His suggestive words immediately conjured up erotic images that sent heat flooding into Rachel’s face, even as her heartbeat accelerated. It had been years since a guy had made her feel the way Jamie made her feel now—sexy and desirable. But the thought of being with Jamie—of being with someone so virile and gorgeous and young—brought back all the insecurities she’d tried so hard to get past after her marriage to Deke had disintegrated. Because if what Deke had said was true, she was too boring and uptight to appeal to any man. Did she have the courage to prove him wrong?
Chapter Four
Standing next to Rachel, breathing in her scent and feeling the warmth she radiated, was sheer hell. Jamie’s hands curled around the handles of his crutches, when all they really wanted to do was bury themselves in the thick, silky waves of her hair.
He was pushing the boundaries of their business arrangement, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He had her to himself for the next two weeks, and he was damned well going to use every second to his own advantage. If that made her uncomfortable, then too bad. He was uncomfortable, too, and the way he saw things, there was only one way to cure that.
He intended to take Rachel to bed.
As soon as possible.
But in order to do that, he couldn’t pussyfoot around the issue. She needed to know he wanted her. He sensed that she wasn’t the kind of woman who slept around, or fell easily into bed with anyone. Normally, he’d respect that and not assert himself, but time was working against him. He’d been given this one chance, and he wasn’t going to blow it.
Now she avoided eye contact and focused on the tablet that lay on the counter. But her breathing quickened and pink color seeped slowly into her face. She was aware of him.
Big time.
“Assuming you don’t stay up all night,” she continued, “what time are you normally up and dressed? I came over at nine o’clock, and you were in the shower. So is it safe to say you’re ready and dressed by nine-thirty?”
He didn’t miss the slight emphasis on the word dressed and he hid a smile. “Yeah, that’s probably about right.”
“Okay, so why don’t I come over at ten each morning? We can have breakfast together, and then decide what we want to do for the day.” She flicked a glance at him. “If that sounds okay to you.”
Jamie barely contained his shock. He’d expected her to give him as little time as possible, and he’d been racking his brain trying to think of things that would require her to spend more time with him.
“You plan to spend the entire day with me?”
When she looked at him, surprised, he could have bitten his tongue off.
“No! I mean, I just thought—” She pressed a hand to her eyes and laughed, and gave him an apologetic smile. “Of course not. That would be presumptuous. What I meant to say is we can decide over breakfast if you’ll require my services that day, or not. Does that sound acceptable?”
“Sure.” Jamie nodded. “That sounds great, but let’s make it nine-thirty. I don’t think either of us wants to wait until ten o’clock to eat.”
He watched as Rachel bent over the tablet and tapped in the information. “Okay, so that’s done. What about groceries? I’m sure your mom stocked everything before she left, but you’ll need some fresh produce and dairy products at some point. Where do you prefer to shop?”
“I don’t.”
Rachel looked at him, and raised her eyebrows. “You don’t shop?”
“I don’t have a preference. Wherever you want to go is fine by me.”
“Ralph’s it is, then,” she said. “I’ll take an inventory of your cupboards, and pick up whatever else you need on Tuesday.” She glanced at him. “What about doctor appointments?”
“I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon next week,” he confirmed. “It’s at the VA hospital in Kalispell, to finally get the cast taken off.”
“Okay, that’s good. Let me know the specifics so I can put it in my calendar.” She gave him a swift appraisal. “You look fit, aside from your leg. We should probably get you out of the house each day. Go to the park, or maybe take a drive somewhere. Have you done that yet?”
Jamie shrugged. “Once, but it was fairly uncomfortable. I can’t see myself fitting into your Porsche.”
“That’s not a problem,” she assured him. “I’ll rent a van or an SUV, and remove the middle seat. You can sit in the back with plenty of room for your leg.”
Jamie stared at her. “Isn’t that a little extravagant?”