and this will just fit the bill.”
“Then it’s all yours.” She dropped her hand from the tiny grooves that radiated with her youthful pain.
With Joel’s help they got the desk out of the house and into the back of Finn’s pickup. The minute the hated piece of furniture was driven away, Mariah felt a new lightness in her heart. The desk, more than anything else in the house, had represented all the power that her father had yielded and the powerlessness that she had felt growing up.
Joel had knocked off for the day and it was just about time for Kelsey to come home when Jack called. “Have you recovered from last night?” His deep voice washed over her in a pleasant wave.
“Thankfully I didn’t have enough beer that I had to recover,” she replied, wishing he didn’t affect her on some primal level that was both exhilarating and a little bit frightening.
“I was wondering if you and Kelsey would like to have dinner with me tomorrow night here at my place. I’m not a bad cook and you can meet my significant other.”
“Your significant other?” Had she missed something? Read his signals wrong? How could she possibly read “I’d like to kiss you” wrong?
“A miniature schnauzer named Rover,” he replied.
She smiled in relief. “I’m surprised you don’t own a dozen cats and dogs. You know, a hazard of your profession.”
“I love animals, but I have tremendous self-control.” There was something intimate in the words and again a flash of heat swept through her. “So, how about it? Dinner tomorrow night?”
“Why don’t you come here? There’s nothing my daughter would love more than to cook a meal fora visitor.” And she’d feel better on her home turf, at least until she sorted out the crazy feelings Jack Taylor stirred in her.
“Now I feel like I’m imposing,” he said.
“Not at all, I wouldn’t have offered if that was the case.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “We’ll do it your way for now. What time would be good for you and what can I bring?”
“Around six and absolutely nothing,” she replied.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow evening. Oh, and Mariah, I still want to kiss you.” He clicked off, leaving her hanging on to the receiver as a wave of warmth swept over her.
It was crazy that a skinny, nerdy kid from high school could heat up her insides sixteen years later. But there was nothing skinny or nerdy about Jack now.
She was seated at the table making a list of things she wanted to take care of the next day when Kelsey came in. Her long hair was still damp and she was wrapped in a beach towel.
“Did you tell Katie’s mom thanks for bringing you home?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t. You know, because you didn’t raise me right and teach me manners. Duh, Mom.”
“A simple yes would have sufficed,” Mariah said drily. “And you’re not going to believe what I did.”
“What?” Kelsey grabbed a cold can of Coke from the refrigerator, then joined her mom at the table.
“I invited Jack over for dinner tomorrow night and told him you’d love to cook him a great meal.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Mom, you seriously need Dating 101 classes. You shouldn’t have told him thatI was going to do the cooking. You should have let him think you did the cooking.”
“I couldn’t do that,” Mariah said. “That would be dishonest. If a man’s going to like me, he’s got to know the real me and the real me doesn’t do much cooking.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s like the girls in my class who wear totally huge padded bras. It’s so fake, but I’m not sure the boys my age are smart enough to know fakes from the real thing.”
Mariah laughed. “So, what’s on the menu for tomorrow night?”
Kelsey frowned. “I’ll have to give it some thought. I’ll let you know after I take a shower and get the chlorine out of my hair.”
“Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, Katie has some cool friends and they were all nice to me. There was only
“Then it’s all yours.” She dropped her hand from the tiny grooves that radiated with her youthful pain.
With Joel’s help they got the desk out of the house and into the back of Finn’s pickup. The minute the hated piece of furniture was driven away, Mariah felt a new lightness in her heart. The desk, more than anything else in the house, had represented all the power that her father had yielded and the powerlessness that she had felt growing up.
Joel had knocked off for the day and it was just about time for Kelsey to come home when Jack called. “Have you recovered from last night?” His deep voice washed over her in a pleasant wave.
“Thankfully I didn’t have enough beer that I had to recover,” she replied, wishing he didn’t affect her on some primal level that was both exhilarating and a little bit frightening.
“I was wondering if you and Kelsey would like to have dinner with me tomorrow night here at my place. I’m not a bad cook and you can meet my significant other.”
“Your significant other?” Had she missed something? Read his signals wrong? How could she possibly read “I’d like to kiss you” wrong?
“A miniature schnauzer named Rover,” he replied.
She smiled in relief. “I’m surprised you don’t own a dozen cats and dogs. You know, a hazard of your profession.”
“I love animals, but I have tremendous self-control.” There was something intimate in the words and again a flash of heat swept through her. “So, how about it? Dinner tomorrow night?”
“Why don’t you come here? There’s nothing my daughter would love more than to cook a meal fora visitor.” And she’d feel better on her home turf, at least until she sorted out the crazy feelings Jack Taylor stirred in her.
“Now I feel like I’m imposing,” he said.
“Not at all, I wouldn’t have offered if that was the case.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “We’ll do it your way for now. What time would be good for you and what can I bring?”
“Around six and absolutely nothing,” she replied.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow evening. Oh, and Mariah, I still want to kiss you.” He clicked off, leaving her hanging on to the receiver as a wave of warmth swept over her.
It was crazy that a skinny, nerdy kid from high school could heat up her insides sixteen years later. But there was nothing skinny or nerdy about Jack now.
She was seated at the table making a list of things she wanted to take care of the next day when Kelsey came in. Her long hair was still damp and she was wrapped in a beach towel.
“Did you tell Katie’s mom thanks for bringing you home?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t. You know, because you didn’t raise me right and teach me manners. Duh, Mom.”
“A simple yes would have sufficed,” Mariah said drily. “And you’re not going to believe what I did.”
“What?” Kelsey grabbed a cold can of Coke from the refrigerator, then joined her mom at the table.
“I invited Jack over for dinner tomorrow night and told him you’d love to cook him a great meal.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Mom, you seriously need Dating 101 classes. You shouldn’t have told him thatI was going to do the cooking. You should have let him think you did the cooking.”
“I couldn’t do that,” Mariah said. “That would be dishonest. If a man’s going to like me, he’s got to know the real me and the real me doesn’t do much cooking.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s like the girls in my class who wear totally huge padded bras. It’s so fake, but I’m not sure the boys my age are smart enough to know fakes from the real thing.”
Mariah laughed. “So, what’s on the menu for tomorrow night?”
Kelsey frowned. “I’ll have to give it some thought. I’ll let you know after I take a shower and get the chlorine out of my hair.”
“Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, Katie has some cool friends and they were all nice to me. There was only
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