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He needed the real Frankie, but any time he entered a room she found a reason to leave it. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to apologize and explain why he’d left the way he did. Now a week had passed, and he felt awkward even bringing it up.
My God, I’ve gone back to high school.
He’d managed to get two full years of actual high school in between movies, and he’d spent most of that time wondering normal things like, “Did that sound totally lame?” or “Why do I lose the ability to speak around girls?”
He’d also pondered abnormal things like, “Does this girl like me or the character I played? Is she looking for a walk-on or an intro to my agent?”
Either way, he’d thought he’d left this level of internal angst behind him. Apparently all it had taken was one confusing brunette to bring it all back.
“Stop, Dad. What do you need?” Frankie bent over her desk to protect her piles from Dom’s destruction, and Jake almost groaned.
Don’t look at her ass. Do NOT check out her ass in front of her father. Don’t… Too late.
Now that he’d gotten his hands on it, had felt the pleasure of it grinding in his lap, he was helpless to resist a glance that turned into a stare. His fingers twitched again as he repressed the urge to move her hips into place as well. The way she wore denim was criminal.
She was his siren. Despite his firm belief that he was not cut out for relationships and that she deserved better, he couldn’t resist her call. All he could see was her. He’d toss himself against the rocks if it meant a chance to be with her one more time, and this time he’d be prepared. The condom in his pocket and the box in his car testified to his readiness.
If he could just get her alone long enough to convince her that he wasn’t the asshole he seemed. Well, hewasan asshole, but not afuckingasshole, and that had to count for something.
Dom cleared his throat, breaking the spell Jake had fallen under, before answering Frankie. “I need the paperwork on the supply agreement we negotiated with the Lumber Jills last month. Sofia didn’t know anything about it, so Meena didn't see it and was sending orders with the wrong pricing. I can’t find my copy.”
“So you lost your copy and now you’re tearing apart my desk to find mine?” Frankie rounded her desk and pulled a manila envelope from two-thirds of the way down a precarious stack. “Here. Next time wait for me. Or better yet, ask.”
“I don’t know how you manage to work like this. Okay Jake, let me make a quick copy of this for Meena and we can have our chat.”
At the mention of his name Frankie finally noticed his presence, her eyes flashing to his. If he was a list-keeping kind of guy, and he was, he’d add betrayal and embarrassment to her ever-growing list of grievances with him. But at least there was a spark of emotion in her eyes that had been painfully blank the last few days. He wasn’t about to blow this opportunity.
“Why don’t you go handle that, Dom, and we’ll talk after? I need to clear something with Frankie.”
“Okay, give me five minutes.”
Dom left, and Frankie crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “What’s wrong now? Are you going to add your critique of my organizational skills?” she asked.
“No, you find what you need when you need it. That's not what this is about. I think… I know… Look, we had a misunderstanding the other day in the tasting room.”
Her face flamed red, and she looked away. “I’d rather not talk about that.”
“Yeah, I got that impression from the not-so-subtle way you pretend you can't see me."
"I wasn't going for subtle. I don't like you very much right now, and I don't see the need to hide it behind overrated acting skills like some people."
She still refused to look at him, and he wasn't making any progress. This wasn’t the time or place to get into it deeply. But he needed to at least put a crack in her defenses so he could scale that wall later.
“Listen, Idolikeyou, but it's complicated… I was an ass, and you deserve a better explanation and apology than I can give you here. Let's talk about it. Later today?” She glanced up and he seized the advantage. “Please?”
She kept him in silent suspense as his heart pounded in his chest in anticipation. He could tell the minute she gave in because her shoulders dropped to reasonable levels and she unclenched her jaw enough to speak.
“You've got ten minutes, later. Now get out of here. I have work to do down at the vineyard.”
He’d take it. She left, and Jake found Dom coming out of Sofia’s office.
“Now that’s a functional office,” Dom blustered as he crossed the open showroom. “Even on maternity leave Sofia's got her office neat as a pin. That girl’s got a knack. Those two are like night and day.”
“Easy there. It takes all types to run the world.” Although Jake would choose Sofia’s style of organization for himself, Frankie's worked for her. He hated to hear Dom put her down.
“I don’t know how Frankie thinks she’s going to run this place with a desk like that.” Dom shook his head and tossed the manila file back on top of the mess on Frankie’s desk.
“Seriously? She found that file for you in under thirty seconds.”
