Page 23 of So in Love
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Jamie’s cockroared to life, stiffening in his jeans and causing him to shift on the barstool.“I beg your pardon?”
She turned her head from him and picked up her cider, downing a good, long drink before setting it back on the bar.When she looked at him again, her eyes only met his briefly and her cheeks were stained a light pink.“Um, never mind.I didnotmean to say that.”She ran her hand through her hair, tousling it so that several strands fell rather haphazardly against her cheeks.
“Um, okay.”What else could he say?He turned back toward the bar and drank from his pint.Almost time for another.Or not.He’d been thinking of inviting her back to his place—it was a short walk—but he was very confused.And since he didn’t always have the best filter… “I’m confused.”
She peered at him askance, her hair still partly blocking her face from him.“Yeah, I would be too.”She exhaled and turned, tucking her hair behind her ear.“Look, I like you.And I had anamazingtime the other night.But I’m not looking for anything.”
“Me neither,” he said cautiously because while he didn’t want a girlfriend, he certainly wouldn’t mind hooking up with her again.
“No, I mean,anything.At all.Not even sex.”
He didn’t look convinced.“Are you sure, because your subconscious just said you were.”She cocked her head to the side and stared at him, causing him to chuckle.“You just said you wanted to talk to me about sex.”
She looked a bit flustered, the color rising in her face again.“But I didn’t mean to say that.”
He shrugged.“Sure, but you did.Something inside you was thinking about it anyway.And out it came.Despite that, I hear what you’re saying.I definitely donotwant to pressure you or be annoying in any way.So was there anything youactuallywanted to talk to me about?”
She stared at him a moment, and he had the sense she was trying to figure out what to say.At last, she widened her eyes briefly and gave her head a shake, as if she were trying to wake herself up or something.“Yes, I do have something to talk to you about.I wanted to ask you about your family.More specifically, your mother’s family.”
Of all the things he’d thought she would ask, that was decidedly not one of them.“Okay.Shoot.”
She laughed softly.“You’re confused again—and I don’t blame you.I’m really effing things up here.Sorry.You’re just very…attractive.And I can’t look at you without thinking of the other night.”
The desire he’d felt a few minutes ago had faded but now ratcheted up again.“I feel the same.But, we aren’t doing anything about that, so please continue.”
“Right.”She sounded a bit disappointed, which gave him hope.Maybe she was fighting a losing battle here.He’d let her figure it out and reach her own conclusion.He just hoped it was the one that involved him.And her.Getting horizontal.Or vertical.Honestly, he didn’t have a preference.
“So you know I’ve been working on the Ribbon Ridge history project with Kelsey and the original house that used to be on your vineyard.”
“Your passion project.Anything you’re passionate about is at the top of things I want to know.”
“Flirtatious again, I see,” she said with a bit of sexy sass.
“Only with you.”
She laughed.“I doubt that, but whatever.I’ve been trying to find out why it burned down and what happened to the women who lived and worked at the brothel.I’m especially curious about Dorinda.When Kelsey said I was obsessed, she was maybe only exaggerating a little.”Her gaze turned sheepish, which he found endearing.
“Why do you care about this woman?”
“Thatis a good question.I guess I, uh, I connect with her on some level.Life dealt her a crummy blow when her husband died, and she had to make some tough choices.Since she was married, I have to assume prostitution wasn’t really in her wheelhouse.”
“You could assume that, but really, you don’t know.Have you tried researching her background or her family?”
Her brow furrowed for a moment.“We’ve tried a lot of different avenues, but I don’t think we tried to find the Fosters—that was her maiden name.I’ll talk to Darryl about that, thanks.”
“So you said you connect with her and that she’d been dealt a crummy blow.Did that happen to you?”
She looked at her cider before taking another drink and kept her gaze averted as she answered him.“Somewhat, I guess.I’m sure I had more choices than her.And I didn’t always make very good ones.”
“I’m going to go out on a limb and presume you didn’t open a brothel.”
Her gaze met his now—in amusement, which was what he’d intended.“You presume right.”
“How does my family fit into all this?”he asked.
“Darryl found that the mayor of Ribbon Ridge at the time of the fire was Hoyt Stowe.”
