“Serena struck me as a sensible girl. I’m sure she will not harass you. And if she’s as smart as I think she is, then your email address will find it’s way into the correct, hunky hands anyway. So, you’re welcome.”
“Hunky hands? Really?”
“Well, they were hunky. And very large.”
Lacey groaned. “Please tell me you did not just comment on the size of his hands. I think I’m traumatized.”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. How could you not? That young man was a prime specimen.”
“Yes, I did notice. But you are definitely not supposed to notice big hands. Hunky or otherwise.”
“Why-ever not? I’m single and vital. Just because I’m in my fifties, does not mean I’m dead inside, you know. If I was ten years younger, you might have some competition.”
“Oh my God. Why am I suddenly picturing him as my new step-daddy?” Lacey shuddered at the thought of her mother, happily married to the hot builder, while she went through life as a spinster, collecting spoons, dressing her dog in embarrassing outfits, and knitting away the profound loneliness. “Thanks, Mom. This conversation has taken a disturbing turn, and I’ll be looking for a therapist tomorrow.”
“My pleasure, dear. Now, can we stop at Starbucks? All this big hands talk has made me parched. Besides, I think one of the fellows who works there has his eye on you. If the Handy Hunk doesn’t email you then perhaps you should give Lars a try. He makes an excellent triple-foam latte.”
Tempted to beat her head against the steering wheel, Lacey pulled into the parking lot of the Starbucks on the corner, just a few blocks from her mom’s house, and waited in the car while Diana went in to retrieve her coffee. No way was Lacey going in there to be the victim of another one of her mother’s romantic ambushes.
As she waited, she couldn’t help but wonder, would she hear from him? If only to ask her about the house? Maybe he just brought up the whole 'I want your impartial opinion’ thing as an excuse to talk to her again. Perhaps her mom was right, for once, and he was interested in more than just pumping her for information. Hopefully, an entirely different kind of pumping was on his mind. A small part of her thrilled at the thought, but she quickly stopped her mind from wandering down that path before she could get too excited.
She refused to overanalyze this little episode and turn it into a big deal. If he wanted to take this weird chemistry between them to the next level, then he was going to have to make a real effort and ask her out on a date. No more games. Until that happened, she wasn’t going to think about him. At all.
*****
“What the hell was all that about?” Serena asked her cousin suspiciously as she observed him standing on the sidewalk, watching the hot little red car fade away in the distance. She could not believe that he was actually showing some interest in something besides work.
He’d been completely detached since the accident and this was the first sign of life she’d seen from him in 17 months. He shut down completely if she attempted to talk about Deborah, and what had happened, so she tried to focus on the present. And the idea that her cousin might just be coming back to life after all this time. Everyone in the family had practically given up on trying to reach him. She couldn't wait to tell her Aunt Marie, Jack’s mom, that she’d actually witnessed what passed for flirting on Jack’s behalf. Auntie M would be psyched.
“What? I was helping you out. You’re always complaining that I avoid dealing with the public like they’re a bunch of lepers, so I gave them a tour. What’s the big deal?” Jackson said, stepping back onto the sidewalk next to her, he held up his arms in an ’I can’t win’ gesture.
Jack had no idea what he was doing exactly. He was so far out of his depth he felt like he’d stepped into another dimension. For so long, his only focus was on getting through each day without losing his mind. Nothing really existed for him outside of work, and avoiding all thoughts of the past. Then, with just a heated look, this girl had him thinking about the future. Maybe not the forever kind of future. He couldn’t really contemplate that. But he could definitely seeing himself spending some time trying to get her into his bed. Well, a bed anyway. And that was more planning than he’d done since his world blew apart.
All he knew for sure was that when he’d been with Lacey, he’d felt like the door to his dark prison had opened a crack, letting in a glimmer of light. Watching her leave had been like seeing that door slam shut, leaving him in darkness once again. Maybe permanently this time. Feeling alive for these past few hours made him realize just how dead inside he’d become, and he wasn’t ready to go back there. Not at all. If he could just stall for a few minutes, maybe he could see her smile again and figure out a way to ensure that she wouldn’t walk out and leave him feeling empty again.
He wanted to look at her some more. Maybe catch her watching him again with those furtive hot glances she’d been sneaking at him all afternoon. Those looks made him incredibly hot, and he hadn’t been even lukewarm in years. He was actually having fun with her, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that.
At one point during the tour, Lacey had been leading the way up the porch stairs to the third row-house. He had been following close behind her, trying to make out the shape of her ass under those loose jeans without looking like a complete letch, when she’d balked at the door.
“It’s not locked,” he’d said, nearly running into her back on purpose. He was certain that he’d left it unlocked when he’d been here earlier, checking on the hardwood shipment that had been delivered the day before.
“If it’s not, then it’s doing an awfully good impression of it,” she’d replied, giving the handle a really good yank. It hadn’t budged.
The most normal thing in the world would have been to ask her to step out of the way, so he could get his manly hands on the damn thing. Use some brute force to impress her. Instead he found himself reaching around her from behind and gently moving her hand out of the way so he could give it a try. It still wouldn’t move. He must have accidentally locked it.
But then he was practically wrapped around her, and it hadn’t felt awkward at all. It had felt absolutely fucking great. Better than anything. Like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. Despite their great difference in height, their bodies had fit together perfectly. And if he hadn’t been mistaken, she had actually angled her body toward him rather than trying to minimize their contact.
It was completely crazy, but he was pretty sure that if her mother hadn’t been waiting impatiently behind them, he would have put one of his arms around her waist so he could bring that round ass flush against his suddenly hardening cock. But her mom was there, so he reluctantly disentangled himself from her sweet body.
“I guess it is locked.” He cleared his throat and waved his hand toward the side of the building. “I’ll go around back and unlock it from inside. Wait for me, okay?”
“Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you?” Lacey had said.
Had it just been his imagination, or had her eyes looked a little glazed from those three seconds of contact? He’d hoped so. Brushing up against her had made him positively horny as hell. He’d needed the few seconds it had taken to run around back to catch his breath and adjust his jeans.
Now he had to attempt to explain what was happening to his nosy cousin, when even he wasn’t sure what was going on. He knew Serena was just concerned, and he appreciated it on some level. But mostly he resented being put on the spot like this. He didn't need to share everything, did he?
People had been trying to get him to open up for the last 17 months, but he just wasn’t the sharing type. He dealt with things internally and didn’t see what yammering on about his feelings really accomplished. Unfortunately, she would not let up until she dragged something out of him. So, he resigned himself to revealing as little as possible, and hoped she’d be content with that. If she knew he was still sporting a major boner even thinking about the locked door incident wi
th Lacey, she’d be on the phone with his mother in a heartbeat, planning a June wedding.
“Don’t you dare play innocent with me!” Serena poked him in the chest to emphasize her point. “You were into her.”
“Give me a break. I was nice to both of them. Maybe I was into the mom. Come to think of it, she was pretty cute.” He rubbed his chin as if considering his options. ’What do you think? Am I Cougar Bait?”
“I think that particular cougar would eat you alive,” Serena said dryly.
“You’re probably right about that, but what a way to go,” He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.
“Gross!” She punched him in the arm this time. “Quit trying to distract me. You liked her, didn’t you? That Lacey girl.”
“Ouch. You’re so violent. No wonder you’re single.” He rubbed his arm where she’d punched him and pretended to cringe away from her. Man, what did he have to do to change the subject? Usually bringing up Serena’s single status was a surefire way to get her to focus on herself, but he could see from the enraged expression on her face that she would not be deterred from the subject at hand. He had to admire her tenacity. No wonder she was such an excellent real estate agent.
“Oh, I’m going to go ballistic all over your head in a minute if you don’t explain yourself,” she said, raising her briefcase over her head and preparing to brain him with it.
All her efforts to seem cool and elegant were gone and she was just his bratty little cousin again. He much preferred her in real estate professional mode. Much less painful. “Okay, okay. I thought she was cute,” he admitted. There, hopefully that would satisfy her and she’d let it alone. “What was your first clue? The way I followed her around like a puppy for an hour and a half? Or the way I bulleted down the street after her when I thought she was going to leave without saying good-bye.” He rubbed one hand over his face in embarrassment.
“I don’t get it. I know you want to win this really stupid pissing contest with your equally stupid brothers, but why lie to her about why you want her to call?”
“I don’t know. I just panicked. I’m out of practice with this shit. I just realized how completely idiotic I must have looked chasing her down the street, and I didn’t want her to think I was pathetic.” Had he really been out of line? What if Serena was right and he’d hurt Lacey’s feelings? That had never been his intention. He wouldn’t purposely hurt a girl if he could avoid it, especially one who made his jeans tent like this. He’d just wanted to save some face and maybe give her a reason to call him that hadn´t required putting his feelings on the line. Was that really so wrong?
“But now she thinks you’re an asshole. Is that really an improvement?”
“An asshole with some dignity left though, right?”
“Great. So you’ll be a lonely, horny, dignified asshole. Sounds like a plan, Mr. Smooth.”
He sighed. “You didn’t happen to get her number, did you?”
“Nope. But I wouldn’t give it to you anyway,” she said, popping the trunk to her car with the key fob, she placed her briefcase inside and slammed the lid closed with unnecessary force.
Jack put his hands on his slim hips and stared at her for a moment. “What the hell? Why the fuck not?” He asked angrily. Used to dealing with men, he wasn’t above using his size to intimidate people to get what he wanted. But his cousin wasn’t a contractor or a plumber and he needed to calm down and try not to be so domineering. He sometimes forgot how to act around polite society. So much of his life was spent barking orders and demanding action. He was sadly out of the habit of being patient and courteous.
Granted, Serena was tall, and feisty as hell, but he knew he could look downright intimidating when thwarted. So he made a conscious effort to relax his angry pose and talk in a moderate tone of voice. “I won’t stalk her or anything. I’ll just call her up, casually, and ask her what she thought about the houses. And then if she seems into it, maybe I’ll ask her to meet for a drink or something. I won’t be creepy, I promise. Scout’s honor.” He held up the wrong hand to do the Cub Scout’s Pledge, but didn’t think Serena would notice.
The truth was that he did, in fact, plan to stalk Lacey a little bit. Not in a twisted or scary 'I’ll be hiding in the bushes when you come home’ sort of way. But hopefully, in a charming, 'What a coincidence. We both drink coffee,’ sort of way.
If he could call Lacey up and make some idle conversation, and in the process maybe find out where she hung out or even worked, then maybe he could arrange a casual meeting without appearing too desperate. A casual meeting where he would be direct and tell her exactly what he wanted. By comparison, calling her up on the phone and asking her out for dinner seemed so tame when he really just wanted to get her naked. Naked and sweaty, and hopefully very, very wet.
Besides, a traditional courtship was frankly beyond him right now. He wanted to spend time with her, yes, and get to know her too. He wasn’t a complete animal. But mostly he just wanted to bury himself in her body and forget about the past. If that was slightly creepy behavior then he was okay with that. Sometimes there’s a fine line between creepy and romantic. And if walking that line gave him another chance at spending some time with her then he swore to himself he would not pussy out this time. Serena was right. That had been a big mistake.
“Don’t get me wrong, Jay. I would love it if you got together with her, or her mother, or the crazy cat lady on Third Avenue, for that matter. You’ve been a bear for months now, and personally, I think that semen retention headache of yours would go away if you got a little action.”
He cringed. “Please don’t ever say the word ’semen’ in my presence again.”
“Semen, Semen. Semen. Semen. Grow up, Jay.”
He rubbed his temples as if he actually did have a headache. “When did you become the sexpert anyway? Geez. You haven’t exactly been dating up a storm lately yourself. Besides, if you want me to get together with her then why wouldn’t you give me her number?”
“Frankly, because you don’t deserve it.”
He felt his temper flaring up again, but kept it firmly under control. If he started yelling at Serena on the street, she would just get in her car and flip him the bird as she drove off. He’d never find out what she was getting at. “Quit playing games, Ess, and tell me what you mean,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Well, Mr. Socially-challenged, tell me something. When you meet new people. Especially attractive people of the opposite gender. What are you supposed to do? I’m positive your mom tried to teach you basic manners so this should come easy to you.”
He looked at her blankly. He really didn’t know.
“You introduce yourself, dummy. Even if she wanted to get hold of you she couldn’t. You are so screwed. And not in the fun way.”
Jackson cursed, loudly and creatively. How could he not have introduced himself? Where was his brain? In his shorts, evidently. The truth was that he hadn’t planned on talking to Lacey and her mother at all. He’d been grilling Serena about prospective buyers for his row-house unit when the pair had walked in. He was about to slip out the patio door before he could get entangled in a time-wasting conversation, but then Lacey had reached out and ran both her hands over that granite countertop in a gesture so sensual he’d felt his mouth go dry and a chuckle escape him before he was even aware of it. That was it. All thoughts of escape had left him. He was intrigued.
But Serena didn’t have that excuse. “Why the hell didn’t you introduce me?” He demanded, running both hands through his longish hair.
“I thought you were planning on fleeing the scene if anyone came in. Why would I introduce you when you’re usually so rude to possible buyers?”
“I am not rude. I’m busy. There’s a difference.”
“You’re just pissed off because you blew it with that girl and now you’re trying to blame it on me. Well, do you want to know what I think?”
“No, I really, really don’t.”
“What I th
ink is that the next time you meet someone you like, you need to man up and say what you want. That whole ’objective opinion’ bullshit you were trying to feed her was weak, and you know it. It’s beneath you, Jay. And so is trying to make this my fault.” Serena poked him in the chest three times for emphasis, and smiled when she saw he was finally speechless. At least for a moment or two.
“Alright, Dr. Phillis. Now what do I do to fix it?”
“I have no idea. But I bet you won’t make the same mistake next time.”
Jack groaned as he watched Serena fold herself into her car and gun the engine. With a wave she pulled away from the curb and he watched yet another woman drive away from him. He seemed to be doing that a lot today.
Like Lacey, Serena couldn’t help glancing in her rear view mirror as she pulled away. Jay wasn’t watching her as he had when the petite brunette had left earlier. Then he’d looked like a dejected little boy. Right now, he looked enraged. All in all, she preferred it when he was spitting nails. It was a vast improvement over the indifference that had plagued him since his wife and unborn son had been in a car accident more than a year and a half ago.
After his initial heartbreaking grief had subsided, his coldness had grown more and more pervasive. It defined him. With the exception of the occasional flashes of rage he exhibited toward any lazy or dishonest workmen unfortunate enough to cross his path, he was positively robotic. No one had seem him exhibit a single bit of humor or humanity in all that time. It was genuinely frightening what loss could do to a person.
Jack had always been hard-working and serious, but after the accident, he became like a man possessed. Whatever playfulness and warmth he’d possessed simply disappeared. He worked constantly. Not 12 hour days, but more like 16 or even 18. Serena was fairly certain that he didn’t even sleep in the gorgeous house he’d built for his wife, Deborah. Most evenings he just showed up at one of his brother’s homes after he couldn’t work anymore and fell asleep on their couch in his clothes. Then, he disappeared like a thief in the night before anyone got up.
Open House (Kingston Bros.) Page 3