Page 25 of Just One Kiss

"It has been almost four years since her last relapse. But I don't want to see her sobriety tested."

"You can't control that, Hannah."

"You're right, and I hate it."

He smiled, taking a few steps closer to her. She shivered at his sudden nearness, her mind flashing back to his hot kiss from the night before.

"Don't worry," he said, a knowing light in his eyes. "I told you last night—the next time we kiss, you'll be the one who starts it."

"I wouldn't hold your breath."

He leaned in, and it was all she could do not to jerk away, or worse, kiss him.

He whispered, "We'll see." His warm breath brushed against her face, sending a wave of desire through her body. But then he was gone.

She told herself that was a good thing.

Chapter Seven

Jake wishedhe hadn't promised Hannah he wouldn't kiss her again, because he really wanted to. On the other hand, he'd seen the desire in her eyes, and he liked that she was being forced to look at him in a new way. He'd wanted to shake up their antagonistic relationship for a long time, and that had definitely happened. Where they went from here, he had no idea.

After leaving Hannah's house, he drove across town to his home, which was a one-bedroom apartment over the commercial space that housed his company—Adventure Sports. His building was located next to Waverly Pier, which featured a half-dozen retail shops, as well as two larger warehouses: one for a local boatbuilder, and the other for a woodworking company.

Across from the pier was a park that was turned into a skating rink every winter, and today there were plenty of people out to enjoy the sunshine after the storm. A tented area had been set up with heaters and a snack bar, as well as skate rentals. Many of those skates had been purchased through his company, which had been a nice bonus for this quarter. But as he'd told Hannah, his main source of income, and the part of his business that was exploding was the adventure experience. There were plenty of opportunities to find excitement in the surrounding mountains in the winter and on the lake and rivers in the summer. While he'd spent a lot of time away from Whisper Lake, when he'd really thought about where he wanted to be, where he wanted to put down roots, he'd known it was time to come home.

There were still problems here. He didn't get along with his father, so family events could be complicated. And there was Hannah, who'd spent the past two years avoiding him. But there were also plenty of friends to spend time with. Adam Cole was one of those friends, and he had great respect for him. There was no doubt in his mind that Adam would find Kelly and hopefully reunite her with her son.

He parked behind the building and entered through the back door. The first floor housed the retail store and a large circular counter with monitors on the wall running looped videos of some of their adventure tours. Ashley, a twenty-two-year-old skier who was currently training for the World Cup circuit, was at the counter with Hank, a twenty-nine-year-old guide who specialized in rock climbing. In the retail section, Ruth, one of his mom's friends, was getting a child fitted for skis while Howie was helping a teenager with his snowboard selection.

As Ashley saw him, she motioned him over.

"Can you take the Skyhawk run this afternoon?" she asked worriedly. "Victor is fighting a fever, and I don't know what he was thinking by not calling in earlier. I promised my sister I would help her set up her booth for the carnival tonight, so I need to leave here by noon."

"No problem. I'll do it."

Relief filled her gaze. "Great. I don't want to let my sister down, even though, to be honest, I'd rather be on the slopes. But family is family. Speaking of which, your brother is in your office. He said he needed to use your computer. I guess the internet is down at your mom's house. I didn't think you'd care."

"I don't. Thanks for letting him in." He smiled as he headed for the office, happy to know that his favorite member of the family was back in town.

Paul was sitting at his desk when he entered the room. He immediately looked up and gave him a big smile. Paul was a thinner, shorter version of himself with sandy brown hair and brown eyes that had always been filled with curiosity and intelligence. They were four years apart in age, but light-years apart in every other area. But he loved his younger brother more than he loved anyone else in the world. Their bond had gotten tighter when Paul had gone through leukemia as a child. For three years, they'd been afraid every day that they'd lose him. Thankfully, he'd recovered. Now he was six months away from finishing medical school.

"You're back," he said as his brother got up to give him a hug. "How are you doing?"

"Great," Paul replied. "Hope you don't mind me using your computer, but the internet went out at the house and Mom is freaking out about all the cakes and cookies she has to finish baking by tonight. When I asked her where the router was, she gave me a look that said keep on walking."

He laughed at his brother's words, knowing that when his mother got focused on something, there was no interruption allowed. Since she was apparently responsible for filling at least one-quarter of a baked-goods booth with three of her friends, she was under a lot of pressure. "You were smart to come here and stay out of the line of fire, although Mom can never get mad at you."

"We've had our moments. What's going on with you? If I can be blunt, you look like shit."

He ran a hand through his hair. He'd gotten in a quick shower at the cabin, but that hadn't covered up the dark circles under his eyes.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Paul queried.

"Not very much."

A grin spread across his brother's face. "What's her name?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

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