Waiting for You(20)

He took a deep breath. “I’m not looking for a relationship, but I could use a friend. There aren’t that many people I feel like spending time with these days, and you’re one of them.”

He stopped talking then, and waited to hear what she would say.

She didn’t say anything for a minute. She looked down at the table, biting her lip, and he told himself not to look at her mouth. Looking at her mouth was what had gotten him into trouble in the first place.

Finally she met his eyes again. “Let’s start with the website.”

It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but it was a start. “Fair enough. Why don’t you stop by the garage sometime? If you come Friday around five o’clock, Mark and I can show you around and then take you to dinner. A business dinner,” he added with a smile.

“I can’t Friday. I have a date.”

It was like a punch in the gut, completely unexpected.

“A date,” he said, trying to sound unconcerned. “Good for you.”

It shouldn’t bother him. Hadn’t he just finished telling her he wasn’t looking for a relationship?

He cleared his throat. “So, who’s the guy?”

Erin studied him for a moment. Her gray eyes were serious, and he was reminded of how seriously she’d always taken life as a kid. She never blew anything off, never left a job unfinished…never let anyone down who was depending on her.

Any man would be lucky to have her in his life. Hell, a guy who had a chance with Erin Shaw was the luckiest man on the planet.

She didn’t answer his question. “Like I said before, let’s stick with the website. I don’t want to talk about my love life with you. Okay?”

Because he’d been looking at her so closely for the last few minutes, he saw when the hint of vulnerability came into her expression.

She was protecting herself. From him.

Which was a smart move on her part. Wasn’t that the reason he’d turned her down that night? To protect her?

Getting her to meet him today had been selfish. He wanted her friendship for his sake, not for hers. It might be better for Erin if he stayed out of her life.

But the thought of not seeing her again made his heart tighten in his chest—a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

The truth was, he hadn’t felt much of anything in a long time. And selfish or not, he wasn’t willing to let go of the one person in his life who could make him feel something that didn’t belong in a nightmare.

“Yeah,” he said. “That’s okay.” He looked down at the web pages. “Should I look at this stuff now, or—”

She shook her head and started gathering up the pages again. “No, not now. Let’s reschedule this meeting, all right? Maybe I could come by the garage sometime next week, to see your work and to meet Mark.”

“That makes sense.”

“I’ll call you Monday to set something up.”

She gathered everything together and put it in her leather portfolio, and then stood up with the portfolio over one shoulder and her laptop case over the other.

The hint of vulnerability was gone now. She looked cool and professional, like she was already thinking about her next meeting. Jake remembered the way she’d trembled in his arms that night, the way she’d arched her head back so he could kiss her throat.

He got to his feet, too. “Can we shake on it?”

She held out her hand, and he covered it with his. They stood like that for a second, and when her face turned pink he felt a rush of male satisfaction he had no right to feel.

Erin wanted to keep him at arms’ length, and he agreed wholeheartedly with that decision.

But at his deepest, most primitive level, he was glad he could still bring that flush into her cheeks.


A week later, Erin stood looking up at the weather-beaten sign advertising Hayner’s Garage. Below it was a glass door leading into a cramped and cluttered customer service area. She took a deep breath before pushing open the door and going inside.

In spite of all her efforts to put Jake in the “business” part of her brain, her heart was racing as she rang the bell on the counter and waited for someone to come through the door that led into the garage itself.

She waited five minutes and rang the bell again. When no one came, she went over to the inner door and peered through the dusty glass.

There he was. He had his back to her and was talking to a dark-haired man, but the only one she really saw was Jake.

He was wearing a dark blue tee shirt and faded jeans, and she’d never been more conscious of how perfectly sculpted his body was.

His broad shoulders and powerful back were sexy enough. But the short sleeved shirt left his arms bare, and the hard curves of his biceps made her mouth water.