Free Wrecked (Stories of Serendipity #8): #8 by Anne Conley Page B

holding escaped.
    “I think you are a beautiful woman who needed to unwind that night. Mission accomplished.” He paused and looked at her through hooded eyes, possibly re-living the same memories that were flashing through Renae’s mind at that moment. “I also know that I want to get to know you better. Not just more sex, although that was amazing, but I want to take you to dinner and talk to you. Laugh with you. Find out what makes you happy or sad. I want to know why you never called back.”
    “I don’t know if I’m looking for that. I’m trying to figure some stuff out right now.”
    “Just let me try again. Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night.” His eyes pleaded with hers, and she dropped her eyes to her lap, needing to think. Looking at him made chaste thoughts impossible.
    She did need to talk to him, and telling him over a quiet dinner would be preferable to the greenhouse floor. “No expectations?”
    He flashed her a smile that tweaked her insides, making her belly flop over. “None other than you having another good time. After dinner, I’ll take you home. End of date. No expectations.”
    “I’ll meet you there.” After she told him, he may not want to take her home. Or ever see her again.
    Hurt clouded his eyes, but he agreed. “Sure. I’ll meet you there. Let me figure out where there is, and I’ll text you. Okay? You haven’t changed your number, have you?”
    She shook her head.
    “Good.” He lithely got to his feet and held a hand down to help Renae up. She took it, trying to be gracious, but the contact with his warm skin almost made her regret it. As he pulled her up, she skimmed against his body, and hers reacted instantly. Weight flooded her breasts and she wanted to melt against him until she couldn’t tell where her body ended and his began. She could feel his body tense at her proximity, and it was as if he held his breath, waiting to see what she would do. Taking a step back, she extracted her hand from his grip and tried to smile at him.
    “I’ve got to go. Stuff to do.” Anything to get out of this place with him. Her emotions were careening dangerously out of control, and her body was doing things she didn’t want it to do. She could only blame it on herself. She watched his shoulders slump almost imperceptibly before she turned and walked as quickly as she could out to her car and left. Jessie would probably wonder why she didn’t say goodbye or finish her cheese, but she didn’t care. She would call her friend later and explain some of it.

Chapter 13

    J ason was whistling a jaunty tune to himself as he locked up the shop. It wasn’t open today as it was Sunday, but he’d been working nonetheless. It was finally up to par with his own standards. The pigeon holes were actually filled with envelopes of various sizes, prices marked for customers to see. The packing materials were stowed away for customer usage, not strewn everywhere. The different carriers’ packaging was also organized with the excess boxed away and stored in the storage closet. Jason had posted pricing changes for customers to see, and the ones who had been using it had expressed their gratitude for his new system of actually charging the correct shipping costs. Most people knew and liked Joe and appreciated his son’s helping to make his business a success. People who lived in Serendipity wanted to see small businesses thrive, not go under.
    Jason was also working on a theme for the shop’s décor, something to make the place a little more visually appealing. He’d moved his baseball collection up from Houston and was making plans to frame some of his more unique cards and memorabilia for customers to look at while they were in there. It could also be a conversation starter to aid with customer service. Jason didn’t know much about making small talk about kids, but he could talk baseball ‘till he was blue in the face.
    He’d made reservations at Estelle’s, which was run by the lady