“I’m always here. Whenever.”
“I know.” And she did know it. What she didn’t like was having to count on it.
Chapter Four
Six o’clock came awfully fast the next morning, but you didn’t shed a five-year habit in a day.
Merri considered trying to go back to sleep, but she knew it wouldn’t happen.
With a sigh, she sat up, pulled up the boxer shorts threatening to fall off her hips, and pulled down the ribbed tank top. If she didn’t put on some weight soon, she would need to buy boys’ boxer shorts to sleep in, instead of a man’s small.
And shopping was torture enough. All those people. Too many choices. Waiting in lines to pay. Ugh.
She wished she could shop online but whenever she tried, she never managed to get to the actual shopping. She always forgot why she’d logged on and went back to work.
Add that to the list of things she couldn’t quite seem to do right.
With a sigh, she headed to the living room to do her morning exercises. She had to move a few pieces of furniture but she tried never to skip her yoga routine. She swore it helped her concentration for the rest of the day.
She wondered if Jimmy exercised. He had to. The man was no soft-bellied slug like some of the guys in the code lab.
No, he had tight abs and a broad chest and strong arms and—
Groaning, she realized she’d been standing still as a statue in the middle of the floor, staring out the front window.
Maybe she could hike into Philly and get to the train station before anyone knew she was gone.
Coward
.
Besides, Grace would probably intercept her before she got to the bus stop. Merri was fairly certain Jimmy’s mom had superhero powers that let her read minds.
She was about halfway through her routine when she saw something flash by the window.
Curiosity getting the better of her, she moved to the window and realized her error.
Not some
thing
. Some
one
.
Jimmy.
In running shorts and sneakers. And nothing else.
Her mouth dropped open as he began to stretch out his legs. Really nice legs. Muscular and defined. Not skinny at all. And neither was his butt.
And oh my god, his chest and abs were freaking amazing. He looked…edible.
He was sweaty, drops of which she could see dripping down that magnificent chest, and probably smelly, and she still wanted to lick him like an ice cream cone.
Wow. She needed to stop herself before she started drooling.
She moved to pull away from the window but he turned at that exact second and caught her ogling him.
Her cheeks began to burn but he’d snagged her gaze and she couldn’t seem to pull away. And when he smiled at her, she thought she might just melt into a pile of goo right there.
The memory of last night’s kiss played through her mind, and she realized she wanted to do it again. But this time she wasn’t going to run.
Of course, he might when he saw her.
With a squeak, she jumped away from the window. One hand went to her hair, pulled up and away from her face in a messy bunch on top of her head, as she looked down at herself.
Her faded yoga pants hung on her hips, barely held up by the drawstring. Her tank top had stretched to twice its normal size and had been washed so many times she no longer knew what color it had originally been.
Oh my god. She looked like the homeless woman she passed every day on her way to work. The one who pushed a grocery cart filled with empty soda cans and two cats.
The knock on her door caused panic to flood her system like a plague of locusts.
Locking herself in the bathroom became an increasingly viable option.
“Hey, Merri. Can I come in?”
“Uh, just give me a second.”
Sprinting for the bathroom, she took the band out of her hair and pulled a comb through it. The mass of curls sprang into action before settling into some semblance of order.
“Merri,” Jimmy called. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Hold on.”
She had no idea why she was rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off. She only knew she didn’t want Jimmy to see her like this.
Throwing off her clothes, she grabbed a pair of denim shorts and a t-shirt.
It wasn’t until after she’d pulled on the t-shirt that she realized she’d forgotten a bra.
Looking down, she sighed. Unfortunately, she didn’t really need one. And her t-shirt wasn’t exactly tight enough to show off her meager assets.
Hell, she should’ve kept the tank top. At least that showed she actually had breasts.
So you want the guy to notice your breasts but you run away from him when he kisses you? He probably thinks you’re more of a nutcase than he did before.
Great. Just what she needed. Her inner critic making an appearance.
By the time she got to the door, she’d quieted the critic but couldn’t calm the butterflies bouncing in her stomach.
Which turned into boulders when she opened the door to find Jimmy leaning against the porch post.
He’d put a shirt on, which sucked, and his grin didn’t reach his eyes.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Sorry. I just needed to get dressed.”
He nodded slowly and his gaze dropped for a brief second to check her out. When he did meet her eyes again, she couldn’t be sure but she thought his jaw had tightened.
“I thought we’d have a cooking lesson this morning, if you’re up for it.”
Cooking lesson? “Okay. Sure.”
“Great.” His smile seemed a little less forced this time. “Just give me five minutes to shower then come on over. How’s pancakes and bacon sound?”
Sounded like Sunday morning at her parents’ home. Her mother always made breakfast on the weekends when she was home. And she always ate it because she didn’t have the heart to tell her mother she never really ate breakfast because she barely had time for it.
“Sounds good.”
She expected him to leave then. Instead he didn’t move. “You sleep okay last night?”
Was that a trick question? Was he asking if she’d thought about that kiss all night? Was she supposed to apologize for running out on him?
Gah
! She was so far out of her league here and she only had herself to blame. But she’d never experience anything if she didn’t go after what she wanted.
Wasn’t that what everyone kept telling her she needed to do? If she needed to get a life, then she was going to do it on her terms and she wasn’t going to
wuss
out.
“I slept fine, thanks. The bed’s nice and comfy.”
The muscles in his jaw tensed as he nodded, fascinating her. “Glad to hear it.” He cleared his throat, pushing away from the post. She held her breath as he straightened, wondering if he’d try to kiss her again. She couldn’t run this time. No way. She’d—
He turned his back to her and practically jumped off the porch, heading home. “See you in a few minutes.”
Hmm. Was this what they meant by crossed signals? Last night he’d kissed her. This morning he acted like nothing had happened. But she could have sworn when she mentioned the bed, he’d been thinking about that kiss.
Was he mad at her for running last night? It had been pretty childish. He probably thought she was a virgin, which she wasn’t.
Maybe she should just come out and tell him she wasn’t. She hated when she didn’t have all the pieces she needed to figure out a problem.
At work, she spent her days breaking codes. She was good at it, good at finding patterns. Even the most intricate code had a pattern, no matter how complex.
Sure, people had patterns but they weren’t numbers. They didn’t do the same thing every time.
She had no idea how to read Jimmy.
But it couldn’t be that difficult, could it?
She simply needed to gather a little more data.
* * * * *
Jimmy hoped like hell Merri hadn’t seen the erection he’d been trying to talk himself out of as he stood on the porch.
But then he’d stupidly asked how she’d slept and she’d mentioned the bed and it had devolved from there.
What the hell was wrong with him?
If he didn’t know better, he’d think he’d taken a knock to the head with a goofy stick. He had to keep reminding himself she was just a girl.
A very sweet, very
sheltered
girl. Who could tie him in knots with one blink of her huge green eyes. Which was why he was hurrying through a shower so he could be with her again.
So why was he fighting the attraction?
Good question.
He heard his phone ringing as he stepped out of the shower. The theme from
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
.
Janey. Probably calling to talk about Merri. Just what he needed.
He considered ignoring her but knew she wouldn’t give up so easily. She’d continue to call until he picked up the phone. Barring that, she’d be on his doorstep.
And he didn’t want his time with Merri interrupted today.
Later, he’d take her into the office where his mom and Annie would set on her like a coordinated strike team.
Sighing, he picked up the phone. “Hey, Jane. Just got out of the shower. What’s up?”
“Jimmy, you going somewhere?”
“Not planning on it, why?”
“Mal and I are coming home later today and we thought we’d see if Merri wanted to join us for dinner tonight. Didn’t know if you had plans.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say, “Yeah, I’m planning to seduce the woman Mal basically considers his kid sister.”
It might shut Janey up for a little while, but the reprieve would be short-lived.
“No, no plans.”
“Good, then you can come with us.”
Of course he would. “And have you discussed this with Merri?”
“I’m going to call her right after I get off the phone with you.”
Which meant Merri would probably be on her way here and Janey would somehow figure that out and make two and two add up to Jimmy and Merri being wrapped in a nice package deal.
He had to admit both Janey and Nic were disgustingly happy since they’d settled into relationships with their significant others.
It didn’t take a genius—although he was one—to figure out what his sister was up to.
Which would only complicate things further between him and Merri.
When the hell had things gotten so damn complicated to begin with?