Moonlight Cove (14 page)

“Start as you intend to finish, then, right out there in plain view,” he said approvingly. He noticed the sudden hint of panic in her eyes. “It’s going to be okay, you know. It’s a date, Jess. One simple meal. Some conversation. Nothing we haven’t done before a thousand times.”

Despite his reassurance, though, they both knew it was a whole lot more. Tonight’s dinner was going to be served with hopes and expectations,
and
with the very distinct possibility of sex for dessert.

J
ess was on edge all during dinner. Not that the conversation lagged for even a minute. Will was the perfect gentleman, too. He didn’t even try to hold her hand across the candlelit table. Still, the intimacy between them seemed to have hit a new level. And yet it hadn’t. It was confusing.

“You’re overthinking this, aren’t you?” he said, regarding her with amusement.

Jess sighed. She should have known he’d be able to read her mind. “Don’t you think it’s kind of weird, being here like this?”

“Like what? Two old friends having dinner together?”

She scowled at the description. “But we’re not just two old friends having dinner, are we? We’re two people who’ve introduced the prospect of having sex into their relationship.”

Will frowned. “Maybe I was wrong earlier,” he murmured.

“About what?”

“Not having sex right away,” he explained. “It seems
to be the only thing on your mind, like this giant hurdle you need to get over so you can relax.”

“Please do not try to tell me you aren’t thinking about it,” she said.

“I’m content to live in the moment,” he insisted.

She didn’t believe him for a minute. Men were always thinking about sex or having sex. Wasn’t it the driving force of their lives? She shook her head. “Sorry. I’m not buying it.”

“Why not?”

She told him her theory.

Will chuckled. “You really don’t think much of men, do you?”

She shrugged. “Well, my experience has been somewhat limited.”

Will stared at her with surprise. “How limited?”

His stunned expression put her on the defensive. “Well, I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you’re thinking. Not that it’s really any of your business, but Kevin and Connor didn’t always make it to Moonlight Cove in time to rescue me from my reckless self.”

His expression turned wry. “Good to know, but just so you also know, I really, really do not want to hear any details.”

“As if I’d share them with you,” she said testily, then sighed. “But what I’m really trying to explain is that I’m not very experienced at the whole relationship thing. Surely you figured that out a long time ago. You’ve been around. When have I ever dated anyone for longer than a few weeks or a couple of months? I obviously have a short attention span. I guess it must come with the ADD territory.”

Will shook his head. “There you go blaming your
ADD for something that’s much more easily explained by the fact that those other men have been wrong for you and you’ve been wise enough to figure it out sooner, rather than later.”

“Okay, you’ve said that before, but why are you so sure of it? Maybe I’m just flighty.”

“How long have you been friends with Laila and Connie?”

“They’re older, so it’s fairly recently that we’ve become friends, but I’ve known them all my life.”

“So those could be described as long-term relationships in some ways,” he persisted. “I suppose.”

“And you’ve been working with Gail since you opened the inn, right?”

“Sure. What’s your point?”

“That relationship seems to be holding up okay.”

“Come on, Will. It’s not the same,” she protested.

“The same character traits it takes to have a healthy friendship or a solid employer-employee relationship are needed to have a long-term relationship with a man,” he said.

Jess didn’t entirely believe him, but he was the expert in human dynamics. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “Seriously. All of those relationships involve give-and-take, loyalty, forgiveness and, on occasion, a bit of work.”

Jess saw what he was trying to say. “But Laila and Connie know about the ADD, so they’re pretty tolerant when I mess up. The same thing goes for Gail. She pitches in to make sure I don’t let things fall through the cracks at the inn.”

“Don’t you imagine someone who loves you would do the same?” he asked.

“I guess I never thought about it that way,” she admitted.

“So, let’s get back to us. Are you scared about us jumping into bed or about us having a relationship? Because I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time, Jess, so we can move this whole thing along at whatever pace makes you comfortable.” He gave her a hard look. “Or are you already trying to create roadblocks to moving forward at all?”

Was that what she was doing? It was entirely possible. She’d gone to Will’s office tonight because she hadn’t been able to convince herself to stay away. She’d wanted something from him when she’d walked through that door. Had it been uncomplicated sex? Or had she already known deep down that nothing about her relationship with Will would ever be uncomplicated? There were so darn many unexplored feelings between them.

The fact that he sat patiently while she argued with herself was extremely annoying, but that was Will. He’d obviously built his career on waiting out reluctant clients.

She frowned, but finally admitted, “I don’t know. This is so much more complicated than I thought it was going to be.” She looked into his eyes. “Did you know it would be this hard?”

He smiled. “I knew. You’re a complicated woman. There’s no surprise for me there.”

“Then why bother with me?” she asked him. When he laughed, she scowled, “No, I mean it. I really want to know.”

“Because I have never met another woman who
challenged me the way you do, who’s sexy and vulnerable and far stronger than she knows. I guess a part of me wants to be the man who’s there when you finally see yourself for the amazing woman you’ve become.”

Jess’s eyes misted with tears at his sweet words and the sincerity behind them. “That’s really how you see me? As an amazing woman?”

“Of course.”

“Why? You have to be aware of all my flaws. Do I need to list them for you?”

His lips curved. “Are you thinking you can scare me away if you do?”

“Maybe.”

“How long have we known each other, Jess?”

“Most of our lives.”

“Do you think there’s much about you I don’t know? I’ve pretty much seen you in every kind of circumstance imaginable, and what I haven’t seen, someone’s told me about.”

She wanted to believe that he’d seen all of her worst flaws, understood all of her most disastrous mistakes, and cared for her anyway, but how was that possible?

“Maybe you’re just glossing over my flaws so you can get me in the sack after all this time,” she accused lightly. “Some men will do or say anything to score.”

He looked oddly hurt by the suggestion. “I’m not most men. Besides, maybe I just see your flaws as an important part of the fabric of who you are,” he suggested. “And maybe I think they pale when stacked up against all of your good points.”

When she remained silent, distrusting his words, he sighed heavily. “I really wish you could see yourself through my eyes,” he told her. “I wish I knew how to
make that possible because until you do, you’ll always doubt you’re worthy of love.”

Jess couldn’t deny what he was saying. She’d spent her entire life—from the moment her mother had walked out and left them—focused on what was wrong with her, how much trouble she was. A pattern of belief begun at the tender age of seven and never denied, but rather reinforced, was almost impossible to shake.

It wasn’t that she believed no one could love her, because obviously her parents and her siblings did, but it was a love she’d always viewed as laced with a heavy dose of tolerance and even a sense of family obligation. Theirs was a love she’d put to the test too often. One thing she knew for sure was that if she ever did become involved with a man, she wanted more. She wanted affection that was freely given and deeply felt. No good could come of a relationship in which she felt a constant need to be testing the man’s love.

Will watched her as if he knew exactly what thoughts she was wrestling with. “Well?” he asked at last. “Are you going to bail before we even get started, or will you give us the chance we both deserve? All you have to do is take a leap of faith.”

“It might be easier to leap over the Washington Monument in a single bound,” she said dryly.

“Come on,” he coaxed. “You’ve got what it takes, Jess. I believe that, even if you don’t. Trust me just this once.”

“I do trust you,” she said, knowing that much was true, at least.

“Then you’ll go out with me again? Baby steps, if need be. Lunch. Or a movie. No pressure.”

“Can I drag along a chaperone?” she asked, only partially in jest.

His lips curved. “If you must. Just please don’t make it one of your brothers. I don’t think I could take the humiliation.”

She laughed, suddenly feeling a thousand times lighter. “Neither could I. I guess we’ll play the chaperone thing by ear.”

“How about I drop by the inn tomorrow afternoon? We can run out for ice cream or coffee or something. No big deal. Nothing too scary about grabbing a hot fudge sundae or a cappuccino with me, right?”

“Not unless you try whisking me off to a sidewalk café in Paris for them,” she said.

Despite the teasing note in her voice, Will studied her somberly. “Is that what you want, Jess? To be whisked away someplace romantic?”

“Isn’t that what every woman secretly yearns for?” she said lightly. “To be totally swept off her feet?”

He nodded, his expression thoughtful. “A good lesson. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

Sure, Jess thought. No man was less likely to make such an outrageous, extravagant gesture. Though she had no idea how much money he made with his practice or from the newly created Lunch by the Bay, Will had always lived simply in a small apartment decorated with parental hand-me-downs. His car was at least ten years old. His professional wardrobe, while well-made and expensive, probably didn’t take up more than half of a closet. On his days off, she was pretty sure he was still wearing the same faded, comfortable jeans he’d had since his teens.

“I should get back to the inn,” she said, though she
was oddly reluctant for the evening to end. She was half-afraid once it did, they would fall back into their old awkward pattern despite the promise of a casual date the next day.

Will nodded. “I’ll drive you.”

“It’s okay. I have my car. It’s parked by your office.”

“Then I’ll walk you back there,” he said, leaving cash on the table with their bill, then standing up to hold her chair.

Outside, he reached for her hand. For an instant, Jess was so startled, she almost pulled away, but then she realized she liked the sensation of his fingers curved around hers. How had she forgotten just how sweet such a gesture could be, how comforting? And maybe just a little sexy, she realized as she trembled with a newly discovered physical awareness of the man beside her.

At her car, he opened the door, waited for her to get behind the wheel, then leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. “Drive safely.”

She looked up into his eyes, saw the unmistakable desire of a man who wanted much more than a goodnight kiss. “Want to follow me to the inn?” she asked.

“More than you can possibly imagine,” he said candidly. “But not tonight. You’re not ready.”

“I think I am.”

“Not good enough. You have to be sure,” he said, then winked at her. “And you will be.”

“So arrogant,” she murmured, amused despite herself at this unexpected side of him.

“Confident,” he corrected. “I’ve been patient for a long time. It won’t hurt you to gain a little experience with that virtue.”

“Is this one of those life lessons you shrinks like to impart?”

“Pretty much,” he said, then grinned. “Or it could just be payback. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, and we can discuss it further.”

He pulled back, closed the door gently, then waited for her to start the car and drive away. Jess checked her rearview mirror as she pulled away from the curb. Will was still standing there in the middle of the street, staring after her. She liked believing he was regretting that noble stance he’d taken about not coming back to the inn with her. She had a feeling that she surely was going to.

When Jess walked downstairs from her suite at The Inn at Eagle Point on Saturday morning, Abby and Bree were waiting for her in the lobby.

“Breakfast in the dining room now,” Abby said, linking an arm through hers. Bree walked beside them, her eyes glinting with amusement.

“What’s this about?” Jess asked. “I know I haven’t messed up anything around here lately. That accountant you hired is all over me if I even forget to give him a receipt for replacing the pen the guests use to register.”

“Good for him. That’s what he’s paid for,” Abby said.

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” Bree consoled her. “Other than maybe losing your mind.”

Jess scowled at her. “What are you talking about?”

“You and Will,” Abby said. “First there was the widely reported kiss, and then last night I hear the two of you were having dinner in some cozy corner at Brady’s till closing. How come we had to hear about
that secondhand? Shouldn’t you have been on the phone confiding in us about your hot date?”

“The date, which came up at the last minute, was none of your business,” Jess said irritably.

“We’re your sisters,” Bree countered. “You’re supposed to tell us these things.”

She frowned at them. “Do you have some objection to my dating Will?”

Abby’s eyes lit up. “Then you
are
dating? This wasn’t just some spur-of-the-moment night out or something?”

“Last night was spur-of-the-moment, but in general that’s not Will’s style,” Jess said. “It could be a problem.”

“You can’t mean that,” Abby protested. “Will is exactly the kind of man you need. He’s steady and reliable.” She held up a hand before Jess could respond. “Which does not equate to boring, if that’s what you were about to say.”

Jess thought back to their dinner. It had been anything but boring. In fact, there’d been so many sparks flying, it was a wonder she hadn’t gotten singed. Sadly, the evening had ended with that very sedate peck on her forehead. It had been frustrating.

“I’m not sure why I’m just finding out about all this,” Bree said. “Do you really like him? To be honest, when Jake heard about this, he wasn’t happy. He thinks you’ll break Will’s heart.”