Page 16 of So in Love
“I’m still thinking about it,” she said.She handed the letter back to him.“Keep this somewhere safe.I’ll let you know what Kelsey says.”She started to rise.
He stood with her.“Sounds good.I’m going to do a bit more research into Dell Beatty also.I’d love to know if there was an active KKK Den here in Yamhill County or in Lane County or both.Did you know that Lane County is named after Joseph Lane?He was the first governor of the Oregon Territory and went on to become one of our first senators when we became a state.He was also a vice presidential candidate on the pro-slavery ticket in 1860.”
Crystal made a face.“Ugh.Well, I’ll be in touch.Thanks, Darryl, you’re amazing.”
She drew on her coat and picked up her hat and gloves before taking off.As she settled in the car, her phone pinged from her purse.Digging it out, she saw the text on the screen—it was Jamie.
A flush immediately heated her body.She’d spent far too much time thinking about New Year’s Eve and even more time trying not to think about it.The things they’d done… She blushed, glad that no one could see her.
She read the text:Hey, just checking to make sure I have the right number, especially after what I sent yesterday, lol.Thinking of you and would love to see you soon.
He’d texted her yesterday afternoon, telling her that the night before had been one of the best of his life—maybe eventhebest.Then he’d thanked her for sharing her…talents.
She blushed again and set the phone down in her lap.She hadn’t responded yesterday.It wasn’t that she didn’t want to.She just didn’t know what to say.The whole thing was… What?Embarrassing?Not quite.But maybe awkward.They’d been little more than acquaintances and now she was pretty sure she could map every mole on his body, starting with the one just beneath his pelvic bone.
Erotic images flashed in her brain, and she started the car, eager for a distraction.She backed out, and her phone rang, startling her.“Shit, Crystal, try decaf,” she muttered.
Hitting the Bluetooth, she glanced at the caller ID.“Hey, Lainie.”
The sound of a screaming toddler filled Crystal’s car.“Hi!I’m supposed to get on a call with Jackson right now.Can you handle it?Alexa is apparently not interested in napping today.”
“Sure thing.Give Alexa a kiss from Auntie Crystal.That should make everything better.”
Alaina let out a snort-laugh.“Probably.Sometimes I’m sure she likes you better than me.Thanks for covering.See you later.”Alaina disconnected, and Crystal immediately voice-called Jackson, a publicist on a project Alaina was doing.
Thoughts of Jamie were pushed to the back of her mind, and she dodged responding to him again.But she couldn’t do that forever.Ribbon Ridge was a small town, and she was bound to see him.
Too bad she had no idea what she’d say.
Staringat the phone wouldn’t make it doanything.Jamie internally scoffed at himself and turned his attention to his center computer screen.He had three, but this was the one with the spreadsheet he was currently working on.Before he could get back into it, Cam pushed the door to his office open and strode inside.
“What’s up?”He sat on the couch and shoved a stack of files on the coffee table over so that he could prop his feet up.
“Hey, don’t mess up my files,” Jamie said.
Cam looked around at the office and blinked at him.“Seriously?You’ve always been a disaster.”
He wasn’t really.He just liked piles.Andhe had executive function issues.Which his brothers knew, but they gave him shit anyway.Jamie leaned back in his chair so that he slightly reclined.He set his hands on the arms.“So glad you stopped by.What do you need?”
“No sense of humor today, eh?”He waved his hand in dismissal.“Never mind.I just wanted to come in and say hi.I haven’t talked to you since New Year’s Eve when we left you alone with Crystal.Did you guys hang out for a while?”
All night, but he wasn’t going to say so.And he wouldn’t categorize it as “hanging out.”If he closed his eyes, he’d easily conjure an image of her, nude, sprawled on the bed in Derek’s old room, her eyes closed in ecstasy and her hands on her breasts… He dug his fingers into the leather arms of the chair to fight off an erection.
“Uh, yeah, for a bit,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t sound as tight as he felt.God, that had been an incredible night, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Cam’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Jamie worried that he’d detected something.“You guys seemed to be getting along well.Brooke and I thought there was maybe a spark.Were we wrong?”
Bollocks.He’d loved many things about living in London, chief among them the language.He’d adopted several terms, and even though he’d been home a few years now, he refused to give them up.“Why would you think that?”he asked.
Cam shrugged.“You seemed kind of flirty.Not just you—she did too.”
Flirty.If they only knew…
“I agree.”Luke stalked into the office and looked at Cam.“Scoot.”
Cam pulled his feet from the table and moved farther down the couch.He had to push the papers over again to replace his feet.
Luke sat down beside him and adopted the same feet-on-the-table position.“You did seem flirty.What happened after we left?”He gave Jamie a sly look.
