12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
He was antsy.
The next day Simon glanced up as Gus paced in the living room. The dog wasn’t used to being cooped up inside all day. Except for a couple runs outdoors between the rain showers, they’d stayed inside.
Simon hadn’t seen Jenna all day. He didn’t even know if she was home. But with it being Sunday, he knew the market was closed so she wasn’t working. Besides, he couldn’t imagine anyone going out in this sloppy weather unless they had to.
The weather report he’d listened to earlier in the day had said now was to be the worst of the storm. He moved to the glass door at the back of the house. Even though it was only a little after six in the evening, it was nearly dark out.
Every now and then, the rain would spray the window. In between he could no longer see the ocean. Too bad because earlier there had been some pretty big waves washing ashore.
“Woof! Woof-woof!”
Simon instantly knew what that bark meant. It was dinner time. He had no idea what to make. He didn’t even know what he was hungry for. He opened the fridge and peered inside.
A bright flash of lightning lit up the dark sky. It was immediately followed by a thundering boom. All of the lights went out. Gus let out a little whimper.
The booming sound that had vibrated through the duplex was definitely more than thunder. If Simon had to guess, he’d say the lightning might have struck a power pole and taken out a transformer. If that was the case, they wouldn’t be getting power any time soon.
His thoughts turned to Jenna. He should check on her. First, he needed to get Gus some dinner. It would help calm him. Gus loved food. And with a full belly, he might find a comfy spot to curl up and go to sleep.
“It’s okay, boy. I’ll get you some food.” Using the flashlight app on his phone, Simon scooped some kibble into Gus’s dinner bowl.
Once he placed the bowl on the floor next to Gus’s water bowl, he didn’t have to say a word. Gus was right there, ready to wolf down his dinner.
“Okay, buddy, I’ll be right back.” Gus didn’t pay him the least bit of attention as he continued to eat his dinner.
Simon moved to the front door. He opened it. Before he could take a step outside, Jenna appeared. Another flash of lightning silhouetted her body.
He took a step back. “Come in.”
He didn’t have to ask her twice. Once she stepped inside, he closed the door, blocking out another strong gust of wind.
“I don’t know why anyone would want to sit out a hurricane. This storm is enough for me.” He was perfectly frank about it. He couldn’t imagine tempting fate with Mother Nature.
“I agree.”
“So, what are you doing in the dark?” he asked.
“I was just going to have dinner. Grab Gus and come over to my place. If you haven’t made anything, you can share mine.”
“I was just about to get something when the power went out. Are you sure there’s enough for two?”
She nodded. “There’s plenty.”
A hot meal? Count him in. But he didn’t want to let on just how appealing he found the idea of not only sharing a meal with her but also spending more time together. There was still so much he wanted to know about her.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Are you sure?”
“That I made too much food?” There was a teasing tone to her voice. “Yes, I’m certain.”
“But I could just eat over here. I don’t have to intrude on your space.”
Her brows crinkled up. “Are you saying you don’t want to share a meal with me?”
“What? No. That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Good.” She turned. “Gus? Come here, boy.”
There was the light clicking of nails on the vinyl flooring as his dog rushed to Jenna’s side. The traitor. The dog had totally fallen for their neighbor. Not that he could blame Gus.
“Shall we go?” Her voice drew him from his thoughts.
“Sure.”
Just then there was another clap of thunder. It reverberated through the house, making the floor and walls tremble. Gus let out another whine. He did not like storms at all.
“It’s okay, boy.” Jenna knelt down and wrapped her arms around his dog.
Simon was certain that Gus was totally eating this up. In that moment, he wished he could change places with the dog. He wouldn’t mind having Jenna’s arms wrapped around him.
As quickly as the thought came to him, he stopped it. What was wrong with him? They were friends. Nothing more.
It was the storm. It had them all out of sorts. That must be it. Because there was no way he was falling for his neighbor. No chance at all.
“I’ll just grab his leash.” Simon strode away. In the dark, he ran into the edge of the end table. “Ouch.”
“Are you all right?” Concern rang out in Jenna’s voice.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He was going to have a nice bruise come the morning light.
Simon ignored the pain and kept moving toward the kitchen where he last remembered seeing the leash. Using his flashlight app, he scanned the island and found out he was right.
He grabbed the red lead and headed back to the living room, where Gus was now leaning against Jenna. If Simon didn’t know how much Gus disliked thunderstorms, he’d think the dog was putting on an act just so he could get doted on by Jenna.
After hooking up Gus’s lead, they headed for the door. Gus put on the brakes at the open doorway.
“Come on, boy,” Simon said in a cajoling tone. “We’re just going next door. Just a few steps. You’ll be safe. I promise.”
Gus whimpered. It was getting to the point where Simon was starting to wonder if he’d need to pick Gus up and carry him next door.
Simon gave one more gentle tug on the lead to see if Gus would budge. The dog took one step outside their place. As soon as Gus had all four feet outside, Simon hurried to close the door behind him.
A flash of lightning sent Gus into a scramble. He took off like a shot for Jenna’s open doorway, which was illuminated by a soft glow. Simon tightened his grip on the lead as he was pulled behind the dog.
Once inside, Simon shut the door just as thunder shook the house. Gus let out another whine. This was going to be a very long evening.
He knelt down next to Gus. He wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close. He could feel the dog’s whole body tremble. “Sorry, buddy. Hopefully, the storm will be over soon.”
“Is there anything I can do or get to help him?” Jenna asked.
“No. He’ll be fine. As long as I’ve known him, he has been afraid of storms.”
When Simon straightened, he looked around and found the place lit by candlelight. It seemed she’d thought of everything. Of course, she’d lived on the island her whole life, so she was prepared for these events.
The candlelight certainly made for a cozy atmosphere.
It almost, dare he say, seemed romantic.
Wait. It was romantic. It was like he’d just walked onto the soundstage of some sort of romantic comedy.
And that would make him the lead male character and Jenna the lead female character.
His heart started to beat faster. He’d seen enough of those movies to know where this candlelit dinner would lead.
His gaze moved to her. Lucky for him, she wasn’t looking in his direction. She was busy putting dinner on the table. It was like she didn’t even notice what a romantic scene she’d created.
Probably because it wasn’t meant to be romantic. It was a power outage during a big storm. Nothing more. So, why was he freaking out?
He had to pull himself together before he let on that he was starting to feel more for her than he should. Because he wasn’t going to open up to her. He wasn’t going to make himself vulnerable again—he wasn’t going to let her get close enough to hurt him.
“I hope you like spaghetti pie.” Jenna’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “I had some leftovers in the fridge so I reconfigured them into this.”
He stepped closer to the table and found a pie plate with a crust of spaghetti and the center was filled with tomato sauce and cheese. “I’ve honestly never had it.”
“If you like spaghetti, you’ll like this.”
His stomach rumbled its approval. “I can’t wait to try it.”
He assured himself that as soon as dinner was over—as soon as he helped her clean up—he was heading back to his place. Because being around her for too long was messing with his mind. It was starting to make him think there was no way his past could repeat itself.
This was nice—very nice.
Jenna wasn’t talking about the weather, because it was awful outside. Her phone still worked and her family had been constantly checking in. They were all worried because this was her first major storm since she’d moved into the beach house.
She’d assured her mother and siblings that she was fine. And she let them know she wasn’t alone. Maybe she shouldn’t have done that, because she could imagine that they were going to read far more into the statement than was meant. Oh well. She’d deal with it later.
Dinner went well. She was pleased when Simon went back for seconds. Perhaps she’d make spaghetti pie for him again sometime. The thought appealed to her.
He’d insisted on helping her clean up. So, by candlelight they cleared the table and with hot water still available, she hand washed the few dishes while he dried. It was all very domesticated. In fact, it was something she could get used to.
After the last dish was cleaned and put away, he said, “Thank you very much for dinner. It was delicious. Now we should be going.”
“Going?” She didn’t expect him to want to leave so quickly. “Why would you go?”
Simon shrugged. “I don’t want to intrude.”
“You aren’t. Remember, I invited you over. I thought we could do something to pass the time.”
Immediately, his thoughts spiraled in the wrong direction when her gaze dipped to his lips.
They’d come so close to kissing but had yet to seal the deal.
She wondered what it’d be like to be held in his arms and feel his lips pressed to hers.
Just the thought had her heart pounding as heat rushed to her cheeks.
Thank goodness for the power outage. He wouldn’t be able to see her blush.
“Are you sure you don’t mind us hanging out?” Simon’s voice centered her and let her focus on making her guests comfortable.
“Not at all. It’s much better than sitting alone in the dark.” She moved to the fridge. “I’d offer you some coffee, but that’s not possible. I have some cans of cola in the fridge. Do you want some?”
“Sure.”
Her mouth suddenly felt dry, so she opened the door and reached into the darkness. She moved her hand around until her fingertips touched the cold metal of a soda can. She pulled out two cans and closed the door. “Why don’t we go sit in the living room?”
After she handed him a soda, they made their way to the other room as a brilliant flash of lightning shone through the windows and lit up the whole place.
It was immediately followed by the rumble of thunder, which caused Gus to whimper.
The poor baby. He was so scared. She wished there was something she could do to ease his fear.
Then she had an idea. “Why don’t we both sit on the couch?” She rushed on to say, “And then Gus can sit between us. Maybe it’ll make him feel a little safer.”
Simon hesitated before he nodded. “We can try.”
After they sat down, Gus didn’t have any qualms about crawling up between them. She petted the dog’s head as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of cards that she used to play solitaire. “Do you know how to play poker?”
“Yes. But I’m not very good.”
“Neither am I.” She shuffled the cards.
“You’re serious? About playing cards.”
“Sure. Why not?” She started to deal out the cards on the coffee table. “Unless you’re afraid of losing…”
Gus didn’t pay them any attention as he laid his head down between his paws. She doubted he’d go to sleep until the storm was over, but at least he was resting.
“What are we playing for?” Simon asked.
She stopped to give it some thought. “Each time I have a winning hand, you have to tell me about yourself. And if you have the winning hand, I’ll tell you something about me.”
“Seriously?”
“Mm-hmm.” She nodded. “Why? Do you have a deep dark secret?”
She meant it as a bit of teasing, but as his silence stretched on, she started to wonder what it was that he was keeping from her.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s do this.”
They picked up their cards, and by the light of a couple candles, they played poker. She lost the first hand.
She sighed. “Okay. So, what do you want to know?”
“Let’s make this an easy one. What’s your middle name?”
She let out a little laugh. “That wasn’t what I was expecting. But it’s Lynn. Jenna Lynn Adams. What’s your middle name?”
“Hey, it’s not my turn to answer questions. But if you really want to know it’s Thomas. It’s my father’s name.”
She smiled as she pushed the cards toward him. “See now we both know something new about each other.”
They kept playing and asking each other questions from their birth dates to their favorite colors. It was like they were both nervous about asking the hard-hitting questions.
Jenna won the last hand. She didn’t have a question ready for him. She struggled to come up with something. And then a thought came to her. It was something she’d been wondering about.
“What’s the title of your most popular book?”