Page 107 of Double Take

“Want to play a game of Scrabble while we wait?”

She shot him a ghost of a smile. “Sure.” Her phone buzzed and sheglanced at the screen and raised a brow at him. “But this is Grant, so let me take this first.”

“I’ll get the board while you do that.”

Jesslyn returned to the kitchen to finish her breakfast and James heard Lainie greet her brother. He sent up a quick prayer that Grant would have some good news for her.

When she walked into the den a few moments later, she smiled.

“Worked it out with your brother?”

“Yes. He was horrified to hear why I was calling and promised to get started right away now that the insurance company is done.”

“That’s great!”

“It is. It really is. Now, distract me.” She waved to the game on the coffee table and dropped onto the floor cushion.

James grinned. “By beating you? My pleasure.”

Jesslyn snorted from the doorway. “Yeah, right. I’m out of here.” She waved her phone. “Got a call. See you two later. Loser buys takeout.”

“Why not loser cooks?” James asked.

“Because you can’t cook.” She shut the door behind her, the parting shot left ringing in the air.

Lainie snorted on a laugh, and James ducked his head to hide his own smile even while his heart thumped at the sight of Lainie’s face free of stress and worry. Unfortunately, that lasted only a short time and she once again frowned, her thoughts beyond his reach.

James scooted closer to Lainie and cupped her chin. “We’re getting closer,” he said.

She scowled. “Not close enough.” Then her eyes cleared and she studied him. “Thank you, James.”

“For what?”

“For being you.” A small mysterious smile curved her lips. “Steph was right. I’ve always liked you.”

“Liked me?”

She nodded.

“As in...”

“As in I thought you were the most amazing person on earth, and I thought Steph was incredibly lucky to have you as her brother.”

He raised his brow. “Well, I’m glad I’m not your brother.”

She giggled, the rare sound pumping his blood a little faster. “Trust me, James, I’m very glad you’re not my brother too.”

He lowered his head and captured her lips, his head asking him what he thought he was doing, but his heart cheering him on. A small gasp escaped her, and he stopped, lifted his head, and peered down at her wide eyes. “Was that a mistake?”

“You tell me.”

He thought about it. “No, it wasn’t. I’ve been wanting to do that again ever since the kiss in the kitchen. The truth is, I like you too, Lainie, but I can’t let my feelings take control or I’ll be so distracted that I might miss something. Might not be able to focus on keeping you safe.”

“That wouldn’t be a good thing.”

“It absolutely would be a very bad thing.” He pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly before pressing a kiss to her forehead. “So, no more kissing. It messes my head up.”

“Really? I thought it was just me.”

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