Shifting on her seat to lean closer to the door and window, she pressed her lips together and waited for his comeback. The compassionate, friendly version of Jack was probably about to expire.
Jack passed a light and turned the SUV back, made a sharp turn and parked it in a gas station. She bit back a snarky comment and didn’t even wonder why he didn’t put any gas in and just walked into the store. Whatever.
She’d shared something painfully personal, and he ignoredher.
A few minutes later, the sound of the door announced his return. Arms folded and legs crossed, she continued staring at the sign in front of her, not reading but determined not to bother with Jack. With the cost of her broken car and the lack of help from Joe, her day wasn’t the best. She hoped the Mayor’s ball proved a tad more productive to turn her luck around.
“I’m sorry things didn’t go the way you wanted them to.” The sincerity of his voice broke the silence.
She turned to face him. With his lips quirked up, he held a copy of Star Magazine and The National Enquirer in one hand and three Ghirardelli chocolate bars in the other.
“It was the best I could do.” He sucked his breath, awaiting her response.
She should smother the smile forming. Altered pictures of celebrities with cellulite and questionable swimwear shouldn’t have the effect to release a swirl of warmth within her, providing her temporary release for a terminal situation. She bit back a smile.
“I guess it’ll do.” A part of her melted shamelessly, her heart throbbing in her throat. She wanted to launch herself at him, to catch a whiff of his manly scent, to rest her head on the safety of his broad chest.
But if she did any of that, they would end up screwing. Behave. She grabbed the magazines from his hand and a chocolate bar, and then, another. Gosh if she didn’t stop emotional eating, her ass would need its own parking space.
“Lola. I’m sorry about the baby,” he said. “And for the record, you’d have made a kick-assmom.”
Her pulse skittered. Maybe it was just one of those things people said to make others feel better. The gleam in his eyes told her otherwise, and her stomach curled. God. She hoped he didn’t offer her a comforting hug, because if he linked his arms around her, she’d never let go of him. Never had her throat felt so tight. “Thank you, Jack.”
He nodded, turned on the SUV, and droveoff.
The apparent restored peace with Jack, however, didn’t change her questioning. She needed to know more about where she’d come from, and if that had anything to do with her pathological lack of commitment to people and things. To get the money to investigate her past, she’d see her plan through to make her B&B a huge success. Tonight at the ball, she’d use all her persuasion skills to get the mayor to agree with her. Tonight, she’d secure her future to afford to learn about herpast.
