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Jacob shot her a sideways glance, as if to remind her that Adam’s reputation was of his own making, not Jacob’s, and he wasn’t wrong. Adam liked knowing that some people feared him.
“Actually, Adam’s business thinking is very much in-line with yours. He’s started two immensely successful and innovative companies from the ground up...” She stopped herself. One of those two ventures was the one Jacob and Adam had started together, the very source of the rift that made everything such a mess. Her stomach sank. What must Jacob think of what she’d just said? That she was hopelessly callous? She had to recover from her gaffe. “At the end of the day, whether your company is big or small, everyone wants to retain the dynamic that brought you success. Nobody wants to see someone else come in and dismantle what you’ve worked so hard for.”
Jacob cleared his throat and Anna felt horrible. Bringing up his history with Adam had been a mistake. He’d said it himself in the garage. The last thing he wanted to talk about was the past.
Six
Jacob and Anna bid their goodbyes to Mark as he walked out to his car. The brisk night air filtered into the foyer. With a quiet click, Jacob closed the door. They were alone.
“Well? What did you think of Mark?” he asked, bending over to pick up a stray leaf that had been tracked into the house.
Anna stifled a sigh of appreciation for his backside. The man knew how to work a pair of jeans. “I like him a lot. He seemed open to some of the things I suggested, so that’s good.” Considering where Anna’s mind had been that whole time, it was a wonder she’d been able to glean that much from the meeting.
“Good. Definitely good.” He nodded, holding the orange leaf by the stem as if he didn’t know what to do with it.
“Yep.” The air was charged with anticipation. They both knew where this was going. But no one was doing anything about it. Should she throw herself at him? That was as close to formulating a plan as she could come. “Pretty color.” She pointed to the foliar evidence of the fall weather, resorting to painful small talk.
Jacob opened the door again and tossed the leaf outside. A new rush of cool air caused her to shudder. Perhaps it was nature’s way of punctuating the fact that this time, he didn’t merely close the door. He locked the deadbolt.
“Are you cold?” He dropped his chin, stepping closer, working his way into her psyche with an intense flash of his eyes. His hand gripped her elbow. Energy zipped along her spine.
Finally—touching. Nothing skin-to-skin yet, but at least someone had given in. Anna was hyperaware of her breaths, her galloping heartbeat, the rotating sway of her body in his presence. This wasn’t that different from the moment after the motorcycle ride, except then, they’d had to break the ice. She was glad to be done with breaking. Now on to melting. “I caught a chill. I’m okay.”
He smiled. “You’re so cute when you’re deflecting.”
“What do you mean?” Even perplexed, her heart flitted at the mention of cute.
“You’ll do anything you can to take any and all focus off of you.”
She twisted her lips, trying not to fixate on his—the swell, the color, the memory of the way it felt when they were on hers. Why wasn’t he kissing her again? Was he going to wait until she started things? “If I do, I never noticed it. It must just be my personality.” She wished she could’ve come up with a sexy answer to the question, but there were too many urges to manage, like the one that told her she’d be a lot happier if he wasn’t wearing that sweater. Or those jeans.
“I just find it interesting. Your brother is the complete opposite.”
If Anna knew anything, it was this—if he didn’t kiss her in the next two seconds, she would go off like a grenade with the pin pulled. “Let’s leave Adam out of this. In fact, let’s pretend he doesn’t even exist.”
“Are you flirting with me by describing my Utopia?” His eyes toyed with her. He was reveling in every second of their game.
Her mouth went dry. That kiss in the garage hadn’t quenched a six-year-old thirst. It left her wanting more. “And what if I am?” She popped up on to her toes, gripping his shoulders to steady herself. “What if I did this?”
She closed her eyes and went for it—her lips met his, in a kiss that made it feel as if she was no longer standing. There was a millisecond of hesitation from him before his tongue sought hers. Every atom of her body celebrated in a chorus of delight and relief. She shifted her forearms up on to his shoulders, dug her fingers into the back of his thick hair. His lips—soft and warm and wet, became more eager, seeking her jaw and neck. His arms wound tightly around her, pulling her against him, nearly lifting her off her toes.
