“No.” She frowned, remembering the past. “It’s almost as if my parents bought into the myth of television, of the perfect family with perfect children. When that didn’t turn out to be real, they didn’t want any part of it. That attitude is one of the reasons I went into teaching. Kids are completely genuine.”
“I’m surprised you don’t have a couple dozen of your own.”
“I’d like to.”
She would. But in her mind, children meant family and that implied a husband and father. So far there hadn’t been anyone she was comfortable thinking of that way. Except for Jarrett. As she had been when she’d read her journal a couple of days ago, she was struck by how solitary her plans for the future had been.
“How do you survive being alone?” she asked. “I hadn’t realized that was what I expected for myself until recently, but apparently it’s the truth. I don’t like it and I’m not sure how to change it.”
He looked at her. Sadness darkened his eyes to the color of midnight. “I wouldn’t wish it on a snake,” he said. “It’s not living, it’s existing. You deserve more, Fallon. Don’t give up so easily.”
“I don’t want to, it’s just—”
How could she tell him there had never been anyone around to make her think otherwise?
“You have your sisters,” he reminded her.
“That’s not exactly the relationship I had in mind.”
She hadn’t noticed him moving, but suddenly he seemed to be sitting closer. She inhaled and caught his scent—an intriguing combination of male and cologne. A shiver rippled down her spine.
“What do you want?” he asked softly.
She didn’t know how to answer. She wasn’t sure what he was asking. Still, the word fell past her lips with no conscious thought on her part. “More.”
With one fluid, masterful gesture, he swept her into his arms. She went willingly, surging toward him, wrapping one arm around his neck, plunging her fingers through his hair. As his mouth came down to hers, she was ready, her lips already parted.
Jarrett resisted the powerful impulse to plunge into her mouth. As much as he wanted her, he knew it would be better if he held himself in check and savored the kiss. So he drew back at the last second and swept his tongue across her lower lip. She shuddered and whispered his name. The hand gripping his shoulder tightened. Her legs shifted restlessly as if she, too, felt uncontrollable hunger.
He cupped her head, burying his fingers in her loose curls. The soft silk of her hair caressed him. When he had teasingly circled her mouth, he slowly slipped inside, first laying claim to the sensitive skin of her inner lip before touching his tongue to the tip of hers.
Fire engulfed him. The need was incendiary, inescapable and instantaneous. His arousal throbbed with his rapid heartbeat. Every square inch of his body longed to be naked and pressed intimately against her. As he tilted his head and swept in deeper, he dropped one hand to her shoulder, then down her arm.
At the base of her elbow he slipped to her ribs. She clamped her lips around his tongue and sucked on him. The unexpected assault left him breathless and ready. He gave a guttural groan and cupped her breast.
The sweet curve nestled in his palm. His fingers curled around her as his thumb brushed over her taut nipple. The sucking increased, then stopped. She tilted her head back, gasping for air. He could see the rapid pulse at the base of her throat, and when she opened her eyes to look at him, desire clouded her green irises. Her mouth was swollen from their kisses.
“Jarrett, I—”
“Yeah,” he whispered, releasing her breast and pulling her hard against him. “Me, too.”
He kissed her cheek, her forehead, her nose and finally her mouth. When she parted her lips, he moved in slowly, sensuously, savoring the taste, the texture, all of her.
He was hard and hot and he suspected if he touched her between her silken thighs he would find her already wet. She obviously wanted him as much as he wanted her. Which made his decision not to make love tonight completely crazy.
If asked, he wouldn’t be able to explain it. Yet some voice in his head warned this wasn’t the right time. He knew down to his heart that making love with Fallon would be completely different from making love with anyone else. She had already invaded his life; he wasn’t ready to have her invade his soul.
He pulled back and smiled. “It’s late,” he said. “We should both be in bed.”
Her eyes widened.
“Separate beds,” he explained.
Questions swept across her face. Questions he couldn’t answer. He wasn’t sure why he was holding back. Maybe it was a mistake, but he didn’t think so.
The grandfather clock chimed the hour, and the melodious sound of bells interrupted his thoughts. They both glanced at the face of the clock. It was midnight.
“Merry Christmas,” he told her.
She stood, then bent at the waist and softly kissed his mouth. “Merry Christmas, Jarrett. And thank you.”
Chapter Fourteen
“You have to smile, Uncle Jarrett,” Anna Jane said.
Jarrett glanced up and smiled obligingly. The nine-year-old raised her new disposable camera to her right eye and pushed the button. When the picture was taken, she grinned. “This is fun.”
He had to agree. The living room looked as if there’d been a whirlwind through the place. Wrapping paper, empty boxes, bows and tags were scattered all around. Piles of presents teetered in different corners of the room. Again he was reminded of how things could have been if he’d allowed himself to accept his sister’s invitations. Yet he’d deliberately withdrawn. Had it been a form of punishment?
The thought hadn’t occurred to him before, but now that he mulled it over, it made sense. Despite the fact that he had tried to make things right with Charlotte and that he’d never wanted anything to happen to her, he still blamed himself for her death. A voice in his head kept telling him he should have known she was unstable before he ever started their affair. There hadn’t been any outward clues, but he was supposed to be good with people. Why hadn’t he sensed it?
All the logic in the world didn’t matter when guilt was involved. She’d died and he was responsible. She’d been buried in the ground, he’d buried himself alive, drowning in work, refusing to participate in the pleasures of life. Until one small girl and an amazing woman had returned him to the land of the living.
He wanted to go back in time and make it right with Charlotte and with Tracy. He wanted to relive those first years of Anna Jane’s life and watch her grow into the terrific kid she was today. But that wasn’t possible. He wasn’t going to get a chance to change the past, but he had been given another opportunity with the future.
“You’re looking happy about something,” Fallon said.
She sat cross-legged on the floor next to him. It had dawned clear and warm for Christmas and they were all in shorts. Fallon wore her hair loose, the way he liked it best. Minimal makeup accentuated her large eyes and tempting mouth. Now, as she smiled at him, all he could think about was stealing her away from the family scene and kissing her until they forgot everything except how much they wanted each other.
“I finally get the point of Dickens’s story A Christmas Carol,” he said. “I know exactly how Ebenezer Scrooge felt that morning.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve been seeing ghosts,” she teased.
“Not exactly, but I have come to my senses.”
“I’m glad.”
“You’re partially responsible.”
A faint blush stained her cheeks. “That’s not true, Jarrett. You managed this all on your own. I was just the catalyst. If I hadn’t shown up, you would have figured out what to do.”
“Not in time to give Anna Jane a nice holiday.”
“You underestimate yourself.”
He wished she were telling the truth, but he knew better. He would have continued to bury himself in his work, because it was easier than learning how to deal with a child. He shuddered a
t the thought of Anna Jane’s disappointment. Thank God Fallon had helped him avert that crisis.
Kayla said something, capturing Fallon’s attention. Jarrett looked at the happy couples in the room. They nearly glowed with their affection for each other. He envied them that. Love between a man and a woman still terrified him. He knew the cost of loving someone to the exclusion of all else. It was safer to be alone. And yet— He drew in a breath. Being around Fallon made him want more. And wanting more was the reason he hadn’t made love to her last night.
He smiled at the thought. If he hadn’t wanted her so much, he would have taken her to his bed. If she hadn’t been starting to get under his skin it would have been easy to find comfort and release in her beautiful body. But his confused feelings complicated the situation. For now it was easier to hold back.
Anna Jane flopped down in front of him. “This has been a wonderful Christmas, Uncle Jarrett. Thank you very much.”
He looked at her and frowned. “There are two more packages.”
Her dark eyes widened as a slow grin split her face. “Really?”
“Yes. One for you and one for Fallon. I’m surprised you missed them.”
Anna Jane got up and walked over to the tree. The area underneath was empty. “There’s nothing here.”
“Check the lower branches. When I ran out of room on the floor, I put a couple of things there.”
“Oh, here they are,” she squealed as she handed her camera to Cole and reached for the packages. One was a three-inch-square box, the other a flat box about six by eight inches. Anna Jane read the tags and handed the larger gift to Fallon. “They’re from Uncle Jarrett,” she said.
Fallon raised her eyebrows. She pointed to the impressive pile in front of her. There were a couple of books, a T-shirt from the resort, some perfume and a large box of imported chocolates. “You’ve already done more than enough.”
He shrugged. “This is different.” He turned his attention to his niece. “You have to open yours first, Anna Jane.”
The child ripped off the paper and lifted the cover from the box. She exhaled a sigh of pure pleasure as she pulled out a delicate chain with a pendant. “It’s beautiful,” she said, her voice laced with awe. “Uncle Jarrett, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever, ever seen.”
She laid the pendant in her hand and held it out to him. The jeweler had worked a miracle, and in record time. As Jarrett had requested, the pendant was a small golden mermaid with a pretty smile and long curly hair. She wore a crown of tiny pearls. Her arms were outstretched as if she were offering a gift. Her miniature fingers clutched a twenty-five-point diamond.
Fallon felt her throat tighten as she stared at the pendant. Just when she figured Jarrett had gotten as close as he could to stealing her heart, he went and did something like this. The warm, thoughtful gesture warned her she was in more danger than she’d first realized.
“It’s amazing,” she said.
Her sisters crowded around. “Stunning,” Elissa agreed. “But why a mermaid?”
“When I couldn’t remember my name, Anna Jane called me Ariel, after the mermaid in the Disney movie. Because I’d washed up on the beach.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Kayla said. “Between Christmas and my wayward hormones, I just might have to cry.”
Anna Jane held the necklace out to Jarrett, then stood with her back to him and lifted her hair off her neck. “Put it on me, Uncle Jarrett. I want to wear it.”
He did as she requested. When the necklace was secure, Anna Jane spun around and threw herself at him. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly. “I love it and I love you.”
“Brat,” he said affectionately. “I’m glad.”
Still in his embrace, Anna Jane looked at Fallon. “Open yours.”
Fallon had an idea she was about to receive a grown-up version of the girl’s necklace and she could already feel tears burning in her eyes.
“I refuse to cry,” she muttered.
“Oh, happy tears, Uncle Jarrett. That’s good, huh?”
“I hope so,” he replied.
Fallon didn’t dare look at him or her sisters. She tugged at the wrapping paper, then let it fall to the floor. The flat jeweler’s box was pale, salmon-colored velvet. Emotionally bracing herself, she opened the top.
Her breath caught in her throat. Instead of a pendant, she stared down at a strand of perfectly matched pearls. They were smooth and gleaming in the morning light.
“Oh, my,” she breathed. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything so lovely.
Kayla and Elissa crowded close. “Boy howdy, there’s a present,” Kayla said, and grinned. “I can hardly wait to borrow them.”
Fallon smiled slightly, then sobered. “Jarrett, these are too expensive. I can’t accept.”
Elissa and Kayla both groaned. “Are you insane?” Kayla asked.
“I—”
“He wants you to have them,” Elissa added. “Right, Jarrett?”
“Of course. Otherwise I wouldn’t have bought them.”
Fallon risked a quick glance. Jarrett was smiling at her. “It’s okay,” he said in a mock whisper. “I can afford them.”
Anna Jane leaned over her shoulder. “They’re nice, Uncle Jarrett, but I thought there would be a mermaid.”
“There is.” He pointed to the tissue-wrapped object in the center of the box.
Fallon felt her fingers start to shake. She rested the box on the floor and picked up the small package. It felt heavy. As she unwrapped it, she felt the shape of the mermaid’s tail. When she finally held the golden beauty in her hand, she gasped.
The mermaid was a larger version of Anna Jane’s. The only difference was there were no pearls in her mermaid’s crown and the small diamond in her hands had been replaced with a much larger stone.
“So you can remember her,” Jarrett said.
“Ariel or Anna Jane?” she asked.
“Both.” He pointed to the solid gold object. “It’s a pearl enhancer. You can wear the strand with or without it. The mermaid will fit on a wide chain, too.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she said, feeling numb. Something damp trickled down her cheek. She brushed at her chin and was shocked to realize she was crying.
Anna Jane leaned close. “Say ‘thank you,’” the child whispered.
“I really shouldn’t—”
“Fallon!” Kayla and Elissa said together.
“I—” She clamped her lips together and tried again. “Thank you.”
Still holding the mermaid, she rosé onto her knees and hugged him. As he squeezed her back she felt something tighten, then release in her chest. A warm glow filled her. Over Jarrett’s shoulder she saw Kayla give her a thumbs-up sign.
Fallon laughed and fought tears and wondered if any moment in her life had ever been this perfect.
* * *
“This is crazy,” Fallon said. “I refuse to cry. I’ll see you guys in a few weeks.”
Elissa hugged her close. “It won’t be soon enough. This has been a great holiday.”
She crouched down and hugged Anna Jane. The nine-year-old didn’t attempt to hide her tears. They flowed freely.
“I’ll miss you, little one,” Elissa told her.
“I’ll miss you, too. I wish you didn’t have to go.”
Jarrett placed his hand on his niece’s shoulder. “They’ll come back.”
Kayla laughed. “You can bet on it.” She stretched her T-shirt over her barely rounded belly. “The next time you see me, I’ll be skinny and gorgeous again.”
“You’re already beautiful,” Jarrett told her. “Pregnancy only enhances that.”
“Hey, that’s my line,” Patrick said, and grinned.
Kayla laid the back of her hand across her forehead. “I swear I’m going to swoon. Keep this one, Fallon. There aren’t enough like him out there.”
Her sister was right, Fallon thought. She wasn’t sure how, but she’d gotten lucky with Jarrett
. He’d made the time with her family the best Christmas they’d ever had.
The sisters hugged while the men shook hands. Everyone took turns kissing Anna Jane on the cheek. She waved bravely as they climbed into the charter plane that would take them to Miami.
“Bye,” Anna Jane called as the door closed.
Fallon waved as her family took their seats and waved back. In a matter of minutes, the plane had disappeared into the brilliant blue sky.
Jarrett bent and picked up Anna Jane. He put his arm around Fallon. “It’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow,” he reminded them. “Are you two going to be down in the dumps for that?”
Anna Jane sniffed. “Are we having a party?”
“Of course. We’re going to the hotel and they’re having a big party.”
Anna Jane smiled through her tears. “Can I stay up until midnight?”
“I don’t know. Can you?”
She giggled. “May I stay up until midnight?”
“Yes, you may. If you can.”
Fallon laughed with them. Like Anna Jane, she was sorry to see her sisters go, but the prospect of dancing the night away in Jarrett’s arms tomorrow night had its own appeal. She’d bought a sexy dress from the boutique, just for the occasion. She wanted to impress him. And maybe knock him a little off balance. It was only fair; he did that to her every time he smiled at her.
* * *
The hotel ballroom had been decorated with balloons and streamers. Black, gold and silver moons and stars covered the tables and hung from slender strings. The hotel had flown the band in from the States and their combination of contemporary and jazz had everyone out on the dance floor. Anna Jane was a hit with all the young boys staying at the resort.
“She’s having a wonderful time,” Fallon said as Jarrett made a quick turn. She followed his steps, moving her body with his but keeping her attention on his niece.
“The belle of the ball.”
“Lucky for her all the kids seem to be boys. Although I suspect she would be this popular even without those numbers in her favor.”
She said the words without thinking. Jarrett would have bet his entire fortune on that fact. Fallon didn’t weigh her conversation and try to get the most mileage out of it. She spoke her mind, regardless of what others might think. Even without trying, she still got it right the first time. Her obvious affection for his niece made him care about her more. He wanted her, he liked her, he respected her. It was a deadly combination.
The Mysterious Stranger (Triple Trouble) Page 18