Perfectly Ms. Matched(13)

Jo stilled as she stared into his eyes. That deep physical connection, that zap of heat, was still there between them. She must’ve felt it too. “Thank you, Jo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He left her with a deep frown etching her forehead as he slowly closed the door behind him.

When a loud thud sounded against the closed door at his back from something she must’ve thrown, he smiled.

Jo hadn’t changed a bit.





4

NOT ALL PIE IS SWEET TO EAT. ESPECIALLY THE HUMBLE KIND.

Jo’s favorite time of the day was in the late afternoon when everyone was gone and she had the kitchen all to herself for baking. There wasn’t room to spread out like she needed when the full staff was there in the mornings and early afternoon. But today she wasn’t feeling it. She’d been edgy and distracted since—well, since Chad had turned up a few days ago.

Chad’s earlier plea to help him still circled her brain, tugging at her heart. From what she saw of his injury on the replays, he was going to need someone persistent and patient to rehab his knee. He’d been right about that. They’d have to be strong enough to push him—and be pushed back. Chad had a temper to rival her own. And his tongue could be just as sharp as hers when pushed to his limits.

That was what used to make him so much fun to fight with. He didn’t intimidate her like he did others. Most never saw the real man behind all those muscles and macho swagger. Underneath all the manly bluster, Chad used to be a kind and loyal person who only asked the same in return from others. It had to have been a deep betrayal to find out his ex-wife was a liar and a cheat.

His parents taught him to be honest, work hard for what he wanted, and to show respect for others, regardless of their station in life. But he had blinders on when it came to his football career. He’d destroy anything that got in the way of his success, including their relationship.

She placed her cake pans into the oven and gently closed the door. After she set the timer, the lights went out again. Damned oven! She turned it off, took her cakes out, then made her way back to the breaker box. Sometimes when it’d been on all day, it blew circuits. She’d have to replace it soon. Along with her crappy car, but that was way on the bottom of her needs list.

She made her way in the dark back to the breaker box and opened the panel. Crossing her fingers, she reset the breakers, and the electricity came back on. No need to call the electrician and spend a fortune again, thank goodness. She’d had him out twice in the last six months.

She went back to the kitchen and turned the oven back on. While she waited for it to get to temperature, she wiped down her workstation and spotted the rolled-up plans Chad had left earlier. She shouldn’t bother to look. But they’d been calling her name like her jet tub often did at the end of a long, hard day.

Okay, dammit. Just a quick peek. They’d probably suck anyway.

She caved and unrolled the plans. As she scanned them, a wave of hot desire raced through her veins. He’d redesigned a much larger kitchen into two separate areas. One for baking and the other for the food service. Then he’d expanded the dining area in an über-efficient way the waitstaff would cherish.

Genius.

How could he have known what her heart had desired from day one but they hadn’t been able to afford?

It had to have been Shelby. That was why his design was so . . . right.

After studying the details more closely, she wasn’t so sure Shelby could’ve even come up with such clever ideas. Chad was damned good.

She loved, but sort of hated, that he’d designed in the new double-capacity oven for her baking that he’d tried to bribe her with earlier. Man, she needed that. He’d obviously spent a lot of time on the plans. Maybe he really had meant them as a gift.

Dammit, this was exactly what she’d envisioned her restaurant to be. With this layout, they could serve double the customers she could now. And it’d fix her oven problem that had been growing increasingly worse. It could be the answer to her problems.

Maybe she should rehab him.

But he’d be in a hurry like Jed had been, and Chad’s injury appeared just as severe.

Would Chad blame her if he couldn’t play again? Would she blame herself for failing to get him back out on the field? What if he went back too soon and completely blew out his knee? He might need a cane the rest of his life. That’d kill Chad.

She’d always taken her patients’ injuries so personally. Felt like a failure if their bodies didn’t heal correctly. It was why she hadn’t been happy doing that kind of work. She’d gotten way too involved.

But maybe now that she did what she loved, she could stay detached. Chad wasn’t like Jed. If Chad’s knee wasn’t ready, it wouldn’t be life or death. Just deep disappointment. And possible deep resentment of her. But why should his opinion of her matter? They’d gone their separate ways long ago.