Angelo once he came back. His assistant had phoned yesterday to say that he was behind schedule so she’d had an extra day to mope about. If he liked one of the samples, she’d need to hurry and order them because the one she thought would be perfect for the library flooring was going out of stock. She had no idea why, she thought as she grabbed her favorite shampoo, the ceramic floor tile was really interesting and different. She really hoped that Angelo would like it. Her second favorite was way down the list of desired items but she suspected that he would choose that one instead. It would work, she thought. But more importantly, she had to get that man’s preferences off of her mind. After the party last week and having ice cream with him earlier this week, she had to separate herself from the man. People were starting to talk.
She hated being the subject of rumors, but that was part of living in a small town. Everyone knew everyone else, at least by name or reputation if not by face.
It wasn’t going to matter, she told herself. Angelo was just a client. He meant nothing to her other than as a very good client that she wanted to impress. At least that’s what she was trying to think. Her mind wasn’t cooperating very well with her intentions. She had to stop thinking about him like this. She had to stop dreaming about him. And she definitely had to stop wondering when he was going to return to his home.
She pushed the memory of their kiss out of her mind. She would not think about him in that way. Just a client.
She didn’t realize that she was staring at the eye shadow display, her mind completely focused on reliving the point when he’d taken her into his arms, the way his strong arms had wrapped around her, making her feel safe and secure, but terrified all the same. And then when his lips touched hers….she took a deep breath and shook her head. “Stop it!” she told herself firmly.
“Dreaming of me?” a deep voice said from right behind her.
Jade spun around, her basket almost emasculating the tall, audacious man. It was only his swift reflexes that grabbed her basket before she could do any real damage.
“I’m so sorry!” she gasped when she realized what she’d just done. “Oh my goodness!” she said, her hands reaching out to…. “What am I doing?” she cried out and pulled her hands away, looking up into Angelo’s black, amused eyes. “Stop laughing at me!” she growled and spun back around.
Good grief, just one look at Angelo and her heart was soaring! She had to stop this! He wasn’t the man for her, he wasn’t good for her. Everything about him was the complete opposite of what she wanted in a man, what she’d hoped for in a mate.
The man didn’t even want to get married!
He chuckled despite her admonishment and followed her. “Sorry. I thought it was very kind of you to offer to help me after almost knocking me out.”
She glared up at him. “You wouldn’t have been knocked out.”
“How do you know? Have you ever experienced that kind of pain?”
Jade pulled her eyes away and shook her head. “No. I don’t have…” she searched her mind for a polite term but could feel her cheeks warming up under his still-laughing eyes. “Oh! You know exactly what I’m talking about. But you don’t have to go through childbirth so let’s just move on, okay?”
Angelo was stunned for a moment, his eyes moving down her exquisite figure. “Are you telling me that you’re going to let me try and get you pregnant so we can share similar pain experiences?” Angelo was shocked at how much he liked the idea of Jade being pregnant with his baby. It was so amazing that he actually stopped for a moment, picturing her slender body swelling as the babe grew inside of her. “Might be nice.”
“Absolutely not!” she gasped. “Why would you…?” she thought back to the original subject and sighed. “I think this topic has gotten severely out of hand.”
“Happens a lot between the two of us.” His eyes glanced down into her basket. “Do you really wear neon orange and yellow eye shadow?” he asked. “Very modern.”
Jade’s eyes turned confused but she followed his gaze and groaned when she saw that she’d put both of those colors of eye shadow into her basket.