Cross My Heart (A Contemporary Romance Novel)

tomorrow?”
    “Yeah, we’re cool.” As much as he didn’t want to cancel his plans with Jenna, he couldn’t let the clinic down—they were always busy on the weekends. And Jim really should observe that surgery.
    He knew Jenna would understand. They’d talked about getting together a few times while Claire was here, so they’d be able to reschedule. It would be okay.
    Okay with Jenna, almost certainly. Okay with Claire? Not so much. His daughter made that crystal clear when she came back an hour later.
    She’d had a great time, and actually sat down in the living room to tell him about Ellie and the movie and the window shopping they’d done at the mall. If he’d waited until tomorrow to break his news, at least they could have had a nice evening together.
    But he hadn’t waited, and Claire had been furious with him and stormed upstairs. Michael, as usual, had no idea what the best response would be. Go up there after her or leave her alone?
    He took the easy path and stayed downstairs.
    Maybe it was a good thing Claire had blown up at him, and that he’d thought about his breakup with Denise. He’d needed a reminder that he would never understand women, and that he was constitutionally incapable of giving them what they wanted.
    Angela had been the first one to teach him that.
    What she had said to him was eerily similar to what Denise would say a decade later. Not that she’d accused him of not being in love with her. Angela had never questioned his feelings, at least as far as they went.
    Or, as she put it, as far as he’d let them go.
    “What the hell does that mean?”
    She’d struggled to explain. “I know you want me to be happy, but what I really want is to know that you need me. That you can’t live without me. I never feel like I have anything to give you, Michael. You’re so complete in yourself. I didn’t even know I was missing something in our marriage until…”
    That’s when it had come out. The affair she’d been having for six months, with a man who, apparently, had been able to give her whatever it was she’d been missing.
    They divorced quickly, and for the most part, amicably. Their friends and family were impressed by how well he handled it. They praised his unselfish willingness to let Angela go, when he must be dying inside.
    And he should have been. But even though he loved her, he never felt like he was dying inside. Whatever emotional lack in him had caused his divorce also made it bearable.
    Now, as he stood at his living room window watching the lights come on in the house next door, he realized he’d made his decision. No matter how much he wanted Jenna, he wouldn’t act on his attraction.
    Logic was against it. And in the end, logic still trumped emotion—and the crazy, primitive urges that assailed him when Jenna was near.
    He stood at the window for a minute or two longer, and then, just when he was about to go upstairs and get ready for bed, her front door opened and she came out in her running clothes.
    Why was she going out at this hour?
    She’d seemed fine a few minutes ago, but the only reason he could think of for her to go jogging late at night was to relieve stress, or work through some kind of problem.
    The only way to find out was to ask.
    * * *
    Jenna had just slipped on her headphones when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Michael standing there.
    Her face flamed. All she could think about was his hand on her bare skin, that afternoon on her patio.
    Friends-and-neighbors, she’d decided on the drive home. That was definitely the way to go here. So there would be no thoughts of his bare skin, or her bare skin, or…
    She backed away a couple of steps and took off her headphones.
    “Wow, you surprised me. Sorry I jumped.”
    “I’m sorry I scared you,” he said. His voice was warm and deep, like melting chocolate. “When I saw you out here I was worried something might be wrong.”
    “Wrong?”
    “Well, it’s pretty late for a run.” He paused. “I only exercise outside my normal routine if I’m feeling stressed about something, and I guess I projected that onto you. Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. And I know this is obnoxious, but I wanted to remind you that it’s dangerous to go running at night. You’re not wearing anything white or reflective, and you—”
    He paused again, and Jenna knew it was because she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.