The Has-Been and the Hot Mess - Isabel Jordan Page 0,35

this close to her, and not act on the chemistry between them. It was impossible to ignore. She was impossible to ignore.

It was well past time to see where this thing between them could really go.

It wasn’t until the last note faded that he broke eye contact with Kendall. He stood, handed his guitar off to Ray, and took a bow for the audience. Told them how great they’d been, and how much he appreciated them all coming out and supporting him—and a good cause—tonight.

He was on autopilot, though. All he really wanted was to get to Kendall.

But when he turned to find her, she was gone.

Well, shit. Maybe he should’ve gone with the other song choice?

Kendall sat down in Howard Hugh’s pen, doing her best to get into lotus position (which wasn’t easy while wearing skinny jeans), taking deep, calming breaths.

Damn it! What the hell was wrong with her? Was she really going to let her feelings for a man ruin her career yet again? Why did she always do this to herself? Just when everything was going great—BAM! In comes a sexy, dark-haired man to drain her focus and completely derail any progress she’d made up until that point.

And she let them. Every. Damn. Time.

“I’m telling you, Howard,” she said, tossing a piece of hotdog she’d grabbed on the way here to where he laid under his porch, watching her, “I have issues. Probably more than you have, my friend. I mean, how am I ever supposed to know who’s a good man and who’s just another asshole? How am I ever supposed to trust my own judgment when I choose wrong all the time?”

The worst part of it all? Jackson didn’t feel like the wrong choice. He felt more right to her than any man she’d ever been with.

And that was freakin’ terrifying! She’d recovered pretty easily from all the assholes who let her down. But what would happen to her if a guy she was sure was perfect stomped on her heart, too?

“I guess this is probably how you feel, huh, Howard?” she asked, tossing him another piece of hotdog. “After everything that’s happened to you, how were you supposed to trust that any of the families here today weren’t going to hurt you? I totally get why you didn’t come out and greet any of them. I probably wouldn’t have, either. Maybe I should just crawl under the porch with you.”

But when she glanced over, he wasn’t under the porch anymore. He was right next to her. She handed him another bite of hotdog, which he sniffed, then took directly from her hand, more gently than she ever would’ve thought possible for a dog his size.

Kendall smiled at him. “You’re just a big, squishy-faced sweetie, aren’t you?”

He snuffled as if to deny her words, which made her chuckle. But then he leaned into her side, and it was the closest thing she’d had to a warm hug in a long, long time. And that thought was sad enough to bring a tear to her eye.

“Oh, Howard, what are we going to do, pal?”

She should leave. That’s what she should do. Get on the next plane out of Montana and never look back. She’d done what she needed to do. She’d put Jackson back on the entertainment map. She could make a few calls, get him an agent, and he could get the job with the studio without any additional help from her.

So why did the thought of leaving make her feel like someone had just made a fist around her heart?

Howard obviously wasn’t as concerned with the future as she was, because he laid down and dropped his big, heavy head into her lap. After a minute or two of her stroking his ears and neck, he started snoring.

Well, at least she’d done this right, she thought. Her judgement with dogs didn’t suck. That had to be worth something.

Chapter 22

“Figured I’d find you here.”

Kendall’s head shot up, and when her gaze collided with his, Jackson saw everything he was feeling reflected there.

Surprise? Yeah, he got that. He was a little surprised he’d tracked her down out here, too.

Happiness? Definitely. His heart always did a jig of pure glee whenever he saw her.

Desire?

Fuck. Yeah.

There was a little fear, too. After all, it wasn’t normal to feel all these things for someone you’d known less than a month, was it?

“I-I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “Did you need something?”

Yeah. You.

He let himself into Howard’s pen and took a seat