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“You’ve been working long hours for the last couple of months. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us, but Connor will make sure Rachel’s safe tonight.”
“Does she know you’ve kept a surveillance team on her?”
John shook his head. “And she won’t know if Connor and Jeremy do their job well. Have a good night.”
“I plan to.” Tanner pushed away from the doorframe, then reappeared two seconds later. “Did you see the Facebook page?”
“Gloria showed me.”
“They were good pictures. Pity about the room full of reporters.”
John threw his stress ball straight at Tanner’s smiling face.
Tanner caught it before it hit him. “You’ll have to work hard if you want to get to know Rachel better.”
“Do you know something that I don’t?”
“Tank and I guarded her for weeks. She’s practical, down to earth, and cares about people. It will take more than a handsome face to make her see the possibilities.”
John didn’t want to ask Tanner what he meant. He didn’t need to. “I’ll see you when you get back from DC.”
Tanner lifted his arm in a mock salute and headed down the corridor. His heavy boots echoed in the empty corridor, reminding John that it was time to go home. He turned off his computer and stood up. Bella would have made dinner with Mrs. Daniels. She’d be setting the table, waiting impatiently for him to walk in the front door.
“Hi.”
John froze. Rachel’s face was flushed a soft pink from the cold. Her eyes were a brilliant blue and gleaming under the knitted hat she’d pulled on.
“I’m sorry if I startled you. Tanner was coming out of the building when I arrived. He let me straight in. I hope that’s okay?”
John wasn’t worried about Tanner. Right now, his only worry involved a steady stream of Facebook posts that had been appearing all day. And a small, but critical inability to say something intelligent to Rachel.
“Thank you for the daisies. They were lovely.”
“I’m glad you liked them.” When he saw the first Facebook post at six o’clock this morning, he’d gone online and ordered her a bouquet of flowers. It was supposed to be an apology for the media frenzy that would follow. By the time the next photos hit Facebook, he was beginning to think he should get down on one knee and simply propose to her.
Whoever had taken the photos had known what they were doing. They’d captured everything that had been left unsaid. The photos had opened his eyes, made him realize just how much he wanted Rachel to be part of his life.
He moved from around the back of his desk. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have opened the fire door.” Tanner thought it was Rachel who needed to see the possibilities in their relationship. He’d been wrong. John was the one who’d refused to see what was staring him in the face.
“You don’t need to apologize.”
Rachel pulled her hat off and John stared at the blonde halo of hair that fell around her shoulders. He stuck his hands in his pockets and refocused his brain. There were things he wanted to know. Things that would make a difference to what happened next.
“I’ve got a question for you. Why did you tell everyone what happened? You could have kept quiet. The Fire Department would have investigated the alarm and found nothing. No one would have known that we opened the door.”
Rachel shrugged her shoulders. “Friday night is one of the busiest at the bar and grill. If half of Charlie’s customers had gone to other restaurants and bars, it would have made a big difference to his weekly earnings. The Fire Department was able to check the building a lot faster because I told them that we’d opened the fire exit by mistake.”
“Did you think about the media interest that information would cause? Half of the town’s reporters were there.”
Rachel nodded. “Charlie is more important. He’s a good man and I didn’t want to make his life difficult. ”
John thought about what she’d said, the things that were important to her. “What about the Facebook page?”
“I heard about the photos before school started. Most of the parents of my students saw the images as they were posted. The flowers you sent to school fueled the gossip mill even more. And the final end to a perfect day was meeting Doris Stanley in Tess’ café. She told me that you, above all other men, would appreciate me.”
“I always thought Doris was an astute woman.”
“She winked at me and gave me a hug.”
John ran his hand along Rachel’s arm. “Responsive and caring. What more could you want?”
Rachel held onto John’s hands before they could do any more wandering. “Committed and honest?”
“We’re not talking about Doris, are we?”
“No. We’re talking about us. I thought about what you said last night, and I want to be your friend. If you still want to be friends, that is?”
John shook his head. “I don’t want to be your friend.”
Rachel’s eyes widened. “You don’t?”
“I’ve changed my mind. I want more.”
“How much more?”
“If you’d be my girlfriend, I’d like to be your boyfriend.”
Rachel’s hands tightened around his fingers. “Just so we’re clear, what would a boyfriend and girlfriend status mean exactly?”
John didn’t need his hands to show Rachel what the difference was. She was already standing close enough for him to lean down and kiss her. “Well, it might mean that you could be my Scrabble partner. Grant and Bella are competitive, so we’ll have our work cut out for us. I could cook you dinner, rub your feet, and buy you extravagant gifts.”
Rachel took half a step toward him. “That’s an impressive list of opportunities. I can see the benefits for me, but what do you get out of the relationship?”
“This.” He leaned forward and slid his lips along Rachel’s mouth. With a soft sigh, her hands wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him close.
John had been thinking about kissing her all day. He was going to take it slow and easy, savor each touch and taste, show her how much he cared about her. But within seconds, he forgot about his plans, forgot about taking things slowly, forgot to breathe.
He stumbled backward when Rachel’s teeth started nibbling on the skin below his ear. “My knees just gave way.”
He felt Rachel’s breath against his neck as she laughed. “You’re either getting old,” she whispered, “or you need more practice.”
John had to hold back the groan that rumbled through his chest. He walked across the room and closed his office door. “I vote for more practice.”
“I like a man who knows what he wants.” Rachel stood in front of him and held onto the end of his tie. “How long have we got?”
“Ten minutes.”
She grinned, and his heart rate soared. “We’d better make the most of our time, then. Do you have any suggestions?”
“One or two.”
Rachel stepped forward. “Show me.”
He cupped the side of her face in his hand and kissed her with a hunger that left them both breathless. Rachel pressed her body close to his and he wrapped her in his arms.
Ten minutes might not be long, but he knew they could make it memorable.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A week later, Rachel looked at the color charts and fabric samples on the table. “You weren’t joking when you told me you were desperate for help.”
The light in John’s eyes made her smile. “If I don’t tell the interior designer what I want, they’re going to find another client. Bella’s color choices are all various shades of pink and purple.”
“And yellow,” Bella added from between them. “I like yellow because it reminds me of sunshine.”
Rachel thought that was as good a reason as any to like a color. She glanced down at the house plans before picking up one set of colors. “Is this for your room, Bella?”
Bella nodded. “Princess pink for these three walls.” She pointed to the walls she was talking about. “Mrs. Daniels helped me choose just the right yellow for this wall. It’s going to look so pretty.”
Rachel smiled. “You’re right. They’re beautiful colors. What other rooms have you helped choose paint for?”
Bella picked up the other color samples that Rachel had put in alphabetical order. “The kitchen, my bathroom, the garage, and the mud room.” She pointed to the kitchen colors. “Mrs. Daniels likes yellow, too. So we chose a creamy yellow for the kitchen walls. My bathroom is purple. Dad’s cars are all bright colors, so I chose white for the garage, and the mudroom is the same color as the kitchen. Mrs. Daniels said it would look really nice.”
“That’s a lot of great colors.”
John ran his hands through his hair. “Do you think it will work?”
“I think it will look amazing.” Rachel picked up the samples that the kitchen company had left with him. “I like the stone counter that you chose. I’d maybe go a shade lighter on the cabinets, so they’re a warm white rather than a soft yellow.”
John frowned. “There’s a difference?”
