Can't Stop the Feeling

by Maria Geraci

  He took her by the elbow and marched her over to an empty alcove where they kept the trophy case. “You make me feel like one.”

  He bent down to kiss her, but she placed her hand against his chest to fend him off. “First things first. How is Rachel?”

  “She’s fine. She’s with Mom and probably still singing songs from Annie. At the top of her lungs, I might add.”

  “Serves you right.”

  “Is this about the mosquito bite?”

  “Absolutely not. I’m thrilled that the whole town now knows I have a hickey,” she grumbled, although to be honest she couldn’t really be angry at him when he stood there grinning at her like that.

  “Next time I’ll leave one where no one can see it.” Then he pulled her against him and kissed her.

  * * *

  “Wait!” She came up for air. “I have something important to tell you. Two things really.”

  Jenna looked a little dazed, which was good because what he felt right now was a whole lot more than just dazed. The foul mood he’d been in for most of the day completely disappeared the instant he’d seen her standing near the podium.

  She had on the same outfit she’d worn that first time he’d seen her at The Bistro. A tight little skirt that still managed to look professional and four-inch black stilettos. She wasn’t wearing panty hose but she didn’t need to. Her long, pale legs were smooth and firm. Just remembering how they felt wrapped around his waist was getting him hard.

  “I…” She shook her head. “Stop looking at me like that. This is important.”

  “Let’s go back to your place.”

  “Not till I tell you what I need to tell you.”

  “So that’s a yes?”

  She shook her head. “Yes.” Then she nodded. “I mean, no. I mean…stop confusing me and let me speak.”

  “You’re adorable, you know that?

  “Ben,” she said, trying to be stern, “you need to let me finish. Number one, I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up this morning. Or leave a note. Or call. Because obviously, I know how that feels, and it wasn’t payback for thirteen years ago, it was just me freaking out a little bit.”

  He’d never once thought it was payback. Jenna wasn’t the passive-aggressive type. If she was angry about something, she told you to your face. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. If she wanted him to pay attention to what she was saying, then she’d better not do that again.

  “Number two, Zeke Grant came to see me today. And, Ben, I have to warn you, he told me that he’s calling Child Protective Services about Rachel. He says it’s standard procedure and all, but—”

  He placed a finger over her mouth. “No worries. I expected that.”

  “You did?”

  “He wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t follow up.”

  She looked relieved. “Good, I mean, I told him he’s completely off base, but I wanted you to know.”

  She’d been worried about him. Other than his mother, he didn’t think anyone had ever worried about him before. It was an odd feeling. One he didn’t want to think about right now.

  “Is that it?” he asked. “Can we go have sex now?”

  “I never said we were going to have sex.”

  “Okay, we can start off with dinner. It’s pretty late. Have you eaten yet?”

  “How did almost all the town know about Nora and Vince’s offer to split the land?” she demanded.

  Shit. He knew this was going to come back and bite him in the ass, but he couldn’t lie to her. “Because I told Vince to spread it around.”

  “You think pressure from the community is going to help your cause?”

  “It already has.” The look on her face made him wish he’d just kept kissing her. Talk was way overrated. “No matter what it takes, I never lose, Jenna. I already told you that.”

  “Yes, you did.” She began to pace around the alcove. Her heels made a nervous clicking sound against the gym floor. She stopped, then paced some more. “The thing is, I have a pretty good idea of who you are, Ben Harrison.”

  He stilled, not sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “I like you. I mean, yes, obviously I really really like you. And I think it’s terrific how you’re helping with Rachel. And even though you’re the bad guy in this scenario I believe that you believe that what you’re doing is in the best interest of your client, so I guess I really can’t fault you for anything you’ve done. Even though you’re wrong.”

  She stopped pacing again. This time she turned to face him. “Which brings me to the fact that you’re only here temporarily. Soon you’ll be gone, and I’ll be left here to keep doing my own thing.”

  “What are you saying exactly?”

  “Don’t mess with me, Ben.”

  “I would never—”

  “Hurt me? And I would never want to hurt you. But as much as I’d love to go back to my place right now, I think we should call it a night because you’re not interested in anything more than sex. And I need more than that.”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

  Damn it. He hated that she was right. In a few weeks, he’d be gone. He worked twelve-hour days and his focus needed to be on Rachel right now. He didn’t have time for a relationship, let alone a long-distance one.

  She smiled sadly. “I really hope everything works out with Rachel and your mom and the move. Last night was terrific. A plus. Home run and all that jazz. But let’s not drag this out, okay?” She stuck her hand out. “Friends?”

  It felt wrong. But what choice did he have?

  Reluctantly, he put his hand in hers. “Friends.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next morning, Jenna woke up bright and early to get in her run. It was Saturday and north Florida must have gotten the memo that it was now October because the weather had finally cooled off, dropping the overnight temperatures into the low fifties.

  She grabbed a light jacket to slip over her T-shirt then headed south on Beach Street. With a picture perfect postcard view of the sparkling blue water of the gulf on her left and Whispering Bay’s quaint downtown to her right, she jogged along the side of the road, enjoying the beautiful brisk fall weather.

  Normally, fall days made her happy. In about four hours, television coverage of college football would begin. She planned to spend the day in front of the TV, then later this evening she’d go to Aunt Viola’s house to watch the big FSU-Miami game. All in all, a nice lazy day to unwind after a hard week of work.

  But instead of feeling happy, like she normally would, all she could think about was the conversation she’d had with Ben last night.

  On the one hand, she was proud of herself for knowing what she wanted out of a relationship. But on the other hand… Yesterday she’d admitted to herself that she was only a minute away from falling in love with him all over again. Which was crazy. He’d been in town less than two weeks. Plus, he really wasn’t her type. Sure, physically, maybe. Because who didn’t like tall, dark and handsome?

  But the rest of him? He was greedy, arrogant, secretive.

  But he could also be kind and funny. And there was something so incredibly sexy about the tender way he was with Rachel.

  Oh boy.

  She’d been right to go home alone last night. In a little while, he’d be gone and he’d forget she even existed. As for her? Work would keep her busy. That’s right. She’d work and jog and keep up the good fight right here in Whispering Bay.

  Colbie Caillat’s song “Bubbly” came up on her playlist. Now that should put her in a good mood. She was singing along to the chorus when her phone pinged. If this was Larry, she’d tell him to go take a long walk off a short pier. Or not. She prepared herself for the worst and automatically answered. “Jenna Pantini here.”

  “Please tell me it was Ben the lawyer who gave you the hickey.”

  “Mom?”

  “Who else? Thank God I have Viola there to keep me in the loop.”
/>   “I can explain,” Jenna said.

  “No need for explanations. I know where hickeys come from. The question is, what’s going on with you and the hottie from Miami? Besides some obvious hanky-panky. Not that I blame you. Those brown eyes of his could melt an icecap.”

  Hanky-panky? Wait. A little sliver of dread shot up her spine. “How do you know Ben’s a hottie… I mean, how do you know what he looks like?”

  “Because I did what any self-respecting mother with a single thirty-something-year-old daughter who doesn’t tell her anything would do. I checked out his picture on Google. Too bad he doesn’t have a Facebook page or one of those Instagram thingies. You can always find out so much about people that way.”

  Jenna came to halt. “You checked Ben’s picture out on Google?”

  “And his law firm website. Why didn’t you tell me he’d gone to Harvard?” Her mother sounded as excited as a teenage girl being asked to the prom. “Of course, there is that pesky business with that Tiffany McAdams. She’s very attractive, in a flashy sort of way. But honestly, honey, what man wouldn’t pick you over Tiffany? You’re beautiful, smart and the entire country hasn’t seen your breasts. I do have to admit, though, Tiffany does have some very nice perky ones. Do you think they’re fake?”

  “Mom, please don’t tell me you looked up Tiffany’s Playboy pictures.”

  “How else can I measure up the competition? I know it might seem insurmountable, especially considering how many pictures there are of the two of them together floating around in that cloud. But don’t forget when you were eleven, the Tampa Bay Italian American Club named you Little Miss Italy, and the competition was very fierce.”

  For the first time in her life, her mother had rendered her completely and utterly speechless.

  “No need to say anything. I don’t have to know all the details of your love life. Just let me know when things progress to the point that I need to defrost a pot roast. We want Ben’s first dinner with us to be memorable.” There was a pause. “He isn’t a vegetarian, is he? Never mind, we’ll figure something out. Gotta go, hon!”

  There was nothing to do after that phone call except eat. Preferably chocolate. And lots of it. The Bistro by the Beach was just a short jog ahead. One of Lucy’s delicious muffins would have to suffice until she could get to the Piggly Wiggly and buy out their Snickers inventory.

  “Good morning, Jenna!” Lucy chirped from behind the counter. “Gorgeous weather, isn’t it?” She took Jenna’s order then handed her a large mug of coffee.

  Jenna took a long appreciative sip of the java. Maybe if she drank enough coffee she’d wake up to realize that the phone call from her mother had been nothing but a dream. She checked out the recent calls log on her phone and cringed. Nope. Not a dream.

  “Interesting meeting last night, huh?”

  “Apparently so,” Jenna muttered.

  “I have to admit,” Lucy said in a low voice so that they wouldn’t be overheard, “there’s a part of me that wouldn’t hate it if there was a little more commercial build up in the area.”

  “Really?” Jenna couldn’t hide her surprise. Lucy had always struck her as the artistic type. But everyone had to make a living, and Lucy and Sarah had just bought The Bistro. They probably had a significant loan payment.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” Lucy said, “I wouldn’t want the beaches overrun with condos, but you know Luke Powers has that awesome environmental engineering firm. There’s no reason you can’t build responsibly. Right?”

  “True.” She thanked Lucy for the muffin, then scanned the small café for an empty table, but there were none. She wouldn’t mind sharing a table with someone, but since it was Saturday, the crowd was a little different than the usual weekday customers. Mostly tourists and unknowns.

  Then her gaze hit a familiar face. Ben’s mother. Also seated at her table was a man Jenna didn’t recognize. Pat Harrison waved her over. “Come join me!” She introduced Jenna to her companion.

  His name was Carl Russell. He was about sixty and bald. He wore jeans and a leather motorcycle jacket and appeared to be in good shape for a man his age.

  “Nice to meet you, Jenna,” he said warmly. “Pat has been telling me all about how you found Rachel the other night. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. That little girl means the world to me.”

  “It’s lucky I was in the right place at the right time.”

  “I’ll say.” He smiled, then turned his attention back to Pat. “I should probably go now.” He hesitated. “Will I see you tonight?”

  Pat nodded meaningfully. Carl left, and Jenna took his vacant seat.

  “Thanks for sharing a table.” So, this might be a little weird having coffee and muffins with the mother of the man you just had crazy monkey sex with a couple of nights ago. She’d try not to think of that. “Carl seems nice.”

  “He is. He owns the Stop and Go where I work. Or, rather, where I used to work.”

  “So he’s your ex-boss, huh?” The lingering look that Carl had given Pat seemed a lot more than boss to employee.

  “And a good friend as well.”

  “I don’t mean to sound nosy, but I couldn’t help but be curious about that last comment of his.”

  “Technically I suppose I’m no longer employed at the Stop and Go, but I still like to help out when I can. So since we’re still in the area…” She shrugged.

  Jenna took a sip of her coffee. “Will you miss it when you move to Miami?”

  Her answer was immediate. “Yes.” Pat’s eyes widened at her admission. “Don’t tell my son I said that. If it was up to him, the instant he passed the bar exam I would have quit my job and gone to live with him.”

  “Because he doesn’t want you to work or because he doesn’t think working at the Stop and Go is fancy enough?”

  “Boy, you tell it like is, don’t you?”

  Jenna flushed. “Sorry, I can’t seem to help myself.”

  “It’s too bad you don’t like my son.”

  She set down her coffee. “Is that what he told you?”

  “Basically.” Pat gave her a shrewd look. “He’s got that all wrong, doesn’t he?”

  She liked Ben’s mother too much for anything other than the absolute truth. “Yes. But it’s not that simple. Neither of us is in a position to start a relationship right now. I just got this job here in town, and Ben’s life is eight hours away in Miami.”

  “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I know my son. He might not realize it yet, but deep down he wants a wife and a family. Eventually he’ll get those. I wouldn’t mind a couple of grandkids with red hair and a whole lot of spunk.”

  Jenna nearly choked on her muffin. “That’s a little out there, don’t you think?”

  “Not really. Ben is thirty-six. How old are you?”

  “Thirty-one, almost thirty-two.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  Jenna shook her head and laughed. “I’m not the only one who says what she thinks.”

  “Ben isn’t a snob. It’s not the Stop and Go he objects to so much as the hours. He thinks I work too hard. And then there’s Rachel. She needs a strong parent figure in her life right now. Speaking of which, I’m sure my son has thanked you already, but please allow me to tell you how grateful I am for finding my granddaughter. When I think of her walking down that road, all alone…” She shuddered.

  “Luckily, it all ended well. And Greta is out of the picture, so there’s that.” It sounded so glib, but what else could she say?

  “A good ending would be to see that woman strung up by her heels,” Pat seethed.

  “Join the club.”

  “Rachel is really taken with you. All she can talk about is Jenna this and Jenna that. And she hasn’t stopped talking about Annie. Do you know that she wants to get a dog and name it Sandy?”

  “Oh! I’m so sorry.” Still, Jenna couldn’t help but laugh.

  “I never had girls, so movies like Annie aren’t my forte. My boys a
lways liked adventure movies. Ben loved anything military and Jake…he liked…” Her voice faltered. “Ironically, he liked cop action movies.”

  “Ben told me about him. I’m so sorry.”

  Pat glanced down at her empty cup. “What did he tell you?”

  “He told me that he and Rachel’s mother died of a drug overdose. And a little about his problems with the law. It must have been rough on everyone involved. Drug addiction is a terrible disease.”

  She nodded. “No matter how much you try to help… It’s never completely up to you.” Her eyes were moist with tears.

  There she was always putting her foot in her mouth. “God I’m a horrible person. I’m so sorry. I never think before speaking. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

  “Oh, honey, my son is dead. I’m going to go through the rest of my life sad.” She swiped at a tear and smiled ruefully. “Talking about him is the one thing that actually makes it a little better. I accepted Jake’s illness a long time ago. I’m just grateful that, despite everything, Rachel is so well adjusted.” Pat looked at her thoughtfully. “I’m surprised at how much Ben has told you about our family situation.”

  “I forced him,” Jenna admitted. “I told him I wasn’t leaving the house until he explained about Rachel.”

  “And you think that’s why he told you? Ben doesn’t do anything that he doesn’t want to do. If he told you about Jake, it’s because he trusts you, and my son trusts very few people in this world.” She fidgeted with the edge of her napkin. “What else did he tell you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  She went to say something, then the door to The Bistro opened and Pat’s brown eyes immediately lit up with happiness.

  Jenna twisted in her seat to see Ben and Rachel approaching their table. “Jenna!” Rachel ran to her. “I’ve seen Annie five times more!”

  “Make that six,” Ben said dryly. He wore shorts and sneakers and his baseball cap was on backward, making him look younger. And incredibly hot. She ignored the way her girl parts sighed.

  “I’ll tell you a secret,” Jenna confessed to Rachel. “I’ve probably seen it a hundred times.”