Make Your Move - By Samantha Hunter Page 0,23

on the side of her jeans. “You win. We can be friends with benefits for a while, but either of us can call time, and we just become friends again, right?”

“Yeah,” Dan said with a smile. He’d won. Jodie was his. He’d make sure this worked.

And he was going to start right now, he thought, crossing the kitchen and catching her up close for a deep kiss, old-movie style, dipping her down low. She laughed at first, but before long, they were on their way to the kitchen tile, breathless.

Until they were interrupted by the shrill ring of her cordless phone on the wall.

“Don’t answer, they’ll leave a message,” he said against her neck.

She was inclined to agree, as he had her both hot and bothered, but they froze as they heard Ginger’s panicked voice. Jodie jumped up and grabbed the phone, tugging her clothes back into place.

Dan watched her face clear, red patches staining her cheeks—anger. She pushed a hand through her bangs.

“Okay, I’m sorry, Ginger, I’ll be right there.” She hung up and walked past him, grabbing his hand. “C’mon, we have to go.”

“Where?”

“It’s the shop. Someone broke in and wrecked the place.”

6

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS,” Jodie said in amazement, noting the destruction of the cases, the ruined baked goods on the floor, crushed.

Jason, she thought immediately.

He’d said she hadn’t seen the last of him, but would a respected scientist really break into a business like a common thug? There had to be another explanation.

“We’ll be closed for two days, at least,” Ginger said dispiritedly. “The back is even worse. The orders were thrown and ripped, bags of flour and other ingredients dumped.”

“Insurance will cover the damage, but not the lost business,” Jodie said with a sigh, contemplating the slurs written in red spray paint across the glass display. It was clear disapproval of the sexy cookies she sold.

Dan hadn’t said a word, but had been out back while she and Ginger had surveyed the damage up front and talked with police. Jody hadn’t mentioned suspecting Jason, and tried to think through all the possibilities. There was no way the break-in was random.

“Hey, did you ever call that guy who stopped by and wanted to hook up with you?”

“No. He came in again, though, and I had to tell him no, in no uncertain terms. I can’t expose Anna to this right now. She has enough to deal with without me dating.”

Jodie nodded, patting Ginger’s shoulder. She wasn’t a mother, so she had no idea, and didn’t want to say more than she had.

“Do you think that could have ticked him off?”

Ginger’s eyes widened, but then she shook her head. “He didn’t even get upset. He just said if I ever changed my mind, to call, and that he’d still stop by if that was okay, to see me here. I didn’t want to encourage him, so I told him…oh crap. I told him customers are always welcome.”

“Ouch. That was a bit cold.”

Ginger’s back stiffened. “I didn’t want to encourage him.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I guess I’m trying to think of who else would do this, and your new admirer is the only other one I thought of. He doesn’t seem the type, but you never can tell.”

“Other one? Who else are you thinking about?”

“Jason—he was pretty pissed the other day. I just find it hard to think a guy of his stature would do something this…low.”

“Then again, he might be smart enough to know that no one would suspect him, maybe.”

Jodie nodded. She hadn’t thought of it like that.

The police were done, and filed out the door. Now all that was left was cleaning up the mess. Jodie closed the door as best she could behind them. A new lock would be installed before the end of the day, and she turned to hug Ginger tight.

“I think your idea about Jason could be right,” Dan said from the doorway, joining their conversation.

Jodie turned, a slight riff of some new emotion wafting through her as she made eye contact with him, even in the middle of this mess.

“Dan, I know you don’t like him, and I don’t, either, but would he really stoop to something like this? Why?”

“There’s only one good reason, especially since there was no money in the register and the safe is intact.”

Awareness dawned painfully. “He came after the icing recipe.”

“I’m afraid so.”

She looked around and rushed to the back refrigerators. “All of the premixed icing I had made is gone, as well.