“Good.” A smile lit up his eyes as he reached one hand across the table. “Well, then. Before you can change your mind, shake on it.”
Steadying herself, Jillian slipped her hand into his and tried not to notice how her skin sizzled and burned at the contact. Electricity hummed up her arm to bounce around her chest like a crazed ping-pong ball. He squeezed her hand. “I’ll call the lawyers tomorrow morning.”
Nodding, she took a breath and said, “Okay.”
He let her go and for a second, Jillian really missed the feel of his much bigger hand wrapped around hers. That was probably not what she should be thinking about a business partner.
“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?”
She looked at him and shook her head. “No. Decisions are hard, but once they’re made, that’s it.”
“Good to know.” He glanced at the piece of pie on her plate. “You going to finish that?”
Jillian laughed and felt the butterflies settle. She handed her plate over and said, “I only hope the rest of Royal likes my pies as much as you do.”
His dark eyes locked onto hers. His voice dropped to a husky murmur. “You can count on it.”
They were talking about the pie shop, but there was an undercurrent, as well. What else could she count on? Jillian wondered. And why were her insides jumping again?
“Mama!” An eager shout echoed through the house.
Jillian blew out a breath and smiled. The tension between them shattered completely and then another voice shouted and the shared moment was over.
“Uncle Jesse!” Brody’s voice.
“Hey, you guys!” Lucy called out an instant later. “Mac saw your car here and we came to find you!”
Jesse sighed a little. “Guess we’re done talking about this for now. Good thing we came to an agreement already.” Then he yelled, “In the kitchen.”
She smiled at the sound of both kids clattering down the hall toward them. “Let me know what the lawyers say.”
“Absolutely.”
An instant later, both kids ran into the kitchen in a burst of noise and color—they were laughing in delight at their race down the hall. Lucy was right behind them.
“Wow,” she said with a knowing smile as she strolled into the kitchen, “this looks…cozy. Something tells me we showed up too early.”
“Not at all,” Jillian said, scooping her daughter into her arms as she got to her feet. “I was just about to come to your house to get Mac.”
“Uh-huh.” Lucy’s smile didn’t fade, but her eyebrows lifted as she studied first Jillian, then Jesse.
Jillian fired off a narrow-eyed look at her friend and wasn’t surprised when Lucy unapologetically winked at her.
“Oh, what’s this?” she crowed when she spotted the pie on the counter. “God, I love pie.” Lucy grabbed a fork from the drawer and went for a bite. “This is amazing,” she said, already dipping in for another bite. “Jillian, did you make this?”
“I wanted to thank Jesse for all of his help, so yes. I baked it this afternoon.”
“Boy, when you want to thank me for something, my favorite is lemon meringue.” Lucy went for another taste, but Jesse smacked her hand away.
“Get your own pie.”
“Hmm. Territorial. Interesting.” She shrugged, licked her fork, then looked from one to the other of them. “You know, I’m really glad you’re both here together because I need to ask a favor.”
Jillian was wary. It hadn’t taken her long to know when her friend was up to something. “What?”
“Oh,” Lucy said, reaching over to smooth Brody’s hair back from his forehead, “you know the gala at the TCC? Well, I’ve got tickets to go, but I just don’t feel right about it.”
“Lucy…”
She ignored Jillian and focused on her brother. “I mean, Jillian’s new in town and she’s been working so hard, this would be a great way for her to meet people and have some fun for a change.”
* * *
Jesse looked at Jillian and knew the woman was torn between wanting to go and wanting his sister to be quiet. Normally, he didn’t do the formal get-togethers at the club. He was most at home in his jeans, a work shirt and worn boots, riding a horse, being out under the sky. Jesse didn’t care much for spending an entire evening suffering through wearing a tux. But damned if he didn’t want to see Jillian all dressed up. Watching her now, he could see how irritated she must be toward his sister. That he could completely sympathize with. But Lucy had a point, too.
“I don’t need a night of fun,” Jillian argued.