Page 2 of Imagine Me and You

He cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “Generous.”

“Well, yeah, I thought so.” Jace had plenty of room. His two-story, Craftsman-style home had gorgeous, exposed wood beams in the ceiling, making the space feel huge and expansive. His fireplace had a huge couch in front of it, and it really would just be sad to sit there alone. And a dog should definitely lie on the rug by the fire too.

He also had four bedrooms and he didn’t need them all. He could certainly spare a corner of his house for a small redhead and her not-so-small dog.

“She’s not allowed on the furniture,” Jace said.

“Thank you!” She flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his skin. And for a moment, she couldn’t help but be conscious of just how hard and muscular his body was. Or of the fact that his skin smelled like soap with a sheen of sweat over it, thanks to the long workday.

No. She wasn’t going there. Jace was her friend. Her attractive, hyper-masculine, sexy friend. But just her friend.

She had her occasional forgetful moments, often fueled by the scent of his skin or an unexpected smile that seemed to break through all the walls surrounding her heart and hit her square on.

But she knew friendship was the best place for them to be. He was her pillar. And without him...without him she would fall.

Which meant no risking the solid relationship they had for a little spark that was probably one-sided. Heck, it was almost certainly one-sided. If Jace wanted a woman, he didn’t sit around and wait. He went out and got her. Temporarily. Jace was a fling guy. And while she was sure being flung by him would be a good time, it wasn’t what she wanted.

Samantha was a bit more reserved in her relationships, but even with the great caution she exercised, they always seemed to sink like a bad soufflé. Nope. Definitely not moving Jace from FriendZone to BoyfriendZone. In her case, BoyfriendZone was always temporary, and it always ended in disaster.

She’d had all the relationships-ending-in-fiery-hellstorms-of-doom that she could possibly take for one lifetime. And not just with boyfriends. She hadn’t spoken to her mother in years. Jace was her rock. And cracking the foundation she built her life on was just not going to happen.

“Jace,” she said, pulling her face back so she could study him. He wasn’t smiling, but had a weird kind of intent look in his eyes.

“Yes?”

For just a second, a little tiny second, she thought about leaning in and brushing her lips against his. A friendly thank you. An expression of gratitude.

But that would be stupid. And it wasn’t the kind of thing they did.

“Yes, Sam?” he asked again, his voice a little deeper, a little huskier than normal. Oh, my.

She pulled out of his embrace. “I’m going to make you some cupcakes.”

Two

Somehow,Jace had ended up with two guests for dinner. One beautiful. One decidedly not and lying far too close to the table for his liking.

But Sam had made dinner, in addition to the cupcakes from earlier, and that meant he couldn’t flip his lid over the damn hairy dog sprawled out nearby while he was trying to eat.

“Guess what,” Sam said, beaming, her round pale cheeks downright cherubic. Ironic, considering she made him think of sin, not salvation.

“What?”

“I had German chocolate cake leftover at the bakery. And a lemon cream pie. And now they’re in your fridge.”

He took a bite of homemade bread. “I appreciate it.” He really did. Samantha was the best baker around, in his opinion. She’d also been the best personal chef, the best hairdresser, and the best dog groomer. Not necessarily in that order.

Samantha was always bursting. With ideas. With talent. It was the settling that was hard for her. The follow-through. But then, given her upbringing he could hardly blame her. By the time she’d come to Bend at the age of sixteen, she’d lived in ninestates and twenty-one cities. She and her mother had rented the apartment above the mercantile where Jace worked, and he’d clicked with her instantly.

It had started, he could admit now, as a case of insta-lust like a corn-fed country boy had never known before. She was new and bright. She wore eclectic clothes and had hair that seemed to glow in the sun.

When she’d turned seventeen, she’d shown up at his parents’ house, much like she’d done tonight at his own house, in tears, telling him she didn’t want to move. That her mother had found a job in Washington state and was going north.

Mrs. Brown, who owned the mercantile, had let Sam stay on in the upstairs apartment. She had a way of taking in stray people and making them feel like they belonged. She’d done the same for him when she’d given him his first job.

Mrs. Brown let Sam live there rent free so she could finish school, so she could remain in the town she felt a part of.

It was too bad Jace hadn’t bought the store from Mrs. Brown when she’d offered, or Sam could have stayed in the old apartment. But when she’d been ready to retire and spend half the year in a warmer climate, his ranch had just been getting off the ground and he hadn’t been willing to take his focus off of his new enterprise for a moment.

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