Chapter 24

Jameson paced the parking lot, his phone at his ear, while Cora sat wilting in the stifling heat of his truck. He tossed her his keys and mimed turning on the A/C. Bless him. They’d sat with Auntie for a bit and she’d seemed happy they were there, but she never did say a word. Jameson had been antsy, distracted, leaving Cora to engage Auntie in one-sided conversation.

Finally he’d come over, all intense and unintentionally sexy. He’d knelt before Auntie and put his hands on her knees. “Auntie, I want you to come live with me. Not right this minute, there’s too much going on, but you shouldn’t be here anymore. I have some friends who would love for you to come stay. Molly and Hernando. You could live with them until I get a nurse for you in my home.”

Auntie had nodded happily and patted his hand. He leaned in closer. “That’s why you always wander away, isn’t it? You’re not wandering, you’re leaving.”

Auntie’d patted his hand like a whisper and nodded again. Jameson sighed resolutely and shot to his feet as they said their goodbyes. He didn’t even wait until they were in the hallway before he asked, “You know any lawyers?”

Lucky! She did! She’d blushed when she gave him the firecracker’s number, the one who had advised her to plead not guilty due to insanity.

They’d been talking for a few minutes, and Cora could tell by the look on his face that getting Auntie out of the nursing home might be hard, but not impossible. He looked ready for a fight. She hoped he had money. It wasn’t going to be cheap, getting power of attorney over a woman who wasn’t his family. Oh, and he’d said no one knew Auntie’s real name or age.

After a few more minutes, he came to the truck and climbed in, his phone in his pocket. “That’s the process started. We’ll see what happens.”

“If it doesn’t, we’ll bust her out,” Cora said, not even kidding. Why should the state have control over Auntie? To them she was just a number, but Jameson cared. “So was she green?”

Jameson started the car and pulled onto the road before he answered. “She glowed, yes, but not green. She’s magenta.”

“Right. Of course.” Cora laughed to herself and tried to figure out which of her questions to ask first. There he was, in the driver’s seat, her captive interviewee for the next ten minutes.

But all she could do was sneak sideways stares and wish Jameson would take her home and have his way with her.

Only problem was, ‘his way’ might just mean a nice cup of coffee and some conversation. He wanted her, but wasn’t responding to her advances at all. Frustrating as shit. She would break through whatever was holding him back, though, no matter what it was.

She gave it a try, grinning in Jameson’s direction. “I’m starving.”

The smile on her face died as she watched Jameson squirm. “Ah. Okay. A problem I can obviously solve at home by myself.”

“You’re not for me, Cora.” His voice was gruff and she could clearly hear the disappointment in his statement.

She shook her head, hair tumbling around her shoulders, ignoring his crooked logic. She wasn’t for anyone. “Says who? If you say Carick, I’m going to seriously lose some respect for you.”

He shook his head. “Not Carick.”

But he didn’t say who.

Cora was over it all. Passive aggressive snark powers, activate! “If you’re not attracted to me just say so. I’m a big girl, I can take it.”

No, she wasn’t, and she couldn’t. Cora held her legs still, resisting the urge to stomp them like a child being denied a lollipop. All she wanted was one lick! Plus a few hundred more, give or take.

Jameson looked at her askance, his eyes wide. “Not attracted to you? You’re kidding, right?”

Okay. At least that was out in the open. But then why the no-licking rule? “So, you are you attracted to me?”

He groaned in a way that was almost a whimper, scrubbing his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s not that simple. You’re a switch. The first one. I have duties-”

Cora cut him off. “You do? Fill me in, maybe we can work together.”

They were pulling up to her house. Jameson hugged the curb but left the engine running, turning in his seat to look at Cora more directly. “I would love to. But it’s not meant to be. We will work together, just not… that closely.”

Cora held up a hand. Passive-aggressive had gotten a few answers, now it was time for persuasion. And popular culture. He didn’t look like he watched much TV, but she could still change his mind with a few witty, well-timed references. “Wait a second. One minute you tell me you’re attracted to me, the next minute you’re saying we shouldn’t act on it? Haven’t you seen Cheers? Moonlighting? The Office? Wait, I know you’ve seen Buffy. Even she got with Angel. It’s inevitable, me and you. Let’s just give in and get it over with.”

Coralie smiled gamely at Jameson, willing him to laugh along and agree. Then devour her whole. But no, the dutiful man with the beautiful body just sat there. Not devouring her. At least not with anything other than his eyes.

He looked away from her, out the windshield at her quiet street. Cora wanted so badly for him to come into her house, to see him surrounded by her things. On her couch. In the bed she’d bought with a man in mind. Her man. Jameson, even though she hadn’t met him yet.

“This isn’t TV, Cora.”

Cora was seized with a sudden rebellion. She launched herself into Jameson’s arms, counting on him to catch her. Solid strength wrapped around her torso, holding her steady as she made for his mouth. “It could be,” she whispered as she kissed him.

His lips were soft but firm, surrounded by bristly stubble that thrilled her with its rough touch. Cora pressed against him, moving her lips sensually in concert with his fingers gripping her waist, holding her firmly to him.

She felt him draw in a quick breath and took advantage, slipping her tongue into his mouth. A sigh escaped her and Jameson answered it with a deep growl, so low and rumbling it seemed to come from his chest.

Her nipples pebbled immediately in response; her core flooded with heat and longing. Now it was Cora’s turn to gasp.

But like a light switch Jameson shut down. He withdrew his lips from hers, used his hands at her waist to set her body away from his, and let go a shaky breath. It couldn’t have been more obvious that he wanted her, wanted to take this moment to its natural conclusion. And yet his clothes stayed on.

Had she been over it before? Now it was ancient fucking history. “Fine. You want it that way, fine.”

She reached to the door, jerking the handle and pushing so hard she almost took out her own mailbox.

The sound of him hopping out of his side and coming around to hers made Cora even more furious. He’d hold her door while she had a hissy fit, but he wouldn’t act on an attraction they both felt?

Coralie stomped up her walkway, completely aware that she was acting like a spoiled brat. But damn, she didn’t ask for much. And here was the kind of man she’d been hoping to find for years; attracted to her, connected to her, but with some bullshit, bound-by-duty reason why they couldn’t make it happen. Couldn’t even give it a shot.

This wasn’t a hissy fit, Coralie decided, this was righteous indignation.

His strong, solid voice sounded behind her. “Goodnight, Cora.”

The wooden stairs made a satisfyingly pained sound under her feet as Cora stomped up them. She jammed her key in the lock as she tried to think of a reply that would adequately articulate the anger, the frustration and thwarted desire she was feeling at this moment.

She pushed the door open and stepped inside, turning for one last look at Jameson, standing firm beside the open passenger door.

Cora yelled something at him and slammed the door. She wasn’t quite sure what it had been. Something about her kissing frogs, and wouldn’t he be sorry when one turned out to be a prince?

Forgetting all about the see-through door, she pressed her face into her hands and moaned, then slid to the floor to sulk.

But only for a minute. With no pictures of Jameson to cut up, burn, and flush down the toilet, Cora did the only thing she could: she went for a run. A Forget-He-Exists run, which was way sadder than Let’s Start Dating head, and ten times less fun.

But twenty times more familiar.