He felt the same disappointment she did. He could drop by Jenna’s office later this morning. It wouldn’t be completely out of line. Just a friendly hello while he was doing something official on the Earl Handy case. But he didn’t want to crowd her, and he also knew she had a full day planned.
He’d never been a patient man. Not when he wanted something this badly. But if the last couple of months had taught him anything, it was that no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t control everything. He’d have to be satisfied with seeing her at tonight’s meeting. She couldn’t run away from him there.
“Grandma’s not here,” Rachel said, “and Greta is back in Mami, so who’s going to make breakfast?”
“We are.”
“We are?”
“I’ll tell you what. If we can eat pancakes for dinner, how about hamburgers and milkshakes for breakfast?”
Her face split into a grin. “Wow! I say yes!”
Chapter Fifteen
After her conversation with Kate, the rest of the day went by agonizingly slow, which was odd because her days usually flew by, especially when she had so much work piled up. And she was curiously nervous, too. Every time the phone rang, she’d jump. Must be jitters about tonight’s town hall meeting. It was her first public meeting as city manager, and although she wasn’t scheduled to speak directly, if anyone had a question that pertained to city business, it was her job to provide an answer.
She was jotting down some notes about the new rec center when Darlene popped her head in the door. “You busy?”
Jenna’s pulse hitched. “What? Why? Who is it?”
“Boy, you’re on edge today. Remind me to make the next pot decaf. I came to tell you there’s someone here to see you.”
“Do they have an appointment?”
“No, but I didn’t think you’d mind. At least, I know I wouldn’t mind if a good looking man was asking to see me.”
Oh no. It had to be Ben. What other good-looking man was there?
Jenna quickly flung open the top drawer of her desk to take out her compact mirror. After running by the house this morning to shower, she’d changed into her signature power outfit—a tan-colored pencil skirt and a crisp white blouse with black heels. Her hair was pulled back in a low chignon, and her red lipstick proclaimed to the world that she wasn’t afraid to look both feminine and in charge. As for the blotch on her neck, a little beige foundation took care of that nicely.
She looked presentable enough. But what was she going to say to him?
The conversation could go one of three ways.
The first way was completely silly.
Hey, Ben! I had a great time last night. Hope you did too!
Then, there was the absolute truth.
Last night was scary
as hell. Not in a Friday the thirteenth kind of way. No, of course not! But now, there’s all these crazy feelings I thought were long gone, and even though I didn’t want to admit it to Kate, the thing is… I could so easily fall in love with you. All over again.
Or she could go with a less dramatic, but still honest version.
Was there a full moon last night? Because we must have been insane!
Okay, so maybe that was still a little dramatic.
The more she thought about it, the more she hated to admit that Kate, as usual, was right. Even if she and Ben didn’t have a future (which they didn’t) she shouldn’t have left this morning without waking him up. It would make this next meeting all the more awkward between them.
“No need for any formalities,” said a familiar male voice that was definitely not Ben’s. “I know my way around here.” Zeke Grant walked into her office and took the seat across from her desk.
Before closing the door, Darlene turned and made a face that said wow.
Okay, so yes, obviously there were other good-looking men in town besides Ben. Jenna mentally shook her head. Whew! What a relief! How silly of her to think that it might be Ben who’d stopped by. No. She certainly was not disappointed that it was Zeke in her office.