Page 82 of About that Fling
It wasn’t the whole truth.
In reality, he wanted more time alone with Jenna. He’d made sure to book a hotel room with two beds, not wanting to presume anything.
But Jenna had taken one look at the setup, tossed her suitcase on the bed closest to the door, and turned to smile at him. “Looks like we’ve got a place to store our bags.” She’d grinned wider, then pulled her sweater off over her head and reached for the button on her jeans. He stood there blinking at her in the rosy light of the hotel room, utterly transfixed by the creaminess of her skin, the static that made her hair float like a halo around her head.
He’d never seen anything so beautiful.
Adam shook his head and hit the blinker, bringing himself back to the present. Probably not a good idea to show up with a hard-on for his first visit with his sister in three months.
He turned onto the narrow avenue where Beth had lived for the last five years, counting off houses and hoping he’d remember which place was hers. He’d been there plenty of times, but he usually came straight from the airport from some nearby city where he’d been contracted to do mediation.
He glanced over at Jenna, who was smoothing her hair with her hands. Reaching over, he rested a hand on her knee. “You’ll do great.”
She gave him a weak smile and nodded. “I hope so.”
“Just be yourself.”
“Yeah, but which self? The professional self who stoically holds it together in business meetings about illicit penis pictures, or the self who gets giddy on wine at girls’ night?”
Adam grinned and pulled into his sister’s driveway. “You weren’t that stoic.”
“My stoic self is insulted you think so. My girls’ night self admits you’re probably right.”
He turned off the ignition and leaned over to plant a quick kiss on her mouth. The temptation to make it a longer kiss surged like a wave, but he resisted. “Just be whichever self feels right in the moment. Maybe not the one who did that swirly thing with her tongue last night, though.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, and reached for the door handle.
Beth was waiting on the doorstep before they even got all the way up the walk. Her hot pink pixie cut frizzed in the Seattle drizzle, and she’d gotten a tiny silver nose ring since the last time he’d seen her. She stood barefoot and slender in jeans and a bright blue tank top smiling as they came up the walk. The instant he got within range, she hurled herself at him, engulfing him in a hug that smelled like sunshine and old books and the floral perfume their mother used to wear.
“Hey, doofus! Long time, no see.” She squeezed him hard, then released him. “Now get out of my way. I need to meet the new woman in your life.”
He turned to see Jenna extending a polite hand, but Beth pulled her into a hug.
“Please, no handshakes.” She squeezed Jenna so tightly Adam heard her spine crack. “We’re a hugging family.”
Adam stepped aside to give them space, while Jenna laughed and hugged back with equal fierceness. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“I’ve heard almost nothing about you.” She drew back to glare at Adam. “My brother’s communication skills leave something to be desired. We message each other a dozen times a day over Words with Friends, but I have no idea what you do for work or for fun or even what your last name is.”
He watched Jenna’s shoulders relax, and she met Beth’s grin with one of her own. “Full name Jenna McArthur, and I’m the chief relations officer for Belmont Health System. For fun, I read spy novels, practice target shooting, and drink copious amounts of good wine. Here.”
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a bottle with a label Adam recognized. She handed it to his sister with a reverence other women might reserve for religious artifacts. “It’s one of my favorite Oregon wineries. Sunridge Vineyards makes the best Pinot Noir.”
“Thank you.” Beth looked enthralled. “You’ve been there?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip and Adam watched her wrestling with something. Some detail she might want to hide. Her gaze flicked to his for an instant. Then he watched Jenna draw back her shoulders.
“I went there with Mia—yes, that Mia,” she said when Beth looked surprised. “I don’t want any secrets between us because that sucks, so I’ll just say it up front that she’s a very dear friend of mine and no, she doesn’t know about Adam and me.” Pausing, she took a deep breath. “Sorry. I should have just lead with, ‘hello, nice to meet you.’”
Adam held his breath as he stared at his sister. He couldn’t possibly guess how Beth might respond, but he wished he could tell her what a big deal this was. That Jenna’s straightforward decision to lay her cards out on the table was a truly rare gift.
Then a slow smile spread over Beth’s face. “Damn, girl.” She laughed and hugged Jenna again. “You sure know how to make an entrance.”
“Right, well, yes.” She darted another glance at Adam. “I’ve been working on being more . . . open.”
“I appreciate it,” Beth said. “Sounds like a fucked-up situation all around.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Adam muttered.
