“Uh, I’m not interested in getting that deep.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m leaving town as soon as the holidays are over. I’ll accept the job from Traveling Nurses when they offer it. I thought this... we... hmm... could just hook up maybe?”
He studied her for a long moment, his dark eyes giving no clues to his emotions. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered hard. “I see.”
“Is that a problem?” She winced and braced herself for rejection.
“I don’t do casual sex anymore, Jazzy. That was fine in my twenties, but after I got married and we had Trinity...” He shook his head. “My wife and daughter became my everything. I’m not jumping into anything that could put Trinity in harm’s way. Trust is important to me.”
“Trust is important to me too and I adore Trinity.”
“My daughter adores you too, which is my worry. She attaches easily and like you said, you’ll be off to see the world after New Year’s. I don’t think a holiday hookup is in either of our best interests.”
“You’re absolutely right. Forget I ever said anything. The last thing I’d ever want is to hurt Trinity,” Jazzy said.Or you. Or me.“The very last thing.”
“That said,” he continued, “I recognize it’s time I moved on from Claire. It’s been over two years since I’ve...” He gulped. “Been with anyone.”
So, he was rusty. She was too. “Same page.”
“Maybe a rebound relationship, especially with someone kind and trustworthy, is what we both need.”
“Maybe,” she whispered, her heart thumping hard in her throat. Could he see the vein in her neck pounding? Did he have any idea how much she wanted him? Rebound man. Uh-huh. She could see it. But would that be enough for her?
The sultry light glistening in his eyes said he wanted her too.
Whew. Heady stuff.
“There’s a lot to consider,” he said.
God, his maturity was such a turn-on. Danny would have had her half-naked by now. Not to knock Danny. He was a decent guy, but like most men in their twenties, he wanted lots of quick sex. She was enjoying Roan’s much slower pace. His deliberateness made her feel like she meant something. Even if they couldn’t be more than a hot Christmas hookup.
“So, we’ll see about proceeding with caution?”
“Uh-huh.” She felt so breathless she could hardly speak. She kept imagining what he looked like bare chested and sprawled out on her bed.
“Yellow light. Feel this thing out. See if it’s a path we both want to go down.”
“I agree.”
“Okay, then.” Roan nodded. “Now that we have that ironed out, let’s find a cookie recipe.”
Chapter 10
They settled on a rugelach after Roan convinced Jazzy that he had a plan for elevating Christine’s basic recipe into an award-winning cookie. The only thing left was to hone Jazzy’s culinary and campfire skills. Unfortunately, they had less than two weeks to accomplish that goal. That meant they’d have to spend every spare moment together.
Not that Roan was complaining.
Being around Jazzy was like strolling through a magical forest. With her, the world shone brighter, and Roan felt himself fully living in the moment. Colors were more vivid. Music more melodious. Flavors more scrumptious. The cinnamon in the rugelach samples Christine gave them lingered on his tongue long after he’d swallowed the last mouthwatering bite.
“You seriously think I can make something as delicious as Christine’s rugelach?” Jazzy asked as they left the bakery and joined the throng of shoppers in the town square.
“We can make it even better.”
Jazzy stopped walking and gnawed her bottom lip. “My only worry is that rugelach is technically a pastry and not a cookie.”
Roan halted beside her. “We’ll slice the dough into cookie-sized circles before we bake them. They’ll look just like a cookie. I’ll bet you that no one else will make rugelach in a Dutch oven. I’ve won enough of these things to know what the judges are looking for. Trust me. The rugelach is a winner.”