Secret Kiss (7 page)

It wasn’t that Jane hadn’t appreciated the gesture. It was simply that she’d always been fiercely independent. Since she could remember, she’d never relied on anyone for anything. In middle school, during a particularly hard year socially, her papa and nana had insisted that she see a therapist. At the time, she’d hated it. It had felt like one more thing that showed how different she was.

But, looking back, she saw it from a different perspective. The therapist had suggested that she had abandonment, trust, and intimacy issues due to her parents’ deaths. At twelve years old, she’d thought intimacy meant sex and had therefore thought her therapist had a few screws loose, considering she hadn’t even had her first kiss at the time. With the passing of time, she’d understood that he meant she kept people at arm’s length. She didn’t let them get too close because she was scared they would leave, just like her parents did.

“How do you get any work done?” Vivien asked as she gestured towards Adam’s desk, which was a few feet from Jane’s, snapping her out of her inner thoughts.

I don’t.

Instead of answering, Jane just smiled and shrugged.

Vivien leaned towards her and lowered her voice. “He doesn’t talk much, does he?”

Jane shrugged again.

Not one to be deterred by a non-answer, Vivien pushed forward. “Audrey and I have been trying to get him to talk, but it’s like pulling teeth.”

Jane tilted her head and furrowed her brow. She couldn’t imagine Audrey trying to get him to talk.

“Well,
I’ve
been trying to get him to talk. Audrey’s just been…Audrey.”

The girls laughed.

Over the past few months, Jane had gotten to know the Sable sisters, who owned Brewed Awakenings, fairly well. There was Audrey, Grace, Ava and Vivien—all named after Hollywood icons.

All the girls were nice, but besides that, they were nothing alike. Vivien was much more outgoing than her sisters. It didn’t surprise Jane at all when Audrey had told her that, while they’d been growing up, Vivien’s nickname was “troublemaker.”

“All right. Well, I better get back.” Vivien waved, and just as she reached the door, she turned and said, “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, are you going to the benefit tomorrow night?”

“Yes.” Jane’s heart felt like it was Riverdancing in her chest.

The benefit
. She still wasn’t clear on what she’d agreed to when Nikki had brought it up in front of Adam before she’d left town. With every day that had passed, Jane’s anxiousness had grown tenfold.

At the beginning of the week, she’d planned on clearing up whatever misunderstanding she’d been a part of. But that hadn’t happened. Instead, she’d avoided the subject, and every other subject, completely. Mainly for the purpose of self-preservation. When situations were out of her comfort zone, Jane tended to retract into a shell like a turtle.

“Awesome! Audrey and I are going with a couple of guys from the station. Do you want to come with us?
Eli
asked specifically if you were going.” Vivien wagged her eyebrows up and down comically.

“Oh, I, um… I actually… I don’t think…” Jane was still sputtering out her response when Adam walked in with Mike and Nikki.

The
Hallelujah
chorus rang out in Jane’s mind.

Vivien said quick hellos to the group and then winked at Jane. “Think about it and let me know.” Then she was out the door.

“Think about what?” Nikki asked as she came over to give Jane a hug hello while Mike and Adam were huddled at Adam’s desk, going over upgrades that needed to be made on their system.

“Nothing,” Jane blurted out as she awkwardly wrapped her arms around Nikki.

This town was chock-f of huggers. Jane’s grandparents had always been affectionate, but no one else in her life had. When she’d first moved to Hope Falls, it had been quite an adjustment.

The checker at the grocery store had hugged her to welcome her to town. Sue Ann Perkins, who owned Sue Ann’s Café, had hugged her the first week she was here because she’d said that Jane looked like she’d “needed it.” Then, the first time she attended a Book Club meeting—or, as Nikki called it, a Wine and Gossip meeting—she’d been hugged by every woman there. And there were a lot. Amanda, Lauren, Samantha, and Karina, who’ve all been friends since they were kids. Plus Nikki’s sister, Amy, and her sisters-in-law, Tessa and Lily.

It had been more than a little overwhelming at the time, but now, she was used to it.

Leaning back to look at her, Nikki whispered conspiratorially, “How were things here? Any
new
developments?”

Yeah, Adam saw London, Adam saw France, Adam saw my underpants.

Muting the children’s song that’d been playing on repeat in her mind for the last week, Jane answered Nikki’s question. “Yes. Those donations from Carter Limited and Panda Mobile came in. Between those and Stanton Logistics, we are at over eighty percent of our yearly fundraising goal.”

Nikki’s eyes narrowed and she blew out a puff of breath with a small “hmmph.” “You’re no fun.”

As proud of herself as Jane was for having answered the question without actually answering it, she was equally apprehensive when she saw the challenge her non-answer had caused in Nikki’s eyes.

Nikki was amazing. Fun-loving. Spontaneous. Full of life and love. And she was perfect for Mike. From the moment Jane had met the feisty blonde, she knew that her boss had more than met his match.

But Jane wasn’t Nikki. In fact, she related much more to Nikki’s quiet, bookworm sister, Amy. Sometimes, Nikki’s behavior made Jane nervous. Not that the outspoken blonde had ever done anything to embarrass Jane. She hadn’t. Still, she was kind of always scared she would.

“Have you heard from Carter?” Mike asked while he scrolled through his iPad.

“Yes. I was just telling Nikki that both Carter and Panda Mobile came through. I sent you the updated projections and allocations sheet.” Jane had gotten word that the donations had been deposited last night around eleven, so she’d immediately updated the financials and sent a copy to both Nikki and Mike.

As much as she loved working for—or, as they would say, with—the two of them, it was a little frustrating that neither of them liked to check their e-mails, texts, or voicemails. But it was a small price to pay for getting to do work she believed in with such amazing people.

“Great.” Mike nodded and then hugged Jane.

That was something that was still odd. She might have gotten used to the strangers she barely knew in town hugging her, but it was curious to her that Mike, who she’d worked with for eight years—with no hugging—had started the practice.

“What would we do without you?” he asked.

Nikki sang her praises. “We’d have to hire four people, and even then, they couldn’t do what Jane does.”

Jane swelled with emotion at her kind words. It was also nice to work for people who appreciated her.

“Okay.” Nikki clapped her hands together. “Well, we’re off. See you guys tomorrow night.”

“You’re leaving again?!” Jane hadn’t meant for the shock to be so evident in her question.

“Yeah. Eric called a family meeting, so we’re headed over there, and after that we’re going to meet with the city council to discuss funding for the after-school program at Mountain Ridge.”

Right. Jane knew about that meeting. Not the family one, but the city council meeting. It had totally slipped her mind though.

That seemed to be a trend as of late.

Nikki waved as she and Mike made their way out the door, and once again, Jane found herself alone with the man who was causing her mind—not to mention other areas of her body—to be slippery.

*

Adam didn’t miss the fact that Jane’s face had also fallen when Mike and Nikki had left this morning after popping in to say hello. He’d spent the last few hours trying not to take it personally, but he was. The past week, he attempted to keep his reaction to Jane hidden. They’d probably only said ten words per day to each other, and that included “good morning” and “see you tomorrow.” The other five were usually spent on “excuse me” if he needed to get by her desk and “thanks” when she gave him work-related information.

There was no small talk. No niceties. No friendly banter.

He knew that, on his part, the reason was that he liked Jane too much. Keeping their interaction to a bare minimum was pure self-preservation. But he feared she might not see things that way. Looking back, he could see that he might have come off as a jerk.

And who wants to work with a jerk?

Or live across the street from one, for that matter.

Since he’d moved in a week ago, his at-home “Jane” sightings were few and far between, and it wasn’t a coincidence. He’d been using the back door when he went out for his morning runs and kept the garage door closed while he worked out.

Was he intentionally avoiding her? Yes. Was it for a good reason? Hell, yes.

The one other time he’d seen her had proved to be a borderline-lethal blow. He’d come home with takeout from Sue Ann’s Café on Wednesday night to discover that Jane was pulling weeds in her garden. She’d been wearing a tank top that showcased curves he’d had no idea she possessed thanks to the loose-fitting clothes she normally wore. Her hair had been up in a ponytail, revealing the slender slope of her neck, which had made his mouth water with the need to run his lips and tongue over the soft, supple, exposed skin. But the real kicker had come in the form of jean shorts. Yep. Good old-fashioned cut-off jean shorts had delivered the one, two punch.

Jane had to be around five foot two. So when he’d seen her long, physics-defying legs, he’d felt like the cartoon wolf with his mouth open, tongue hanging and eyes bulging out of his head. It hadn’t just been the legs, which were epic. It had also been the way her jean shorts molded to the rounded swell of her full hips and ass.

She had pinup curves on a petite frame.

And if he didn’t stop thinking about that, even his desk wasn’t going to be able to hide his appreciation for them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jane stretch her hands out in front of herself and yawn. He knew without even checking the clock that it must be right around noon. Every day around this time, Jane would yawn, stretch, roll her head from side to side, and blink her eyes several times before walking to the kitchenette and grabbing the lunch she’d brought for the day.

Seeing his opportunity, he figured that now would be a good time to make up for his behavior this week. Even if it killed him. Which it might have if one could die from blue balls.

“I’m going to Sue Ann’s for lunch. Would you like to come?” As soon as he said the words, he wished he could take them back. He’d never been particularly smooth, but that had sounded exceptionally lame.

Jane’s hazel eyes widened. “Oh, um… I, um… I brought my lunch. But thanks.”

Adam knew he should drop it. He’d done his due diligence and extended an olive branch. She didn’t want to go. End of story.

Yet he still found himself insisting with a smile, “Come on. It’s my treat. It’s the least I can do for you putting up with me this week.”

Her brow furrowed as she shook her head. “Putting up with you? I didn’t… I mean…you weren’t… It was fine.”

His grin grew wider. She was just so damn cute. “Thank you, but I haven’t been the best office mate. I was kind of an ass. I can get that way when I work.”

He
did
have a tendency to lose himself in his work, but that had nothing to do with his behavior the past five days. Nope, that wasn’t the reason he’d been surly and withdrawn. The girl who was currently dismissing his lunch invitation held that distinction.

“Um…” Her cheeks flushed as she licked her lips.

Adam had to swallow the groan of appreciation that rose from his chest. “Please?” He smiled, knowing full well he was flashing the dimples that were a trait that ran in the Dorsey men.

Use what ya got, right?

Taking in a shaky breath, Jane nodded uncertainly. “Okay.”

As she gathered her purse, a thought occurred to him: the attraction he was feeling might not be one-sided. Growing up, Adam had sort of been a dorky kid, and as a teenager, his life had kind of gone off the rails when he’d been placed in foster care. Girls hadn’t been his priority—not that any had been knocking his door down. In fact, he hadn’t even had his first girlfriend until his senior year of high school.

Once he’d joined the military and started working out, things changed. For a couple of years, he’d enjoyed the attention his new physique provided. But then he’d met Alexis and every other woman in the world had disappeared from his radar.

Even during the few years he’d played the field in his late teens and early twenties, he hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it. Not like Levi, who seemed like he had been born to be a modern-day Casanova. Adam had always been the quiet one. In his head. Analytical. Not exactly panty-dropping material.

“Ready.” Jane’s eyes were dilated and her face was even more flushed.

Or maybe it was
, Adam thought as they made their way outside, into the warm summer day. The leaves rustled, and the slight breeze was the perfect companion to the eighty-degree heat.