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He paused, his hands on the zipper of her jeans. “You don’t want to spend the night?”
She wanted to—badly—but when she was thinking about it, she hadn’t been sure because he hadn’t mentioned it. “I didn’t want to assume.”
Taking her face in his hands, he lowered his head until they were eye level. “It’s not assuming if you have an open invitation to be here all the time. I meant to give you a key on Sunday but I forgot.”
“Oh.” Her mouth gaped. “Really?”
“Don’t be daft.” He kissed her. “I love you. I want you here with me.”
“I’d like that,” she said quietly. She frowned. “But I don’t have clothes for tomorrow. And before you suggest it, I’m not playing hooky two days in a row.”
“It’d make it more believable that you were sick.” He flashed her an adorably boyish grin. Then he began to nibble down the side of her neck. “In fact, you feel hot, like you may have a fever.”
She laughed low, arching her head on a sigh as he bit a particularly nice spot. “Are you a doctor now?”
“Fortunately for you, I make house calls.” He hummed, his fingers trailing down her torso back to the waistband of her jeans. He undid them and began to shimmy them down her hips.
Seventeen
He missed her.
Jamie had taken Rachel home late last night; he’d been sequestered in his room ever since. Didier would have probably said he was hiding, but he would have called it a tactical retreat. He needed a little space to clear his head and think.
Because he hadn’t slept well last night, he took a nap after doing his morning stretches. He woke up a little after noon, no clearer than he’d been before.
As he lay in bed and did his breathing, he thought about everything he’d laid out yesterday. Rachel hadn’t really said much about any of it. He hadn’t wanted to push her—he knew how important her job and her impending promotion were to her—but he’d have thought she’d want to discuss things a little more.
It wasn’t every day he thought of starting a business with someone.
It wasn’t every day when someone understoodhimand viewed things the same way he did. Because his heart had almost stopped when she’d pointed out that he’d be excellent helping people win.
He’d expected her to bring it up again, but she hadn’t. Then she’d wanted to go home earlier than he’d expected.
He thought about what Chris had said about her and wondered if he shouldn’t encourage her to walk her own path. Except he wasn’t sure that path was what she really wanted. For someone who wanted a promotion that badly, she wasn’t very enthusiastic about her job.
He could also tell she was biding her time with him, as if he was going to decide to leave her. He wasn’t sure where she got that idea—he’d said he was all in. No matter—it was up to him to correct her impression of that.
How, he had no idea. He wasn’t sure what more he could do to show her he meant it when he said he loved her. He’d never loved a woman before—he wasn’t going to walk away from that. He wasn’t daft.
As he exhaled, he realized that he knew exactly who to talk to: Lottie.
Hopping out of bed, he took a shower and got dressed. After a quick bite, he texted the guys—who knew where they were—that he was going to see Lottie and then walked over to her house. Letting himself inside the gate, he jogged up the walkway and knocked on the front door, hoping she was home.
He heard steps inside the house, and then the door opened.
Lottie looked at him with happy surprise. “Jamie! Have you come for Rachel? Because she’s not home from work yet.”
“I came to see you.”
Vulnerability filled her eyes, and then there were tears. She gasped, putting her hand on her heart.
He reached out to take her by the arms. “Oh, darling,” he said softly.
“No. No, I’m fine.” She sniffed, visibly trying to pull herself together. Her smile was watery but bright. “Whew! I had no idea I was going to react that way.”
He took her in his arms, soothing her back. He hugged his grandmama Jacs all the time like this, but Lottie felt smaller. Where Grandmama Jacs wore her signature scent created just for her, Lottie smelled like his cousin Henriette’s kitchen—of warm vanilla and sugar.
She pressed her face to his chest. “I feel like a foolish old woman, falling apart at nothing. Ignore me.”
