Jake watched as Caley gave the guy a dazzling smile. “Could you?” she asked. “That would really be great.”
“I’m here to serve,” he said with a crooked grin. He looked over at Jake and nodded. “Hey, buddy, you can be on your way. I’ll help the lady with her problem.”
Caley turned to Jake. “Well, that saves us both some time. Aren’t we lucky he came along?”
Jake felt a surge of jealousy course through his body. The reaction stunned him. He remembered feeling that way when they’d been younger, when she’d turned her eyes toward other boys. But Jake had assumed he’d outgrown that particular emotion. “You know each other?”
“That’s Jeff Winslow. You remember him. He used to work at the marina. He lived in town. He’s the police chief now.”
“That’s Jeff Winslow?” As a teenager, Winslow considered himself the Casanova of the precollege crowd. He had girls falling at his feet and, according to rumor, he usually picked them up, seduced them and then tossed them aside for new conquests. The guys used to tease him that he’d have to take a second job in order to pay for the condoms he used. “Yeah, I remember him.”
“He stopped me the night I got into town. I was talking on my cell phone. He let me off with a warning.”
“You can’t go out with him,” Jake said.
Caley gasped. “He hasn’t asked me out.”
“He’s planning to. I can tell by the look in his eyes. And you can’t go out with him. He’s a player.”
“You know, you used to tell me who I could and couldn’t date when we were kids and I used to listen to you,” Caley said. “But I’m a big girl now and I can run my own life.”
“That’s because you were too naive to see what guys really wanted.”
“It’s no wonder that I remained a virgin until I got to college. I was seriously beginning to develop a complex.” She paused. “And I know exactly what you want. So see, I have learned a few things.” Caley shook her head. “One moment, you’re trying to talk me into bed and the next, you’re acting like my big brother. No wonder I’m so mixed up.”
“I don’t want to be your big brother,” Jake said.
“Then stop telling me how to run my life.”
God, she could be so stubborn at times. Was she this way with all men or was it just him? “Well, I guess you don’t need me or my advice. Officer Jeff can take care of all your needs. Automotive and otherwise.”
Caley stared at him. “What is this? Are you jealous?”
The accusation stung, even though it was true. Jake trudged back up to the road and Caley trailed after him, stumbling in the deep drift that the plows had pushed aside. He grabbed her waist and helped her through the snow, then brushed off her pant legs when she reached the pavement. “I gotta go try on my tux. I’ll see you later. Good luck with Emma.”
“Jake, I—”
“I’ll talk to you later,” he repeated. He strode back to his truck and hopped inside, then skidded out on the road, heading towards town. There were moments when he wondered what he found so fascinating about Caley Lambert. She seemed to go out of her way to exasperate him. If she thought for even a moment that he was dictating to her, she’d dig in her heels and refuse to move.
No, he didn’t want to act like her older brother! He had far more carnal interests than that. He looked at her as a woman, a beautiful, sexy, desirable woman. And he wanted her to see him as a man, not that guy who used to drive her crazy every summer.
How could he alter the dynamic of a relationship that seemed as if it were carved in stone? How could he make her see that they’d be so good together? He didn’t want her to forget the past. That’s what made things so easy between them. He just wanted her to see that they weren’t kids anymore.
Things had changed. He’d changed. And he was ready to give her all she’d wanted all those years ago. Only this time, he could give her more than just one night of clumsy lovemaking and empty promises. This time, it could be a beginning.
“WHERE’S HE GOING in such a hurry?”
Caley stared at Jake’s truck as it roared off down the snow-covered road. “He has an appointment in town,” she murmured.
Jeff watched as he drove off, frowning. “He’s speeding. Too fast for conditions. He’s lucky I don’t chase after him and slap him with a ticket.” He walked around to the back of the car and hooked the chain to a metal plate beneath the back bumper. “So, are you and him—”
“Together? No,” Caley said. “We’re just … old friends.”
“You know, he once threatened to beat the crap out of me if I did more than kiss you on our date.”
“I guess you weren’t too scared of him.”
Jeff grinned. “Hey, I knew why you went out with me. It wasn’t too hard to see what was going on between you two. He made things pretty clear.”
“No,” Caley said. “There was never anything. He was just … like an older brother.”
“I don’t think so,” Jeff said as he walked back to his truck. “I’m pretty sure the guy was in love with you.”
Caley stepped out onto the road, puzzled by Jeff’s revelation. How could he have gotten all that from a simple warning? Still, Jake had admitted as much, only she thought he’d been teasing. What if it was true? What if his feelings had run much deeper than she ever suspected?
Jeff hooked the chain to his truck. He slowly pulled it taut. A moment later, her car began to move as it was gradually drawn back onto the road. “That’s good!” she shouted.
Jeff parked the truck. He walked to the front of her rental car and examined it. “No damage,” he said.
“Thanks.” Caley reached for the door and Jeff quickly opened it for her. “I’m lucky you came along.”
“Hey, there’s a good band playing out at Tyler’s tomorrow night. We could catch some dinner and then head out there. I mean, if you aren’t busy with family stuff. And I promise I won’t try any funny business.”
Caley hesitated. There was absolutely no spark between her and Jeff, and she didn’t want to lead him on. Besides, if she wanted sparks, she had the Fourth of July fireworks in Jake. “I’m trying to spend some time with my sister.”
“Yeah, I heard she was getting married. Your mom told me when I saw her in town yesterday. That’s a surprise. Little Emma Lambert and Sam Burton. Hard to believe they’re old enough to get married.”
“Maybe Emma and I will stop by and check it out,” she said. A girl’s night out might make her sister reconsider getting married. She had far too many oats to sow yet and Tyler’s Roadhouse was known as a single girl’s paradise.
“Well, then, I’ll see you if I see you. I know the guy at the door. Just give him your name and he’ll let you in without the cover charge. You drive careful now, Caley. I don’t want to catch you in another snowbank. If I do, I might have to toss you in jail.”
He opened her car door for her and she got inside. As Caley drove off, she glanced in the rearview mirror. Jeff Winslow was an attractive guy. And now that she was single again, she ought to have been flattered that he’d turned his attention to her.
Caley had never put much stock in sexual chemistry, but now she finally understood what it was all about. When she and Jeff sat in the same test tube, nothing happened. But when she got mixed up in a beaker of Jake, the combination erupted into heat and passion and uncontrolled need.
There was a strange connection between them, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Something