Chapter Twenty-Four

An hour later, Jewell was waiting for a break in the conversation, an acceptable opportunity for her to excuse herself. She wasn’t in any way attracted to Frank, and she was hoping to make it home in time to watch a movie with Justin and Blake. Her idea of not thinking about Blake was failing miserably.

But a night on the couch with a fat bowl of popcorn was far more her idea of a perfect Friday night than sitting in a bar with a man who was starting to drop heavy hints about the way he wanted the evening to progress.

“I’ve enjoyed spending time with you tonight,” Frank said as he reached across the table and took her hand before she could pull it away. “I’d like to continue this somewhere … quieter.”

He ran his hand across her knuckles, and she shuddered. It wasn’t a good shudder.

The guy wasn’t taking the normal social cues she was giving him, cues that should have told him she just wasn’t interested in what he had to offer. But before she was able to respond to his suggestion, he continued.

“We’re both attractive people with needs, and the two of us have a connection,” he said with what he probably thought was a seductive grin.

This had to stop now.

“Frank, I really appreciate the dancing tonight, and the drink you bought me, and the company, but I’m not interested in starting a relationship. I just wanted to come out with my girlfriends for a few hours. I’m sure there are plenty of women in here who are looking for something that might last until the morning sun,” she said with a gentle smile.

No one wanted to be rejected, and she wasn’t out to mislead this man or hurt his pride.

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting that. It seemed like we’ve had something going on tonight, something more than just … well, that,” he said, still holding her fingers. “Is there any possibility that you might change your mind?”

“No. I’ve had a rough year, really, and I’m just not on the market, so to speak. Sorry, Frank.”

He looked disappointed but certainly not devastated, which made her feel better. And why would he be too upset? It wasn’t as if they knew each other, not after an hour in a loud club.

She looked away from him at all the people, at the men leaning against the bar and flirting with women, at the groups sitting around tables and engaging in serious people-watching, and she could almost guess which people were hoping to hook up with someone and those who just wanted a little down time after a long workweek.

She wasn’t really in either category. She’d just wanted to do some female bonding, but it seemed that she wasn’t at all tuned in to everyone else’s idea of nightlife. She’d worked too hard during college and afterward, and though she wasn’t yet twenty-five, she felt so much older. Maybe taking on the responsibility of caring for her dying mother and of raising her little brother had aged her. Who knew?

“Well, I’m just out celebrating tonight anyway, Jewell. I wasn’t really looking to hook up with someone, but then I saw you and couldn’t seem to take my eyes off you, so I thought what the heck. But I get it. I was in a relationship last year that threw me for a loop when it ended. I haven’t been serious with anyone since.”

“I’m sorry about that. Maybe a bar isn’t the best place to go hunting for a nice girl.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right about that,” he said with a small chuckle.

“I’m really ready to go home,” she told him.

Frank stood up and held out a hand. “Let me walk you out,” he told her.

She gave him her hand and stood up, then allowed him to escort her back to the table where her co-workers — other than poor Jenna — were feeling a buzz from all the alcohol they’d been consuming. They barely registered it when she told them she was going to call a cab and head home.

“Good friends?” Frank asked.

Jewell had to laugh. “New co-workers,” she informed him.

The valet called a cab and Frank waited with her in the chilly evening air. When the cab arrived and she turned to thank him, he pulled her to him for a hug. “Thank you for a wonderful evening. I hope to run into you again,” he said, and she could see he was hoping to get her phone number.

“I don’t think that will happen, but it was a pleasure talking with you tonight,” she told him gently. She quickly hugged him and then pulled away when the hug went on a bit too long.

“I can always hope,” he said as he held open the cab door.

Jewell didn’t bother replying this time. She wasn’t giving him her number, and she didn’t want him to hold out on any hope that she’d see him again. This was her last time for a ladies’ night out. She’d tried it and it had failed.

When they pulled up to the house the lights were off in the living room and her hopes of a movie and popcorn were dashed. It wasn’t all that late in the evening, but a lot had happened this week for Justin, too, with a new school, a new home, and moving in with a man he didn’t know, although he had quickly come to like and respected Blake.

Her brother was a real trouper to have such a positive attitude after so much change had been thrown at him.

Jewell paid the cab driver, then made her way up the path to the front door and fumbled in her purse for what had to be a full minute before she found her keys and let herself inside.

All of a sudden, loneliness like she hadn’t experienced in a while weighed down on her, and she fought the urge to run to Blake’s room and demand he give her some TLC. But that, she knew, would only ease the loneliness for a short time. She needed a long-term solution.

If she hadn’t been so afraid of rocking the boat she was riding in, she might have opened up and told him she was feeling this way. But what if he was somehow disgusted with that and got rid of her? Justin’s life would be thrown into upheaval again. No. It was better to just go with the flow, even if she felt like she was constantly fighting the current.

Jewell set down her purse, and then smiled when she heard a squeak. The kitten they’d gotten the day after Justin had come to live with them was winding its tiny orange body around her feet.

“At least someone has missed me,” she whispered. She lifted up the little boy and nuzzled his soft fur, delighting in the purrs he released amid his high-pitched mews of satisfaction at being held.

When she stepped into the living room and found Blake sitting back with only a dim lamp lit and an unreadable expression on his face, she stopped.

“Why are you sitting here like this?” she asked, and she looked around for answers.

When Blake was at home, he was almost always working, either in his office or in his favorite chair in the living room, and one thing she knew about him was that he really liked lots of light. She was always turning it off in the rooms he exited, and he often laughed at her about her compulsiveness.

She finally found at least a hint, if not an explanation of his mood. A bottle of bourbon sat on the table beside him, and an empty crystal glass was next to it. That didn’t look good.

As she drew nearer, she noticed that his muscles were tense, and the look in his eyes wasn’t as casual as she’d first thought. No, his eyes seemed cold. Or hot. Or in between. She’d seen that look before, but she wasn’t able to interpret it even now.

“Is everything okay, Blake? Is Justin okay?” she asked, getting ready to bolt for the stairs to assure herself that Justin was still there, that he was fine.

“Justin went to sleep two hours ago. It’s been a busy week for him,” Blake said, and her heartbeat slowed just the tiniest bit until he stood up and began moving toward her.

Jewell didn’t know why she took a step backward, but there was something dangerous in his eyes, and every muscle in her body was screaming at her to run. She knew that was foolish, but at the same time, her instincts were most likely right. Was he going to hem her in again? Up against the wall? Damn! That almost excited her.

“Put down the kitten, Jewell,” he told her as he drew ever closer.

Jewell had almost forgotten about the kitten. “Oh,” she said as she freed the little fur ball and watched as the cutie ran off, probably to destroy something.

“You’re really worrying me, Blake. What in the world is the matter?” she asked, and she took another involuntary step backward.

“I have given you time to adjust, have waited for you to tell me you’re ready, have moved in together with you, reunited you and your brother, and still I’ve waited, and I haven’t gotten the green light from you,” he said. “Not once.”

She stepped back yet again. “What in the world are you talking about, Blake?”

“Since rescuing you from Relinquish Control, I’ve only had you two nights. And it’s been over three weeks since the last time we were together — three weeks, Jewell. And then tonight you go out with another man,” he said, his muscles flexing, his eyes sparking.

“What? I didn’t go out with another man,” she told him heatedly, though she didn’t understand why she was denying it. “That wouldn’t be your business anyway,” she said, suddenly tired of being defensive when she didn’t even know why she was being that way.

“Max was there,” he told her.

“I didn’t see him,” she began before stopping to think. “Max … Then why in the world didn’t he give me a ride home?”

“I wanted him there to make sure you were safe. Apparently you were more than safe,” Blake said, his voice menacingly low.

“I don’t need someone to spy on me, Blake,” she told him. She didn’t get to say anything more, though.

Blake must have decided they had conversed enough, because one second they were facing off against each other and the next second she was completely out of breath. He’d reached out and grabbed her, hauling her body against his before lifting her in the air.

And then they were moving — right toward his bedroom.