If We Dare to Dream (29 page)

Despite her stressful evening, Jamie laughed. “Yes, of course. Come on in.”

“I’ve only got a minute. I have Maggie and Paul stirring over there by themselves, and it’s past their bedtime already.”

Jamie was aware of her lack of dress and George’s appreciative gaze as she led him to the kitchen. She wished she had put on something more conservative than her thigh-high red robe, but it was too late now and he seemed in too much of a rush for her to worry about it.

Opening the refrigerator door, she reached inside and pulled free her egg carton. “Would you like to take the whole thing?”

“No, no. I can just carry a few back.”

“How many batches are you making?”

“There are thirty kids in the class, so I was making two boxes. You think that’s enough?”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” she said, biting back her grin. “So four or six?”

“I’ll take whatever I can carry.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to just take them all? It’s not a bother, really.”

“Nope, I can do it.”

Jamie frowned skeptically, but George held open his hands. He had large palms and long fingers, so when she placed the eggs within his palm his fingers closed over them securely. She placed six in his two hands before returning the remainder to the fridge.

“Thanks, Jamie.” He smiled crookedly at her. He was still slightly out of breath, but his eyes were warm. “So how are you doing?”

Gritting her teeth, Jamie opted for a quick response. No sense in giving him false hope. “I’m okay. How about you?”

“I’ve been wondering about you. We haven’t seen much of each other in a while.”

Her thoughts immediately turned to Andrew, and she smiled wistfully. “It’s been pretty busy.”

“It’s okay. Look, I’d better get back. The kids are alone.” Nodding his head, he backed away from her without turning. Unfortunately, he bumped into the counter and stumbled.

“Oh no! George, wait!”

It was too late. Knocked off balance, his hands closed reflexively. She heard eggs crack and called out in alarm. It must have been her startled cry drifting out the open front door, for the next thing she knew her screen door was being slammed open with a loud crash. When they turned in surprise, like a ghost Andrew appeared and threw himself at George. The remaining eggs went flying as George was slammed roughly against the counter, Andrew’s hands pinning him in a tight grip and his face again white with rage.

Too stunned to move, Jamie just blinked. What the hell?

Chapter 14

The startled cry was all Andrew heard.

A surge of protectiveness like nothing he had ever experienced before raced through him and forced him to act. Not even during his time overseas did he feel the rush of emotion with such urgency. He reacted before he knew what he was doing, furiously charging the stocky man standing far too close to Jamie. As he pinned the intruder up against the counter, he noticed Jamie’s state of undress and wet hair and wondered who the man was that was causing her to call out in distress and what the hell he was doing in her house at this hour. He was livid and his grip was unforgivingly tight on the frightened man before him. The urge to kill was strong, and his fingers tightened until the man’s mouth worked like a fish out of water.

This new stranger struggled briefly as Jamie reached for his arm, her voice filled with shock and dismay. “Andrew! What on earth are you doing? Let him go.”

Still not ready to release his grip, Andrew watched the man’s eyes flash with fear. He had plenty of experience in restraining others, and this man’s weak struggles barely fazed him. Ignoring the man’s panicky stare, Andrew turned to Jamie. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am. Let George go, please.”

Though he was reluctant to, he slowly released his grasp. Breathing heavy and blood pumping rapidly through his veins, he met George’s stare with fury emanating from his eyes.

“You know him?” George asked in a strangled voice.

Jamie continued to hold Andrew’s arm, and he was surprised that she had no fear of his anger at all. “Andrew, this is my neighbor, George.”

“I heard you scream,” he said. His accusing glare caused the intruder to glance at his hands. They were coated with the remnants of raw egg.

George exhaled heavily. “Eggs.”

Jamie turned to George. Her voice was clear, but her eyes were wide with horror. “I’m sorry, George. Here.” She returned to the fridge and pulled out the carton. “Take them all. Get back to the kids. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Andrew could tell that George not pleased, but he nodded his head anyway. Before he turned to go he stared at Andrew again, whose fists were clenched tightly to keep from snapping the other man’s neck. Jealousy was a new emotion for him, and he was surprised at the intensity with which it hit.

“The mess?”

“I got it. I’ll clean it,” she replied hastily.

George was not convinced. “Are you okay?”

Conjuring a brilliant smile, she nodded her head and led him out of the kitchen and back toward the open screen door. “Of course. This is all just a misunderstanding. Really – now go.”

Andrew glanced down at the floor and saw the cracked eggs. Shells and sticky yolk formed a mess on the pristine tile floor. In Jamie’s absence, Andrew reached for the paper towels on the counter and began scooping it up. It was only a matter of moments before he had cleaned the majority, so he opened her lower cabinets to see if he could finish the job. He found some cleaning supplies under her sink and was wiping the last of the mess when he heard first the screen then the front door close and lock. In another moment, Jamie returned to the kitchen, a fierce frown on her face and her hands balled into fists on her hips. He had never seen her other than happy, but when he glanced up and caught her angry scowl he realized that he had set her off good.

Giving one last wipe to the now clean floor, he regained his feet slowly. Despite his best intentions, his gaze rose even slower to meet hers, starting with her shapely legs exposed up to mid-thigh then on up to the deep V that revealed the creamy white skin of her neck and chest. His mouth went dry at the sight of the curve of her cleavage, and he was immediately reminded of that day he saw her emerge from the pool like some sort of goddess. The sight of her in that fuscia bikini had haunted him for many nights, and though his dreams had her staring up at him with desire at this moment she was staring up at him with unconcealed fury. However, he was able to tell that the high color on her cheeks indicated that his appreciative stare had not gone completely unnoticed.

“What was that all about?”

“I heard you scream. The door was open. I thought you were in trouble,” he said.

She continued to glare at him, and he would have felt amusement that she had no fear of him even though he outweighed her by close to a hundred pounds, stood taller than her, and could snap a man’s neck without blinking an eye… He would have if he was not so humiliated by his uncustomary reaction.

“He’s my neighbor, Andrew,” she said tightly.

“I didn’t know that.”

“So you thought someone had broken in?”

“I didn’t know what to think. Like I said, I heard you scream and just reacted.”

She shook her head, but the tension in her shoulders eased away and her voice softened its cold edge. “What are you doing here anyway?”

As quickly as the protectiveness had filled him, he felt it ebb away too, leaving him feeling both guilty and slightly embarrassed. He was confused where Jamie was concerned. Feelings he could barely identify were making him act out of his carefully controlled character, and he felt helpless to stop them. But how did he explain that to her?

“You left so abruptly this evening. I wanted to check and make sure you were okay because Adam was… well… Linda told me you overheard.”

He could see that she was just as confused by his response. No matter how angry she wanted to be, the tension in her face was easing by his honest answers. “Why didn’t you just call? Isn’t it a bit late to be out?”

“My phone’s broken, remember?”

Frustration was evident on her clear face, and her hands came up to massage her temples. She looked down at the floor and closed her eyes. “I’m so confused, Andrew. I don’t know what’s going on.”

The low and forlorn tone of her voice tugged at his heart strings. He wanted to reach out and smooth the worry lines on her forehead but remained still and unsure before her. The fear that this evening had been the death knell for their relationship, that he had finally ruined their friendship beyond repair, rose in intensity. Disappointment and self-loathing filled his words. The single person that he respected the most was looking at him as though he was a stranger, and it pained him that the night had ended so poorly.

“I am sorry, Jamie… You’re right, I shouldn’t have come.” With a hesitant hand, he gave in to his previous urge and smoothed the furrows in her brow. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you.”

A heavy silence fell in the kitchen doorway, with Andrew standing tall but uncertain over her. She was just a breadth away, looking small and defeated in her robe and damp hair. Then slowly she took a deep breath. He watched her chest rise toward him and the material tighten against her breasts. Finally her eyelids fluttered, and she tipped her head to stare up at him once more. Her brown eyes were wide, though her natural warmth had been replaced with wary concern. “I don’t know what to say – or do, for that matter.”

Allowing his hand to fall back to his side, he nodded his head. “I understand. Maybe I should go and we can start over again in the morning?”

The hopeful tone of his voice was obvious even to his own ringing ears, but rather than weaken his case it seemed to strengthen it. Nodding her head slowly, she took a step back and gazed at the front door. “That’s probably a good idea. It’s been a crazy day for both of us.”

Though disappointed to leave without having the chance to speak with her, Andrew accepted the decision. At least she was not telling him to leave for good. Somehow Jamie had managed to integrate herself so deeply into his thoughts that the idea of ruining things between them terrified him more than his time in prison had.

Without another word, he strode back the way he came, this time without the violent urgency he had entered with. Aware that Jamie was following him, he stepped aside as he reached the front door. She reached past him to place her hand on the lock, but she hesitated to unlock it. “You really thought that George was hurting me?”

The question came from out of nowhere, and the incredulity in her tone once again brought color to his cheeks. “I heard you call out. I was going to help.”

Jamie’s lips suddenly twisted. “You certainly helped all right. I don’t think he’ll ever come back over here now.”

“I really am sorry.”

“I suppose I should be thanking you for having my back rather than kicking you out for the evening, but I just don’t know what else to do right now.”

He reached out and placed his hand over hers where it hovered on the lock. His voice was rough when he spoke. “It’s okay. I understand. A lot happened today… It’s been a long time since I’ve felt anything at all and now suddenly all these emotions are coming back… It’s been hard to feel again.”

Her eyes widened as he spoke, and her gaze searched his earnestly as though looking for any sign of deception. Of all the things he could have said, he concluded that he had done the right thing at that moment in time. Her hand flipped over the lock to cup his palm, and she drew it slowly to the smooth skin of the gaping robe. One finger traced his knuckles, now red from the blow he had launched at his brother for insulting her. Mesmerized, he watched as she pressed his rough palm against her soft skin. She was as warm and silky smooth as he had expected, and beneath his frozen hand her heart was racing. His own heart leapt in excitement.

She held his hand trapped, and his fingers itched to spread away from her sternum toward the soft curve of her breasts so tantalizingly close. But he remained controlled. At the moment, their situation was too tenuous to push.

“I just don’t know what to do right now,” she murmured.

“So you’ve said,” he replied.

“But you understand?”

He nodded and his pinky finger twitched, grazing the top of her breast. His instinctive movement caused her heart to leap against his palm, and he struggled to keep himself in check. “I’m afraid that my past and my faults are too much for you to take. That’s the last thing I want.”

Still holding his hand to her heart, her free hand reached up and cupped his cheek. A small smile teased her lips, and the tip of her tongue snaked out to moisten them nervously. It was torture for him to watch her innocently seductive movements, and he began his rhythmic breathing as quietly as he could.

“How could you think you would scare me off, Andrew? I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.” She spoke with so much conviction and confidence that he could not help himself. A slow smile appeared, and her face lit up immediately.

“You’re smiling,” she exclaimed.

Maintaining the firm pressure against his cheek, she reached out with her thumb and traced the curve of his lips. Her touch was gentle and insistent at the same time.