Charmed (Contemporary Romance) by Inés Saint Read Free Book Online Page B

“Then I’ll take care of you over here.” He motioned her over to him.
    “I’m here to pay.” Jamie pulled her check card out of her wallet and handed it to him, wishing she didn’t feel so jittery around him.
    “Do you work near here?” Alex finished signing his credit card slip and turned to Jamie again.
    “Kind of. I work from home, about a fifteen-minute drive from here.”
    “Maybe we can get a cup of coffee sometime, after we drop the kids off. My office is just up the street.”
    “Well, I barely have time to finish my morning cup at home, let alone go out for one,” Jamie replied, noting that both Nick and Claire had momentarily stopped what they were doing.
    “Mornings can be hectic,” Alex agreed and handed Jamie a card. She looked at it and saw he was insurance agent. “Stop by my office some time, we can talk a bit and maybe go out and grab a bite to eat.”
    “Oh, well, thanks, but I already have an insurance agent.” Jamie hoped he’d take the hint and let it go.
    “I’m not trying to sell you insurance.” Alex laughed. A strange sound coming from Claire told her he wasn’t the only one laughing.
    “I know, it’s just I don’t really … do that,” Jamie tried to explain.
    “By ‘that’ I suppose you mean ‘date.’”
    “Right. I don’t date.”
    “Ever?”
    Claire handed Alex his receipt, and Jamie couldn’t wait for him to leave. “Well, at least not for another twelve years, seven months, and … twenty-three days from now. If you’re still around then.” She shrugged and smiled sweetly.
    “Got it. But it was still really nice meeting you. See you soon,” he called to Nick and Claire before leaving.
    Nick got Jamie’s file out of the cabinet, motioned her over to the ATM machine, and swiped her card. “I’m sorry it took me so long to find your file. I was momentarily distracted.” His smile was nothing less than devilish.
    Jamie punched her PIN number and tried to think of something to say that would wipe the smile off his face. “Are you proud of the fact that you were listening in on a private conversation?” she finally asked.
    “Maybe we don’t agree on the definition of private. If I wanted to have a private conversation with someone in public, I’d get close enough so that nobody else could hear.” He leaned over a bit and lowered his voice. Warmth crept up her cheeks and she looked away.
    “Let’s call it personal, then. You shouldn’t listen in or comment on personal conversations. It’s not very professional.” Jamie faced him again, shooting him a triumphant look. It had been obvious during their first meeting that he disliked being called unprofessional.
    He glanced up from jotting something down in her file, and the moment their eyes met an underlying current of something shot straight from her chest to the pit of her stomach. Her body was beginning to exasperate her. She vowed to learn how to get her chemistry under control.
    “Twelve years, seven months, and … how many days?” Claire asked. “Are you serious, sweetie, or is that some new form of rejection?” Jamie wondered if the family-like atmosphere she had liked when she originally chose the school was such a good thing after all.
    But she liked Claire, and so she tried to explain. Plus, she wanted an excuse to step away from Nick and breathe. “Though some people seem to think that single moms are always on the prowl,” she couldn’t help saying. Nick rolled his eyes and turned away. “I strongly believe the last thing my kids need is their only parent taking time and attention away from them to go out on futile dates with a string of … ‘Uncle Bobs’ and ‘Uncle Phils.’ Ugh. How insulting to a child is that? Introducing dead-end dates as Uncle something or other. As if kids can’t figure out they’re not related to the schmuck waiting at the door.”
    No sooner were the words out of Jamie’s mouth than a sharp, painful pang filled her chest. She looked down to