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Jack faces away from me. The muscles of his back ripple as he stretches his arms and rolls his shoulders. I want to run across the room and draw my fingers over every one of them. Touch them as steel softens back into human flesh.
“We’ve company.” The fight coordinator winks at me. “I don’t suppose I’m lucky enough to assume you’d be looking for me.”
Jack glances over his shoulder, eyes widening when he sees who’s come a callin’.
I’m so flustered at being caught I blurt, “I’m not looking for him.” My tone is harsh, bordering on offended that I could possibly be looking for Jack O’Leary. Even though I’m trying to convince myself I can’t be, I’m pissed at the absolute silence following his slumber party with Niks last night.
Instead of a smile, Jack looks pained.
“The writers sent me to get one of Donal Cam’s swords.” I walk across the mats, arm outstretched. “I’m Gillian, the new writer’s assistant.”
The man moves the sword to his left hand and wipes the right one on his sweats before taking mine. “I’m Jimmy. You’re very welcome here to my training center.” He gestures toward Jack. “Have you met this feller?”
Jack’s face is neutral.
I smile at Jack. “Several times. Nice to run into you again, Jack. How’s your golf swing coming?”
Neutral perks up. It occurs to me that my less-than-warm sign-off to our phone call last night may be the culprit of his inattention. He’s probably trying to read me as hard as I’m trying to read him.
Jimmy pops his sword into a weapons rack. “Jack’s the man you need to see about a Donal Cam sword. I’m off.” He wipes his face with a towel and shrugs into aChieftain’s Sonhoodie.I’ve got to get one of those.
“If I’m late to take the wife out tonight, I won’t hear the end of it.” The trainer winks and picks up his duffle bag. “Enjoy your weekend.” He points a finger at Jack. “And I don’t mean overdoing your workouts over the next two days. We’ve got a bastard of a schedule coming up.”
Jack salutes him. “Aye, aye, captain.”
Jimmy fans an arm across the room. “After the sword business, close down for me, will you?”
“Yep,” says Jack. We both watch Jimmy walk through the door.
Heat radiates off Jack’s body as he takes a step closer to me. “Hi.”
I raise my eyes to his. “Hello.”
He presses his lips together, causing their natural blush color to fade. “Gilly, I’m so sorry about last night.”
The apology slices into me, an echo of the way Treat would approach after he’d showered attention on this female or that for the sake of the company. This is my moment to back away. Jack and I have shared nothing more than a few kisses and one or two steps toward something more. Calling a halt to the possibility of us now will prevent any emotional bruising.
I gather up my nerve and a lungful of oxygen. “Maybe last night was a sign. I get that you and Niks are on a crazy ride together and probably need each other to stay sane. Shared experience and all.”
Saying the words aloud edges me closer to accepting their validity. As attracted as I am to Jack, we make much less sense than Niks and him do.
Without preamble, he lifts me off my feet and then sits me onto a stack of mats. He takes my hands in his. “I panicked. Meg’s do-this and don’t-do-that’s are still new to me. I got boggled.” He twirls fingers around his temples. “I figured dumping Niks on my couch instead of exposing her drunken stumble back to the hotel was the safest thing to do.”
His expression is pathetic. He really is boggled.
Jack takes my face in those hands that feel like a blanket warmed in front of a hearth fire. “She didn’t stay, Gilly. I finally got a hold of Marisa to pick her up.”
“Marisa?”
A flash of panic crosses Jack’s face. Over what? Does he think I don’t believe him?
His skin heats up even more. “Niks’s assistant. Lives at the hotel with her.”
I ease his fingers from my face but keep ahold of them. Despite the self-talk I’ve attempted, Jack’s touch begins to thaw my reservations about us. “Have you considered that Niks planned last night, Jack? Showing up at the golf course, dinner. You can’t tell me you miss the fact she barely takes her eyes off you when you’re in the same room.”
His fingers tighten on mine, sending a thrill through me. Why is it so blasted hard to resist this man?
“She never misses an opportunity to be physical with you.” A montage of Treat and the women he’s wooed to be part of Lawson Graham Premier Sportswear skips through my memory. I refused to admit that touches, arms around waists, and bodies pressed close for whispers were indicators of Treat being unfaithful. He convinced me that my jealousy was misplaced, but then came Lanie. Now, when I play back Treat’s interaction with all those women, I see how naïve I was. Lanie was far from the first.
