by Lee Kilraine
“And you’ll get some of your hours of community service in. Smart cookie.”
“Then we’ll head to the downtown square and walk a few laps.”
“Work out together?”
“Exactly. Then, after we’ve walked, Chess in the Park is having a tournament today, so we can hang around, watch a few matches, and get in some PDA.”
Damn it. The idea of PDA with Jo really shouldn’t have him enthusiastic—yet it did. “I love the way you think.”
“Well, you may not after I tell you this. I’ve had all week to consider it, but no more kisses like last week.”
“No kissing?” He motioned with his hand, thumb out, back toward the door at his back. “But you just kissed me out on the porch. PDA, remember?”
“I did. We can kiss, but not like the one in your car last week, or the one before that either.”
Well, this was interesting. He agreed with Jo but found it curious that she felt the need to draw the line. “I think I need you to clarify what kind of kiss is off-limits. In fact, I probably need a demonstration. I’m a tactile learner.”
“You don’t need a demonstration. You know exactly what kind of kiss I mean. No more hot, melty-kneed kisses. It’s important we both remember this is a short-term business relationship. If we stay clearheaded and focused, you’ll have what you want in six months.”
“So you’re saying my kiss made your knees weak?” Kissing her made his heart pound in his chest, so knowing it wasn’t just him relieved the trace of guilt he felt at wanting more from her than he’d asked. Not that either of them was going to act on it, as Jo had just established.
“That was your takeaway?” She shook her head. “We need to stay focused on your goal. Eyes on the prize, Paxton.”
Paxton took in her lean body, her sunshine-streaked blond hair, her gray eyes, soft and sincere, and was surprised at the regret that hit him like a punch to the chest. If circumstances were different, hell yes he’d want another hot kiss with Jo just like the one in the car. And the bigger revelation? It wasn’t purely physical.
Getting to know Jo after all this time was turning out to be a surprisingly fascinating experience. Turned out he’d been dead wrong about the Jo he thought he knew back in high school. And he’d admit it was his loss. Because the Jo he was getting to know was sweet and honest and kind. She truly cared about others. Earnest, hardworking, and passionate about her job and her students. She could be silly too. He’d never known that.
No, Jo was right about this. He’d long ago determined not to invest his heart in a relationship again, so if he and Jo were going to be friends, he needed to respect the line she’d just drawn. The same line his brain was trying to enforce over his body. Got it. No more melty-kneed, heart-pounding kisses.
* * *
Five hours later, they were wrapping up their work at the shelter. What had started out as a shelter cleanup event ended up darn near a neighborhood party. They’d worked alongside Brownie Troop 37 and their moms and the Climax High School’s Environmental Club. There were plenty of hands on deck to make the work go quickly. The Brownies ran around giggling and picking up trash while everyone else handled the bigger tasks. They replaced rotted window trim, scrubbed the outside of the old cinder-block building, whitewashed over graffiti and spackled cracks in preparation for a new paint job next week.
Sijan and Avery had stopped by with pizza and drinks for everyone, although Sijan had made Avery promise not to go inside the shelter. His sister-in-law was weak when faced with a sad puppy. Apparently just like Jo.
“Thank you, everyone.” Frank Bufford stood in his khaki animal control uniform on the newly scrubbed concrete steps. “The place looks great. For anyone interested, we can always use help for the painting next Saturday.”
Paxton pulled his old bandanna from his back pocket and wiped the sweat from his face. “Looks like our job is done. Ready to head into town, Jo?”
“I am, but I’ll need to run by to let the little guy out first.”
“Why don’t we just take him with us? Think of how well he’ll sleep after getting a long walk.”
“Uh . . .” Her brow furrowed. “Better not. I’m not sure how he does in crowds.”
“It won’t be that crowded and it’s the perfect time to try him out because there are two of us.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, steering her toward his truck. “He’ll be fine, and I bet you’ll be thanking me when he sleeps through the night.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re pushy?”
“Yes. You.”
* * *
She caved. The more she was around Paxton, the harder time she had telling him no. The problem this time was that he was right; the puppy really could use the exercise. This was one of those areas Jo was working on. The bucket list was only a small part. She also wanted to worry less and live in the moment more.
“Okay, let’s go get Mr. Bingley.” Yes, she’d named the puppy. She’d needed to put a name on the adoption forms, so she’d picked one of her favorite literary heroes. Until she figured out a way to return him to Maggie in a way that Maggie’s father wouldn’t figure out what had happened, for all intents and purposes he was Jo’s puppy. The little guy was growing on her.
Now, twenty minutes into the walk, she realized she shouldn’t have worried. Other than the chess tournament, it was quiet in downtown Climax today. Which made sense because many families had headed to the beach for the first week of summer. Any teenagers not at the beach were probably still asleep.
“Next question.” Paxton walked next to her, keeping his strides shorter to stay even. They’d been going over another getting-to-know-your-partner questionnaire while Mr. Bingley sniffed along the path in front of them.
Jo glanced at the web site she’d pulled up on her phone from the last question-and-answer session they’d conducted.
“Before you place a phone call, do you rehearse what you’re going to say?”
“No. People do that?”
“I do, although if I can avoid the phone call in the first place, I do.” She caught his incredulous look. “Hey, we can’t all be extroverts and smooth talkers.”
He held his hand out for her phone. “I’ll pick the next question.”
“Be my guest.” Handing over the phone, they paused on the sidewalk to scoot over to the edge, allowing a mother with a baby stroller to pass.
Scrolling through the list, he finally paused on one. “Make an I statement about your partner. The first one that comes into your head.”
“The first one, huh?” I think you’re very hot. No. I want to rip open your shirt and lick your chest. Whoa, no, Jojo. Back up. Play it safe. Go with the third thing that came to you. “I like your sense of humor.”
Paxton smiled at her, and sure enough, she wanted to rip open his shirt and lick his chest. Flustered, she turned away and set off walking along the path again with Paxton easily falling in beside her.
“My turn. I think you have beautiful eyes. They remind me of a polished stone I picked out of Parker’s Creek when I was a kid. Soft gray with streaks of silver and amber shot through it.”
Heat surged deep into her stomach, and then deeper. Her gaze tangled up in Paxton’s while the air loitered in her lungs and she went light-headed. The world around her disappeared until it was only Paxton and his deep green eyes and wickedly sexy face.
It was bad timing. Seriously bad timing, because neither one of them was paying attention to where they walked, which was how Jo plowed right into someone walking in the opposite direction. She would have fallen right on her butt if Paxton hadn’t grabbed her.
“Oh, hello, Helmut. Sorry about that.”
“Paxton. Good to see you.”
By the time Jo pulled herself together, it was too late. She recognized the voice before she even looked up. Maggie’s dad.
“Did you come for the chess tournament?” Mr. Pope reached out and gave Paxton one of those two-handed handshakes.
“We thought we’d watch a
few matches. I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Jolene Joyner.” Paxton wrapped an arm securely around Jo’s shoulders. “Jo, Helmut Pope.”
He had a genuine smile on his face for Paxton. Of course, it dimmed a few watts when it moved over to her. “Ms. Joyner and I are already acquainted.”
Jo froze in her spot, dreading the moment Mr. Pope noticed the dog, yet unable to come up with a single idea on how to handle the situation. Think, Jojo, think. But a solution became irrelevant when Maggie’s puppy barked up at him, wagging his tail furiously.
Jo’s heart tripped and she reacted on pure instinct.
“Mr. Pope! How perfect that I ran into you. Look who I found. He was loose in the woods behind my house just this morning.” She bent down, scooped up the puppy, and placed it firmly into Mr. Pope’s arms. “Maggie was in tears when she told me he ran away. She’ll be so happy to see him.”
Beside her, Paxton’s body turned stiff as a bronze statue. But that was the least of her problems. Because she watched the friendly smile slide like a guillotine off Mr. Pope’s face.
His hard gaze whipped up and bored into hers. “What a stroke of... luck. Margaret will be over the moon to see him. Thank you, Ms. Joyner.”
Had he paused on the word luck? Had he heard about her arrest for breaking into the shelter and stealing a puppy? Even if he had, he couldn’t prove anything. And this way Maggie was out of it.
As it happened, the Simon sisters came around the path and stopped to admire the puppy.
“Is this the runaway puppy that’s been mentioned in the Grapevine?” Agnes scratched the dog behind one ear. “You know, I saw this little guy running down our street two days ago, but my eighty-year-old legs just couldn’t catch him.”
Say what? Two days ago the dog was in her kitchen. She blinked at Agnes, who only reached over and patted Jo’s shoulder.
“You’re a lucky father, Mr. Pope.” Beatrice’s face beamed up at the man. “You get to hand your daughter the puppy and be the hero. What a happy ending.”
Happy ending? One glance at the stiff frown on Paxton’s face had Jo thinking this was much more like a Greek tragedy.
“Looks like I’ve got some good news to deliver. If you’ll excuse me . . .” Mr. Pope nodded to the Simon sisters and Paxton, completely ignored Jo, and walked away.
Beatrice sent Jo a sly wink while she adjusted her pocketbook at her elbow.
“Good job, Jolene.” Agatha pulled Jo in for a hearty hug, whispering, “You faced down the dragon and won. You can handle Paxton too.”
Jo opened her eyes to peek over Agatha’s shoulder at Paxton’s face. His eyes had turned a hard, glittery emerald and the muscles in his jaw contracted. Could she? She had her doubts.
Agatha and Beatrice continued along the path, leaving the two of them staring at each other.
“Paxton?”
He turned away, taking two angry strides before stopping in his tracks, as if he’d hit a wall. He rolled his shoulders twice, let out a rough growl, then whipped around and moved faster than an attacking snake. His long strides brought him right up to her, close enough so she could feel the muscles of his chest vibrate in anger. Close enough to see the boiling emotion in his eyes.
“Paxton?”
“Don’t.” His head sliced negatively once. “Not yet. Not here.”
What? In private, where he could hide the body? She knew why he was upset, but it wasn’t like she’d planned this. She hadn’t planned any of this. “If you’d just let me explain . . .”
“Oh, I will. Just as soon as I don’t want to shake you, to spank you, to . . . aw, fuck it.” He pulled her up tight until she was plastered against him and kissed her. Hard.
His lips smashed down on hers with not a bit of honeyed teasing like before. This kiss was bold, full of fervor and frustration. Both passionate and punishing. His hands took control of her face, holding her prisoner while his tongue plundered. It was high emotion powered by adrenaline. It overwhelmed, tossing her in stormy seas. And when he pulled away, she floundered, floating adrift in the tempestuous aftermath.
She shuddered and let out the breath that had been caught up in her lungs. “I—”
Paxton held up a finger, halting her. “Still not yet.” He took her hand firmly in his and they walked toward his car without a word between them.
When they arrived back at her house, he didn’t even take his hands from the steering wheel. His gaze burned all over her face before latching onto her own.
“I do want to hear what you have to say.” His jaw muscles clenched and his nostrils flared on a sharp slice of a breath. “But I’m not in the right frame of mind to give it the attention I need.”
This was the Paxton she was used to. The clenched-jaw, indignant Paxton from high school. Her adversary. The one who mostly spent his time pissed at her. She should be fine with this one. Like meeting an old familiar friend. Turns out she wasn’t.
“Fine.” Jo nodded, fumbling for the door release with stiff fingers. Her chest felt tight with regret over what had happened. Not only how it might ruin Paxton’s plans but also at the idea of losing his friendship . . . of losing him.
“As soon as I digest this I’ll call you.” He turned his head to the windshield.
“That’s fine, Paxton, but how about you digest this . . .” Because deep in her gut burned something even stronger and, darn it, she refused to swallow it down. “Have you ever thought you’re so bloody focused on you and your career goals that you miss what’s in front of you? You knew that puppy belonged to someone in town, but you were so focused on being seen as a couple—you ignored it and just kept pushing. Just like you pushed me into pretending to be your girlfriend. I own part of this too. I knew it was risky to take the dog out, but I let myself get distracted by your charm. That’s on me.”
“Are we done?” His voice sliced out cool and tight as he finally turned his head toward her.
“Are we?” Maybe they were, and Jo was unprepared for how much the idea of them going back to where they’d started hurt. Her gaze roamed his face, but he wasn’t revealing anything. “Just one last thought: When you have to impress someone like Pope—maybe it’s time to reexamine where you’re heading.”
Now she was done. She’d never intended to sabotage Paxton’s plan, but sometimes life didn’t cooperate. Jo left the car without a backward glance. He’d either forgive her or he wouldn’t. She’d lived without Paxton in her life for years; she could go back to that. She’d be fine. Absolutely fine. But the painful squeezing in her chest told her she wasn’t fine.
Chapter Twelve
“So I picked up the dog and put it right into Mr. Pope’s arms. I swear to you, Georgie, I was a complete idiot.” Jo stood scooping dark fudge ripple batter into cupcake tins filled with bright yellow paper liners. It was the first morning of her part-time job and she couldn’t have been happier to get out of her house and away from her own mopey company. “I shouldn’t have taken the dog out in public until I had a plan.”
“Oh stop.” Georgie stood across the stainless-steel island mixing up the next batch of cupcakes, this time raspberry mojito batter. “This was probably the best way to get the dog back to Maggie.”
“I know, but you didn’t see Paxton’s face. Pretty sure he wanted to strangle me.”
Georgie pointed at her with a spatula. “Don’t you dare feel guilty.”
“Too late.” She’d hardly slept last night with the guilt poking at her. Paxton had asked her for help and, sadly, through no fault of his own, she’d messed that up.
“Well, stop it. You tried to help Maggie and you tried to help Paxton and it blew up. Neither one was your fault.”
“I should have told him whose dog it was the minute he mentioned Pope.”
“Holy cow, you were focused on keeping Maggie out of trouble.” Georgie rolled her eyes. “Cut yourself some slack.”
“True. But I should have trusted Paxton with that information.”
“Uh-huh. Let’s enter
the way-back machine and travel back to two weeks ago. Guess what? Neither one of you trusted each other. Two weeks ago y’all still hated each other.”
Hate seemed like such a strong word for it now. Now that she’d gotten to know him. Now that she’d kissed him and would be happy to kiss him again. If he weren’t being so stubborn. “Yes, but—”
“You’re not the problem here. Fathers who take their daughters’ puppies to the pound and lie about it are.” Georgie slid the newest bowl of batter across to Jo. “Don’t forget to grab the scones out.”
“Crap. I didn’t even hear the timer.” Dropping the scooper, she grabbed up a towel and rescued the scones just in time. “And I know, but I still feel awful about Paxton.”
“Paxton can be stubborn, but he’s not stupid. I bet he just needs a couple of days to set his ego aside and see reason.”
Jolene sucked in a deep breath and let it back out slowly. “I keep telling myself that.”
“Hey, I know how to take your mind off it.” Georgie grinned across at her. “Let’s work on your bucket list. If ever a girl needed a time to let loose and go crazy, this is it.”
“I don’t think so.” She bit her lip and reeled herself in, because as tempting as it sounded, she still owed Paxton. “I think after the whole puppy incident, I should be on my best behavior in case Paxton wants me to finish the six-month deal we have. I wouldn’t be any good to him if I lost my good reputation.”
Georgie sent her a narrow-eyed look. “You know what might happen if you lost your perfect reputation? Fun. Fun would happen. It’s time you worried about you and everyone else be damned.”
God, that sounded good. She’d practically made it her life’s mission to worry about everyone else. She felt like she’d missed out on some fun over the years.
But worse was the feeling she’d been living someone else’s life. For too long she’d lived trying to be the anti-Darlene. The calm to Darlene’s storm. The peace to counter her sister’s explosions. Her stomach clenched as it hit her that she might have to choose between what she needed and what others wanted her to be. She’d been in denial for so long, did she even know what she needed? What she wanted?