He was thanking Josie for making him feel so comfortable during the interview. It was strange how different people were when a camera was turned on them. They froze up. Or they started having strange ticks.
Even the most seasoned actors’ energies changed when there was a lens directed at them. Most people probably didn’t notice the changes, it could be as tiny as a slight switch in their breathing pattern, or a nearly imperceptible change in their cadence when they spoke. There was almost always a tell of their awareness of being ‘on.’
But not Josie. Nothing about her changed when a camera was pointed at her. Not one thing. I’d never seen someone so authentic. So real. So endearing.
And that authenticity transferred to whoever she was speaking to. Her genuineness put all of the people that she spoke to at ease. No matter how nervous, or scared they obviously were, she somehow distracted them with her voodoo magic of pure realness. She had such a way of making everyone we met feel immediately at ease.
I’d worked with a lot of on-air talent and producers over the years and she was different. She was special. People gravitated to her, but I could honestly see that she had no clue that it was happening. She had a magnetic pull that she was completely unaware of. She was one of the few people that I’d met that absolutely did not think the world revolved around her.
And that made her even more attractive.
When she crossed the room to me, I put my camera back inside my bag. I wasn’t sure she’d appreciate the fact that I kept snapping candid photos of her, but I just couldn’t seem to stop myself.
When I looked up, the wide smile that she wore as she started to take her mic off had my heart pounding hard against my ribs. I didn’t think as long as I lived, I’d ever grow immune to its potency.
“Okay, that’s a wrap for this location.”
My heart was still pounding as we made quick work of striking the set. I could’ve easily done it on my own, but Josie made sure that if there was something to do, she did it. It was just one more thing that surprised me about her. Not so much because that wasn’t the traditional role of a producer or talent, mainly because of her upbringing.
She’d been primarily raised by her grandmother, who was Hollywood royalty. She’d lived in a penthouse in a high rise in Manhattan. I was certain that Josie must be accustomed to staff.
But you would never know it to be around her. She was down to earth, hard-working, and fucking gorgeous. I’d been doing my best to ignore that particular adjective, but it was the truth. She was stunning. Breathtaking. And totally and completely unexpected.
I held the door for her as we exited the Dreamy Bean Coffee Shop.
“Thank you, again.” Josie waved to the owner, who had allowed us to use the location.
When we reached the car, we loaded the equipment. Once we were done, I opened the passenger side door and did my best not to inhale the intoxicating floral aroma that she always left in her wake. But I couldn’t help myself. The scent overwhelmed my senses as I closed the door and moved to my side of the car.
“Where are we headed?” I asked when I climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Southern Comfort. It’s the bar that the brothers own. It’s just down the road about a mile on the left.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josie flip the visor down. She started retouching her makeup. “I think Nadia liked you.”
“Who?”
“Nadia.” She ran her hand down her hair. “The pretty blonde with huge blue eyes.”
When I didn’t answer she glanced over at me. I had no idea who she was talking about. All I could think of was how good Josie smelled, and how badly I wanted to kiss the lipstick, she’d just applied, right off of those sumptuous lips.
“She came in and got a to-go order. We talked for a few minutes. I introduced you to her, she asked if we were staying in town tonight.”
“Oh.” I’d barely noticed her. I barely noticed anyone except Josie.
I’d always been an observer of people, but when Josie was around, it was like I had tunnel vision. I wasn’t aware of my surroundings. She was all I could see.
And my attraction to her was reaching critical mass. I’d almost kissed her twice now. Once at the water tower and then again after she’d had a panic attack. How fucking inappropriate was that? Not only was she in a vulnerable place; we were at work. I wasn’t sure which one was worse.
But damn, I was only human. When she’d looked up at me like I was her hero, it made me feel like I’d just slayed a thousand dragons and rescued her from the tower. What man could resist that?
I knew that if I didn’t get myself in check, I’d cross a line I had no business crossing. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could trust myself. I’d somehow found the strength to resist her up until now, but her lips—those full, luscious lips—were calling to me like a siren at sea.
“I have her phone number if you want it.”
“What?” I’d heard what she said but I was so lost in the thought of kissing her that the words hadn’t registered.
“Nadia. After I told her we were headed back to Savannah tonight, she gave me her number in case I, or should I say we, ever came back to visit. She told me to pass it along to you. I can text it to you if you want.”
I could feel her looking at me as I pulled into the parking lot of Southern Comfort. I sensed that my answer mattered to her. Her voice had gone up an octave and her breathing pattern changed when she’d offered to text the number to me. It hadn’t when she was on camera, but that just meant that she wasn’t anxious on camera, but she was now. It was almost as if she was nervous about whether or not I wanted this Nadia chick’s number.
“No. I’m good.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a tiny curl at the edges of her lips as she let out a breath. These tiny ticks would’ve most likely gone unnoticed by anyone without a lifetime of observing people under their belt, but they stood out to me. She was relieved that I hadn’t wanted Nadia’s number. Which meant I might not be in this thing alone after all.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about that development as I got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side door. Since witnessing my mom chastise me, Josie had waited for me to open her door for her, which I appreciated.
When I did, she took my hand and asked, “Are you sure?”
I was sure I wanted to kiss her.
I was sure that I’d never felt the things I felt for her before.
I was sure that I could get lost in the gold flecks swimming in her milk chocolate eyes.
I was sure she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
I was sure about a lot of things, but I wasn’t sure what she was asking me about.
“Sure about what?” I heard the gravelly quality to my voice. It happened every time I touched Josie.
She licked her lips and my eyes tracked her pink tongue sliding between her full lips. My brain knew that it was a nervous gesture, but unfortunately, all of the blood in my head rushed to my dick and didn’t deliver the message. Every muscle in my body was tense with arousal.
“Are you sure that you don’t want her number?” Her voice trembled, and I imagined that’s what she would sound like saying my name while I was buried deep inside of her.
“Yes. I’m sure.”
She dipped her head as a flush rose on her porcelain cheeks.
I shut the door behind her and my head dipped at the same time she lifted her head and our mouths were an inch away from each other. I froze as an internal war erupted. One side was screaming for me to close the distance between us and press my lips to hers, and the other side was fighting for me to back away from her.
The conflict became a draw when a pick-up truck pulled up beside us. I wasn’t sure which side would’ve been the victor if the new arrival hadn’t interrupted the war between my conscience and my hormones. As much as I’d like to think that morals would’ve won, deep down I doubted that would’ve been the case.
When the driver got out and introduced himself as Jimmy Comfort, I shook his hand and excused myself to unload the equipment. He and Josie spoke for a minute but then they went ahead of me into the bar. I took the time I had alone outside to try and clear my head and get some sort of handle on what was developing between Josie and me.
My reaction to her was so foreign to me, I had no plan for how to deal with it. I tried to rationalize my borderline obsession with Josie by telling myself it was just because I hadn’t been with anyone in so long. I was lonely. It was just a physiological need that had to be met.
That explained the physical reaction to her. But not the emotional side of things. I had no idea what was going on with that. Today when she’d started hyperventilating, I finally understood those fairytales when the knight in shining armor would slay dragons to save the princess. I used to think that the whole thing was ridiculous, but today it made total sense. I would’ve done anything to rescue her.
My mind was still processing what the hell was happening with me when I pushed the door open and saw Josie talking to Jimmy and a group of people. Before I could even set down the equipment, she was making introductions. “Jackson Briggs, this is Hank and Billy Comfort.” I shook both men’s hands. “And this is their little sister Cheyenne. Billy’s fiancée Reagan, and Jimmy’s fiancée Isabella.”
Apparently, the brothers did not believe that the curse was real. Or they were just throwing caution to the wind. It had actually surprised me how many people we interviewed believed in it. I wondered what it would be like growing up in a town of people who believed that you were cursed.
After meeting everyone, I set up the shot while Josie recapped the pre-interview that Mia had conducted with them. During the conversation, I overheard Billy mentioning that Hank, the eldest brother, was single. Normally, I wouldn’t have clocked that information. It would’ve been like white noise. But my ears perked up at that tidbit.
The Comfort brothers were all tall, in shape, good-looking guys who could give the Hemsworths a run for their money. It might’ve just been in my imagination, but it seemed like after that nugget of trivia was dropped Josie was paying extra attention to Hank. The single one.
He hadn’t said much, or anything, before that. But now, the two seemed to be hitting it off. I did everything I could to ignore the irritation that the two of them talking stirred in me, but I was failing miserably.
Every minute that passed, I was more and more bothered by it. Was she interested in him? I didn’t doubt for a second that he was interested in her. Any man who wasn’t blind would be interested in her.
I knew that I had no business getting worked up over her talking to a man that she was about to interview. This was seriously getting out of hand. I needed to get a fucking grip.
After I got everything setup, I realized that I’d forgotten the backup battery in the car.
“I have to go grab a battery.” I was glad for the excuse to step away from the Hank and Josie flirt-fest.
As I pushed open the door to the parking lot, I told myself I was being an idiot. I’d never been jealous before. Not when I was dating someone, and certainly not when I wasn’t dating someone. It was just one more example that this thing with Josie was out of hand.
Whatever it took, I had to figure out how to get my shit together. I had to get my mind right. This was a job. Nothing more. This time next week, I’d be on a plane to New Zealand for my next job. Until then, I just needed to distance myself emotionally, since I couldn’t physically.
As I thought about my life after this job, I could practically hear the walls around me going up. This was just a speed bump in my life. I simply needed to stay on the road of my life where the destination was always unknown. What I felt for her wasn’t real, how could it be? I’d only known her a few days. I started to feel myself detach from any emotional or physical connection I’d formed with Josie.
I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice the footsteps in the gravel behind me. When I popped the trunk and heard Josie’s voice, it scared the shit out of me.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I spun around and found a genuine look of concern on her face. There was palpable worry in her large almond eyes. She gently rested her hand on my forearm and my resolve to keep my distance evaporated like dry ice in a sauna.
Her brows furrowed as she gently squeezed my arm. “You seem a little…off.”
It was an innocent, harmless gesture but my entire body responded to it. Fireworks exploded in my southern region. She may have been touching my arm, but I felt it in an entirely different area.
I cleared my throat and tugged my arm away before the pressure building behind my zipper became noticeable. “I’m fine.”
She paused for a moment, searching my eyes. I did my best to assure her with silent persuasion that I was actually fine.
“Okay.” She relented and her face relaxed. “I’m going to get back in there. I’m relieved that I was able to get Hank talking. Mia had warned me that he was the strong, silent type. She said he was basically the Sawyer of the Comfort clan. And since he’s the only single male, I wanted to make sure he felt comfortable opening up to me. He was a hard nut to crack, but I think I was able to build a little bit of a rapport with him.” She lifted her hands and crossed her fingers with excitement before she turned and headed back inside the bar.
As I watched the sway of her hips as she hurried back inside, I knew that no matter how much I tried to deny it, there were a few undeniable facts.
First, I’d wanted to do an endzone dance over the fact that the reason she’d been showing Hank extra attention was to get him to open up on camera and not because she’d been interested in him.
Second, warmth had spread in my chest when she’d asked me if I was okay with earnest sincerity. I liked that feeling. I wanted more of that feeling.
And third, I was sinking fast in Josie quicksand and I feared the more I fought it, the farther she’d suck me down.
My mom was right to be concerned. I was in trouble. Deep fucking trouble.
Chapter 16
Josie
“If you want something, ask for it, darling. It’s really as simple as that.”
~ Josephine Grace Clarke
The naked person I saw staring back at me from the bathroom mirror was unrecognizable. I’d just stepped out of the shower and instead of immediately grabbing a towel and covering myself up, I’d walked up to the mirror. With my head held high and my shoulders back, the reflection I saw was a confident woman, not a scared girl. For the first time that I could remember, I wasn’t trying to hide. I wasn’t trying to make myself as small and invisible as possible, and I had one person and two words to thank for that.
Jackson Briggs and ‘fuck ’em.’
As cliché as it sounded, today felt like the first day of the rest of my life. After the interview with the Comfort brothers, we’d driven back to Savannah and checked into a hotel by the airport. The entire ride back from Firefly Island to the hotel, I’d been trying to figure out a way to thank Jackson for what he’d done for me. But I hadn’t been able to come up with anything.
I couldn’t put it into words, but if I could bottle the liberation that single conversation had given me, I’d be a billionaire. I’d call it Empowerment. I wished that every woman could spray Empowerment on themselves and experience its benefits. I’d never felt stronger or more self-assured and powerful as I did right—movement caught my eye in the mirror.
“Ahhhh!” I screamed bloody murder and jumped up onto the counter when I saw there was a creature in the corner of the bathroom.
It was at least half a foot long, had a long curly tail, and large pinchers. Before I had a chance to classify what it was, Jackson, who was staying in an adjoining room, burst into the bathroom looking primed and ready for a fight. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of gray sweats. His upper body looked like it had been chiseled by Michelangelo himself.
“Are you o�
��” His words trailed off when he saw me sitting on the cold marble counter with my hair dripping wet, naked as the day I was born.
My arms flew to cover myself up and alert him of the imminent danger at the same time. I was in, what I could only assume was, a very unattractive pretzel position when I managed to point in the direction of the offender. As mortified as I was sure I’d be later at my current predicament, right now I had bigger problems.
Jackson’s eyes followed to where I was indicating. His large, bare feet crossed the tiled floor calmly, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, toward the sci-fi looking, curly-tailed, lobster-insect. I sucked in a scared breath as he crouched down, resting his forearms on his knees and got a closer look at the creature.
I couldn’t catch my breath as I asked, “What is it?”
I wasn’t sure if my lack of oxygen was due to the view of Jackson’s bare back, chest, abs, and arms or if it was unmitigated fear for my life.
“A scorpion.” He reached down and picked it up by its neck.
“What are you doing!?” I whisper-yelled. I wasn’t sure why I was worried about the scorpion hearing me.
“It’s okay. Even if it stings me, it’s not deadly, just mildly venomous,” he explained casually as if being stung by a massive scorpion was all in a day’s work.
“How do you know that?!” Who did he think he was? Crocodile Dundee?
“The size of its pinchers and his skinny tail,” Jackson explained as he stood with the urgency of a stone turtle and exited the bathroom in two long, steady strides.
I watched in disbelief how someone so large, so masculine, so solid could move with so much ease and grace. I may have inherited my grandmother’s genetic makeup and name, but I’d somehow missed out on the class and grace portion of her DNA.
Moments later, I was still frozen in place when he returned, scorpion free. His eyes remained locked on mine, never dipping below my neck. Even if they had, all my lady parts were covered thanks to my pretzel position. Still, I wondered what he’d seen, and what he’d thought of it if he had caught a glimpse.
Loving Jackson (Wishing Well, Texas Book 10) Page 10