Page 18 of Mr. February

Jenny sat back in the booth and watched him with concern. Wade ran a frustrated hand through his hair and huffed out a breath.

“Sorry to do this, but I need to deal with a work crisis before we get back on the road. Our junior dev broke something, and there’s no one available. Kyle’s off-site with a client, Mike’s on vacation, and Alan had to go pick a sick kid up from school. It would help if I could take care of this right away.”

“Of course,” Jenny said. “Do what you need to do.”

Wade looked relieved and headed to the car to grab his laptop. Jenny observed him through the full-length windows of the fast-food restaurant and admired his round ass. When he got his laptop out of the backseat, she hastily brought up the e-book she was reading on her phone.

The words that jumped out at her made her blush, and she glanced around to ensure no one could read over her shoulder. Maybe she’d better not read it in case he saw her screen. Jenny switched over to the audio-book version.

She pulled up an innocuous word game on her phone. Now she could play a game while she listened to her book, and nobody would know, Wade in particular.

Jenny wasn’t embarrassed to read romance novels, but knowing about it in general was different than reading or hearing the raunchy stuff that occurred in the books she liked. Listening to it in public made her a little tense, but she didn’t want to start another book. If she was careful, it would be fine.

She mindlessly played on her phone as she listened to an incredibly hot scene. The two main characters in her book gave in to their overwhelming lust for one another and had sex for the first time.

The reviews didn’t lie. If anything, they undersold the heat level. She found it difficult to listen to what they were doing without squirming in her seat. Now she understood why so many people preferred to read spicy romance books from the comfort of their own home.

Jenny peeked at Wade as she listened, admiring his intense concentration. Gloria’s words played on a loop in her mind. She wondered what it would be like to be the object of all that focus and intensity. Recently, her interest in him had morphed from a casual crush on a cute geeky guy into something more.

Right now, she had a bigger issue. Between the spicy story playing through her headphones and her growing attraction to the man across the table, her nipples were standing at attention. With the combination of the cold air and her lightweight top, they practically screamed, “Look at me, look at me.”

To avoid calling attention to herself, Jenny slowly shrugged her zippered hoodie back on. Unfortunately, just as her backarched with her arms bent behind her to slide into both sleeves, Wade looked up with a smile.

“I think I’ve figured—”

His words trailed off as he stared at her for a long moment.

Trapped in the tractor beam of his gaze, her nipples tightened further and sent insistent messages to the throbbing between her legs. For a few lifetimes or maybe a few seconds, Jenny remained frozen in place with her erect nipples standing at attention. He cleared his throat.

Jenny jerked into motion and nodded her head as she covered her torso—and her betraying nipples—with her hoodie.

Wade stared at his laptop. “I, uh, think I’ve figured out the problem. So, um, we should be able to head out in a few minutes.”

“Great! That’s great! I’ll just keep entertaining myself, I mean, playing my game. I’ll play my phone game while you finish up. I’m in no rush!”

“Great,” Wade repeated. “I should be done soon, but it will be easier to finish with the wi-fi and everything. So, I’ll just keep working until it’s done, and then we can leave. That’s the breast, I mean, best, that’s the best thing to do.”

“Yep. Got it! I think I’ll go to the bathroom again while I have the chance. All that iced tea, you know.”

She cringed at the fake cheer in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. Wade waved at her as she fled but kept his gaze deliberately trained on his laptop screen.

Shit. Now she’d made things awkward between them when all she wanted was to keep to herself and listen to her sexy stories.

Once again, Jenny found herself looking critically at her image in the same bathroom mirror. Compared to Wade’s ex, she came second in the looks department, but at least she was a decent human being. Too bad decency and loyalty weren’t in the top ten things men found attractive.

She’d never be able to speak to him again, so it was moot.

Oh, well. This was a work trip. It didn’t matter that she embarrassed herself by getting turned on in public. She might eventually forget that she’d almost shoved her hard nipples in his face, but she wouldn’t forget his obvious disinterest.

She didn’t know what she expected him to do, but he said nothing. He just went back to his computer and pretended it hadn’t happened, so she’d do the same.

Story of her life. She finally found a decent guy, and he was attracted to her polar opposite: a tall, willowy, evil redhead.

But it’s just as well. This is a work trip, she reminded herself for the thirtieth time in as many minutes.I’m here to learn, and so is he. That’s it.

“Ready to go?” she chirped when she arrived at the table.

He closed his laptop and said, “I don’t want to rush you if you need more time to finish your meal or anything.”

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