They’d established a routine since the Saturday he’d come to the garden center that she craved at the same time it terrified her.
Owen came to her house almost every night after work. He helped with the nursery, either moving plant stock and doing whatever odd jobs she asked him to handle, or he’d entertain Dina’s kids and Cooper in the backyard. A few of the evenings, he’d brought carryout, and once had grilled steaks Dina purchased at the local market.
Jenny had picked up her mother a couple of times from the nursing home to join them for dinner. Mona seemed to blossom among the unexpected mix of people suddenly filling Jenny’s world. Her mother loved watching Emma and Dylan play in the backyard, and Owen was so sweet and charming that Mona became immediately smitten.
But Jenny’s life was far from perfect. She was constantly running on all cylinders to balance the projects she managed for the landscaping company with her work on the nursery. Dina vacillated between steadfast commitment to her decision to leave her husband and late nights crying on Jenny’s shoulder about how much she missed him.
In the midst of the surges and ebbs of almost daily chaos, Owen remained at her side. Jenny found it far too easy to forget that nothing about their relationship was real when her feelings for Owen felt all too genuine.
“You can’t hurt him again,” Kendall said gently.
Jenny jerked back, the words landing like a blow to her heart. Coffee sloshed over the rim of the cup she was holding, making her skin burn slightly where the steaming liquid hit.
“I thought we were friends,” she muttered as she took the napkin Kendall handed her.
“We are. I’m telling you that not just for Owen’s sake, but for yours. You were just as devastated by what you did as he was. Don’t let it get to the point where you irrevocably sabotage whatever is between you two.”
Jenny wadded the napkin in her clenched fist and looked around the crowded coffee shop, needing a moment to collect herself before she responded to Kendall.
“Did Chloe and Sam nominate you for this little intervention?” she asked finally.
Kendall shook her head. “Ty saw Owen yesterday and heard that you’re going to the wedding with him. He wanted to talk to you directly, but I asked him to let me speak with you first.”
Pain sliced across Jenny’s chest. “You and Ty are my two best friends in the world. What does that say for my character when neither of you trusts me?”
“What does it say when you haven’t told any of us about your little wedding date arrangement?”
“I knew you’d try to talk me out of it.”
“If you need money for the business, we can help,” Kendall offered.
Embarrassment dulled Jenny’s pain. “I’m tired of Ty bailing me out of life,” she said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her tone. “He must be sick of it as well.”
“He loves you, sweetie,” Kendall said. “We both do. You know that.”
“Then I need you to trust that I know what I’m doing.”
Kendall didn’t answer, only studied Jenny over the rim of her coffee mug as she took a sip. Kendall was a master at reading people, and knowing that she sucked at hiding her emotions made Jenny’s anxiety ratchet up another notch.
“Don’t use those investigative reporter mind tricks on me,” she said, taking a hefty swig of coffee and wishing it was a double shot of espresso. She’d need the extra energy to maneuver through the conversation without accidentally revealing how much Owen truly meant to her.
Kendall had gotten her big journalistic break two years ago when she’d been the lead reporter on a story that had exposed the corrupt land dealings of one of the biggest real estate developers in the state. It just so happened that the man who ran the company was also Ty’s father.
Kendall and Ty had met while she was working on the story, but the ramifications of it had almost torn them apart. Their love had triumphed in the end, and they were happily married and expecting their first child. “There’s no scoop here. Owen did me a favor and now I’m doing one for him.”
“And you don’t have feelings for him?” Kendall placed a hand on her belly, an unconscious gesture that Jenny remembered from when she was pregnant with Cooper.
“We’re friends.” It wasn’t a total lie. Jenny didn’t bother to mention that she’d never before had a friend who also made her want to rip off her clothes and climb him like a spider monkey.
Kendall drew in a slow breath, then nodded. “If you’re sure. With everything Owen is dealing with at work, I know he’s not in the best frame of mind to—”
“What stuff?” The coffee Jenny had just drunk turned to thick tar in her stomach. She pushed the mug to the side as she leaned forward, elbows on the table.
“The baby’s kicking.” Kendall’s gaze softened, and she pressed one hand to the low part of her abdomen as she took a bite of muffin. “I swear she loves carbs. If I eat a donut, she goes crazy.”
“Cooper liked watermelon,” Jenny said, happy for her friend’s obvious joy. “But let’s focus here, Mrs. Pregnancy Brain. What stuff is Owen dealing with at work?”
“The difficulties he’s having with getting the Labyrinth Web military technology off the ground.”
“Dalton Enterprises doesn’t work with the military,” Jenny argued. “Their focus has always been individuals and communities—connecting people through their personal devices.”
“That’s the point,” Kendall answered. “No one can figure out why Owen is so determined to make the Labyrinth Web work. I know he comes from a family where military service is important, so maybe that has something to do with it. According to Ty, upper management and the board of directors are losing patience. Stockholders will too if he can’t make progress before the next quarterly earnings announcement.”
She popped another bite of muffin into her mouth. “Ty said information trickles over to the foundation slowly, so it could be worse now.”
Jenny felt her shoulders stiffen. “Why hasn’t Owen mentioned anything to me?”
Kendall’s gaze sharpened as if she’d finally realized how much not knowing this huge thing in Owen’s life meant to Jenny. Her voice turned placating. “The only reason Ty found out is through people at the office. I guess he tried to talk to Owen about it but got nowhere.” She reached forward and patted Jenny’s hand. “I didn’t mention it to make you worry. It’s just that I do think you need to be kind of careful with Owen right now. He’s not in the best place.”
“I will.” Jenny mentally kicked herself for not guessing something was wrong. Owen was privy to almost every detail of her life, and she now realized how little she understood about what made him tick. It was difficult to know whether the fault of that lay with him or her. Maybe a combination. Maybe she was the type of woman who didn’t inspire trust or faith in a man.
It was a good reminder that what she had with Owen was . . . nothing.
He was a nice guy and her life was a shit show, so he’d stepped in to help. He didn’t want or need anything from her, at least beyond the sexual chemistry that was becoming harder to ignore.
“Enough about Owen and me. Tell me about all the baby plans,” she said, pasting on a bright smile.
“Jenny.” Kendall’s voice was so tender it made Jenny’s head pound.
“Seriously, Ken.” She swallowed when her voice cracked. “I can’t get emotional because I screwed things up with the perfect guy and now there’s nothing between us. I own what I did, sucky as it was. But between my mom’s care and working my ass off to make the garden center a reality, Cooper is getting caught in the crossfire. The one thing I’ve always done is put him first, and that’s not going to change. I need some stability right now. Too many things have changed in the past six months.”
She wrapped her fingers around the coffee mug, pressing them tight against the porcelain so Kendall wouldn’t notice they were trembling. “I’m not going to hurt Owen. Once we’re past the wedding, things will go back to how they
were before. We’ll be friendly when we need to and ignore each other the rest of the time.”
“Are you sure?”
Jenny nodded. “Now talk to me about your pregnancy and when you’re going to get hormonal acne and blow up like a balloon. You know we can’t be true friends unless that happens.”
“My boobs are huge,” Kendall said with a laugh. “Does that count?”
“Don’t make me punch—” Jenny sucked in a breath. Of course she’d been about to say “punch you in the throat.” That was her signature phrase. Owen had even mentioned it. She didn’t want to think about all the other things he knew about her because it was too scary to imagine that he could read her true feelings so easily.
That was a trip to disasterland for both of them.
“It doesn’t count,” she amended. “At least tell me you have cankles? Even Kim Kardashian got cankles.”
She smiled and nodded as Kendall talked about the pregnancy, her plans for maternity leave, and life in general. Even if Jenny had just been called on the carpet with regards to her intentions toward Owen, she was still grateful to have people in her life that understood and loved her unconditionally.
She’d listened to Dina on the phone with a variety of friends over the past week and each time, Jenny had to fight the urge to grab the phone and tell every one of those two-faced witches to go to hell. By the way Dina had responded to the pauses on her end of the line, Jenny could tell they’d been trying to convince her to return to John.
The separation was taking a toll on Dina. Jenny had quickly come to care for her unlikely new friend and hated to hear the muffled crying Dina couldn’t quite hide late at night. Jenny would never allow herself to be so emotionally vulnerable to anyone. It was better to end up alone than to risk the kind of heartbreak that could come from letting a man see the soft and vulnerable places she hid deep inside.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Owen paced back and forth in the small commuter terminal that serviced the municipal airport on the south side of Denver. His plane had been waiting on the tarmac since their scheduled departure time over thirty minutes earlier. A member of his ground crew signaled to get his attention, but he continued to ignore the man, embarrassment flooding him.
Jenny was a no-show.
The plan had been for her to drop Cooper at the camp fifty miles northwest of Denver, not far from Estes Park, then head straight to the airport.
He’d received a voice mail from her an hour ago, but it had cut out so much that he couldn’t understand more than a few garbled words. Now she wasn’t answering, and he worried that her doubts had gotten the best of her and she was flaking on their agreement.
It shouldn’t have been a total surprise. The more time he’d spent with Jenny, the edgier she’d become until she could barely look at him without immediately shying away.
He should have given her some space, but a part of him liked pushing her buttons. He liked knowing he had some effect on her given that he was in a constant state of frustration since she had been back in his life.
Because she wasn’t really back. They had a temporary arrangement. As much as he wanted it that way, it also annoyed the hell out of him. He wasn’t going to put himself on the line for anyone, especially not the woman who’d responded to his declaration of love by groping another guy in a coatroom where Owen was sure to find them.
Despite what he knew to be prudent, his defenses had begun to fall away the more time he spent with Jenny. And there he was, once again on the verge of being humiliated.
No more.
He could make up some excuse to his family. Maybe it was time he manned up and dealt with why his father’s approval still meant so damn much to him anyway. He signaled to the ground personnel that he was ready to go just as Jenny burst through the terminal doors.
“I’m sorry,” she called, dragging the biggest suitcase he’d ever seen behind her. “We’re here.” Cooper followed, eyes downcast. A backpack was slung over his shoulders, and he carried another smaller duffel bag that matched Jenny’s luggage. “You got the message I left before my phone ran out of battery, right?”
A wave of idiotic relief that his father would call pansy-assed rushed through him. “It kept cutting out. What happened to camp?”
“I changed my mind,” Cooper muttered. “Sleepaway camp is stupid. Too many bugs and . . .” His voice cracked. “It’s stupid.”
“And yet,” Jenny said, her voice tight, “somehow we didn’t figure that out until I paid the entire nonrefundable registration fee.” She aimed the words at Owen, but they all knew she was speaking to Cooper.
“I don’t have to go with you to the wedding,” Cooper said, his lips barely moving. “You can take Grandma out of the nursing home to stay with me.”
Jenny snorted. “So she can burn down the house? I don’t think so.”
“Dina will be there,” Cooper continued. “She’ll be happy to have me around.”
“I always want you around,” Jenny said, sounding miserable. “But—”
Owen stepped forward. He could not stand to see this woman looking like she was on the verge of tears. “Have you ever been on a private jet?” he asked Cooper.
The boy’s eyes widened as he shook his head. “We went to Disney World when I was little, but that was the only time I’ve even been on a regular plane.”
“Then you’re going to love the Gulfstream.”
Cooper started to smile, then darted a glance at Jenny. “Mom?”
“This is Owen’s trip,” she said quietly. “If he’s fine with it, then I’m happy to have you along.”
“Awesome.” Cooper pumped his fist. “Can I go out now?”
Owen nodded. “James will take you. He’s part of my ground crew. Your mom and I will be out in a minute.”
James stepped forward and took the duffel bag from Cooper. “Ma’am,” he said, turning to Jenny, “may I take your luggage?”
Her grip tightened on the handle of the suitcase. For a few seconds Owen wondered if she was going to bolt out the door. Then she rolled it forward. “Thank you.”
“You know we’ll only be there for five days,” he said, watching James and Cooper walk out into the bright Colorado sunshine. “It looks like you packed enough for a monthlong stay.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t sure what to bring. I want to make a good impression.”
His head jerked a little to think she would care what his family thought of her.
“I assumed that was part of the deal,” she added quickly, a blush rising to her cheeks. “You’re basically paying me a whole lot of money to be your arm candy for the week. That is why I’m going, right?”
He almost laughed at the idea of Jenny thinking of herself as arm candy when to him she was more like the only thing that might get him through the next few days in one piece.
“You’re going,” he answered, schooling his features into a blank mask, “because you owe me and my family thinks I have a fiancée thanks to the wonders of social media.”
Something flashed in her eyes that he couldn’t decipher, which was unusual, because normally everything Jenny felt was clear on her delicate features.
It was only there for a moment, and he wanted to freeze time and take the emotion from her, hold it in his hands and study it like a child might do with a seashell, turning it over and over to memorize the texture and patterns until he could make sense of what it meant.
He shouldn’t allow himself to want more from Jenny than she was willing to give. She’d made it clear that this was business for her. In spite of how her body might respond to him, she would never give away her heart. Owen had spent half his life trying to wrench love from a man who had none to give him. If it were possible to draw water from a stone, Owen would have found a way.
But stones stayed dry, and he’d learned that lesson too many times to let himself be fooled into believing he could change Jenny.
“What about Cooper?”
He looked out to
the tarmac, running a hand through his hair. “He’s on the plane already.”
“I know the plan wasn’t for him to come with us. I’m sorry. Something happened when we got to camp. He saw these boys he knew from school—kids I thought were his friends. Suddenly he refused to stay.” Her gaze met his and there was that sliver of vulnerability again that about did him in.
“Did he say why?”
She shook her head. “It was strange and so unlike him. But I couldn’t leave him there and get on a plane not knowing he was okay. He doesn’t—”
“It’s fine.” Unable to stop himself, he wrapped his arms around her. She rested her forehead against his chest with a sigh. “It’s fine, Jenny,” he repeated. Taking the weight of her troubles onto his own shoulders and easing her pain felt like an accomplishment worthy of a standing ovation. “Cooper is a great kid. My family will love him.”
“You shouldn’t be holding me,” she muttered, but pressed so close he could feel her lips moving against his shirtfront. “There’s no one watching us.”
“The rule covers kissing. This is a hug. You didn’t say anything about hugs.”
She gave a small laugh. “Obviously, I wasn’t planning on Cooper actually witnessing this charade.”
Owen cringed. Charade was such an ugly word in terms of what was between Jenny and him. “We’ll be careful.”
“I won’t be able to maul you in front of your brother.”
It was his turn to laugh. “Was that your plan?”
“As usual, I didn’t have a plan.” She pulled back. “But we’ll come up with one on the plane, okay? The three of us.”
“The three of us,” he agreed.
Owen wished he could have changed the jet’s flight plan en route to take them anywhere but back to his hometown. The three hours spent in the air with Jenny and Cooper felt like they might be the best part of the trip.
Meant for You Page 14
