by Sabrina York
He made the mistake of looking at Sara.
If he’d been a vampire, he would have combusted on the spot, so hot was her righteous fury. She glanced pointedly at his hand holding Jenny’s on top of the table and all of a sudden Jack realized how that appeared.
As though he and Jenny were holding hands on top of the table.
He took a quick check of the room to see if anyone had noticed. Shit. Kat had. Her eyes narrowed. But Kenny gave him a thumbs-up.
Jack let go of Jenny’s wrist as though it were a hot coal. He jumped up and headed for the coffee bar. To get a cup of joe. And to escape.
When he sat down with his coffee, he deliberately wheeled his chair away from Jenny and angled it to face the front of the room. So she couldn’t surreptitiously stroke Mr. Happy. Even Jenny wouldn’t grab his cock in full view of his boss.
One would hope.
Adam stood and cleared his throat. “Hi, all. Thanks for coming. I know this was last minute. But this afternoon we got a call from Levin. Seems we’ve been invited to give a session on our virtual platform at a tech conference in Sydney in a couple weeks.”
Jack’s heart did a flip-flop. All thoughts of dodging Jenny’s advances flew from his head. “Sydney? As in Australia?”
An annoying titter of laughs rounded the room.
That was the trouble when working with people who knew you so well. They knew you so well.
“What is that?” Tristan pretended to ponder. “A twelve, thirteen-hour flight?”
Fucking Tristan.
Jack shifted in his seat. Annoyance raked him. He disliked being the brunt of a joke. Hated it when people made fun of him. And they did it a lot. Especially about this.
“Obviously Jack won’t be able to go. Unless…” The glance Adam shot him was hopeful but tinged with resignation.
Jack frowned. “Unless what?” Okay. Maybe he didn’t need to snarl. But this whole deal was annoying as crap.
“There are drugs that can knock you out.” Clearly Jenny had no inkling of the horror that shot through him at her words.
Kenny understood. “Who wants to be unconscious when your plane crashes?”
Shannon laughed and raised her hand. “I think I’d rather be unconscious.”
This triggered a flood of comments about planes crashing, escaping a burning hulk and surviving in the water with sharks circling, all of which made Jack clammy.
“Okay. People.” Finally—finally—Adam shut them up. “So the question at hand is, if Jack isn’t going to go, who is?”
God. He hated this. He hated the irrational fear that clawed at him whenever he thought about getting on a plane. Granted, there were reasons he didn’t want to fly, damn good ones, but he hated it.
“I’ll do it.” Tristan winked at Shannon. “I’ll take my lovely bride. It’ll be like another honeymoon.”
Sara sighed. “How romantic. Sydney is lovely.”
Jack’s pulse thrummed. Sara loved to travel. How he wished he could just—
But he couldn’t. He couldn’t.
He stared at his hands resting on the table, clenched, his knuckles white, feeling like a colossal loser.
“Great. Tristan will go. Jack, can you work with him on the presentation?”
“Sure.”
“And Shannon, can you make the travel arrangements?”
Shannon grinned. “Sure.” And then her face fell. “I hope I’ll be able to fly then.” Everyone glanced at her belly.
“It’s two weeks from now, hon. Should be fine.”
She nodded. “I’ll check with Doctor Pratt.”
Tristan crossed his arms. “I’m not going if Shannon’s not going.”
Adam shot a frown at Jack. “Okay. Okay. We’ll deal with that when we know. Meanwhile, we need to get to work on the presentation. Jenny, are you available to work late tonight?”
Jenny sent Jack a sultry look beneath her lashes. “Absolutely,” she purred.
Sara’s glower was damn near paralyzing.
Perfect. Jealousy. Right on schedule.
He shot a triumphant smirk at Kat.
Okay. Her glower was pretty paralyzing too.
No matter. He could take it.
He could take anything if it meant winning Sara.
“How about you, Sara?” Adam asked.
“Sorry,” she chirped, not sounding sorry in the slightest. “I have a date tonight.”
Jack’s heart stuttered. Did they? Have a date tonight?
Freaking awesome—
“With Todd.”
Jack experienced a heart-wrenching Scooby Doo moment. His jaw clenched. He bit his tongue. A metallic tang flooded his mouth.
A date with Todd?
What. The. Fuck?
“Oh? He called?” Kat. In a smarmy tone. Jack glared at her.
“Yes,” Sara offered in a syrupy voice. “Apparently he’s been out of town.” Why she said this last bit so belligerently, he had no clue.
“And now he’s back. And taking you out to dinner,” Kat cooed. “How lovely.”
“Yes,” Sara spat. “I’m delighted.”
Helplessness, panic, desolation swirled through his gut in a toxic soup.
She was going out with Todd.
He was fucking losing her.
He hated the expression on Kat’s face.
It spoke volumes.
It said, as clear as day, “I told you so.”
Also, “You’re a moron, Jack.”
But then he’d already figured that out.
Chapter Twelve
Sara fumed as she waited for Todd to pick her up for their date. For one thing, she was going on a date with Todd—the thing she’d sworn she’d never do again. But mostly she was furious at Jack.
What they’d shared had been amazing for her—but clearly only an appetizer for him. She’d known—known—he really wanted Jenny and that little scene in the meeting only proved her right.
She hated when her dismal expectations were validated.
Why couldn’t he have been…decent?
Oh, she knew he was decent. They’d never made promises. They’d never talked about expectations. It had never been real.
But fuck, she felt so used.
As though her mood wasn’t foul enough, Todd was late picking her up.
Her displeasure must have shown on her face because when he finally arrived, the first thing he said was, “God, you are mad, aren’t you?”
She glowered at him. “You’re late.”
He glanced at his watch. “Not too late.” He offered a slick smile, the one that used to always work.
It didn’t work.
He thrust a bouquet of roses at her. She took it but only because, hey, free roses. “I’ve missed you, baby,” he purred.
“Baby?”
He flinched at the tone of her voice. “Honey?”
Sara rolled her eyes. “You missed me?” She pulled a rose from the bouquet and brought it to her nose. Drew in its delicate scent.
Todd kicked the door shut. Dropped his voice an octave. “I have.”
He was gorgeous. Sandy-blond hair, surfer-dude tan, big sparkling blue eyes. Her heart should be pitter-patting all over the place. The winking dimples should have made her breathless by now. Her body should be weeping.
Not a bit of it.
Nothing.
A smile curled her lips.
For some reason he took this as encouragement. His eyes glowed. He sidled closer. But if he knew her better—if he knew her at all—he would have been afraid. Very afraid.
She stroked the rosebud. Slowly stripped off a petal. “You never called.”
He stilled as she let the petal flutter to the floor. And ripped off another. “I, uh… I told you, bab—um, sweetie. I was out of town.”
“Really?” Another petal bit the dust. And another. Todd shifted uncomfortably. “Where?”
“Huh? What?”
“Where? Where did you go? Just curious.” Another petal. Anot
her. “I might want to visit this place sometime.”
“What?”
Sara finished with the first rosebud and pulled out another. “I might like to visit the only place on earth with no cell phone service. Or internet access. Or landlines. Or telegraphs.” Or freaking smoke signals.
“Sara, I—”
“Where did you go? Machu Picchu?”
“Aw, baby. Don’t be like that. I’m here now. That’s all that matters.”
The way he said it, it clearly was all that mattered…to him.
And that was the crux of the problem.
Nothing mattered unless it mattered to him. She didn’t matter unless she mattered to him. At least in his universe.
With Jack it wasn’t like that. With Jack it would never be like that. With Jack she always mattered. Even when he had the hots for someone else.
She liked that. Loved that.
Not that she always had to come first to be happy. She wasn’t that much of a diva. But damn, it was nice to come first once in a while.
It was nice to have someone put you first.
Once in a while.
A lightness filled her heart. A boundless joy. She recognized what it was and that realization stunned her.
At the same time, it didn’t.
She’d loved Jack for years. Appreciated him as a loyal friend. Enjoyed his irreverent sense of humor. Even loved joking about his bizarre foibles.
But she’d never quite understood what a treasure he was.
Not until now.
She could spend the rest of her life beating herself up for being shallow and stupid—for not seeing it earlier. But she wouldn’t.
All that mattered was she saw it now. She saw him now.
And she loved him. With every fiber of her being.
She would figure out what it would take to get his attention, to make him forget about Jenny. She would figure it out. Hell, she already had a pretty good idea.
Though if she went there with Jack, they would have to have a conversation about it first. That was the mistake she’d made with Todd—assumptions would kill you every time. That would not happen with Jack.
This time she would do things right.
She would win him.
She would own him, heart and soul.
And Todd?
The douche bag had no power over her anymore. No power to hurt her with his apathy and cruel words. She was free of his thrall. Completely.
She smiled again.
Todd grinned back and leaned against the wall. “So. What do you say, baby? Shall we go out or do you want to stay here and make me dinner?” He offered a slimy smirk. “Maybe we could try that…thing you wanted to do.”
“That…thing?”
“You know. With the whips and chains.”
“Oh. Would you like that?”
“Sure. I mean, if you want to. I can play that game.”
Her hackles rose. It wasn’t a game to her. It was who she was. And she was done pretending.
She snapped into character, purring, “Would you like me to tie you up and spank your bottom, you bad boy?”
He shivered. Swallowed. His eyes glazed over. “Um. Yeah. Okay.”
“Do you want me to make you suffer?”
He stood up straight. “Oh Sara. God. Yes.”
She tipped her head to the side. “Last time I tried that, you couldn’t get away fast enough.”
“What can I say? You took me by surprise.”
She chuckled. “Silly rabbit. That’s when it’s best.”
“Wow.” He ran a finger around his collar. “I gotta say, Sara, I think I’m looking forward to this.”
“Are you?” He thought he was looking forward to it? She put out a lip, trying to feel sorry for him. The idiot had no idea what he’d missed. And he’d never find out. “Too bad. Because I’m not making you dinner tonight.”
“You’re not? Did-did you want me to make it?” His features scrunched in confusion. As though making dinner for her was something he’d never considered. Like ever. In his life.
Sara snorted. “Todd, you’re an idiot.”
“Is this…part of the game?”
“The game?”
“You know. The sex thing.”
“No. This is not part of the game. Do you know why?”
He shook his head.
“Because there is no game. Not with you anyway, Todd.”
“What? But Sara, baby. It was so good between us.”
“Was it?” She wrinkled her nose. “Hmm. Not how I remember it. But whatever. Point is, whatever it was we had is over.”
“But Sara—”
“No. Not over.”
“That’s better, baby. I know we can—”
“Dead is a better word. Yes. Dead.”
“Baby…”
“Don’t call me baby. In fact, don’t call me. Like ever again, Todd.” She crossed to the door, opened it. Tapped her toe. “Bye.”
He came to her side. “What are you saying, Sara?”
“Buh bye.”
“Seriously? What are you saying?”
“Buh. Bye.” And when he didn’t move, “Go, Todd. Have a nice life.”
“But—”
She shoved him through the door and shut it in his face.
It felt fucking awesome.
Todd’s car was in Sara’s driveway when Jack pulled up, which sent his depression hurtling into overdrive.
Part of him had kind of hoped she’d been bluffing about going out with Surfer Turd tonight. He’d come by on the off chance she’d be home. Alone. He planned to march right up to her door and then throw himself at her feet and grovel like hell.
But she hadn’t been bluffing.
Fuck.
He thought about roaring away in a huff but knowing Todd was there in her house, with her right now, was like acid in his gut. He couldn’t leave. He had to know. He had to know…
He parked his car down the street and glared at her house, willing Todd to come out—without Sara—and leave.
He was kind of shocked when that was exactly what happened.
Todd came out and stomped to his car and got in and slammed the door and revved the engine…and tore down the street.
Jack sprang out of his car and bounded up her sidewalk and laid on the bell.
If Todd was coming back, Jack intended to get in there first.
To apologize.
To make this all better.
The door flew open immediately, as though she’d been standing right there. Her face was contorted with rage.
“I told you—” She blinked. Her mouth fell open. “Jack?”
“Sara. Don’t say anything. Let me—”
“Jack. What are you doing here?”
“Can we please talk?”
“Talk?”
“Please, Sara. I…have something important to say.” She opened her mouth to say no but he didn’t let her. “It’s something I need to say and it’s not easy, so please, will you let me just say it?”
Relief scudded through him as she stepped back and opened the door, letting him in. “What is it, Jack?”
He stepped inside and his brain seized.
Oh crap. This was it. The moment he’d sweated over all afternoon.
Don’t fuck it up.
Don’t fuck it up.
“I wanted to…apologize.” The word stuck in his throat but once it was out, he realized it hadn’t tasted so bad. In fact it had the definite flavor of relief.
Sara blinked. Her mouth went all round, a tantalizing O. “A-apologize?”
“Yeah.” Okay. First part of the mission completed. Now here came the tough part. “I was flirting with Jenny this afternoon.”
She bristled.
Oh crap.
“But only to make you…jealous.”
Her sharp expression softened. “You were trying to make me jealous?”
He dug into the carpet with his toe. “Yeah. I know. It was stupid. Kat explained
it wasn’t a good idea. I’m sorry.”
“Kat explained it wasn’t a good idea? You needed Kat to tell you that?” This, she squawked.
“Kinda.”
Sara blew out a breath that turned into a laugh. She rearranged the bangs on her forehead. “Okay. Why did you want to make me jealous?” He loved that her voice had gone all wispy and sweet.
The question, not so much.
“I…don’t know.”
Her features tightened. “Don’t you?”
Again, he mauled the carpet. “Sara…”
“You have to tell me, Jack. I’m not a mind reader.”
Aw. Crap. She was right. Again, he struggled with putting the right words together. In the end he blurted, “I wanted you to like me more.”
“Jack.” She put her hand on his arm. It was warm. Nice. “I like you plenty.”
Elation flared. Holy crap. I like you plenty was good. Damn good. “You do?”
“Yes.”
Relief washed through him. “So you’ll forgive me for flirting with Jenny?”
“Oh. No.”
An acid volcano erupted in his gut. “You won’t forgive me for flirting with Jenny?”
“No way, Buster. You’re gonna pay for that.” Her tone made him twitchy. It was playful and perhaps a bit wicked. It put ideas in his head.
His heart hitched. “I will?”
“Oh yes.”
Jack shivered. Judging from her tone, he might enjoy it. He swallowed heavily and whispered, “Okay.” Silence between them swelled. It was an uncomfortable silence but Jack suspected it was only uncomfortable for him. Sara’s eyes glowed as she studied him—as though he were a roast she was contemplating how to carve. “So,” he said, simply to diffuse the sizzling tension building in his gut. “Where did Turd go?”
“T-Turd?” Sara spurted a laugh. “You mean Todd?”
“I’m pretty sure I mean Turd. I thought you two had a date.”
“So did he,” she muttered. “He pissed me off. I sent him packing.”
Jack glanced down at the rose petals on the floor.
Holy crap. Sara loved roses. He must have really pissed her off for her to dismember them like that.
Excellent.
Looked as though the door was wide open for Jack Maris to waltz in and save the day.