Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom

by Magda Alexander

  She looked up to see if he was still there. She smiled at him and waved. It took a moment, but he waved back. She put her hand to her ear, motioning for him to contact her. What was the point of life if you couldn’t live it? Rowan was going to do exactly that. Starting with hooking up with Shane Adams.

  *****

  Well, if Ms. Rowan Baker wasn’t the most confusing woman he had ever come to know. She saves his ass with the kids, flirts with him shamelessly, bolts, and now just told him to call her through the window. She had so many moods his head was spinning.

  He had planned to wait until the kids left and then track her down. But here he was waiting for his sister and brother-in-law to show up, and who comes up but Rowan looking so damn sexy in her tight pants and half shirt. She’d obviously been exercising; he could see her sweaty hair from the window.

  What he hadn’t expected was for her to smile at him. And then, did she ask him to call her? Did she give him her phone number? Did her hips sway a little more than usual when she walked up those stairs? His head was wrapped around this woman something fierce.

  Shaking his head and laughing, at himself or her, he wasn’t sure, he stepped away and turned his attention back to the chaos in the apartment. The kids were supposed to be packing and cleaning up. Ha! The place looked like a suitcase bomb exploded.

  “Um. Hey guys? What’s the plan here?” he called down the hall.

  Jake came running in from the kitchen, “That’s all Jennifer’s stuff. She’s packing.”

  “Is that what we’re calling it these days?” Shane laughed as Jake bolted down the hall to his makeshift bedroom.

  Just then, Jennifer emerged from the bathroom with her hands full. Shane watched with amusement as she delicately placed her bathroom stuff: make up, lotions, special hair conditioners, and other bottles of god knows what in her suitcase. He laughed out loud as he realized the entire living room was full of her clothes, books, magazines, and notebooks, strewn across every available surface, but here she was protecting her make up bag. Girls!

  He walked down to check on the boys. A belly laugh erupted as he took in the room. Two suitcases were on the floor; Jake and Aaron were throwing in their stuff with not a care in the world. Not one piece of clothing was folded or neatly placed. Dirty clothes, clean clothes, books, and toys, all a jumbled mess.

  “Uncle Shane. Can you help us get Aaron’s suitcase closed?” Jake piped up after tossing something overhand into the mess.

  “Uh. Sure. But it might fit better if you guys folded something?”

  “Huh?” Both boys looked at him like he just spoke in Russian.

  “Nothing.” Shane laughed.

  After strong-arming the suitcases, he directed the boys to put everything else in garbage bags. He knew his sister would repack that night at his mother’s house. She could get it to fit, somehow.

  Checking his watch, he figured they’d be here already. Walking back to check on Jennifer, he heard a squeal. “Mom!” Guess they arrived.

  “Guys, your parents are here,” he yelled back to the boys.

  As if a herd of elephants had been unleashed in his house, Shane pressed himself against the wall as the boys flew down the hall screaming. By the time he made it to the living room, all three kids were hugging both parents. He took in the scene and a momentary flash of regret washed over him. He was going to miss those rug rats.

  “Hey, Bro.” Graham broke first from the group and shook Shane’s hand.

  “Good trip?” Shane asked him.

  “Yeah. Great trip. Again, thanks for doing this. There really isn’t anyone else we could’ve asked.” Graham’s eyes conveyed an earnestness that Shane was trying to understand.

  “Yeah man. No worries. You have three great kids. We had a great time. Didn’t we?” Shane turned toward the kids.

  “Yeah!” they shouted in unison.

  “And when we went to the ER, Rowan came, and she is Uncle Shane’s girlfriend who works at the pool.” Jake started talking at hundred miles an hour.

  Melanie raised her eyebrows at Shane in question.

  “Neighbor. Rowan is a neighbor. She happened to come by when it went down and she was a godsend. Knew her way around the ER. And yes, she works at the pool.” Shane tried to stem Mel’s excitement about a possible girlfriend. He really didn’t need his sister riding his ass about it.

  “Yeah. And we had to go to the pool everyday to see her until I refused to go anymore,” Jennifer said, with a pout.

  “Really?” Melanie started to walk toward Shane. “Everyday, huh?”

  “No, Mel. You told me to keep them active. Don’t even start with me. Seriously.” Shane tried to brush her off. But he knew what she was like. Once she got a notion, he’d never hear the end of it.

  “Okay kids. We need to hit the road to grandma’s house and let Uncle Shane get on with his life,” Graham bellowed over the room in general.

  That sprang the kids into a new realm of chaos. Jennifer started racing around the living room gathering up clothes and books and tossing them into her suitcase and purse. The boys bolted to the back of the apartment with Melanie at their heels.

  Graham caught Shane’s eye and nodded toward the kitchen. He turned and walked in.

  “So, how’s Aaron?” Graham asked quietly.

  “Fine. His eye still has stitches in it. But you can go to your doc at home and get them out. The paperwork is in his suitcase.” Shane waited for more.

  Graham swallowed and nodded, his eyes darting all over the room. Shane braced himself for whatever it was Graham was holding on to.

  “So, listen. I know this might not be the best time to ask, but-” Graham paused and then looked directly at Shane. “This trip saved our marriage. You have no idea how close it was. Hell, I didn’t know how close I was to losing everything.” Graham breathed out a long breath.

  Holy hell. Shane felt his body tense up as he absorbed what Graham just told him.

  “So, I was wondering if this could happen again.” Graham looked pained as he asked.

  “What? You mean will I watch your kids again?” Shane asked him in shock.

  Graham nodded and Shane laughed, relieved. That was the big question?

  “Hell yeah!” Shane ran a hand over his hair, “You scared me, man. I didn’t know what the hell you were going to ask, but I wasn’t expecting that.”

  Graham smiled. “Yeah. That was it. We realized that we need to just be a couple sometimes. And after what happened with Aaron, I didn’t think you’d ever sign up for this shit again.”

  Shane could see Graham’s shoulders relax, relief pouring off him. “HA! That’s funny. After that, I didn’t think you guys would ever let me! Naw man, the kids are great. A lot of work, but fun. Maybe next time, closer to a week. My job really suffered. But I’d love to have them again.”

  “Thanks man. That is really going to help.” Graham turned to leave.

  “Hey Graham, my sister okay?”

  Graham smiled, a genuine smile he hadn’t seen in a few years. “Yeah man, she’s great. We just needed to reconnect. It’s all good.”

  Shane watched him walk out. Wow. He didn’t know what went down with them, but it sounded as if they had taken this trip in the nick of time.

  Shane loaded the last of the luggage in the car and watched as the family piled in. The kids were a swirl of constant noise and commotion. After hugs, fist pumps and promises to keep in touch, the rented van slowly made its way out of the parking lot.

  Chapter Six

  Three days. It had been three days since she saw Shane through the window and gestured for him to find her. She was beginning to think she imagined the whole thing. Or maybe he was just not interested.

  The days were long and hot, the back of the Snack Shack was hot and greasy, her apartment was starting to smell like old hamburgers, and her car definitely reeked of something nasty. Rowan needed summer to end and a new job.

  The pool was closing soon and even though she knew she coul
d stay and work weekends until the end of Labor Day, that wouldn’t be enough. She’d start looking for waitressing jobs again. Try as she might, she just couldn’t get away from serving people.

  She still hadn’t heard from Justin. His cryptic message didn’t give her a time. Just that he was coming. Pacing back and forth, Rowan felt like she was going to explode. It was too hot to go for a run, so she changed into her suit and grabbed a towel. She’d work it out in the pool.

  The cool water glided across her skin, calming her mind with each lap. As she swam, her mind drifted back to Lina, her best friend. What was she doing now? Was she happy? Pushing that thought out of head before it could fully develop, she kicked the water harder. Lina needed to be in the same place as Colt. Although she knew why Lina stayed, she still missed her. Lina never had the same curse as Rowan. Lina wasn’t a Baker.

  Swearing, she pushed her head above water, forgetting to breathe, paralyzed by her thoughts. One day, she would be able to remember all the good times with Lina. One day, she knew, she would be able to catalog each and every precious moment of her life before.

  That was her goal, to be able to go back through her memory and pick and choose which memories to keep and which ones to lock away. Not yet. She wasn’t able to go back there mentally without her body reacting, running.

  Floating on her back, she got her breath under control, before resuming her workout. Back to her mantra. Breathe. Run. Breathe. Run. She flipped over and thought of nothing but her arms moving and her legs kicking, breathing every third stroke and doing flip turns at each end of the tiny pool.

  Having no idea how long she had been in the pool, but feeling her legs and arms were jello, she paused long enough to notice surroundings. She could hear people on the pool deck talking and kids playing in the water. Still alone on the lap swim side, she had noticed a few people on the other side.

  Pulling herself out of the water and walking over to her towel, she nearly jumped out of her skin to see Shane sitting by it. She stopped short, shaking the water out of her hair, trying to calm her heart rate.

  “That looked like a nice long workout.” Shane stood, handing her the towel.

  Reaching out, she took it. After drying off a bit, she asked him, “Were you watching me the whole time?”

  “I don’t know. You were in the zone when I first came in. But I’ve been here a while,” Shane answered her, his gaze steady on her eyes.

  “Were you waiting for me?” Rowan asked, impressed that he would.

  Shane smiled. “Maybe.”

  Rowan smiled back. “Maybe, huh. I thought I told you to contact me, not stalk me.” Now she was flirting. Damn, it felt good.

  “The kids left. Had to catch up on work. Now I’m here, and I don’t remember you giving me a phone number.” Shane’s eyes skimmed down her wet body before darting back up to meet hers quickly.

  “You wanna come up?” Rowan asked him, her eyes making it clear what she was asking him.

  A grin spread over Shane’s mouth slowly. “Yeah. That’d be nice.”

  Rowan waited a beat, soaking in that grin. She dried her hair a little more and smiled back at him.

  Turning and walking out of the pool gate, she hoped the air freshener candle she lit before coming down to swim had worked. When she opened her door, she observed her small apartment from a visitor’s eye, noticing the open space with little furniture. In place of a table, a cushion and small stool stood. In place of a couch, a couple of bean bags lay on the floor.

  Without a television to anchor the living room, the space looked overly large, with only a small stack of paperbacks sitting in the corner. Small cardboard boxes partially filled with books and paper sat next to them.

  Rowan heard Shane laugh behind her. She spun around, wondering if this had been a fatal error.

  “Jesus, girl. This is how you live?” Shane’s words flew out of his mouth, while he spun around, taking in the room.

  “And that’s bad?” Rowan asked him.

  “No! Not at all. Just. I just. Wow, this is kinda cool.” Shane seemed at a loss for words.

  Rowan watched him take in her apartment and laughed. “I don’t like to collect stuff.”

  “Yeah. I can see that.” He looked at her and tilted his head as if he wanted to say more, but chose to hold his tongue.

  She turned around, “I’m going to go change. There’s some wine in the fridge. I do buy food and wine. Just not junk.”

  Walking down the short hall to the bedroom, she questioned her sanity. Her small bedroll on the floor screamed someone on the run. She went to the box with her clothes in it and grabbed a pair of underwear and a pair of shorts. Changing as quickly as possible, she went back to the living room, hoping to distract him before he took it upon himself to explore the rest of the apartment.

  Rowan walked into the kitchen to find Shane opening a bottle of wine.

  “Looks like you found the wine.”

  “I love what you’ve done with the place,” Shane said after pouring her a glass.

  “Yeah. I worked hard to make the place work with my eccentric personality.” Rowan led him back to the living room and snuggled into a bean bag.

  She watched as Shane lowered himself into his own. When he leaned forward to sip his wine, clearly uncomfortable, she burst out laughing.

  “Come on, you have to maneuver your hips and lower yourself down enough to support your head. It’s an art, really,” Rowan told him when she had recovered enough to speak.

  Shane glared at her, “An art?”

  “Yeah. Here, let me hold your wine.” She reached out and took his wine, placing both glasses on the floor. “Let me help you.”

  Rowan placed both hands on his hips, pushing him down enough to create back support. “Now, lean your head back. See, there’s nothing better.” She ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back and watched her.

  “You ready for your wine?” she asked him, still standing.

  He reached out and ran his hand up and down her leg, his touch sending a firestorm across her cooled skin. She waited, absorbing the sensations.

  “You’re quite the mystery woman, Rowan,” Shane spoke, his voice low, rough.

  “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. I’m the most boring woman in the world. I have a plaque somewhere.” She tilted her head back, pushing her hips closer to him as he continued to run his hand up and down her legs.

  “Really. You don’t have a couch, but you have a plaque?” His hand stroked her inner thigh.

  “Well, you know. A couch you can get anywhere. An award-that you have to keep. It’s a rule.” Her voice was getting thick. With every stroke of his hand, her belly tightened, her blood thickened, and her clit throbbed.

  Her knees buckled and she slowly straddled him, her hands caressing his hair and neck, while his hand traveled up her shirt, sliding across her ribs and stomach.

  “I know you’re full of shit. There’s no way anyone would give you an award for being boring. You’re so far from boring. Sexy, maybe. You might have an award for being sexy-that I could see.” Shane’s hand stroked up and down her back, reaching up and grabbing the back of her neck.

  He sat up while pushing her down. His mouth met her neck as she lifted her head, giving him the access he desperately needed.

  “No one ever gave me an award for being sexy. I swear that’s true,” she said, her voice so low and sultry, she barely recognized it as her own.

  “That’s a damn shame.” Shane spoke into her neck, his voice vibrating across her skin, making her hormones incendiary.

  She moaned as his hands slowly made their way back down to her shorts, his fingers working the button and zipper. Rowan’s body came alive and was ready for more.

  A loud pounding on the door startled both of them. Rowan’s head snapped, her eyes wide with fear.

  “Ro!” The voice at the door shouted.

  Rowan froze as Shane watched her closely.

  “Rowan. Open the door. It’s Justin.”<
br />
  With that she jumped up and ran to the door.

  *****

  Shane watched as Rowan leapt from his lap and ran to the door. Not what he expected her to do after that look of pure terror in her eyes when they first heard the pounding on the door.

  He stood and adjusted himself. Not two seconds ago he was rock hard, but that quickly faded. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he knew something was off. The back of his neck bristled and his hair was sticking up. Not good signs, he knew. He couldn’t let go of that look on Rowan’s face when they were first interrupted, pure, unadulterated fear.

  “Justin!” Rowan said when she opened the door. “You’re here!” She sounded pleased. Very pleased. Who the hell was this?

  She moved back to let him in, and Shane’s jaw dropped. In walked a tall, young man with bright green eyes and dirty blond hair so short it looked almost fuzzy around his head. He was built. Better built than Shane had ever been. He couldn’t gauge his age, but damn if he didn’t look to be in his twenties. Maybe older, if you looked at the lines around his eyes. Those were worry lines for sure.

  “Justin, I’d like you to meet a neighbor of mine, Shane.” Rowan made the introductions as she smoothed out hair and checked her shorts. So, he was just a neighbor now? Was he not seconds away from stripping those shorts right off her?

  Shane reached out his hand, stepping forward. Justin eyed him with suspicion and then, at the last possible second before getting really awkward, reached out and took his hand.

  “I’m Justin. Nice to meet you.” Shane watched as Justin eyed the place, scanning down the hall. He recognized the move, looking for exits.

  He raised his eyebrow at him and pumped his hand once. “Likewise.”

  They dropped hands and both turned to Rowan. Shane caught the look on Rowan’s face. It was clear that these two were more than casual acquaintances. The look on her face was one of love and admiration.

  Shit. Time to man up.

  “I was just leaving. Nice to meet you, Justin. Rowan. Have a nice evening.” Shane turned and headed to the door.