Penalty Clause

by Lori Ryan

  Andrew walked up to the front door with Jill and handed her the car keys. His fingers brushed hers and he let them linger for a moment longer, just a moment longer than he should have. The contact was small but the moment wasn’t. Andrew’s eyes were stuck on Jill’s and he knew if he wasn’t careful, if he didn’t stay in control, he would kiss her. His mind raced, debating the pros and cons, the danger of leaning in for just one kiss.

  Andrew stared at Jill’s lips and he felt himself take a step closer until they stood only inches apart. Her mouth was so tempting. Those full, rosy lips begging him, pleading for just a brush of his tongue, a gentle nip from his teeth.

  Rev sat in front of the unopened door and barked, breaking the moment.

  Well at least the dog has brains, since I’m apparently functioning with something else right now.

  Andrew’s head cleared and he took a step back, putting distance between him and Jill. “I guess Rev’s ready for bed. Nite, Jill.” Andrew’s voice was husky with need. He hopped down off the porch and strode to his car.

  When he got to the door, he looked at Jill one last time. She stood watching him from the porch, fingertips touching her lips as if she too had wondered. As if she knew as well as he did that just one kiss would have the power to break their resolve not to take things further.

  Andrew rolled down the window and smiled at her.

  “Get some sleep, sweet Jill.”

  Chapter Ten

  Always a glutton for punishment, Andrew once again made the trek over to Jill’s house the following morning. He cut through the backyard, telling himself he was just going over to be friendly. He was being neighborly, that’s all.

  Andrew peeked in the kitchen window but didn’t see Jill anywhere. There was a pan on the stove with eggs in it, though, and from the looks of it, they were well on their way to becoming burnt eggs. Andrew poked his head in the backdoor.

  “Jill?” he called out. No answer.

  He stepped into the kitchen and took the pan off the stove. Even Rev didn’t make an appearance. Andrew stuck the pan on one of the cool burners and walked toward the front of the house. He stopped mid stride in the hallway when he heard voices from the front entry. Jill and someone else.

  “Jake, I asked you for a clean break. I thought if I came to New Haven, you’d get the point. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want you checking up on me. Or dropping by to visit,” Jill said.

  Ex-husband, Jake? What the fuck is he doing here? Andrew felt his body tense as he listened to the conversation. It wasn’t any of his business. He should walk away, but the frustration in Jill’s voice was evident. Frustration and something else. Pain?

  Ah, shit.

  “Jill, don’t be ridiculous. You just moved, you’re starting over in a new city. You need me. There’s no reason for you to be like this. We can be friends, Jill,” a man’s voice said.

  “No. We really can’t. That ship sailed when you slept with another woman. When you ended our marriage. When you moved in with her. There’s not going to be any friendship, Jake.” Jill sounded firm.

  Good. She was firm. The guy will get it and go away.

  “You’re being unreasonable, Jill,” said the male voice.

  Or not. Time’s up, asshole.

  Andrew stepped out into the entry.

  “Hi, sweetheart,” Andrew said as he stepped up and put an arm around Jill. He felt her jump in surprise. “Who’s this?”

  The asshole at the door looked every bit as surprised as Jill to see Andrew in the house.

  “Um, uh,” stammered Jill.

  Andrew smiled at her, amused by the stunned look on her face. He stuck out his hand to the ex standing on the doorstep. “Hi. I’m Andrew. You must be Jason. Wait, that’s not right, John? Jarrod? What’s his name, honey?” Andrew asked, turning back to look at Jill, who now appeared to understand his game plan.

  “Jake. I’m her husband,” Jake said.

  Jill gasped audibly at the description and Andrew’s amusement went out the window. “I think you mean ex-husband. And I think Jill asked you to leave.”

  Andrew pulled Jill closer to him, snuggling her body against his as he kept his gaze firmly on Jake. Jake looked like he might argue for a second or two but then backed down.

  “Fine. Jill, I’ll talk to you soon,” Jake said tightly as he turned on his heel and walked down the front steps.

  Andrew slammed the door with a little more force than was probably necessary but it felt really good. Turning Jill in his arms, he studied her face. She still wore the same stunned, confused look. Damn, she felt so good in his arms. So right pressed up against his body.

  “Sorry, I probably should have let you handle that. It just didn’t sound like he was gonna leave any time soon and your eggs were burning,” Andrew said. Andrew couldn’t seem to let Jill go. The bewildered look on her face was just too damn cute.

  “My eggs? Oh! My eggs. Oh, crap!” Jill broke out of Andrew’s hold and rushed back to the kitchen, leaving Andrew with a disturbingly empty feeling where she’d been.

  Andrew walked into the kitchen to find Jill dumping eggs in the garbage can.

  “I hate that he still gets me flustered. But, what the hell is he doing showing up this early in the morning, unannounced, now that I live forty minutes away from him. Who does that?” Jill looked up at Andrew as if she expected him to be able to explain her ex’s behavior.

  “You handled him just fine. You stood your ground and told him to go away. I wouldn’t call that flustered.” Andrew watched as Rev tried to get into the garbage can for the trashed eggs.

  “I tell him that every time he comes around. So far, the words are completely ineffective,” Jill said.

  Andrew watched her crack more eggs into the pan and begin to scramble them as he tried to figure out how to ask his next question.

  “When you say he doesn’t listen, you don’t mean… I mean, he doesn’t ever force his way in, does he?” Andrew could feel the tightness in his jaw as he asked the question. He clenched his fists at his sides, holding his breath as he waited for Jill to answer.

  “No, no. Nothing like that. He just doesn’t listen, you know? What I don’t get is why he keeps coming around? He’s the one who left.” Jill gestured Andrew toward the kitchen island as she slid scrambled eggs onto two plates. “Here, you earned breakfast.”

  Jill smiled and pulled two pieces of toast from the toaster, buttering them and placing one on her plate and one on Andrew’s.

  Andrew was quiet for a minute while he thought about Jill’s question.

  “Only two reasons he’d keep coming around,” Andrew said slowly. “Either he really is an arrogant ass who thinks you can’t live without him or he still wants to sleep with you.”

  Jill’s head shot up. “What? No! I mean, no. He’s…he left me. He’s living with his mistress. He doesn’t want… I mean, we don’t. He’s not…”

  Andrew laughed. “Okay, then he’s an arrogant ass who thinks you can’t live without him.”

  Jill frowned at her eggs. “Well, yes. Actually, that sounds exactly like him.”

  They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. Jill seemed to be a million miles away and Andrew was busy having a little internal conversation with his dick about its reaction to Jill in her pajamas. She wore men’s pajama bottoms and a thin cami top that beautifully outlined the round curve of her breasts and hard peaks of her nipples.

  If Andrew expected to keep his head around Jill, he really had to stop coming around first thing in the morning. Jill in pajamas with her hair mussed from sleep was way too tempting.

  ***

  Andrew walked into Jack’s office for their morning meeting and found Chad and Jack were already there drinking coffee, waiting for him.

  “Sorry, guys. Got caught on the phone,” Andrew said as he picked up the coffee that waited for him in front of his usual chair.

  “No problem. We don’t have much to go over today. A few details for the investors we have c
oming in and someone who’s looking for a spot on your team, Andrew. Chad, you have anything else to go over?” Jack turned to Chad.

  “Just a few employee raises,” Chad said. This earned him puzzled looks from Jack and Andrew.

  “We don’t need to review raises for your people. We never have before,” Andrew said.

  Andrew watched Chad squirm, not something you normally see from a guy like Chad, and instantly Andrew knew this had something to do with Jennie. Chad was head over heels in love with Jennie, but she reported to Chad. In Chad’s mind, that meant she was off limits. It also made him anal about being objective where Jennie was concerned.

  “One of them is Jennie’s. I want you guys to review and approve all of the raises so there’s no question about… Well, you know,” Chad finished, trying to act casual about his nervousness where Jennie was concerned.

  “Aw, look at the big guy, Jack. He’s growing up so fast…all hot for a girl,” Andrew said with fake wistfulness and a big grin.

  “He’s not our little boy anymore,” Jack said. Chad was two years younger than Jack and Andrew and they never tired of reminding him.

  “Very funny, guys. Just review the damn raises,” Chad said and tossed a stack of papers on Jack’s desk.

  It only took a minute for Andrew and Jack to review the raises. Chad had been meticulous when it came to his supervisory role of Jennie. He never touched her, never treated her differently than any other employee, and it was no surprise that he had clearly documented the grounds for giving a raise to each of the three employees in question, including Jennie.

  “Looks good to me, Chad,” Andrew said and Jack echoed his approval.

  “You know, Chad, there isn’t technically any non-fraternization policy at Sutton. You can date Jennie if you want. I mean, I’m not saying I want you to run out and date just anyone in your division, but we both know Jennie’s not just anyone. And, we can file a mutual consent form for the record. Maybe it’s time for you to see where this goes,” Jack said.

  “Not happening. Next topic.” Chad’s tone left no room for discussion.

  Andrew shrugged at Jack in a silent agreement to drop the topic for now.

  “All right, here’s the agenda for the investors from New York. They’ll be here for two days and we’re packing a lot in with them. Any questions on the packets you got on the agenda for the visit earlier?” Jack asked.

  Chad and Andrew glanced through the agenda Jack handed them and both shook their heads.

  “Okay, last item. Andrew, there’s an administrative assistant over in legal who requested a transfer over to financial. Uh…” Jack looked down at his notes. “Theresa Martin. She gets good reports, seems to do her work, but she doesn’t have any particular legal training so there’s really no reason for us to keep her in legal if she’d rather join finance. Do you have anything open?” Jack asked.

  “I might. Jason and Katelyn have been sharing an assistant for a while because neither had a full workload. They’re getting to the point where they need more support. I’ll double check and get back to you later today,” Andrew answered, jotting a note to himself.

  “That’s it, then,” Jack said, standing.

  ***

  For the next two days, by the time he pulled himself in late at night, he was exhausted so it made resisting Jill a little easier. By the third day, work had eased up and he couldn’t stay away any longer. Before going to work Andrew cut through the backyards to see if Jill was awake.

  As he walked up to the back door of Jill’s house, he could see her sipping a cup of coffee and reading something on her laptop at her kitchen island. He tapped on the door and let himself in when Jill waved in response.

  “Hi.” Jill greeted him with a genuine smile and he felt himself smile back.

  “Hey, stranger. Wanted to see if you felt like getting together tonight.” Andrew raised his hands in a gesture of goodwill. “Just as friends. I promise. We send our investors back to New York this afternoon so I’ve got nothing going on and I could use a break.” Not that I should be taking that break with you, but I’m a glutton for fucking punishment, apparently.

  Jill nodded, but Andrew noticed a wary light in her eye. He would bet she was also thinking through the consequences of the two of them spending more time together. Jill got up to get a cup of coffee for Andrew and appeared to make a decision.

  “Okay. I could use a break, too. I’ve been knee deep in the website for the past few days and now it’s all up to the designers to finish their end of things before we go live.”

  “Pick you up at seven and we’ll go out to dinner?” Andrew took the cup of coffee, using the gesture as an excuse to let his fingers brush along Jill’s. Hot, warm. Just like he knew she’d feel.

  Andrew also knew taking Jill to a restaurant was too much like a date but staying in seemed too dangerous. At least in public, he couldn’t strip her clothes off and use his mouth to see how many times he could make her come.

  Needing a distraction, Andrew bent to Rev and rubbed the dog’s belly.

  “Sounds perfect,” Jill said.

  “Great, I’ll see you tonight,” he said.

  Andrew slipped back out the door and cut back through the yards to Nora’s house. The whole way, he told himself he was playing with fire by seeing Jill this way, but he didn’t have the strength to resist.

  ***

  Jill watched Andrew as he jogged through the backyards to go back to his grandmother’s house. Oh, what a pair of jeans did for that man’s ass. It should be a crime to look that good.

  She couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy, because she already knew they shouldn’t get as close as they were. It was one thing to spend time with a group of friends together. Tonight would feel more like a date.

  Jill sighed. She’d just have to keep reminding herself that Andrew was only a friend. And that he could only ever be a friend. Simple in plan, but tough in execution when every second around Andrew was compelling torture. When Andrew looked at her, Jill felt flames run through her body. When he brushed her arm or touched her in a casual, friendly way, her body burst to life and a needy ache burned in her core. And so far, Jill couldn’t figure out how to stop her response.

  Jill knelt down and threaded her fingers through the curly hair of Rev’s chest, scratching him as she bared her worries to him, in the face of his unconditional love. “I think I may be in over my head already, baby. Mommy might get hurt when this is over.”

  Rev raised his head and looked at her.

  Jill lowered her voice to a whisper to answer his unspoken question. “I think I might really like him. As in ‘like him’ like him, you know?”

  Rev laid his head on his paws and stared up at Jill with big brown eyes that held no answers for her. She sighed and stood and shook her head at the dog before she crossed the room to the treat cabinet.

  “All right, how about a Laughing Puppers Biscuit since you don’t seem to have any answers for me, little man?”

  Rev jumped up at the name of his favorite treat and offered Jill a prim and proper sit. Rev was wearing his most innocent look.

  “You don’t fool me,” Jill said wryly as she handed Rev his treat. “I know you’re a devil dog.” She paused and watched Rev gobble up the treat. “And you like him, too, huh?”

  Chapter Eleven

  “How does Italian sound?” Andrew asked Jill as they walked to his car.

  Jill was appalled to hear her stomach grumble loudly at the mention of Italian food. Andrew turned and threw her a grin.

  “Guess that’s a ‘yes’?”

  “Sorry. I forgot lunch and breakfast was pretty small.” Jill blushed. “I tend to get sucked into my work.”

  Jill buckled her seatbelt. Andrew steered the car down the drive, pausing at the end before turning onto the road.

  “Well, we can fix that. There’s a small family-owned place that Nora used to take me to when I was younger. Best gnocchi you’ve ever tasted. It just melts in your mouth, and t
he sauce… You’ll dream about the sauce for weeks.” Andrew sounded positively wistful as he described the restaurant and Jill knew right away he was talking about Nonna Alda’s.

  “I haven’t been to Nonna Alda’s in years!” Jill’s stomach grumbled again. “Oh, the garlic bread. I can’t wait for the garlic bread.”

  Andrew laughed. “Your grandparents took you?”

  “At least once every visit. I’m surprised I haven’t thought of it since I got back,” Jill said.

  Andrew pulled into the parking lot of the small restaurant. Jill felt the hot wave of attraction she had come to expect when Andrew placed his hand on the small of her back to walk her into the restaurant. It began at her back, but spread through her whole body, curling her toes.

  “Andrew!” A small woman with grey-streaked black hair tied in a braid opened her arms to hug and kiss Andrew. “Joseph, come. Andrew is here.”

  A very robust man came out of the kitchen and Andrew and Jill were quickly engulfed in hugs and kisses. The quartet spent a few minutes catching up before Alda showed Andrew and Jill to a small booth in a corner. The cozy fireplace near the booth cast a gentle glow on the table.

  Jill opened the menu and tried to ignore the lingering feeling she was on a date. She reminded herself repeatedly that Andrew was gregarious and charming with all of his friends. She just needed to ignore the feeling that his attention was all for her. Only for her.

  This is not a date. This is not a date. This is not a date. Sigh.

  Jill’s chant was having little effect on the date-like atmosphere that hung over their table.

  “What are you getting?” Jill asked Andrew.

  “Definitely the gnocchi. I should probably try something else but I can never resist the gnocchi. What about you? What are you getting?” Andrew asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m torn between the gnocchi and the lasagna. I don’t know which one I want more,” Jill said and then watched as a grin took over Andrew’s handsome face.

  “I have a great idea. Get both. I’ll get two things, too. That way, I’ll be trying something new but still have my gnocchi and you get exactly what you want, too,” Andrew announced.