“Serves you right.”
“Is this about the mosquito bite?”
“Absolutely not. I’m thrilled that the whole town now knows I have a hickey,” she grumbled, although to be honest she couldn’t really be angry at him when he stood there grinning at her like that.
“Next time I’ll leave one where no one can see it.” Then he pulled her against him and kissed her.
* * *
“Wait!” She came up for air. “I have something important to tell you. Two things really.”
Jenna looked a little dazed, which was good because what he felt right now was a whole lot more than just dazed. The foul mood he’d been in for most of the day completely disappeared the instant he’d seen her standing near the podium.
She had on the same outfit she’d worn that first time he’d seen her at The Bistro. A tight little skirt that still managed to look professional and four-inch black stilettos. She wasn’t wearing panty hose but she didn’t need to. Her long, pale legs were smooth and firm. Just remembering how they felt wrapped around his waist was getting him hard.
“I…” She shook her head. “Stop looking at me like that. This is important.”
“Let’s go back to your place.”
“Not till I tell you what I need to tell you.”
“So that’s a yes?”
She shook her head. “Yes.” Then she nodded. “I mean, no. I mean…stop confusing me and let me speak.”
“You’re adorable, you know that?
“Ben,” she said, trying to be stern, “you need to let me finish. Number one, I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up this morning. Or leave a note. Or call. Because obviously, I know how that feels, and it wasn’t payback for thirteen years ago, it was just me freaking out a little bit.”
He’d never once thought it was payback. Jenna wasn’t the passive-aggressive type. If she was angry about something, she told you to your face. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. If she wanted him to pay attention to what she was saying, then she’d better not do that again.
“Number two, Zeke Grant came to see me today. And, Ben, I have to warn you, he told me that he’s calling Child Protective Services about Rachel. He says it’s standard procedure and all, but—”
He placed a finger over her mouth. “No worries. I expected that.”
“You did?”
“He wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t follow up.”
She looked relieved. “Good, I mean, I told him he’s completely off base, but I wanted you to know.”
She’d been worried about him. Other than his mother, he didn’t think anyone had ever worried about him before. It was an odd feeling. One he didn’t want to think about right now.
“Is that it?” he asked. “Can we go have sex now?”
“I never said we were going to have sex.”
“Okay, we can start off with dinner. It’s pretty late. Have you eaten yet?”
“How did almost all the town know about Nora and Vince’s offer to split the land?” she demanded.
Shit. He knew this was going to come back and bite him in the ass, but he couldn’t lie to her. “Because I told Vince to spread it around.”
“You think pressure from the community is going to help your cause?”
“It already has.” The look on her face made him wish he’d just kept kissing her. Talk was way overrated. “No matter what it takes, I never lose, Jenna. I already told you that.”
“Yes, you did.” She began to pace around the alcove. Her heels made a nervous clicking sound against the gym floor. She stopped, then paced some more. “The thing is, I have a pretty good idea of who you are, Ben Harrison.”