Chapter 17

Jennie

"You look like hell." I stared wide-eyed at Lisa as she closed the back door and dragged herself across the family room, collapsing on the kitchen table.

"I feel like it," she responded as her head fell onto her folded forearms.

"Have you been out with Fred all morning?" I walked over and stood across the table from her.

She lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, since about six. We probably would have stayed longer, but it started pouring on us."

I looked out the over-sized family room windows at the rain, bummed that the girls and I would be stuck inside for the day.

"Did you catch anything?"

She laughed, seemingly amused by my question.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head, a slight grin still apparent on her face. "Yeah, we caught a few bass and we talked … a lot."

Panic flared in me. "Uh-oh, what does that mean?"

She looked at me without saying anything, and her eyes danced around my face. When she stared at me like that, she made me feel like I was under a microscope. Instead of metal clips holding me down, it was her two piercing eyes.

"It means that Fred really cares about you. You're a lucky girl." She took my hand, gently kissing the top of it. My skin tingled where she'd kissed it, even after she pulled her lips away.

"Mom, what's for breakfast?"

I pulled my hand back quickly when Ruby came in the room. Looking at Lisa, I was relieved when she smiled and winked at me, not at all offended that I hadn't wanted Ruby to see her affection for me.

"I don't know. What should we make today?" I scooped up Ruby and sat her on the island, eye to eye with me.

Her father's brown eyes looked up toward the ceiling as she contemplated what she wanted to eat. "Chocolate chip pancakes!" she answered excitedly.

"Coming right up." She wiggled to get down, but I caught her knee before she was able to get away. "Uh … pay the toll."

She giggled and gave me a big smooch before hopping off the island and disappearing back down the hall.

I grabbed the pancake mix and chocolate chips out of the cabinet and tossed them on the island, glancing over at Lisa who was still sitting at the table with her elbows bent, hands clasped together, staring at me.

"What are you looking at?"

Without moving her folded hands from in front of her mouth, she raised one eyebrow in response to my sarcastic tone. She stood up from the table and slowly stalked over to me, stopping just inches from my chest. Her left hand rested on the island to my right, while her other hand purposely grazed my elbow as she leaned in, reaching for the bag of chocolate chips and pinning my hips to the island.

"Just thought I'd help you make pancakes." Her taunting tone was husky with underlying meaning as she bent down, her lips nearly touching mine. "My specialty is licking … the spoon when you're done."

My heart was pounding against my ribcage; my pulse off the charts. The edge of the granite counter was digging into my lower back, but all I could concentrate on was trying to slow my breathing, and I was failing miserably. She was intimidating, playing with me like a cat played with a mouse, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

I leaned up on my tippy toes and softly kissed her lips, barely making contact and then pulled back. When she came forward for another taste, I spun around giggling. "You stink and I don't let smelly girls lick my spoon. Go shower, then we'll talk."

She groaned from behind me and dropped her head on my shoulder. "You're dangerous, Jennie Kim, you know that?" She gave me a tap on the butt as she turned and headed upstairs to the shower.

Dangerous, huh? I'd never been called dangerous before. I kinda liked it.

After breakfast, I finished cleaning up the kitchen while Mom was up front, seeing a few guests out. Fred snored off his pancake coma on the couch. Ruby and Jane were in the family room by Fred, quietly coloring pictures of the horses from the fair yesterday. Lisa went upstairs to pack up her bags. This was the part about this whole thing that was going to suck, saying good-bye. Less than twenty-four hours since our first kiss and I was already having doubts. There were just so many things that could go wrong. Was this really going to be possible? Were we going to be possible?

I wiped off the placemats and carried them to the pantry. Reaching up to put them on the shelf, I was startled when Lisa's arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me in close. I quickly looked past the pantry door.

"Relax, they're still coloring," she whispered into my ear as she leaned over and gently kicked the pantry door closed with her foot.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling her freshly showered scent. She smelled clean, yet outdoorsy. I let myself relax into her hug, losing myself in her comfort. Her arms wrapped around me like a warm cotton sweater making me feel tiny and protected. She loosened her grip just enough for me to turn to face her. I laced my fingers together and swooped them around her neck, her hands resting on my hips.

"This has been an interesting weekend, huh?" I asked coyly, staring into her mesmerizing eyes. She grinned, flashing me her champion smile.

"To say the least. I don't want to leave, but I have some things I have to take care of this week."

"That's okay, it's probably good that you're going. I need to clear my head." I sighed.

Concern rolled across her face. Her brows pulled together as she tightened her grip on my waist.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just all happening so fast, I need to breathe." I smiled to reassure her and myself.

"Jennie, I like you, there's no doubt about that. When I went home last week, I couldn't stop thinking about you. That's why I came back. The more I know about you, the more I want to know." She bit her lower lip and paused for a second, thinking about what she was going to say next. "I'm in no rush, I'm not looking to get married tomorrow. Hell, I wasn't even interested in having a relationship until I met you. And now that I've met you, walking out that door with no plans to see you again isn't an option. We can take this as slow as you want, just give it a chance."

My heart raced around my chest, probably in an attempt to leap out of my body and land at her feet as an offering. I closed my eyes and took a deep cleansing breath before responding.

"I like you too, Lisa, more than I want to, actually. I'm not used to this feeling. It scares and excites me at the same time. We're so different—our worlds are so different. And the thought of putting myself out there to be hurt again-"

"Stop right there." She cut me off as she took my face in both hands, squatting to be eye-to-eye with me. "You're not a conquest and I don't play games. I told you I haven't really ever done the girlfriend thing and you haven't done the relationship thing in a long time. Let's figure it out together."

Her persistence beckoned me. The way she sounded so sure, so certain … maybe this would work.

I smiled at her and clasped my hands over her. "You're right, it's silly not to try. But … under a couple conditions."

She let go of my face and stood up tall, crossing her arms across her chest. "Conditions, huh? Interesting. Hit me."

"Well … first the girls can't know anything is going on. I always said if and when I dated someone, he wouldn't meet the girls until we were very serious. No way was I going to have a bunch of guys floating in and out of their lives. I know this thing between us wasn't exactly planned, and you've already met them. Hanging with them is okay, but no kissing, holding hands or anything like that when they're around. Deal?"

She flared her nostrils and narrowed her eyes at me, contemplating what I'd just said. "Deal. But … that just means when I'm alone with you, I'm going to be extra … attentive. Double deal?"

Every vein in my body damn near exploded from the surge of excitement that jolted through me with that sentence. I had no idea what she meant, but I wanted to. The possibilities were endless.

"Deal," I replied, my head held high and my voice deceptively confident.

"Is that it?"

"One more," I answered, biting my lip. "No pressure."

She looked confused as she arched a brow at me. "No pressure?"

"Yeah, you said we're taking this slow and I'm good with that." I looked into her dark eyes, wondering if I would be able to keep my own deal. "Nothing serious. Let's just have fun. No pressure. Get it?"

"Got it. No pressure." She smirked, entertaining me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I suddenly needed air. Being this close to Lisa, with all of her energy focused on me was intense, overwhelming. "All right, I gotta check on Ruby and Jane."

I walked over to the pantry door, and just as my hand grabbed the knob, Lisa's arm shot in front of my face and grabbed the doorjamb on the other side of me, blocking my path.

Baffled, I looked up at her, butterflies swarming my stomach.

She licked her lips as a sexy grin spread across her face. Her gaze burned down on me.

"Pay the toll."

Instantly, my butterflies morphed into pterodactyls.