Jane's Gift (Lone Pine Lake 1)

“I envy you that,” Chris admitted quietly, and she wanted to ask him more questions. Why was his mother too busy to see him? When did his dad die and how? Was his relationship with his mother rocky? She couldn’t imagine having a bad relationship with her parents. Her mother drove her crazy, yes, but she loved her. She loved her father, too.

“It looks like Mac has adopted you,” she said, wanting to avoid the heavy stuff. All of that would only make her fall for him even more, and she didn’t want to do that. She couldn’t.

Chris smiled. “Your brother is a good guy, a good friend.”

“He is a good guy,” Jane agreed. And he’d always been one to take in strays. As a child, he’d brought home endless injured animals or lost pets, begging their parents to allow them to stay. It looked as if Mac had carried the habit into adulthood.

“Jane.” Christian took a step closer and she couldn’t move, nerves making her stomach flutter, her legs waver. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable by being here. Maybe you’re right. We should—forget what happened between us before and move forward. Consider each other a friend and that’s it.”

She blinked, her eyes actually watery, and she turned away, afraid she might start to cry. “You’re right. It’s probably best.” She leaned over the table and brushed a few stray crumbs into her palm, then walked over to the makeshift garbage can Mindy had set up and dumped them into it. “I’m sure I’m not ready for something like this.”

“Right. Something like this.” His echo of her words sounded hollow, empty.

She ignored it. Put on a brave face instead and turned to find him standing directly in front of her, his expression…lost. As if he couldn’t quite comprehend what just happened.

Her heart cracked and she wanted to reach for him, offer him comfort, but she held back. Rubbed her hands in front of her instead, hoping to calm her nerves, stop the shaking that seemed to come every time he came close.

He watched her, his gaze dropping to her clutched hands, and he grabbed her right one, held it in his own. Turned it this way and that as if he admired it. A million tingles broke out across her skin and she bit her lip to keep from saying anything.

Friends don’t react to each other like this. Never like this.

“You have the tiniest hands I’ve ever seen.” His voice was soft, his touch gentle, and she watched, held her breath as he brought her hand up to study it close. Too close to his mouth. That sensual, beautiful mouth that knew exactly how to kiss her.

He lifted his lids, his golden brown eyes meeting hers, and she was lost, caught in his spell, everything she’d said earlier forgotten. She wanted him to kiss her again. Would give thanks on the most thankful of days if he pressed that delicious mouth on hers right at this very moment…

“Touch football game in ten!” Mac yelled from the doorway.

Jane jerked away from Chris and he dropped her hand. She turned, saw her brother standing there with a confused expression on his face, and she flashed him a smile.

“Have fun. I don’t do touch football.” She started to move past him but Mac stopped her with a hand on her forearm.

“Are you sure, Janey? You used to play every Thanksgiving.”

“I used to do a lot of things.”

She left the room, unsure of where to go. Didn’t want to be outside with the rest and watch them play, didn’t want to go back into the kitchen because even as busy as Mindy was, she’d notice Jane was upset. So she hid in the bathroom like some sort of forlorn pre-teen. Slammed the toilet lid shut and sat, burying her face in her hands.

And proceeded to cry her eyes out.

…

“What’s going on with you and my sister?”

Chris tensed, stared straight ahead. Mindy’s husband was sacking the kids before the game even started, tossing the football to Mac’s older brother Patrick. The kids ran around like squealing, whirling dervishes, bouncing off one another, giggling and shouting their demands.

It was loud. It was chaos. It was nothing like he’d experienced at any family get-together in his life.

He loved every blessed second of it.

“There’s nothing going on,” Chris finally answered. And it was the truth. Yes, his reaction to her, their reaction to each other, confused the hell out of him. She had him tied up in knots. He wanted to make her smile, make her laugh, talk to her, learn her dreams, her hopes, her likes and dislikes.

He wanted to hold her, kiss her, undress her. He wanted to take her to his bed.

He wanted a lot with Jane. Sometimes, he also wanted to run like hell. And apparently, so did she.

Chris blinked, shook his head once. His thoughts…were serious. Like, whoa serious.

“You looked like you were about to kiss her.”