Seductively Yours

by Gina Wilkins

  She wanted to see him smile again. She walked her fingers up his rib cage, searching for a ticklish spot. She found one about an inch below his armpit. He jerked sharply and she laughed. “Ticklish, Trev?”

  “No.”

  She flicked the area again with the tips of her fingers. And, again, he flinched.

  “Liar,” she said.

  He caught her wandering hand. “Don’t make me retaliate.”

  “You’re much too gentlemanly to do anything like that.”

  “You think so?”

  “Of course. Everyone knows that Trevor McBride is the perfect Southern gentleman. Charming, polite, genteel—Trevor! Stop that!” She dissolved into helpless giggles when he flipped her over and tickled her with both hands.

  He was grinning, she noted in satisfaction, even as she squirmed to get away from him. He looked relaxed and happy again. A little tickle-retaliation was a small price to pay to see him that way.

  Tickling, of course, led to hugging, which led to kissing and then more. By the time Trevor reluctantly dragged himself from the bed, he had little time to wash up and dress for his meeting.

  Wrapped in a short robe, Jamie followed him to the front door. He paused before opening it to don his jacket. She reached up to straighten his collar.

  “How do I look?” he asked with a smile.

  “Great,” she assured him. “Like you’ve spent the entire afternoon rolling around between the sheets.”

  “That isn’t exactly the image I had in mind,” he said dryly.

  She laughed and gave his tie a final pat. “It’s the image I’ll keep in my mind.”

  He kissed her quickly. “So will I.” And then he stepped away. “I’ll call you.”

  “Do that.” She reached for the doorknob. “Now go, before you’re late for your meeting.”

  “See you, Jamie.”

  “See you, Trev.” She hoped she would be seeing him very soon.

  EMILY AND WADE had invited Trevor and his family to join them at Sidney Applegate Park for a picnic Thursday after work. It was a beautiful summer day, still warm and bright when they arrived. Trevor knew the kids didn’t mind the heat, and he’d changed into a T-shirt and khaki shorts, so he was comfortable enough. With the strap of the diaper bag over his shoulder and Abbie balanced on his hip, he dragged a wheeled cooler full of canned juices and soft drinks behind him, telling Sam to stay close until they found the others.

  Even for a weekday afternoon, the park was crowded. Noisy, too, he noted, identifying at least four different types of music sounding from the boom boxes scattered around the area. Sam was bouncing with eagerness to get on the playground equipment; Trevor would be surprised if the boy could sit still long enough to eat. Abbie was just happy to be outside, watching the activity around them.

  “There’s Aunt Emily and Uncle Wade!” Sam pointed, his voice squeaking in excitement. “And, Daddy, look—it’s Jamie!”

  Trevor almost stumbled, but recovered quickly. Jamie was definitely there, standing close to Emily. She looked wonderful, her red hair glittering in the afternoon sun, her fascinating face animated with laughter, her slender figure flattered by a snug T-shirt and denim shorts. He had never seen her really dressed up, he realized, but she wore her casual wardrobe with an elegance and flair that most women could only envy. She didn’t dress “New York”—he’d never seen her in black or wearing trendy labels, the type of outfits Melanie had favored. He wondered if Jamie had dressed this way in New York, or if she’d adjusted her style to fit into Honoria.

  What was he doing standing here analyzing her wardrobe? He didn’t care about clothes. It was more likely an attempt to distract himself from memories of the last time they’d been together, alone in her bedroom. To stop him from closing the distance between them and tugging her into his arms, right there in front of whoever might see them.

  He watched as Sam dashed to her side, eagerly grabbing her hand. Jamie looked down at the boy with one of her blinding smiles, and Sam beamed back up at her. Trevor swallowed hard, identifying a bit too well with the infatuation on his son’s face. He’d been doing very well so far keeping his relationship with Jamie completely separate from his other life. He hadn’t intended to change that.

  He should have known it wouldn’t be possible for long in Honoria.

  There was no evidence of self-consciousness in her expression when she greeted him. “Hey, Trev. How’s it going?”

  Aware that his family was watching them, Trevor nodded pleasantly. “Fine, thank you. And you?”

  “Can’t complain. Hello, beautiful.” She tickled Abbie’s chin.

  The baby laughed and held out her hands, demanding to be transferred. Even Abbie, Trevor thought in resignation, handing over his daughter. Jamie hoisted Abbie high in front of her, making the little girl laugh and kick her sneakered feet in delight.

  Looking pleased with herself, Emily rested a hand on her cousin’s arm. “I’m glad you could come, Trevor.”

  He brushed a light kiss against her cheek. “You look lovely, as always.”

  “And you are charming, as always.” She motioned toward Jamie, who was skillfully dividing her attention between Abbie, Sam and Clay, who had gravitated to her side with the others. “Isn’t it a nice surprise to see Jamie?”

  “Yes, it certainly is.”

  “She and I ran into each other at the bank this afternoon, and I asked if she would like to join us.”

  “That was nice of you.” He made sure to keep his mixed feelings hidden behind a bland smile.

  Wade, who’d been setting plastic containers of food out on a large concrete picnic table, joined them. “Hey, Trevor.”

  “Hey, Wade. You haven’t gotten into the food yet, have you?”

  “No, I’ve managed to stay out of it so far. Emily threatened to whup me if I even took a bite of anything.”

  Trevor chuckled and glanced down at his petite cousin. “I have no doubt that she could do it.”

  “Neither do I. That’s the only thing that’s kept me out of those containers. But I’m warning y’all, I can’t wait much longer. I’m starving.”

  Seeing that Jamie was still occupied with the children, Trevor turned his attention to the baby girl lying in an elaborate stroller next to the picnic table and looking around with wide eyes. “How’s Claire?” he asked, lightly stroking her downy hair.

  “Growing like a pretty weed,” Wade reported proudly. “Won’t be long before she’s running around playing with the rest of the kids.”

  “I can’t wait to see our newest family member,” Emily murmured. “I’m looking forward to going to Atlanta this weekend to visit Tara and Blake and the baby.”

  “I’m still having trouble picturing Blake as a father.”

  Emily giggled. “You know Blake will be great—even if he isn’t exactly…well, average.”

  “So, are we just going to stand here and gab, or are we going to eat?” Wade asked, eyeing the food containers with growing impatience.

  His wife sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, Wade. Anyone would think you haven’t eaten in days.”

  “It’s been hours. I’m hungry,” he said plaintively.

  “So am I,” Trevor agreed.

  Clay had joined them just in time to pipe in, “I’m hungry, too.”

  “Then I suppose we’d better eat,” Emily said matter-of-factly.

  A few chaotic minutes later, they were all gathered around well-filled plates of food. Wade, Emily and Clay sat on one side of the table. Sam had scrambled between Trevor and Jamie on the other side. Holding Abbie on his knee, Trevor managed through experience to feed himself and his daughter at the same time. Not that he was as hungry as he’d claimed to be. With Jamie sitting so close to him, it was hard to think of food.

  Conversation during the meal was suitably casual, pretty well dominated by the children. He and Jamie put on what he thought was a creditable show of acting like mere acquaintances, though occasionally their gazes met and held f
or a few moments over Sam’s head. He wasn’t sure their ruse fooled Wade—not much escaped the sharp-eyed cop—but maybe they’d managed to keep Emily guessing.

  He glanced across the table, saw his cousin’s smile, and knew he was only fooling himself.

  “We’re going to the beach,” Clay announced loudly, drawing Trevor’s attention away from his own thoughts.

  “The beach? That sounds great,” Jamie said encouragingly. “Where?”

  “Alabama. My aunt—Dad’s sister—and her husband have a beach house there and we’re going to spend a whole week with them.”

  Jamie looked at Wade with dramatically widened eyes. “The police chief’s going to be gone for a whole week? Whatever will we do? Honoria might be hit with a crime wave.”

  “I’ve told my deputies to keep an eye on you,” Wade drawled without missing a beat, making Emily, Trevor and Clay chuckle and Jamie wrinkle her nose at him.

  “I’m through eating, can I go play?” Sam asked.

  Trevor glanced at his son’s plate, decided he’d eaten enough, and nodded. “Stay close.”

  “Want to throw my Frisbee with me, Jamie?” Sam offered.

  “Jamie hasn’t finished eating,” Trevor murmured.

  But Jamie had already set her plastic fork down. “I’ve had plenty. I would love to play Frisbee with you, Sammy.”

  Trying not to look as eager as his younger cousin, Clay stood. “I guess I’ll play, too,” he said as though he was granting them a favor.

  “The more the merrier,” Jamie assured him.

  “She’s wonderful with children, isn’t she?” Emily said, watching Jamie frolicking with the boys a few minutes later.

  Dragging his gaze away from Jamie, Trevor focused on Abbie, who was playing with a plastic spoon and babbling contentedly to herself on his knee. “Yes, Jamie’s very good with children.”

  “Sam is obviously crazy about her. He completely forgets to be shy when Jamie’s around.”

  “Shy is hardly a word in Jamie Flaherty’s vocabulary,” Wade commented dryly.

  “How is he doing with the new nanny?” Emily asked.

  Trevor steadied Abbie when she climbed to her feet on his lap, holding on to his head for balance. “Sarah’s changed her approach with him, and it’s working. He’s communicating much better with her.”

  He didn’t add that Jamie had helped there, too.

  “I’m glad you and Jamie have been seeing each other,” Emily confided, ignoring her husband’s meaningful throat clearing. “You make such a nice couple.”

  “I suppose you’ve been talking to Mother,” Trevor said in resignation.

  His cousin giggled. “Are you kidding? Everyone’s talking about you and Jamie.”

  “Emily,” Wade murmured.

  She looked at him with a shrug. “Well, they are.”

  Trevor recovered enough voice to ask, “Just what is ‘everyone’ saying?”

  Emily frowned a little, as if she had suddenly become aware that Trevor wasn’t pleased. “Uh—not much. Just—well, everyone knows you’ve been going out on Friday nights—”

  So much for those long drives to out-of-town night-spots, Trevor thought grimly.

  “…and that you’ve had lunch at her house several times,” Emily added ingenuously.

  Trevor winced when Abbie grabbed his hair with both hands and pulled, but his reaction was due more to his cousin’s words than to his daughter’s actions. He reached up to disentangle her fingers. “Where did you hear that?”

  “About your lunches? You know Gloria Capps lives across the street from Jamie, don’t you?”

  Trevor hadn’t known his visits had been monitored. He scowled, uncomfortable with the thought that someone had been watching her house while he was there feeling safely alone with her.

  The crowded park suddenly looked different to him, making him feel as though everyone was watching him, speculating about him and Jamie. He wondered how many people were watching Jamie romping with Sam and picturing her as a stepmom. That was something he hadn’t even considered, he assured himself. He was no more interested in remarrying now than he had been before he’d started seeing Jamie. He doubted that she was interested, herself.

  “Now, Trevor, don’t start getting all freaked out,” Emily chided him. “You know you can’t sneeze in this town without everyone knowing about it. They’re going to talk about you, whatever you do, so you might as well accept it.”

  “I don’t have to like it,” he grumbled.

  “No. I hated it that so many people loved spreading unfounded rumors about my brother. But just when I had convinced myself I wanted to move away, I was reminded of all the good things about living here. The low crime rate, the good schools, the way the same people who love to gossip about you will line up to help if you’re in trouble.”

  “And I thought you decided to stay in Honoria only because I moved here,” Wade said.

  She smiled at him. “That was a definite incentive.”

  Their attention was distracted when little Claire woke in her stroller with a sudden squawk, and then made it clear that as long as she was awake, she might as well eat. While Emily gave the baby a bottle and Wade began to gather picnic supplies, Trevor busied himself with his increasingly restless daughter.

  “Down,” Abbie demanded, pointing toward the ground.

  “Want to walk?” he asked her.

  “Down,” she repeated.

  He stood, set the child on her feet and held her hands while she tried out her amusingly wobbly legs. Every time he let go of her hands, she fell flat on her diapered bottom. Each time, she laughed, clapped her chubby hands, then held them up for him to do it again.

  “I’m not sure she’s getting the hang of this walking thing,” Jamie commented as she approached them. She sounded slightly winded from her game with the boys, who had turned their attention to trying to pin Wade to the grass.

  “I’ve decided I’m going to have to carry her to kindergarten,” Trevor answered wryly, trying not to stare at Jamie’s attractively flushed cheeks and bright eyes. The more he looked at her, the more he wanted her. And this was a damn inconvenient time to deal with that.

  “She’ll walk when she’s good and ready, won’t you, Abbie?”

  “Go,” Abbie answered, holding her hands up again.

  Somehow Trevor found himself holding Abbie’s left hand while Jamie held her right. Supporting the toddler between them, they escorted Sam to the playground equipment, where they took turns entertaining Abbie and supervising Sam’s play.

  Trevor knew any interested onlookers must think they looked really domestic. Anyone who didn’t know them would think they were already a family. Jamie seemed to fit the role very well at the moment.

  But then, so had Melanie, a cruel voice inside his head whispered. Most people had thought Melanie was the perfect wife and mother. They hadn’t known her at all, of course. And Trevor, perhaps, had been the most deluded about her. He’d thought she was damn near perfect, himself. So perfect that he’d even secretly found her a little dull at times, though he had tried very hard not to acknowledge those uncomfortable feelings.

  He’d made himself a promise that he would never be so gullible about a woman again. Nor quite so trusting. He owed it to his children as much as he did to himself.

  10

  THE SHADOWS HAD GROWN long and the sky was beginning to darken by the time the picnic ended. They had finished up, having devoured the cupcakes Jamie had hastily baked after Emily invited her to join them. On the other side of the table, Claire was asleep in Emily’s arms, while Clay leaned comfortably against his father. Abbie was beginning to doze against Trevor’s chest, and Sam, worn out from running and playing, had crawled into Jamie’s lap.

  Listening to something Emily was saying, Jamie looped her arms loosely around Sam and rested her cheek against his damp hair. He smelled of little boy, she found herself thinking, an interesting combination of heat and sweetness. It was a nice feeling to sit wi
th this close family, cradling a contentedly drowsy child in her lap.

  She glanced at Trevor, whose strong arms so easily supported his little daughter. It had been interesting watching him in this different mode. Not as her date or her lover—the word still evoked sensual memories in the back of her mind. But as a devoted father. He seemed so comfortable in that role. She’d watched him matter-of-factly feed Abbie, entertain her, change her diaper, wipe her hands before and after her cupcake, his movements so confident, his big hands so gentle. She’d watched him roughhouse with Sam, laughing and tickling, tossing the little boy in the air and then catching him so securely.

  Loving father. Dutiful son. Caring friend. Passionate lover. Jamie had seen Trevor in all those roles now, but she knew there was a part of himself he kept hidden from her. From everyone, perhaps? Even as she looked at him then, she saw shadows lurking deep within him that she didn’t yet understand.

  She had so much still to learn about him. They hadn’t talked about his marriage or the life he had led in Washington. She still didn’t know exactly why he had moved back to Honoria, or what he planned for the future. She didn’t know if he had any thoughts of including her in that future. She hadn’t forgotten that it had been Emily, not Trevor, who had invited her to join them here.

  Glancing her way, he caught her studying him. He gave her a smile that revealed nothing of his thoughts. “I think we’ve worn the kids out,” he announced to all the adults.

  Wade groaned. “I thought it was the other way around.”

  Emily smiled. “As much as I’ve enjoyed this, it probably is time to call it a day.”

  “Not yet,” Sam protested. “I want to go down the slide again. I’m not tired.” But even as he spoke, he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

  Jamie chuckled and gave him a hug. “You never get tired, do you, Sammy?”

  He grinned sheepishly up at her. “Well…maybe a little.”

  “We’ll come back to the park another time, son,” Trevor said. “The slide will still be here.”