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She was right. He was such a sucker. Indy had chased
him away, denied them, but here he was, running behind her like the kid she’d
once accused him of being.

He stood outside the women’s restroom, hands in his
pockets, legs shaking. Two young women came out, but no Indy. He knocked on the
door twice, hard, and when no one answered his pushed his way in and bolted the
door behind him.

She stood at the sink, back to him, washing her
hands.

“Indy.”

“I’d heard you were back.” She didn’t look up from
the sink.
“Heard also that you brought
wifey
with you.”

He didn’t speak, and they lapsed into a heavy
awkward silence. She finished washing her hands and wiped them with paper towel
from the dispenser mounted to the wall, before walking past him.

“Bye, Reno.”

He grabbed her arm, yanked her close. “That’s it?”
he hissed. “A year has come and gone, and that’s all you’ve got to say to me?”

She tilted her head and looked down at where he held
her, lashes lowered.

“Indy.” He didn’t mean to sound so fucking needy,
and he didn’t know what he wanted, what he expected from her, but he knew he
needed something.
Anything.

Her lashes lifted, and she pinned him in place with
one of her steely gazes. “No, on second thought, here’s what I want to know.”
She pulled away from his hold and leaned in, lips barely brushing his cheek
when she asked, “You showing that cheerleader out there all the things I taught
you, Reno?” Twisting around, she caught him by the neck and pushed him into the
door. “You showing her the skills I taught you, how to eat pussy, how to take
it up the ass?” She jammed a thigh between his legs, pressing hard against his
balls. “Huh?”

He grabbed her wrist, holding her as tight as she
held him. “I can show her anything I choose.” He couldn’t help writhing on the
thigh tormenting his balls. It hurt too fucking good, but she already knew
that. “She’s not ashamed to hold my hand in public,” he spat. “That’s why she
gets my respect, and you don’t.”

Someone knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey, open
up!”

Indy’s lips twisted in the semblance of a smile. “I
couldn’t give two fucks about your respect, Reno.” She released him and stepped
away, righting her clothes. “Respect Barbie all you want, but I wonder, does
that respect make you feel like I make you feel?” She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m
guessing not, and when you come to that realization and get rid of Blondie, you
know where I’ll be.”

“Fuck you, Indy.” He pushed away from the door,
stepped back. “If you think I’m going back down that road with you, you can
forget it.”

She opened the door and walked out. The person
waiting there was a blur as she sped past. Indy looked over her shoulder at
him. “See you around, Reno.” She strutted off with a sexy sway to her hips that
always had him drooling.

He poked his head out, scouting out both ends of the
hallway before stepping out and hurrying back to Jenna. Indy’s touch still
lingered on his skin, like a burn or a tattoo he couldn’t get rid of.

Chapter Three

She wanted to stay home and hide under the covers,
she really did, but Indy was a professional, and as such she rolled her ass out
of the too-fucking comfortable bed, plied on the war paint also known to the
masses as makeup, and dressed. Then she guzzled coffee, put on sensible shoes,
and went out to what she did best, sold homes.

She showed three homes, closed on one, and put
another up for sale on her website. The economy might be fucked, but the real
estate business was booming in Ridgefield. Good for her wallet, not so good on
her shoes.

Who in the hell wore sensible shoes? Shoes were worn
to make a statement, goddamn it.

After a day spent traipsing all over the place, she
made her way back to the office and collapsed at her desk. Sweat moistened her
armpits and pooled between her breasts.

“Shit.” She released the first three buttons on her
blue silk blouse and fanned herself. She wasn’t a fan of sweating, unless it
was between the sheets, but damn if it wasn’t hot out. It didn’t help anyone
that her air conditioning had also decided to mess with her. She’d been working
hard lately, but the upside was, she didn’t have a lot of down time to spend
thinking of ways to harm Reno’s blonde chick.

Total upside right there.

He’d held her too close, right there in the middle
of Kelly’s, for everyone to see. He’d looked so good, his black hair a bit
longer, gray eyes still deep and sparkling. He was all tanned, and he still
intimidated her with his line-backer size.
The dimple in his
chin, still there.
As were the tiny freckles near his
nose.

Now everyone knew he was with someone. Everyone knew
he wasn’t with Indy.

Yes, she’d told him to go to California, told him to
take the job he’d been dreaming of, the chance to work beside one of his idols
in the scientific field, but damn it, she hadn’t given him permission to move
on without her.
For her first sight of him in over a year to
be like that, holding someone else.
It hurt.

Too damn much.

But she had proof, didn’t she? He’d moved on, and
there she was, still wallowing in the murk of her memories and her guilt. She’d
been
scared,
too scared of loving him and losing him
like she’d lost everyone else she cared about. So to protect herself, she
kicked him out of her bed and her life. The guilt of what she’d done ate at
her.
 

Move
on, too, girlfriend.

“Ms. Steele, you in here?”

She jerked her head up and waved the AC repair man
in when he knocked on her open door. A slender dark-skinned man stepped into her
office, wearing dirty jeans and a gray-blue shirt with the name of the repair
company and a name tag.

Jarvis.

“Hello, Jarvis.”

A wide smile split his face, and he nodded. “Ms.
Steele, I’m here to take a look at your AC unit.” Yet his eyes hadn’t moved from
her chest.

Indy grinned. “Don’t you think you should call me by
my first name, Jarvis?” She winked. “We did go to school together.”

Surprise flashed in his dark eyes. “I wasn’t sure
you remembered me.”

Jarvis was a good looking man, all wide shoulders,
muscles, and a tight ass. Of course she remembered. She pointed to the other
room where her assistant would be, if she’d bothered to look for one. “It’s out
there, and I’ll be in here,” she held his gaze, “when you’re finished.”

Took Jarvis a second to break eye contact and walk
out the office, but he did, and Indy smiled. She was so moving on from that
fucker Reno. She busied herself taking care of business and making plans.

She wasn’t even aware the AC was back on in full
force, until a throat cleared. She looked up from the computer. Jarvis stood
there, clipboard in hand.

“All done?”
She
raised an eyebrow.

He nodded. “You needed a new cord. The one you had
on was frayed.”

“Well I
have
had the unit since forever.” She granted him an apologetic shrug.

“I need you to sign here.” He walked over and laid
the clipboard on her desk, pointing at the spot where she needed to put her
signature.

As she scribbled her name, she peeked at Jarvis’s ring
finger, to double check he hadn’t gotten hitched since the last time she’d seen
him. Blessedly
bare
. She almost bared her teeth.

Above her, Jarvis cleared his throat again, a
nervous gesture she realized once she met his gaze.

“There you go,” she said.
“All
done.”

“Uh, Ms. Steele—”

“Indy.” She sat back in her chair and watched him,
watched the slide of his Adam’s apple, the slight widening of his eyes, and the
hint of sweat on his brow.

“Indy,” he spoke quietly, not what she’d have
expected. “I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me.
Tonight.”

Ooh, look at that. She didn’t have to do anything.
She grinned to herself. She’d have thought she’d lost her edge the past year
she’d gone without the touch of another man, but Jarvis here put that fear to
bed.
Done.

She dropped her gaze to the pen in her hand as she
twirled it between thumb and forefinger. “I’d love that, Jarvis.”

He all but reared back, a shocked expression on his
face. “You would?” His voice shot up an octave.

“I would, yes.” She nodded and pulled out her phone.
“Pick me up, say eight o’clock?”

He nodded eagerly. “Yes.” His throat worked. “Uh,
yeah, I can do that.”

So
eager.
She liked that. The sight made her pussy
flood,
made her panties wet. She’d go out with Jarvis, and
anyone else who
asked,
and she would enjoy herself,
without thinking about Reno fucking Barbie like he used to fuck Indy.

****

She stopped to get her hair and nails done at
Gloria’s.
A normally relaxing experience, but not today.
Nope. She sat in the chair, head thrown back, getting her deep conditioning on
while Tabitha worked her magic massaging her feet.

Bliss.
Should have been blissful and it was, until someone sat down in the chair next
to hers.

“Cora, I see that fine son of yours is back,” Gloria
said, “and with a new girlfriend to boot.”

Shit!

Cora was Reno’s
mother,
a
really lovely woman Indy had nothing but respect for … until she began waxing
poetic about the girlfriend. Indy learned way more than she wanted to in that
chair. Blondie’s name was Jenna, a New Yorker. She was going to be a
pediatrician, take care of sick kids, and she and Reno would be traveling to
New York after their week was up in Ridgefield.

Indy gritted her teeth and tried blocking out the
sounds, but goddamn it, she couldn’t escape. She couldn’t escape Reno and his
Jenna. They were everywhere.

She sent up a prayer of thanks when Cora left before
her. Apparently she’d come in only to get her nails done. Indy wanted to yell,
“Finally!” but instead she bit her tongue and prayed for the damn day to be
over already.

She wondered how Jarvis felt about sex on first
dates?
She really needed some stress relief, and she wasn’t
sure the arsenal she kept in her nightstand would be adequate. She wanted a
flesh and blood man.

Whose name was not Reno
Sandovar.

****

Jarvis was the perfect gentleman. He arrived right
on time, opened her doors, and pulled out her chair.
Perfect
gentleman.
There were times when she loved that, but tonight wasn’t one
of them. She kept holding his gaze, giving him that fuck-me stare she’d
perfected, but damn if Jarvis was biting.

What was a girl supposed to do, strip down to her
skin and climb atop the table in the middle of the restaurant? That would go
over real well. She could wait until they were finished and outside before she
pounced on him. She totally could.

She made small talk, ate her steak like a good girl,
and smiled at the appropriate places. Jarvis was easy to talk to, actually. She
reminisced about their high school days and talked about what they were doing
with their lives. All good stuff and when she put the whole sex thing to the side
and simply concentrated on Jarvis, she found herself laughing and having a good
time.

Until Reno and Blondie—ahem, Jenna—walked in
alongside his parents.

Ain’t
this some shit?
She
locked eyes with Reno and took a small glimmer of satisfaction in watching him
stumble. Their server seated them right in Indy’s line of sight, Jenna’s back
to her, Reno facing her full on.

Couldn’t get worse, could it?

“Hey.” Jarvis touched her hand where it lay on the
table between them, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. “Are you okay?”

She blinked down at her hand, at his hand on hers.
Funny how a minute ago she couldn’t wait to get him alone, and now all she felt
was repulsion at his touch. She schooled her features, smiled even when her
face felt like it was cracking.

“Yeah.”
She
nodded, gaze quickly flickering to Reno’s table. He was trying not to look; she
saw it. But like her, he didn’t seem to be able to look away.

A
train wreck.

Jarvis touched her face, a gentle press of the pad
of one finger between her eyes. “You’re frowning.”

“Sorry, a headache.”
She
shrugged. “I’ve been battling it all day.”

“Stress at work?”

Stress every damn where. Jarvis sounded like he
cared. “You could say that.”