They walked in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Looking down at the woman beside him, Danny felt his pulse pick up again. Just the fact that she was standing near him was enough to startle him before, but the small details were now suddenly obvious – her long, dark blonde waves brushed against his fingers as he guided her, something that only enhanced the dryness of his mouth as he noticed the way her dark wash jeans molded against her perfectly. She had one of those cotton tanks on underneath a plain blue cardigan; there were small diamond studs in her ears, and she smelled like the jasmine shampoo he knew to be in her shower.
Danny watched her chewing at her bottom lip for a moment and barely suppressed a groan. The desire that caught him unaware when he found her standing in the lobby of his office building seemed to help his mind level out. He wanted her… and the only thought that had entered his mind as they stood in the lobby was getting her away from her troop of friends; they were probably great folks but only served to confuse pretty much any situation. He decided, as they walked, that he didn't really give a damn if he'd made a scene by marching her off to have coffee with him.
They were quickly approaching another stonework building, across from the three story one that held the lobby and offices. Jane's thoughts were a whirlwind as they crossed the green. Tall trees, the tips of which were beginning to show their autumn colors, that so took her breath away when combined with the natural beauty of the buildings and courtyard were now a blur.
Two things stood out amidst the tornado in her mind – the undeniably warm feeling of his hand at the small of her back, guiding, and the fact that her giggling friends were no longer protecting her from the man that suddenly cropped back up in her life. She could feel the weight of his watch through the thin fabric of her cardigan and relished in the small details of his masculinity; the jeans he wore to work, which combined with the brown boots and deliciously un-tucked yet fitted button up shirt he wore made him look casual, as if he belonged amidst the trees and natural beauty of the land around him, while at the same time exuding an almost executive type of power. Jane glanced up and felt her fingers twitch. His dark hair was nearly long enough to fall into his eyes, the thick strands wavy and slightly curling against the collar of his shirt. The sudden impulse to push the hair away from his face was strong. Sucking in a breath, she realized the sound must have carried as his impossibly light green eyes looked down and met hers. He grinned slightly and Jane jumped, realizing they'd stopped walking and he had reached over her head and was holding the door open for her.
He motioned for her to sit and held up two fingers to the young man behind the counter. In a matter of moments, it seemed, large white cups of steaming hot coffee appeared in front of them. Jane, grateful for something to focus on, nervously tore open a packet of Splenda and dumped it in.
Danny watched her over the top of his cup as he drank, "So…"
Jane sighed slightly. She was determined to act normally, as if sitting here having a cup of coffee with this man was nothing outrageous. He didn't let his friendly smile slip, but she could feel his eyes burning in to hers. Was his face arranged differently, she would think he was angry. She tilted her head a little as if it would help her get a better read on him.
No, it's not anger, she thought, awareness followed closely by yet another deep blush. It's desire.
He wants me.
Jane felt her fingers twitch again as she resisted the urge to rub her temples. Taking a deep breath, she took a sip of coffee and then sat the cup down carefully on the table, her fingers absently following the wooden circles under the table's lacquered surface.
Get a grip, sweetheart,
she told herself firmly, and straightened, looking Danny fully in the eye. She smiled.
"So…"
The realization that she could tell, just by looking at him, that he wanted her, was a spark in the hay to the knowledge that she wanted him, too.
Jane briefly thought of Luke, and the two or three boyfriends that preceded him. They were, by all appearances, sensible guys. And in the small town where she'd grown up, they were alright, even if they didn't set her afire. They had been safe, polite. Boring. When they weren't total jerks, of course.
An ancient memory of Jake, her boyfriend in high school, dumping her to go out with a girl generally considered to be the biggest slut in her Virginia town so he'd score on prom night was followed closely by the unwanted image of Luke and Rachel Jarrett. Jane let out a self-deprecating snort of laughter.
Yeah,
she thought,
Luke was the Rat King in a long line of real fucking princes…
She looked up from her cup and studied the man across the table from her. He sat looking at her, one dark eyebrow raised in question, undoubtedly at her snort.
Jane felt her pulse quicken. Chewing on her bottom lip, she allowed another deep breath before questioning herself again. She knew that he made her uncomfortable, but it wasn't necessarily in a bad way. Just new. It wasn't, either, in the way that Carrie had watched them either, in a wedding induced fog of love.
No, this wasn't some compelling whisper of fate, like the windblown romance book covers suggest. It was compelling, but in a tangible way. She recognized it as very human, very basic, very much a force of nature…
"Listen," Danny said, clearing his throat. He'd watched her battle with herself for a minute or two, and though he realized it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, he didn't like the warring factions she was evidently experiencing. "I thought we could have a cup of joe and chat, but if I'm making you uncom-"
"Would you have dinner with me?" she interrupted evenly.
Danny blinked, looking at her. He thought he'd read her face pretty well, before, when she'd seemed anxious, as if there were a million places she'd rather be…
Now, she watched him expectantly, cradling the cup of coffee in her hands.
"Yes," he replied, just as calmly, though bewildered at her rapid-fire change.
"Great," she said, relaxing into the low, cushy backing of the booth they were sitting in. "That's great," she repeated, as if to herself.
Now, though he smiled slightly, it was Danny's turn to feel a bit awkward. He preferred doing the asking. Looking down into his cup, he threw the last of the coffee down and waved at Hank behind the counter for more.
When he looked back at Jane, she was staring out the window and onto the Wright & Lewis property. Where they sat faced away from the admin and factory buildings, and afforded a view of the wooded grounds that sloped out from the back of the café and down into a valley. Though the trees were too dense to make out the winding path, Jane could see the beginnings of a wide nature walk stretching away from the small cluster of buildings.
"What is it that y'all do?" she asked casually, looking back to Danny before smiling at the freckled kid refilling her coffee cup.
Danny stopped scrutinizing the woman in front of him and glanced out onto the grounds stretching away from the windows of the café.
"Wright & Lewis?"
She nodded.
"We manufacture hunting rifles," he replied, returning to look at her as he picked his coffee cup back up. "On the side, we have three nationally recognized historical sites, hunting and fishing camps during the summer, private events…" he trailed off, jerked his head to the bakery display cases with a smile, "We also make a mean scone."
Jane grinned. "Is that a fact?"
"Gospel truth," he returned, holding up two fingers. "Scout's honor."
She took another sip of coffee, then tilted her head at him again. "...and what is it
you
do?"
