Page 13 of Second Time Around

Five

Jenna was restless. It was just after eleven a.m. on Sunday morning, and she was already thinking about lunch. Specifically, the lunch special that Beck had referred to the other day when he’d been in the salon. She’d tried hard to forget their encounter, but she’d been unsuccessful. She’d given way too much thought to the feel of his thick hair, masculine scent, and the way his body had filled out her salon chair.

She’d had her share of male clients over the years, but none had caused that kind of reaction in her. She blamed it on their past, which had no right to infringe on the present or her future. Still, the allure of the brownie he’d described was making her mouth water.

What harm would there be if she took him up on his offer for a free lunch? He might not work on Sundays, but she wouldn’t be going there to see him anyway. Even if she had to pay, she’d still enjoy the food.

She popped up off the couch. “That’s it. I’m doing it!”

She grabbed her purse and sailed out the door. Twenty minutes later, she pulled up in front of the restaurant in her lime green Kia. If she hadn’t wanted to be spotted, she should have borrowed her sister’s black sedan instead, but it was too late.

She stepped out of the car, took a deep breath, and opened the door to the sandwich shop. The hostess, whom she recognized from her previous visit, greeted her.

“Oh, hi. You’re Mr. Montgomery’s friend, right?”

Friend? Not exactly. “Um…”

“He mentioned you might come in for the lunch special. I’ll go tell him you’re here.”

“Wait,” Jenna said, suddenly feeling panicky. “No rush. I’m sure he’s busy.” Glancing around the restaurant, she saw it wasn’t nearly as crowded as on a weekday.

Then, before she could come up with any more excuses, he strolled around the corner. He paused for a few seconds, looked at her like she was a ghost, and then strode forward to greet her.

The hostess was the real ghost, because she’d suddenly disappeared.

“You came,” he said, smiling broadly.

“It’s all your fault for taunting me with that brownie.”

He laughed. “Couldn’t get it out of your mind, huh?”

Among other things. “You could say that.”

“Well, I hope you won’t be disappointed. Follow me.”

As he led her to a table, her gaze roamed over him. He’d played high school sports, and he still had an athletic build. She wondered if he still played sports or what he did to stay in such good shape. Her gaze drifted down to his butt—firm and round—and she chastised herself for staring. Then she glanced to the side and saw the hostess looking at her with an amused expression.

Great! She caught me. She doubted the woman would tell him, though, so she shrugged it off.

“Is this okay?” he asked, pointing to a small table against the window.

A bud vase with a single red rose sat in the center of the table, and she wondered if he’d purposely placed it there. Upon further inspection, she noticed there was one at every table, and she felt oddly disappointed.

“This is fine,” she said. She went to pull out a chair, but he beat her to it. She gave him a half-hearted scowl as she sat down.

“I’ll give you a few minutes to look at the menu, unless you already know what you want.”

What she wanted was for him to stop fawning over her and go back to work. It was bad enough the hostess thought they were “friends” and had caught her staring at his butt. Friends, my ass! They hadn’t communicated in twelve years until now.

“Jenna?”

“Hmm?”

“Here’s the menu, and the specials are listed on this sheet.” He’d taken the menu out of a holder on the table and placed it in front of her like she was a child.

“I don’t need special treatment. Don’t you have work to do?”

He chuckled. “This is my job.”