He blew out a shaky-sounding breath. “Yeah. Of course. You’re leaving town shortly. I get it.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship. I like my life the way it is, where I’m free to pack up my trailer and move from place to place. I’m one of those people who is perfectly happy on my own.”
“An admirable quality.”
“It’s not that I’m some kind of loner or don’t like people. I do. I have friends. I just don’t...put down stakes.”
He studied her, his expression shuttered. “You don’t owe me explanations, Jess. No is sufficient, I promise.”
Most guys would have embraced the idea of a woman who didn’t want anything serious. She found it rather refreshing that Nate didn’t even try to persuade her he was that kind of guy.
“Okay. Thanks. I...hope this doesn’t make things awkward between us.”
He shrugged. “Why would it? You’re leaving soon. I think I can manage to rein in my rampaging lust for you until you’re gone.”
She had to admit, her toes curled again at the idea that this entirely too appealing man could use the words rampaging lust about her, even in that dry tone. She also wasn’t entirely sure she could do the same.
“We should go in,” she said. “Your mom will probably be wondering where we are.”
“I doubt that,” he muttered. “I have a fairly good idea she suspects exactly what we’re doing.”
That did complicate things. Did Eleanor suspect her attraction to Nate? Oh, Jess hoped not. She wouldn’t really be surprised, though. He was right. His mother was sharp and seemed to know everything that went on with those she cared about.
She sincerely liked the other woman and didn’t want to dash any hopes she might have regarding Jess and her son.
“You go ahead. I, uh, need a minute.”
She was confused for only a second, then could feel her face heat. He was obviously still aroused from their kiss, as she was, but it was much harder for a guy to conceal that, especially when he was walking into his mother’s kitchen.
“Okay. I’ll see you inside.”
She hurried away, fighting with everything she had not to rush right back into his arms.
19
Nate
Nate watched Jess walk into the house with her brisk, ground-covering gait he found so compelling.
Face it. He found everything about her compelling.
He took a deep breath of air scented with coastal pine and sand and salt water, willing his arousal to subside.
He felt like a damn teenage boy, so turned on by a kiss that he couldn’t seem to think about anything else but chasing after Jess, pressing her against the nearest surface and kissing her again until she changed her mind.
He wouldn’t, of course. But he wanted to.
He still wasn’t sure how he had found the strength of will to let her walk away.
He couldn’t remember a woman ever having this effect on him. What was it that drew him to her so fiercely?
He couldn’t quite put a finger on it but thought it might have something to do with the complex mix of vulnerability and bravado he sensed in her, that hint that she had experienced deep pain but was doing her best not to let it define her.
It didn’t matter. She was right. He might be wildly attracted to her but nothing could come of it.
He hadn’t lived like a monk since Michelle died. He dated here and there. Not often and nothing serious. At first, he had been too busy surviving with a young daughter and trying to build his construction business to even have time to date.
About five years earlier, he had gone through a time when he had started thinking about remarrying. He’d had two semiserious relationships. One woman had ended up not getting along with Sophie—her fault totally, not Sophie’s, who had adored her—and the other, for some weird reason, had resented his close relationship with his parents.
After those disasters, Nate had decided he would wait until Sophie was eighteen before he considered another serious relationship.
Jess was the kind of woman who tempted a man to forget all his best intentions. Her tough exterior fascinated him, especially as he suspected it was only a crackly veneer around a softness she didn’t want people to see.
No matter. She had made her position clear. She didn’t want a fling and she wasn’t looking for a long-term relationship. That didn’t leave a guy much room to work with.
Too bad for him.
After a few more minutes, he decided he was presentable enough to go inside.
He walked into his mother’s kitchen to find Jess at the island eating a sandwich and his mother telling her about a cruise she and Jack had taken to the Norwegian fjords soon after his father was diagnosed.
Jess met his gaze, her color high, but quickly looked away. In that instant, Nate knew he couldn’t sit there pretending he was anything but hungry for the delectable Jess Clayton. Especially not while his mother looked on.
He poured water from the filtered pitcher in the refrigerator and took a long swallow then gave his mom a look of apology.
“I need to head back to the job site. Will you forgive me if I grab one of your delicious sandwiches and eat it on the go?”
“Absolutely.” Eleanor gave him a fond look. “Thank you so much for taking the time when you’re so busy to help out.”
“Glad to do it,” he said, still avoiding Jess’s gaze.
He didn’t mind helping out but he should have resisted temptation and done without the kiss. The taste of Jess would linger on his mouth all afternoon.
Hell, maybe for the rest of his life.
“Thank you for the sandwich. I meant to ask, do you mind if I send Sophie over after school to hang out here?”
“Not at all. Not at all. We would love to have her, right, Jess?”
“Sure. We can always put her to work somewhere,” she said with a slightly diabolical smile that somehow still made him want to kiss her senseless.
Yeah. He needed to get out of there before he did something stupid in front of his mother.
“Maybe she would like to go to Redding with you to help you drop things off at the shelter,” Eleanor suggested. “Would that be okay with you, Nathaniel?”
It took him a minute to pick up the loose thread of the conversation and remember what she was talking about. “Sure. That’s fine with me, if Sophie is up for it.”
“We’ll ask her and if she decides to go, I’ll let you know,” Eleanor said. “Let me wrap up your sandwich.”