Down on Me (Man of the Month 1)

Like father like son, he thought, watching as Charlie opened the Cadillac's passenger door for Edie.

And as Charlie backed the car out of the drive, Reece kept on thinking. About how many women had crossed his own bed. And about the fact that he hadn't truly wanted any of them. Not permanently, anyway. They were transient comfort. Companions for a while, but not for forever.

He'd never found a forever woman.

Or maybe he had, and he was just too afraid of upsetting the status quo to do something about it.

Sometimes you don't even know what your dream is until it's staring you in the face.

His father's words echoed in his head, and he had to give the old man props. Because he was right. Goddammit, he was right.

Jenna.

She'd been in front of him for his entire damn life, but he'd been too blind to realize it until that night before she left for LA. The night that everything flipped.

And instead of accepting the truth and doing something about it, he'd been fighting reality ever since.

Or he had been. Last night, he'd stopped fighting. Last night, he'd pulled her close and claimed her. And, dammit, it had felt right. Perfect, even.

At least until she'd pulled away.

But he'd seen the truth in her eyes and felt it in her kisses. She wanted him, too; he was certain of it.

And now Reece knew what he had to do.

For years, he'd been fighting his own desire, but he was done with that.

Now, he had a new battle to wage.

Now, he had to fight for Jenna.

Chapter Twelve

Except for a few office buildings that stood at the corner of Sixth and Congress, the blocks of Sixth Street that extended between Congress Avenue and Interstate 35 were occupied primarily by restaurants and bars. Which meant that the street had a stale, abandoned feel at eight in the morning.

Not that Jenna minded. She was feeling rather stale and abandoned herself. And since she'd barely slept at all last night, she thought she'd come into The Fix early, plunk herself down at one of the battered desks in the office, and start organizing her lists.

She'd parked a few blocks down in one of the all-day lots and was half a block away when she heard someone call her name. She stopped, then turned back to look over her shoulder and found Megan hurrying toward her, pulling a large rolling case.

"Hey, good to see you again," Jenna said. "Where are you off to this early?"

"One of the local magazines is putting together a story about the Capitol staff. I'm doing make-up for the clerks and staffers they picked for the photo shoot."

"Walking?"

Megan waved away the question. "It's just a few blocks, and I'm used to dragging this thing around. It's more make-up than I need, but it makes the clients feel like they're getting their money's worth."

Jenna smiled. She liked Megan, even if she was sleeping with Reece.

The thought came unbidden, and Jenna cringed. Because it was hardly her business who Reece slept with.

"Everything okay?" Megan asked.

"Oh, just something in my shoe."

"Here." She rolled the cart to Jenna. "It's sturdy. Sit and take it out."

"Oh, it's nothing." But Megan already had the cart there, and Jenna already felt foolish. She sat, lifted her foot, and took off her ballet flat. "There," she lied as she stood up again. "I think I got it. Thanks."