was good sex but it wasn’t in the—” she held up both hands and made air quotes “‘now we have to get married’ category.”
She didn’t know if she should stand up for emphasis or just glare convincingly.
Jasper grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just, you plan weddings for a living.”
“That is my job, not who I am. You write about people getting murdered. I don’t assume you’re planning to murder me. Not the marrying kind. No wondering you’re not in a relationship.”
“Hey, don’t judge.”
“That line deserves judgment.”
“Can I have a do-over?”
“Sexually or conversationally?”
An eyebrow rose, as his expression shifted to slightly predatory. “Give me a few minutes and you can have both.”
“You wish.” Although in truth, she thought it was a good idea, too.
“I kind of do.”
They smiled at each other. There was a moment of silence, but this time it was comfortable.
“How’d you end up here?” she asked. “You don’t strike me as a Happily Inc kind of guy.”
“My car broke down. I was living in LA and I had just driven to New York to visit my publisher and agent.”
“You drove from LA to New York and back? Why didn’t you fly?”
“I didn’t fly well back then. I still don’t like it, but I can do it.”
Why wouldn’t he fly well? Oh, right, she thought. While she didn’t know the details, she’d heard rumors about his time in the military and how he’d escaped without physical injury but still had suffered from significant PTSD.
“So you were stuck in town while they fixed your car?” she asked.
“I was. It was an old clunker and it took a while to get the parts shipped in. I stayed at one of the hotels.”
She picked up her beer and grinned. “Oh, please, please tell me you stayed at the Sweet Dreams Inn.”
“Why would you care about that?”
“I want to picture you hanging out in one of the themed rooms. The princess room or the Heidi room or the woodland creature room.”
“There’s a woodland creature room? Why?”
“It’s fun. I’d love it.”
He shuddered. “That must be a girl thing. For what it’s worth, I was in the pirate room.”
“I know that one. It’s nice.”
When she’d first taken the job in Happily Inc, she’d made it a point to visit all the local businesses that supported the wedding industry. She wanted to be able to offer recommendations because she knew what she was talking about. To that end, she’d toured all the rooms at the Sweet Dreams Inn, so she knew the pirate room was actually fairly masculine, with a huge sailing ship doubling as a bed.
“But still—no little woodland creatures to keep you company?” she asked, her tone wistful.
“I’m afraid not. Argh.”
She laughed. “Okay, I’ll accept the pirate room. So you were stuck in town and decided to stay?”
“I didn’t have a plan. I drove around to kill time. The people were friendly enough. I was here over a Monday night, so the clerk at the front desk suggested I head to The Boardroom for game night.”
“And you were hooked?”
“I was intrigued.” He shifted so he rested his bare feet on the coffee table. “I contacted a local real estate agent about places on the market. I knew I wouldn’t want to live in town, so I wasn’t expecting much. My house is the first place we saw. I looked at a half dozen more, realized I’d already found what I wanted and made an offer.”
“And here you are.”
His gaze locked with hers. “Here we both are.”
She felt the tension rising between them. It was nice. Sexy and insistent. Inside, heat began to build.
“So I’m not looking for a relationship,” she said. “I haven’t ever had good luck in the romance department.” Which was putting it mildly, she thought. Her love life had been a disaster, and while she wanted to say it was her mother’s fault, in truth there were other reasons.
“Giving up on your own happily-ever-after?” he asked.
“Pretty much.”
He lowered his legs and rested his feet on the floor, then put his beer on the table. “But a woman has needs.”
His tone was low, sexy and intriguing. Renee felt herself flushing. Stupid red hair, she thought with a sigh. “A woman does. As does a man.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
She kept her gaze on his, even though she desperately wanted to look away. “But, ah, I’ve never really done anything like this before.”