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  He had to chuckle at her woebegone tone. “But it was worth it, wasn’t it?”

  She glanced up at him and gave a true smile. “Yeah.”

  Ann finished the walk with him feeling better about things. Getting that pressing relationship off her back had made a world of difference. She didn’t feel so guilty about liking the new him and still loathing the old Jack. Some meaningless sex didn’t commit his feelings or hers.

  But back at home and in bed, she had to raise the bullshit flag. No matter how she prettied it up or tried to pretend one of them wouldn’t be hurt at the end of it all, she knew she’d have a hard time separating herself from Jack when it ended.

  He’d burrowed himself under her skin, despite how hard she’d tried not to let him. Those dimples, his big blue eyes, his easy charm.

  Why couldn’t he have been a complete ass while shopping? Or after she’d slowed things down tonight? He could have had a mantrum, as Maya liked to call them. Getting all pissy and demanding rights because he’d given her a few orgasms.

  Orgasm—a bland word for the incredible joy and selflessness he’d demonstrated while giving her pleasure.

  She shivered just thinking about how he used his mouth, his hands, his amazing tongue…

  Too exhausted to do more than fall into a restless night dreaming about him, she woke the next morning and knew it would be a long day.

  It was.

  Andrew and Jane picked fights with the other kids. Her headache brewed, and the teacher’s lounge had run out of her favorite creamer, forcing her to drink her coffee black. Totally gross. Then she’d returned to a super clean house, reminding her of how sweet and funny Jack had been with his cleanliness issues. Such a nice guy on the one hand, and a kinky lover on the other. She found it difficult to reconcile him with the boy who’d treated her so shabbily long ago. Because he’d started out like this nice Jack, the loving, kind-hearted soul who put her needs first and treated her like gold.

  And then he’d disappeared, replaced by an asshole who’d broken her heart. Was that asshole still lurking down there somewhere?

  She’d grown up a lot since then, but she’d never been able to understand why he’d dumped her like that. The time had come to talk to him about it, yet she was loath to break their fragile peace. Especially after last night’s talk.

  The school day ended, and she went home with a heavy heart. Happy, sad, and every conflicted feeling in between. Jack called and, as usual, her heart raced.

  She answered her cell and fell into her couch, letting it swallow her up. “Hello?” She sighed.

  “Bad day?” he asked.

  “That obvious?”

  “I know your sighs, and that one usually involves a headache, a problem or someone stealing your chocolate.”

  She smiled despite herself. “Perceptive.”

  “Tell me all about it.”

  I think I might be falling for you, and I’m afraid. “I ran out of creamer. My kids were monsters. And— Hold on, another call.” She didn’t recognize the number, but it was a local area code.

  “Sure.”

  She put him on hold and answered the other line. “Hello?”

  “Oh, is this Ann Weaver?”

  The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it. “Yes.”

  “Hi, Ann. This is Laura Bloom, Josh’s grandmother. Jack’s mom.”

  “Oh yes, Mrs. Bloom. Hi, how are you?” I have your son on the other line. And by the way, I can’t stop thinking about him going down on me, she thought with a touch of hysteria, as if those words might actually pop out.

  “Call me Laura, honey. I was calling to invite you to my daughter-in-law’s surprise party. She’s pregnant, and we’re so excited to be adding another one to the family.”

  “Congratulations.” She paused. “But, Laura, I don’t know Julie or Dan that well outside of school and Josh.”

  “I know, but since you’re so close to Jack, I thought it might be nice if all us girls had some time to ourselves.”

  She swallowed a groan. “Th-that would be lovely. But my schedule is kind of full, especially with the school Halloween party, and I—”

  “A lot of folks are busy this time of year. So I took that into account. The party isn’t until next month. On a Saturday. I’ll shoot you an invitation with the exact time and date. It would mean so much to Julie if you could be there.”

  How to say no to that?

  “Um, sure. Okay. Thanks for inviting me.”

  “Wonderful!” Laura chatted a moment more, then hung up.

  Ann realized she’d left Jack on hold. She hurried to catch the call. “Sorry. Are you there?”

  “Fell asleep waiting, but yeah.”

  She groaned. “That was your mother.” A perfect end to her less-than-stellar day.

  “What?”

  “She just invited me to Julie’s surprise party.”

  “Oh. Are you going?”

  “Yes. She guilted me into it.”

  She didn’t get any sympathy from Jack. “Ha. She did the same to me. She’s a real piece of work, all right,” he teased. “Look, don’t worry about it. I can make some excuse to get you out of going.”

  Ann felt worse, because he was being so nice. What had Julie done to deserve her indifference, anyway? Nothing. Ann loved Josh, so why not be supportive? “No, no. I want to go.”

  “You do?”

  “It’ll be fun. As long as your mother doesn’t grill me about you.”

  “I’ll make sure she doesn’t. And I’ll be there, so I can protect you, my small, feeble lady.”

  “Ha ha. Very funny.”

  “I thought so.” She sensed him grin through the phone. “Anyway, I called to say hi, and to invite you to dinner with Dan, Julie and my folks on Thursday.”

  “Good timing.”

  “In light of Mom’s invite, I’d say so. You should come. My brother was a pain growing up, but he turned into an okay guy.”

  She knew how close the family was. It was something she envied.

  “And, Ann, no pressure on you to be anything but yourself with me and them,” he said quietly. “No girlfriend bullshit, I promise. Just fun between friends, who happen to be lovers.”

  Why, why, WHY can’t you be an asshole? “Sure. It’ll be fun.”

  “Great. Talk to you later. I have to go. Anson and I are hitting the gym.”

  “Sounds like a great time—not.”

  He laughed and hung up.

  She sat there, staring at her cell phone, wondering why she couldn’t stop herself from growing closer to the man she knew she should be running far, far away from.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ann sighed. Hello hump day. Another school day ended as the bell rang. She still hadn’t resolved her feelings on committing to exclusively dating Jack yet, which bothered the heck out of her because she had a bad feeling she’d fallen in love with him all over again. In retrospect, their weekend together had been beyond magical. Even their argument Monday night had ended in her favor, and he’d given her space last night.

  As a result, she both looked forward to and dreaded Thursday night dinner. She wanted to be with Jack again, to see him smile with his family. But would they consider her and Jack a couple? And would that push Jack to pressure her to commit again?

  She still didn’t think she was ready for that.

  “Hey, Ann.” Trey Atwood popped into her classroom after a brief knock. “We still on for tonight?”

  She blanked. “Tonight?”

  His smile dropped. “For the movie?”

  She suddenly recalled the email he’d sent her last week. About the movie she’d agreed to see with him…before she and Jack had gotten so hot and heavy. Crap.

  She felt obligated to go with Trey, yet she also felt dishonest about the date. But why should she? She and Jack hadn’t committed to each other—well, she hadn’t anyway. A movie was just a movie.

  “Sorry. I spaced. I thought it was tomorrow.” She upped the wa
ttage on her smile and Trey look relieved.

  “So tonight’s okay?”

  “Yep. Seven-thirty at the Regal. I’ll meet you there. I have a few errands to run first.”

  “Sounds great. See you.” He left with a buoyant step, while she felt like a tramp.

  She knew she teetered on the edge of falling hard for Jack Bloom all over again, if she hadn’t already. Maya had warned her to be wary, but Ann could only fight his bright blue eyes, the warmth in his kiss and the care in his touch for so long. He wanted to date her. To be a couple. It freaked her out as much as it thrilled her to be the center of his attention.

  Ann hurried home. She needed privacy for the call she had to make. With Jack now working at the university fulltime, he couldn’t just pop over during the day like before. She settled down, rehearsed what she wanted to say, then called him.

  He answered right away. “Hey, beautiful.”

  She forced herself to sound calm. “Hi, Jack. How are you?”

  “Better now that I’m talking to you. Hold on.” His voice drifted. “No, put that in Professor Burrow’s room.” He came back. “Sorry. What’s up?”

  “I have to cancel tonight.” They’d planned to grab a burger together.

  “Anything wrong?”

  Do or die time. Be your own woman. He doesn’t own you. She took a deep breath then quietly let it out. “No. I’m going to a movie with Trey, one of my coworkers.”

  “Trey.” He paused. “That’s a guy.”

  “Yep.”

  More silence.

  “He asked me last week and I said I’d go. I forgot, but he reminded me today.”

  “A movie. With Trey. Sounds like a date.”

  “We’re just friends. Co-workers.” She felt as if she’d done something wrong, and that annoyed her. “Look, I said I’d go with him. I can’t back out now. And it’s not as if you and I are dating exclusively.”

  “So it’s a no then?”

  “What?”

  “I asked you to be mine. As in, we date each other and only each other. You said you’d think about it.”

  She bit her lip, unsure if she’d done the wrong thing or the right thing by keeping Trey’s date. “I’m still thinking.”

  He didn’t sound upset. Just the opposite. Jack sounded too polite, too understanding. When they’d been kids, he’d yelled when angry. This calm, rational approach to conflict unnerved her. She preferred the yelling because it seemed more honest.

  “So tonight is off. Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Yeah. I’d like us to go to dinner on Thursday though. Remember? With my family? Will that work?”

  Relieved he wasn’t angry, she immediately agreed. “Sure, that’s fine.” Damn it. Why did his approval matter so much? Why? Because you like him more than you should, you stupid woman, her inner Maya replied.

  “Great. I’ll tell my parents we’ll see them then. Bye.” He disconnected before she could sputter more questions.

  Dinner with a guy who wanted to deepen a relationship…with his parents? Nothing but trouble. What was her life coming to?

  She sighed, then ran the errands she’d mentioned to Trey before meeting him at the movies.

  To her relief, they had a great time. Trey didn’t pressure her for anything afterward, just some ice cream at the Ben & Jerry’s next door, and she’d learned more about a colleague with a great sense of humor. He didn’t even try to kiss her, thank God. Toward the end, they’d agreed the night had been fun, but a relationship at work might be too weird. She left with a smile on her face and returned home…only to find Jack waiting for her on her porch.

  Nerves flared. She parked the car and composed herself. She stopped to greet him on the porch. “Hello.”

  “Hey.” He kissed her, a nice appreciative peck that eased her nerves. He didn’t appear upset. “Good movie?”

  “Dramatic, but fun. Trey’s a nice guy.” She let Jack inside with her since he seemed to be behaving himself and told him all about Trey. In the kitchen, she grabbed herself a bottle of water and turned to him. “Want some—”

  “Yeah.” Before she could blink he had her up on the counter, his mouth on hers, his hands everywhere.

  She couldn’t think as he drew her into his wicked web of lust, need and damn it, love. The urgency of the kiss and the pleasure he evoked by taking charge had her mindless, on the edge.

  He cupped her between her legs and ground his palm against her clit. His roughness excited her, and she came, her cry of relief swallowed by his kiss. He calmed her with more kisses, stroking her legs, her waist, her shoulders.

  His eyes were bright with passion and more than a hint of anger. But he only smiled and backed away. “See you tomorrow.”

  The bastard left her sitting on her kitchen counter, dumbfounded and wondering what the hell had just happened. And why she wanted it to happen again.

  Jack couldn’t see straight as he took a frustrated walk around the block before heading back to Dan’s. He swore with every step, unable to believe the obtuse woman didn’t seem to have a problem going out to the movies with some fuckhead teacher. From all she’d described, the guy seemed harmless. Hell, she’d come right home from the post-movie ice cream and even wore a drop of vanilla bean on her jacket. He had no reason to disbelieve her. But knowing she’d been out with someone else when he’d staked his claim bothered the shit out of him.

  Hopefully his performance in the kitchen had reminded her where she belonged. He hadn’t missed how she’d succumbed to his kiss. Hell, she hadn’t made a single argument about finding him waiting for her.

  That helped ease his fury, but not by much. Because getting her off excited him, and now he had to deal with being sexually frustrated in addition to the idea that his girlfriend had yet to commit.

  Tomorrow night would be interesting, to say the least. He was rather proud of luring her to dinner with his family. If that didn’t spark a commitment, with his mother in fine form, he didn’t know what would. Laura Bloom might badger him, but she could be one smooth piece of work. She’d always liked Ann, Ann had loved her, and everyone liked Dan and Julie. Time to rally the team for a full court press on one stubborn school teacher.

  That in mind, he headed home—to Dan’s home. Time to take care of his own living situation.

  The next day, he continued to familiarize himself with the campus and adjust to his schedule. Arriving in the middle of the semester had worked in his favor, allowing him time to discuss the course structure with the department head, observe his fellow academics, and rewrite the proposed syllabus for his advanced classes. In January he’d start teaching, but for now he had time during the day for research and to get things done.

  Like sign rental papers.

  After returning to the house, he made a mental timeline. He still had a few days to gather his things, then he planned to move into his new place. But tonight he intended to concentrate on his complicated relationship with Ann.

  “Yo, little bro.” Dan peeked his head into the kitchen, on a work break, apparently. The couple’s home office gave them enough space to work together when necessary, though Julie normally went in to St. Charles to teach at the hospital’s computer lab while Dan telecommuted.

  “Big bro.” Over the years, the pair had fought as only brothers could, but he loved Dan and would do anything for him. Knowing his brother still looked out for him came as no surprise. The Blooms had raised fine sons, as his mother liked to remind him.

  “How’s it going with Ann?”

  “Okay I guess.” He threaded his fingers through his hair. “No, not really. She went out with some douchebag last night. But it wasn’t a date, according to her, just a movie.”

  Dan winced. “Ouch.”

  “Not a date my ass. She’s testing me. She hasn’t said yes or no to being exclusive, so I’m not supposed to be mad about her movie night. Yeah, right.”

  “So what happened last night? You went to her place, didn’t you?”

>   “Yes. I was nice. Polite. Asked about the movie. Then, well, I left her happy as hell while I walked off a bad case of blueballs.”

  Dan gave him a high five. “Good man. There you go. Then what?”

  “Then I came home before I forgot myself and stayed the night. Which probably would have sent her on a date with someone else to prove some fucked up point.” And why was that? He’d sensed her attraction, even her affection. He hadn’t imagined the tenderness in her eyes when she looked at him, had he?

  “You sure you know what you’re doing with Ann? Last time you guys dated, she broke your heart.”

  He’d never told his family about Ann stepping out with Terry, just that they’d broken up. But damn, that still enraged him. She should have talked to him if he hadn’t been the man she’d needed him to be.

  “Jack?”

  “What?”

  “Relationships aren’t easy.”

  “No shit, Sherlock.”

  Dan smacked him upside the head. “Idiot. Listen to me. I know it seems like Julie and I have no problems, but we started off rocky. She was dating some jock with balls bigger than his brains, so I had to show her that geeks are hot too.”

  Jack snorted. “You? A geek? You were captain of your college soccer team.”

  “And a computer science major, don’t forget. Her ex was the starting quarterback and a bigger prick I’ve yet to meet.” Dan huffed. “Took a while, but I wore her down. She didn’t know what hit her when I pulled out the big guns. That’s right. The Bloom charm.”

  “God. Stop helping.” Like their father had with their mother, Dan had worn Julie down with persistence. She’d called him her sweet stalker and had said yes to put him—and her—out of their misery.

  Dan locked a meaty arm around Jack’s neck. “Don’t worry. I’m here for you. Want to have some fun and go thump the movie guy?”

  “I would, but I get the sense he was just an excuse to see if I’d go all caveman on her. Ann acts like she wants to be with me, but I think the past is always there hanging between us. It shouldn’t be, but sometimes I feel it too.”

  “So deal with it and get it done. You know women like to talk.”

  “Talking isn’t my bag.”