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It was nice to be heard.
Especially by someone who made her heart flutter.
“Now I can see why you’d suggest that for Cara. I’ll see what we can set up for Saturday.” He was so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek, warm and enticing. His breath smelled of the Scotch he’d had a glass of at dinner, and it all seemed so sophisticated. So over her head.
“Thank you.”
Jessica would never know how it started, who initiated it. Maybe it was like being a lemming on the edge of a cliff, that instinct to jump off was just too much. Too demanding. All she knew was that she found her lips on his, his tongue probing her mouth and tasting her. For a few, long moments, it was like she was back in the dream, that heat rushing through her and the hint of cinnamon and cloves promising her more.
Then Cara yelled from upstairs, “Dad are you coming to tuck me in or what?”
Jessica jumped back like she’d been scalded and ran a hand over her mussed clothes. “I… I’ll be here tomorrow. I’m so sorry. I just… I shouldn’t have done that.”
Brent’s eyes still seemed half-lidded even as he snapped back into place and time. “No, it was me. I shouldn’t have. Jessica, I promise, this won’t happen again. Please don’t quit on Cara for my sake. It was just—”
“One of those crazy, random things that happens?”
“Yes.” He offered her a smile, meant to be reassuring, but all it did was highlight his sparkling white teeth and his strong chin, which made her want to lean in again.
Jessica shook her head – as if that could keep her grounded. Grabbing the knob as if it were a lifeline, she wrenched the door open and hurried out. Before she could make any terrible decisions. Well, any worse ones.
Chapter Five
Brent
Brent stared at the door after Jessica scurried out of it. That was the word. Scurry. The word for something soft, small, and vulnerable.
He was such an idiot. He wasn’t even sure how it had all happened. One minute, he’d been walking her to the door, and the next he’d been kissing her. Brent couldn’t even say they’d both done it. She’d been so honest, so candid about her life and her own goals, and something in that sincerity had moved him. It was probably the inevitable result of hanging out so often with studio types or traveling to L.A. The entire town was nothing but superficial and self-involved. It had been refreshing to meet a woman of substance. To meet anyone of substance when he worked in filmmaking.
It didn’t hurt that he loved her deep chocolate-brown eyes and could see himself running his hands through her long, dark waves of hair.
Jessica clearly didn’t know how beautiful she was. How extraordinary.
By extension, Brent was starting to realize how fucked he was and not in the good way. Sighing, he shut the door and tried to keep himself from slamming his head against the wood. A stiff jolt to the brain would be good for him. It might remind him that he had more at stake in all of this than thinking with his dick. First of all, Allen was a good friend, and the last thing he wanted was to jeopardize either his production company or one of the few people out there who truly believed in him. Then, there was his father. The last thing he wanted to give that bastard was the satisfaction of knowing he’d picked up on the chemistry before even Brent had.
Hurrying through the long corridors, Brent made his way to the far wing of the house and knocked on Cara’s door. He’d promised to tuck her in, after all. She was in middle school now, so it didn’t include a story reading or anything like that. However, after LeeAnne died, the tucking itself had become a tradition they’d held fast to. Cara had only been three when her mother had developed a severe case of pneumonia that she couldn’t fight off. Cara had suffered from nightmares for months until Brent started sleeping in a sleeping bag at the foot of her bed. He didn’t go that far anymore, but it helped beat back the nightmares if he came by her room and helped her decompress.
It was the best part of his day – when no matter what other crazy things happened with his damn father or with the business or with her school, he could bond with the girl who meant more to him than the whole world.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course, Daddy,” she said. Her voice was cheerier than he’d heard it in ages.
That hurt. Brent did everything he could to make sure Cara was happy and well-cared-for. Maybe that teacher had been right. Well, not one hundred percent, but Cara had needed someone closer to her age to hang out with, someone who could compensate for the fact that fucking senator’s daughter was such an unholy terror.
“So,” he said, slipping into a chair, “did you have a good day?”
