Stern

He looked over at her. “Funny.”

“You don’t see me laughing. The movie was your idea, but I don’t think you enjoyed being here,” she said, sliding into the car when he opened the door for her.

“I enjoyed the movie, and I enjoyed your company.”

JoJo wasn’t convinced. She glanced at her watch. “It’s early. You want to drop by McKays for coffee?”

“That sounds good.”

At least he wasn’t in a rush to get her home, she thought. “I talked to Megan about the guy that does her hair, and she suggested I talk to Pam, so I’m doing that tomorrow. I hope she’ll be able to recommend someone who can do my makeover. She always looks good. In fact, all the women your cousins and brothers married look great.”

Pam was married to his oldest brother, Dillon. A former movie star who’d been a regular on one of JoJo’s favorite soaps years ago, Pam had given it all up to return to her home in Wyoming to raise her three younger sisters when her father died. That was when she’d met Dillon.

“What if I told you I like the way you look?” Stern said, intruding on her thoughts.

She rolled her eyes. “You would since you’re my best friend. Besides, I’m not trying to impress you, remember? However, I appreciate the fact that you gave me some advice at the lodge. It’s advice that I’m putting to good use since I consider you an expert on what men like. I’m going shopping on Friday, and after talking to Pam I’ll be contacting someone who can perform miracles on my hair and help with my makeup.”

He didn’t say anything. He just redirected his focus on the road. But she would swear she could hear his teeth gnashing. Why was he upset about her setting her sights on a guy? When minutes passed and she could feel the tension radiating between them, she couldn’t stand it any longer. When he pulled into McKays’ parking lot and brought the car to a stop, she turned to him as she unbuckled her seat belt. “What’s wrong with you, Stern? I thought you understood. Why do you have a problem with me going after a guy I want when you do the same with any woman you want?”

Stern didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Is it wrong for me to want to protect you, JoJo?”

She drew in a deep breath. Little did he know, she was trying to protect him...mainly from herself. If Stern had any idea that she’d fallen in love with him, he would probably race toward the nearest mountain, away from her.

“It’s wrong if I don’t want to be protected. You’re acting worse than Dad ever did. Even he had the good sense to loosen the binds when I got older. In fact, he would tell me all the time that I needed to get out more, date, get dressed up and meet boys. He didn’t worry about me because he knew I could take care of myself. Why don’t you?”

“That’s not it.”

She lifted a brow. “Then what is it?”

Stern frowned, not knowing if he could explain how he felt without sounding selfish. Was he willing to deny her a chance to be happy just because he didn’t want to lose her? “Nothing. I’m just in a bad mood. Sorry.”

He started to open the car door to get out when she reached out and touched his arm. “Why are you in a bad mood?”

He shrugged. “Craziness at the office. My first day back yesterday didn’t go well.” No need to tell her how he’d been a jerk in front of his brothers and how Dillon had read him the riot act. “Work was piled high on my desk. I have a lot of cases to prepare for this week. A ton of stuff to do with little time.”

He saw the sympathetic look in her eyes and felt like a heel for stretching the truth. The number of files on his desk was manageable and had nothing to do with his mood.

She patted his hand. “Don’t worry about it, Stern. You can do it. You always do. You’re bright. Intelligent. A hard worker. And you have a good head on your shoulders.”

He couldn’t respond. What she’d said was the JoJo way. She’d always had the ability to make him believe in himself even when the odds were stacked against him. Like when he’d wanted to play basketball in high school but his grades hadn’t been the best. She had tutored him and when he’d wanted to give up, she wouldn’t let him. She’d encouraged him by saying some of the same things to him then that she had said just now. And, dammit, she always had him believing it. “Thanks, JoJo.”

How in the world had he been blessed with a best friend like her? A lot of people considered them odd because of their unique friendship. And there were some, like his cousins Bailey and the twins—Aiden and Adrian—who thought they would eventually become more than friends. He had told them time and time again that he didn’t see JoJo that way. She was his best friend and nothing more. He refused to think anything had changed.

“Ready to go inside?” he asked her.

“Yes, I can use the coffee. I need to finish inventory. We’re running out of supplies too soon. Something isn’t adding up.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll find out what the problem is,” he said, getting out of the car. “You’re always on top of stuff.”

He came around the car to open the door for her. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said.

“No problem.”

Pushing the car door shut behind her, he took her hand and together they moved toward the entrance of McKays, a popular restaurant in town. It was only when they were inside and greeted by the hostess that he released JoJo’s hand.

And only then did it occur to him how good it had felt holding it.

* * *

“Thanks for the movie and coffee tonight, Stern.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, following her inside her home. Whenever he took her out, he would come in with her and check things out.

After their little discussion in which he had explained why he was in such a bad mood, his attitude had vastly improved. Over coffee, he’d joked about Aiden and Adrian and their plans now that they had finished college. Aiden, who had gone into the medical field, was doing his residency at a hospital in Maine. Adrian, who’d gotten a master’s degree in engineering, would start working for Blue Ridge as a project engineer in a couple of months. Adrian had decided to travel abroad before returning to Denver to settle down and start work.

She and Stern also talked about all the excitement swirling around the Westmoreland households, with all the recent marriages and engagements. The one thing she noted was that Stern thought it was really funny that some of his cousins and brothers figured he would be next—even though he didn’t have a steady girlfriend.

“Everything checks out,” Stern said, coming out of her kitchen.

“Only because you scared away the bogeyman.” She chuckled and took off her cap, tossing it on a table before removing the band from her hair to let the waves flow around her shoulders. She wondered if the person who would do her hair for the weekend would suggest cutting it. She’d never gotten her hair cut, but if it meant getting Walter to notice her, then she would definitely consider it.

JoJo almost jumped at the feel of Stern’s hand in her hair. She hadn’t heard him cross the room.

“I love your hair,” he said softly, running his fingers through the strands.

His fingers felt good. “I know,” she said. He had always complimented her on her hair and she knew from their conversation at the lodge that he thought she shouldn’t hide it under a cap.

“Tell me you won’t cut it. Ever.”

“Umm, can’t do that. The hairstylist might suggest I cut it as part of the makeover.”

When she heard his teeth gnashing she glanced up at him. They were standing closer than she’d realized. “You’re supporting me with all this, right?” she asked, trying to sound in control of herself, of her emotions. Why did he have to smell so good?

He didn’t say anything as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. Why was heat beginning to flow through her? It’s not like he’d never played with her hair before. When they were younger he would pull her pigtails all the time, and then when she got older, her pigtails became ponytails and he would pull those, too. And more than a few times he’d helped her wash her hair when they’d vacationed at the lodge. But that was before she’d discovered she had feelings for him, before she’d begun lusting after him. Some of her dreams about him were totally X-rated.

She cleared her throat. “Well, if you still plan to go into the office early, you better go home and get a good night’s sleep. And I still have those inventory reports to go over before I can call it a night.”

“Yes, you’re right,” he said, pulling his fingers from her hair and checking his watch. “It’s getting late.”

“Yes, it is.” Was it her imagination or did his voice sound a little throatier than usual? He was still standing there, and he had reached back up to run his fingers through her hair again. Why was her body shifting closer to him? Why was her face tilting toward his?

More heat streaked up her spine and she was swathed in feelings she had never felt before.

And then Stern’s fingers tightened on several strands of her hair and he lowered his mouth to hers.

She leaned up to meet his lips, feeling weak in the knees as their lips touched. Sensing she was about to lose her balance, Stern wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. At least she had the presence of mind to grip his shoulders. Voices echoed through her brain: this is wrong. This is Stern. He’s my best friend and we shouldn’t be engaging in this sort of thing. But she ignored the voices as sensations overtook her.

And then he did something that made her gasp in shock. He deepened the kiss even more, literally sucking her tongue into his mouth and devouring it. Never had she been kissed this way. To be honest, she’d never really been kissed at all. That sloppy, wet kiss Mitch Smith had planted on her lips right before Stern had clobbered him, when they’d been in the tenth grade, was nothing compared to this. In fact, it was crap compared to this.