Falling for Owen

by Jennifer Ryan

“You’d be right. Brody and I both played baseball in high school. I played at college for a couple of years.”

  “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

  He hated to let her go, but he had calls to make, and he still needed to get Shannon back to work.

  “I didn’t get to kiss you goodbye.”

  “Looks like you owe me.”

  “I’ll pay you back with interest.”

  “Now I’m really looking forward to seeing you.”

  “Not as much as I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

  The call started to sound more like two high school kids talking on the phone. He felt like he did back then, when speaking to a girl made him nervous and anxious all at the same time. When it was the right girl, it felt this thrilling and it turned his brain to mush and made him think crazy thoughts and say sappy things he’d never say otherwise.

  Determined to save some of his dignity, he ended the call. “I’ll see you soon, Claire.”

  THE DOORBELL RANG, startling Claire. She put her mug of tea on the mantel next to the photographs she’d just arranged. The pile of wadded newspapers on the floor at her feet scattered with her steps, making a bigger mess out of her living room. She’d emptied three boxes of books plus the box of framed photos. Once she cleaned up, the living room might actually look like someone lived here.

  Nervous about someone stopping by this late at night, she peeked out the window and saw Owen’s truck in the driveway, spotlighted by the new lights. Just to be sure, she didn’t open the door, but asked, “Who is it?”

  “Crazy stalker.”

  She laughed and punched in the code on the alarm, opening the door with a smile. “Just who I wanted to see.”

  Owen didn’t come in, but leaned his shoulder against the door frame. “How are you?”

  “Fine. Come in.”

  “I’m not staying. I just needed to see that you’re okay.”

  “I am. I’m finally unpacking and putting the living room to rights.”

  “All you need is that couch. It’s really comfortable.”

  “You’re welcome to have a seat. We can find a movie on TV.”

  “I’d really like to, but I’ve got to get up to the house and feed the animals. I’m late as it is.”

  “What do you have up there?”

  “Couple of horses and seven barn cats.”

  “Seven?”

  “I rescued Mama and Papa.”

  “Of course you did,” she said, because that was who Owen was.

  He chuckled. “Papa got to Mama before I got Mama to the vet and now I have five kittens to add to the mix.”

  She smiled, loving how sweet he sounded talking about his pets. “Sounds like you’ve got quite a brood at home. Thanks for stopping by to check on me.”

  “That’s not the only reason I stopped by.”

  “No. You just wanted to stand in my doorway staring at me.”

  “I like looking at you. But I came because I owe you something.”

  His eyes narrowed and he reached out, hooking his arm around her waist and drawing her close. A flash of heat shot through her system, and she leaned into him, their faces an inch apart. She loved the hard muscles in his chest pressed against her aching breasts. His hand splayed wide over her lower back. She thought he’d kiss her fast and hard, but he took his time and let his gaze roam over her face, studying her. The moment stretched, the anticipation built, and not until her body relaxed and melted against his did he slowly lower his head the last few inches to sweep his lips over hers. Eyes still open, he watched her. One soft kiss turned into another and another. He took his time touching his lips to hers to find the perfect fit and rhythm.

  Her eyes closed and she fell into him. He took the kiss deeper, sliding his tongue along hers in a long sweep, never hurried or timid, but sure and confident and full of patience. Time stopped. The world around them disappeared. With her arms wrapped around his massive shoulders, she held him close. His arms banded around her. Held in the circle of all that strength, every kiss a moment stretched out to experience the passion building between them, she felt safe and protected and loved like she’d never felt. Maybe he wasn’t in love with her, but the way he kissed and held her, took his time to explore and learn the way she liked to be touched, told her she meant something to him. This meant something to him.

  His mouth moved from hers. He kissed her cheek and forehead, his arms tensing around her, pulling her closer for a hug she returned with as much strength and depth of emotion as she felt from him.

  “I could get used to kissing you goodnight.”

  “I thought you owed me a kiss goodbye.”

  “I have this strange feeling it’ll never be goodbye between us, Claire.”

  With those words hanging between them, he released her with a sweep of his hands down her back to her hips. He gently set her away and traced a finger over the side of her face.

  “I’ll see you soon.” Owen turned and walked back to his truck. Before he got in, he turned and stared at her, smiled, and shook his head. “You’re not what I expected.”

  He climbed into his truck, started the engine, and drove away.

  In a daze, she closed the door, locked it, set the alarm, and turned to her messy living room.

  “What the heck does that mean?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  * * *

  CLAIRE PACKED THE bottles of vanilla cream soda, a sandwich, fruit salad, and Owen’s favorite potato chips in the San Francisco Giants bucket. She added the bag of chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Her mind lingered on last night’s kiss, and his odd statement. She still didn’t know what he meant, but by the smile he gave her, it wasn’t something bad.

  “Lunch with Owen again?” Gayle asked, leaning over her shoulder to peek into the bucket.

  “No. He’s got back-to-back meetings, but I wanted to make sure he got a good meal.” She tilted her head in Gayle’s direction. “Do you think it’s too much? Maybe it’s presumptuous to leave him lunch at his office.”

  “It’s not too anything. It’s a nice gesture. He’ll love it.”

  “He stopped by to check on me last night.”

  Gayle gave her a knowing smile. “Really?”

  “Nothing happened.”

  Something in her expression gave herself away. Gayle smiled even bigger and bumped shoulders with her. “Nothing?”

  “He didn’t even step foot in my house.”

  Gayle’s smile fell. “Oh. Well, something put that glow in your cheeks.”

  “He kissed me,” she confessed, trying but failing to hide a smile.

  “Ah, the first kiss. At this point, it’s been so many years, I can’t remember mine with Ray. Looks like Owen left quite an impression on you.”

  “It wasn’t our first kiss. But I do think it was the start of something.”

  “The way that man looks at you.” Gayle smiled and got this far-off look in her eye. “Yeah, there’s definitely something there.”

  Claire hoped Gayle was right and she wasn’t reading more into Owen’s kiss goodnight than was really there. She’d let her imagination, hopes, and dreams run away with her once. She’d let her emotions lead her instead of using her head to see what was right in front of her. But that was a different man, and a different her. This time, she had her eyes open.

  She took a moment to think about what she really wanted. It didn’t take long to decide she wanted to see where things with Owen led, because she believed in love and happiness and finding someone to share her life.

  “I’ll be back in about half an hour.”

  “Unless he asks you to stay for lunch.”

  “He already told me his day is booked solid.”

  “You never know. Maybe he’ll make time.”

  She’d like to think he would, but didn’t put much hope into the thought. He had clients counting on him, and he wasn’t the type of man to blow off work. Instead of staying with her last night, he’d gone home to see
to his animals. Those two thoughts told her more about him than anything she’d tried to decipher already.

  He’s a good guy, who rescues cats. Stop looking for trouble.

  “I don’t expect him to make time. I’ll drop this off with Janine and be back soon.”

  She picked up the bucket and went out the back door to her car. As much bluster as she’d had yesterday, telling Owen she didn’t mind walking alone, the trip back to her shop made her more nervous than she cared to admit. Not that she thought Dale would be brazen enough to attack her on a public street in broad daylight. Still, she felt uneasy after what happened and wondered how long it would take before she didn’t look over her shoulder every second of the day.

  The drive only took a couple of minutes. She pulled into the small parking lot beside Owen’s office and parked next to his truck. Surprised to find him at the office, she hoped to see him, but figured he’d probably be in a meeting with a client.

  She entered the office with Owen’s lunch tucked under her arm. Janine looked up from her computer and her startled gaze darted to the library doors and settled back on her. She walked to Janine’s desk and set the bucket on the corner.

  “I know he’s in meetings all day, I just wanted to leave this for him.”

  Again, Janine’s gaze went to the library door. She turned and spotted Owen sitting on the sofa, fast-food lunch sacks and soda cups spread out before him and the same woman who’d interrupted them last night sitting next to him, so close their thighs touched. Owen stared back at her, his blue eyes intense and filled with what she thought was regret, though she hated to think it may be guilt.

  Her heart dropped into her stomach, and the hurt filled every cell in her body.

  CLAIRE’S VOICE DRIFTED in from the front office and Owen winced, knowing how bad this looked. He’d tried to tell Shannon he didn’t have time for lunch today, but she’d insisted. She’d gone out of her way to bring it to him, and he hated to disappoint her or make her feel unwelcome. He thought to spare twenty minutes, sit with her and stuff lunch down his throat, tell her gently that he appreciated her effort and the kind gesture, and send her on her way. Instead, she’d trapped him into lunch, talked nonstop for the past fifteen minutes, not letting him get a word in, and now he was behind schedule and Claire had walked in and given him that guarded look that tore at his heart and made him feel like a complete asshole.

  “Please excuse me, Shannon, Claire just arrived for our meeting.”

  Owen ignored Shannon’s pout, stood, and closed the distance between him and Claire. She’d turned to leave, but he wrapped her in a light hug, despite the overwhelming desire he had to crush her to him.

  “Claire, you made it. I’m so glad to see you,” he said in a cheery tone for Shannon to hear. With his back to Shannon, he hoped she didn’t notice him dip his head to Claire’s ear and whisper, “I’ll explain in a minute.” He brushed his lips against the soft skin beneath her earlobe. Her body shivered under his hands. Her gaze met his, and he pleaded with his eyes for her to give him a minute to make this right.

  He spotted the Giants bucket on Janine’s desk and inspiration struck.

  “So, this is your big idea. I have to say, you’ve got my attention. I love it.” Claire looked at him like he was crazy. Janine raised an eyebrow as baffled as Claire. He smiled and went with it.

  “Catering for parties and socials.” He held up the bucket and examined it. “Party buckets for tailgating, or weekend get-togethers to watch the game. Nice.

  “We’ve got a lot to talk about. A new business license, insurance if you make deliveries, so much to think about if you’re going to take on this new project.”

  Claire’s frown softened and she caught on to his game. “Well, I haven’t made any decisions yet. It’s a big expense, and I’m not sure it’s worth it at this time.”

  He wondered if she was trying to tell him she hadn’t made her mind up about him, and maybe he wasn’t worth her time if every time she turned around Shannon and Dale got between them.

  “It’s definitely worth your consideration. Customers are going to love this. They’ll be beating down your door to place orders.”

  “Maybe, but if it gets in the way of my shop, maybe it’s better to focus on that rather than take on something new that could easily turn out to be a complete failure.”

  Yep, they were definitely talking about their relationship. No way he failed at this. He wanted her too much.

  “Since you like the idea so much, maybe you should buy in,” Janine suggested. “You know. Fifty-fifty.”

  The smile came easy, because he’d already anted up. Now all he had to do is hope he had the winning hand and stay in the game.

  “Excellent idea. Claire, let’s move this into my office. We’ll discuss the project and terms.”

  “Like I said, I’m not convinced this is a worthwhile venture to pursue.”

  Stubborn woman. Well, she could make this as hard as she liked. He wasn’t giving up.

  “I’m willing to go over the details at length.”

  He turned to Shannon, who sat quietly staring at them. “I’m sorry to cut things short, but as I said, I’ve got a full schedule.”

  Shannon gathered up her lunch and stuffed it into one of the bags, leaving his untouched food on the table. She stood and gave him a soft smile.

  “I’m so glad we had a few minutes alone together to talk.” She placed her hand on his arm, stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for taking the time for lunch.”

  Stunned by her actions and what she implied, he didn’t respond, but watched her walk out the door.

  Claire took a step to follow Shannon out, but he snagged her wrist and pulled her down the hall to his office.

  “Owen, I need to get back to the shop.”

  He didn’t say a word, just pulled her past his office door and slammed it behind them. He dropped the bucket on the corner of his desk and turned to her.

  “It’s not what it looked like.”

  Her eyes narrowed. Shit.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was coming. She just showed up.”

  One side of her mouth tilted in a whatever scowl.

  “Claire, really, I . . . Fuck it.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She didn’t respond at first. He didn’t expect her to, so he convinced her with soft brushes of his mouth to hers, his hands gently kneading her lower back until she settled against him. He gave her the time she needed to feel how happy he was to see her.

  She planted both hands on his chest and pushed him away, but only to arm’s length and stared up at him.

  “Let me make our previous conversation very clear,” he began, interrupting her before she said even one word. “This thing between us is worth your time and effort. I am not playing games. I want you. Only you. Shannon is a client and a nice lady. I didn’t want to upset her for no good reason when she’s been through so much and showed up here with lunch to show her appreciation for everything I’ve done for her.”

  “She has a crush on you.”

  “She’s my client and nothing more to me. You, on the other hand, have my full and undivided attention.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes. Always. I may have been a real bastard in the past moving from one woman to the next, but they never overlapped.”

  “Except for Molly. You saw other people while you were seeing her.”

  “I fucked Molly on occasion. We did not have a relationship. That was as much her preference as mine.” He ran his hand over his head and through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “I am seeing you exclusively. That will not change. Ever. No matter where this thing goes, I’d never do that to you, Claire.”

  She stood staring at him, giving him no indication she believed him. “What? Do you want it in writing? I can draw up a contract. We’ll sign. You can state the terms. My balls in a jar if I ever cheat on you.”

  That brought a smile to her face. She closed the d
istance between them, wrapped her arms around his neck, and stood on tiptoe to hug him close. Her chin on his shoulder, she said, “This is my hang-up, and you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry for acting like a shrew.”

  “No apology necessary. I told you I didn’t have time for anything today and you came here to bring me lunch and caught me with another woman.”

  She stepped back, and he let her have her space. “No. That isn’t what happened at all. You were having lunch with a client and being the nice guy that you are. I’m sorry to keep you even longer. I’ll let you get back to work. Enjoy your lunch.”

  Still not convinced. He needed to prove he meant what he said. “What did you bring me?”

  “It’s in the bucket. You’ll see.”

  “Show me.” He stood his ground in front of his office door, her escape route. No way she left this office before she truly believed in him and what they had together.

  “It’s just a sandwich, fruit, chips, cookies, and a couple of sodas.”

  “Yeah, what kind of sandwich?”

  “A turkey club with Havarti. No sprouts.”

  That made him chuckle. “Sounds good. What kind of cookies?”

  “Peanut butter, chocolate chip. Janine likes those, so share with her.”

  He smiled. “We talked about those at dinner. They’re my favorite.”

  “I made them for you.”

  “Just for me.” He closed the distance between them.

  “Yes.” The word came out breathy.

  His proximity got to her. He reached for her, tracing his fingers over her cheek and down her neck. The pulse point jackhammered under his fingertips.

  “I love the way you packed it up. The Giants are my favorite.”

  “I know.”

  “You know all those little things about me, but you still don’t see what is right in front of you. You are my favorite, Claire. No one else.” He kissed her on the forehead, turned, and sat on his desk. She turned to face him, and he dug through the bucket for a cookie, took a bite, and let out a satisfied groan when the sweet treat melted on his tongue. “God, these are so good. You spoil me.”