‘What’s wrong?’ he asked softly.
‘What makes you think something’s wrong?’ She turned around so she could see him better.
‘You’re distancing yourself from me. Talk to me, Jen. Let me into that inner sanctum.’ As he spoke, he played with the ends of her hair, still unable to stop touching her.
She liked it. The fact of the matter was, Jasper really liked her, she could see that as plain as the nose on his face, and that was fantastic. So why should she even think of hesitating?
‘I don’t know, Jasper.’ She put her cup back on the table.
‘You want this, don’t you?’
‘I don’t know what this is. We’re attracted to each other. We’re obviously compatible when it comes to the more…physical aspects, but what about the girls? What about work?’
‘What about work? We’ve covered this, Jen.’
‘I know, but now it’s actually happening and I can’t help the way my brain freaks out. It’s just how I’m wired.’
‘OK.’ He caressed her cheek, then leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips. ‘Thank you for letting me know.’
‘Well?’
‘Well, what?’
‘What do we do?’
He smiled and kissed her again. ‘We take it slowly. We don’t flaunt it at work. We spend time together and time with the girls whenever our schedules allow. How does that sound for starters?’
Jennifer sighed and nodded. ‘Good.’ She paused for a moment. ‘But are you sure, Jasper? Are you sure I’m what you want?’
‘You’re insane.’ How could she not see just how much he wanted her?
‘Possibly, but I’m also very high maintenance. I know this about myself and while it may have taken me a long time to admit it, I can do that now and I don’t want my silly neuroses getting in the way of this thing between us. And even more than that, I don’t want to start treating you differently at work, as though I’m trying to compensate. Neither do I want you to feel that you have to treat me any differently because, after all, let’s face it, to an extent I’m your boss and that can’t be easy if we’re going to have disagreements about work issues. Everything needs to be done by the book because I won’t have anyone accusing me of favouritism. And as far as the girls are concerned, we’ll need to be especially careful because they’re so young and I love them so much and there is no way in the world I ever want to hurt them. So they’ll need to be told something but I’m not at all sure what because I’m not a parent and I don’t have the first idea about parenting, even though it’s what I’ve wanted for so long, and—’
Jennifer’s mouth was captured by Jasper’s, effectively silencing her. When he drew back, he smiled at her. ‘Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to my sister’s wedding?’
‘P-pardon?’
‘Megan’s wedding. Will you be my date?’
‘Uh…um…’
Jasper smiled, causing Jennifer’s stomach to flip-flop. It was amazing how the tingly tension still existed between them even after he’d kissed her the way he had. For some daft reason she’d expected it to diminish, to settle even, yet to her great astonishment it had done quite the opposite. The way he smiled seemed to affect her more than before. Perhaps it was because only a few seconds ago those very lips had been pressed to hers.
‘It’s not a difficult question. Or, at least, I hope it isn’t.’
‘I would love to go. I’d love to see the girls all done up in their pretty dresses.’
‘Is that the only reason?’
‘Why? Am I putting a dent in your ego?’ She smiled, amazed she had such power over him.
‘Yes. As a matter of fact, you are.’
‘Well, then.’ Jennifer touched her fingers to his cheek. ‘I’d love to be your date.’
‘Good.’ He let out a breath.
‘You were unsure?’
‘Well, after you stated your…concerns, I wasn’t one hundred per cent sure, no.’
‘Sorry. I was babbling.’ She shook her head, slightly embarrassed. ‘I tend to do that when I’m extremely nervous but I tell you again, Jasper, I’m not an easy woman to figure out. I know my faults and I can be honest about them. I’ll probably also be honest about your faults, too. I tend to freeze people out in order to protect myself from pain and hurt. See? I’m not at all easy to understand.’
‘They don’t call you the ice queen for nothing,’ he stated with a smile. ‘And you may have temporarily forgotten it but I live with two very high-maintenance females and consider myself amply qualified to take on a third. As for work, I’m sure we’ll figure everything out. We have so far.’