She laughed. “It happens, Jones. I think it’s almost impossible to live in San Francisco and not question your sexual orientation. Yet another thing I love about this city. It opens its arms to everyone. We’re all just … human.”
He pulled into his garage space, killed the engine, and stared at her like he was somehow seeing her for the first time.
“What?” She wrinkled her nose, sliding her tongue along her teeth in case she had a piece of spinach stuck to one.
He rested his arm on the back of her seat and threaded his fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her head. “When we first met, my biggest fear was you would never feel ‘normal’ again.”
“And now?”
“And now I fear you will, and for some reason that feels tragic to me.”
She leaned into his touch. “I think we both know that’s not possible. Now … about this big surprise—”
“It’s not a big surprise … not yet anyway.” He climbed out and rushed around to open her door.
“Why thank you, sir.” She placed her hand in his and he led her up to his condo.
“Wait out here.”
“Sweeping the joint for your Tumblr followers?”
“Funny. But seriously, don’t come in until I tell you.” He shut the door, leaving her in the hallway.
Her smile grew with each passing second, not from the surprise. The man of her dreams and his adoration for her owned that smile, but … she did love surprises.
“Okay, open the door,” he called from the other side.
Her whole body shivered with giddiness. She opened the door. Luke squatted down next to a pudgy little Great Dane puppy—white with irregular black spots.
“Oh my gosh!” She hunched down as the puppy waddled over to her. Jessica picked him up and hugged him to her. “I love it … her … him?”
“Him.” Luke stood with a smile that showed his pleasure with her reaction and probably himself as well.
“You got me a puppy? No one has ever done something like this for me before,” she spoke with the classic high-pitched puppy/baby voice. Holding the puppy out in front of her, she continued to baby talk it a few inches from its face. “What am I going to name you, huh?”
“He already has a name.”
“Oh really?”
Luke moved closer to her and took the puppy, holding it with one hand and petting it with his other. “Yes, I already named him.”
“Please tell me it’s not Spot.” She leaned in and kissed its head.
“No … it’s Jones.”
Chapter Four
Knight
With the arrival of Tuesday came an agglomeration of nerves sparked by a lethal mix of hormones and the anticipation of seeing Father Jackson Knight. Ryn’s dormant sex life didn’t help matters, neither did Jillian saying he would like her. Why would he like her? Perhaps there was a shortage of young perfect-bodied women in Omaha.
She knocked on the door, hoping Jillian would answer. Ryn deemed it best to ease into Jackson’s intensity. No such luck. His Holiness appeared before her, inviting her into the gates of Heaven. Granted, she was there to tidy up the grounds of eternity, but hey, it was Heaven and that’s all that mattered.
“Ryn Middleton.” He made her name sound dirty with a wicked smile on his face while his eyes moved along her body.
It evoked all kinds of feelings: good, bad, and maybe even sinful. What was the punishment for tempting a man of God? The makeup she decided to apply at the last minute may have been a bad idea. She sucked at subtle. Everything about her said lonely, sex-deprived, and easy.
Her shorts felt extra short under his gaze as she flexed the muscles in her legs, hoping it would tighten the appearance of her skin that had lost some of its elasticity. Forty would suck.
“Jackson … or … is it okay if I call you that?” Ryn wasn’t Catholic. Did he expect her to address him as Father Knight?
He gave her a funny look, his smile still beaming with intensity. “Jackson is fine.” He stepped aside and let her in.
“No lesson today?” She headed straight to the first bathroom. Nothing good could come from standing around looking at him.
“No. I rescheduled my Tuesday afternoon students.” He followed her.
“Oh, I hope not on my account. I clean quietly with the exception of vacuuming.”
“It was no big deal. Now you don’t have to worry about being quiet. It’s just the two of us.”
She pulled on her gloves. “Oh … okay.”
Just the two of them and she didn’t have to be quiet. Why was her mind in the gutter?
“Do you want me to turn on some music for you?”
She scrubbed the toilet bowl. “Uh … sure.”
“What type of music do you like?”
She glanced back at him. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Her gaze stuck to his tattoos. “Whatever. Classical, gospel, piano … or even organ music if you prefer.”