Page 19 of Securing Jane

As the credits rolled, Jane yawned hugely.

“Time to get you home,” Storm told her. He hated to see her leave, but they both had work in the morning, and he knew she was exhausted.

“Thank you for dinner,” she told him as they stood.

“You’re more than welcome.”

“I’d say next time it’s on me, but you already know that I can’t cook.”

Storm loved what she was saying without words and couldn’t help teasing her a little. “You askin’ me out for a second date?”

“If I was, would you say yes?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“Then I guess I am.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” Jane said shyly.

“Come on, Cinderella, let’s get you back to your apartment before you turn into a pumpkin.”

“I think you’ve got your fairy tales mixed up,” she said with a chuckle.

Storm didn’t give a shit about fairy tales, so he simply smiled.

He held her hand all the way home as he drove, and this time when he pulled up to the curb, he climbed out of the car and walked her to the door of the apartment complex. He took her hand once more and brought it up to his mouth and kissed the back. “Thanks for coming over,” he told her.

“Thanks for asking me.”

“Sleep well.”

“I have a feeling I will,” she said with a small smile.

“I’ll see you in the morning?” he asked.

Jane nodded. “Probably. We’re supposed to be able to get back into the mail room, so things will be crazy busy until we get back into the swing of things and clear out the backlog of packages and mail.”

“Don’t work too hard,” Storm told her.

“I could say the same to you,” she quipped.

Storm squeezed her hand then dropped it and took a step back. He wanted to kiss her. Badly. But he respected her no-kissing-on-the-first-date thing. “I’ll be in touch,” he told her.

Jane nodded.

“Go inside, sweetheart,” he ordered.

With one last long look at him, she turned and entered the lobby of her apartment complex, giving him a small, adorable wave before heading for the elevators. Storm went back to his car and climbed inside. All the way home, he thought about the last few hours. About how much he’d enjoyed hanging out with Jane. She was…comforting. He didn’t feel the need to constantly entertain her or to keep the conversation going. Whenever there were lulls, they felt natural. Right.

Pretty much everything about her felt right. It should’ve scared the shit out of him, but instead it just made him more determined to get to know her better. He knew it had been years since her ex had left her, but he still thought the man was an idiot. Though that idiocy had opened the door for Storm today, so he couldn’t be too upset.

How he’d gone from confirmed bachelor to being infatuated with a woman in a day and a half, Storm had no idea, but he wasn’t going to question it. Too many things had happened in his life that could be called miracles for him to wonder about the timing of finally seeing what was right in front of him.

For the first time in a very long time, Storm was excited about something other than work. He had no idea what the future would hold for him and Jane, but he was going to work damn hard to be the kind of man she deserved.

Chapter Five