Twice Tempted (8 page)

Jason picked her up and cradled her against
his chest before starting across the parking lot, Penny trailing after them.

“Jason…”  She gave him a look of panic and
he shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter little Lucy.  I thought
– I thought I had lost you.  You’re alive and that’s all that matters, not what
anyone thinks of us.  Do you understand?”

She stared into his warm blue eyes and
nodded.  “Yes.  I love you Jason.”

“I love you too Lucy.”

* * *

“How’s your ankle?”  Jason shifted the ice
pack more firmly on to her foot before sitting on the bed beside her.

“It’s fine.”  She smiled reassuringly at
him and stroked his face.  “Stop worrying.”

Lenny jumped on to the bed and head butted
her arm.  She petted his head, wincing a little when he began to knead her
thigh with his sharp claws.

“Go on Lenny.”  Jason frowned and pushed
lightly at the cat.

“I don’t mind.”  She took his hand and
squeezed it. 

He stared at her in silence for a moment
and then said, “Move in with me Lucy.”

“What?”  She blinked at him.

“Move in with me.  I love you and Lenny
loves you.”

She smiled a little and he hurried on. 
“You practically live here anyway.  Why pay rent on an apartment that you’re
never in?  I want to go to bed every night next to you and I want to wake up
every morning with you beside me.”

“Jason – “

“The place is small I know.  Too small
probably, but we can buy a larger place.  It doesn’t even have to be on the
beach.  I don’t care, I just – “

“Jason stop.”  She said gently.

She squeezed his hand again.  “I love this
place and I love Lenny, and I love you.  Of course I’ll move in with you.”

He smiled with relief.  “Good.  We’ll start
moving your things in tomorrow.”

She laughed.  “Maybe we’ll let my ankle
heal first.  What do you say?”

“Right, your ankle.”  He shifted the ice
pack again and she reached out and cupped his face, turning it towards her. 
She leaned forward and kissed him, brushing her tongue across his lips until he
opened his mouth.

She took her hand and pressed it to her
breast and he groaned into her mouth.  “We can’t little Lucy.  Your ankle.”

“I don’t need my ankle for what I’m going
to do to you.”  She grinned.

She lay back on the pillows and pulled him
on top of her.  As he trailed a path of blazing hot kisses down her neck, she
stared up at the ceiling.  Her fear about being caught by the others, her worry
about what they would think of her and Jason, had disappeared.  She knew what
she had to do and first thing Monday morning she would speak to Jerry.  Her job
didn’t matter.  What mattered was how she felt about Jason.

* * *

Jason knocked lightly on Jerry’s office
door.  At his answer, he opened it and sat down in the leather chair across
from the desk.

It was Monday morning; Lucy had slipped out
early, waking him up with a soft kiss and a whispered goodbye.  She must have
had a deadline for Jerry, he thought.  Normally they left at the same time,
kissing goodbye before leaving for the office in their separate vehicles. 

“Good morning Jason.”  Jerry sat back in
his chair and crossed his arms over his trim stomach.  “How was the rest of
your weekend?  I’m assuming a lot quieter than Friday night?”

“Yeah.”  Jason nodded.  “How’s everyone
else?”

“They seem okay.  I’m going to call a
meeting in an hour or so with everyone who was there.  I want to see how
they’re doing.  Everyone showed up for work this morning – I consider that a
good sign.”

“It is.”  Jason cleared his throat. 
“Listen Jerry, I’m here because I wanted you to know that I’m resigning.  I
love Lucy.  We’ve been hiding our relationship because Lucy didn’t want the
others to know.”

“They know now.  Why quit?”  Jerry asked
quietly.

Jason shrugged.  “I think it would be
easier for Lucy if I didn’t work here.  She loves her job and she doesn’t want
you or the others treating her differently because we’re dating.”

Jerry sighed.  “I’m not accepting your
resignation Jason.”

“Jerry, you – “

He held up his hand.  “I’m not.  I wouldn’t
accept Lucy’s when she hobbled into my office first thing this morning and I
won’t accept yours.”

“Lucy tried to quit?”

“Yes.  I’m going to tell you the same thing
I told her.  No one in the office cares if you’re sleeping together.  And if
they do?  That’s their problem, not yours.  Lucy was a damn hard worker before
you came along and she’ll continue to be regardless of whether she’s dating you
or not.”

“It’s you she’s worried about the most
Jerry.  She doesn’t want you to think differently about her.”

Jerry studied him silently for a moment. 
“My very first management job was with a construction company.  Did you know
that?”

Jason shook his head and Jerry continued. 
“Two years after I was promoted to management, our receptionist retired and HR
hired a new one.  Actually, it was Darlene who hired her.  She’s moved from
company to company with me you know.  Anyway, I was away at a job site so I
didn’t even get to meet the new candidate, let alone interview with her.  But I
trusted Darlene’s judgement.  I came back from the job site, walked into the
office and there was this – this dark-haired goddess sitting at the front
desk.  She looked up and smiled and said, ‘Good morning, you must be Mr.
Hanson.’  Her voice was musical and her eyes – they were a clear green that a
man could get lost in.”

Jerry stared at his desk.  “I fell in love
with her that very day.  I fought my feelings for nearly a year, believing they
were inappropriate and worried what others would think.  Until one day we were
both working late and I just – just blurted them out.”

He smiled at Jason.  “I was lucky.  She
felt the same way.  A year later I married her, and I’ve spent the last
thirty-two years getting lost every day in those green eyes of hers.  Trust me
Jason – I understand being attracted to a co-worker.  Heather and I worked together
for another five years until she went on maternity leave with our first.”

He straightened and rested his hands on the
desk.  “I know you run the company but I’m second-in-command and Lucy’s direct
supervisor.  I don’t see a problem with the two of you dating and I’ve already
spoken with Darlene.  We’ll have you both sign letters stating that you won’t
let your personal relationship affect your job performance, and that will be
the end of it.  And neither of you are quitting.  Do I make myself clear?”

Jason nodded, feeling a swell of gratitude
towards the man.  “You do.”

“Good.  I’ll see you later at the meeting
okay?”

“Yes.”  Jason stood and walked towards the
door.  “Jerry?”

Jerry looked up.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

Lucy turned at the soft knock, smiling at
Jason.  “Hi you.”

“Hi yourself.  How’s the ankle?”

She looked down at her bandaged ankle. 
“It’s good.”

He continued to lean in her doorway.  “I
just finished speaking with Jerry.  I told him I was quitting.”

“Did he let you?”

He shook his head and she smiled.  “Yeah,
he wouldn’t let me quit either.”

“I heard.”

“Did he tell you about him and Heather?”

“He did.”

She nodded and looked at an envelope
sitting on her desk for a moment before she glanced at him, her dark eyes soft
and warm.  “We’ll make it work won’t we?”

“Yeah Luce, we will.”

Her hand smoothed across the envelope and
he nodded towards it.  “What’s that?”

“This?”  She held the envelope up with a
little twinkle in her eye.  “Alex just dropped this off for me.  All things
considered she was pretty gracious about it.”

She opened the envelope and turned it
upside down.  A piece of paper slid out and she held it up so he could read it.

A slow smile crossed his face.  “Is that a
gift certificate to Heaven’s Gate Spa?”

She winked at him.  “It is.  I’m wondering
– do you have any plans for this weekend?”

“As a matter of fact, my weekend is totally
open.”

“Good.  How’d you like to join me at the
Heaven’s Gate Spa?”

“I’d love to little Lucy.”

Her grin widened.  “I was hoping you’d say
that.”

He turned to go and paused in her doorway. 
“I’m making waffles for dinner.  I’ll see you at home Ms. Reid?”

She smiled brilliantly at him.  “I’ll see
you at home Mr. Young.”

END

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* * * *

Please enjoy a sample chapter of Elizabeth Kelly’s newest
novel:
“The Necessary Engagement”

The Necessary Engagement will be available in November 2013.

THE NECESSARY
ENGAGEMENT

Copyright 2013 Elizabeth Kelly

Chapter 1

Grayson peered into his grandmother’s
bedroom.  “GG, are you in here?”  He called softly.  When there was no reply he
frowned and continued back downstairs to the kitchen of the large farmhouse.

He drummed his fingers on the worn wood of
the table that dominated the kitchen.  Where could his grandmother be?  He
hadn’t told her he was coming home today but he hadn’t thought it was
necessary.  It was Saturday evening.  GG should have been home starting dinner
just like she always was.  He felt a thin thread of fear ripple through him. 
Had something happened to her?

He cursed a little.  He had told her
repeatedly that she needed to hire someone on full time to help with the chores
around the barn and the house.  Although they had drastically reduced the
number of cattle and horses in the last couple of years, there was still way
too much for someone her age to take on.

It had been difficult enough to convince
her to hire Derek on a part time basis.  In the end he’d had to threaten to
cancel his entire trip before she would relent and allow him to hire Derek to
feed and water the animals four days a week.

Maybe she was in the barn?  He stepped out
on to the front porch, it was badly in need of staining, and stared at the
barn.  He was just about to head towards it when a light in the small guest
house caught his attention.

Why would GG be in the guest house?  He
shrugged and headed towards the small and cozy cabin.  He paid no attention to
the badly-rusted Honda parked next to the cabin.

He climbed the steps of the small porch and
tried the front door.  It was unlocked and he slipped inside.  The cabin was
quiet and dark; the light he had seen from the main farmhouse was spilling out
of the half-open bedroom door.  He walked confidently down the hallway towards
it.  He had lived here for many years, choosing to spend his late teens and
early twenties in this cabin, away from his domineering, alcoholic father.  He
had been unable to live under the same roof as his old man but he had been
equally unable to completely abandon GG.  The day after his father had died of
a bourbon-assisted heart attack, he had moved back into the farmhouse with his
grandmother and there he had stayed until a year ago.

“Son of a bitch!”  He cursed as he ran into
a small side table just outside of the bedroom door.  The table hit the wall
with a loud bang and the decorative vase that was placed on it teetered
precariously on the edge before tumbling towards the floor.  He caught it a few
inches from the hardwood, his heart pounding, and placed it carefully back on
the table.  He rubbed his shin where he had banged it on the table and glanced
around, his brow furrowed.  The side table used to be in the living room.  He
was sure of it.

Shaking his head, he entered the bedroom. 
“GG, are you – “

There was a flash of white to his left and
he turned to see a small, blonde woman wrapped in a white towel.  She had a
large glass jar of cotton balls raised over her head and murder in her eyes. 
Eyes widening, he ducked back instinctively as she brought the jar towards his
head.  The force of her momentum sent her tumbling forward and he caught her
neatly, knocking the glass jar from her hand as he did so.  They stared at each
other for a long moment and he just had time to notice how blue her eyes were
before she punched him hard in the stomach.

“Oof.”  He grunted but didn’t release her. 
She turned and tried to skitter free of his grip but he tightened his arms
around her and yanked her back against his hard chest.  She writhed and
wriggled against him like a wild cat.  She was panting harshly, one hand
holding her towel closed and the other trying to scratch at his face.

“Enough!”  He shouted and grabbed both of
her wrists in his large hands.  He crossed her arms across her body and pinned
her hands down at her sides.