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“She always says she can’t ask us or else it’s cheating,” Tara giggled fondly.
“At least she’s honest,” Kelly piped in before excusing herself to get back to work.
“So, Jenna, it was a surprise to see you up there tonight,” Harrison said.
“Blame it on Kelly,” she muttered shyly.
“I wouldn’t say blame is the right word,” Michael opined, smug as ever.
Jenna turned to look at him with a small, very forced smile. She could see right through everything he was saying and doing but when their eyes met she had the distinct feeling he knew she was not falling for any lines. She thought he might have even known she didn’t like him.
“Our friend Cole wanted to join but work pulled him away,” Tara said, mostly looking at Michael. She then turned to Jenna and said, “He’s a funny man who loves benefits. Harrison and Michael here met through him years ago, actually.”
A server came by and placed a tray with glasses of iced tea set neatly on top, a full pitcher beside them. Harrison quickly handed out a glass to everyone at the table before Tara asked how Jenna had met Harrison. Instantly, Jenna’s cheeks turned a bright red.
“She did that last time too,” Michael noted.
Jenna turned to glare at him before she could stop herself. He was not offended, however. If anything, it seemed like getting a rise out of her was exactly what he wanted.
“Well, we officially met at the restaurant but I count the park,” Harrison declared.
“What do you count, Jenna?” It was clear Tara had some inkling of the story already but she wanted it from Jenna’s point of view.
“I, uh, haven’t thought about it,” she muttered, patting her cheeks.
“Oh, dear, why are you so red?”
“I’m embarrassed,” Jenna admitted.
“Little Fay caught her attention and I noticed her looking so I guess she feels embarrassed about it,” Harrison told Tara.
The three of them laughed but Jenna had to force a small chuckle so as to not be a bad sport. “It’s just awkward, isn’t it? To get caught staring.”
“Michael here gets caught staring all the time but doesn’t care,” Harrison joked.
Michael shrugged and took a sip of his iced tea, pointedly staring at Jenna. He then reached out to grab the pitcher of iced tea and served some in her glass to top it off before filling his own. She watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye. He seemed like the type to try disarming a woman by old-world charm when least expected to make her fall into his trap. She stopped and realized she’d pretty much accuse him of being any type of man she could dislike; but when he reached forward to place the pitcher closer to the others and his arm brushed against hers, she felt an unmistakable and inexplicable shiver run down her spine.
She snapped and turned to look at him as if he’d shocked her. He arched one of his eyebrows and looked at her questioningly. It was only at that moment when she noticed just how gorgeous his hazel eyes looked; now she knew their color. She gulped and he smiled and goodness did she find it to be a charming smile.
“Thank you,” she muttered before turning away. Looking at him for too long at such close proximity was obviously messing with her head for some mysterious reason.
His smile was replaced by his smirk and what she’d found charming was no more– for the most part. Michael adjusted his chair, ending up closer to her, but it didn’t bother Jenna. What did bother her was that her aversion to Michael was decreasing for no real reason. Was this part of his game?
Chapter Five
“That was delicious,” Cole complimented after Harrison had cleared away the plates.
Harrison and Tara had invited Jenna over to dinner the following Friday, an invitation she’d happily accepted before realizing there was a good chance she’d see Michael there. After the bachelorette auction she’d been even more eager to take his offer at calling off the winner’s day out but it wasn’t because of her intense dislike– it was because as the night had progressed, she’d found that dislike dwindling mysteriously. What had thrown her even more for a loop was the couple of strangely charged moments between them; she hated those. Kelly had started to get on her case about calling it off but quickly dropped it when she noticed how serious Jenna was.
“Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Tara replied.
Fay had gone up to her room earlier having gotten bored, and fussy, when the adult conversations had taken over. About halfway through the main course Jenna found herself sitting even closer to Michael, whom she’d ended up sitting next to for dinner much to her dismay, and speaking quite freely with him. In fact, she found she was actually enjoying chatting with him much as she hated to admit it. It was not until Tara and Harrison playfully fought over who would clear the plates and bring out dessert that it hit Jenna what had been going on. She turned abruptly to look at Michael only to find that he was already staring at her.
“Yes?”
“I’d ask you the same thing,” she countered.
After all, he was already burning holes into her face before she even turned to face him only she had not exactly noticed it. She wondered if he’d sensed something about her realization and attitude. There was no doubt in her mind he’d noticed her shift in behavior toward him over the course of the meal but it did not mean anything– at least she did not want it to mean anything. Looking into his eyes now, though, made that resolve crumble a bit. Never had she been so captivated by a pair of large and gorgeous hazel eyes like she was now; it was too bad they belonged to Michael, of all people.
