“Uh-huh.”
A man with a variety of skills wasn’t always a good thing.
She pushed her hair out of her face and wished she’d put on something more classy than old jeans and a T-shirt with a glittery surfboard on the front. Plus, she wasn’t wearing makeup. Not that any of that would make her look like Felicia, whom she hated a lot.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Fine.” A lie, but she was okay with that.
“Seriously?”
“Sure. I’m great.” She tried to smile, but wasn’t sure she succeeded.
He reached for her hand. “About yesterday.”
That was supposed to be her line. “About yesterday. It’s over, skunk-dog.”
Only before she could speak, he brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. Then he gave her his best slow, sexy smile. “Impressive.”
Tinges zigzagged down her arm to her chest and belly. She ignored them and the need to swoon. “Okay,” she said cautiously. Maybe she would wait to hear what he had to say. Then she would end things.
“Just okay?” He studied her, then nodded, as if he’d figured out what was wrong.
She wasn’t sure that was a good thing. “I wasn’t sure what to think. Everything happened so fast.” She glanced around, hoping to find something on fire, or see an alien landing. Anything to distract him from her confused emotional state.
“I’m sorry about the timing of Felicia’s arrival,” Justice told her, his blue gaze steady.
“Me, too.”
He continued to study her. “You know she and I are friends, right? She’s like a sister to me. Always has been. Just friends. There’s never been anything between us.”
Patience felt herself start to lean toward him, then forced herself to pull back. “You mentioned something about it,” she admitted. A long time ago, when the information hadn’t seemed very important. It was much more significant now.
“We worked together and we’re family. I’ll always be there for her—like you’re always there for your mom.”
If he was trying to make her feel better, he was doing a fine job. She gave him a real smile. “Thanks for telling me that.”
“I didn’t want you worrying.” He kissed her hand again. “I’m not very good at this.”
“At what? Sitting on the floor? Because you seem to be a natural.”
He chuckled, then leaned in and kissed her mouth. “Being with someone like you. Someone regular.”
“You usually sleep with superheroes?”
“I usually don’t stick around until morning.”
“You didn’t. Technically you left with a very tall, very beautiful woman.” She sniffed. “I’m just saying.”
He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, twisting her so she found herself draped across his lap, looking up at him.
“I missed you,” he said, staring into her eyes. “After I left. I thought about you and wondered what you were doing. Part of me wanted you to find some guy and be happy, and part of me...”
Didn’t.
“You never called. You never got in touch,” she said. “If you like me, you should have done something.”
He nodded. “I know.” He looked away, then back at her. “Patience, I’ve been places and seen things. More than seen. You’re light and good and gentle. I worry that by simply being close to you, I’m corrupting your soul.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “Maybe that’s too dramatic, but it’s how I feel. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I don’t want that, either.”
He touched her cheek. “The smartest thing would be for me to stay away from you. Only I don’t think I can. You’ll have to be strong for both of us.”
She wasn’t sure she agreed with that plan. Especially when he lowered his head and kissed her. The pressure of his mouth on hers was soft and caring. There was passion, but it was restrained. If she had to guess, she would say this was more about connecting.
She wrapped her arms around him, hanging on, aware that the man knew how to get to her. Yesterday with how he touched her body and today with how he touched her heart.
Everything was happening so quickly, she thought. She had to step back and think. Make sure she knew what she was doing. And she would...just as soon as he stopped kissing her.
Justice raised his head. “Your mom will be here in a few seconds.”
She blinked. “How do you know?”
“I just saw her car pull up.”
Patience scrambled out of his lap and staggered to her feet. “We have a meeting. Store talk.”
“Then I should leave you to it.”
Justice rose. He lightly kissed her cheek, then walked to the door. She watched him go, thinking she wanted to call after him. But to say what? The man confused her, that was for sure.
She was going to have to spend some serious time figuring out what was going on. Or she could simply try to get him alone so they could make love again. It wouldn’t provide any answers, but she would enjoy it more than thinking or being sensible.
Before she could pick a course of action, her mother walked in. Today Ava was using a cane. Sometimes her MS acted up and she needed her wheelchair, but since the work party, she’d been having a lot of good days. Always a blessing.
“Did I see Justice leaving?” Ava asked.
“He stopped by to say hi.”
“He’s such a nice boy.”
Patience laughed. “Mom, he’s in his thirties.”
“I knew him when he was a teenager, so he’ll always be a boy to me.” She looked around the store. “Look at what you’ve done. You should be so proud of yourself.”
“We’re in this together.”
“With you getting stuck with all the hard work. Still, I’ll be able to do more when the store is open. I’m excited to learn how to use the espresso machine.” Ava smiled. “My friends and I are talking about some after-hours parties here.”
“I don’t want to hear about spiked coffee.”
“Then I won’t tell you.”
They crossed to one of the tables where Patience had already set up their piles of paperwork. After they were seated, Patience opened the first folder. Although they’d made a few hires, they were going to need more staff.
“We have plenty of applications, which is great. We have the college kids who want to work in the evenings and a few moms with school-age kids interested in morning shifts.”
Her mother closed the folder. “I’d like for us to talk about something else, first.”
Patience fought against a rush of cold. “Mom, are you okay? Are you sick?”
Because with MS, danger always lurked. Even with the good days, there was the fear that something bad was going to happen.
“I’m fine. This isn’t about my health, but it is about something I’ve been keeping from you.” Ava glanced down at the table, then back at her daughter. “I haven’t been completely honest with you. About Steve.”
It took Patience a second to put the name with the face. “Lillie’s grandfather? What about him? Oh no. You found out something horrible