arrived, Slade’s face was nestled against the tart’s ear and she was giggling up a storm, while Jessica’s fists closed tightly under the table by her lap. She wanted to throw her shoe or a roll or maybe even a fork at the man sitting two tables away. And if she was lucky enough, she could hit the tart too. Collateral damage—she could live with that.
That was it, she decided—she wasn’t going to look over again.
But just as she thought it, Jeffrey spoke up. “I think your friend’s leaving.”
As Jessica turned to watch Slade leave, Jeffrey went on, “I’ve heard he’s quite the ladies’ man. A different woman every day. How some women like all the brutish fighting is beyond me. I bet you’d agree that what he does for a living is barbaric.”
Jessica nodded in feigned agreement, trying not to stare as Slade’s arm went around the woman and he nodded to Jessica. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw him smirk.
Yes, the fucker most definitely smirked.
Ugh!
—
As soon as they were out of the restaurant, Slade released Tara and reached into his pocket for his keys. He didn’t want to touch Tara. He didn’t even want to see her right now. Just by showing up, Jessica had ruined his night, his perfectly simple night. Now all he saw when he looked at Tara was mediocre legs, too-big tits, a yellow dress that reminded him of Big Bird, and disheveled hair. Without much conversation, she jumped on his bike and after he was on too, they took off.
Once they arrived at her house, she invited him in. He was sure that sex was on the table if he wanted it. His eyes trailed down her legs and then back up to her blond hair. He took a step forward, leaned in, and gave her a kiss…on the cheek.
“Sorry, doll. Have an early morning. Call you tomorrow.”
“Wait. What? You’re leaving?”
“Yeah. Gotta go.”
“Slade…?” Her whining voice made him cringe.
“Call you tomorrow,” he hollered over his shoulder. She slammed the door.
Standing by his bike, Slade ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Why did Jessica Cross have to be so fucking hot?
—
“Except for when you almost ate it, it was a great first date, wasn’t it?” Jeff asked as he leaned down toward her opened car door. Why did the man keep talking about her klutziness? Didn’t he understand it was embarrassing?
“Yes. Great,” she said, nodding, while putting on her seat belt.
“Can I call you tomorrow?” he asked, his hand gripping the top of the door.
She really wanted to say no, but she wasn’t sure if it was because they hadn’t hit it off or because she had seen Slade. On a date. With a beautiful woman. So without much thought she gave him a polite smile and said, “Sure.”
Jeff smiled triumphantly before closing her door and wishing her goodnight.
As soon as he’d walked away, she let out a deep sigh before gently banging her head against the steering wheel. Why did Slade Martin have to be so fucking hot?
Chapter 10
It was three days later, and it was Jessica’s first day off in a long time. She’d spent the last four hours sorting through her stuff, throwing away anything that wasn’t a necessity and putting the rest into piles to pack up later, and she was emotionally drained at the thought of leaving both the town she’d grown to love and the man who’d come to mean so much to her.
She decided she needed to get out of the house and breathe in some fresh air, so she headed into town. Maybe some window-shopping would lift her spirits a little.
She parked in town and walked around for about an hour. Somehow, she ended up at WtF Academy. Looking through the glass door and seeing Chrissy in her cutoff jean shorts and one of Slade’s ratty old T-shirts standing on a stepladder painting made Jessica’s heart constrict. She’d never had anything like the unconditional love that the two siblings shared. It was as if the years of estrangement between the two meant nothing now. Chrissy would obviously do anything for her brother, and vice versa.
Like a voyeur, Jessica stared through the door. Jack, who could set any woman’s heart ablaze, was standing next to Chrissy. She’d never seen two people more in love. Jack lifted Chrissy off the ladder and kissed her silly, paintbrush still in her hand. When he let her go, Chrissy pointed to something as she spoke, and Jack