Page 96 of Double Take

It didn’t take long to get the dishes in the washer and start the machine. When she turned, he was close. Very close. She breathed in, noting the scent that she’d loved since her teen years. A mix of sandalwood, fabric softener—and man. He reached forward and pushed a dried curl behind her ear. “Lainie, I—”

A burst of laughter from the den snapped his lips closed, and Lainie’s heart thundered in her chest. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. This isn’t the time.”

“Time for what, James?”Please, please, please, give me a hint of what you’re thinking.Because that look in his eyes ...

“Steph said you had a crush on me when we were younger.”

“I’m going to kill Steph.”

He laughed, then sobered. “Don’t. It gave me the courage to ask you if you’d be interested—”

“Hey, you two,” Jesslyn said from the doorway, “forget the dishes. We can do that later. We want to play a card game. You guys in?”

James closed his eyes for a brief second, and Lainie absolutely wanted to slug her friend, but she forced a smile and threw the ragin the sink. “Sure. Let’s forget the dishes. Easy to do since they’re done. Sounds fun.”

“Great.” Jesslyn disappeared back into the den, and James stepped away from her.

She caught his hand. “Whatever you were about to ask, I’d probably say yes.”

He swooped in and caught her lips in a way-too-short breath-stealing kiss. “Good,” he whispered when he lifted his head. “That’s good.” And then he was gone, leaving Lainie alone to replace the air in her lungs and do her best to wipe the grin off her face.

Then old wounds and past memories came crashing in and the smile slid into a frown while panic pounded at her heart. Her fingers went to her throat, searching for her necklace and the key she’d put back on after the fire.

And the odd look in James’ eyes when he watched her do it.

She bit her lip.God ... I don’t even know what to pray. You knowmy trust issues and all my hangups. But this isJames, right? He’s done nothing but protect me and—

“Lainie! Come on!” Jesslyn’s voice rang out from the den.

“And you know the rest, Lord,” Lainie murmured.Do I dare to give love one more chance? James keeps telling me I’m not a quitter, but Adamreally messed me up. Help me figure this one out,okay?

“Lainie! Sometime this year would be good! We’re waiting!”

She laughed and shook her head, shooting a glance at the ceiling.Sorry, later, okay? Gotta go hang out with the friends who interrupt my prayers. But you gavethem to me, so ...She walked into the den, took her spot around the coffee table, and picked up her cards.And I thank you very much for them, God. So very much.Her eyes landed on James, who winked at her. She smiled back, but her insides trembled. Should she shut it down now? Whateveritwas? Or trust that God had ordained this from the very beginning? And therein lay the problem. She wasn’t good at trusting when it came to men and romance. But James...

Maybe not even James.

HE SAT AROUND THE CORNER,well out of the line of sight of the officers stationed at the curb, and watched the shadows through the blinds. They were having a party. A party? After everything he’d done and still planned to do? His gloved hands twisted around the handlebars of the bike. No doubt she wouldn’t be alone the rest of the night. Her friends were on high alert at this point, and he was going to have to get creative.

He sighed. “Time to come up with a new plan,” he muttered. He was getting beyond tired of having to come up with a new plan. Why couldn’t the first plan just have worked—bald tires on a rainy day and help over the side of the mountain? All of this would’ve been over by now.

For the next twenty minutes, he sat there, thinking, flipping through ways to get her alone. Finally, he had a rough sketch of a plan, but he needed some help.

He cranked the motorcycle and sped away, his mind already working through the details of the new plan, aka thelastplan.

Because this time, he wouldn’t fail.

Twenty

Early the next morning, James and Cole pulled into the cemetery parking lot while James continued to process the evening before—the fun with the friends, of course, but mostly that kiss. Wow. He’d never in a million years expected a kiss with Lainie Jackson would spin his world right off its axis. Then again, never in a million years had he ever expected to actually kiss her. Lainie Jackson. One of his sister’s best friends. But he smiled. The fact that she’d lost two straight games of Scrabble made him believe she felt the same way. And that was a relief.

Eventually, he and Cole had gone home while the ladies had a sleepover, derailing his plan to take her back to the lake house. He snorted. More like a stay-up-all-night lock-in than a sleepover. Nevertheless, with all the company and the cops watching Jesslyn’s home, James had been glad to crawl in his bed with his phone clutched in his hand in case Lainie needed him. But Buzz Crenshaw was as good as they came, and he knew the man would take care of Lainie and everyone else in the house. The officers in the two cruisers would do the same. With her well and truly covered protection-wise, he slept hard—a desperately needed deep and healing sleep—without any nightmares.

When he woke, Cole was standing over him with a cup of steaming coffee. “Get up, you slug. Time to rock and roll. Julie Darwinmoved our appointment to eleven o’clock, so we’re going to hit the cemetery first if that’s all right with you, RVW.”

“RVW?” James rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

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