Page 11 of Redeemed

Maggie pointed a perfectly manicured pink nail at him. "You know good and well what. You and Sofia. What are you thinking?"

He started to answer but she threw up a hand to forestall him. "Never mind. I know the answer. You're not thinking at all."

JT crossed his arms across his chest defensively. "I don't know what your problem is but it's really none of your business."

"Not my business?" Maggie asked incredulously. "Not only is she my friend but she's an employee. A very valued employee, I might add, and integral toour businessat this point."

"I'm well aware," JT answered in a low voice. "I'm not an idiot."

"Could have fooled me!" Maggie countered. "What happens in a few weeks when you get tired of her and break it off? What am I supposed to do with that? What if she quits because you moved on to the next shiny Barbie?"

JT clenched his jaw hard and bit back the multitude of smartass comments he wanted to make. He knew Maggie was going to be upset about this pretend relationship, but he hadn't imagined her taking a hunk out of his hide to this degree. The worst part was everything she said was true.

"What makes you think it won't work out?" he finally said when he could relax his jaw enough to speak.

Maggie rolled her eyes at him. "Have you met you? The longest relationship you've had that I can remember lasted eight weeks, which is fine for some girl you met in a club in Dallas, but this is Sofia we're talking about! She's not like the girls you normally date and you know it." Maggie blew out a frustrated breath. "After all these months of you avoiding even getting near a woman, what possessed you to pick Sofia to get you out of your slump?"

JT's brown eyes narrowed on his sister's matching ones.How dare she think I'd use Sofia that way!They glared at each other for several long moments, neither wanting to give. JT's mind raced. He wanted to tell Maggie the truth but he'd promised Sofia. It gutted him that his sister thought so little of him, but he guessed he shouldn't be surprised. He'd nearly gotten her killed with one of his 'shiny Barbies' after all. He knew in his heart he'd never deserve Sofia if this was actually a real relationship anyway.

Finally, JT broke their stare and looked at the floor. His arms dropped to his side in defeat, and he blew out a long breath. "Good to know how you really feel about me," he muttered.

Maggie's posture immediately lost its tension when she heard him. She'd let her temper get away from her and gone too far. "Oh, JT, no," she said, rounding the desk to stand in front of him. She huffed out a breath and took his hand. "C'mere. Let's sit," she said, rubbing her belly. "These two make me tired and crabby. I didn't mean it."

JT let himself be tugged down onto the small loveseat against the far wall. Ironically, he'd never really given much thought to his dating habits before entering into this fake relationship with Sofia. He enjoyed women, and he dated women who were into having fun, just like him. He didn't have a trail of broken hearts left behind him like some men he knew. Now, however, he realized how people were seeing him. His reputation had been thrown in his face twice in the last few days and he didn't like the way it made him feel.

Maggie took his scruffy face in her small hands and brought his eyes back to hers. This time they were full of compassion and affection. "You, brother mine, are a good man. You are kind and protective, smart and funny, all the things women love. I just worry about you. Since I got hurt, I know you haven't let yourself date at all and now, suddenly, you're with Sofia who's a 180 degrees from the women you usually go for." She sighed. "I want you to be happy, JT. More than anything, I want you to find a woman who deserves you and loves you to pieces and that you can love back just as much." She looked at him pointedly. "If that was what you wanted for yourself, then Sofia would be a perfect match. I just don't know if that's where you are and I'm afraid everyone is going to get hurt if it doesn't work out between you."

JT squirmed under her scrutiny. "I really like Sofia, Maggie, and I know she's different than the women I usually date. I promise I'll treat her with the utmost respect and, if it doesn't work out, I'll somehow make sure we don't lose her here. I'm going to be different. I swear."

Maggie gave him a wan smile and rubbed his arm affectionately. "I love you, you big lug. You know that, right? I just want you to be happy."

"I'm trying to be," JT murmured. "I really am."

Chapter ten

The Taste of Chocolate

SofiawaitedimpatientlyuntilMaggie left for the day. She'd been a nervous wreck all day waiting for her to say something about the kiss in the hallway with her brother. Maggie hadn't said a word, however, just went about her day as if nothing had happened. Sofia, on the other hand, couldn't focus. She messed up two orders and found herself wiping down tables multiple times lost in the memory of his lips on hers and how he his hair and skin had felt under her hands. When she finally pushed open the swinging door to the kitchen, she had to catch herself from gasping out loud.

He stood with his back to her in his usual uniform of black t-shirt and Wranglers. She'd always thought Wrangler was missing out by not having that fine ass in one of their commercials. He had his earbuds in and a large mixing bowl in his arms, whisking something that smelled divine. The motion pulled his shirt taut across his broad back and made the muscles in his shoulders and arms pop with the effort. They had several expensive stand mixers, but JT always said he liked to mix things by hand for the exercise. She could see why now. She tried to swallow but her mouth was suddenly dry as sandpaper. She had flashes of those arms surrounding her in the hallway just a few hours ago and grabbing onto them to steady herself after the panty melting kiss he had planted on her. His skin had been so warm. She'd wanted to run her hands up under that shirt and…Dios mio, I'm in deep trouble.

As he did a little pivot to the music, he finally caught sight of her in his peripheral vision. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Sofia looked away and nervously smoothed down her apron. JT dropped the big whisk in the bowl and took out one earbud. "Hey, Sof. You alright?"

"Yeah, fine. Um, what are you making?" she asked, searching for a safe topic.

JT's mouth quirked up on one side. "I'm trying to perfect Miss Etta's Texas Sheet Cake recipe. I think I might have figured out the secret ingredient last week after eating it at the festival. Cinnamon!"

Sofia grinned. "You ate enough of it for three people."

"All in the name of research," JT quipped, raising a rakish brown eyebrow in punctuation. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it, anyway."

She giggled at him but then quickly sobered. "Uh, I heard raised voices coming from the office earlier but couldn't make anything out. Is everything okay with Maggie? Was she mad about you kissing me?" Maggie hadn't mentioned anything to her nor seemed to act any differently to her after catching them making out in the hall, but Sofia was nervous. She loved this job, loved Maggie, and didn't want anything to come between them.

JT placed the bowl on a counter and shrugged. "She read me the riot act, at first," he admitted. "But I convinced her I wasn't going to get bored with you in a couple of weeks and break your heart, so she came around. And, of course, that's the truth since this isn't even real."

"Of course," Sofia agreed quickly. "No broken hearts here. Just a girl escaping her family's expectations." She tried to give him a bright grin but was afraid she failed.

JT saw the tension in her face. "Here, taste this for me," he said, grabbing a spoon and dipping it into the dark chocolate batter. He held the spoon out to her to taste, hoping to distract her from her worry.