Jackie

Oh my God. Okay, heart, anytime you want to go back to beating normally, that would be fine. What the hell was wrong with me? I was the person who stayed calm in a crisis. When Hannah was a toddler, she fell down and cut open her forehead, and the amount of blood was ridiculous. Brent was the one hyperventilating while I took charge and got us to Emergency. Same thing when Tristan broke his arm falling out of a tree.

So how did a random stranger turn me into a shaking leaf? My hands were actually trembling. I took several deep breaths and began putting away the kitchen supplies I’d brought. How on earth did I get the dates of his road trip mixed up? The kids would laugh and say that was a total Mom-thing to do. Um, except I wouldn’t be telling them this story because the punchline was a half-naked man.

That was the real reason I was nervous: sex. Since Brent left, there wasn’t one man I’d been interested in. The odds were against me. I was a mom who hung out with other parents, so I didn’t meet a ton of single guys. And the few single guys I had met had done nothing for me. Coach Jerk-head was the first man I’d met who was attractive, presumably single, and he seemed to be interested in me.

And vice versa. Oh, that body. He was more slim than hulking, but his chest had these well-defined muscles and he had actual ab muscles. Not like a teenager’s starvation six-pack, but his waist went in where Brent’s went out. And his arms looked strong and sinewy. He even had a few drops of water glistening on his skin like he was straight out of an Old Spice commercial.

Leo wasn’t exactly handsome, but he was very attractive. His face was angular with hollowed cheeks and a squared off jaw. His eyes were narrow and his gaze piercing. Everything was brown, his eyes, his cropped hair, his lightly tanned skin. His expression had been stern and unsmiling—until the moment he caught me checking out his package.

Gah, I had openly eyed a strange man’s penis! And then tried to imagine what it looked like and how hard and silky smooth it might feel. From his expression he knew exactly what I was thinking about. My skin flushed again.

Time to focus on organizing kitchens and not penises. I picked up the spatula that he had caught so gracefully and remembered how he had smacked it against his palm a few times as he was talking to me. Why had that made me feel all liquid inside? Lust was turning me into a complete idiot. How could a plastic spatula be sexy?

There was a frozen dinner defrosting on the counter. Really? I wouldn’t feed that to Minx. Spontaneously, I dumped it in the garbage and started rooting through the cupboards. Not much, but enough here for a quick meal.

“Ahhh, you’re still here.”

I jumped again, although not as spectacularly as the first time since I wasn’t holding kitchen utensils.

“Is that all you do? Sneak up on unsuspecting women and scare them to death?”

Regretfully, he was wearing a pale blue t-shirt and jeans now, although he filled them out very well. He smiled at me—a half-smile that drew attention to a full bottom lip that I wanted to lick. Yet his smile looked a little evil, like he was toying with me. However that didn’t make him any less attractive. I shivered.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m making you dinner.” Was this a ridiculous move straight out of Extremely Desperate Housewives? It was something I’d do for a friend in the same circumstances. But he wasn’t really a friend. All I knew was that I didn’t want to leave. He was watching me from behind. Hopefully, I didn’t have paint or chocolate stains on the back of my jeans.

“Why?”

“Because I saw what you were planning to eat, and that’s not food.”

Leo chuckled, but didn’t say anything else. Apparently having strange women offer to cook for him was just another day in the life of Mr. Hot Coach.

“Besides, aren’t you kind of an athlete? You should be eating healthier.”

He chuckled. “Yes, that’s me. Kind of an athlete. But I haven’t really had time to go shopping.”

“I know. There’s not a lot for me to work with here.”

“By all means, give me a list so I can be better prepared the next time you break into my kitchen.”

The blood rushed to my face. “I didn’t break in. I have a key. And I thought you were out.”

I couldn’t see Leo’s expression because I was facing the counter, but I heard his laugh. I finished up the tuna melt and stuck it under the broiler.

“Would you like a drink, Jacqueline?” He had a slight French-Canadian accent, and he pronounced my name in that French two-syllable way: Jack-len. Was there anything he did that wasn’t hot?

“Sure.” Then it struck me. Maybe he already had a date. It was Friday night after all. “Did you have plans tonight?”

“No. I just arrived here, remember? I hardly know anyone yet—except you.”

I couldn’t even define the reaction I was having to Leo. It was a cross between a teenaged crush and Mrs. Robinson syndrome. I was pretty sure I was older than him. He was a coach, so he had to be close to my age. But his body didn’t look like forty years of gravity had worked on it. Maybe being on the ice so much had preserved him better.

“I have wine,” he offered.

“Beer’s fine,” I said. I declined a glass as well.

Leo leaned against the kitchen counter and held his bottle out. “Cheers.”

I clinked my bottle against his. Our fingers touched briefly and the warmth of his hand numbed my brain. This particular social situation—being alone with a handsome stranger whose firm penis I had seen outlined in terry cloth—was completely out of my experience.

“So, do you like your new place?” I finally asked.

He nodded slowly, that slight smile still on his face. “You seem to have thought of my every comfort.”

Okay, now that had to be suggestive. Especially the way that he was eye-fucking me as he said it. Yes, I thought of your every comfort and that includes you and me having some hot animal sex later tonight. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe he wasn’t even interested. What were the first steps of dating again? Oh right, first make sure he doesn’t have a girlfriend.

“Again, I am so, so sorry about messing up on your road trip dates.”

“And here I thought it was deliberate and you wanted to meet me.”

Meat you maybe. Ha ha. My mind really needed to stop changing each thing he said into an innuendo. I had another swallow of my beer. “When is it you leave?”

“We have a game Sunday night, then we leave on Tuesday morning.”

“Okay, I’ll come in and finish your daughter’s room then. When is she getting here?”

“Not for a while. She’s still got school. So you have lots of time.”

“I’m surprised that she—or anybody—didn’t want to have input into the decorating. I would have.”

Leo smiled. “She’s only seven. But if that’s your way of asking if I have a wife or girlfriend, I don’t. I’m divorced.”

I could feel my skin heating up again. “I wasn’t—” Then I shook my head. That was a total lie. “Okay, I was wondering. I’m only recently divorced myself, and I’m totally out of it when it comes to this kind of conversation.”

“You don’t have to tell me you’re single. I can see that,” he said. He put his beer on the counter and took my hands in his. “Voilá, no rings. Even though you have jewellery on and you’re someone who pays attention to your appearance.”

The way he held my hands—warmly, caressingly, gently—sent a current of electricity right through my body. How long had it been since anyone had touched me like this—in a way that signalled flirting and desire? It was years and years ago. Dinosaurs were still roaming the earth the last time this had happened to me.

I swallowed hard. “You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes, aren’t you?”

He dropped my hands and smiled again. I tried to figure out why his smile looked more sinister than friendly. Maybe it was the guarded look in his eyes. He was someone in full control—of his emotions, his reactions, his life. I envied him that.

“No, Jacqueline. For example, I don’t know what you’re going to say when I ask you out.”

“Oh, I think you do.” There was no point acting coy. I might not know much about dating, but I did know that what was going on between us was a huge underwear-melting tsunami of physical attraction. I had no clue what his life was like, but this certainly wasn’t something that happened to me every day.

“Would you like to go out with me?”

“Yes.” Good thing he didn’t ask me if I wanted to stay in with him, because the answer would have been the same.

He chuckled again. “I didn’t even say when.”

Well, I wasn’t going to admit that my social calendar was completely blank. “Am I supposed to play hard to get? I’m out of practice at this stuff.”

“You don’t have to play games. I prefer honesty.” He drank some more beer.

The kitchen timer dinged. I had to move closer to him to get to the oven. I brushed against his chest and felt his solid strength under the thin t-shirt. And he smelled good too. Citrusy-fresh. Wait, I bought that body wash. I made him smell as yummy as a ripe mandarin orange that I wanted to take a bite out of.

I hastily arranged his meal on a plate: tuna melt, carrot and apple salad. Then I set it on the little kitchen table. I sat across from him with my beer.

“You’ve eaten already?” he asked, and I nodded. “It’s delicious.”

“It’s one of my son’s favourites.” Oops. Was I not supposed to mention children right away? Why not? I was a mom, and my kids were the most important things in my life. If that was a deal-breaker, so be it. Anyway, Leo had a daughter too.

“How old is he?” Leo asked.

“Ten. And I have a twelve-year-old daughter too.”

We chatted casually about kids, which also helped to lower my internal thermostat and prevent me from jumping Leo. Although, it didn’t prevent me from checking out his arm muscles as he ate.

“Much, much better than my original dinner, Jacqueline.”

“Thank you. So, you’re from Quebec?”

“Oui. Montréal.”

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to go there. It’s supposed to be just like Europe.”

His eyes widened. “I’m shocked. You’ve never been to Montréal? It is by far the loveliest city in Canada.”

“Come on. Nicer than Vancouver? I don’t think so.”

He laughed. “How can you compare if you’ve never been there?”

“That’s true, but I’ve seen photos.”

“Vancouver has a beautiful natural setting. It is a spectacular city. But Montréal has a liveliness and energy that you cannot find anywhere else. And the people are very special as well.”

“Like you?” I asked.

He grinned. “Merci. That was great. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to get to work now.”

“Now?” I checked my watch and it was almost ten o’clock. “It’s so late.”

“I know. I should have been working earlier, but you’re very distracting.” He shrugged. “We have an afternoon game tomorrow, and there are many details I want to address beforehand.”

I stood up. “Oh, okay. Sorry about that.”

He stood up too and closed the distance between us. “Please don’t apologize. You made me a nice dinner, and the company was even better.”

He reached out and ran the back of his hand along my upper arm. Bam, a new erogenous zone was created. His nearness was rendering me wordless. I made a humming noise of agreement that came out like a whimper.

“So, are we still on for our date?”

“This wasn’t it?” I croaked. Because tonight was the best thing to happen to me in months. I fed someone and he turned on my electrical circuits. Hot diggity dog.

“No!” He sounded shocked. “A date is me picking you up and taking you somewhere special. Are you free tomorrow night?”

It took me all of one millisecond to review my social calendar. Painting at home with only a snoring cat for company or seeing the amazing Leo again. “I’m free.”

“Parfait. I am free as well. Send me your address, and I’ll see you around seven.”

He watched as I lingered in the doorway. Then he leaned towards me. His hand rose and brushed an errant strand of my hair. The warmth of his hand tickled my cheek. Was he going to kiss me? Hot damn. I closed my eyes. Time for some telepathic mind control: kiss me, kiss me, kiss me.

I opened my eyes, and Leo was smiling at me. So much for mind control.

“À demain, Jacqueline.”

“I don’t know what that means,” I confessed. It wasn’t enough words for “This attraction between us is seismic,” which was what I was thinking.

“Until tomorrow,” he explained, that knowing smile never leaving his face. I was so out of my league here.

I nodded and wrenched the door open. Twenty-four hours might be enough time for me to tame the pure lust I was feeling. Or not.