Feeling decidedly uncomfortable now, he gave her a little more space. "You mean, it hurts, or—?"
"No. I mean, I freeze up when it starts." She gave a sad shrug. "It got to the point that my ex-husband just gave up trying. He said I was frigid, and he was right. I am. And I've tried dating again, but it keeps happening."
Gwen looked so sad, so defeated, that Jack couldn't stop himself from embracing her. She stiffened at first, but when she realized he was just offering a friendly hug, she let herself be comforted. Burying her face in his shoulder, she cried a bit, until she eventually stepped back and muttered an apology.
As he held her, Jack felt anger rising inside of him. What kind of a man says that shit to his wife? He wanted to find her ex and beat him black and blue.
Gwen forced a smile onto her face. "Ugh, I did not plan on crying this morning. And I'm sure you didn't plan on having to deal with me crying when you stopped by."
"It's fine." Jack had to shove his hands into his pockets to restrain himself from touching her again.
They stood like that in silence, Jack wondering what to say further. Thankfully, Gwen's phone ringing saved them.
"I have to take this," she said apologetically. "I'll talk to you later?"
He nodded.
Gwen gave him a short hug, then added, "I'm glad we're still friends."
Jack didn't have an answer to that.
Gwen threw herself into her work, along with putting together a business plan for the restaurant. She'd somehow managed to avoid writing one when she'd started the bed and breakfast, as the majority of the funding coming from her own savings.
Forcing herself to construct a concrete plan versus a flimsy idea was harder than she'd expected. It also shone a bright light on the fact that she still needed to do more research if she wanted this venture to be successful.
She was glad for the distraction. Along with running the inn, she spent her evenings working on the business plan, which didn't give her much time to brood over Jack Benson.
After he'd left that morning, she'd instantly regretted telling him her secret. She hadn't been able to read his expression when she'd revealed it. Had he pitied her? Or had he acknowledged to himself that he'd dodged a bullet?
Considering she'd spoken all of ten words to him in the last week, she had a feeling it was the latter. And she had to admit, that hurt. A lot.
It was late on a Friday night when Gwen was jolted from her thoughts by a knock on her office door by Jocelyn.
"Burning the midnight oil, boss?" Jocelyn slid into the chair across from Gwen's desk. "It's nearly eight o'clock."
"It is?" Gwen groaned. "I lost track of time. I should probably go home." But then her mind moved back to the business plan in front of her, and she turned her monitor toward Jocelyn. "Want to help me with this?"
"Do I want to spend my Friday night putting together some report? I mean, how is that even a question?" joked Jocelyn.
"It's for the restaurant. And if you're going to be the head chef..."
Jocelyn snorted. "Fine, fine. What do you need from me?"
Despite Jocelyn's stubbornness and Gwen's need to appease, the two of them worked together well now. Jocelyn must've sensed that she needed to have a gentler approach with Gwen. Gwen had accepted that she needed to stick to her guns so Jocelyn didn't walk all over her. As a result, they spent two hours working, almost having fun in the process.
By ten o'clock, Jocelyn got up and stretched, yawning widely. "When did I turn into such an old lady? Once upon a time, I stayed out late and somehow managed to get to class on time in the morning."
"I'm sure you'll be signing up for AARP very soon," said Gwen, grinning.
"Oh God. Next I'll be carrying butterscotch candies in my bag and yelling at kids to get off my lawn."
Right before Gwen was going to shut off her computer, an email landed in her inbox. It was from Luke Wright. Heart pounding, she opened it.
It simply read, I'm looking forward to seeing that business plan, Ms. Parker.
"What's got you smiling like that?" said Jocelyn. Before Gwen could close the email window, Jocelyn read over her shoulder, "Luke Wright. He's the one you're writing this for?"
Gwen hadn't mentioned Luke because, quite frankly, she had no idea if he'd even give her funding. And looking at Jocelyn's stone-cold expression, Gwen knew she hadn't made a mistake in keeping that detail to herself.
Any time the Wrights were mentioned, Jocelyn bristled. Gwen had noticed it weeks ago. When she'd asked Alex about it, Alex had just shrugged. "I have no idea. She might just hate them because they're rich."
"He's interested, yes," said Gwen, trying to sound casual. "But who knows if he'll say yes. It's just one potential avenue for money."
"You could go to a bank."
"I did. They said no."
Jocelyn had returned to the other side of the desk. "You don't want to get tangled up with the Wrights."
"Why not? They have money. I need money. And Jack is friends with Luke—"
"Luke is the worst of them all!"
Gwen stared in surprise. Jocelyn was chewing the inside of her cheek, her arms crossed.
In a calmer voice, Jocelyn said, "Just, be careful. I don't want you to get screwed over."
"Well, who wants to get screwed over? And it's all legit, I promise you. I doubt Luke is going to send out a bunch of his minions to rough me up if I don't repay the loan."
"That's what you think," muttered Jocelyn.
"I might not know Luke well, but I trust Jack. If Jack trusts him, then I'm not worried."
"Just because he's been decent to one person doesn't mean he hasn't been shit to others."
Gwen desperately wanted to press Jocelyn for more information right then. To her consternation, Darla came into her office right then, interrupting them. "Room 205 has lost power. I flipped the circuit breaker for the room, but no dice," she said hurriedly.
"I have to take care of this. Are you all right going home by yourself?" asked Gwen.
Jocelyn snorted, some of the tension leaving her body. "It's Hazel Island. What's going to happen?"
Chapter Eight
After getting a latte from across the street—the inn didn't have an espresso machine at the moment—Gwen stopped to wave at Alex through the bookstore window. Alex gestured for her to come inside.
"I have the latest Lila White!” said Alex, holding up the book in question.
Gwen didn't need any more persuasion. She snagged the book from Alex, greedily reading the blurb and flipping through the pages. It was a big, fat novel; Gwen loved those kinds of books. Doorstoppers, the ones that completely engrossed you the moment you started reading.
"The reviews are pretty stellar," said Alex as she continued shelving. "I wasn't a big fan of her last one, though."
Gwen scoffed. "And you call yourself a bookseller. Her last book was amazing."
"I'm just not a big fan of the secret-baby thing. It only works in ye olden times, not in the twenty-first century."