Page 32 of Someone to Tempt
I make a noncommittal sound in my throat.
“How will he know you’re serious if you don’t share your plan?”
“Would he believe me given my history?”
“I believe you,” she says softly.
Christ, this woman is going to bring me to my knees.
My smile catches us both off guard. It’s not the usual one I toss around to make people feel at ease. This is different. It’s me showing her…well,…me. I want her to know this moment—this smile—is just for her.
“I still need to prove he can trust me. It’s the same with you. Which is why whether you try karaoke or dancing or painting yourself blue and streaking through the town square, I’ll have your back.”
She stares at me, and her eyes fall to my mouth. Yeah, whatever kind of fun she wants to have, including that kind, is good with me.
“Tell me what you want, Iris, and I’ll give it to you.”
Her pupils dilate until I can barely make out the golden rim around her dark eyes. She moves toward me, or maybe I lean into her. Either way, we’re so close, I feel her warm breath on my chin. I’m dying to claim her mouth, but I need her to say the words. I need to know we both want this.
“I want you to ask out Jodi Moore,” she says on a rush of breath.
13
JAKE
Approximately ninety-nine percentof my brain cells are having a party in the tip of my dick at the moment, so it takes me a minute to register the meaning of her words.
What. The. Hell.
“Who is Jodi Moore?” The words come out raspy as I struggle to regain control of my body. A task that’s nearly impossible when she’s still standing so close.
“My assistant. I mean, the mayor’s assistant. You might remember her from that summer.”
“I only remember you, Iris.”
She closes her eyes for a moment as if she’s absorbing those words. Like they’re a blow more than a caress.
“Are we talking about some kind of menage-a-whatever deal?” I run a hand through my hair and surreptitiously adjust my crotch with the other one, hoping she doesn’t notice. “I assume you have a reason for this rando request to ask out a woman I wouldn’t know if I bumped into her.”
“Youdidbump into her. You reached for broccoli at the same time in Cy’s Market. You had a moment.”
“The fuck I had a moment. At least not with this Jodi person. I don’t even like broccoli.”
She smiles, and I swear relief flashes in her gaze.
“Okay, I’m trying to get my grandpa to eat more vegetables. Maybe I bought broccoli. I buy loads of produce, most of which is destined to become science experiments in his refrigerator.”
“Jodi accused me of trying to steal you.”
Her voice has gone soft again, and she’s not making eye contact. I’m not imagining that Iris wants me, so why is she pawning me off?
“Is this an ‘I saw him first’ deal? Because we have history, Dixon. You have dibs.”
“I don’t want dibs.”
“The hell you don’t.”
She sighs. “Jodi’s father was the town’s mayor the summer we lived here. After you and Nick were sent away, I started senior year on my own.” She nods like she’s reassuring herself. “Sloane and I were friends, and I felt like this place could be different for me. I liked it here. I wanted to stay.”
