By Proxy(21)

She inhaled sharply and swallowed, holding her breath, unable to look away from him. He stared at her lovely face, flicking his glance to her lips.

“Jenny—” he started and leaned intentionally toward her.

For just a moment, he thought she was going to let him kiss her, and his breath caught for a split second in sweet anticipation.

“Wait!” She looked down sharply and he instantly dropped his hand from her ear to his lap. Her chest was moving up and down, fast and uneven, when she looked back up at him. “I barely know you.”

“I know.” He rubbed his hands together to keep from reaching out to her. “Sorry. I…I got a little—”

“Me too,” she interrupted in a whisper. She looked down at the keyboard again.

No games. No flirtatious comeback laced with innuendo. Her words were simple and honest, which made her more intriguing but also kept the ground moving under his feet as he realized it wasn’t familiar territory for him. Sexy banter was his forte, not simple honesty.

“You keep surprising me, Jenny Lindstrom.”

“Me?”

“You.”

Her eyes twinkled when she looked up at him shyly from under blonde lashes. She picked up her coffee cup and took a bracing sip. “Back to the task, okay? Let’s finish this up.”

“Go ahead.” Sam spread his arms out on the back of the loveseat, but was careful not to touch her, for her sake and his. He needed to cool down and think about what was happening here between them. As much as he wished he could, he couldn’t deny his attraction to her. He needed to figure out what he was going to do about it, and with only 48 hours between now and Monday morning’s appointment, frankly “nothing” seemed like the best answer of all.

Jenny kept reading: “…earlier than expected. However, we were able to make a Monday morning appointment with Judge Hanlon, so please don’t worry. We will let you know as soon as you’re married, so that you can celebrate. Much love, Jenny & Sam.”

“Sounds good,” he confirmed and stood up abruptly, anxious to get going. He needed to get away from her to clear his head.

She seemed taken aback to find him suddenly standing over her in a rush to leave and furrowed her brow briefly like she was trying to figure out the catalyst. Giving up, she shut her laptop with a click and stood up next to him. “O-Okay. I’ll drive you home.”

“Such that it is.”

He followed her to the front hall and she took his coat out of the closet and handed it to him, regarding him with her head cocked to the side in thought.

“You know? I had a really fun time with you tonight,” she whispered. Immediately, her eyes flew wide open and she clapped a hand over her mouth in dismay, seemingly stunned that she had actually said the words out loud.

He opened his mouth to say something reassuring, but she looked so adorable, he couldn’t resist: Whip-fast, without thinking he placed his palms flat on the wall behind her on either side of her head then leaned forward, tilted his head and pressed his lips to the hand she held over her mouth. That’s all he did; Sam kissed the back of Jenny’s hand.

But his body registered something else entirely.

Maybe it was being so close to her face, or assuming the position of a passionate kiss, or trapping her smaller, lithe form between his body and the wall, but the jolt he felt was like being electrocuted by a live wire. He had meant the gesture to be playful, but the sudden urge to haul her up against his body, or push her up against the wall behind her, was anything but child’s play. He leaned back slowly, breathing heavily, unable to release her eyes or calm the fierce intensity in his own as something big and unexpected yet palpable crackled between them. She stared back at him with wide, alert eyes, her face otherwise inscrutable, and he briefly wondered if she might slap him.

“Sorry, Jenny,” he said, dropping his hands as he cleared his throat, turning his eyes away from her. He buttoned up his jacket. “I think you’d better drive me home.”

When he glanced back up, she lowered her hand from over her mouth and nodded once, sidestepping around him to open the door. She rushed out of the apartment quickly, leaving him once again to follow behind.

***

After an awkward, quiet drive back to his motel, Sam was actually relieved to be back at the Lone Wolf Lodge. That in and of itself should have shocked the hell out of him, but he had bigger fish to fry.

He flicked on the light, assessed the dumpy room, kicked off his shoes, and fell onto the squeaky bed, staring up at the ceiling.

What a day. Waking up in Bozeman. Trying to do some work at the hotel before leaving for Livingston. Finally arriving at the courthouse. Seeing Jenny for the first time.