Waiting for You (8 page)

But she kept walking forward, hoping her own smile looked polite and professional.

“Hey,” Jake said when she reached him. “You’re early, aren’t you?”

She glanced at her watch and saw that she was actually a few minutes late.

Jake glanced at a clock on the wall and saw the same thing. “Wow, sorry. I lose track of time when I’m working. I hope you weren’t waiting out front?”

Another voice broke in. “Hey, Jake—you can introduce me any time.”

She’d been so absorbed by Jake, and by her efforts to not seem absorbed, that she’d forgotten all about the guy he was with. Now she turned her head and saw a nice-looking man about Jake’s age, a little shorter but just as muscular, with long dark hair in a ponytail.

She saw something else, too. She could be pretty oblivious when it came to male interest, but since her lunch with Beth she’d been making an effort to open her eyes. And she knew, immediately, that the man standing next to Jake was interested.

She took his proffered hand, and nodded her acknowledgement when he said, “I’m Mark Hayner. And you have to be Erin Shaw.”

Except for the fact that he held her hand a little longer than necessary, there wasn’t anything inappropriate about his words or the way he looked at her. But she was sure he was attracted.

She couldn’t help glancing at Jake, and she felt a purely feminine thrill when she saw him frowning.

Then she told herself to get a grip—and to remember she was a professional here to do a job.

“Okay,” Jake said brusquely. “You said you wanted to learn more about the business. Let me start by giving you a tour. After that, we can sit down with Mark and—”

Mark interrupted, his eyes still on her. “I can give Erin a tour. It’s my garage, after all, even if you’re the design genius.”

Jake looked at Mark and then back at her. “We’ll both give the tour. Then we can sit down in the office and talk.”

The tour was actually interesting enough that she was able to focus on what she was here to do—learn more about the business. She saw motorcycles in various stages of the design and build process, and a couple of finished products.

“That’s gorgeous,” she said, looking at the bike Jake had just completed.

“Have you ever been on one?” Mark asked.

She shook her head. “No, but I’ve always loved looking at them.”

The garage and machine shop were the most masculine places she’d ever been in, from the tools and engine parts everywhere to the scent of metal and machine oil that hung in the air. And the motorcycle in front of her was like the distilled essence of all of that.

It was sleek and heavy and powerful, an explosion of male energy in black leather and shining chrome, and yet it was graceful at the same time. If she’d been asked to pick an inanimate object to represent Jake Landry, this would be it.

She squelched that thought and turned to both men with a smile. “I’m glad I came,” she said. “Seeing all this has made me realize that I’ve got to scrap everything I’ve come up with so far. I think you’ll want something more…” she groped for a subtle way to express it, but came up empty. “Something more masculine.”

Mark raised an eyebrow. “Is that your way of saying you’re not interested, or are you still up for the job? I hope you are, because I’d definitely like to see more of you around here.”

She ignored his flirtatious tone and concentrated on the question. Was she up for the job? Or should she suggest they might be better off with a different designer?

She looked down at the bike again, and was suddenly conscious of how drawn she was to it, to everything it represented. And she knew she wanted to do the site.

She almost smiled. Maybe this was the answer to her feelings about Jake: transfer them to his motorcycles, instead.

They were certainly a safer object for her affections.

“Yes,” she said firmly, looking at both men. “I’m sure I can come up with something you’ll like. But I’d like to take a week or so to work on it. Will that be soon enough? I’ve got some other deadlines coming up.”

Mark started to answer, but Jake cut him off. “That’s no problem. Even if we do go forward with this business plan, we won’t be ready to launch for at least a month.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t I walk you out?”

Mark frowned at him. “What’s the rush? Maybe Erin would like to—”

“We’ve already taken up too much of Erin’s time,” Jake said shortly. “I’ll walk her out and then we can look at that design we were talking about.”

He moved his hand to the small of her back and steered her firmly away, and Erin just had time to say, “It was nice to meet you, Mark,” over her shoulder, before they rounded a corner and were out of sight. A few moments later they were at the door to the office, and Jake pushed it open for her.

She half expected to be hustled out of there, too, but Jake leaned back against the counter and looked at her. “How was your date on Friday?”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“Your date. You said you had a date on Friday. How was it?”

It had actually been one of the most boring dates of her life. They’d kissed goodnight outside the restaurant, and when she’d felt absolutely nothing she knew she couldn’t see Evan again.

But that wasn’t any of Jake’s business.

She folded her arms. “I was pretty specific about not wanting to discuss my love life with you. Remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. I guess I was just curious, because you seemed perfectly happy to flirt with Mark back there.”

This was so unfair that her jaw dropped. “Are you kidding? I wasn’t flirting with Mark. If anything,
he
was flirting with
me
.” She took a deep breath. “Look. If you don’t want me to work on your website, that’s fine. I can recommend some other designers for you. But I won’t work with you if it’s going to be like this.”

“I—” Jake ran a hand over his hair, his expression frustrated. He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again his voice was quieter. “Okay, you’re right. I was out of line. Your personal life is none of my business. I just…” He hesitated. “I’ve known you since you were a kid. I guess I feel protective of you.”

So it wasn’t jealousy that had been bugging him—he’d gone into honorary big brother mode. In spite of herself, she felt a twinge of disappointment.

“I’m not a kid anymore.”

He looked down at her with a slight smile on his face. “Believe me, I know that. And I want you to do our website. So…are we still okay?”

When it came to Jake Landry, she had no idea how to answer that question.

She shrugged. “Yes, we’re okay. I’ll call once I have some pages to show you and Mark, all right?”

“Yeah.” He looked at her, and she looked back at him, and when she could feel the heat creeping into her cheeks she knew it was time to go.

“Thanks for the tour,” she said briskly. “I’ll give you a call later this week.”

He held out a hand. “Let’s shake on it,” he said. “So I know we really are okay.”

She hesitated for just a second. Then she took his hand, and the rush of sensation made her stomach clench.

“Goodbye, Jake,” she managed. She pulled her hand away and headed for the door like it was an escape hatch.

Her fingers still tingled from his touch.

Chapter Six

Jake watched Erin through the glass door as she slid behind the wheel of her car, the one that wasn’t any good in the snow. A minute later she drove away.

He wanted to put snow tires on that car. He wanted to buy her a new car—one with all-wheel drive and a five-star safety rating.

He shook his head slowly. When had he started thinking about Erin Shaw like she was his business? She’d made it pretty clear that she wasn’t.

Whatever was going on in his head, he’d get over it. And in the meantime, he had a few things to say to his friend and prospective business partner.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded a minute later, confronting Mark across a disassembled engine.

Mark looked as pissed as Jake felt. “What’s wrong with
me
? I wasn’t the guy practically dragging our new web designer out of here. What the hell is wrong with
you
?”

“You were flirting with her.”

“Of course I was. She’s gorgeous.”

“We’re hiring her to do a job for us. Flirting is…unprofessional.”

Mark stared at him. “Are you kidding? You didn’t say anything when I went out with our accountant. What makes this so different? When you first talked about her, you said there wasn’t anything going on between you. Is that the truth?”

“Yeah, it’s the truth.”

“So why is she off limits?”

That was the million dollar question. “I don’t want to see her get hurt. I’ve known Erin since she was a kid.”

“Yeah, well, she’s all grown up now. What do you think I am, some kind of player? I’m not just out for a good time. If I meet the right woman, I’ll get serious with her.”

It was true. Mark wasn’t a player. He was a pretty decent guy, in fact. He dated a lot but he never talked about having a one-night stand with a woman.

Mark was the kind of guy he’d fix up with a female friend, or even a sister, without a qualm.

So why was he dead set against the idea of him and Erin together?

The answer to that question was so obvious he backtracked.

“You’re right. Erin’s a big girl, she doesn’t need me to protect her.” He held up a hand before Mark could open his mouth. “And I don’t think you’re someone she needs to be protected from. So, go for it. Seriously. You have my blessing.”

Mark shook his head. “That’s nice of you, man, but I’m all set for now. It’s good to know you won’t jump down my throat if I flirt with her again, but that’s probably all I’ll do.”

Jake hoped his relief didn’t show in his face. “Hey, whatever. It’s none of my business. What do you say we look over those design specs? I have some ideas for the exhaust system.”

“Great. Let’s take a look.”

***

A few days later, Jake put down his soldering iron and looked at the clock. He’d been working since five this morning, which meant he’d been at it for twelve hours. It was time to knock off for the night.

His cell phone vibrated in his jeans pocket. Erin had said she wanted a week or so to work on the site, and the week wasn’t up yet. But he was so sure it was Erin calling him now that he flipped the phone open without checking the screen. “Hello?”

“Jake! I can’t believe you actually answered.”

Not Erin. Jenna.

“Hey, Jenna. I can’t really talk right now.”

“So what else is new? I just wanted to see how you’re doing. I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

He sighed. “I’m fine. Busy, but fine.”

“Okay, okay, I get the hint. Are you going to be at dinner this Sunday?”

“Unless I can get out of it, yeah.”

She laughed. “You won’t get out of it. This is Mom we’re talking about.”

“So I guess I’ll see you there.”

“See you there.”

The call ended, and he looked down at the cell phone in his hand. Then he flipped it open again and dialed Erin’s number.

She picked up after two rings. “Erin Shaw Designs.”

“Hey, Erin. It’s Jake.”

“Oh…hi, Jake.”

“I was calling to follow up about the website. To, uh, see if you needed anything else from us.”

“No, I’m all set. The site’s almost done, actually —I’m just putting on some finishing touches.”

“Great.” He hesitated. “I was also wondering if you wanted to get together tonight. As friends, of course,” he added, to make it clear he wasn’t trying to blur the boundaries between them. “We could grab some dinner, or go bowling, or something. Or just meet for coffee.”

There was a short silence, which gave him enough time to realize how much he wanted her to say yes.

“I can’t tonight. I’m meeting someone. But maybe some other time?”

His hand tightened on the phone. “Is it the same guy? The one you had dinner with that night?”

“No, this is…someone else. It’s our first date, actually.”

He wasn’t sure if that made him feel better or worse. “Well, I hope you have fun.”

“Thanks. I’ll call tomorrow to set up our next meeting, okay?”

“Sounds good. Goodbye, Erin.”

“Goodbye.”

Ever since he’d come home to Iowa, he’d spent most of his nights alone at his apartment. But tonight, the thought of going home to ESPN and leftover pizza left him cold. As they were heading out the door he asked Mark, “Do you feel like getting something to eat?”

“And drink, yeah. I could use a pitcher of beer and a giant plate of chicken wings.”

So they went down to O’Malley’s, the most popular pub in town, where they ate nachos and chicken wings, drank beer, and watched the Cubs/Cardinals game.

It was a good night. Or it was until he saw Erin Shaw come through the door with a guy in a suit.

They slid into a booth on the other side of the room, and Erin smiled at something her date said. He had blond hair and glasses and looked vaguely familiar, and even from here Jake could tell he was smitten with the woman sitting across from him.

The weather had finally turned warm, and Erin was wearing a sleeveless pink blouse and black skirt, with her hair loose and curling around her shoulders.

“Hello? Earth to Jake.”

When Jake didn’t answer Mark twisted around to see what he was looking at. “Damn, Erin looks hot tonight. And to think that could be me sitting with her.”

“You?”

“Yeah.” Mark grinned at him. “I would have asked her out a week ago if you weren’t so hung up on her.”

Jake signaled the waitress for another beer. “I’m not hung up on her.”

“Yeah, right. That’s why you practically bit my head off that day she came by the garage. And that’s why you’re sitting there right now like someone ran over your dog.”

“I don’t have a dog.”

“You don’t have a girlfriend, either. So why don’t you ask her out?”

The waitress set his beer down. “In case you hadn’t noticed, she’s out with another guy.”

Mark twisted around again. “Doesn’t look that serious to me. Looks like a first date, in fact.”