Page 3 of Broken Boss Daddy
Oh, shit.
Chapter 2: Grant
Imight have still been in the middle of my power nap that did absolutely nothing to relieve me of my exhaustion. That was the only explanation for why Jessica Flynn stood in front of me with a look of surprise that matched mine.
There was no way that the girl from that bar years ago could actually be here. There was no such thing as fate.Right?
“Jessica,” I repeat, her name so foreign yet so familiar to my tongue. All the memories from that night came back to me—the good and the bad.
I wanted to wrap her up in a hug. I wanted to drag her to the nearest closet and demand she tell me what happened, or even kiss her until she remembered me. Yet, seeing how uncomfortable she looked in my presence put a stop to any such thoughts.
My smile dimmed as she looked behind my shoulder. I followed her gaze, wondering what captured her attention but saw nothing there. Facing her again, I couldn’t help but take in again the features of the woman who had blazed through my life like a hurricane.
Jessica’s hazel-green eyes stared me down skeptically, her teeth worried her bottom lip, and her small nose twitched the slightest bit as she repeatedly glanced over my shoulder.
It took all I had not to pull her into me and bite that lip myself.
I had forgotten how short she was compared to my six feet, and her slim yet subtly curvy body had me drumming up images of her on her back with me climbing over her…
“Grant.” Her soft voice shook me from my thoughts, but it felt more like a dismissal than a greeting.
She started to take a step around me, purposely leaving me behind in the blink of an eye. I’d never been more confused in my life except for the time she didn’t bother calling me.
I reached out for her before she could escape me again, holding onto her arm as I asked, “What are you doing here?”
Jessica chuckled nervously. “What do people do at a hospital?” She looked behind me once more.
I let out a gust of laughter at her comment, remembering she had a sarcastic side. Because I was lost in looking at her, Jessica thought she could take another step away, but I stopped her again.
“I’ve thought about you ever since that night.”
“You… you did?” Jessica gasped, and tensed beneath my touch.
Instantly letting go of her arm, I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my coat and cleared my throat. Jessica folded hers across her chest, putting up a guard that had me wondering just what had happened to her.
“That night we shared? Jess, it was something I’ll never forget.”
She hesitated for a second; her eyes tried to tell me something I couldn’t quite make out. “Um, I’m okay,” she eventually revealed. “I finally got that teaching degree I told you about.”
“No shit! That’s great, Jess! Do you teach around town?”
“Uh, yeah, at the local elementary school.”
“Which one? If I remember correctly there are two elementary schools in town.”
She gave me a curious look. “How would you know that?”
“My grandparents lived here before my grandfather passed and my grandma moved in with my mom back home.”
“Oh. Well, I teach at Greenside Elementary.” Jessica went quiet, and the tension that filled the hallway was almost too much to bear.
I filed away that little piece of information because I had a feeling Jessica wouldn’t want anything to do with me after this meeting, but I wasn’t ready to let this woman go quite yet.
Again, she peeked behind me and I wondered if she was waiting for someone. She looked like she was ready to make a run for it, far away from me. There I was wanting to wrap myself around her, and all she wanted to do was put as much distance between us as possible. Even a blind person could tell that much from her behavior.
Us running into each other was strange. Our entire conversation was strange. But what was not strange was my building desire.Fuck, if I could only take us back in time.I wanted a taste of her again, a thought probably brought a smug smile to my face. It definitely caught her attention.
“What’s that for?” Jessica asked.