by Nalini Singh
Maybe he could nudge Charlie into inviting Jules over for dinner, then invite himself. Or he could find out her favorite coffee shop and… “And what, Jake?” he muttered to the ceiling. “Start creeping on her there so you can pick fights with her?” His blood heated at the idea of engaging with her, even if it was to fight.
“Cut it the hell out,” he ordered himself, “and go to sleep.”
His subconscious had other ideas. He woke with an erection so rigid it was painful, the scent of Juliet in his head and her laughing voice in his ear. Most of all, he remembered how her eyes had danced as she’d teased him at the shoot by calling him a Goody Two-shoes.
Groaning, he glanced at the side table to check the time, then grabbed a wad of tissues and quickly took care of the problem. He’d just gotten rid of the evidence and washed up, his sweatpants back on, when his daughter ran into the room. This was the one thing they never told you in the parenting books—that for a single father, finding a few minutes alone for the most basic physical relief was a bit of a magic act.
“Daddy!” Scrambling up onto the bed, Esme made a spot for herself under the duvet.
He slipped back in, then leaned up on his elbow to look down at her. “Why are you awake?”
“I just am.” She played with Mr. Mouse’s bedraggled ear, all nonchalance. “I dreamed about a cute doggie. He was so nice and he had a waggy tail and he licked my face and made me happy.”
Yeah, Jake hadn’t been born yesterday. Instead of asking about her “dream,” he said, “Since we’re both up, shall we make pancakes?”
Her face lit up, the cute doggie forgotten. “Even though it’s a school day and you gotta eat proteins?”
It was amazing what she picked up; one conversation on the phone with a team nutritionist while she was in the room and she not only had the word protein in her vocabulary, she’d figured out pancakes weren’t on the menu.
“Special treat for both of us,” he said. “Let’s go.”
As he boosted her up onto the kitchen counter so she could stir the batter after he put it together, he thought, It’s all worth it. He’d allow nothing to jeopardize her smile, the light in her eyes. He definitely wasn’t going to hook up with a woman who had bad girl stamped all over her. A woman whose mere existence in their world would lead to a media circus.
A woman who’d shared her cake with him.
A woman who’d seen his discomfort at the shoot and found a way to ease it.
A damn smart, accomplished woman who kicked ass in the business world.
Jake clenched his gut, because the woman Juliet had become drew him like nobody’s business. Tempting as it was to fight the attraction by focusing on her past, people weren’t their pasts.
If they were, he’d still be the scared, irresponsible kid who’d gotten his teenage girlfriend pregnant. Instead, he was an elite athlete who represented his country on the world stage, and he had a daughter who was growing up into a spunky girl who might one day take over the world.
That future conqueror helped him polish off a second helping of pancakes, and they were both dressed and ready to head off on their day when his phone rang.
Seeing it was his mother, he answered. “Mum,” he said. “What’s up?”
“First, let me say hello to my sweet girl.”
He handed over the phone to an excited Esme.
“Hi, Grandma,” she said before launching into an exhaustive description of all they’d done this morning, complete with special pancakes because they’d woken early and had time to make them and they were really delicious and she had four toppings and Daddy even had strawberries in the fridge. All said in a single breath, after which came even more. It was time to walk to school when she handed the phone back up to him.
“We’re on our way out the door, Mum.”
“I won’t hold you up,” Alison replied. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re having a barbecue Saturday afternoon for the wedding party and close family and friends. Molly and Fox are leaving on Sunday to travel through the South Island, and I wanted to have a get-together before that.”
A casual weekend barbecue with family and friends was nothing new for the Bishop-Esera clan. But today Jake’s heart thudded, his skin hot. “Are you inviting everyone?”
Alison laughed. “Why, baby?” she said, because—according to her—he and his brothers would always be her babies. “Is there someone you want to leave off the guest list?”
“No,” he said, and it was the honest truth; he wanted to see Juliet.
Couldn’t wait to see Juliet.
Couldn’t wait to aggravate her.
Couldn’t wait to draw in the lush heat of her with every breath.
“What do you want me to bring?” he asked, his voice a touch rough.
Alison hung up after telling him, and Esme’s chatter as they walked kept his mind off Juliet for a few minutes. Afterward, he drove himself to a conditioning session at the gym, joining Danny, Vili, and three other players. Pummeling out his frustrations on the punching bag proved satisfying, the burn in his muscles even more so.
He was exhausted when he fell into bed that night, but still he dreamed of a woman with dark brown eyes and long black hair streaked with bronze and red, who made him feel as he hadn’t for an eon: young, alive, excited. She wasn’t naked in this dream, and neither was he. No, they were dressed as they’d been at the wedding, and they were laughing together.
Jake woke to a smile on his face, an ache in his heart, and the knowledge that he was in big fucking trouble.
12
The (Unwanted) (HIGHLY) Return of Reid the Pinhead
Juliet got out of the ride-share car, handbag slung over one shoulder and a white pastry box carefully balanced in her hands. The box was large and flat, a bit unwieldy. She decided to use her hip to shut the door rather than risk taking one hand from the box. As Aroha said, why have hips this bodacious and not put them to use?
“Thanks!” she called out to the driver as she did so. At least she was wearing sneakers today rather than high heels. The former wasn’t her natural state, not anymore. She’d learned to wear heels after she began working with fashionista Iris—at sixty-two, with hair dyed in shades of candy pink and magenta, her boss slayed hearts all over town.
At first the heels had made Juliet feel less awkward and more like she belonged in the firm’s—at the time—small reception area, but then she’d fallen in love with them. A few people thought she should play down her height and her curves, but Juliet had had more than enough of trying to please others. She loved heels, and she didn’t care about the opinions of people who really should be minding their own damn business.
That said, even she wasn’t about to turn up in heels to a casual backyard barbecue. A girl had to protect her shoes—and not look like a prat as she struggled to stay on her feet on soil that was apt to be a touch soft at the moment what with the rain they’d had last week. All of them had crossed their fingers and toes the bad weather would clear in time for the wedding, and oh what a glorious day it had been.
No need for the emergency shawls they’d bought to throw over their dresses.
Today, with the sun heating up the early winter chill, she’d gone for dark blue jeans that hugged her legs, simple canvas sneakers in a sandy shade, and a white shirt worn loose over her jeans. A couple of funky, colorful bracelets and simple hoop earrings finished off the look. She’d also gone for minimal makeup—a touch of gloss on her lips, a sweep of mascara on her lashes—and put her hair in a gently bouncy tail.
Looking down instinctively when she felt one shoe land on what felt like a pebble, she saw that someone—probably a child—had forgotten a couple of marbles on the footpath. She was nudging them gently onto the grass verge where they wouldn’t be a hazard when she became aware of a pair of sneakered feet in her vision. Looking up with a smile, she was about to apologize for blocking the path when she felt her face freeze.
“I thought that was you,” Reid
said with his trademark smile, all blue-eyed, mahogany-haired charm and delight.
Dear God. The universe hated her. HATED HER.
Churning nausea in her gut, Juliet somehow managed to say, “I didn’t realize you’d be at this barbecue.” If she had, she certainly wouldn’t be standing here. She should’ve figured that elite athletes from one sport would know and be friendly with players from another. That Reid was a cricket rather than rugby pro didn’t mean the men wouldn’t have run into each other over the years.
Though seriously, she would’ve expected Jake’s family to have better taste.
“What?” He frowned, then glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the Esera home. It was protected by a dark green camellia hedge that had begun to bloom with pinkish-white blossoms, but Juliet could just make out the sounds of people chatting as they enjoyed the afternoon. A child’s laughter rose into the air right then, followed by the musical ripple of what might’ve been a guitar.
“Oh right,” Reid said with a shrug, “that’s where the Eseras live.”
Juliet didn’t reply. All she could think was that the ride-share car couldn’t have gotten far. She could probably recall it in a matter of minutes. And if she threw the pastry box at Reid, she could run pretty fast in these shoes. But then the pinhead would see her run from him, and no way was Juliet giving him that satisfaction. Not again.
Reid pointed across the road. “I’m not doing any barbeque. We just moved into that rental. Me and Lisa.”
Juliet’s shoulders unbunched. “How lovely for you.” She felt nothing but pity for the woman who’d hooked up with this waste of space. No, that wasn’t right. Part of her was grateful to Lisa Swan for giving her the push she’d needed to leave Reid. She’d been seriously considering it for months beforehand, but it was his cheating with Lisa that had torn the final veil from her eyes.
“Nice as it is to chat”—not—“I have to get going. I’m already late.” Her car, just back from the mechanic, complete with a hefty bill, had broken down as she was about to drive over. Not only was she going to ask the garage for her money back, she was considering putting some of her squirreled-away funds into a more reliable vehicle.
One of the major reasons why she had such trouble letting go of her hard-earned money smirked at her. Money flowed through Reid’s hands like water—the man was thirty-one and had been paid the salary of a top athlete since he was twenty-two. He could’ve owned a showpiece of a home by now. Instead, he was still renting. And she didn’t think he’d socked his money away in non-property investments either.
“Busy, busy,” he said, smile undimmed. “I hear you’re quite the businesswoman now. Congrats. Still single though, right? No time for play?”
Passive-aggressive weenie.
Wondering if he was draining Lisa’s bank account as he’d done hers before she wised up or if the other woman had been smart enough to keep her money separate, Juliet stepped to one side and began to walk past him. When he put a hand on her arm, she gritted her teeth against the urge to rip him to metaphorical shreds.
Reid had always used and manipulated her frustration and anger to make her feel small and useless. She could fight forever with Jake and come out feeling buzzy and happy even if he’d scored a few points. But with Reid, she’d just felt like trash. Awful, stupid trash.
Never again.
It was a vow she’d made as she walked out of their marriage and one she intended to keep. She was no longer the needy and lonely nineteen-and-a half-year-old who’d fallen for Reid’s shallow charm; the pompous prick no longer had any power over her.
“I think I hear your girlfriend calling for you,” she said. “Better go before she starts thinking you’re hitting on your ex-wife.”
He stepped closer instead of backing off.
“Juliet,” another male voice said just as she’d decided to hell with decorum and was about to slam a knee right where it’d hurt Reid the most. “Problem?”
She looked up to meet Jake’s eyes, saw his granite jaw. Heat scalded her cheeks. Of course he wouldn’t want a scene outside his parents’ home. “No, your new neighbor felt the need to say hello.” This time when she pulled at her arm, Reid let go.
Jake waited for her to step over to him, then, to her surprise, put his hand on her lower back as he turned to lead her into the barbecue. Before they passed through the open gate, however, he turned around to say, “You should probably go help Lisa. She’s lifting those big boxes by herself.”
Reid’s face tightened. “Just wanted to catch up with Juliet. She and I have a lot of history.”
Then she and Jake were through the gate, and Jake stopped to close it behind them.
“You didn’t invite him to the barbecue?” she asked as Reid crossed the road to his nicely maintained villa. She needed to be sure she didn’t have to worry about running into her ex in the backyard; the Eseras seemed like the kind of people who’d be friendly to their neighbors.
“Guy’s an asshole.” Jake’s gaze was flint. “He’s everything that’s wrong with professional sports, and my folks would be horrified if any of us considered him a friend. You should know that.”
Juliet took her first proper breath since the initial contact with Reid; the rush of oxygen was energizing. “Glad to see that being an underwear supermodel hasn’t affected your brains.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Stop insulting yourself.”
It took a second. Making a face, she used one hand to slap herself on the forehead while shoving the box at him to hold. She had total faith in his reflexes, and he didn’t let her down.
“You’re right,” she admitted, because really, he had her on that point. “I must’ve been in a delusional state to ever think I was in love with that jerk.” It was easier to make light of those years, easier to think of them as a foolish young mistake than to look back and see how badly she’d allowed herself to be treated.
Reid was an asshole, it was true. But she’d been an affection-starved doormat.
Jake was looking at her with an unreadable but intense expression on his face when she glanced at him.
“What?” She took her box back. “You never made a bad relationship decision?”
His answer made everything in her go still. “I have a daughter.”
His words could be taken one of two ways: either that he was far more careful because he had a daughter to protect or that he’d made his mistake a long time ago. But Juliet wasn’t confused about which one he meant. It had never been his relationship that had been the mistake, it had just been two teenagers not getting birth control right.
Callie and Jake, they’d fit.
It was why Juliet had been so hard on him—a part of her had worried he’d steal away her friend. But when he hadn’t tried to get between them, had even invited her along to things like the rides in his souped-up junker, she’d started to think he might be all right. Given more time, they might’ve ended up friends… But then everything had changed for both of them.
“I have to be careful who I bring into Esme’s life,” he clarified, as if suddenly realizing how his words could be misunderstood. “Calypso was no mistake. Neither is Esme.”
“I got what you meant,” Juliet said, her neck a little stiff from having to look up at Jake in this position. “After I left Reid, I used to have nightmares where I had a baby with him. Can you imagine that narcissistic pinhead as a father?”
“It’s enough to terrify anyone,” Jake agreed.
“I finally made a voodoo doll from this old T-shirt of his that I found in my stuff, put a picture of his face on it, and stabbed it with tiny pushpins and the nightmares stopped.”
Jake stared at her, his lips twitching. “You’re making that up to mess with me.”
“Am I?” She smiled enigmatically, painfully delighted to have teased a near-smile out of him. “These pastries are still warm. Let’s set them out.”
Jake, his expression yet amused, led her to the front door rather than around the
side to the back. The villa was full of light, the wooden floors a warm honey that had been lovingly polished. Like so many of the old homes in the area, it had a straight front-to-back flow but had been renovated to be far more open plan than was traditional.
The kitchen, she saw when they reached the end of the hallway, had definitely been redone. Afternoon sunlight spilled into the huge space that was built for use, not for show. There was plenty of counter space, and the appliances looked well loved. Huge stacking glass doors that folded back at either end meant the entire back wall could be opened up to provide a seamless flow onto a pretty little patio surrounded by pots of blooming winter flowers, and from there, onto the verdant green lawn.
“Gimme a sec.” Jake bent down to look in a cupboard, rose with a large wooden chopping board in hand. “You want to put your pastries on this?”
“Yup.”
Dumping her purse with the others that had been placed on the kitchen table, she opened the box and began to take out the small savory pastries. Tiny croissants with ham and cheese, small cheese-and-spinach tarts, even miniature butter-chicken bites wrapped in delicious puff pastry.
When a big male hand snuck into the box to grab a flaky croissant, she found herself biting back a grin. Good to know that even Jacob Esera had a weak spot.
“Congratulations on your selection—and Danny’s,” she said. “I caught the announcement.” It was hard to miss when the naming of the national rugby squad was a prime-time headline. Could also be she’d paid more attention than usual, her stomach tense with the alphabetical roll call until Daniel Esera’s name was followed by Jacob Esera’s.
“Thanks. Be good to play in the black jersey again.” Having made short work of the pastry, he went and got something from the fridge before rejoining her. She watched as he arranged chili peppers and parsley around her baked goodies. The simple chopping board was suddenly a piece of art, her work showcased as if in a restaurant.