As she entered the kitchen, Marquetta opened the refrigerator and grabbed a cold bottle of water before calling out, “So, Jensen, do you play nursemaid often?”
“Nope,” he replied from the other room. “Only the women who save me from big, scary trucks get such personal attention.”
As she came back into the living area, Marquetta noticed he was sitting on her couch again, his legs spread out in front of him. As she handed him the bottle, his lips tilted sideways into a lopsided grin. The look hinted at a more playful side to the man, and a zing of pleasure traveled through her as she wondered what ornery thoughts might be in Jensen’s head. No, don’t go there. Bad idea. Men are trouble, remember? Marquetta had learned that lesson the hard way.
Jensen’s eyes narrowed. “Aren’t you thirsty?”
Marquetta walked toward the other end of the couch—ensuring there was plenty of space between them—and sat with her legs tucked beneath her. “Not really.”
Jensen cocked his head to the side and studied her a minute. “You really should drink plenty of fluids,” he said finally. “You were pretty sick earlier.”
“I’m still pretty sick,” she admitted. Her head began gleefully pounding out an annoying drumbeat as proof. “But that’s normal for me. My immune system has always sucked raw eggs. Even when I was a kid, it would take me twice as long to get over a simple cold than the other kids in my school.”
Jensen leaned toward her and pressed a hand to her forehead. It was cool to her overheated skin and soothed her. “You’re still feverish,” he murmured, his voice filled with concern. “You ought to be in bed.”
She shook her head. “I appreciate the concern, but I’ll be fine. I just need a hot shower.” She paused as an awful thought struck. “I hope you don’t get it. I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
Jensen laughed. “I deserve it for walking out in front of that big-ass truck.”
Oh God, he had a sexy laugh. She cleared her throat. “We all get distracted sometimes. I’m just glad it all turned out okay.”
He took one last swig of his water, then put the empty bottle on the coffee table. “Which brings me to the point of my visit. I’d like to take you to dinner sometime.” He winked. “A thank-you for being my guardian angel.”
Whoa, he moved fast. Marquetta couldn’t allow herself to get involved with him. Her life was too much of a mess to add a relationship into the mix. She knew she had to put a stop to…to whatever was going on.
She quickly stood. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He got to his feet, a frown marring his features. “Well, why not? I sort of thought things were going pretty good just now. What happened?”
“In case it escaped your notice, Jensen, I don’t know you from Adam.” Without waiting for any sort of reply, Marquetta walked to the front door and held it open for him. “You can go now.”
Jensen didn’t put up an argument as he crossed the room. When he stood on the porch, he turned and said, “Look, I still feel like I owe you. Let me thank you properly.” He stuck his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Dinner, nothing more. You have my word.”
She mentally shied away from the prospect of seeing the big, muscular hottie again. Her defenses wouldn’t be able to handle the assault. “Uh, it was no big deal. Really.”
“You saved my life, Marquetta. At least let me treat you to a decent meal.”
“Not interested, but thanks all the same.” She started to shut the door in his face when suddenly his foot was there, blocking it. She sighed, opened the door a little more and bit out, “This is getting annoying, Kershaw.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to upset you, but I sort of thought that you and I
—”
Oh God, why was it so difficult to say no to the man? “There is no you and I,” she said, wishing she didn’t hope it wasn’t true. “You caught me off guard, that’s all. And your gratitude is duly noted.” She was getting good and irritated. After all, she wasn’t the most pleasant person when she first woke up, much less when she was sick. Her head was congested, and she knew how bad she must look with her red nose and hair all over the place. When he only stood there, staring at her, Marquetta sighed and yanked the door wide, then grabbed the umbrella she kept on a hook and slammed the pointed end directly onto his big toe.
He cursed and quickly stepped backward. “Christ, woman,” he gritted out. “I think you broke my toe.”
“Serves you right,” she yelled as she slammed the door and turned the lock.
Marquetta waited until she was sure he’d left the porch before turning around and peeking out the living room window. As he got behind the wheel of his BMW and drove off, Marquetta frowned. Would he stay gone this time? For some inexplicable reason, a twinge of sadness filled her at the thought.
Chapter Three
She didn’t want to feel anything for Jensen Kershaw. Feelings were dangerous; she knew that all too well. She’d had feelings for Sheldon Fairaday too. In fact, she’d stupidly fallen in love with him. They’d met in college. He’d been her professor, and Marquetta had been starry-eyed over his intense brown eyes and artfully tossed chestnut hair. Sheldon had seemed so worldly to her naïve young heart. It’d only taken a few clever compliments before she was losing her virginity to him. The relationship had lasted six months. Right up until she found out he was married. He’d been clever about concealing the relationship, and she’d been dumb enough to believe him when he’d said he was single. Even after a friend of hers had told her he was married, Marquetta still had faith in Sheldon.
It had all come crashing down the day she’d taken a home pregnancy test. When it came back positive, Marquetta all but ran to tell him the good news. She’d learned the truth that day. Sheldon wasn’t only married but a father to two little girls as well. One month later, Marquetta miscarried.
After dropping out of college and running home with her tail tucked between her legs, Marquetta had been determined not to make the mistake of trusting a man ever again. She would not take the chance of having her heart broken twice. Pigs would fly before she’d ever find herself back in that emotional downward spiral.