enough.â She admired the other woman greatly. âSharon?â
She swirled her wine in her glass. âI want Jason to be happy, too, but Laurenâs leaving. She has plans and I canât see anything that would make her stay, especially in a place where she would have to face all the problems her family caused day in and day out.â
âWomen and men do strange things in the name of love,â Clara mused. âI just think we have to wait and see what the Fates have in store.â
âWhy wait when we can nudge things in the right direction?â Amber asked.
âAs long as things take their natural course,â Clara said warily.
Gabrielle cleared her throat. âTheyâre already working together, right? So we just need to keep it that way. What could be more natural than that?â
âExactly!â Amberâs excitement was tangible. âJust a little extra work that will keep Jason in the house more often. Nothing serious or extreme, I promise.â She held up one hand.
âSee? All natural matchmaking.â Gabrielle grinned.
âI like it. Whoâs in?â Amber asked.
Clara hoped she didnât live to regret this as she joined the other women at the table and raised her hand.
Â
F OUR DAYS INTO Laurenâs project, Jason thought he would lose his mind. What had started as a mission to show Lauren he could work on her house like a professional and accomplish everything she needed without distractionâ sexual distraction âhad turned into a form of self-torture. It didnât matter that he had men from his crew milling around or the electrician inspecting the wiring. His focus was solely on her.
Heâd been determined to let sex be on her terms. He wanted her to come to him so that she didnât have any regrets afterward, ensuring many a repeat performance. At least until she left town.
But being around her was wearing him down. From the tight jeans she wore, to the way she hummed off-key to the music she played on her iPod, to the sexy sway of her hips as she cleaned and scrubbed each room from top to bottom, she slowly, systematically was driving him insane. He didnât think he could wait for her to give in first.
As a successful athlete, heâd always attracted women easily. Whether it was the ski bunny groupies who hung around the lodge where he worked and practiced, or the women who wanted to say theyâd scored with the world champion. Judging by the chemistry between them, which was stronger now than in the past, Lauren wasnât more than a kiss away from being in his bed again.
Yet for one of the first times in his life, he wasnât eager to take what he wanted just because the woman in question could be easily swayed. He didnât know if it was the bruising his ego had taken in the past year, or if it had just been too long since a woman had wanted Jason Corwin the man, not the athlete. He feared it was more about the woman herself. And she was doing her best to remain elusive.
But he needed Lauren to come to him and admit she wanted him.
Now that work was finished for the day, he headed to check in with his lady boss. He couldnât locate Lauren, which surprised him since theyâd fallen into a routine. He arrived at the house at eight in the morning, before his small crew, and he worked later than his men, until Lauren called a halt. She enticed him away from patching holes in the walls with the lure of dinner, always some kind of take-out food.
She didnât cook and didnât apologize for it. He wasnât great around the kitchen either, which normally left him eating at the diner in town or mooching some of Claraâs home cooking, which was delicious. But since heâd started working at the Perkins house, he was back to eating takeout.
He didnât mind one bit. He preferred sitting across the table from Lauren each night. Learning more, with every meal, about the woman
She swirled her wine in her glass. âI want Jason to be happy, too, but Laurenâs leaving. She has plans and I canât see anything that would make her stay, especially in a place where she would have to face all the problems her family caused day in and day out.â
âWomen and men do strange things in the name of love,â Clara mused. âI just think we have to wait and see what the Fates have in store.â
âWhy wait when we can nudge things in the right direction?â Amber asked.
âAs long as things take their natural course,â Clara said warily.
Gabrielle cleared her throat. âTheyâre already working together, right? So we just need to keep it that way. What could be more natural than that?â
âExactly!â Amberâs excitement was tangible. âJust a little extra work that will keep Jason in the house more often. Nothing serious or extreme, I promise.â She held up one hand.
âSee? All natural matchmaking.â Gabrielle grinned.
âI like it. Whoâs in?â Amber asked.
Clara hoped she didnât live to regret this as she joined the other women at the table and raised her hand.
Â
F OUR DAYS INTO Laurenâs project, Jason thought he would lose his mind. What had started as a mission to show Lauren he could work on her house like a professional and accomplish everything she needed without distractionâ sexual distraction âhad turned into a form of self-torture. It didnât matter that he had men from his crew milling around or the electrician inspecting the wiring. His focus was solely on her.
Heâd been determined to let sex be on her terms. He wanted her to come to him so that she didnât have any regrets afterward, ensuring many a repeat performance. At least until she left town.
But being around her was wearing him down. From the tight jeans she wore, to the way she hummed off-key to the music she played on her iPod, to the sexy sway of her hips as she cleaned and scrubbed each room from top to bottom, she slowly, systematically was driving him insane. He didnât think he could wait for her to give in first.
As a successful athlete, heâd always attracted women easily. Whether it was the ski bunny groupies who hung around the lodge where he worked and practiced, or the women who wanted to say theyâd scored with the world champion. Judging by the chemistry between them, which was stronger now than in the past, Lauren wasnât more than a kiss away from being in his bed again.
Yet for one of the first times in his life, he wasnât eager to take what he wanted just because the woman in question could be easily swayed. He didnât know if it was the bruising his ego had taken in the past year, or if it had just been too long since a woman had wanted Jason Corwin the man, not the athlete. He feared it was more about the woman herself. And she was doing her best to remain elusive.
But he needed Lauren to come to him and admit she wanted him.
Now that work was finished for the day, he headed to check in with his lady boss. He couldnât locate Lauren, which surprised him since theyâd fallen into a routine. He arrived at the house at eight in the morning, before his small crew, and he worked later than his men, until Lauren called a halt. She enticed him away from patching holes in the walls with the lure of dinner, always some kind of take-out food.
She didnât cook and didnât apologize for it. He wasnât great around the kitchen either, which normally left him eating at the diner in town or mooching some of Claraâs home cooking, which was delicious. But since heâd started working at the Perkins house, he was back to eating takeout.
He didnât mind one bit. He preferred sitting across the table from Lauren each night. Learning more, with every meal, about the woman
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