"Country, you might be fine with this now, but what about in five years? Ten? I can't—" She sucked in a breath, her whole body starting to shake.
Country lowered his head, nudging hers until his lips brushed against her cheek. "You've done your analysis, but this time you’re going to have to take mine into consideration. Your conclusions aren’t valid without all the information."
Jenna's breath scraped against the back of her throat. She fought the embers beginning to glow deep in her middle and lost. Jenna became pliant like rubber dropped in boiling water.
"I kept that shirt because I loved the attention I got from you when I wore it." He dragged his mouth along her jaw, his fingers tightening over her hips. "I buy that chocolate because it's still the best damn chocolate I've ever tasted." Country lifted a hand and twined it in her hair, then wrapped his fingers in a tight fist and drew her head back, exposing her neck. He drew her tender skin into his mouth, and a soft sigh escaped her lips. "I kept a lot of things, Jenna. I never told you, but I have a gift I didn't get the chance to give you. It’s still in my nightstand drawer."
Jenna battled to suck air into her lungs as Country flicked his tongue against her throat, and her curiosity got the better of her. “What kind of gift?" Her voice was rough, torn to ribbons by his lips and hot breath.
Country grinned against her skin, then loosened his hold on her and straightened. "You can come see it anytime."
She clenched her hands around his shirt, woozy from his touch. "You're not going to tell me?"
He shook his head then dropped his hands and stepped back, leaving her grabbing again for the chair. "I have all the information, Jens, and I've made my choice. Now you have what you need. When you've made yours, you'll know where to find me." His eyes ran over her one more time, then he unlocked the door and left the booth.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jenna sank into the hot water of Anne's hot tub. "No Rhonda and Melissa tonight?"
Tina shook her head. "They send their condolences."
Anne laughed. "No they don't. Rhonda's out with six-four-five, and Melissa's on date number three with that guy from her office."
"Sunday night dates? These men aren't messing around."
Tina snorted. "Or Melissa and Rhonda want an excuse to come home early if they need it."
“Hey, at least they’re going on actual dates, not just ‘hanging out.’ So lame. What are we, fourteen?” Anne said. She reached for her tumbler. "So. What are we discussing at tonight's hot tub therapy session?"
Jenna groaned. "Country."
Tina stretched her legs out along the side bench of the tub. "Yeah, we know it's Country. We all saw what happened Saturday."
Jenna frowned. "Saw? The only thing you saw was that I stepped in when Kessler got sick."
Anne smirked. "Okay, alternate perspective: we witnessed Country eyeing you like you were a chocolate croissant and he'd never been to Paris."
Jenna looked between the two of them, then tried to hide her smile and failed. For the last twenty-four hours, her phone, inbox, and direct messages had been blowing up. Friends from back in Windsor had reached out, and even coworkers from Globespan had sent congratulations, but the comments that kept running through her head were those that mentioned the way Country had looked at her during the broadcast.
She hadn't noticed it at the time, but she'd gone back and re-watched parts of the broadcast dozens of times that morning. Then again in the afternoon.
“What didn’t we see on Saturday?” Tina waggled an eyebrow.
Jenna picked up her wine and took a drink. “Not much . . . unfortunately.”
Anne squealed, insisting she give them every detail. She did her best, trying to remember exactly what Country had said to her. She kept the particulars of where his lips were as he spoke those words to herself.
“Jenna! You’re killing me! Why are you here with us and not in his bed right now!” Tina groaned.
“You know why! Because I know him! I know what he wants, and?—”
“No, you knew what he wanted,” Anne corrected. “When I was twenty-two, I wanted a chameleon. Now I want to not die alone. Priorities shifted a tad.”
Jenna nearly spit out her mouthful of wine. “Why didn’t you get a chameleon?”
“Because I couldn’t afford the aquarium and automatic mister! And then when I could, I discovered that you’re not supposed to hold them very often, which was the whole damn point.”
Tina’s eyes shimmered like an anime character. “Their little claw hands!”
