Sydney lifted the baby out of the crib and handed her to Daniel.
“Hey, munchkin,” he said, stretching out on his side and laying her down beside him, with her back to his chest and she calmed right down. He had the feeling he would be pretty much stuck like this for the rest of the night.
Sydney slipped into a pair of panties and a T-shirt and climbed into bed, lying on her side facing him. “Maybe tomorrow?”
He reached over and took her hand. “I’m sure we can work something out.”
“Besides, it’s not like we didn’t already make love this morning.”
“Twice.” And every day for the past week. Maybe they were getting spoiled.
“I had a lot of fun tonight,” she said.
“Groping me?”
She smiled. “That, too. But I meant in general. Just hanging out with Angie and Jason. He’s a great guy.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t understand why you don’t like him. You should at least try for Angie’s sake. She’s crazy about him.”
“I don’t trust him. He’s too nice. Just like Richard. If you could have seen how messed up she was—”
“That was a long time ago. And the fact that she hasn’t had a serious relationship since the divorce is a pretty good sign that she’s not going to fall for just anyone.”
Sydney had a point, but every one of Daniel’s instincts was telling him that he needed to protect his sister. So that was what he planned to do.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THOUGH LACEY HAD PLANNED to have a terrible time all weekend to spite her mom, and she was still kinda pissed that she’d been forced here in the first place, it really hadn’t been that bad. Mostly because Jordan was doing everything he could to avoid her.
It had been like that at work lately, too. He would bark occasional orders, but otherwise he ignored her, and she ignored him right back. She could hardly believe that she’d thought she liked him. He was the biggest jerk she had ever met. Even worse than Shane.
Everyone got up late Saturday morning, and after a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon and homemade waffles, the adults got dressed and went for a tour around the cove on Jason’s boat. Lacey stayed at the house to babysit April and was relieved when Jordan took off jogging down the beach. She didn’t like the idea of being stuck alone with him.
She played with April on a blanket in the sand for a while, then gave her a bottle and put her down for a nap. It was weird, but she had half expected to see creepy Fred out there. It seemed as though he was hanging around everywhere she went, spreading his creepiness. When she was picking up trash off the strip mall grass the other day before the mowers went through, she’d seen him hanging out in front of the pub across the street. And when she and Veronica went to get ice cream the other night, he was in line behind them.
He never said anything to her, or even looked at her. She was sure it was just a coincidence, but still it gave her the creeps.
Since she hadn’t taken one that morning, she grabbed a quick shower while April was asleep. Thinking she was still alone in the house, she dried off and wrapped herself in a towel, grabbed her dirty clothes and started down the hall to her room…running face-first into Jordan, who was standing just outside the door.
He was shirtless and sweaty. And so gorgeous she had to remind herself again how much she didn’t like him.
“Took you long enough,” he said.
She glared up at him, clutching the towel to her chest. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a Neanderthal?”
He looked down at her and without warning a lopsided grin spread across his face. It was the first time he’d ever smiled at her, and for a second it actually took her breath away.
He reached out and touched a damp lock of her hair. She had to fight not to flinch. “It’s not green anymore.”
“It’s a gel—it washed out.”
His eyes wandered across her face, in the same slow, precise way he did everything, and she started to feel nervous.
“What are you looking at?”
“You’re pretty without all of that garbage on your face.”
Garbage on her face? She suddenly remembered who she was talking to and shoved him away. “You’re a jerk.”
He let out a surprised laugh. “I compliment you and you call me a jerk?”
“I’m pretty without the garbage on my face. You call that a compliment? You don’t even like me. You’re just messing with my head again.”
“Again? When did I ever mess with your head?”
“When you helped me get rid of Shane. You made me believe you liked me.”
His brow lifted, and she realized how that had sounded.
Good going, Lacey. She’d just let him know he’d gotten to her, that she wanted him to like her. She tried to push past him but he stepped in front of her.
“Why does it matter if I like you or not?”
“It doesn’t. Now get out of my way.” She tried to get past him again, but he wrapped a large sweaty hand around her forearm. He wasn’t even kissing her this time, and she was getting those funny feelings again.
All over.
“I don’t understand why you do this,” he said.
“Do what?”
“This.” Jordan reached up his other hand and brushed his finger over the ring piercing her brow. Every inch of her tingled with awareness. “The piercings, the dark makeup. And why do you change your hair weird colors? Why do you do all of this…garbage when you look so pretty without it?”
He thought she was pretty? She hated that the idea made her heart beat faster. Why did she care what he thought? He was a creep.
“To be different,” she said.
“Why do you want to be different?”
At first she thought he was being a jerk again, but when she looked into his eyes she could see he genuinely didn’t understand. And for some reason that made her uncomfortable. She lowered her gaze and shrugged. “I don’t know, I just do.”
“There has to be a reason.” He let go of her arm and lifted her chin until their eyes met. His expression was so intense she almost couldn’t stand it. She wasn’t used to anyone looking at her that way, as if he could see right through her. People stared all the time, but they never really saw her. And that was exactly the way she liked it. They hit the surface and bounced off.
“I guess I want people to notice me.”
Jordan’s mouth curled up in a grin that made her stomach plummet. “Trust me, people would notice you anyway.”
He ran his thumb over her bottom lip and her heart started slam dancing with her ribs.
She turned her head. “Don’t do that.”
“Why? I like your lip. It always sticks out, like you’re pouting.”
She caught her lip in her teeth. “I should go check on April.”
“Already did. She’s asleep.” He dipped his head, so their mouths were almost touching. She could feel his breath, feel the heat radiating from his body like a furnace.
“Are you going to kiss me?” she asked, but the words came out all soft and breathy.
“Do you always ask first?”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“Maybe I will. But you have to promise me something first.”
Lacey’s heart was beating so hard and fast she felt light-headed. “What?”
“No more weird hair color or crazy makeup.”
All those warm, trembly feelings fizzled away. Just when she thought he was a nice guy, he had to go and ruin it.
“Drop dead,” she said, shoving him away. “If you can’t accept me for who really I am, I would rather remove my own skin with a vegetable peeler than kiss you.”
Jordan shook his head, giving her that blank look again. God, she hated that.
“As soon as you figure out who that is, you let me know.” With that, he walked past her into the bathroom, and shut the door behind him. She hated to admit it, but the words stung.
When April began to cry severa
l minutes later, Lacey was still standing there.
SOMETHING WAS UP.
Jason and Angie disappeared into the master suite for about an hour that afternoon. At the time, Sydney figured they were doing what any couple would do when locked in a bedroom—what she wished she and Daniel could do—but when they emerged to make dinner, something was off. Angie seemed nervous. Jason kept looking at her and smiling, and Angie kept looking from Daniel to Jordan, then back to Jason, as if she was waiting for something. Or waiting for the right time to say something.
And Sydney had the sneaking suspicion that whatever it was, Angie was pretty sure Daniel and Jordan weren’t going to like it. Which made Sydney nervous. They’d had a good time so far. She hated to see it ruined.
After dinner, everyone pitched in and helped clean up, and when they were finished, Angie said, “Why don’t we all sit on the porch. Jason and I have something we need to talk to you about.”
Daniel shot a look Sydney’s way, as if he thought she knew what was going on, and she shrugged. Everyone seemed puzzled as they walked out onto the porch.
It was a gorgeous evening. The sun was just beginning to set over the water, reflecting the reddish-orange streaks that spread across the darkening sky.
Sydney and Daniel sat on the swing with April while Jordan and Lacey took chairs on opposite sides of the porch. Angie and Jason leaned against the railing with their backs to the sunset. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
Angie cut right to the chase. “Jason and I are getting married.”
Sydney felt Daniel tense beside her.
“That’s great,” Jordan said, looking genuinely happy for his mom. “But I thought you were going to wait until next year.”
“We were,” Angie said.
“So why don’t you?” Daniel asked, in a tone that made his sister flinch.
“Because,” Jason said, “Angie and I are having a baby.”
“Wow,” Jordan said, looking stunned. “I didn’t know you were planning on having kids.”
“We weren’t,” Angie said, glancing at her brother. “This was a big surprise. But now that the shock has worn off, we’re both excited.”
“When did you find out?” Jordan asked.
“I took the test before dinner. Two tests, actually, just to be sure.”
“Excuse me,” Daniel mumbled, pushing off the swing with such force Sydney jerked forward and almost lost her grip on April. He walked into the house, letting the screen door bang shut behind him.
Angie’s face fell, and any trace of joy and excitement disappeared. Though Sydney could tell he was trying to hide it, Jason was clearly angry. “Do you want me to talk to him?” he asked.
Angie shook her head, looking miserable. “It will only make things worse. I guess it was too much to expect him to be happy for me.”
Jordan got up, and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and a big hug. “I’m happy for you.”
“So am I,” Sydney said, and Lacey added, “Me, too.”
Angie smiled and wiped away the tear that had escaped down her cheek. “Thanks, everyone. That really means a lot to me.”
“I’m going to go talk to Daniel,” Sydney said, rising from the swing. Someone had to tell him what a jerk he was being. And maybe Angie thought Sydney might be able to reason with him because she didn’t try to stop her.
She passed April to Lacey, then went inside to look for him. But he wasn’t on the main floor. He wasn’t in the bedroom, either. She checked the entire house, but there was no sign of him anywhere. He must have slipped out the back and gone for a walk. And since she had no idea which direction he had taken, she couldn’t go after him.
All she could do was wait.
THE WAY JORDAN HUGGED and kissed his mom…well, that was really sweet. Maybe he wasn’t as big a jerk as Lacey had thought.
After everyone else went inside, he walked down to the beach by himself. Lacey gave him a few minutes, then followed him. He was sitting in the sand, close to the shore, looking out over the water.
She sat down beside him, propping her arms on her raised knees, wondering if he might tell her to get lost. He glanced over at her, but didn’t say anything.
“That was awesome,” she said. “The way you hugged your mom.”
He shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “She looked like she needed it.”
“Daniel was acting like a tool.”
“Yeah. He’s just really protective of her because of my dad.”
“He didn’t like your dad, either?”
“I guess he used to, until he found out that my dad was beating the crap out of her.”
Lacey sucked in a surprised breath. She never would have guessed that someone like Angie would let anyone hit her. And she couldn’t understand why someone would want to. And she was even more astonished that Jordan had told her.
“Did you ever see him do it?” she asked.
“No, they got divorced when I was a baby. I found out about it when I was ten, when he went to jail for doing the same thing to his second wife. I was supposed to visit him in Washington for two weeks during summer vacation. My mom felt I had the right to know why I couldn’t go.”
“How long was he in jail?”
“Just a couple of months. But all his visitation rights were revoked. He had to go to therapy for a long time before they would let me see him again. And then he had to come to California. I wasn’t allowed to go back to Washington until I was fifteen.”
“My dad cheated on my mom,” Lacey said. She didn’t mean to. It just sort of came out.
“Is that why they got divorced?”
She nodded. “And I think she knew about it for a long time before she left him. Everyone did. It was humiliating.”
“Parents do really stupid things sometimes.”
They were quiet for a minute, then she said, “Can I ask you a question?”
“I guess.”
“Why were you such a jerk to me at work?”
“When you came to the office that first day I figured you were a spoiled private school girl,” he said, then a smile tipped up the side of his mouth. “Yet, as much as I didn’t like you, I was somehow strangely attracted to you.”
She smiled. “Me, too.”
“Yeah. I figured as much.”
“You know, you were right. This isn’t really me. All this garbage. I only do it to piss my dad off.”
“Yeah, I figured that, too.”
“It was worth it for a while, knowing how much he hated it. Honestly, now I’m just getting sick of it. But I know if I go back to the way I looked before, he’ll be really happy, and I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.”
“Maybe it’s time to stop worrying about what he wants, and do what you want.”
He was right.
Lacey reached up and unhooked her brow ring, pulled it out and flung it at the water. Moonlight glinted off its surface then it disappeared beneath the surface.
“Better?” he asked.
Better, but not enough. She pushed herself up onto her feet, kicked off her flip-flops, and walked to the edge of water. She paused for a second, then stepped into the surf, clothes and all, and waded out a ways. Then she took a deep breath and dove under. She swam a few feet, washing the gel from her hair. When she broke the surface and scrubbed her hands over her face, the salty sea water stung her eyes. But it was a good sting.
She walked back to the shore, where Jordan stood watching her. Her clothes were wet and heavy and she was freezing, but she felt a million times better.
“How’s that?” she asked, smiling up at him.
Jordan didn’t say a word. He just smiled, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
AFTER SEEING the hurt look on Angie’s face as he stormed off the porch, Daniel knew immediately that he was being an ass. But he couldn’t seem to make himself go back and apologize. Not until he’d had a chance to think things through. Which was what he had been doing for the past couple of hours as
he paced up and down the shore.
And as he walked, he began to realize that he’d been so worried Angie would get hurt again and so suspicious of Jason’s motives that he’d been blind to fact that the only person hurting her now was him.
The truth was, Jason had never said or done anything to suggest he wasn’t genuinely devoted to Angie. Daniel had tried and convicted the guy before he ever had a chance. Guilty until proven innocent.
And Daniel had to wonder if part of the reason he didn’t like Jason was simple jealousy. Daniel had been Angie’s protector for a long time, and though he complained, maybe he wasn’t ready to pass the torch.
Maybe the thought of losing her to Jason permanently was too much to take on the heels of the news he’d gotten from the P.I. yesterday. The investigator had a good lead on a cousin of Reanne’s and needed the okay to fly out to Utah to look into it. A month ago, Daniel wouldn’t have hesitated to write him out a check. He didn’t want to keep April. And even if he did, he couldn’t give her what she needed—two parents and a stable home.
None of that was part of Daniel’s plan. He didn’t want to be permanently tied down to anyone. Yet when he tried to imagine Sydney and April not being there to greet him when he got home from work, when he thought of Sydney not crawling into bed with him every morning before he started his day, he felt so…empty.
He tried to tell himself that it was habit. He’d seen so much of her lately, he’d probably gotten used to her being around. Meaning he could just as easily get unused to her, too. At some point he was going to have to back off. Maybe if he let the relationship run its natural course, he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone’s heart breaking. Maybe they could end this as friends.
But what if it wasn’t so easy to let go this time? Which would he regret more? Making a commitment to Sydney, or walking away from her for good?
The house was dark when he got back, and though he wouldn’t have blamed Angie and Jason if they’d locked him out, the door was open. He climbed the stairs, careful not to wake anyone, and crept into the bedroom. Sydney was curled up on her side, April tucked against her. He’d been a real jerk to dump April on her like that, knowing she would feel obligated to take care of her. Proof that he would be a lousy father.
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