He liked.

It unnerved her—thrilled her. Moisture flooded her mouth. Her breasts suddenly felt heavier, the apex of her thighs warming and aching.

“There,” she said shakily and returned the shirt to its proper place. “We can now check that off the list.”

Jase gripped the arms of the chair. Sweat beaded on his brow. His gaze lingered...lingered...finally lifted and met hers. Slowly he unfolded from the chair. He stood there for several long moments. She waited, tense and eager to find out what he’d do next. What did she want him to do? Kiss her again?

No. Bad!

Touch her—

No! Really, really bad.

But if he tried, would she really be able to resist?

“Leave,” she rasped. “You have to leave. Now. Please.”

He was already backing out of the room. When the door shut behind him, she realized she could breathe again and sucked in much-needed oxygen.

When Jessie Kay arrived a short while later, a nurse and wheelchair in tow, Brook Lynn had calmed significantly—at least on the outside. She didn’t complain when she was helped into the chair and wheeled to the car, even though she could walk just fine.

Once they were on the road, Brook Lynn opened her mouth to confess all, but Jessie Kay handed over her cell phone, a steady red blink signaling a message. Only Edna ever called her.

“Does Edna know why I missed work the past few days?” she asked.

“Yep,” Jessie Kay said. “Jase spoke with her.”

Jase, yet again.

“Listen to the message for me,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”

“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to drive while distracted?” Jessie Kay took the phone anyway, saying, “If anyone can do it, it’s me. I’m, like, the best multitasker ever.” She held the phone to her ear, listened...and paled.

“What?” Brook Lynn asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Edna...she...she’s such a slag, Brook Lynn. A bona fide slag.”

“What! Why?”

“I’m so sorry, but she fired you. She said she’s going to find another buyer for the store. She said this is the third time this year you’ve been out for an illness for a prolonged period of time, not to mention when you were late, and she can’t count on you anymore. But she’s going to give you a severance package, so that’s good, right?”

Just like that. In a moment of time, Brook Lynn’s entire world came crashing down. Her income shrank. Her dream of owning Rhinestone Cowgirl burned to ash. Now Jase was the only life raft in a great and terrible storm. The guy she was desperate to repay. The guy who thought she was too fragile to work. The guy who’d kissed her once and walked away from her twice.

This was another rejection, she realized. She was always so quick to protect Jessie Kay from them, but honestly, they stung her just as sharply. She stared out the window, silent.

Jessie Kay reached over and squeezed her arm, but all the action did was make her feel worse about the conversation to come.

Maybe Jase was right. Maybe all relationships were toxic, and a girl could never count on anyone. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. Brook Lynn couldn’t even count on herself. Every time she picked herself up, she fell back down again. She was tired of falling.

Buck up. Another setback? So what.

But—

No buts! This could be a fresh start. A chance to create a new dream. Something she loved, not just something she happened to be good at. One problem. Unlike the kids who’d always known what they wanted to be when they grew up, she never had. Well, besides the far-flung dream of being a dancer. Considering she lacked skill, and dancing on anything but a pole wouldn’t pad her empty bank account, that wasn’t an option. So...she had to find something she loved, was good at and that would actually make her money.

Easy, she thought and burst into tears.

CHAPTER TWELVE

JASE DOVE INTO the deep end of the pool. The hot sun beat down, burning his shoulders and heating the water as he swam one lap after another. All around him, cotton drifted through the air, so thick it looked like snow.

After a night of constantly replaying the best damn kiss of his life, craving Brook Lynn, desperate for her, he’d gotten up at dawn to finish shingling the roof. He’d worked like a madman, pouring his sexual frustration into the task.

He’d had a mere taste, and now his body hoped to gorge. He wanted her more now than he ever had before.

He yearned to go to Brook Lynn, to talk to her...to kiss her again—and more, so much more. Hence the laps. If he kept himself busy, he had a better chance of resisting temptation and staying away from her.

The kiss had been a mistake. Clearly. His favorite mistake, yes, but a mistake nonetheless. It had split him open, allowing some of his secrets to spill out. He’d willingly shared bits and pieces of his past with her, leaving him vulnerable, shaky, on edge. And yet, strangely sated.

Can’t go further with her. Can’t share other secrets.

She thought a woman—herself—would be able to forgive Jase’s past, but her uncle had been a no-good con man, predisposing her to dislike anyone who broke the law. She probably wouldn’t take the time to distinguish a career criminal from a onetime offender, especially when the single crime was so horrific.

More than that, she clung to hope of a happily-ever-after. He knew better, knew there was no such thing. Did he really want to be the one who destroyed her dreams? Of all his crimes, that would be the worst.