Caitlin blinked.
"Why would you make excuses for me?" Jared asked again when she still hadn't said anything after five seconds had elapsed.
Ok, that was the last thing she was expecting to be asked. But he looked sincere, as if he really wanted to know why she would go into bat fro him.
"Why?" Caitlin knew she was caught between a rock and a hard place. She didn't want him to know why she went in to bat for him. And yet, with Doug's feedback, Jared was bound to wonder why she would. Ever since that kiss she knew exactly why. For while she had pretended not to care, that kiss that shown her that she did. It wasn't just a passing fancy. She had feelings for this man.
"Yes. Why? Why are you giving me the benefit of the doubt?" Jared pushed gently. He wanted to know the truth, because it had implications. Douglas was right. Jared did not believe that women like Caitlin would look twice at men like Jared. Not when it came to a long term relationship. So her response was crucial.
"You don't want me to?" She tried to turn the conversation, hoping that she be able to distract him. He seemed earnest, as if her response really mattered.
"Not what I'm asking. I've been a complete bastard and you're still making excuses for me. Why would you do that?" He asked pushing her, hoping she would tell him what he wanted to hear.
"Cause I'm well brought up?" She parried without any hesitation hoping that this at least would derail the conversation. Trust Douglas to tell Jared that she had defended Jared. She hadn't meant to give that much away. Maybe she should lie. Say it was just part of her nature to be considerate. Maybe she could just brazen this out. Try to sound blasé about it all.
"Or you like me." He suggested softly with quiet conviction. Jared was used to women throwing themselves at him, but most of the time he put it down to spur of the moment. He was pretty sure that the ones interested in him now were interested because he ran a successful business. Prior to that he was a guy who was probably worth hanging around for a good time, but not the time you'd want to have kids with. His credentials weren't good. Who in their right mind would want his mother as a grandmother? Most of the women in his life did not see him as a keeper. Probably his fault, in terms of cultivating the image in the first place. But now, now he thought he was at that age! That age when family, wife, children were important. Or at least in his case, they were want he wanted. The only trouble was that the women he thought would make terrific wives were not women who would touch him with a barge pole.
"Yeah, about as much as I'd like to cuddle a skunk." She tried to sound convincing. But she averted her eyes, knowing that they would probably give her away.
"You don't mean that." He accused sounding pretty certain. But beneath that certainty lay an ounce of insecurity, which, for Jared was highly unusual. He was a confident man. He knew what he wanted, and usually went after it. But this, well this was just different. Emotions put this way out of his normal remit of experience.
Before she could reply, John was asking everyone to gather together as he was going to take them into the next room where they would glaze some pots. Caitlin used that as an excuse to try to move a few feet away. But he got in her way.
"Come on." She called airily as she tried to make her way toward the rest of the group. Caitlin thought she sensed a measure of sadness in his eyes. For a second she thought her flippant remark might have actually hurt the man! Then she told herself to stop being fanciful. He was not the type to be hurt by a paltry statement.
Jared now on his feet, decided to take a risk. And with his slightly muddy hands, he leaned forward and his hands framed her face. He had kissed her before she even had time to protest. Then with a grin he leaned away. "See. You like me." Then he picked up his pot and put it alongside hers. Ok, that kiss brought with it a return of confidence. She had kissed him back. Before she'd had a chance to lock down her reaction. She had kissed him back.
"In your dreams." Caitlin muttered. This is exactly why she should be giving this man a wide berth. He rattled her with the simplest of kisses. Caitlin was way out of her depth. She knew that. After all, one quick kiss should not have her ear drums thundering with the sound of her pulse.
Jared grinned, once again his confident self. "Yeah, there too." He was feeling very pleased with himself. She looked rattled. One small kiss and she was rattled. Maybe Douglas was right after all. The problem was that they were with a crowd of people. Not exactly the right time to take things further. Not the right time to whisk her away from prying eyes and ask her the question he wanted to ask. Was there hope for him?
John gave them a few minutes to tidy up. There was lots of to-ing and fro-ing as people returned the unused clay to the large buckets that housed stocks of clay, and while others wiped down the work surfaces they had used. There was also lots of chat and banter going on as people compared the various artifacts that had been created. Most of them had smears of clay on the aprons they wore. A few of them had streaks of clay on their faces!
Candy, Nigel, Caitlin and Jared headed for the same table to decorate some bisque fired plates.
"Hey, you've got clay on your face." Candy told Caitlin. Caitlin rubbed at where she thought Jared's hands had been. She hoped Candy and Nigel had not seen that kiss, and she hoped the clay did not give away any finger prints.
"Gone?" She asked.
Perfect moment, Jared thought stepping closer. An absolutely perfect opportunity. He was not about to let this chance slide. "Not quite." Jared grinned, and pulling a tissue from the box that sat on the centre of the table, leaned closer to Caitlin. Caitlin held out her hand. She scowled at him. He thought she looked gorgeous with that scowl, but he was sure that saying so would earn him a reprimand. So instead he kept his thoughts to himself. "Allow me. You can't see where it is." Jared told her and took her chin between his fingers. He gently tipped her face up, his eyes dancing dangerously with amusement as he read the scowl in her eyes, then he began to dab at her cheek. "There." He gently brushed at her jaw line and cheek. "Almost squeaky clean." And again he leaned in to kiss her, this time on her cheek.
"Stop it!" She told him. She glared for good measure. He just chuckled. Which annoyed her even more. Candy and Nigel looked at each other with wide, curious eyes. What was going on now?
"Yeah, you're right, you should be kissing me as a thank you." Jared suggested, as he leaned closer and presented his cheek for Caitlin to kiss, by tapping a spot on his cheek. He could afford to be confident. He was now pretty sure there was hope for him.
Caitlin was tempted to laugh. Instead she decided she had to stick to her guns and maintain some distance between them. He was clearly a master at being charming when he wanted to be. She was just going to have to remain strong! "Thank you? You're the one..." Caitlin petered out when she realized what she was giving way.
"I'm the one...?" Jared interrupted and grinned at her.
"Who needs a kick up the butt!" Caitlin told him with a pout for good measure. "Not a kiss on the cheek!" He was being charming and flirting with her, she knew that. But it worried her. Was this his latest strategy? Why was he suddenly paying her all this attention?
Candy laughed in delight. She was excited. This weekend was a game changer for her. She and Nigel had got on really well. More than that really. And though she had felt guilty after yesterday's debacle about persuading Caitlin to come for this weekend, now she was feeling rather pleased with her manipulation, for it looked as if things were working out. Caitlin and Jared seemed to be getting on! Even if Caitlin was pretending not to enjoy herself.
"I'd settle for a kiss on my cheek." Jared said teasingly. He wondered whether he should push his luck a bit more and steal another kiss. For he was pretty convinced his kisses put her on the back foot.
"Go on, give him a kiss." Candy teased happily. She was delighted to see what she considered flirting between Jared and Caitlin.
"He doesn't deserve a kiss." Caitlin told them with a shake of her head for emphasis. "Now, if you don't mind, can we get on with this?" She gestured toward their plates awaiting glazing.
"Coward." Jared whispered as he settled close beside her. Strange how suddenly everything seemed perfect. She liked him. He was pretty sure about that. She liked him. Time to do something concrete about that.
He watched her from the corner of his eye and could see that she was trying to hold herself stiffly and maintain some distance between them. Too late, he was tempted to tell her. When another couple moved their chairs closer so that they could listen to John's instructions, Jared shifted his chair closer to Caitlin's. She turned and threw him a warning glare. His lips twitched, his head nodded toward the new couple beside them as if his move closer was an innocent reaction. Caitlin smothered her annoyance. She could see he was up to something. Suddenly he seemed to have more confidence. And as far as she was concerned, that was not a good thing for he already had way too much confidence as it was. Something had definitely changed. For now she was pretty sure she was on his radar. The question was why?