Seducing Sullivan

by Julie Elizabeth Leto

  Coincidence. Gestures weren’t genetic. Were they?

  “I’ve learned recently that your sister is one of the finest secret keepers in the Western Hemisphere.”

  Angela shook her head, disbelieving. Maybe she should have confided in Kelly about Jack and Chryssie before now. Maybe she should have warned her he was in town and on the prowl. Maybe the powers that be should develop an anti-Jack charm vaccine for all females within a two-hundred-mile radius.

  Whatever the case, she’d lost a potential ally in her personal war to keep Jack out of her life. Of course, Kelly didn’t know the whole story. A few long overdue confessions, and she could defect.

  “Yes, well.” Angela reluctantly snatched her purse. “Let’s not keep the troops waiting. One well-known secret is how ornery those three hooligans become when they’re hungry.”

  After Angela pushed brusquely by them, Kelly accepted Jack’s proffered arm. Angela suddenly craved pizza. She longed for something spicy in her system. The sugary sweetness in her kitchen nearly made her ill.

  HER SISTER kept up the glittery small talk until Garrett and Jack took the kids to the arcade area of the family restaurant after they’d demolished two extra-large pizzas and four hot fudge sundaes. The minute the kids disappeared behind a mirrored wall with the men trailing behind, the plastered smile dropped from Kelly’s face. She grabbed Angela’s hand, nearly knocking her last slice of pepperoni into Dani’s half-melted ice cream.

  “Are you nuts?” Kelly asked, her voice only barely in check. “What are you doing messing around with that man again? Didn’t you learn your lesson ten years ago?”

  “Messing around? Nuts? Excuse me, but you’ve been treating the guy like he’s a Greek god in need of constant adoration since you saw him in the kitchen. Now you’re laying into me for making a brilliant business deal with him. I hate to break it to you, sis, but I’m not the one who’s playing Sybil.”

  Kelly scooted forward in the booth, snatching Angela’s third slice of pizza and slapping it onto a plate before she managed a bite. “I’m not kidding, Ange. When you had him at your house, and you in only a towel, I didn’t know what to think. I decided to play nice in case you’d, I don’t know, fallen in love with him again. Now I know it’s just a business arrangement, I can try to knock some sense into you. Before it’s too late.”

  Angela pushed the pizza away and opted for a napkin and a slushy diet soda. “It’s already too late.”

  Kelly’s face grew ashen. “You didn’t?”

  Angela poked her straw absentmindedly into her ice.

  “Angela?”

  When a man at the booth behind them peeked over his shoulder and grinned, her sister moved closer.

  “Even after ten years, I still can’t erase him from my mind. I’ve never been able to, especially after…”

  “Especially after what?”

  The time had come. Angela wasn’t sure if she could manage the truth after all this time, but she didn’t have a choice. She didn’t want to cope with this alone.

  “Especially after I realized that in all likelihood, Jack is Dani’s biological father.”

  Slowly, Kelly slid into her seat, sat openmouthed for a minute, then moved back.

  “When?”

  The vague, single-word question spoke volumes. Angela took a deep breath. Her sister wouldn’t be pleased at the amount of time that had passed since she’d first suspected.

  “About three months after I visited Richard Lassiter.”

  Her mouth dropped open again. “That was over a year ago! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Angela shook her head. “I didn’t see any reason to upset you if I didn’t have to.”

  “I don’t understand.” Kelly recovered her self-assurance. “Did Richard Lassiter just tell you he wasn’t Dani’s father? I mean, you told me the trip went well. He and Chryssie were together all the time until graduation.”

  “Obviously, not all the time,” Angela quipped.

  “But how do you know?”

  “I don’t. Not for sure. Jack doesn’t have any idea I suspect. I’ve been very careful to keep Dani away from him, until your little surprise this afternoon.”

  “Ange, I didn’t…”

  She placed her hand comfortingly on her older sister’s. “I know. Anyway, when I visited Richard, I also met his wife, who’d heard by way of the grapevine that I’d adopted. Seems they’d been trying to adopt since they married and they wondered how I’d managed since I was single.”

  “Richard didn’t know about Dani?”

  “Very few people in our graduating class really knew Chryssie. Those who did only knew her through me. I guess the gossip mill never caught wind of Dani’s parentage. Janie, Richard’s wife, was really emotional about the adoption thing. We were having drinks before dinner when she told me Richard was sterile—always had been. He made a joke about wasting money on condoms when he was in school.”

  Kelly took a large swallow of her drink, tossing it back like whiskey rather than orange-ade.

  “So Richard can’t be Dani’s father.”

  “Nope,” Angela confirmed.

  “But Jack was your boyfriend. If memory serves me, he and Chryssie didn’t even like each other.”

  “Apparently, they liked each other more than anyone thought.” At least with her sister, she didn’t have to hide the bitterness. “I didn’t suspect Jack until I dug up some old diaries. But even they were vague. I won’t know anything concrete until I come straight out and ask him about Chryssie—and I’m not sure I’m going to do that yet.”

  “There’s no one else?” Kelly’s face was slightly hopeful.

  “For goodness’ sake, look at her. Look at him. The shape of their chins. Their eyes. Now that I’ve seen them together, the resemblance is startling.”

  Angela caught a glimpse in the wall-length mirrors of the kids, Garrett and Jack. Dani sat in front of Jack on a motorcycle game ride, her feet dangling well above the footrests while Jack held her protectively by the waist. When the machine tilted in a simulated turn, Dani squealed in delight.

  Like mother, like daughter.

  Not surprisingly, Jack and Dani had hit it off after only five minutes of requisite shyness. Between Jack’s consummate charm and Dani’s sociable nature, Angela didn’t stand a chance at keeping them from bonding.

  “What am I going to do?” Angela ran her hands through her hair, then leaned on her elbows to cradle her pounding head.

  When her sister remained quiet, Angela looked up. “Kelly?”

  “Quiet. I’m thinking.”

  “Should I be afraid?”

  Kelly chastised her with a glare.

  “Sorry. I hope you’re thinking about what I should do.”

  Nodding assent, Kelly rubbed the back of her neck, a sure sign her advice might hurt.

  “You have to tell him, Angela.”

  “What? I can’t. If he and Chryssie were together, they only had a one-night stand. They weren’t in love. They didn’t have a relationship,” Angela insisted.

  “The brevity of their affair doesn’t matter, and you know it. If he’s Dani’s father, he deserves to know. A parent should never be separated from his child. Chryssie took Dani everywhere with her until she died.”

  “She didn’t want the identity of Dani’s father revealed. She stipulated that in the letter I received from the lawyer.”

  “A letter isn’t legally binding. You checked before you went looking for Richard.” The detail obviously sparked Kelly’s memory. “You were ready to tell him he was the father. Why not Jack?”

  Angela winced at a sharp pain at the base of her skull. “Despite their constant fights, Richard and Chryssie loved each other, as much as kids their age could. Richard would have loved Dani for no other reason than because she came from Chryssie.”

  Kelly glanced into the mirror again. “Looks like Jack’s smitten with Dani already. Or is his affection because of you? You know, love the mother, love the child?”
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br />   Angela shook her head emphatically. “Jack and I aren’t in love. We’re just involved in a dangerous case of lust.”

  Kelly’s searching stare expressed her doubt. “And Dani?”

  “She’s a lovable kid. Who wouldn’t want to give her the world after only knowing her an hour?”

  Patting Angela’s hand, Kelly turned practical. “As long as there’s a chance he’s the father, he needs to know. It’s only right.”

  “But what if—” She had trouble saying the next few words aloud. “What if he is her father and he wants custody? I could lose her, Kelly. It was hard enough losing Chryssie. I can’t take the chance with Dani.”

  “Do you think he’d do that?” Kelly didn’t have a high opinion of Jack, but the surprise in her voice revealed her long-held belief in the inherent goodness of parents everywhere. She’d practically been a parent since age sixteen. Kelly fully understood the statement, “For the good of the child.” Unfortunately, not everyone else did.

  Angela sat back, closing off her view of Jack and Dani as they slipped more quarters into the motorcycle machine.

  “I’ve lied to him. I’ve kept a very important secret from him. He has every right to be furious.”

  “I can buy that. But would he take his anger out on Dani?”

  They’d been together for only a few days, and Jack had effectively mangled every preconceived notion she held about him. No longer could she deceive herself with the idea he was a fly-by-night gigolo with only sex as his objective. He’d settled down, and from what she’d seen, he was looking for a woman to settle with.

  Yet he’d said he hated secrets. She sensed his loathing of lies came from a deeply painful source.

  But could that source have been worse than hers?

  “I just don’t know, Kelly. I just don’t know.”

  10

  “YOU DIDN’T have to carry her,” Angela whispered, touched by the way Jack cradled a sleeping Dani in his arms while she unlocked the front door. “She’s not so light anymore.”

  “She’s a feather,” Jack whispered back. “Besides, this gives me an excuse to come inside.”

  Angela nodded, entered and disengaged the security alarm while Jack moved inside and quietly pushed the front door closed with his foot. She knew he wouldn’t wait until tomorrow to finish the conversation they’d abandoned earlier. After having a ball entertaining Dani at the arcade, then at the mall, he was probably even more convinced a relationship between him and Angela deserved a chance. And if she could manage to forget the secret between them, she might have agreed.

  But she couldn’t forget. Not for an instant. Not when his face was pressed so close to Dani’s that the resemblance was undeniable. Not with Jack’s aversion to secrets and lying so perfectly clear.

  Angela opened the door to Dani’s bedroom and silently slid her still-packed suitcase onto the floor. Jack lay Dani on top of her Looney Tunes comforter, then slipped out of the room while Angela undressed her and tucked her under the covers.

  “Mom?” Dani asked sleepily as Angela stepped away from the bed.

  “Yeah, honey. What is it?”

  “Is Jack still here?” She punctuated the sentence with a yawn.

  “Yes, he is. Why?”

  “Good.” Dani rolled toward Angela and slipped one arm under her pillow and the other around her stuffed Pepe le Pew. “He’s a major hunk.”

  “Excuse me?” Angela asked, smiling.

  Dani drifted back to sleep, and Angela wasn’t about to wake her to discuss the matter. The topic needed no discussion. Dani hit the nail on the head.

  She found her major hunk in the kitchen. Leaning across the breakfast bar from the living room side, she watched him hunt through her cupboards.

  “I thought I’d make coffee.” He randomly opened cabinets in search of the brew.

  She motioned to the fridge. “Coffee’s in the freezer. I try not to drink it every day. Too much makes me nervous.”

  He stopped his search and joined her at the bar. “Then I guess you don’t need coffee right now.” He reached across the tiled counter and took her hands in his.

  When he started rubbing her knuckles with the pads of his thumbs, she tried to focus on her thoughts. Less than a semblance of a touch from him started her veins surging.

  “Jack, I have to apologize for not telling you about Dani. I didn’t think we’d be together this long. But when I knew, I should have told you.”

  He nodded, extending his simple ministrations to the sensitive skin of her wrists. “I guess once you start keeping a secret, it’s hard to stop.”

  She took a deep swallow, unable to pull her gaze away. The man had an uncanny ability to get right to the heart of the matter.

  “You have no idea.” She retreated to the darkened living room and clicked on a small crystal lamp. The light cast a feeble amber glow. The effect was intimate, romantic. The last thing she needed.

  When she grabbed the tassel to click on the overhead ceiling fan light, Jack stopped her.

  “There’s no need to shed a lot of light tonight. If you have more secrets, they can wait until tomorrow.”

  He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her beside him on the couch.

  “We’ve both had a long day.” He sighed and wrapped a protective arm around her, encouraging her to snuggle. “Why don’t we just sit here for a few minutes.”

  She accepted his invitation, marveling at the powerful warmth of his arms and his chest. She closed her eyes, trying to focus solely on the comfort of his embrace. Within seconds, the scent of his cologne, the tautness of his muscles and the smooth strokes of his hand up and down her arm awakened her. Under his command, the most innocent gesture became a fiery seduction.

  “You don’t really think we can just sit here, do you?” she asked wryly, looking at him.

  His gulf-green gaze betrayed a hint of mischief. “Why not? We’re adults. We don’t have to constantly touch each other.”

  “We are touching each other.” She burrowed deeper against his chest. She shouldn’t, but some treats were too delicious to resist. After his reaction this afternoon, she trusted he wouldn’t initiate sex. He didn’t know that Dani was dead tired, and even when she wasn’t, she slept like a rock.

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said with a slight groan. “I mean, touching touching.”

  “Like this afternoon? Like the other night at your studio? Like the first night we’d seen each other after ten years?”

  Jack shifted uncomfortably, careful not to push Angela away in the process. Each question acted as a clear reminder that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. She’d probably meant to get him so frustrated he’d leave, but the memories only reminded him of how pliant, how willing, how sexy she could be.

  She moved, as if equally restless. He held her tightly. Maybe she, too, remembered how great they were together. How their bodies fit. How their mouths danced. He groaned.

  “Point taken,” he conceded, “but I’m not ready to leave.”

  He turned and pulled her across his lap. Big mistake. Her thighs slid over his. Her hip rested against his groin. Keeping his hands to himself wouldn’t be as effortless as he thought.

  “Your holding me like this isn’t going to make conversation any easier.” Her sweet breath caught him just under the chin.

  “I wasn’t trying to make anything easy,” he answered, “I just wanted to look into your eyes.”

  At his words, she looked away, glancing around the room and down the darkened hall leading to Dani’s room.

  “She’s exhausted. She won’t wake up,” he reassured her.

  “She already woke up once.”

  “She did? Did she say anything about me?” The question popped out before he could stop it. Entertaining Dani had been a new and satisfying experience, but knowing whether or not she enjoyed herself remained far more important. The feeling pleasantly surprised him.

  Angela smiled, apparently touched by his p
aranoia.

  “Actually, she did. She says you’re a major hunk.”

  Jack tried to make his grin look humble, though his chest swelled like the plumage of a peacock. From what little he knew of nine-year-olds, that was high praise. He’d known the munchkin for a little over four hours, but for some reason he didn’t quite grasp yet, the child’s approval was crucial. He wondered how much of his response had to do with his feelings for Angela and his fiasco with Lily.

  “She has a great eye.” He hoped conceit would cover his genuine pride.

  “I’ll have to warn her about men like you. Good-looking and only one thing on their minds.” She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

  “Right now, I have a hell of a lot of things on my mind.”

  “And sex isn’t one of them?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You know—” she squirmed as if she might move off his lap “—I feel like a teenager again, making out after Kelly went to bed.”

  He leaned his head against the wall. “I remember your sister catching us more than once. If your mother’d been home, you might still be grounded.”

  “Kelly was a tough cookie, but life wasn’t a picnic for her.” Angela’s gaze drifted to a family photo on the coffee table. Her eyebrows furrowed, and a tiny frown bowed her lips. “She practically raised me, my parents were away so much. Then after Dad died, Mom hardly came home from overseas at all.”

  Jack nodded in silent agreement, though he really didn’t share the same experience. He and his brothers and sisters were scattered across the country.

  “I distinctly remember Kelly never liking me. I wonder why she was so nice today.”

  “She thought we were lovers.”

  “Aren’t we?” He slid her closer until their noses touched.

  In the depths of her hazel irises, he caught sight of the maelstrom of confusion rocking her mind—a storm battering him, as well. Since this afternoon, he and Angela could no longer pretend to be unattached players of a sexual game. Though he’d never planned to let her go, she’d expected their relationship to be short-lived. If she intended to break things off now, he needed to understand her motives. Was she just a mother protecting her child, or did she really want a disposable affair?