“Much better.”
“Okay. Now I’ll go get my coat.”
“Really? You’re seriously going to run away?”
She raised an eyebrow. What else did he expect her to do? Right now all she wanted was a pint of chocolate fudge ice cream and her fuzzy pajamas. “Yeah, I am. Because I’m sick and tired of being the butt of everyone’s...whatever in this town.”
“Isn’t that a bit overstated?” He gave her a lopsided grin, looking absurdly boyish as he did so.
“Not a bit. I know what people say about me. I can do without a repeat tonight. What Rhys said was quite enough, thanks.”
Jack rested his hip on the edge of the counter. “Okay, so help me out here. I don’t get it. You’re nice, and funny, and pretty easy on the eyes,” he said. “Why the gossip?”
She looked away from his intense gaze, touched once more by his compliments. He’d just said she was pretty. Or at least...attractive. “I just don’t have a good dating track record. And this damned town is too small. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. You screw up once and they remember it forever.” And sure, she’d screwed up more than once, but had she ever done anything so very bad? No. Still, she was Mary Wilson’s daughter. Like mother like daughter, the gossipmongers said.
He nodded. “So every date, every failed relationship, every everything is cataloged and talked about?”
She felt her cheeks heat. “In the past I haven’t always been...ahem...as discreet as I should have been with my love-life woes.”
“You’re very self-aware.”
Somehow she got the feeling he was teasing her. “I can admit when I make a mistake. For example, I dated Sam Diamond for a while. You’ve met Sam.” Sam was also in the wedding party, along with his brother Tyson. Everyone in Cadence Creek knew Sam Diamond. He headed up Diamondback Ranch now. He was confident and successful and now married to Angela Beck. Even when they’d been dating, Amy had felt he was out of her league.
“Slight age difference?”
She blushed again. “We were both adults. Anyway, when he broke it off I wasn’t exactly complimentary about his, er, behavior. I’ve grown up a bit since then. Doesn’t matter, though. I’m painted with a certain brush and that’s how I’ll always be seen. It’s pathetic, really.”
“And so you rush off to public bathrooms when your feelings get hurt.”
She zipped up her little purse and avoided his eyes. “Ouch, Jack. And I thought you were here to help.”
“I am. All I’m saying is that you running in here caused a different sort of scene that put the focus on you and not Rhys.”
It bugged her that he was constantly right.
“So what’s your brilliant solution?”
He smiled and leaned closer, as if sharing a secret. “The moment I leave this bathroom people are going to think...” He let the thought hang, but it didn’t take her long to understand his meaning. They would think that the two of them were locked in there together, doing God knows what.
Her cheeks heated. They would think that she and Jack...that they were... As if her reputation weren’t tarnished enough! She pulled back, putting several more inches between them. “Oh, God. They are, aren’t they?”
“There’s not exactly a back exit or a window to crawl through.”
To illustrate his point, the door rattled, and a muffled voice outside said, “It’s locked.”
“Why did you have to come in here?” She paced in front of the mirror. “I could have just licked my wounds and snuck away.” That was her usual M.O., after all.
“Because I was worried about you.”
His answer stopped her short. When had anyone really cared about her feelings? “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Why should you care? You hardly know me.”
He nodded. “That’s true. But the few times we’ve been thrown together over the past few weeks, I’ve enjoyed your company. You’re a good dancer.”
“A good dancer?” Things were starting to feel a tad bit surreal.
“Yes, and you make me laugh. And I hate it when people aren’t treated fairly.”
“So you rode to my rescue.”
A strange look passed over his face ever so briefly, then was wiped away quickly by another charming smile. “I wouldn’t put it that way. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, that’s all.” He shrugged again. “I guess I didn’t think far enough ahead to actually getting you out of this predicament.”
It sounded so much like something she’d do that she couldn’t help it. She gave a little laugh, putting her fingers to her lips.
The door rattled again and Amy jumped. “You’re the genius hotshot. What are we going to do?”
Jack casually put his hands into his pockets as he thought. “Well, if they’re going to talk, why don’t we give them something to talk about?”
It felt like all the blood that had rushed to her face drained clear out. “If you’re proposing that we...in here...” Oh, my gosh. While the idea of a romantic interlude with Jack Shepard was more than intriguing, she wasn’t prepared for that. She didn’t do those sorts of things despite what people might think. Jack was a man of the world. He probably had women falling all over him all the time. World-class athlete turned business mogul? Yeah. And it wasn’t like she was a prude, but it was a long jump to hookup sex in a public bathroom.
He chuckled. “No, not that. Though to be honest it’s an alluring idea. What I meant was, come back to the dance. Dance with me again to show everyone it doesn’t matter. And then I’ll drive you home.”
That she didn’t dismiss the idea right away spoke volumes. Could she do it? Walk out of here with her head held high and ignore all the whispers? A little part of her said that she was treated the way she was because she perpetuated the perception. Why did everyone’s opinion of her matter so much, anyway?
No one would be expecting a strong, confident woman who didn’t give a damn. And she really wanted to be that woman for once in her life.
“We already danced twice,” he reminded her. “Spent time in a locked bathroom. All that will happen is that they’ll keep on believing what they already think to be true. And would that be so bad?”
“That I’m a chaser and a...”
Frowning, he put a finger over her lips. “Don’t say that word. Just don’t. You’re not.”
His finger was warm and firm against the soft flesh of her lips and for a long moment their gazes caught and held. He didn’t like what she’d been about to say. She wondered why. Wondered if he really did have a rescue complex. There had to be a flaw somewhere. Jack Shepard was just a little too perfect.
“Come dance with me. Otherwise you’re just running with your tail between your legs. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always preferred a good fight to a quiet retreat.”
Easy for him to say. She’d be here in town long after he was gone. She’d be the one going to a bleak and dismal home night after night when what she really longed for was some color and excitement. With a sinking heart, she realized tonight would only be more ammunition for those people who would make her a laughingstock.
She remembered the news reports in the sports pages after Jack’s ski injury. They hadn’t always been kind. They’d said something like “Fast on and off the hill.” Jack had faced a fair bit of nasty press in his day but he’d risen above it. She