fear.