Oh, shit. She couldn’t say he was purely a figment of her imagination. Then she really would be a dead woman walking. “Of course he exists.”
“Then who is he? I mean I’m going to write this story either way. I’d like to have a quote from you to give it balance.”
Oh, wasn’t she a champion of journalistic ethics?
“I don’t want to talk about him. I didn’t mention his name on the show for a reason.” Namely, because he didn’t exist, but that wasn’t important at the moment.
“Well, have you talked with him since you’ve been back? Surely he’s seen the show. He must know that you couldn’t stop thinking about him.”
“Umm, well…”
“Has he reached out to you?”
“Umm, well…”
“He hasn’t said anything? Surely you didn’t make him up, did you? That would be an even crazier story.” Tamara was standing way too close to Jada, her beady green eyes bulging with a desire to get a scoop, any scoop. Jada could smell the vanilla frosting from her cupcake on her breath. Jada had never given much thought to the smell of icing, but its overwhelming sweetness was going to make her gag in the very near future. She forcefully tamped down the sensation.
“What? No, of course not.”
“Because I would hate to report that.” Hate, love. Love, hate. Same difference.
Jada forced a smile. “Then don’t.”
“Give me something, Jada. Everyone wants to know who this mystery guy is. I don’t want to assume you made him up. That would be really embarrassing for you.”
Embarrassing. A simple word that carried so much weight for her. She’d always been an embarrassment to her parents. She’d strived not to be, but hadn’t ever really succeeded. Humiliating. Demoralizing. She was already a national villain. She wouldn’t, couldn’t become a national laughingstock.
Her parents would never, ever let her hear the end of it. The sighing and disappointed looks would never cease. Neither would the demands that she get a real job and stop disappointing them. She couldn’t go through that. They hadn’t forgiven her for going on the show, which is why they’d decided to stop paying her bills. This extra humiliation would give them all the ammunition they needed to harangue her at will. She didn’t know if she could survive their special brand of concern mixed with bewilderment, overlaid with embarrassment that she wasn’t like her sister. What was she going to do? What could she do?
“Jada? Is everything okay?”
Oh, no. Donovan had appeared at her side. She’d been so focused on Tamara the intrepid reporter she hadn’t noticed him walking up.
Tamara swept her gaze up and down his admittedly impressive physique, then turned back to her. “Is this him?”
“Him?” Donovan asked.
“Yep, this is him. Hi, honey.” Jada stepped toward him and covered his mouth with hers before he could blow up her spot. That was her initial reason for kissing him. But that thought quickly gave way to “wow, his lips are nice.” Thick and firm and lush. Perfect, in other words. Perfect lips that were frozen solid underneath hers.
Jada stiffened. What the hell was she doing? She couldn’t just kiss somebody without their okay.
Then she felt a slight movement of his mouth against hers. A delicious bit of friction that sent a shiver cascading down her spine. A slight parting of the lips, a slight tilt of his head for a better angle. He was kissing her back. Expertly, his masterful lips gently sliding against hers, savoring her, then there was a nip—just the tiniest bite against her bottom lip, just enough to make her crave more. Her breath caught in her lungs, then she was free. She barely registered the faint cheers from the cupcakery’s other occupants.
She stared up at him, her chest heaving. His eyes, always so dark and piercing, mesmerized her with their intensity and heat. Oh yeah, he’d felt it, too. Was still feeling it. It being an intense attraction she’d done her best not to acknowledge. And she’d just blown that all to smithereens.
Chapter Nine
“Oh, my God, that was terrific,” Tamara loudly proclaimed, jarring Jada out of the dazed trance she’d stumbled into. She lowered a phone she’d whipped out from somewhere. “I’m going viral with this footage. That was great. I can’t wait to watch it again and post it. What a scoop!”
“Jada?” Donovan asked, his voice low and dark, demanding answers.
“Oh, is that why you’re working here?” Tamara asked, thankfully not picking up on the dangerous vibes swirling in the air.