She made a face, then nodded. “You’re not wrong about that. Connor would definitely be sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. Which is why I don’t have a problem keeping this from my brother, especially after the way he behaved when I was in Dallas. But you know that at some point, he’s going to find out.”
“Let him.” Trevor reached across the table to rest his hand gently atop hers. “If we decide we want to see each other, that’s our decision, not his. He can complain all he wants, but it won’t change anything for us.”
Across from him, Jenna smiled, her faceimmediately lighting up. Her reaction did something silly to Trevor’s insides, and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was possible to become addicted to seeing someone else so happy.
While her brother should be the last thing either of them wanted to talk about, as they ate dinner, he and Jenna ended up exchanging funny stories about Connor, from the Halloween costumes he’d worn as a kid to all the silly things he’d done back in Dallas. They had so much fun that Trevor would gladly have stayed up all night talking, but a little while after they finished eating, Jenna yawned, her eyes looking tired. He glanced at the clock on the stove and saw that it was nearly eleven.
“Sorry,” Jenna said, hiding another yawn behind her hand. “I’ve been working overtime for eight days straight so that I wouldn’t have to go into the office while you’re here. I guess all those late nights are catching up to me.”
“No need to apologize. It was a long day, and I’m pretty tired, too,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”
Pushing back his chair, he got to his feet and collected their dirty dishes, ignoring Jenna’s objections when she said she’d take care of cleaning up. It wasn’t until Trevor was helping her load the dishwasher that he realized what he’d just said. It sounded like he was assuming they were going to sleep together. Which he didn’t. He was morethan ready to go there if that was something Jenna wanted, but he was definitely going to let her take the lead on that. He sent a covert glance in her direction to see if she’d read more into his comment than he’d intended and was relieved to see that she hadn’t.
“Come on,” Jenna said after they’d finished cleaning up. “I’ll show you the guest room.”
Trevor followed her through the living room and down the short hallway off it, grabbing his weekender bag on the way. The door to her bedroom was opened, and as they walked past it, he caught a glimpse of soft fabrics, plump pillows, and tranquil colors, along with more movie posters, graphic art, and framed photos all over the walls. The apartment’s lone bathroom was ahead of them, at the end of the hall. He could just make out a counter with double sinks through the partially open door.
“Forgive the mess,” Jenna said as she led him into the room on the left. “I use the guest bedroom as a home office. Or well…more of a workshop really. I do a lot of painting and sculpting work in here when the mood strikes, which is frequently. I cleaned up as much as I could, but it still smells like paint and clay.”
He could definitely smell it. But then again, with his nose, Jenna could scrub the room for a month and he’d still be able to pick it up. Not that he cared. Something told him that when he fell asleeptonight, the only thing he’d be able to smell were honeysuckles.
He was about to tell her that he couldn’t smell a thing to allay any worries she had, but the words got stuck in his mouth the moment he saw those paintings and sculptures she’d mentioned.
From their conversations back in Dallas, Trevor knew Jenna worked in the movie industry and that while she did some regular glamour makeup, as she called it, she mostly made her living by creating monsters. But while he’d understood that as a concept, it hadn’t sunk in until now, when he saw all the scary crap filling the room.
The unframed paintings were startling to say the least. Creatures like nothing he’d ever seen or even imagined filled canvas after canvas. Blood-red eyes looked back at him, faces full of anguish, teeth so jagged and broken that they conveyed both terror and pity.
But as disturbing as the paintings were, it was the full-body sculptures that lined the far wall that genuinely gave him pause. Drawn to them, he crossed the room, studying each one as he came to it. There was a vampire, a zombie, a mummy, and even a traditional Hollywood werewolf, complete with a long snout, its lips pulled back showing off razor-sharp fangs. It was incredibly realistic, right down to the thick ruff of fur around the neck. For a moment, Trevor wondered what Jenna would say ifshe saw a real werewolf. If she sawhimin his shifted form, four legs, tail, and all.
As he progressed around the room, the sculptures became darker and more twisted. He wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be mythological creatures or simply something out of Jenna’s imagination. Either way, it was astounding how someone as sweet as she was could create such messed-up stuff. And that was coming from a guy who’d seen his fair share of things that go bump in the night.
The last three creatures in line were shorter, but he couldn’t make out any details, since all three were covered with white sheets.
“Those are works in progress,” she said, coming over to stand beside him, her voice a little tense and her eyes darting to the side, like she was nervous that he’d want to see them or something. “I keep them covered until they’re completely done.”
Trevor was about as far away from an artist as a person could get, so he didn’t even attempt to unpack what Jenna might mean byworks in progressand why she wouldn’t want anyone to see. So instead, he simply nodded.
“There are fresh towels in the bathroom if you want to shower first,” Jenna said.
“Thanks.”
He showered and brushed his teeth in something less than five minutes. As a cop, he got used to cleaning up fast. After toweling off, he put on apair of shorts and a T-shirt, then called out to Jenna that the bathroom was free as he slipped back into the guest bedroom-slash-monster workshop.
In the bathroom, he heard Jenna turn on the water, then step into the tub. Seconds later, he picked up the scent of coconut shower gel, and unbidden, the image of foamy soap suds sliding down naked smooth skin popped into his head. The reaction going on in his shorts was immediate and intense and suggested he might need to go back for another shower. A cold one. It didn’t help that the fragrance of the body wash Jenna was using seemed to combine with her own scrumptious scent, making him damn near drool. He had no idea how he’d ever get to sleep tonight.
Jenna finished showering a lot faster than Trevor thought she would. He’d barely gotten a chance to do more than pull down the blankets on the bed before she showed up at the door, looking positively mesmerizing in a pair of shorts and a tank top.
Don’t stare…don’t stare…don’t stare.
“Do you have everything you need?” she asked, stepping into the room and glancing at the bed and the blankets he’d pulled down. “I can get you some more pillows or another blanket if you think you’ll be cold.”
“No, I’m good. Thanks,” Trevor said, even as the voice in the back of his head whispered that the only thing he needed was right here in front of him.“Sorry to put you through all this trouble. Making dinner—which was delicious, by the way—and cleaning up in here.”
Jenna moved closer, coming to a stop right in front of him, her angelic face tilted up so she could gaze at him. “It was no trouble at all,” she said softly. “I’m glad you came out to see me. It means a lot. More than you’ll probably ever realize.”
Trevor was about to ask what she meant by that last part, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Jenna went up on her toes, her warm lips landing lightly on his cheek.
As fast as it had come, the kiss ended, and Jenna was backing up with a slight smile tugging up the corners of her mouth and a blush coloring her face. “Good night.”
