staring like that? Is he trying to figure out what to say?
She waited for him to say something for several more awkward seconds.
Oh, God! Is he waiting for me to leave?
Jennifer felt her cheeks burn as she grabbed the door handle. “Thanks for a lovely evening, Sam. I’ll walk myself…”
“Wait.”
He grabbed her arm and she raised her head to meet his.
“Okay, here goes. I don’t want things to get awkward again for your last few days at work, especially with how I handled it last time.” He paused and then his voice got even lower and sexier and he looked at her mouth. “But I really want to kiss you right now.”
“You do?”
“Hell, yes, I do.” He looked up into her eyes and looked startled. “Why do you look confused?”
“Well, you left without saying goodbye that night and completely ignored what happened. You went out of your way to avoid me. I figured you either completely regretted it or I was bad in bed. Either way, I didn’t expect you to want to kiss me tonight.”
Sam groaned and looked up to look at the top of the car.
“I assure you, Jennifer, bad is the complete opposite of how I would describe what happened between us.”
“Well, it had been a long time for me, so...” Jennifer gave a short, relieved laugh. “So then why did you ignore it when we got back to work?”
Sam looked thoughtful before he finally shrugged and answered.
“You’re way too young for me and I shouldn’t even put you in this situation. But you’re amazing and I can’t help myself.” He chuckled and continued. “I’m 46 years old. I have kids in college, for Christ sake. I lost my wife a couple years ago and I have no interest in getting married again. You’re too young to be stuck with someone like me. But it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t jump at the chance to be with you again.”
Her heart was pounding and try as she might she couldn’t get her tongue to come away from the roof of her mouth.
What the hell am I supposed to say to that?
She couldn’t think of a single thing so instead she softly kissed him.
He moaned and gently grabbed the back of her neck with his hand to deepen the kiss.
When he broke away, she wasted no time. “Do you want to come in?”
The look he gave her sent more shivers down her spine and his voice was deep and sexy. “Yeah.”
He took her hand and led her up to her front door.
Jennifer knew she wouldn’t see him after she moved back to Minnesota. But she didn’t care. She needed to feel wanted again, even if for one more night.
Chapter Three
Adam
Time to face the past
When Adam heard his dad was dying, it was like something in his brain switched. He couldn’t really explain it, but he knew he had to do something. Life was too damn short to have so many regrets and do nothing about it.
It was time for him to grow up.
He didn’t have much of a plan, but in order to move forward, he needed to let go of the past. What did girls call it? Oh yeah. Closure.
The first person he needed to see was Abby Simon. No, he had to keep reminding himself she was now Abby James. She was the woman he left at the altar four years ago.
What happened the day of his wedding was something he didn’t even have a desire to relive, but it was as if he couldn’t help it…his mind automatically went to when Jennifer showed up at his door and threw him a giant curve ball.
Four years ago…
“Adam, uh, the door is for you.”
His dad’s look of concern should’ve been a warning, but it didn’t get through the natural high he was on.
“Who is it?”
“Just go, son.”
Adam ignored the sinking feeling and he walked down the hall to the front door where a woman was standing. She was facing the driveway so all he could see was her dark hair and tanned legs. She was holding a kid on her left hip and she was bouncing her up and down. It almost reminded him of…no, that was crazy.
He stared at the woman for a couple seconds and then finally found his voice. “Can I