Can't Stop the Feeling (Whispering Bay Romance 6)

“Coming!” Jenna yelled back. She turned to Ben, unsure what say. Should she apologize? Yes, she should apologize. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that sex is all you wanted. But I thought I made myself clear the other night. We don’t have a future, Ben.”

“Are you going to support Nora’s offer to split the land? Or are you going to vote against it?”

She was taken back by his abrupt change of topic. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I think it has everything to do with what’s going on between us.”

“I already told you. That’s not what Earl wanted. His will specifically states—”

“That’s a load of bullshit, and you know it. You’re like a dog with a damn bone. You don’t care what Earl Handy wanted.”

“You don’t know what I care about.” Then it suddenly occurred to her. “You’re afraid you’re going to lose, aren’t you? Heaven forbid that the great Ben Harrison might actually lose a case.”

“Baby, the only one here that’s afraid of losing is you.”

It was like he’d slapped her. “That’s not true.”

“You tell yourself that every time some small business owner needs to go somewhere else to find beachfront property to build on, or better yet, let’s see how happy the good people of Whispering Bay are going to be when you have to raise property taxes to keep this town afloat.”

A huge roar exploded from the living room.

“Touchdown Noles!” Kitty screamed, followed by the sound of palms slapping as they all high-fived one another. “Jenna! Ben! C’mon back inside, you sorry Hurricane fans!”

They stood there for a few seconds looking at one another.

Ben shrugged. “Looks like neither of us is winning right now.”

Chapter Nineteen

The Seminoles ended up beating the Hurricanes thirty-one to fourteen, and after their little spat on the patio, she and Ben didn’t speak to each other the rest of the night.

Which was perfectly fine with Jenna.

Baby, the only one here that’s afraid of losing is you.

How dare he question her motives? It just proved how little he knew her. He made her sound petty and vindictive, when all she wanted was what was best for Whispering Bay. Unlike him, who worshiped the almighty dollar and didn’t care about anything.

No, that wasn’t fair. He cared about Rachel. He cared about his mother. But the rest of the world? Everyone else was just a pawn on the Ben Harrison chessboard of life.

She said goodbye to Steve and Kitty, kissed Aunt Viola good night and gave Gus a hug. Ben and a sleepy Rachel had left during the third quarter when she’d slipped off to the bathroom, so at least there hadn’t been any stiff good-byes to deal with.

Jenna got in her car and was almost home when on a whim, she decided to drive by the new rec center. Built in the Mediterranean style common to the area, it was a twenty thousand square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-purpose community center located right on the beach. No other city that she knew of had anything quite like it. Despite its enormous cost, this was something that would benefit every citizen in Whispering Bay.

When she’d first been hired, Tom Donalan, the construction supervisor, had given her a tour of the building. He’d made her wear a hard hat, and she’d had to stay within the confines of the areas that he’d deemed safe to inspect, but that had been over a month ago. Things had progressed at an exponentially fast pace since then. Surely, it wouldn’t hurt to take a peek inside.

She parked her car in the empty lot. There was a full moon tonight, so it wasn’t completely dark, plus the bright overhead construction lights made it easy to navigate her surroundings.

There was a rope cordoning off the building with a large, impressive sign in front that read: RESTRICTED AREA. Trespassers Prosecuted. But she was a city employee, so the big bad sign in front didn’t really apply to her.

She ducked under the rope then trotted past the construction trailer into the large open airway connecting the main building to the locker rooms adjacent to the outdoor pool. There was no gate or barrier keeping her from exploring so she walked around, peeking here and there, enjoying the quiet sound of water lapping against the shoreline and the smell of the salty gulf air.

“What are you doing out here?”

If she hadn’t recognized the voice, she would have screamed. Instead, she turned to find Ben less than ten yards away. “What are you? Some kind of ninja? And I could ask you the same question. What are you doing out here? Did you follow me?”

“I was on my way to your place when I saw your car parked in front. What the hell are you doing out here all alone in the middle of the night?”

“Don’t yell at me. And it’s not the middle of the night.”