After ten minutes of searching without finding her, Jackson started to wonder if Ridley was angry with him. He’d expected things to be awkward the next day but he hadn’t expected her to avoid him completely. She hadn’t seemed mad that morning, though she could have just been distracted by Matt.
He scowled. She’d definitely been distracted by Matt.
Just the thought of it made him feel, well, he wasn’t exactly sure. Matt was a good guy and they’d seemed to get along well at the party. Should he really be surprised if Ridley liked him? The whole point of their one-night rule was to get it out of their systems so they could move on. It was really none of his business if she liked someone else. The thought certainly shouldn’t make him want to punch his friend in the face.
Hell.
“Ridley? Are you in here?” He stuck his head in the guest room after a quick knock. The door was partially open, so he could only hope he wasn’t catching her napping or God forbid, undressing. His hormones were already in overdrive around her. Another glimpse of her naked would probably send him so far into Neanderthal territory that he’d just club her over the head and drag her to his bedroom.
Luckily the room was empty.
He didn’t find her in the boys’ room or outside in the backyard. He wanted to thank her for helping the boys clean the house. Even before Chris had told him, he’d known they’d had help. He could always tell when the boys cleaned up; anything higher than four feet was left untouched. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw her with the dust rag and can of furniture polish in her hand as he entered his office.
Funny how the last place you look is always where you find what you’re looking for.
“Hey, there you are.”
She looked up and grinned. “Jackson! You’re home.”
His breath caught. The thought that she might have missed him was such an unexpected pleasure. He wanted her to miss him and enjoy being with him. He wanted things he had no right to want.
She raised her hand in greeting and accidentally knocked over one of the books on the edge of the desk. A puff of dust billowed up. She sneezed delicately and wrinkled her nose at the layers of dirt on the table.
Jackson was almost embarrassed at the state of his office. He never let the maids come up here because he didn’t like anyone else in his space. It didn’t surprise him that having Ridley in his office didn’t bother him. Everything about her calmed him.
“I was wondering where you were.” He felt like an idiot. Did his hands have to sweat like a teenager’s every time she was around? He wiped his palms on his slacks.
“I was trying to finish this before you came up here.” She put the furniture polish on the table and turned to face him. “I would have come to dinner but I thought maybe you guys needed some family time alone.”
Jackson looked at her nervously wringing her hands and felt better instantly. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who was uneasy. Which meant that maybe she wouldn’t be averse to ditching their one-night policy in exchange for an as-many-times-as-they-could-do-it policy?
“Oh, be honest. You just didn’t want to eat that monstrosity she was creating in the kitchen.” Their eyes met and they both burst into laughter.
“I didn’t want to say anything, but whatever she was cooking did smell awful. Did you actually eat it?”
Her eyes widened, the apparent horror of the thought causing her to reach out for him. The feel of her hand gripping his arm sent tingles of electricity through him. He cleared his throat and tried to remember her question.
“No, she left before we ate, so I didn’t feel obligated to choke it down to avoid hurt feelings. I did taste enough of it to declare it unfit for consumption. Maybe she left out an ingredient. Either way, I don’t think what she left out was the problem, but what she left in.”
“The boys didn’t seem to like her so much. I guess she was a little strict.”
“Well, it’s not a problem anymore because she quit. I am officially desperate.”
Ridley didn’t look surprised. “Yeah, I figured that was coming when Jase brought her a spider. She was so afraid she ran out of the house into the backyard, shaking like she was having a seizure.”
“Not again. I thought we’d broken him of that. He knows he’s not supposed to bring insects in the house.”
“I think it was already in the house. He just wanted to, um, share his discovery with her. Then, after she finally calmed down, Chris pretended to see the spider on her shoulder and that set her off again. I felt so guilty laughing but I couldn’t help it. Anyway, I explained to Jase that most people are scared of bugs but I’m not sure how much help that will be in the future. But I did meet someone today who might be able to help you with your childcare problem if you’re willing to be a little open-minded.”
“I’m willing to be very open-minded at this point.” He offered her his arm. “Come on, I was going to take the boys out for pizza anyway. You can tell me the whole story while we’re surrounded by screaming kids.”
Ridley dropped her cleaning rag on top of the desk and slid her arm through his.
“How could a girl resist an invitation like that?”
* * *
“So, did you get to meet your video director?”
Jackson had taken them to the boys’ favorite pizza arcade, Bingos. Although they were eating greasy pizza in hard plastic booths and were surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of screaming children, she and Jackson were in a world all their own.
She hadn’t been sure what to make of things after that morning. He’d been friendly but he hadn’t mentioned wanting to do it again. She’d honestly thought that one night together would assuage the fascination she’d felt for him since they met, but images of their night together had been tormenting her all day.
Jackson, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine. Perhaps one night had been enough for him.
“I did, but I’m not sure if we’re going to hire him. We’re trying to do something different with this group. I really want to get it right.”
“I’m sure you will.”
He looked out the plate glass window next to them at the parking lot. A harried-looking mother was trying to pull a screaming toddler over to a minivan.
“I don’t know. I’ve been distracted lately. I actually forgot about a label party I’m supposed to attend Thursday night. I told everyone I’d be there a few weeks ago and then promptly forgot all about it.” He glanced at her suddenly, a gleam in his eye. “Hey, do you want to go to an insanely boring industry launch party with me?”
Is he asking me out?
“I’d love to. It’ll give me an excuse to go shopping.”