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The rest of their walk was more small talk. Stories from high school, their favorite candy bar or show, and a myriad of other little things. Insignificant by most standards, but he’d loved learning each little thing. Unlike the other women he’d dated, he wanted to know those details. They seemed unimportant, but they weren’t. They made Jo, Jo, and he liked her.
By the time they’d made the circle, they still hadn’t run out of things to talk about. A feat that hadn’t happened to Jack before. Most of the time, a walk with a woman resulted in awkward silence and stares as he took her home.
Not Jo.
When they reached her house, they were still talking and laughing. He loved her laugh, too. Light and musical. She’d even snorted once which brought out a shade of red he’d yet to see on her cheeks.
As he was walking her to the door, she turned, a step above him and smiled. “I had so much fun tonight. Thank you for dinner.”
With the porch light haloing her, it almost seemed like he was dropping off his very own angel. Flyaway hairs caught in the light like little gold threads.
“I had fun, too. Thanks for going with me.”
She toed the step, and her gaze dipped. “I have a confession.”
A confession? “Well, you have my interest piqued.”
There was a pause, almost like she’d changed her mind.
“What?” he asked.
“In high school…” She took a deep breath. “In high school, I had the biggest crush on you, but that wasn’t unique. Every girl had a crush on Jack Turner.” She lifted her gaze again, and their eyes met.
Suddenly, Jack’s world felt jostled. He’d never looked a woman in the eyes and caught a vision of his life with her before. Marriage, carrying her over the threshold, building a future. He saw it all in her dark eyes.
Until recently, he hadn’t wanted to find love. Not really. It wasn’t until Ethan found Serenity that a tug for something more began stirring in him. A woman he could build a life with.
His gaze dipped to her lips, still glossy. Still kissable. What if he did kiss her? Well, she’d leave and possibly take his heart with her. That was one consequence he could think of.
In a blink, she gave him a peck on the cheek and ran the rest of the way up the stairs. “Thanks for tonight, Jack.”
Stunned for a moment, he stood there, gathering his wits before making his way back to his truck. He got in, started the engine, and sat there unsure if he was glad or relieved she’d dashed into the house.
Sliding the gear into drive, he decided he was going back to that well and tossing in the dime. In his mind, he was paying extra because he knew his wish would be a little harder to grant. Miracles happened all the time. Why couldn’t one happen for him?
Jo
Just as Jo reached the kitchen, the light flicked on, and her grandma gave her a knowing grin. She’d most definitely caught Jo giving Jack a kiss on the cheek.
Jo was still unclear what had come over her. One minute, she was standing there, gazing into his eyes, and the next, she was planting a kiss on him. Granted, it was just his cheek, but only because her brain had finally kicked into gear and switched lanes. Her cheeks burned just thinking about the train wreck that would have been. Kissing him would have been a big mistake. Huge!
It’d been forever since she’d had a date—not a date—dinner with a friend. What an incredible evening. They had so much in common. The walk they’d taken was a blast. Just them, talking. Jack was charismatic, funny, and interesting. She was so attracted to him. Just the little bit of time they spent together was enough to know he was still the same good guy he’d been in high school.
Craig would have never been okay with something as simple and laid-back. It always had to be fancy and expensive. Superficial. They’d talk, but it wasn’t a conversation as much as talking at each other.
But Jack. Oh, Jack. He made her toes curl with just a look. Those lips. That smile. His laugh. He was beautiful inside and out. She couldn’t remember being so attracted to someone in her life, not even Craig.
That moment on the steps, gazing into his eyes, she’d seen her life play out like a movie. Visions of walking down the aisle, seeing his smiling face when she woke up and went to bed, their kids running around, growing old.
That peck on the cheek was a teaser of something better, deeper. A real kiss? The thought danced through her mind. Breathless. He’d leave her breathless and wanting more. She just knew it. Jack would take what might be a toe-curling kiss and turn it into a sock-ripping, life-altering physical pledge of forever.
She also knew it couldn’t go anywhere, which meant from this point forward, she’d keep her lips to herself. The last thing she wanted was to get hurt or to hurt him.
Jo forced herself to casually walk to the cabinet holding the glasses, take one out, and fill it with water. After taking a sip, she leaned her hip against the counter. “I told you not to wait up.”
“Well, if I’d listened to you, I’d have missed you giving Jack Turner a kiss on the cheek.” She snickered. “I take it that it was a good date?”
Jo groaned as April 25th darted through her brain. She hadn’t even needed a light sweater with the walk. No way was she telling her grandma that. “It wasn’t a date. It was dinner with a person I knew… of in high school.”
