Page 80 of Don’t Go Stealing My Heart

“We look forward to it, which brings me to my point.” He sat in the chair opposite Jack’s glass desk.

The corner-office windows looked out over a forest, trails, and streams. A constant reminder of Whichway’s beauty, the land and people he helped support through his business, including the man opposite him, who needed this job and paycheck. And Jack was so damn close, on the verge of their next leap of progress. Day in and day out, he turned over his experiments, tried to solve the unsolvable. Even in bed, his brain never rested.

Except for last night. And this morning.

“We want you to be the girls’ godfather,” Marco said.

Jack’s mind snapped on target. Twin girls. Godfather. A sting burned behind his eyes. He passed his hand over his mouth until his emotions settled. “You sure I’m the right choice?”

Marco leaned back and shrugged. “It was either you or one of the D Squad. Figured you could at least teach them how to use a yo-yo.”

Chuckling, Jack tossed his pen at Marco’s face. Marco batted it away, and Jack relaxed into his leather chair for what felt like the first time in months. Years, maybe. He smiled at his best friend, full of love for him and his new family. He smiled about Clementine Abernathy, who would be receiving an airline ticket to India so she could join him on his upcoming trip. An extravagance, considering how tightly he spent his money these days. But travel points earned through his business made the majority of this gift easy on his pocketbook.

He smiled wider, picturing Clementine walking off the plane, excitement in her steps. Touring the city together, learning each other’s travel quirks.

His vision blurred at the edges, filled with so much goodness. Love for his friend’s blessings and this amazing woman crowded out his anxieties until something shaped in his mind: the lens issue he’d been grappling with. A change. A tweak to the extra layer of substrates.

The possibilities teased him. Foggy at first, but no…no. It was there. So fucking there. How had he missed this for months?

He’d known the optics were the issue, had understood the problem, but he hadn’t been able to pinpoint the exact complication. He saw it clearly now, because he’d given his brain a break. Because Clementine had forced him to focus on something else, like remembering that movie title or word after you’d quit obsessing over it.

He shot to his feet. “I have to get to the research team, but tell Lauralee I’m beyond honored. I’ll swing by tomorrow. Might bring a gift or seven.” He might be able to save the job Marco didn’t know he could lose.

Marco stood and pulled Jack into a hug. “Thanks, man. And just bring your girl. We’d love to meet her.”

He’d love that, too, slotting Clementine more permanently in his life. He also couldn’t wait to thank her for indirectly helping with his breakthrough.

24

Although Jack’s extravagant home was as foreign to Clementine as living in the North Pole, she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

She lounged in his shelter, a habit she’d come to enjoy the past two days of cohabitation. The only thing missing was Lucy. Her bearded dragon would be right at home here, too. Lucy would be here in a few weeks, sharing Ricky’s enclosure, enjoying the humidity and foliage. A luxury compared to her small terrarium. Clementine would visit often, like she did now. It was so easy to lose track of hours in here. Too easy, and Jack would be dressed soon, leaving to get ready for tonight’s performance. His second-to-last Elvis concert.

She lay on her side and faced Ella. “He’s being sneaky,” she told the chameleon.

Jack had a particular fondness for the sweet thing, sang to her softly at times. Ella would settle near the glass, her color its natural shades of light green, proving her calmness. “I think he bought me something,” Clementine said. “And he knows it’s going to piss me off.”

Ella stared dead ahead.

Clementine sighed. “If it’s excessive, I’ll rip him a new one. I don’t even have a job yet and he’s already put a roof over my head.”

Unless her fortunes changed soon. This morning’s hands-on interview had gone well. Ray’s Auto Body was as much an old boy’s club as any mechanic shop, but they’d tested her diagnostic skills. After Ray had described the Volkswagen’s laments—engine light on, exhaust smoke, shrieking noise—she’d maneuvered an endoscope down the Golf’s turbine, and bingo! Turbocharger failure. Ray had grudgingly praised her diagnosis. The win didn’t mean he’d offer her the job. “But maybe, right?” she said to Ella. “He might take pity on me.”

The chameleon continued staring.

Clementine flopped onto her back. This one-way conversation wasn’t so different from emailing her father or talking to Lucy at home. No, not home. New York wasn’t home any longer. Whichway was home. Jack was home.

Knocking sounded from the entrance—Jack signaling his departure.

She dragged herself up and met him in the entryway. The second he saw her, he dropped his phone on the side table, like it had burned his hand.

“You’re up to something, mister.” Being a super sneak. The past two days he’d jumped when she’d entered a room, quick to hide his phone. “Are you having an affair?”

He glowered playfully and stalked toward her. “How would I have stamina for an affair? You keep me up all night.”

“You’re Marathon Jack, remember? Maybe all your time at work is a ruse.”

“Not a chance in hell.” He dropped an open-mouthed kiss on her neck and worked lower. “I’m going to take you from behind tonight. Go so deep. Come so hard in you.”