See Jane Love - By Debby Conrad Page 0,35
the same time. “How about tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow night’s good. Seven?”
He nodded again. “Would you like to go to dinner first?”
Shaking her head wildly, she said, “No! I’ll be too nervous to eat.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t,” she said. “You’ve done this before. You know how it feels, but I have no idea how I’m going to feel afterward.”
He grinned and took a step toward her. Brushing his lips across her forehead, he whispered, “Trust me. You’re going to feel like a new woman.”
And when Gabe walked away, a confident swagger to his walk, Janie almost called him back. Be strong, she told herself, pressing her lips tightly together. Only when he disappeared around the corner, did she open her mouth again. “Omigod,” she whispered. By this time tomorrow night, she’d be sleeping with Gabe Montero.
* * * * * * * * * *
Sara filled two plastic glasses with iced tea and brought them out onto the deck where Janie sat enjoying the sunshine. “Livvy’s sound asleep,” she said. “I just checked on her.”
Janie smiled. “That’s good because I wanted to talk to you about something in private.” Travis was down the street playing at a friend’s house, which was also good since the topic she planned to discuss wasn’t for children’s ears.
Handing one of the pink plastic glasses to Janie, Sara dragged a folding chair across the wood deck and sat down across from her sister. She crossed her legs and let out a relaxed sigh. “So, talk,” she said, then took a sip of her tea.
“It’s about Gabe,” Janie said, then waited for Sara to respond.
Sara lowered her glass. “What about him?” she asked slowly, a hint of caution in her voice.
“I sort of have a date with him tonight.”
“A date?” Sara uncrossed her legs and leaned forward in her chair.
“Well, not really a date.” There was no easy way to say it except to just come out with it. “We’re going to have sex.”
Sara’s glass fell, splashing both of them with cold liquid. “Are you out of your mind!”
“Maybe. Probably,” she added, then setting her glass on the wood railing, she bent forward and righted Sara’s empty glass. Both women’s feet and sandals were wet and soggy looking, but Janie pretended not to notice as she sat back up in her chair.
Sara’s face had turned a deep shade of pink. Her nostrils flared with fury and her lips thinned with anger as she gripped the arms of her chair. “That no good son of a--”
“Wait,” Janie said, raising a hand in front of her. “Before you go blaming Gabe, I should tell you this was all my idea. He’s just being a good sport, is all.”
“A good sport, my butt!”
“Sara, listen to me. I explained to Gabe how I wanted to, you know, have a steamy affair and--”
“Let me guess. Gabe was eager to offer his assistance. Don’t you see, Janie? He’s using you. He’s taking advantage of your naiveté.”
Janie shook her head. “No. I’m the one taking advantage. He has all the experience and I plan to learn from him. Then, wait until Rona submits my next manuscript to Sassy. It’s going to be so hot and steamy they’ll probably double my normal advance.”
Making the sign of the cross, Sara said, “Please, God, make her see the light.”
“I shouldn’t have told you,” Janie said, standing up. Her wet sandals made squishy sounds as she walked to the stairs. “It’s just that I’ve never kept any secrets from you. I thought you’d be happy for me.”
Sara stood too, placing her hands on her hips. Her pregnant belly seemed to double in size whenever she did that. “Janie, you should hear yourself. I’m supposed to be happy that my brother-in-law is going to hurt you?”
“Gabe is not going to hurt me.”
“You don’t know him. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
Feeling her temper rise, Janie closed the distance between them. “No, you’re the one who doesn’t know Gabe! You and Alex are always so quick to accuse and assume, but you don’t know anything about him! He’s decent and kind. So what if he drives a cab for a living? It’s an honest living, and besides, maybe he likes it.”
She lowered her voice when the lady next door stuck her head out the patio door and glared at them. “I love the way he makes me feel sexy and alive, unlike any man has ever done before. I love the way he kisses me, and touches me. And even