“I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Amy said you were here a few hours ago, and when I still couldn’t reach you, I got a little worried.”
“He worried,” Jenna whispered.
“Yeah, I know.” Bella glared at her.
“I’m going to put these things in the car. Nice to see you, Caden.”
“You too, Jenna,” he said, then drew his eyes back to Bella.
“I missed you,” she whispered.
“Me too.” His eyes darkened.
“It was so nice to spend the day with Jenna that we decided to stay late. Did you get my text?” Bella had to fight the urge to reach out and touch him again. To hold his hand or hook her finger into the waistband of his pants. That hug and peck would have to hold her over until he was off duty.
“Only the one you sent before you went to the clinic. That’s why I was worried.” He stepped closer and placed his hand on her hip.
I really love that.
Heat spread from beneath his hand across her hips, coiling down low in her belly. Bella forced the lascivious thoughts away for now.
“Sometimes I hate cell phones,” she said. “I sent you a text after my meetings. I signed up four more companies today.” She went up on her toes to kiss him, then remembered he was at work and bit her lower lip as she sank back down to her heels.
He smiled and tightened his grip on her hip. The combination told her he wanted to kiss her just as badly. “That’s awesome. We should celebrate.”
“Well, it’s only a third of what I need, but it definitely gives me hope.”
He ran his finger down her cheek, then tucked her hair behind her ear. He’d done that a dozen or more times and it still sent a shiver through her.
“I’m so happy for you, Bella. Evan made plans to spend a few hours with Jamie tomorrow. Want to spend the day together? Then go back to my place and have dinner with me and Evan?”
“I would love to.” She thought of the last time she’d been at his place. Her cheeks heated with the memory.
“Good. We’ll celebrate your success.”
She could think of a hundred ways she’d like to celebrate with him when they finally got time alone again, and none of them included food. Unless she counted whipped cream as food. She shook her head to clear her mind.
“How was your day?”
“It was fine.” He drew his brows together, and a shadow of worry washed over his face. He was definitely not fine.
“I’m sorry if I worried you.”
“Oh, babe, it’s not you. I just…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to bum you out. It’s nothing.”
She stepped closer. If they’d been alone, she’d have wrapped her arms around him and held him until the tension left him. “Bum me.”
“I just had to take a hard line with Evan. It’s nothing, really. He got a little too big for his britches. It just sucks that I had to do it.” He shrugged, but she read frustration in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. That must be difficult.”
“It’s not that it’s a hard thing to do. It’s knowing what can happen if I don’t. I see kids getting into trouble all the time, and it was bound to happen at some point, with the move and his age…”
“Teenage angst is like a rite of passage.” She reached up to touch his cheek but caught herself and lowered her arm.
He reached for her hand and smiled. “It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? I want to reach out and touch you, too.” His radio sounded from his car. “I’m sorry. I have to run, but I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m always okay.” She realized that her gut response was one that didn’t allow herself to be taken care of, and she also realized that Caden had seen that, too, and he still tried to find a way around it.
“Yeah, well. I’m a cop and your boyfriend. It’s my job to worry, and I care for you, so worrying about you comes naturally.” The radio sounded again, and he pressed a quick peck to her lips. “I have to go. I’m looking forward to spending time together tomorrow.”
“Me, too.” She didn’t even care what they did.
“Great. If I get a break, I’ll stop by later. Otherwise, I’ll call for sure and we’ll make plans.”
Jenna drove up just as Caden pulled away. “Ready, lover girl? Or do you want to stand there and swoon a little longer?”
She put her chair and tote in the trunk of Jenna’s car and climbed into the passenger seat. “I have a feeling I’ll be swooning over that man for a very long time.”
“What happened to the girl who was worried about sticking to her convictions?”
Bella leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “A very wise friend told her that convictions were meant to be broken.”
Chapter Twelve
THE NEXT MORNING, Bella was in the shower when she heard Jenna calling for her from the bedroom.
“Bells? Belly? Bella!” Jenna stormed into the bathroom where Bella was showering.
Bella peered out from behind the shower curtain. Jenna wore a red bikini and a pair of cutoffs. She thrust a plate of something that resembled mangled bread toward her. “Good Lord, Jenna. What is so urgent?”
“After seeing you and Caden together at the beach last night, I decided it was time to take action with Pete. He arrives in ten minutes, and I wasn’t sure what time you and Caden were leaving. Sorry to barge in.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You’re right. I’m not. You don’t mind, do you?” She didn’t give Bella a chance to answer. “I need you to try this.” She shoved the plate closer to Bella.
“I’m all wet.” She didn’t mind Jenna barging into her bathroom. In fact, the day Jenna stopped treating Bella’s house as her own would be a very sad day for her. One that Bella hoped never happened—even when they were old, gray, and saggy. With Leanna and Kurt coming together, and now her and Caden, maybe they needed to think up a sign that they were getting busy inside and not to come in. Like the proverbial sock on the doorknob. The thought made her smile.
Jenna scooped up a hunk of whatever it was and shoved it into Bella’s mouth. “Pete loves pumpkin, so I made orange pumpkin bread, but I didn’t have enough butter or flour, so…” She furrowed her brow. “How is it?”
“Jen…”
Jenna plopped down on the toilet lid. “Oh, no. I knew it! I have been baking the stinking thing for an hour.”
Bella drew the curtain closed and finished showering. “Why don’t you just get something from Leanna? She always has good stuff.”
“She’s at the flea market already, and besides, I really wanted to try to get his attention, you know?” Jenna went to the mirror and brushed her hair, then used Bella’s eyelash curler.
“Hand me a towel.”
Jenna tossed her one.
“That red bikini will get his attention, Jen.” She stepped from the shower and looked at Jenna in the mirror. “Look at you. You’re gorgeous, you’re smart, you’re compassionate, and you’re funny. Jenna, you don’t need extras. Just be you.”
Jenna’s shoulders dropped. “I’ve been being me around Pete for years, and either he’s gay or he’s just not into me.”