No, the kiss was a mistake. The next time Jessie saw him she’d set him straight, make him promise to keep his distance, or their friendship needed to end. She liked talking to him, listening to his plans, but kissing her needed to be something they did once.

One amazing time…but only once.

Jessie glanced at her sister and pushed off the sofa bed. “I’m beat.”

“But I want to hear more about this date.”

“It wasn’t a date.”

“He drove you home.”

“That’s because my car wouldn’t start,” she said, explaining the situation.

“He kissed you at the door, and it’s almost three in the morning.”

“We talked in the back of the limo, watched the planes take off.”

“You were in a limo?”

Oh boy, not the information her sister needed to hear if Jessie was going to get any sleep before her son woke her up. “The hotel limo. Jack finagled it to give me a ride home. It wasn’t a date.”

“Sounds like a date to me.”

Jessie had spent the whole night in Jack’s presence, driven home with the guy, talked about their past, their futures. That kiss wouldn’t be forgotten any time soon. “Not quite a date.”

Monica pushed in between the covers of her bed with a catty smile. “If what I saw is ‘not quite dating,’ I want some.” She air quoted the dating statement and then turned off the light.

“Good night, Mo.”

“Night, sis. Have amazing, ‘not quite kissing’ dreams.”

Jessie tossed a pillow at her. “Brat.”

“If you want my advice, I’d suggest you send this wreck to its grave.” Max Harper owned a small auto shop a few blocks from the hotel. He had happily towed Jessie’s car and squeezed in time to work on it. Jack had met Max prior to Dean’s bachelor party. He had wanted his truck road-ready, and Max had taken care of him.

“Can’t do it,” Jack told him. “The lady who owns it can’t afford to dump this quite yet.”

Max wiped his hands with a shop rag and pulled a pencil from his blue shirt. “I can get it up and running without too much fuss. Needs a new starter.”

“It needs more than a starter.” Jack noticed the worn-out belts, the overheating radiator.

“It needs to collect dust in a junkyard. But if you insist on limping her along, I’ll get you out the door today with a starter.”

“The battery looks ancient,” Jack told him.

“It still has a charge, but I’d be happy to replace it.”

“Do that.”

Max moved around the car and to the back of the shop to gather parts.

The need to fix every possible problem with the car made Jack’s skin itch. The thought of Jessie driving around town or breaking down at night…

“You know what I don’t get?” Max asked.

“No, what’s that?”

“How someone with your money is driving around in crap like this. No offense.” Max was pushing sixty, weighed forty more pounds than he should, breathed too heavy for a man his age, and was honest to a fault. Dean had recommended the man and Jack knew now why. Even with the knowledge of Jack’s deep pockets, Max didn’t try and sell him more than he needed. Even now, as the two of them stared at the bleak engine in tandem, both of them agreeing the car should be shot, Max didn’t push.

And he didn’t hold his tongue, either.

“It’s not mine, and like I said, I’m helping out a friend.”

“You would help her by getting her something reliable. Not all mechanics are like me. And unless the woman knows something about basic auto repair, she’ll end up overspending every time the car needs so much as an oil change. Hell, the mechanic wouldn’t even have to be unethical working on this. He’d just have to start at one end and work his way to the other to find issues.”

Didn’t Jack know it.

But he couldn’t tell Jessie that someone had left a new car at the hotel and she could keep it. No, he’d have to work in something that big a little differently.

“I couldn’t agree with you more, Max. Just get her back up and running. If you can replace a few things my lady friend won’t notice, by all means do it. If she notices that I’ve spent money on it, she’ll insist on paying me.” As it was, Jack worried about telling her he’d taken it to a mechanic. A friend working on the car was one thing…quite another to hire someone to do the job. But if he was put to the test at some point, he might find that lie hard to continue. No, he’d tell her someone had helped him if he had to.

He needed to keep the web of lies as thin as possible.

“A woman who doesn’t want you to spend money on her? Seriously? I didn’t think they existed.”

Jack offered a smile. His did.

It was after noon when Jack finally picked up the phone and called Jessie. Although he’d thought of her all day it wasn’t until he heard her chipper voice that he was reminded of their kiss all over again. The kiss to end all kisses. The mating of lips that promised amazing things should they ever find the right time to touch in other places.

Jack knew Jessie would be miffed about the kiss, so he planned on acting as if it hadn’t happened unless she said something about it. He wouldn’t apologize for something he wasn’t sorry for and something he knew she’d enjoyed just as much as he did.