Page 13 of The Hometown Dilemma
I forced a smile. “Yep, hope you enjoyed them.”
“It was a nice thing for you to do.” She grinned, downing the last of the wine left in her glass.
“You want another?” Austen asked.
She focused on her phone. “Is that the time? I should be getting home.” As she stood up, she wobbled on her heels and slid back down into the booth. “Whoops. Perhaps I shouldn’t have had that last glass of wine. I’m not used to afternoon drinking.”
“Then let me give you a lift home,” smoothed in Austen.
My jaw clenched. Had this been his plan all along to get her alone?
Jaime’s forehead wrinkled as she shook her head. “No, I have to go and get the car. Cami needs it in the morning to go to Raleigh for some nail supplies.”
“Where is it?” I asked.
“Parked near Austen’s office. I left it there ages ago. It’s probably covered in parking tickets by now.” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Cami’s going to kill me.”
“I can always take you home.” Austen placed a hand on her arm.
She turned to him. “That’s really sweet, but I need to get the car.”
“Why don’t I come with you?” I glanced between the two of them. “Then I can drive Jaime home from the office.”
“I don’t want to wait until closing time.” Jaime pouted and I found myself drawn to her lips, imagining how they would feel against mine.
Wade, what the fuck are you thinking?
“You won’t have to. I can take you now if you want?” The staff I had on would be able to manage for an hour or so while I took Jaime home. Plus, Dad was there if anything went wrong.
Austen glared at me. We hadn’t spoken about Jaime before, so neither of us knew how the other felt about her. His fierce stare told me everything I needed to know.
Jaime nodded vigorously. “Yes please. I think I need to get a shower and go to bed.” She stretched her arms behind her head, the movement emphasizing her pert breasts wrapped in that clingy dress.
“Gimme a sec and I’ll be back.” I turned to head back to the bar. “You don’t mind, do you, Austen?”
“Not at all, buddy, not at all.”
Quickly, I filled my dad in on the plan and told him to keep an eye on the staff. Then I told them I had to head out for a bit but would be back before closing time. I grabbed my jacket and went back to Austen and Jaime’s booth.
“You ready to go?” I asked.
“Sure.” Austen jerked his head in a nod.
He helped Jaime up, shoved her purse and laptop bag at me, then linked his arm with hers. I followed behind, not saying a word.
The silence stayed as we drove back to the center of Abbott Ridge and found Jaime’s car.
“Thank you for everything today, Austen,” she said, as she rummaged in her purse for the keys. “I’ll pull together that proposal and get it to you as soon as I can tomorrow.” She rubbed her eyes. “Assuming I don’t have a hangover from hell.” After the short drive with the window down, she seemed a lot more compos mentis than she had earlier.
Austen stepped towards her and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ve enjoyed spending the day with you. Hopefully we can do it again?”
She nodded. “If Moira comes through with her recommendations, then I’m sure we will.”
Her words filled me with a small burst of hope. Even though it was obvious Austen was interested in her, it seemed it wasn’t reciprocated. It felt childish, but the kid in me gave a small fist bump.
“I don’t want to keep you from the bar,” Jaime said to me. “So, we should get going.” She pushed the keys towards me and as I took them from her, our fingers brushed. I wasn’t prepared for the shock that traveled up my arm as a consequence of one simple touch.
I had it bad.
