One Night with Sole Regret 03 Take Me (18 page)

Chapter 11

Amanda didn’t know why she’d felt so uncomfortable when Adam had recognized her. Sure, he’d undoubtedly figured out why she was at
Jacob
’s house borrowing his shirt, but they were both single, consenting adults. It wasn’t any of
Adam’
s business what they
did
in the semi-privacy of
Jacob
’s breakfast nook. It hadn’t bothered her nearly as much when Gabe had show
n
up the night before
. Why not?
She froze, her hands tangled up in hair and shampoo.
P
robably because she’d been so lost in a haze of lust that she hadn’t been thinking clearly.

She scrubbed at her scalp.
Eyes closed, she rinsed her hair beneath the steamy water.

She needed to go home and collect her scattered thoughts. Something about
Jacob
sent her logic on a short flight to nowhere
-
land.

When
he
stepped into the shower behind her, her senses boarded the plane. She turned
so
that the spray hit her
shoulders
and
she
wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoes
to
press
her breasts against his chest.

“Everything okay with Adam?” she asked.

“One conversation can’t solve years of conflict,” he said. His hands slid over her back
,
and he drew her closer. “But it’s a start.”

“He wouldn’t tell Tina that I was here, would he?”

“Nah.
He can’t stand her. That’s why he refused to be the best man at our wedding.
Said I was making the biggest mistake of my life.”

“In hindsight, do you agree?”

“Nope.
I have no regrets there. I
f I hadn’t married Tina, I wouldn’t have Julie.
And she’s my heart.
”

Amanda
kissed the center of his chest
,
right on the
proud nose
of
his lion tattoo.
“Way to dissolve me into a puddle of mush, Silverton,” she said.

“I also might have never met you.”

She grinned at him. “Are you trying to earn extra credit with words instead of actions?”

“Actually, I was hoping to finish what we started in the kitchen.” His hands slid down over her butt
,
and he tugged her closer.

“I have one issue with that.”

“What’s that?” He lowered his head to nibble on her ear
,
and she almost forgot her
teasing
remark.

“There’s no table in here,” she said breathlessly.

“No, but there’s a perfectly good wall.”

It turned out walls weren’t quite as much fun as swings, but detachable shower heads made for an enjoyable experience. Sex was fun with
Jacob
,
and she didn’t need more than a good time at the moment.

Yeah, k
eep telling yourself that
,
Amanda
,
and maybe you’ll start believing it.

While he was in her arms, she was going to let herself enjoy being with him. She’d sort out any developing feelings later
—h
e didn’t need to hear about them.
The man
felt guilty enough for having sex with her in the first place.

Plus s
he wanted him to remember their time together as a blessing
,
not a burden. She could hide how she felt
,
k
eep him believing that she only wanted sex. There was no reason to complicate things with talk of relationships and the future. Neither of them
wanted that
—t
oo many people would get hurt
if
they ever tried to be together
i
n a serious capacity.

Amanda kept talking to herself
, convincing herself that she was right,
because
her
thoughts were the only
obstacle
keeping her from revealing her heart.

By the time she was
sexually
satiated and dressed in the clothes she found in the dryer—she’d
nixed pulling on
her
dirty
panties
, so she was a bit light on the bottom end
—it was time for him to meet the bus and go back on tour.

She wasn’t sure what to say. Should she say anything?
Not goodbye. That was too final.
She sat alone in the living room while he packed his overnight bag in the bedroom. Dare she ask him out the following weekend? She knew he’d be in town. She also clearly remembered his reaction to Gabe when he’d spilled th
ose particular
beans.

He won’t want to see you again, fool. Don’t set yourself up for that kind of heartache.

So
,
no, she wouldn’t ask to see him again. She wouldn’t put him on the spot. She would keep her word and not try to make something out of their one night together. It had just been an amazing night—and morning—of casual sex
,
and this would be the end of it.

When
Jacob
entered the living room, he dropped his bag on the floor and stood in the doorway. He was wearing his sunglasses again, so she couldn’t be sure, but he seemed uncomfortable that she was there.

“I guess I’ll be going,” she said, rising to her feet. “I won’t have to go to the gym for a month after
that
workout.”

He smiled tersely.

She should have gone while he was packing. She collected her purse from the end table where she’d placed it the night before and walked pas
t
him with a stiff spine and an aching heart.

“Amanda?” he said.

Her heart lurched
,
and she stopped in the middle of the foyer.
Please ask to see me again. Please.

“Good to see you.”

Her hopes plummeted.
“Yeah.”

She opened the door just as a Jeep sped by the end of the front walk, hopp
ed
the curb with two wheels and stopped just in front of Amanda’s car. The driver, Owen, blared on the horn.

Amanda hurried to her car. She could feel Owen’s eyes on her as she prayed for invisibility and climbed behind the
wheel
. He’d blocked her in with his haphazard parking job, so she sat staring at
the dashboard
, trying not to watch
Jacob
stride confidently down the walk to Owen’s Jeep. She could barely hear his words through the closed windows.

“I should have called and let you know I found my car
,” Jacob said
.
“
It slipped my mind.”

Owen said something
she couldn’t hear.
Cranking the key, but not starting her knock-ridden engine, s
he lowered the
passenger side
window slightly
.

“I’ll still ride with you since you’re already here,”
Jacob
said. He dropped his bag into the open back of the Jeep and the
n
ope
ned the door to climb in the vehicle
. He didn’t look in her direction. This really was the end of their time together.

Amanda watched Owen’s
Jeep
pull away. Her heart sank to the middle of her belly. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from
Jacob
. She’d known he wasn’t interested in anything substantial
,
and she wasn’t either. So why did it hurt so bad to think
that
all she’d ever have with him was a single night? Why was she paralyzed by the ache in her heart?

Pull it together, Amanda. This isn’t the first time you haven’t gotten the guy you want
ed
. It won’t be the last.

She took a deep breath and started her car. Before she could put it in drive, Owen’s tail
lights brightened, the passenger door
flew
open and then
Jacob
was out of the car and jogging
toward
her. Her heart skipped a beat. He’d probably just forgotten to tell her something, but she couldn’t help but hope.

He paused outside her door and tapped on the glass. She fumbled with the button that lowered
her
window. She looked up at him expectantly.

“Just so you know, I really am stupid,” he said and before she could protest, he leaned into her open window and kissed her.

What? What did he mean?
She lost her train of thought as he deepened the kiss and her body melted.

Jacob.

He tugged his mouth from hers and stared down into her eyes. At least she thought he was staring into her eyes. He was hiding behind his damned sunglasses again.

“I have Julie next weekend,” he said. “I thought she might like to go to the zoo. What do you think?”

“Um…” So he’d dashed out of the car to ask her if Julie would like to go to the
zoo?
Not exactly what she’d hoped for, but she smiled for Julie’s sake because she cherished that little girl more than her own life and she knew Julie would love to spend the day at the zoo with her father. “She’d love that. She really likes animals and is always full of questions.”

He smiled.
“Which I’d never be able to answer.
Will you come with us?”

The air rushed out of Amanda’s lungs. “Um… I wouldn’t want to intrude on your time with her.”

“Nah, you’d be helping me out. You’re into animals and stuff, right, biology teacher?”

“Are you sure this isn’t an excuse to see me again?” she asked.

“You really can’t take a hint, can you?”

Hint?
“I don’t know what you mean.”

He leaned his forearms on the doorframe and gently stroked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s really stupid of me to do this, but I just couldn’t stand the thought of not spending more time with you. Even though I know staying apart is for the best, I don’t give a damn.”

She smiled, her chest
ready
to explode from the joy blossoming in her heart. “I don’t think you’re stupid at all, Jacob Silverton. I think the smartest thing you’ve ever done is get out of that
Jeep
and kiss me.”

He grinned. “So you’ll join us?”

“I’d love to. I always have a great time with Julie at the zoo.”

“And with me?”

She grinned. “Yeah, I guess you’re all right.”

“We don’t have to have sex,” he said.

“Uh, but we could.
If the mood strikes us.”
She was going to start training to increase her stamina immediately. So much for getting out of a month’s worth of workouts.

He laughed and kissed her again. “I have to go.”

This time when Amanda watched the
Jeep
drive off with Jacob Silverton inside, she had a smile on her face and hope in her heart. She just had to ensure her sister never found out that she was seeing
Jacob
, even on a cursory level. The man didn’t need another reason for his ex-wife to hate him.

Chapter 12

“You are the
biggest
idiot on the planet,” Owen said to Shade as they pulled out of his driveway. “I don’t know what you have floating around in that big head of yours, but it sure
as
hell isn’t a brain. Why are you fooling around with Amanda Lange?”

Shade shrugged. He was in too good of a mood to let Owen’s words bother him. He was going to
get to see Amanda again in less than
a week. Spend the day with his two favorite females on the planet. Nothing anyone could have said would have darkened his mood. And before Owen could try, Shade changed the subject.

“Adam stopped by this morning. He looks like shit. Didn’t get any sleep last night. His dad is in the hospital.”

“Well, fuck, why didn’t he call us? We could have been there to support him.”

“You know he’s ashamed of his father.”

“I don’t know which one of you is the bigger idiot,” Owen said.

“He is,” Shade assured him.

Owen laughed. “You two really need to stop going at each other constantly. It stresses us all out.”

“We talked a bit about that this morning too. I think things will start to smooth out between us a little.” Shade doubted they’d ever be as close as they
’
d once been, but he didn’t want to fight with Adam anymore. Shade would work at not losing his temper. He’d find ways around Adam’s inconsiderate behavior to make his
own
life easier.
And
h
e would
no longer
take it upon himself to garner Adam’s cooperation
;
i
t was
n’t
his job to teach Adam responsibility. Maybe Adam would recognize
how he was messing up
everyone
else
if Shade kept his cool instead of adding to the
ir
problem
s
by
always confronting Adam
.