Sealed With a Kiss (29 page)

She needed time to sort out her life. John
Fletcher’s allergic reaction to relationships wasn’t going to be
her problem. She had a new job, great friends, and thanks to
teaching Bella, a healthy down payment for her first home.

Someone knocked on the classroom door. Rachel
looked up and smiled at Tess. She was wearing a beautiful bright
red jacket with knee-high black boots and a fluffy hat. Whether she
wanted to or not, she looked exactly like the supermodel she’d once
been.

“Are you nearly ready?”

“I’ll be one minute and then I’m all yours.”
Rachel stuck a big yellow smiley face on Emma’s workbook. “Does
Logan know about his surprise birthday party?”

“Are you kidding? Logan is the typical
Capricornian male. If I’d told him about the party, he would have
wanted to organize everything himself. This way, it’s still a
surprise.”

Rachel looked at the time. The cleaning staff
would set the security alarm at six o’clock, so she could walk out
of the school with a clear conscience. “Thanks for picking me up.
This was the only day that the garage could fit my truck in for a
service.”

“It helped me, too. Logan didn’t want to go
anywhere tonight. At least this way I can say that going out to
dinner was your idea and not mine. If you need a ride to the garage
in the morning, let me know.”

“I’ll be okay. The garage is going to
organize someone to drive my truck back to my apartment.” Rachel
put the workbooks away and grabbed her jacket and bag from beside
her. “Let’s go and pick the birthday boy up before he gets
suspicious.”

“Have you worked out what you’re going to say
to Logan?”

Rachel smiled. “He’ll get suspicious if I
lie, so I’m going to tell him the truth. You told me it was his
birthday and I’d like to take you both out for dinner. It’s my way
of saying thank you for letting me stay with you.”

Tess looked impressed. “I like it. I’ve been
worried all day that someone will say something to him and ruin the
surprise.”

“At least he’s still on vacation and away
from the office.”

“But he’s still working. Dan emailed him some
information about the company that sent John the death threats. The
guys that were extradited here have been involved in some pretty
nasty stuff. They’ve kidnapped people before to get what they
want.”

Rachel stopped in the middle of the hallway.
“I thought John was overreacting.”

“Not even close. Kidnapping, extortion, and
bribery were common practice among some of the executives. Dan said
there’s going to be a lot more arrests before the case is
closed.”

Rachel took a deep breath and kept walking.
“Is John okay?”

Tess put her hand on Rachel’s arm. “What
happened between the two of you? He came into the café yesterday
and asked how you were.”

“I haven’t spoken to him since I left your
house.”

“But that was two weeks ago. I thought you
liked him?”

“I do, but he doesn’t want a relationship
with me. At least not one that involves any commitment.” Rachel
opened the entrance doors to the school and waved Tess through.
“Where did you park your SUV?”

“It’s over here.” Tess started walking toward
her vehicle. “I don’t know what John’s thinking, but I can tell you
one thing. The only time I’ve ever seen him smile is when he’s with
you.”

“At least he was honest about not wanting to
be in a relationship,” Rachel muttered. “He could have strung me
along for another six months before telling me. No one knows what
happened between us, except you, and that’s all that matters.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to repeat what happened
last year. My name was on the front page of the community Facebook
page for over a week. If I thought kissing Jeremiah’s cousin was
bad, sleeping with a billionaire would be worse. Especially if I
became the jilted girlfriend.”

Tess unlocked her vehicle and they got
inside. “Think about how John must feel every day of his life.
You’re worried about our town’s Facebook page. If John shows an
interest in anyone, it would probably make the entertainment
section of the New York Times. Maybe it’s not just himself that
he’s trying to protect, but you.”

“And Bella.” Rachel sighed. “She’s such a
great kid. She painted me a picture and brought it to school
today.”

Tess started her SUV and drove out of the
parking lot. “She likes you.”

“I like her, too,” Rachel said softly. But it
wasn’t enough. She missed John, but she wasn’t holding out any
chance of him ever changing his mind.

He was an adult who knew what he wanted, and
it wasn’t her.

***

John walked into Charlie’s Bar and Grill,
wondering what on earth he was doing here.

His brother waved his arm in the air from
across the room. That was what he was doing here. Grant had told
him he needed to get out more, meet people that didn’t shoot other
people for a living.

Even though Grant’s description of what
John’s team did was over-the-top, he got the message.

Grant was standing beside Logan Allen,
catching up on what John hoped had nothing to do with Oracom. “Glad
you could make it.”

“Are you reminding me that I’m late?” John
asked.

Grant looked at his watch. “Only by twenty
minutes. Practically a world record for you. I bought you a
drink.”

John took the can of soda out of Grant’s
hand. “Thanks. I think. Is there something you’re not telling me -
like I’m the nominated driver for tonight?”

Grant shook his head. “I brought my own truck
and I’ll be driving safely home in it. The soda is a precautionary
measure. You’re going to need all your wits about you tonight.”

John didn’t know what his brother was talking
about.

Logan picked up his glass of beer. “Did you
read the article in today’s newspaper?”

John nodded. “How did you find out who the
executives at Oracom were? I thought the FBI and the CIA were
keeping those details confidential until the trial?”

“It wasn’t too difficult.”

John popped the tab off his can. “Thanks for
not mentioning my name.”

“There were enough leads to make the story
interesting. The other people were more than happy to talk.”

John looked along the bar. “Where’s your
wife? I thought newlyweds stuck together like glue?”

Logan smiled. “Scoff all you like, but I can
highly recommend married life. And for the record, Tess is behind
you.”

John turned around and nearly choked on the
soda he’d swallowed. Rachel and Annie were walking toward them.
Rachel had a smile on her face until she saw him. She glanced over
her shoulder, and that’s when he noticed Tess. She was carrying
something in her hands that looked remarkably like a birthday
cake.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Logan
muttered. He looked at the smiling faces around the bar. Someone
started singing happy birthday, and he looked as though he wanted
to disappear.

Rachel and Annie moved away from Tess. The
cake she was holding was covered in brightly lit candles.

Grant grinned at Logan. “Exactly how old are
you?”

“Don’t make too many jokes. Your birthday
isn’t far away, either. When did Tess have the time to organize
this?”

Charlie, the owner of the bar, put a glass of
wine beside Logan. “This is for Tess. She’s been planning your
party for the last three months. We were sworn to secrecy.”

“Is there anything else she hasn’t told
me?”

Grant laughed. “I think you can safely rule
out anything that might involve semi-naked women and whipped
cream.” He glanced at John. “However, as a single man who’s about
to turn thirty-nine, I wouldn’t be worried if my brother decided to
give me a surprise birthday party.”

“Would that be with or without semi-naked
women and whipped cream?” John asked.

“Either option works for me.”

John didn’t have any doubt that it would.
Except Grant had about as much hope of that happening as a drought
in the middle of winter.

Someone put a small table beside Logan. Tess
carefully slid the cake on top of it and ignored her scowling
husband. John looked around the bar, trying to see where Rachel had
gone.

“She’s over there.” Grant nodded toward the
jukebox. “Go and talk to her.”

“She doesn’t want to see me.”

“She can’t ignore you if you stand in front
of her.”

John glanced back at the jukebox. If he
didn’t make a move now, he’d never get away from the crowd of
people moving toward Tess and Logan.

“Go.” His brother gave him a nudge. “You can
cry on my shoulder later.”

John took a deep breath and decided, for once
in his life, to follow his brother’s advice. It couldn’t be much
worse than pretending that nothing had happened. That he might have
messed up something that could have been amazing.

He walked across the room and stood beside
her. He didn’t know what to say or how to apologize for acting like
an idiot.

She stopped pushing the buttons on the
jukebox. “I’m supposed to be selecting all of Logan’s favorite
music, but I can’t work out how to use the new machine. Do you know
how it works?”

John didn’t have a clue, but it couldn’t be
rocket science. He was just grateful that she’d asked him and not
someone else. “It’s probably like a food vending machine.” He
studied the buttons on the control panel.

“Here are the codes for the songs Tess wants
me to select.” Rachel flattened a wrinkled sheet of paper. “I, umm,
got a bit frustrated and kind of screwed the paper up a bit.”

John looked down at the paper and decided not
to say anything. “Is that a P or a D?”

Rachel leaned forward. Her shoulder brushed
against his arm and his heartbeat thudded in his chest. He held his
breath, hoping she didn’t notice.

“D14,” she said softly. She stepped back,
leaving enough room between them for an elephant to step
through.

John had no idea how he got the jukebox to
register the songs, but he kept pushing buttons and everything
seemed to work. He heard everyone clapping at the end of Logan’s
birthday song, then lots of laughter as he blew the candles
out.

He stepped back when the last song had been
programmed into the jukebox. “It should be ready to go. Do you want
to push play?”

Rachel nodded and pushed a red button. The
first vinyl record dropped into place and Nat King Cole started
singing. “Do you think they’re original vinyl records or
imitations?”

“Considering they’ve got songs from the Bee
Gees and Taylor Swift, I’d say they’re imitations. But good
imitations,” he added, in case his answer spoiled Rachel’s
appreciation of the jukebox.

He handed her back the list of songs.

“I didn’t know you’d be here,” she said as if
she was apologizing. “I knew about the surprise birthday, but not
who was invited.”

“Would it have made a difference?”

Rachel looked away. “Maybe. I guess I’m just
really sorry about what happened.”

John thought about all of the things he
wanted to say to her. Nothing would have made a difference to the
awkward silence between them. “Can we be friends?”

“Friends?”

The surprise in Rachel’s blue eyes caught at
his heart. “I care about you. I like spending time with you. But if
you’d rather not, then that’s okay, too.”

Rachel held his hand and pulled him toward
the back door. A fire exit sign glowed above a picture of the
President.

She frowned at the photo before letting go of
his hand. He flexed his fingers and wondered how her touch could
affect him so much. He was back to the heart pounding, sweaty,
Neanderthal that he’d been a few minutes before. Did he mention
nervous? Because he was. More nervous than he’d been on the night
he’d taken Bella’s present to her.

She looked at the people around them and
moved a step closer to him. “Tess told me about Logan’s article.
She said the men that sent you death threats were doing a lot of
illegal things. Why didn’t you tell me everything?”

“I didn’t know a lot about Oracom until we
investigated them. When the FBI and the CIA told me that we needed
extra security, I didn’t argue. It wasn’t until we looked into what
Oracom doesn’t report on, that we realized what we were dealing
with.”

Rachel frowned. He didn’t know what he’d done
to upset her.

“Why do you confuse me so much?” She sighed.
“One minute I’m annoyed with you, and the next minute I want to
kiss the living daylights out of you.”

John started to smile, then wiped it away
before she saw it. He’d take Rachel’s type of confusion any
day.

“I saw you smile,” she muttered. And then she
smiled, too. “We’re as bad as each other.” She leaned against the
wall and tilted her head backward. “What would the President of the
United States of America do in a situation like this?”

John looked at the photo above Rachel’s head,
then down into her eyes. He took a step forward and her smile
disappeared. “I don’t know, but I know what I want to do.”

“What if someone sees us?” she whispered. “Is
kissing under a photo of the President even allowed?”

“It’s better than the Pope.”

Rachel grinned at him. “Or a picture of my
parents.”

“Or of Bella,” John whispered. He pushed the
handle on the door beside Rachel. “We could always go outside?”

Rachel froze as the noisiest, most shrill
siren John had ever heard filled the bar. He looked down at Rachel.
She stuck her fingers in her ears and looked up at him.

Damn
.

The bar staff started shooing people out of
the building. Charlie, the owner of the bar, appeared beside them
wearing a bright yellow hard hat and hi-vis vest.

He used his clipboard to whack John on the
arm. “You’re too old to be using the fire exit. Get out of here
before we’re surrounded by firefighters and the police.”