Chapter 12
“The exciting life of a town librarian,” Jodi muttered absently to herself as she pulled her damp hair back into a ponytail and took inventory of the folders covering the coffee table and half her couch with a sigh that bordered on a whimper.
It was going to be a long night.
Not that she had much of a choice, not since Bradford Construction made a call to the City Council and shared the good news that the library was not only rotting from the inside out but that it also had a mold problem.
That, of course, had triggered a series of events that ended with the Board of Health condemning the library during her lunch break.
Thirty minutes later, she’d found herself covered in a crusty mixture of paste, glue, and glitter and sitting outside the City Council’s offices, accepting the fact that she was going to have to update her résumé.
After all the objections, demands, and limitations they’d placed on her for the library renovations, she’d expected them to condemn the building and cut their losses.
What she hadn’t expected was a group of giddy councilmen demanding that she help design a new state-of-the-art library.
Well, maybe demanded was too harsh of a word since what they really did was ask her if she’d be interested in creating another proposal.
She wasn’t and she would have had no problem with telling them that if she hadn’t been distracted to discover that she still had a job and other things…
Other things being Danny Bradford and that incredibly sweet, sexy kiss that had left her stunned, confused, and imagining a dozen more ways to get rid of the bastard by the time the second bottle of glue was poured over her head.
Truly afraid that she would put one of those ideas into action, she’d stopped on the way home, bought a half dozen pints of ice cream for fortification and after devouring one in the parking lot, decided that it was safe to go home.
When she didn’t see his truck parked in its customary spot, she grabbed her bags, stormed inside, sent a murderous glare at his door, and went into her apartment, where she spent the next two hours scrubbing every inch of her body until she was sure that every last speck of glitter was gone.
Once that was done, she threw on her old favorite tee-shirt and a pair of comfy sweatpants and decided to get the proposal out of the way and give herself the distraction that she needed.
Now, as she faced a long night of paperwork, all she wanted to do was to grab another pint of ice cream, pop a movie in the DVD player and curl up on the couch and pretend that this day never happened.
Except maybe for that kiss…
“I’m an idiot,” Jodi declared to absolutely no one as she dropped down on the couch and grabbed the folder closest to her with a grumble followed by a groan, deciding that after the day she’d had that it was completely warranted.
At least it was almost over, Jodi reminded herself as she glanced down at the notes the Council gave her and closed her eyes in defeat as someone knocked on her door, destroying all of her hopes for a peaceful night in a matter of seconds.
She started to stand up when a thought occurred to her, one that had her sitting back down, picking up her notes and deciding to ignore whoever was at the door.
Whoever it was knocked again, more insistent this time, but she wasn’t answering it.
She was done.
More than done, actually. As far as she was concerned, the rest of the world no longer existed. The only thing that existed tonight was her couch, her television, this proposal, and the ice cream in the fridge. Everything and everyone else could go-
“Open up, Jodi. I know you’re there,” Greg announced, but she simply shook her head as she said, “Go away.”
“Jodi, come on, don’t be that way.”
“I’m busy,” she said, spreading the notes before her on the coffee table.
“Are you still mad about the other night?” Greg asked, laying on the boyish charm that he’d used to get her to go out with him in the first place and then used a week later when he’d decided that she was too sweet to date.
“Uh-huh,” Jodi said, set on ignoring him as she organized the notes into some semblance of order.
“It was a busy night at work. I didn’t have time to return your text.”
“Uh-huh,” Jodi muttered, not in the mood to point out that it had been his night off or that she knew the rest of the guys had avoided her texts and calls, terrified that she was under the influence of antihistamine.
They were all cowards and she’d eventually forgive them, but not tonight. Tonight, she just wanted to bury herself in her work.
A long sigh let her know that he’d given up. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Greg,” she said, shaking her head in amusement at just how quickly he gave up.
“Goodnight, Jodi,” he said, not sounding all that upset that she didn’t open the door.
“I guess it was never meant to be,” Jodi said on a long-draw-out sigh before laughing softly and shaking her head in amusement.
That is until he started knocking again.
Sighing in disgust and knowing that he’d give up just as quickly as the last time, Jodi focused on the files before her and ignored him. When a minute went by and he was still knocking, she looked up and frowned. He was being rather persistent all of a sudden.
“Go away, Greg!” Jodi groaned, wondering why tonight, of all nights, he was being stubborn.
Another knock came, a more stubborn knock and one that had her eyes narrowing to slits.
The next knock had her tossing her file aside and getting to her feet and by the time she made it to the door, she was ready to kill her best friend with her bare hands.
Hands clenching with the need to do just that, she flicked the lock open, grabbed the knob and yanked the door open to-
Stare at the empty hallway.
What the hell?
She stepped out into the hallway and looked towards the front door, expecting to see Greg.
When she didn’t see him or anyone for that matter, she rolled her bottom lip between her teeth and looked over her shoulder to find the other end of the hallway empty as well.
Shaking her head, Jodi turned around and went back into her apartment.
She closed the door and made her way back to the couch, wondering if she had just imag-
Another knock.
This time, she didn’t say anything as she turned around, walked over to the door, yanked it open, and-
“That’ll be $75.80,” a man wearing the famous Black Jack’s pizza delivery shirt said with an expectant smile and his arms piled high with pizza and the small boxes that were normally used for appetizers.
“I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong-”
“I’ve got it,” the familiar deep voice that normally conjured up fantasies of baseball bats and a good swift kick to the balls said, causing a completely different and unexpected reaction as it came from behind her.
A shiver tore through her even as she jumped, startled to realize that Danny was in her freaking apartment!
She probably would have tripped over her own two feet and fallen on her butt if Danny hadn’t placed his hands on her hips, catching her and gently moved her aside so that he could pay the delivery guy.
Stunned, she could only stand there looking from Danny to the rest of her apartment and then back again, wondering how he’d been able to sneak inside without her noticing.
That, of course, brought up one very important question.
“What are you doing here?” Jodi asked, reaching up and rubbing her temples in an attempt to ward off the migraine that she knew was coming.
“Keep the change,” Danny said, shutting the door with his foot as he turned around and headed towards her couch, pausing only long enough to lean down and press a swift kiss against her lips, taking her by surprise as he said, “I’m here for our date.”
By the time his words sank in, he’d already placed the food on one of the end tables and disappeared in the kitchen.
Giving her head a shake and almost positive that one of them had gone insane, Jodi followed after him only to end up jumping out of the way when he suddenly returned, carrying a six-pack of Pepsi that she didn’t remember buying, pausing once again to lean down and brush his lips against her as though he had every right.
“Stop doing that!” Jodi snapped, ignoring the way her heart leaped every time he kissed her and focused on the fact that he’d somehow snuck into her apartment and was clearly insane.
His answering shrug wasn’t really reassuring, so she focused on the more pressing issue. “Why are you in my apartment?”
“For our date,” Danny simply said as he picked up a thick slice of pizza covered in cheese, meatballs, and mushrooms, her favorite, and put it on a plate.
“This isn’t a date,” Jodi explained tightly before adding, “Get out.”
“Yes, it is,” Danny said with a shrug as he handed her the plate of that incredibly delicious pizza, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since last night thanks to a foolish decision to skip breakfast and Matthew helping himself to her lunch.
That pint of ice cream that she’d devoured really hadn’t filled her up either.
“It’s really not,” Jodi said, walking over to the couch and forcing herself to place the plate on a stack of folders so that she could gesture for him to get the hell out of her apartment.
“It really is,” Danny said around a bite of pizza, ignoring her rather obvious gesture as he sat down on the couch and got comfortable.
Struggling with an overwhelming urge to cry or throw something at him, she rubbed her hands down her face. “Look, I’m not in the mood to play whatever game you’re playing. I’ve got a lot of work to do tonight thanks to your boss and the Council, so we-”
“Have to have our date here,” Danny finished for her with a putout sigh and a sad shake of his head.
She rubbed her hands down her face, having absolutely no idea how to deal with a man this stubborn.
Normally, when she said no to a man, he might make another half-ass attempt to get her to change her mind before he shrugged and moved on.
Then again, she’d already come to the conclusion that Danny wasn’t normal.
“This isn’t a date,” Jodi said a bit more slowly as she once again gestured towards the door and waited, rather patiently in her opinion, for him to get off his ass and leave before she was forced to do something that would require that defense attorney that she couldn’t afford.
“Yes, it is,” the stubborn bastard said around another bite of pizza.
“No, it’s not!”
“It really is.”
“It isn’t!’
He paused to take a sip of soda before he said, “It really is.”
“Oh, my God!” she yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
He blinked up at her, looking innocent and further pissing her off even as she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at him. “Nothing. Why?”
“Because you think we’re on a date!”
“We are,” Danny said, gesturing for her to sit next to him.
“No, we’re not! For Christ’s sake, you don’t even like me!” Jodi pointed out, the tenuous hold she had on her patience quickly running out.
The smoldering look that he shot her sent a warm shiver tearing through her body. It also had her eyes narrowing on him and her hand twitching to grab the can of soda out of his hand and chuck it at his head.
“I like you just fine, Tinkerbelle,” Danny murmured, running an appreciative gaze over her.
“Well, I don’t like you!” Jodi snapped because honestly, she really just couldn’t take any more of his bullshit tonight.
He frowned, looking adorably confused, which of course, made her wonder how a man who had more than a foot and a hundred pounds on her could possibly look adorable. He quickly dragged her out of her musings when he asked, “Then, why did you agree to go out with me?”
Oh, that was it!
“I never agreed to go out with you!” she snapped, shutting the cover on the pizza box before picking up the stack of boxes and dropping them on his lap.
He sighed heavily as he stood up, placed the boxes back on the coffee table and reached for her. Before she knew what was happening, he had her in his arms and his lips were hovering a few inches above hers. His expression was tender as he gazed down at her.
“No,” Danny said with a slight shake of his head as he leaned down, tilting his head to the side and pressing a kiss against her cheek, “but you will.”