Chapter Twenty-One
ON THE WAY to meet the girls for the Foxy Mamas class, Jana turned up the radio. She needed a pick-me-up after getting into it with Marco. She’d asked him to hire another instructor, or an administrative assistant, and he’d finally revealed the real reason he’d stayed in Plymouth for so long. He’d gotten engaged to his head dance instructor from the new studio. Jana knew from the elation in his voice that he was never coming back, at least not for good.
Ella Henderson’s “Ghost” came on the radio and she cranked it up. Listening to the words, she thought about how Hunter was her river. When she was in his arms, he washed everything away, her pain, her worries, her sins…Her chest burned as the chorus came on. She wanted to give up the ghosts of her past, the ghosts that pushed her to keep that last wall between Hunter and the rest of her life, but she wasn’t sure exactly what those ghosts were, or how to finally let them go.
Leanna’s colorful van was parked out front when Jana arrived for the class. Amy, Bella, Leanna, Jessica, Jenna, and Sky came around the side of the building as she stepped from the car. She wished Harper could have come, but she had a conference call with the production staff for her sitcom.
“This place is incredible,” Jenna said.
“I had forgotten how perfect the location was.” Sky hugged Jana. “My brother pulled out all the stops to help you.”
“Yeah, it was really nice of him,” Jana said as she fished out the key Hunter had given her, palming the TAKEN charm. She opened the door, and her jaw fell open as the girls pushed past her and went inside. The place was spotless. She had no idea how he could have gotten it cleaned so quickly.
“Look!” Jenna picked up the card from a vase of a dozen red roses on the far end of the counter. “Can I open it?”
Jana could hardly believe her eyes. Roses? How could she ever have doubted his ability to be romantic? She was so nervous about what Hunter might have written that she snagged the card from Jenna’s hands. “I’ll read it.”
“Lizzie told me Hunter had ordered you flowers, but I had no idea that they were roses.” Sky’s voice reeked of curiosity.
Jana opened the card and noticed that it was Hunter’s slanted handwriting, not Lizzie’s curly script. Her heart beat a little faster as she read the note.
I hope your class is everything you dreamed it would be. H.
The simplicity of the note took her by surprise, and she wondered if that was difficult for him, or if he knew she’d have several sets of eyes peering over her shoulders, as she did now.
“That’s so sweet,” Amy said. “He’s such a nice guy.”
“Yeah.” The confirmation came out as dreamily as she felt, and when she lifted her eyes, she met Sky’s assessing gaze and tried to cover it up. She waved the card, as if it didn’t mean anything special. “Okay, who’s ready to become a foxy mama?”
“Hunter sent roses…” Jessica smiled.
“What do you think this means?” Leanna flashed a mischievous grin at Bella and the others.
Bella jumped right in. “Flowers usually mean sex.”
“Oh my gosh, you guys.” Jana laughed, even though she thought they might see right through her ruse. “It means he must be really eager to rent the place. Let’s get started.”
An hour later, they were sweaty, laughing, and leaning on one another as they drank from their water bottles.
“I feel sexier already,” Jenna said as she ran her hands through her shiny dark hair. “Watch out, Petey, ’cause here I come.”
“I definitely feel something.” Leanna tugged her sweaty tank top off of her skin. “But I’m not sure it’s sexy.”
“Oh, please. Our men love to see us hot and sweaty.” Bella hugged Jana. “This was so fun. And this space? With a few homey touches, it’ll be perfect.”
“Want to know what I think?” Jessica asked.
“Sure.” Jana couldn’t stop admiring the flowers, and the cleanliness of the room.
“I think you’ve got a sweet deal here that you shouldn’t pass up.” Jessica pointed to the flowers. “And how many landlords leave roses as incentive?”
Jana’s mind reeled back to the other sexy things Hunter had used as incentive when he’d shown her the kitchen. She couldn’t stop a dreamy sigh from escaping her lips.
Sweet deal doesn’t even scratch the surface.
IT WAS BILLY’S bedtime when Jana arrived at Clark and Nina’s, but the moment Billy saw her, he wanted nothing to do with bed—or Hunter, which was surprising, since Billy hadn’t met Jana before. But as Hunter watched Jana sitting on the floor in Billy’s playroom playing with wooden blocks with the cute little guy, Hunter had only two thoughts. Billy was a smart kid, and Jana had never looked more beautiful than she did right then. She picked up a square block and pretended to try to shove it into a round hole, earning the cutest belly laugh from Billy.
Jana swooped him into her lap and gave him Eskimo kisses. She hugged Billy cheek to cheek, and a look of peacefulness washed over her, drawing Hunter in even deeper.
Billy yawned, and Jana’s lower lip plumped out in a cute pout.
“Aw, the little guy is tired.” She rose with Billy in her arms, looking natural and happy and more at ease than he’d ever seen her. “We should put him to bed.”
It took Hunter a moment to get his brain to work. “Uh, yeah. Okay.”
They went into Billy’s bedroom and he reached for Billy. “I’ll change him.”
She wrinkled her brow. “No way am I giving up this little guy for a second. We’ll do it together. Do you have his jammies?”
He laughed. “Jammies?”
She changed his diaper while Hunter pulled pajamas out of the dresser.
“Yes, he’s a baby. They’re not called pajamas until he’s at least…three.”
“Three?”
She shrugged. “Seems right to me. Here.” She handed him the dirty diaper and he tossed it in the Diaper Genie. “You didn’t even cringe.”
“Why would I?” He helped her put Billy’s jammies on.
“Most guys wouldn’t go near dirty diapers.” She lifted Billy into her arms and sat in the rocking chair beside his crib.
“Most guys wouldn’t do a lot of stuff.” He crouched beside the rocker. “Want me to rock him?”
“No. If you don’t mind, I’d really like to.”
He shut off the light, leaving only the glow of the night-light, picked up the baby monitor, and left the room, pulling the door partially closed behind him. Jana began singing quietly. He stopped to listen and was surprised that she wasn’t singing a lullaby, but Beyoncé’s “If I Were a Boy,” barely above a whisper. He leaned against the doorframe, listening as she poured her emotions into every word. She sang about having a group of guys to stick up for her and taking people for granted without being held responsible. When she sang about guys who didn’t understand what it felt like to lose the one they wanted, he wondered why it sounded so personal coming from her lips. And when a tear tumbled down her cheek, it nearly tore his heart out.
Her voice faded to a thoughtful hum, and he tried to turn away, but he was riveted in place. He pushed the door open, basking her face in light from the hall as she placed Billy in his crib. Their eyes met, and he swore time stood still.
He reached for her as she neared, and when she laid her hand in his, electricity sparked up his arm. He pressed a kiss to her temple, feeling as though he’d just heard her bare her soul to the darkness of the room, and he wanted to understand where all that hurt came from. He wanted to climb inside her and remove the anguish he’d heard, keep it from stealing any more of her, and protect her from ever feeling hurt again.