See Jane Love by DEBBY CONRAD Read Free Book Online

sour, slimy taste. “There, happy?” she asked.
    “Ecstatic.” He plucked a napkin from the center of the table and ran it over her mouth as if she were a child. “Now, eat,” he said, taking the chair across from hers.
    He could certainly cook, she decided, savoring every last bite of the tasty omelet. Gabe smiled at her, then gathered the dirty dishes and took them to the sink. Her insides were no longer queasy, though she wasn’t sure if it was the juice mixture or the food which was responsible. And, thanks to the aspirin, her headache had already started to fade.
    “Since you’ll probably want your car, I can give you a ride over to your sister’s. I promised Travis and Livvy I’d take them to the beach today, so I’ll need to leave pretty soon. Not that this hasn’t been great fun.”
    “Thanks. You didn’t have to come back here this morning and . . . well, I just want you to know that I appreciate it. Really. And I’m not mad at you for cleaning my apartment.”
    He held a hand to his heart. “Gee, that’s a relief.”
    She smiled, even though it still hurt a little to smile. “So, you’re taking my niece and nephew to the beach?”
    “Yes.”
    “That’s nice,” she said without any kind of enthusiasm.
    “You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”
    She feigned surprise. “No. Why should I?” What do I care that Travis and Livvy will talk non-stop about Uncle Gabe taking them to the beach for at least the rest of the summer? She’d just have to think of something more exciting to do with them. Maybe she’d take them to the amusement park and the water park. Surely, they’d have more fun at both of those places than at the beach. Or at least, she hoped so.
    “Last night I sort of got the impression you were jealous of the fact that I spend a week with them each summer.”
    “Don’t be silly,” she told him, waving a hand for effect. “And besides, I don’t really remember anything about last night. Although I’m sure I must have said or done some pretty crazy things.”
    He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re trying to say you don’t remember anything about last night?”
    “Not a thing,” she lied between her teeth, while she prayed her forced smile didn’t falter.
    “Interesting,” he said, and she refused to break eye contact.
    Only cowardly liars couldn’t look someone in the eye. Better to keep her gaze locked on his, so he wouldn’t see through her.
    “So you don’t remember asking me to kiss you?”
    “No.”
    “And you don’t remember asking me to have an affair with you?”
    She laughed. “In your dreams. You must have had more to drink than I did.”
    “Uh, huh. So, you probably don’t remember asking me to tie you up and spank you either.”
    Janie stumbled out of her chair, ignoring the dizziness, and jabbed a finger at his hard chest. “I did no such thing, Montero. I asked you to have an affair. I never said anything about bondage.” The sound of her own voice throbbed in her head.
    “So, you do remember what happened last night?”
    “No!” Quickly, she dropped her hand and took a few steps backward. This time she couldn’t look at his smug expression.
    “You’re not a very good liar, Jane. I think I liked you better last night when you were baring your soul to me.”
    Slowly, she lifted her head. “Don’t go getting so full of yourself. Last night, I was feeling desperate, but now that I’ve had a chance to think things through more clearly, I realize I made a terrible error in judgment. I should never have trusted you with . . .”
    “Your little problem?” he asked, finishing her sentence for her. He was staring at her, his mouth twisted into a crooked smile, as if he might erupt into a fit of laughter.
    “Look, you might be a great kisser, but I don’t think you’re the man for the rest of the job, if you know what I mean.”
    “No, I’m not sure I do,” he said, moving toward her. “Why don’t you explain?”
    He