Page 37 of Grinch Girl

His eyes widened, and he went pale. I must have really look wrecked. “God, Jane, I’m sorry. I’m an idiot.”

It took an embarrassingly long two minutes of silence before I felt normal enough to look up from my lap. What would happen if I just left the bowling alley right now? Went home, got into my beautiful bed, and hid from the world. I could deal with the dumb web series fallout tomorrow, couldn’t I? When I was back to normal?

“I can see that I’ve wounded you. Can I explain my boneheaded statement?” Nate asked quietly. Quiet in the way he was while worshipping the night sky.

What the hell? I moved my shoulders up and down.

“As you, ahem, now know, I’ve been watching you. Almost from the moment I arrived,” he admitted. I glanced up,surprised. He met my gaze steadily; the tip of his left ear was pink. The right was not. Interesting quirk.

“I have a sense of you, as a person,” he explained. “Possibly it’s wrong, but my track record on reading people is quite good. In my mind, I have cataloged you as a problem-solver, a hands-on learner. A person who doesn’t like routine. A person who would prefer to take on new challenges all the time instead of performing the same kind of tasks every day.”

That wasn’t totally wrong. Even though I didn’t have a college degree, a lot of basic office or hospitality jobs in the area would have hired me. Of my limited options, I chose to do things like the Geek Squad because every day was a little different and I did get presented with new problems to solve every day. Although I didn’t love waitressing or bartending, I chose that over being a bank teller or working at the post office because there was more variety in the shifts.

“I can see you being interested in running a small business,” he went on. “But after a decade, I would doubt there’s much new to be learned at Greta’s shop, and I guess I just thought it might not be very fulfilling for you. You might be bored.” A ghost of a mischievous smile on those lips. “Something tells me that you’re not very pleasant when you’re bored.”

That part was exactly right. Hell hath no fury like a bored Jane.

He put his hand a few inches over mine, like he was considering touching me. But then he moved it away. “I can see now, though, that it was much too flippant a comment about a place so closely related to someone you deeply loved.” His fingers curled into a fist. “I hate that I put that devastated look on your face. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right. I’m not mad,” I said truthfully, meeting his concerned eyes. “You didn’t even say anything that wasn’t true.”I shut my eyes for a moment, just kind of sick of everything. “It’s hard to explain the emotional impact of walking away though.”

Walking away was not something that I did.

I didn’t want to get into the rest with him, but there was more. Beyond the emotional attachment was my practical plan to improve my life—the one Greta had set into motion. Running her store was pivotal; it gave me meaningful work and a strong foothold in the Falworth community. Nate may have understood, but it was just too embarrassing to explain that I was trying to improve my life to someone so successful. Someone who had his own life so perfectly together.

Cheers erupted from the bowling spectators, and we glanced over to see the contenders in each other’s arms. Michael had his arm around Bella’s shoulders, but I couldn’t tell if it was another pep talk or if he was comforting her after a missed strike shot. In lane two, however, Jim and Nicole were full-on hugging—he’d lifted her off the ground and swung her in a complete circle, her head thrown back with laughter.

That was reality gold.

They were halfway through the game, so we still had five frames to go. I asked the bartender for more club soda and a bunch of lime slices. Nate was still fighting his way through the brandy old-fashioned, his mouth puckering more at the corners with each sip. “It’s time to talk about you,” I announced.

“Oh?” He quirked an eyebrow.

“Definitely,” I annunciated. “You come swinging into town, and I incorrectly assumed you were Bella’s boyfriend. I’ve had a dozen conversations with you since then.” My lips formed a thoughtful pout. “I still know basically nothing about you, except a little bit about your job and that you’re also from a small town.”

I lowered my voice. “Generally, I like to know more about the people who ravish me in parking lots.” His eyes went dark, and his gaze shot to my lips. A little lust zing sparked in my stomach.How was this happening again? After he almost made me cry, I shouldn’t still be so focused on the details of the night before. “I mean, I knowsomethings about you.” How his tongue moved inside my mouth, for example. Or the feel of his knuckles against my bare stomach.

“Don’t,” he said in that strangled voice. “Don’t start that again.” His eyes went between me and the coat room. Between me and the men’s bathroom. Between me and the crevice between the pinball machine and the wall.

Hell, it looked like he was trying to find a private place to drag me and pick right up where we left off last night. “What are you thinking about right now?” I asked suspiciously.

“You know exactly what I’m thinking.” His voice was so gruff I wanted to purr.

I pulled my T-shirt away from my sweating body a few times, willing the stale alley air to cool me off. It did not work. All it did was pull his eyes from my lips down to my tiny bit of cleavage.

“Right.” I cleared my throat. “We’re talking about you now.” All on their own, my lids lowered. “Not about how your lips feel though. Or how the side of your neck tastes. Or how strong your hands are. Or—”

“Keep talking, J-Bird,” he hissed, eyes practically black, a muscle ticking in the corner of his jaw. “I’m fairly certain this bowling alley has a parking lot as well.”

I swallowed a hysterical giggle, so turned on by turning him on that I couldn’t stop bouncing up and down in my seat. But if I got us any more wound up, I was pretty sure wewouldend up in the parking lot and Diane or one of the cameramen would be sure to notice if we disappeared altogether.

“So you were born in a small town,” I summarized, pulling myself together. “To married parents?”

He nodded, eyes downshifting from horny to amused.

“Siblings?”

He cringed. “Indeed.”

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