“I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t mean to offend you. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“You’re welcome.” His reply was genuine. Sitting here in her presence for the better part of an hour had been exactly what he’d been hoping for since they’d reconnected.
Her lush curves called to him, but it was the vulnerability in her eyes, the thing that told him she didn’t expect people to do nice things for her, that made him want to shower her with so much attention that it washed away whatever lingering doubts she had about him.
She stepped back, but his hand was still covering hers, and he wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. Not before he said his piece.
“Janae, if you choose to spend any more time with me, you need to get used to me always checking to make sure you’re good.It’s what you deserve. Just seems to me like you’ve spent so much time looking out for others, you don’t know what it means to have someone look out for you.”
He stepped back, closing the tailgate of his truck before locking it with a push of the key fob in his pocket.
“And Janae”—she looked up at him again with wonder in her eyes, waiting for whatever he had to say to slip from his lips—“you are worthy of that.”
She took in a breath. In front of anyone else, they probably wouldn’t have noticed it. He was sure that to make it as a supervisor in her field, she’d had to learn long ago to stay calm even when everything was falling apart. The slight tremor of her bottom lip, however, was her tell that those simple words rocked her to her core.
He’d made a tiny chip in that stronghold she surrounded herself with though he wasn’t anywhere near getting past her defenses. Janae was too strong and too guarded for that. But maybe, just maybe, if he showed her that he could be consistent, she might invite him in the tiniest bit.
“Come, let me walk you back.”
Janae went back to stocking supplies. It was rote work, something she did without thinking. Considering Adam had short-circuited her brain with his smooth talk, kind deeds, and nice words, she needed to fall back on instinct and repetition right now.
Janae could spot a player a mile away. Slick dudes who ran game steered clear of her because Janae Sanders did not play. She’d fallen for the okeydoke once and had the scars to prove it. She’d learned to weed out the empty words and sweet platitudes of shallow men who meant her no good would often try to tempt her with.
There were too many men in the world that felt a plus-size woman was an easy target because she was desperate for companionship. She was supposed to accept any old thing that came her way.
Suitors who tried this learned quickly that Janae was not desperate, nor was she about to put up with their crap. But therein lay the problem when it came to Adam Henderson.
He’d meant everything he’d said to her tonight. She’d felt his truth as his words seeped into her, filtering into her head and soul. She could see it in the depths of his eyes and feel it in the gentleness of his touch.
She’d never spent enough time around Adam in the past to know if he was that deep or not. This version of him, though, it was grounded in experience and thoughtfulness, and whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not, she desired more of it, more of him.
The most troubling thing about this encounter she found herself struggling with was, if Adam wasn’t lying about wanting nothing more than her enjoyment, how was she supposed to turn down an offer like that?
That was her problem. She wanted to enjoy the hell out of Adam himself. If he were ever to become aware of that fact, what lengths would he go to just to see her enjoy herself with him to the fullest?
Inquiring minds certainly did want to know.
Chapter 9
“Price check on register four.”
Janae pushed her cart through the familiar aisles of the grocery store. It seemed it was her most frequented place besides work. Usually, she was in and out, knowing where each item she needed was located. But someone must have moved things around, because some of her favorites were out of place, and she’d spent twice as much time looking for the Louisiana hot sauce as she normally would have.
She hated when things changed. Her work was exciting enough. She needed every other part of her life to be calm and predictable, including which shelf to get her damn hot sauce from.
Change often brought chaos and friction, neither of which she needed right now. Which was why she’d been avoiding Adam like the plague since their impromptu dinner in the hospital parking lot a few days ago.
Adam unnerved her in the best way, and being around that kind of magnetism didn’t mix well with her plan to focus on her kid, get him into college, and watch her boy make all his dreams come true. Relationships took time and effort. The only place she could spend her time outside of her son was working as many hours as she couldget. College was expensive. and the more overtime she could get, the better off she would be when those tuition bills started coming in. No man would want to be with someone who could never be around.
Did she get lonely? Sure she did. She was human. It wasn’t simply about physical intimacy either. It would be nice to cuddle up with a big warm body. The companionship, the having someone there to call and tell about your day—the ache for that was forever present and getting harder and harder to ignore. It was a hardship, a sacrifice for sure. She was a parent. That’s what parents did. They put their wants and needs aside to make sure their kids had what they wanted and needed.
The thought of James getting everything he’d worked so hard for over the years warmed her. Even though she wanted that with everything within her, there was something in her that kept wondering,What about your dreams?
Her dreams? Right now, the only recurring dream she kept having was of Adam Henderson. From the moment he’d planted that almost kiss at the side of her mouth, all she could think about was Adam in her face, in her space, and in her bed, doing unspeakable things to her with those impossibly soft lips.
Wondering about her own dreams was a big fat no at the moment.
“Is that you, Janae Sanders?”
