by Brenda Novak
“Well, I hope it’ll be an opportunity for both of us. I admit that when Adam first called me, I was reluctant to get involved because I didn’t want to be in the uncomfortable position of disappointing a friend. But after seeing the window in Adam’s office, I started to feel very enthusiastic. Why don’t you show me what you’ve got?”
Tucking away the knowledge that Adam had hung her window in his office, Jenna removed the protective packaging from the red-and-white lighthouse.
Mr. LeCourt settled one hip on the corner of his desk. Turning the window so he could see it, he narrowed his eyes, then held the frame in his own hands. “The glass seems to glow from within. How incredible.”
Jenna took the compliment as a good sign, but her stomach still knotted as she reached for the Victorian garden. “I’ve done a lot of the more traditional Victorian themes, like flowers and birds, but I’ve tried to modernize them, stylize them somewhat. I draw all my own designs.”
LeCourt grunted as he set the lighthouse aside and studied the garden. “What else do you have?”
Jenna showed him the rest. The stone cottage overlooking the promontory held his attention the longest.
“These are unique.” He smiled. “I don’t doubt there’s a market for such work.”
“Really?” Jenna glanced at Adam and noted his satisfied expression as her fear and skepticism turned to cautious hope. “And what, exactly, does that mean?”
“It means I’d like to carry your work in my store. It’ll be on a consignment basis—at first, anyway. That’ll give you a chance to test the market.”
While Jenna was tempted to take Mr. LeCourt’s offer at face value, she didn’t want to waste her time or her hopes on someone who was merely helping out a friend. Her stained glass had to stand on its own merits, preferably sooner than later. “This isn’t because of some feeling of obligation to Adam, is it? Because if that’s the case, I’d rather—”
LeCourt’s sharp laugh interrupted her. “I like Adam, but you overrate his charm. And Lord knows I don’t owe him anything.” He slapped Adam on the shoulder. “That firm of his charged me a small fortune once upon a time.”
“Believe me, Jen,” Adam said, chuckling, “if this guy didn’t like your stuff, he’d have said so.”
Jenna finally let her excitement grow. “So you’re serious?”
“Completely.”
Provided Mr. LeCourt was honest in his motivation and accurate in his assessment—and his percentage wasn’t too high—what did she have to lose? She looked at Adam, then nodded. “As long as we can agree on sale prices and the split and all that, I’ll do it.”
“I take fifty percent, which is pretty standard. But you’ll still end up ahead because I plan to charge a lot more than the amount Adam told me you sell them for in Mendocino. I’m not sure exactly where I’ll set the price just yet. We’ll discuss it after I’ve had a chance to do some research and to figure out what the market can bear. Of course, you’ll have to raise your prices to match mine, or at least come close. It wouldn’t do either of us any good to have you selling your work for a fraction of what I’m charging. Especially since you’re only three hours away.”
Jenna nodded, more than a little overwhelmed. She hadn’t expected Mr. LeCourt to make a decision so fast and wasn’t sure her brain was taking in all the significant details.
“When can I get more?” he asked.
“I have some other pieces at my studio, and I’m making new ones all the time.”
“Good. This is enough to get us started. I’ll let you know when you need to send replacements.” He motioned to the windows he’d just seen. “Can you leave these with me so we can get them on display this week?”
Jenna glanced at her work and couldn’t think of any reason to delay. “All right.”
LeCourt clapped his hands. “Fine. I’ll walk you through the paperwork.”
Adam put his arm around Jenna and smiled proudly. “Fortunately she’s got her attorney here to read over the fine print.”
SHOES AND JACKET removed, Jenna propped her feet on the dash and reclined in the passenger seat, chattering exuberantly as Adam wove through traffic toward his house. It was only six-thirty, but already the city’s lights glittered against a black backdrop, creating the night skyline plastered on everything in tourist shops, from mugs to sweatshirts to postcards—the same skyline engraved in Adam’s heart. Turning to Jenna, he approached a subject he’d been wanting to address ever since they’d left Local Treasures.
“So now you’ll probably be visiting the city occasionally, don’t you think?”
“What?” Jenna blinked up at him. “Oh, yeah, I guess. I’ll definitely have to see my work on display.” She breathed a whimsical sigh and shifted in her seat belt. “There were times I thought I’d never see the day.”
Adam was equally pleased that everything had gone so well with Harvey, but he tried to steer her back on course. “It’s probably pretty hard to send glass through the mail or even by courier, which can get costly. By the time you get it packaged right and all that, you might as well drive down here. It’s only three hours.”
She frowned. “Three hours doesn’t sound like much unless you’re driving the van. Even after the alternator’s fixed, there’s still a dozen other things ready to go out on that heap.”
Reaching over, Adam pulled one of Jenna’s feet into his lap and massaged it with one hand as he drove. He expected her to protest, but she didn’t. “What about getting a new car?”
“After I sell a few windows, I might have the money for a down payment…oh, that feels good. Where did you learn to massage?” She closed her eyes as a satisfied smile curved her beautiful mouth, and Adam was tempted to let his hand creep up her leg. He wanted to make her quiver until she called out his name and begged for more. But he’d promised he wouldn’t touch her without an invitation, so he kept his attention on the massage. Rubbing her foot could hardly be construed as an attempt at seduction.
“What if we traded in your van for more reliable transportation?”
She opened one eye. “We?”
He pressed on a particularly sensitive spot just below her toes and elicited another soft moan. “I could co-sign for you.”
Obviously torn between wariness at his words and the pleasure of his touch, she didn’t answer for a moment. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Because then you’d feel obligated to come and see me when you were in town.”
She laughed. “You want me to feel obligated?”
“If that’ll work.”
“But what if I couldn’t make my payments? You’d be stuck with the bill. I could never take that risk.”
“Come on, you’re going to do great in LeCourt’s store. You’ll be able to make the payments. And if not—” he shrugged “—what would be the harm in letting me help you out a little?”
Pulling her foot away, she put her seat in the upright position. “I’m not going to let you co-sign for me. We’re not even friends, remember?”
He rolled his eyes. “We’re more than friends, Jenna.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I don’t see anything wrong with admitting we still care for each other, at least a little bit. With our history it’s only natural. It would be stranger if we felt nothing at all.”
“I don’t know if lust can be classified as ‘caring.”’
Adam felt her words like cold water dashed in his face. What was she trying to say? He’d been speaking for himself and assuming she felt the same, but maybe she merely hungered for a physical satisfaction she could never achieve with Dennis. Dennis had been a selfish son of a bitch. Maybe that selfishness extended as far as the bedroom, which would certainly explain what had driven Jenna to the one-night stand that had left her pregnant.
“Are you saying that’s all I feel for you, or that’s all you feel for me?” he ventured, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
Jenna shook her head. “I’m only saying that I’
m not going to let you help me get a car. It’s not your responsibility. I can take care of myself.”
“Then, for God’s sake, take care of yourself and make the payments, but I don’t want to worry about you driving that piece of junk back to Mendocino or anywhere else.”
Her lips thinned, and she turned to stare out the window.
“What about Ryan?” he continued. “I know you’d die before you let anything happen to him. Surely you can lower your pride long enough to accept my help if it means a safe car for your son to ride in.”
Jenna’s unhappy reflection in the glass made Adam sorry for ruining her earlier excitement. He’d been so eager to relieve his own anxiety about her welfare—and to hear her say she’d come and see him—that he hadn’t been sensitive enough to her fierce independence. “Just think about it,” he said, easing off. “We don’t have to decide right now.”
“Okay,” she murmured, but her earlier carefree attitude didn’t return, and she didn’t speak again until he turned into his drive—and then it was only to express further doubts about staying with him.
Adam shoved the car into park, feeling frustrated and angrier than the situation merited. “You coward! You’re afraid to stay with me even though I’ve promised not to touch you. You’re afraid to take my help for fear it’ll hurt your precious pride. And you’re afraid to admit that what you feel for me is more than lust. But dammit, Jenna, you’re not the only one who’s scared to take another chance! Do you think it feels good for me to know you’d never have married Dennis if I hadn’t left you?”
“If you loved me you wouldn’t have left, and I certainly don’t want to be an obligation, Adam. Poor Jenna screwed up her life. Poor Jenna married a loser. Pity Jenna who—”
“Pity, my ass.” Slipping a hand around her neck, Adam pulled her toward him. He needed her to appease some sexual primitive instinct; he needed her in other less-obvious ways that ran far deeper. Combined, they created a powerful hunger that demanded he claim her as his own, regardless of the fears and doubts that plagued them both.
At first Jenna tried to pull away, but once his mouth descended on hers, the power of her response astounded him. Her lips parted and her hands entwined in his hair. The small sounds she made in her throat urged him on until he would have given anything for a bed to replace the console that separated them in his Mercedes.
“Admit you still feel something for me,” he insisted, hearing the hoarseness of his voice as he drew back just far enough to gaze into her eyes.
“You said you wouldn’t touch me.”
“You want me to touch you.”
“But I didn’t ask you to.”
“No.” Taking a deep breath that did nothing to slow his pounding heart, Adam released her. Maybe it really would be better if Jenna returned to Mendocino tonight, he thought. If she stayed, he doubted he could keep the promise he’d given her—which wouldn’t improve his track record any. And moving from friendly conversation and teasing to anger and distrust and finally raw passion couldn’t be easy on either of them. “If you want, I’ll get you a rental car.”
She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. When she looked up again, a scowl had replaced the flush on her face. “I’m not a coward.”
“You’re not afraid of me?” He felt like smiling at the stubborn tilt of her chin and the defiance in her eyes, but didn’t want her to think he was laughing at her.
“No. I’d like to see your house.” Jenna got out of the car and started up the drive. Adam felt a disquieting mix of tension and excitement, fear and happiness. His first lover had come back into his life, and it was like a tidal wave, burying him in memories and carrying him away with the desire to be with her again. But he was beginning to feel very vulnerable where Jenna was concerned. As a matter of fact, he’d never felt so open and unprotected in his life. And he wasn’t sure he liked the sensation.
EQUIPPED WITH A FULL gourmet kitchen, breakfast room, comfortable living room, an office set off by glass double doors, a small library adjoining the office and four bedroom suites, three of which looked as though they’d never been occupied, Adam’s house lacked for nothing. Jenna wandered around, marveling at the pristine cleanliness and expensive furnishings, while Adam brought in his car phone, briefcase, laptop computer and a stack of files. She could scarcely believe that he lived in such opulence—and that he seemed to accept it all so casually.
Raising one hand above her eyes to reduce the glare of the inside lights, she pressed her nose against the back wall of the living room, which was mostly glass. A large deck and patio with a Jacuzzi and what looked like a small waterfall filled the backyard, along with a variety of trees and flowering shrubs.
Coming up behind her, Adam flipped a switch and flooded the yard with light. “What do you think? Do you like it?” he asked, eagerness in his voice.
Jenna dropped her hand and turned back to the leather chairs, big-screen TV and glass coffee table in the living room. “It makes me unreasonably angry.”
“Angry?” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he lifted his brows in surprise. “Anger is hardly the reaction I was looking for.”
“I know. It means I’m jealous of course, just like you once accused me of being.” With a sigh she sank into the supple softness of his leather couch. “I haven’t wanted to admit it, but there it is.”
“There’s no need to be jealous.” He studied her. “You could come here on weekends and enjoy it with me. Actually you could come as often as you wanted to.”
Jenna chuckled. “No, thanks.” She picked up a Sports Illustrated from the coffee table and thumbed through the pages before tossing it aside. “I need to tell you something, Adam, something I should have said long ago.”
He loosened his tie, but the tautness of his muscles told her he was far from relaxed. “What’s that?”
“You were right to follow your dream. Look at this place! You’ve done so well. You started with nothing and overcame all the odds. Part of me is so darn proud.”
His smile was tentative but wary. “And the other part?”
She held her head in her hands, not wanting to see him when she admitted the truth. “The other part hates your success because, by contrast, it magnifies the mess I’ve made of my own life.”
Jenna felt the couch shift as Adam sat next to her. “Jen, when you marry someone, you have no way of knowing how he or she will behave through the coming years. You take a leap of faith and entwine your life with the other person’s. And that takes courage—more courage than I’ve had.”
She shook her head. “Marrying Dennis had nothing to do with courage. It was the most cowardly thing I’ve ever done.”
“That doesn’t matter. You were eighteen, Jen. All you can do now is close the door and move on.”
“I know.” She gave him her best imitation of a smile. “I just wanted you to know that you should never feel guilty for leaving Mendocino…or me. There’ve been times when I’ve blamed you for everything that’s happened to me, but it’s not fair to hold you responsible. You took nothing I didn’t freely give. Then you chose to build a future, alone, and you had that right.”
“Jenna…” He started to reach out to cup her chin, but she stood up and moved away. It was time she forgave him, but relinquishing the hurt and blame she’d laid at his doorstep meant letting go of him completely—which was probably why she hadn’t done it before. “I’d better call Ryan and tell him how my meeting went,” she said.
Adam looked as though he wanted to say more. Instead he directed her to the office, where she could talk in private. By the time she returned, he’d changed into a pair of worn jeans, running shoes and a golf shirt and was on the phone. Two glasses of bubbling golden liquid waited on the table.
“What’s this?” she asked when he hung up.
“It’s apple cider. No alcohol. Someone brought it to my open house just after I moved into this place. And it’s perfect for a pregnant lady who has something to celebrate.”
“Exactly. Are you hungry? Should I call and order a pizza?”
“We had such a late lunch I don’t want any but we could eat the leftovers for breakfast.”
“No, I’m not hungry, either, and I have other plans for breakfast. I’m going to make you my famous sourdough waffles.”
“Famous sourdough waffles?”
He grinned. “Okay, so not many people have heard of them. It’s a recipe I learned from a friend of mine.”
Jenna cocked an eyebrow. “A woman who used to make you breakfast in bed, no doubt.”
He didn’t answer and Jenna guessed her words had hit too close to the truth to be denied. She stifled a flash of jealousy.
“How was Ryan?” he asked, handing her a glass of cider.
“Good. He wanted to know how soon we could start spending money, now that my things are actually in a regular store. I told him it wouldn’t make any difference to our budget for a while.”
“Is he okay with you staying away overnight?”
“Yeah. I talked to Gram, too. She said not to worry about anything, that she’d take good care of him. She’s so great. She and Pop were playing checkers with Ryan when I called.”
He took a sip of his own cider. “Does Gram know you’re staying here?”
Jenna nodded. “I wanted her to be able to get hold of me if she or Ryan needed anything. I hope you don’t mind her knowing we’re together.”
“Of course not.” He paused. “I’m glad you’ve told them about the baby.”
Jenna grimaced. “Actually Ryan blurted it out during breakfast one day last week.”
He laughed, and she considered telling him that Gram and Pop had both jumped to the conclusion that the baby was his, but then decided not to. Emotions had leveled out since their kiss in the car, and she was beginning to relax and enjoy herself again.
“Want to get into the Jacuzzi?” he asked. “It’s a beautiful night.”
“I don’t have a suit.”
“You could wear one of my T-shirts.”
Jenna sent him her best “get real” look, but he raised his hands in a defensive gesture. “It’s dark outside. I won’t be able to see anything.”