Chapter Twenty-Eight
HUNTER COULD HARDLY believe he’d finished the sculpture in time for the competition. He’d been so wrapped up in Jana that his creativity had flowed like a river, and he was able to spend the last two weeks getting Jana’s studio ready. It took a few days for him and the guys to build two rooms for classes and extend the registration desk. He’d since painted and was getting the final touches ready. He’d found furniture online from a designer in Harborside, just a short drive from the Cape. He’d ordered wooden chairs with elaborate carvings of trees and giant leaves as backings, and then he’d designed two end tables using wood and iron to complete the lobby area.
He’d finished making the sign, and Jana had loved it so much she’d ordered business cards with the same design. He’d stopped by earlier to check out the landscaping. He’d hired a crew to make the entrance as beautiful as Jana. They’d come close, but nothing could top his girl.
He glanced at her now, as she stepped from the truck, her pretty painted toes on display in a pair of cute leather sandals. She wore tan shorts with a blousy top, which went well with Hunter’s tan pants and short-sleeved white button-down shirt. Her hair fell loose, like a mane down her back, just the way he loved it. She was beyond gorgeous, and she no longer looked like she wanted to throttle him and have sex with him all at once, like she used to. As he came around the truck, she looped her arm into his, looking like she wanted to climb beneath his skin.
Little did she know that she already had.
“Ready?” They were going to the Bombshelter, a local pub where their friends were celebrating that Sky and Sawyer had chosen their wedding date.
“Yup.” She smiled up at him and wound her arms around his neck.
He loved when she claimed him. He pressed his lips to hers and couldn’t resist backing her up against the truck to deepen the kiss. She had this incredible sensuality that resonated in everything she did and said, and he knew he’d never get enough of her.
“I forgot to tell you,” he said between kisses. “I made a key to your place so I could run over and change before the competition tomorrow, since your place is closer.”
She pushed back and wrinkled her brow. “You made a key?”
“Yeah. I figured—”
“Hunter, don’t you think you should have asked me about that first?”
Surprised by her response, he took a step back to clear the desire from his mind and focus on the conversation. “Jana, we’ve been practically living together for weeks.”
“Living together? We’re not living together.”
The panic in her eyes sent his mind back in time, and he tempered his annoyance at her attitude, reminding himself that this was classic Jana. One step forward, two steps back, until she slammed into a wall, beat it for a while, and finally leapt—because she was too rebellious and stubborn to take two steps forward and one step back like others did.
He softened his tone. “Baby, we stay together almost every night of the week. You cleared out a drawer for me. I have my stuff in your closet, your bathroom.”
Her brows knitted together and her hand went to a lock of her hair, twisting it furiously. “You…We…When did that happen?”
“Over time, I guess.” He pulled his keys from his pocket, removed the key he’d made from the key ring, and placed it in her palm. He closed her fingers over it and brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
“Take the key, baby. I’m sorry I overstepped my boundaries.” He knew she just needed time, and maybe he had assumed too much, but her denial of their situation stung.
“Hey, guys!” Sky hollered as she and Sawyer crossed the parking lot to greet them. “I’m so excited.”
Sawyer pulled Hunter into a manly embrace. “Ready to get your butt kicked in pool, dude?”
My butt was just kicked in love. Why not pool?
THE BOMBSHELTER WAS a dimly lit dive located beside the Bookstore Restaurant in Wellfleet, and it was one of Jana’s favorite places. She loved everything about the pub, from the crowded dance floor to the clanking of the billiard balls and cheers for the sports teams on the televisions above the bar. The place smelled of testosterone, perfume, and anonymity. Tonight, as she sat with her friends, she wished she could feel anonymous, but she felt…panicked.
Hunter staying over all the time wasn’t the same thing as actually living together, was it? Living together meant sharing bills, planning dinners, getting a dog or a cat, and having his own key. Living together was the opening act to a much bigger and more permanent commitment. Shouldn’t he have talked to her about that instead of making the determination on his own and assuming it was okay for him to make a key? What if she wasn’t ready for the opening act, or even the main event?
What if I am?
She needed another drink, stat.
She searched for the waitress, but the perky little brunette was busy eyeing her man. Wench. Hunter, however, was solely focused on the pool table. Leaning over to take his turn, his long, strong arms held the pool cue as he lined up his shot. Her fingers curled with the desire to stand behind him, grab his hips, and press her body to his. Tonight you’re all mine.
Aren’t you?
Panic trickled back in. Now that she was thinking about it, he’d hurried off with the guys awfully quickly when they’d entered the bar. That was unusual for him. He didn’t seem angry on the outside, but he was definitely put out.
Well, darn it. So was she. Why was he making assumptions instead of talking with her about what she wanted?
Maybe I do want the main event…
Sheesh. She was driving herself crazy. If this was what relationships did to a person, no wonder she was never any good at them.
No, she wasn’t going down that road. She and Hunter were good together.
Great. They were great together.
Then why was she panicking?
That’s it. She couldn’t deal with this right now. She was done with this circular thought process. She scanned the floor for the other waitress. It wasn’t until Amy’s voice cracked through her confusion that she realized she was completely ignoring her friends.
“How is Marco treating you?” Amy asked. “You’re almost done right? Just another few weeks and then you’re on your own?”
Jana pushed the thoughts of their argument aside and tried to focus on Amy and her friends. They were supposed to be celebrating. She was not going to allow herself to get tied in knots over a stupid key.
Over her life.
She’d just begun to love her life.
Where’s that darn waitress?
“Marco’s not happy that he has to come back to town, so he’s hardly talking to me.” Like Hunter, tonight. “It’s probably better that way.” Her heart ached.
“Probably so,” Sky said. “I saw the website Jamie made. It’s incredible.”
“I tried out the online registration process,” Jenna added. She wiggled her shoulders and eyebrows and said, “I signed up for the Foxy Mamas class. Petey’s so excited.”
“Pete’s excited anytime you’re excited,” Amy said with a laugh. “Speaking of which, how about that blue dye? Bella is dying to get Theresa back with another prank, so I guess the games are on again.”
“We didn’t have too much trouble getting it off,” Jana said distractedly.
“It made Pete’s teeth blue,” Jenna said with an eyebrow waggle. “And not from kissing.”
“Ohmygosh.” Amy laughed. “I’m calling TMI on that one. Let’s talk about something else.” She turned to Jana, stifling a giggle. “On a more important note, Jana, I was in Stop & Shop the other day and saw the flyers you hung up. There were three women talking about joining, and I told them how wonderful you are.”
“Thank you, Amy.” Jana reached across the table and squeezed her hand, catching sight of the sexy waitress who was still eyeing Hunter. She tried to ignore the claws of jealousy tearing at her gut, but how could she when it felt like a wild animal digging its way out from beneath her skin?
She shifted her eyes to the dance floor, where Jamie and Jessica were dancing cheek to cheek to a way-too-fast beat. Bella and Leanna were dancing near the pool tables, calling her attention back to that big, sexy key maker.
Ugh. She pushed from the table. “Excuse me, ladies. I’m grabbing a drink.” She strutted over to the bar. Who cared about the skanky, flirty, gorgeous waitress who was eyeing her man? She could get her own darn drink.
After downing two fireballs, she ordered a round of shots for the table and, feeling warm and light from the alcohol, joined Bella and Leanna on the dance floor.
“I ordered a round of shots to celebrate!” Jana yelled over the music.
“Awesome. Caden’s the designated driver, so Mama gets to drink tonight.” Bella bumped hips with Jana.
Jana closed her eyes and raised her arms above her head, allowing the music to seep past her irritation over what that tiny key signified, past thoughts of the flirty waitress, past the heartache she was trying to ignore. When the edginess subsided and she felt suspended by the beat, she opened her eyes and let her body take over. Her hips swayed, and her shoulders flowed from side to side as she moved around Bella. When she came full circle, her shoulders drew right, pairing her up with Leanna in a slow, sultry dance. She was mildly aware of Leanna’s movements stopping and a crowd forming around them. She closed her eyes again, unwilling to let anything break her from the comfortable zone she’d fallen into.
The music calmed her, the alcohol eased her worries, and when she opened her eyes, she danced without thought. Her body knew how to move, what to feel. And in that moment, she decided she was done drinking. Just like that. Done. She didn’t need alcohol to deal with her problems, and Hunter didn’t need to worry about her falling into the bottle like his father had. She was opening a business. She could make clearheaded decisions, and right now she needed to dance.
Leanna and Bella pointed to the table.
“We’ll meet you back there,” Bella said.
Jana nodded. “After this song.”
She felt free and untethered, but when she noticed a tall, muscular guy encroaching into her personal space, the contented smile fell from her lips.
He reached for her and she sidestepped his touch. “I’m here with someone,” she said. She could handle herself with most guys, but the feeling inside her wasn’t one of fear or intimidation. It was a twisting in her gut, telling her that things had changed. She’d changed. The unsettled feeling from earlier returned.
The burly guy reached for her again, and she stepped away with a sharp, “Not interested. Sorry. I’m involved with someone.”
The guy began gyrating his hips in front of her, so close she could smell the alcohol on his breath. She was used to this. Before Hunter she would have probably enjoyed the dirty dancing, but now she had no interest in anyone other than Hunter.
She stepped backward, tripping over another dancer. As she found her footing, the big guy was lifted by the back of his shirt off his feet. Hunter came into view, his face burning with rage, the veins in his neck bulging as he seethed.
“Don’t touch my girl.”
The guy held his arms up. “I didn’t know, man.”
“She said she wasn’t interested loud and clear,” Hunter growled.
“Hunter!” Jana yelled. “Put him down.”
Hunter’s angry eyes moved between the guy and Jana, his brow wrinkled in confusion.
“Hunter. Seriously.”
“Learn some manners,” he said before dropping the guy to the floor.
Jana stormed through the crowd and out the front door.