Love Online (Truly Yours Digital Editions) by Kristin Billerbeck, Nancy Toback Page B

closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his waist.
    Tensing his arms at his sides, Tom clenched his fists. She couldn’t do this to him anymore.
    Jess rested her head against his chest. Tom closed his eyes, allowing himself to inhale the flowery scent of her hair, even while his mind commanded him to stop.
    Snapping to sanity, Tom stepped back, out of her embrace, lest he bunch her in his arms and never let go. The hurt glittering in her eyes tempted him to apologize. He tried to smile, change the subject. Blind to his attraction, she’d think he’d rejected her as a friend. “I—”
    Jess twisted away and headed toward the kitchen. “I’d better check on the brisket.”
    With his senses spinning, he made his way to the sofa and sat down. Pride cometh before the fall. Guaranteed, he’d never attempt a feat like this again. Another second of her in his arms and—
    And what? Tom stood, raked his fingers through his hair, and scanned the photos on the mantel. “Food smells great, Jess.”
    Only the sounds of clanging pots and pans traveled from the kitchen. Tom closed his eyes. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He’d never hurt her intentionally. He’d always returned her hugs, but—
    “I made the broccoli and cheese wraps you order in Flavors.”
    “Great.” His gaze traveled around the room. She’d made some changes since his last visit, but the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls he’d given her still sat side by side on the wooden chest, making his heart clench. She cherished their friendship, and he’d just trampled it. “The place looks great.”
    The pine dining room table, set for two with candles and linen, would’ve once sparked hope in him. But he’d do well to keep in mind that seeing him with Linda had provoked Jess into action. Nothing more. Jess needed to test—to find out if she still held first place in his life.
    Tom returned to the sofa. If he could hold fast to truth tonight, he’d not allow the distraction of her nearness to rule his passions.
    “So.” Jess appeared in the doorway, untying the white apron at her tiny waist. “Are you ready?”
    No. Tom stood. “To the table?”
    “Right here.” She pulled out a spindle-backed chair.
    Tom met her gaze, hesitated, and smiled. “Thanks—for all of this.”
    “That’s what friends are for.”
    True . And friends was all they’d ever be.

Ten
    Jess buzzed around the kitchen, out of Tom’s view, gathering cups and dishes for the dessert phase of their meal. Her hands shook as she poured fresh coffee from the glass pot into two mugs.
    She was barely able to speak through dinner, though she should have been grateful Tom had shunned her innocent hug. Imagine if she’d been her chatty self—not rendered sullen and heartbroken by Tom’s rebuff? She might have offered him her heart right then and there.
    Jess placed the coffee mugs beside the two plates of apple pie. Her pulse pounded harder, her face heated. She wouldn’t cry. By God’s grace she wouldn’t cry. The sooner Tom left her apartment, the better.
    He’d either catch her stealing covert glimpses of his taut, muscular forearms, or he’d see right through the thin shell of her cool veneer to the overwhelming misery beneath the surface—the realization that she’d never be in his safe embrace or nestled against his strong chest.
    Biting her quivering lip, Jess scooped vanilla ice cream onto the slices of pie. What if this was their last time together and Tom died away to a dim memory—jammed into the already stuffed closet in her head? Thoughts of him would emerge, slip under the door, same as they had with her dad tonight.
    “A woman should never chase a man, Jess. Remember that. Nothing will make a guy run faster.” If only she had recalled her father’s words of wisdom before coercing Tom into dinner. Now she looked like the desperado she was. It would be one thing if it was just some guy—any guy. But Tom? Oh, how it mortified her.
    Tom’s reserved