by Heidi Rice
Jessie had been avoiding him for the last week or so, ever since that incendiary kiss of theirs in town, and he’d been more than happy to let her.
The woman was a major complication—one he definitely didn’t need. Over the last few days, his mind had strayed to thoughts of her without warning. The minute he’d seen her again, he’d had to admit he’d missed her. The woman looked good enough to eat and, now he knew what she tasted like, it was hard to resist taking another bite.
He heard her step into the apartment and close the door, but concentrated on washing his hands and pouring himself a long, cold glass of water.
If Emmy’s sweet, uncomplicated affection was getting to him, it was nothing compared to the effect the kid’s auntie was having on him. And one thing was for sure, his thoughts in that direction were a lot more dangerous. He turned, appreciating the way her hips moved as she walked into the room.
‘Emmy’s certainly taken a shine to you,’ she murmured.
‘I’ve taken a shine to her, too. She’s a great kid.’ He raised his glass. ‘Do you want a glass of water? It’s all I’ve got.’
‘That would be nice.’
‘No problem.’ He pulled another glass from the cabinet above the sink and filled it. ‘Here you go.’
She took the glass, her hand trembling as their fingers touched.
Her eyes met his and he watched as the heat crept into her cheeks. Yep, it was going to be near on impossible to keep his hands off her now.
Jessie took a hasty gulp of water and spluttered as the cold liquid hit the back of her throat.
‘You okay there, Red?’ His voice was low and intimate.
He put his hand on her back and rubbed. She was positive she could feel the calluses on his fingers through the thin cotton of her dress and she shivered. Get a grip, woman.
‘I’m finished, Uncle Roe.’
The little girl skipped back into the room, unaware of the tension that sizzled between the two adults.
‘All clean?’ Monroe said the words to Emmy but kept his eyes on Jessie.
‘Yes, look.’ Emmy held up her hands for Monroe’s inspection. Jessie released the breath she’d been holding as he turned to look at the little girl.
‘Good job.’
Emmy ran up and grabbed hold of his leg. ‘Can I come back tomorrow? Can I? Can I?’
He ruffled the little girl’s curly brown hair. ‘Sure, if you want to and your mom says it’s okay.’
‘We better be going, Emmy.’ Jessie reached for her niece’s hand, but the little girl continued to cling onto her uncle. ‘Lunch is already on the table.’
‘Okay.’ Emmy let go reluctantly and put her hand in Jessie’s.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow, kid.’ Hearing the affection in Monroe’s voice, seeing the warm way he rested his hand on Emmy’s shoulder, Jessie felt a sharp surge of guilt.
She had no right to keep this man from bonding with his family.
So what if she couldn’t stop blushing every time she saw him? So what if she couldn’t seem to forget that kiss? From what she could gather, Linc and Ali and Emmy were the only family Monroe Latimer had. Not giving him Ali’s dinner invitation suddenly seemed both cowardly and selfish.
‘Ali wondered if you’d like to come over for dinner tonight,’ Jessie blurted out. She saw surprise flash in his eyes, but he said nothing. ‘We’re having a barbecue. Linc’s doing steaks…’ Her voice trailed off when Monroe remained silent.
‘Come, come, come.’ Emmy jumped up and down as she sang the words. Jessie was grateful that her niece had picked up the ball, but could see Monroe was still hesitating.
‘I don’t know.’ He sounded oddly unsure of himself.
‘We’d all love to have you there,’ Jessie said, surprised to realise she meant it.
His gaze intensified. ‘You would, huh?’
‘We would, we would, we would,’ Emmy sang again. He gave her a quick grin before he looked back at Jessie.
‘I guess it’d be my pleasure, then. I can’t say no to two pretty ladies.’
Emmy giggled and then shouted, ‘Yippee,’ punching the air with her small fist.
Jessie felt the same leap of joy, despite the ball of heat that seemed to have lodged beneath her breastbone.
‘I’ll tell Ali.’ Jessie gave Monroe a shaky smile as she pulled Emmy towards the door.
‘Bye-bye.’ Emmy waved.
‘See you tonight, kid. You, too, Red.’
Jessie glanced back. He was leaning against the kitchen counter. He looked relaxed again and amused, his thumbs hooked into his jeans and a ridiculously charming smile on his face. Jessie felt the fire blaze inside her. Unable to trust her voice, she gave him a quick nod as she hauled Emmy out the door.
No question about it, Monroe thought wryly as he watched Jessie close the apartment door. The woman was dangerous.
He strolled across the apartment to the French doors and watched as Jessie and Emmy made their way up to the house. Emmy was skipping ahead, while Jessie walked behind, looking lush and unbearably sexy in the tight little polka-dot number.
Dangerous or not, she was becoming damn near irresistible. She looked gorgeous, and he loved the way she blushed so easily. But it wasn’t just her appearance or her obvious reaction to him that made her so appealing.
He also liked her as a person. She was full of spirit and fire and feisty as hell.
Maybe they could have a little fun together after all. She was a grown woman who certainly knew her own mind and didn’t mind speaking it. She was obviously unattached and in need of a little romance or she wouldn’t have kissed him the way she had in front of the grocery store. He’d already made it clear that he was just passing through, so there was no need for her to get the wrong idea.
He leaned against the glass as Emmy and Jessie disappeared from view. Maybe he’d test the waters tonight, see how she responded to the suggestion. His lips curved as he thought about what he and Jessie could do to amuse each other over the next month or so.
CHAPTER SIX
‘GET a grip, woman!’ Jessie stalked over to her wardrobe.
The cerise linen dress she shoved back in was the fourth outfit she’d tried on in less than twenty minutes. Staring into the snarl of colours and fabrics, she resisted the urge to stamp her foot.
What on earth was the matter with her?
Why did she care what Monroe thought of her outfit anyway? Determined not to waste any more time on a decision that should have taken her ten seconds, she grabbed the first thing that came to hand.
You could never go wrong with the old little black dress, she thought as she slipped the slinky Lycra sheath over her head.
She examined herself in the wardrobe’s full-length mirror, caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Was the outfit maybe a little too sexy for an evening barbecue with her family? She could picture Monroe’s lazy smile. The hot look in his eyes.
Stop it, you silly cow. The LBD was fine; he probably wouldn’t even notice that the material clung a little too closely to every curve.
She never should have invited him. She’d known this was going to happen. She slammed the wardrobe door and slipped on a pair of simple red pumps. She pulled a matching silk scarf from the array in her dresser and tied it loosely round her neck. She might have guessed she would blow this completely out of proportion.
She didn’t know what it was about Monroe, but whenever she was near him she was so brutally aware of him she couldn’t seem to think about anything else but the feel of his lips on hers. His long, strong body pressed against her. It was ridiculous—they’d only shared one kiss and he’d made it quite clear that, for him at least, it had just been play-acting. But her flustered response when their fingers had touched over the water glass that afternoon went to show she could not be trusted to keep her cool around him.
She was a grown woman. She did not have crushes. She’d just never been kissed like that before and she still needed a bit more time to settle.
<
br /> The way she was feeling at the moment, twenty-five years probably wouldn’t be long enough.
Jessie stepped out into the hallway and closed the door to her room. Relax and breathe, she told herself as she walked stiffly down the stairs.
Jessie was both relieved and disappointed when she walked out onto the terrace and saw that Monroe wasn’t there yet.
The night was balmy and warm and the smell of jasmine hung in the air like a rich woman’s perfume. The fairy lights Linc had rigged up over the barbecue winked in the dusk and reflected off the surface of the pool like cheeky little water nymphs.
The fluttering in her stomach calmed as she strolled round the water to the grill. As Linc lorded it over the flames with a pair of barbecue tongs, the mouth-watering scent of cooking meat surrounded him.
Looking up, he caught sight of her and smiled. ‘Hey, good-looking.’
The tightness in Jessie’s chest eased, the familiarity of family making her feel safe and secure. ‘That should be my line, shouldn’t it?’ She gave Linc a light kiss on the cheek. ‘As in what you got cookin’?’
‘About a half a cow,’ Linc joked. ‘I hope you’re hungry.’
Where once the teasing admiration in her brother-in-law’s eyes would have had Jessie blushing profusely, now she simply felt a warm, comfortable feeling settle in.
‘Stop flirting with my sister and watch what you’re doing,’ Ali called out from behind them. ‘I don’t want burnt cow again, thank you very much.’
Jessie turned to see her sister flopped in a large armchair. Emmy giggled, glancing up from the jigsaw she was piecing together by her mother’s feet.
‘Stop your belly-aching, woman,’ Linc replied, giving Jessie a conspiratorial wink.
Jessie grinned back at him, then sat down in the chair next to her sister. ‘Still feeling exhausted?’
Ali adjusted herself in her seat and huffed. ‘No, not really, I just have this devilish urge to make Linc’s life hell at the moment.’ The twinkle in her eyes was positively wicked. ‘After all, he’s the one responsible for this.’ Ali laid her palms heavily on the impressive mound of her belly.
‘The way I heard it,’ Jessie leant in and whispered to her sister, ‘he wasn’t the only one there.’
Ali laughed and gave her a light slap on the arm. ‘Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side. And by the way, while we’re talking about sisterly solidarity,’ she continued, giving Jessie’s figure a quick appraisal, ‘it would help if you didn’t look like a super-model while I look like a beached whale.’
‘Thanks, I think,’ Jessie replied.
‘Mummy, when’s Uncle Monroe going to be here?’ Emmy’s sleepy enquiry made Jessie’s pulse spike.
‘Soon, honey,’ Ali replied, her voice relaxed. ‘What time did you tell him, Jess?’
‘I don’t remember. But he can see the pool terrace from his bedroom window, he must know we’re out here.’
‘Good point,’ Ali remarked, eyeing her sister thoughtfully. ‘You know, it’s funny,’ Ali continued, her voice suspiciously light, ‘but I’ve noticed it’s only your invitations that he accepts.’
Jessie’s head swung round, the gaze that had strayed up to Monroe’s apartment window focused on her sister again. ‘What are you trying to say?’
‘Nothing. Just that he’s quite a hunk, isn’t he?’
‘I…I guess so,’ Jessie sputtered, seeing the sharp look on her sister’s face. She tensed. This was what she’d been afraid of. Did her sister think she was developing some sort of ridiculous crush on Monroe?
Ali touched Jessie’s arm, her voice softened. ‘I happen to know from experience, Jess, that the Latimer men are hard to resist.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘All I’m saying is, if you need to talk, I’m here.’ Ali smiled, patting her rounded belly. ‘In fact, I’m anchored to the spot.’
Linc had started piling the steaks onto a large serving plate when Jessie spotted Monroe’s tall figure strolling towards them in the darkening twilight.
Emmy scrambled out of her lap. ‘Uncle Roe!’ The little girl dashed across the lawn towards him, her drowsiness forgotten in a spurt of excitement.
Jessie watched as Monroe swung his niece up in his arms.
‘Emmy’s certainly fallen for him,’ Ali murmured next to her. Jessie didn’t dare turn round, worried her face had the same adoring look on it that Emmy’s did.
Monroe hefted Emmy easily into his arms, enjoying her sleepy commentary on the ‘hours and hours and hours’ she’d been waiting for him. She clung to his neck, her light breath on his cheek making him feel good and at the same time strangely uneasy.
He’d watched the little group on the pool terrace from his apartment window for nearly half an hour before coming over. He’d almost decided not to come at all.
He hadn’t been able to hear what they were saying, but they looked from where he’d been standing like a unit, a family. His brother’s family, he’d thought, and the sharp sense of envy had stunned him. He didn’t want this sort of life, this sort of commitment, so why did their comfortable companionship tug at some place deep inside him?
He’d accepted Jessie’s invitation earlier because he enjoyed watching her. He’d told himself it was a nice healthy dose of lust that had dragged him out tonight.
But now, with Emmy’s little fingers clinging onto his neck, the comforting warmth in Ali’s eyes as she greeted him, the friendly handshake Linc gave him as he walked up to the grill, he realised that it wasn’t only lust. The feeling of warmth, of need, scared him.
‘Just in time.’ Linc’s voice was easy, confident. Why did Monroe feel so out of his element?
‘Jess,’ Linc said, ‘grab Monroe a beer from the cooler—looks like he’s got his hands full.’
Monroe’s eyes settled on Jessie as she handed him an icy bottle. He shifted Emmy in his arms to take it. ‘Thanks, Red.’
She gave him a quick nod then looked away, but he’d seen the flash of awareness and what looked like worry in her face. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she took the steaks from Linc and placed them on the long glass table laid out on the patio.
Her hair seemed to be made of flame tonight, tumbling down her back in wild, lustrous waves. The simple little black number she had on should have been demure but it showcased the curves beneath in a way that was damn near indecent. Aware that Linc might be watching him, Monroe took a long pull of his beer and dragged his eyes away.
‘We might as well get settled,’ Linc said quietly.
Emmy laid her head on Monroe’s shoulder. The little girl went still and heavy in his arms as Linc and Ali and Jessie put the last of the food on the table. The feel of Emmy’s body relaxing against his made the ache in his heart sharpen.
Linc placed a hand on his daughter’s back. ‘Come on, Emmy. You can sit in my lap while we eat.’
‘I want to stay with Monroe,’ Emmy’s tired voice whispered against Monroe’s neck.
‘It’s okay, Linc. She’s no trouble,’ he found himself saying.
‘You sure? It’s not that easy slicing steak with a sleeping child in your arms.’
Monroe simply nodded. He didn’t know why he wanted to keep the child with him. He just knew he did.
Jessie watched as Monroe struggled to finish his food. Emmy was sound asleep in his lap. Linc and Ali had started clearing the table. The meal had gone quickly, Linc and Ali keeping the conversation light and undemanding. Monroe had been surprisingly subdued.
Something had changed about him. The cocksure, devil-may-care confidence that seemed so much a part of him was gone tonight. The same vulnerability she’d glimpsed in the diner was back tonight. Why did he seem wary and unsure of himself?
‘I feel stuffed.’ Ali sighed and leaned back in her chair.
Linc gave her belly a reassuring rub. ‘That’s because you are, honey.’
Ali swatted his hand. ‘Not funny, Latimer.’
Linc laughed and
hauled her out of her chair. ‘Come on, I’ll take the plates in and you can put your feet up on the sofa.’ Putting an arm round his wife, Linc smiled at Jessie and Monroe. ‘You want me to take Emmy, Monroe?’
‘She’s out like a light. I can hold her a while longer.’
‘Thanks.’
Jessie stacked all the plates except Monroe’s and handed them to Linc.
As Linc and Ali walked off across the lawn, Jessie settled back into her seat and watched Monroe. The pungent aroma of the dying charcoal was overlaid with the rich scent of summer blooms and the crisp smell of the sea. She could hear the gentle hum of the surf on the beach, and the soft murmur of Emmy’s childish snores.
It occurred to Jessie that for some reason during the evening her nerves had simply dissolved. The night had settled around them, comforting yet also intimate, but she didn’t feel nervous about being left alone with Monroe. Maybe it was the two glasses of wine she’d had, she thought, as she took another sip. Or more likely it was the sight of him with the little girl curled in his arms. Tonight, for the first time, he didn’t scare her.
When his knife clattered onto the plate again, Jessie took pity on him. ‘Do you want me to cut it for you?’
He looked up, his brow creasing. ‘Yeah, thanks, I’m starving.’
Leaning over, Jessie began slicing the meat on his plate.
‘I feel like a first-grader.’ His voice whispered close to her ear, making the soft skin of her nape tingle. But unlike before, when the giddy awareness had made her feel vulnerable and irritated, she enjoyed the warmth that seemed to spread up her neck.
‘I could take her in.’ She pushed his plate back to him. ‘She probably ought to go to bed now anyway.’
‘No need.’ He adjusted the little girl in his lap, forking up a mouthful of the newly-cut meat as Emmy’s head nestled against his broad shoulder. He chewed and swallowed. ‘It’s kind of nice to hold her when she’s not talking a mile a minute.’ He looked a little shocked at his own admission, making Jessie’s lips curve.
‘What’s so funny?’ The prickle of annoyance in his tone made Jessie’s smile widen.