by Laura Conway
Jenna broke the kiss and wrapped her arms around her. Hayley rested her forehead against Jenna’s shoulder as she caught her breath, her heart pounding in her chest.
What just happened? Ten minutes ago, she’d been ready to leave, and now she didn’t know how she was ever going to.
“So,” Jenna said, leaning back against the headboard, her eyes sparkling with desire. “Have I convinced you to stay in bed a while longer?”
Hayley felt her lips tugging into a smile. She peeled her tank top off, tossing it over the side of the bed and reached behind her back to remove her bra. She ran a hand through her hair, tousling it before leaning forward and cupping Jenna’s cheek, kissing her passionately, their tongues moving in a familiar dance.
“Yes,” Hayley breathed, her lips leaving Jenna’s, exploring her incredibly sexy body. Screw running. This was a far better way to get in her morning exercise.
Chapter Seventeen
Jenna set the carrier down on the floor and opened the door, squatting down to see if her new friend was going to come out on his own or if he needed to be coerced. She went over to the bag of cat food that she’d picked up on the way home, shaking it, hoping the rustling sound would convince the black and gray tabby that it was safe to come out.
Jenna lifted the metal food bowl out of the bag and shook some food into it, leaving it beside the one she’d already filled with water in the corner of the living room. She’d get the litter box set up next, but her phone rang, distracting her.
She almost sent the call to voicemail, which is what she did with any call that might be work related, but this was Clara, her former secretary, and she’d left the firm more than two years ago. They used to meet for coffee, maybe four or five times a year, just to catch up, but Jenna couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her.
“Hello,” Jenna said, balancing her phone on her shoulder while she did one more check on the carrier. The tabby was still sitting in the middle of it, his yellow eyes surveying his new surroundings. Jenna padded down the hall. He might feel safer it she left the room.
“Jenna? Hey.”
“How are you?”
“Well,” she said, sighing into the phone. “I’ve been better.”
Jenna frowned. “Everything okay?” Clara was always upbeat, finding a way to put a positive spin on just about anything, so Jenna automatically assumed the worst.
“It’s about me and Michael. We split up.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Clara.”
“Hmmm. Me too. We were just coming up to our fifth wedding anniversary. I came across a weekend away that he’d booked. I wasn’t snooping or anything. I had to go into his emails to get the password for our Netflix account.” Another sigh. “There was no weekend away. Not for me anyway.”
“Shit.”
“He’d been sleeping with his personal trainer.”
“I’m sorry, Clara.” Jenna genuinely felt for her. She’d been to that wedding. They’d seemed so happy, so in love, like one of those few couples that would actually last.
“It’s done now. Anyway, I hate to just call you out of the blue like this, but I obviously need a lawyer.”
“Clara-”
“And I need a good one, because I don’t trust him. At all. He’s been sneaking around for the last year, and I had no idea. I don’t see how this is going to be amicable, and I know he has plenty of lawyer friends. He’ll have the second best divorce lawyer in town though. At least, I’ll have the best. If you’re available, I mean. I know you’re always slammed.”
Jenna wandered back down the hall when she heard a bang, thinking that the cat was already making himself at home, knocking something off the counter, but it was the front door. Hayley was standing there, in a black bikini with her surf board underneath her arm, watching the tabby weave its way through her legs, doing figure eights.
“Clara, I’m really sorry. I’m actually out of town. I won’t be back in New York for another two months. I’ll call you, okay? See if I can still help you out, but I have to go.”
“Thanks, Jen. I appreciate it,” Clara said. “Talk soon.”
Jenna hung up, leaving her phone on the kitchen counter. “Hi,” she said, smiling at Hayley who must have thought that she’d lost her mind. “You’re not allergic, are you? To cats, I mean.”
“No...” Hayley looked from Jenna to the cat and back again. “Who’s this?”
“This is Whiskey, and he’s been at the shelter for weeks with no offers, so... I guess you were wrong about me. I did adopt one,” Jenna said with a lopsided smile, bending down to see if he’d let her pet him.
It took him a second, but he dipped his head, rubbing up against her hand before going back to Hayley again.
“Well, at least he has good taste,” Jenna said, pushing herself to her feet.
Hayley laughed. “I’m just going to go get changed.” She was back a few minutes later, in shorts and a tank top now, her hair damp but nearly dry.
“So, how was your day?” Jenna asked.
Hayley bent down and scooped him up, carrying him over to the couch, and Jenna sat down beside her. Whiskey was already making himself comfortable in Hayley’s lap.
“Good. Clearly, not as eventful as yours. So, you’re now a cat mom?” Hayley stroked his fur, which earned her a loud purr.
“Yeah. Although, it was kind of a snap decision.” Jenna couldn’t even remember her day at the shelter. That phone call had her completely rattled. The fact that Clara’s relationship was over didn’t exactly surprise her. That is what happened to half of marriages. It was just the first time in a month that she’d really been confronted with work, with the idea of getting back out there.
“Is everything okay?” Hayley asked. “And I’m not talking about the cat. You seemed worried or something when I came in, when you were on the phone.”
“My old secretary called, and she’s looking for a divorce lawyer. I told her I was out of town, but...”
“But, what? Aren’t you on strict orders not to work?”
Jenna nodded. “I feel better though, and I wasn’t thinking about going back to work properly. I was thinking about taking on Clara’s case, getting some preliminary work out of the way. I could do that from here. I’d probably have to spend a few days in New York getting all the details from her.”
Whiskey jumped down off the couch as Hayley turned to face her fully. “Look, Jenna. I don’t know what’s going on between us. I know that we don’t really know each other. I mean, we do... In some ways, I guess. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I care about you, and if you’re supposed to be taking three months off, you probably should.”
“Hmmm.”
“That’s your defense? Hmmm?”
Hayley wasn’t exactly mad, but this was the first time Jenna had ever seen her animated, ready to fight for something. It was incredibly sexy.
“Jenna? Where did you just go?”
“Nowhere. Look, I appreciate the concern. Really. I told her that I’d call her back, which I will. I’ll take a day or two to think about my options and who I’ll refer her to if I’m not going to take her case.”
Hayley shook her head as she got up, but she didn’t say anything. Jenna could hear the refrigerator door open and close along with the crunching of cat food.
Jenna cleared her throat. “So, you don’t mind him being here, do you? I just felt so bad, and he is really cute, in a scruffy sort of way.”
“I don’t mind at all, but I really don’t think you should be going back to work already. It’s only been a month.”
Jenna opened her mouth and closed it again. Why was she being so protective? “Did Nina say something to you?”
“No. Like what?”
“I don’t know. To make sure I don’t work?”
Hayley took a drink from the bottle of water she was holding. “Nina hasn’t said anything to me like that.”
“But, what has she said?”
Hayley screwed the lid back on and
left the bottle on the counter. Her hands were on her hips now as Jenna got up and made the short walk to the kitchen. “She just told me to be careful... With you.”
“She knows about us?” Jenna hadn’t planned on saying anything.
“I talked to her a few hours ago, and she asked me if I met anyone interesting on that app, and I told her about what happened last night, with the mix-up. I guess, she heard it in my voice,” Hayley said, leaning against the counter. “I don’t know. She asked if anything happened, and I denied it at first, but she figured it out.”
Jenna could do without Nina knowing about whatever this was. “So, she didn’t think this was a good idea then?”
“She just pointed out that you don’t have the best track record and that you’re leaving soon. That’s all.”
“And what do you think?” Jenna asked, the hammering of her heart drowning out the sound of her own voice. “Do you think this is a bad idea?”
Jenna didn’t even know what she wanted Hayley to say. This morning, when she’d woken up with Hayley’s arm around her, it was like something out of a dream. Jenna forgot about how messy this whole thing was, about all the reasons it wouldn’t work.
“I think,” Hayley said as she tousled her sandy blond hair. “I think that if we set the right expectations, then this could work.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what do you think this is?”
“Answering a question with a question,” Jenna said with a half smile. “Nice.”
“I’m just saying that if I think this is the start of something, and you think that this is a vacation fling, someone’s going to get hurt. Me.”
Jenna took a deep breath. “Okay. Well, I am leaving. There’s no way around that, so we have two months.”
Hayley nodded. “We can have some fun, or we can forget about it. I don’t know what you want. You’re supposed to be relaxing. Maybe this,” she said, motioning between them, “Isn’t going to help you with that, or maybe it will. I don’t know.”
Jenna took a step closer. She was leaving. She had to go home but two months was plenty of time to have some fun. “I think you have a calming effect on me,” she said in just above a whisper.
“Really?” Hayley arched an eyebrow.
“I slept really well last night.”
“So, are you saying that you’re happy to keep going? You know, in a casual way.”
“Yes,” Jenna said, knowing that she could very easily end up regretting this in two months, but she didn’t think she could stay away from Hayley, so why fight it? They were two single adults. Her hand rested on Hayley’s hip, the other glided over her tanned shoulders, along the soft skin that led up to her neck.
Jenna dipped her head, kissing her neck, her hand sliding across Hayley’s back. It was like she was addicted to Hayley, and this was quite possibly her favorite version of her. Just back from the beach Hayley, with her damp hair and her tanned skin. Her eyes were always full of life when she’d spent the last few hours doing what she loved.
Hayley’s hands were on Jenna’s, interlacing their fingers. She kissed Jenna, parting her lips against hers.
Hayley broke their kiss, her eyes full of desire. “Your bed or mine?”
Chapter Eighteen
Hayley slowed down to a jog as her building came into sight. That was much harder than it should have been. Her usual three miles felt like at least five today, but that was her own fault. Every morning for the past week, she’d stayed in bed, with Jenna, instead of coming out here and going for a run.
She didn’t think that Jenna was trying to be a bad influence or anything. She was just very persuasive, and Hayley had no willpower when it came to Jenna. That was how she got into this mess. She could have said what she really thought last week when Jenna had asked her, but no, she was trying to be this new person. The kind of person who had flings and didn’t get caught up in emotional things like falling for a stunning brunette who was too good to be true.
Hayley didn’t even think she’d have two months with Jenna. She could see it in her eyes. She was going to take this case with Clara. Hayley didn’t know what happened when Jenna had called her back, but she’d bet all of her money on Jenna agreeing to help her.
Jenna never really said why she was taking the three months off. Hayley vaguely remembered her using the words ‘doctor’s orders,’ but what did that even mean? Did her firm tell her that she had to take that time off or was it purely based on her doctor’s opinion? Was she a workaholic or was she suffering from stress and needed the time off to relax? Did she have a heart condition? Hayley had no idea.
Casual. We’re keeping it casual, so I’m not going to ask.
Hayley would just have to learn how to keep her emotions out of all this, but how could she when every time she saw Jenna, her heart did that weird fluttering thing. She was experiencing just about every cliché she could think of with Jenna, and it had only been a week. Well, Hayley might have felt all those things right from the start, long before their first kiss or the mind-blowing sex they’d been having.
If Jenna went back to work, even working for just this one client, Hayley had a feeling that she’d hardly see Jenna in the next few weeks. Maybe that was for the best. Doing whatever it was they were doing for two months would probably break Hayley. She was already in so much trouble.
How did Jenna do it? From what Nina had said, Hayley gathered that this was normal for Jenna. She never got too involved with anyone. Nina did mention an ex, and maybe Hayley would get a chance to ask Jenna about her, but from what Nina was letting on, Jenna didn’t do commitments, not anymore anyway. Whatever happened with her ex might have changed her mind? There was also the fact that she was a divorce lawyer.
Hayley brought her knee into her chest, going through all of her usual stretches. What would she do if every day she was surrounded by people with broken hearts, people who’d been cheated on, people who thought that they’d married the perfect person only to find out that they had it all wrong? She’d probably be quite the cynic.
Hayley lifted her foot, catching her shoe and pulling it back behind her as she stood on one leg, trying to get inside Jenna’s head.
Yeah, I don’t think I’d be anxious to get into a relationship either.
Maybe she should start thinking like that. What reason did she have to believe in relationships? She’d never really met anyone that made her want to do or say ridiculous things, not until she met Jenna anyway.
Ugh. Kyle’s right. I’m a silly, hopeless romantic.
Kyle had always teased her about her ideas of finding this amazing woman who got her, who surfed, who made her laugh. Jenna didn’t exactly tick those boxes, but she did make Hayley feel alive.
Why did she have to pick someone who was unavailable in so many ways, yet at the same time, so available. Jenna had been available every night this week and most mornings. How was Hayley going to go back to her old life after Jenna went back to New York?
Hayley climbed the stairs up to their apartment. She’d only viewed one apartment, and now Hayley didn’t know what to do about that either. Moving out would mean less time with Jenna which she didn’t want now that they were sleeping together. She didn’t know what she wanted.
Maybe, she did. She wanted this to last for more than two months. Hayley knew this was all happening fast, but it was just so easy. Being with Jenna felt right. They were incredibly different people, but when they were together, they just clicked.
Hayley unlocked the door and went straight into the kitchen for a bottle of water. She was so screwed. Jenna was leaving, and Hayley had no idea how she was going to deal with it.
Chapter Nineteen
Jenna’s eyes fluttered open as she reached for her phone to turn off the timer. She’d been meditating every day for the last three weeks, and she wasn’t sure that she felt any better. Maybe, it was helping. Maybe, it wasn’t. She didn’t know, but it couldn’t be hurting her, and right now, she needed all the
help she could get.
She rolled her shoulders back and stretched her arms over her head before pushing herself off the floor. She tried to get her twenty minutes of meditation in as early as possible but waking up with Hayley every day was throwing off her schedule, as flexible as it was. Jenna found herself rushing off to be at the shelter for nine o’clock some mornings.
Not that she was complaining. It was just a change. And now that Jenna had told Clara that she would take her case, there would be even more changes. She knew she should tell Hayley, but Jenna knew what the reaction would be. Why did Hayley care? That was the part she couldn’t understand. Nina must have said something to her.
Nina.
She had to return her call too, and she wasn’t going to tell her about Clara and taking on this bit of work. Jenna thought about what time it would be in Spain. Four o’clock in the afternoon. Jenna balanced her phone against her shoulder as she made herself a cup of coffee.
“Hola,” Nina answered. Jenna could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey. Is this a bad time?”
“No. Not at all. I’m just sitting outside a cafe, soaking up the sun. Everyone else is having a siesta, but I can’t get into it.”
Jenna chuckled. “So, where are you now? Seville? Alicante?”
“Still in Madrid.”
“Really? I thought you wanted to keep going, check out the south?”
“I did. I do. I’ve kind of fallen for Madrid. That’s why I didn’t book anything ahead of time. I can stay longer if I like the feel of a place.”
Jenna took a sip of her coffee. “Hmmm or the feel of a particular person, maybe?”
“Jenna! You’re one to talk. I was on the phone with Hayley a few days ago.”
“No. No deflecting. We’re talking about you.”
“What do you want to know?” Nina asked.
“Everything.”
Nina laughed. “You’re not getting everything, but her name’s Maria, and she’s lovely.”