Biting back a smile, I turn to the woman behind the counter and nod at the feisty cat who is now seething in my general direction. If only she knew how hot that was.
“Jenna’s not big on road trip buddies,” I explain. “And she has a hard time being enclosed in small spaces with me. I’m Jack, by the way.” I hold out my hand.
“Ellen,” the woman says, slowly shaking my hand as her hazel eyes dart to Jenna with silent questions.
I wink at Jenna.
She throws her arms up and growls, “You infuriating man.”
I just smile at her. “You’re adorable. I’ll just take my bag back to the car and wait for you until you’re done throwing your temper tantrum.” I nod again at Ellen. “It was so nice meeting you.”
Picking up the duffle bag, I exit the inn with Jenna’s glaring eyes trained on me until the front door closes between us.
She’s frustrated, and I take that as I good sign. I know Jenna better than she’d ever admit so I know she’s not really upset with me. If she were, she wouldn’t bother talking to me at all. I’d be suffering her silent treatment right now, and probably her eternal scorn, if I’d truly pissed her off.
Instead, she’s frustrated with herself, for caring when she doesn’t want to care, and a part of me feels bad about that.
Who am I kidding? I don’t feel bad at all. She can drown in her own confusion for all I care—just as long as she surfaces with a clear head and some inner honesty.
After putting the bag away, I check my phone. Another four missed calls from back home.
Shit.
Walking back up the inn’s front steps, I stand in the shade and light a cigarette. Just as I take my first drag, a guy rounds the porch from the side of the inn and slows his walk when he sees me.
“Hey,” he says.
I tip my chin. “Hey.”
He looks like a frat boy, with short brown hair, dark eyes, and eyebrows that are too perfect to belong to a dude.
He furrows those girly brows in confusion as he looks around. “Are you a guest here?”
I shake my head. “Nah. Just making a quick stop on my way out of town. I’m Jack.”
“Daren,” he says.
I nod at the front door of the inn. “My friend Jenna knows the owner.”
His eyebrows rise. “Jenna’s here?”
My pulse instantly hammers and I feel the hot sting of jealousy prick just beneath my skin. How the hell does this pretty boy know Jenna? And more importantly, how well does he know her?
I nod once. “You guys know each other?”
“Yeah, we met briefly a few weeks ago at the lake, through her friend, Pixie.”
I nod, satisfied that his knowledge of Jenna extends only to meeting her once. In public.
“I know Pixie,” I say. And then, because I know Pixie’s from a small town, I ask, “You guys grow up together, or what?”
“Something like that,” he says. “How do you know Jenna?”
“We used to work together.” It’s the simple answer.
He scoffs. “I bet that was interesting. That girl’s got some claws on her.”
I smirk, oddly proud of the fact that Jenna scares this pretty boy. “Tell me about it. You on her shit list, or what?”
He lets out a breath and slowly nods. “I’m afraid so. I’m pretty sure she’d cut my balls off if she had the chance.”
“Yeah.” I scratch my cheek. “She’s not the kind of girl you should piss off.”
He snorts. “Is there any kind of girl you should piss off?”
I grin. “Spoken like a guy with experience.” I take a drag of my smoke. “You fuck something up with a girl?”
He looks through the inn’s front window at where Jenna is talking to a pretty blonde girl and inhales. “Yep.”
I turn away and exhale a thin cloud of smoke. “That sucks.”
He shrugs and looks hesitantly at the inn’s front door, as if he’s scared to go inside, but not sure if he wants to stay outside either. “I wasn’t good enough for her anyway.”
I take another drag and cock my head. “Girls don’t want guys that are good enough for them.” I exhale slowly. “They want guys that know what they want.”
Daren looks off to the side. “Then I’m screwed.”
I stare at my burning cigarette. “You’re only screwed if you give up.”
He narrows his eyes with a sneer. “Yeah, that’s not cheesy. What, is that your motto or something?”
“No.” I scoff. “But it should be.”
He nods knowingly. “Jenna got you running circles, or what?”
I flick the ashes from the cigarette and nod. “Jenna’s hard to walk away from.”