by KaLyn Cooper
He looked into Jillian’s sweet face. Bright green eyes stared at him, begging for an answer. Addi’s little chin had started to quiver, feeding off her mother’s emotions.
He struggled to release the fist that had grabbed his voice box. “I can do that.” His voice broke on the words. He cleared his throat. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Did you have a place in mind?”
Jillian sniffed and blinked back tears. “He’d talked a lot about Isla Mujeres. He seemed to have an attachment to the island and the Virgin Mary statue that’s underwater.”
“I know the exact spot. When do you want to go?” Jack had been there yesterday. His catamarans took tourists there every day for snorkeling and diving. Most boats were gone by four o’clock to get the people back on the cruise ships in time for supper. “We could go late this afternoon if you want. The area gets pretty crowded during the day. Do you like to snorkel? It’s wondrous down there with coral and fish.”
She hugged Addi to her and bounced the way all mothers seem to when contenting a child. “I can’t. Addison.”
“No problem. We take babies all the time.” Safety came first with Jack and doubly so with kids. “We have a baby ring that holds them in and tiny life preservers. I’ll tie a line to her and drag her with me.” He stroked Addi’s soft blonde hair, and she smiled up at him. “She loves the water.”
The clinking of glass dishes on the table interrupted the conversation. As if in Pavlovian response, two boys darted from the pool house and raced toward the table.
“Bet I can beat you,” the shorter of the two called out.
“No you can’t, but you can try.” The second kicked in the afterburners and sprinted in front of his brother.
Jillian watched the children for only a second. “We need to change. I’m sure your family doesn’t eat in their pajamas.”
Jack didn’t want her to leave. “So we’re on for later this afternoon? Isla Mujeres?”
She glanced at the boys who had just noticed them. “Sure. What time?” She had started to move toward her bedroom.
“Let’s leave here at three. I’ll bring the boat to our beach.”
Over her shoulder, she called back, “Thank you. That would be great.” She faded into the darkness of her room.
She was so fucking attractive. That tight little ass of hers was hidden under the flowing robe, and he couldn’t wait to see it in a bikini. Thinking of the glimpse of rounded breasts he’d caught when she’d bent over to get the baby made his cock stiffen again. Her bikini would give him an even better opportunity to see them. He’d have her alone on his boat.
He was anxious to show her the Madonna that stood regally on a ledge. It was then he remembered why they were going to Isla Mujeres.
Jimmy.
Her husband. His brother.
Dead.
Nothing left but ashes and memories. He closed his eyes to hold in the water that threatened to leak. He couldn’t cry. He had been a fucking Navy SEAL. Every part of his body had been tested from his muscles to his fortitude to his brain. Every part except his heart.
Somehow, Jillian had touched that part of him. Sure, she was a beautiful woman with curves in all the right places and he wanted her, but it was more than lust. No. She had reached inside him and with gentle fingers brushed his heart. She’d done it in mere hours.
How had she managed that? How had he let her?
Had he been reaching for a connection to Jimmy? She’d been his wife, and Addi was part of him. Maybe that was it. But Jimmy was gone, and this afternoon he would help his sister-in-law lay his brother’s remains to rest. He needed that closure.
That was it. She was a tie to his brother, and he’d been seeking a connection to Jimmy. Missing him. That’s all. This afternoon’s trip to the reef would sever their tie, and he wouldn’t need Jillian and her child to fill that void.
He had to keep his distance from her in the meantime.
“Uncle Jack.” The young voice interrupted his thoughts. He had only a second to brace before he was tackled around his thighs and waist.
“Morning, munchkins.” He easily pulled them both into his arms and hugged the two growing boys. He loved these kids.
He effortlessly carried them to the table, now formally set for breakfast. He helped with the boys’ selections at the buffet bar and seated one on each side of him, so he wouldn’t be tempted to sit next to Jillian.
“Are you coming to the beach with us today, Uncle Jack?” Greyson’s hopeful smile almost made him say yes. He loved playing with the boys, but he needed to get away. Jillian would be enough of a temptation when he took her out in the boat later that afternoon.
“Sorry, guys, I’ve got to work.” He ruffled the four-year-old’s already disheveled hair. Dark brown tuffs seemed to point in every direction. His mother would have a fit knowing he’d left the pool house without taming the mop.
“Are you captaining a boat today?” Preston, whose hair was never out of place, looked directly at him with a confidence that no six-year-old should have already developed.
“No.” Thank God every one of his crews had shown up on time. His little talk with Rock Star had jarred some sense into the man. “I’ll be bringing the speed boat over here for a few days.”
“Can we go for a boat ride?” Greyson said around a mouthful of French toast.
“Sure, but not today. I have someplace special I need to take Jillian and Addison.”
“Who are they?” Preston dabbed his mouth with the cloth napkin, rose, and placed it on his seat. He grabbed his plate and returned to the food selection.
“Who are we talking about?” Lilly asked, taking the plate from her oldest son and scooping a serving of sliced fruit for him. The white lace that covered her bathing suit hinted to her yellow bikini and dropped to mid-thigh. Conservative enough to please their mother, it daringly revealed the curves she starved herself daily to maintain.
When she’d arrived yesterday morning, Jack had noticed that she’d lost even more weight than when she and the boys had vacationed there over the summer. He’d wondered if her divorce from doctor douchebag was the cause.
“Jillian and Addison,” Greyson told the growing crowd as Levi stepped from his room a few feet away. Jack wanted to swear at the pressed-to-perfection khaki slacks and golf shirt his brother wore, but little ears were too close.
“Good morning, Preston, Lilly, Greyson.” Levi scraped his gaze over Jack’s bare chest and almost dry board shorts before he added with a tinge of disdain, “Jack.” He filled his coffee cup and downed half of it. “What’s this about Jillian and the baby? What’s the kid’s name? Madison?”
“It’s Addison,” Jack bit out.
“Yeah, Addison.” Levi drained the cup and refilled it. “What about them?”
“Uncle Jack is taking them on a special boat ride this afternoon.” At Greyson’s words, Jack regretted ever mentioning it.
“Special boat ride?” Lilly cocked a perfectly arched black eyebrow. She’d gotten their mother’s and grandmother’s Mexican genes that gave her straight black hair an iridescent shine as it swayed and draped her shoulders. Since she’d caught her husband having an affair with one of Chicago’s prima ballerinas, she had let her hair grow out from the short-cropped cut she’d worn for years. Jack figured it was her way of snubbing her nose at the cheating father of her children.
Jack had once overheard them fighting about the casual way she dressed in the Girard compound, claiming she had started looking like the hired help. He smiled at the memory of the smack that followed his insolent comment. In Jack’s opinion, and he was male after all, his sister was an extremely beautiful woman. He’d never liked the pretentious prick she’d married and was glad she was finally rid of him. He was also glad their mother had insisted on a pre-nuptial contract.
His mother was a lot of things, and protective of her children was number one. It often vied for that slot with her control of the company she’d inherited from his father.
“Jack, you aren’t eating with us this morning?” Her cool voice broke his concentration, as if his thoughts of her had nudged her from her suite. Pushing hard at sixty, she was a force to be reckoned with in the workplace, as well as in their family. Although only five-feet, six inches tall, his mother had a dominating presence that rivaled any Navy commander he’d served under. She placed an egg-white omelet with mushrooms, feta, and spinach on her plate next to slices of watermelon. When she’d seated herself at the head of the table, Levi positioned a cup of coffee on the upper right of her placemat.
Oh, the good son. Jack had never been that, and the small thankful smile his mother gave his oldest brother was just another indication that Jack would never live up to her expectations.
To answer his mother’s question, Jack replied, “Addi and I had breakfast an hour ago in the kitchen.”
All movement stopped as his siblings and mother stared at him. He hid his amusement at their shock behind a sip of coffee. Every Girard knew the sanctity of Mateo’s domain.
His mother recovered first. “Well, where are they?” Her assessing gaze swept the table and stopped at the empty seat with a highchair next to it.
“Changing.” Jack glanced toward their bedroom and saw moving shadows. “Addi and I went for a…” He completely lost his train of thought as Jillian stepped into the courtyard.
Chino shorts covered long legs to mid-thigh and rode atop rounded hips. Her soft green shirt was open at the collar, enough to keep cool but buttoned high enough to hide her full breasts if she bent over again. He could imagine unbuttoning each and every one and kissing the creamy white flesh underneath.
Jillian grabbed the few strands of wavy strawberry blonde hair lifted on the slight ocean breeze and secured them behind her ear. Jack wondered if her ear was sensitive and if she’d shudder when he ran his tongue over its curves.
“Let me see that precious little girl.” His mother’s voice startled him out his salacious thoughts. He watched Addi latch onto her mother’s thigh.
“It’s all right, darling,” Jillian said in a soothing motherly voice as she bent to pick up her daughter. “Let’s go meet your family.”
Jack thought it was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen when she gave a reassuring kiss to Addi’s cheek. He could tell it hid her nervousness as well. Jillian had dressed Addi in a pretty little turquois sundress with seahorses embroidered above the smocking. She looked adorable.
“I’m sorry we’re late,” Jillian began apologizing as she made her way to the table. “Addi is so fair skinned I wanted to be sure she had on plenty of sunscreen before we came out.”
Jack saw through the lie but didn’t think anyone else did. Her trepidation lay hidden beneath the surface of a smile and confident stride. He had to give her credit. She had grit to face his mother first thing in the morning.
With Addi on her hip, she stood next to the family matriarch. “Mrs. Girard, thank you for inviting us to your home.” Her head nod was followed by her body, almost a bob, as if she was speaking with royalty. She covered it by sliding Addi to the ground.
When his mother held open her arms to the child, Addi cowered back into her mother.
“It takes her a while to warm up to strangers.” Jillian’s apology didn’t exactly soothe his mother, but she accepted it.
“We’ll have nearly two weeks to get to know each other.” His mother hadn’t looked at Jillian yet. She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from Addison, as if studying the child, looking for something, or at something. She glanced up at Jillian then quickly back to Addi.
When she reached for her sunglasses on the table, Jack saw his mother’s eyes were filled with tears he knew she wouldn’t shed in front of them. “She has his eyes.” She forced a smile as shaded eyes looked up to Jillian. “You’ve met the rest of the family.”
“Uh, yes.” Jillian had a deer-in-the-headlights expression. At that moment everyone remembered where and when they’d all met. No one was going to mention it though.
His mother turned toward her plate and ordered, “Reintroduce yourselves, children.”
Lilly was closest and stepped up to Jillian. “I’m Lilly, and these are my two boys, Preston and Greyson.” Jack didn’t miss the yearning in his sister’s face as she kneeled to be face-to-face with Addi. She stared a little too long at the baby before she said in a soft tone, “Hi there, Addison. I’m Aunt Lilly.” The smile she gave their niece was one of a motherly understanding. “Want to go to the beach with us this afternoon? Greyson loves to build sand castles, and Preston has learned to swim.”
Addison looked up at her mother. “Sand?”
“We’d love to join you at the beach.” Jillian sounded relieved at the invitation. “She’s never been to one before. She loves the sandbox at day care. She’ll think she’s in heaven. Thank you for asking us.”
“We’ll look forward to it.” His sister rose and added, “Jack said Addison has eaten. Have you?”
“Not yet.” Jillian shot a glance at the buffet. “It all looks delicious.”
When his sister began to sit, his brother strode up to Jillian. “Levi.” There was no smile, and Jack didn’t believe his brother could interject any more frost into his name. He held out his hand formally. Jillian hesitated only a fraction of a second before she pasted on a defiant smile, looked him in the eye, and shook his hand boldly.
Good for her. Not many stand up to the formidable Levi Girard, especially on his turf.
Each waited too long for the other to say something, so Jack decided to make the next move. “Jillian, why don’t you let me hold Addi while you prepare your plate?”
Her gaze fell on his, and when she smiled, a ray of sunshine penetrated all the way to his heart.
“Thank you, I’d appreciate it.” She looked down. “Addi, go to your Uncle Jack, please. I need to go over and get some breakfast.”
“Bekfst.”
“Yes. Would you like something more to eat?” Addi’s curls vibrated as she rapidly nodded. “Okay, I’ll get some for you. Will you go sit with Uncle Jack?” Blonde hair bounced as she looked around.
Jack slid his chair back so Addi could see him and held out his hands. “Come here, princess.”
“Unka Dak.” She toddled into his arms, and he lifted the smiling child onto his lap. He had enough experience with little ones to readjust her so she didn’t knacker him. Once he had her settled, his gaze returned to those at the table.
Jack felt his mother’s eyes drill him. “What?”
“She certainly likes you.” Her jealousy was there for everyone to see.
“Mother, she met me last night, and we played in the pool this morning. I fed her.” He couldn’t keep from touching Addi’s nearly white hair. “Isn’t that right, little princess?”
“Mom, you know how he is with kids,” his sister defended him. “He’s like the Pied Piper. They’ll follow him anywhere.”
“Headlong into trouble.” His brother’s accusation was accurate. Jack could always find mischief, counterpoint to Levi’s voice of reason. “He’s nothing but a big kid himself most of the time.” Levi returned to his breakfast and typing on the phone, which hadn’t left his hands since he’d appeared. The man was consumed with work, even on a supposed vacation.
Jillian set her plate on the table then walked over to Jack. “Thank you. I can take her now.”
“You eat. She’s fine where she is.”
“She’s still a little hungry,” Jillian insisted. Greyson, who had been watching Addi with a child’s curiosity, handed Addi a piece of French toast. She immediately shoved it in her mouth.
“We men got this handled.” Jack gave his nephew a high-five. “Sit down and eat.”
She tentatively slid onto the seat next to Lilly.
“I don’t bite,” Lilly said as she stirred oatmeal. “Unless you are a hostile witness.” She scooped the tiniest amount onto her spoon. “I hear Jack is taking you someplace special today in the boat.”
Jillian’s fork clattered to her plate. He didn’t think her flawless pale skin could get any whiter, but he was wrong. All the blood drained from her face, and her shoulders slumped. He was afraid she’d ghost away. Then she took a deep breath and released it. In a rush her cheeks reddened and her jaw clenched. Her eyes blazed when they met his. She cocked her head defiantly.
Shit. He needed to do damage control…and fast. “Yes. Jillian’s thesis involves Isla Mujeres, and she’s never been there. I’m taking her and Addi to the island after the cruise ship crowds clear out.”
“The boys and I haven’t been there in years. We’d love to go, too. Isn’t that right, boys?” The smile she gave Jack was somewhere between rebellious and gotcha.
“We plan to snorkel on the Madonna while we’re there.” His sister didn’t dive. Sitting in a beach chair while the water lapped her legs was about as close to ocean swimming Lilly got. She preferred a raft in a pool.
“No problem. We’ll hang out in the boat and catch some rays.”
Damn. Now he knew she was doing this on purpose. “I’m going to take them to cousin Miguel’s for a real Yucatán fish supper.” Somewhere between a typical Mexican open-air restaurant and dingy bar, it served the best local fresh fish on the planet. Gramps had taken Jack and Jimmy there many times during their summers together, but his sister refused to step out of the boat onto the rickety dock last time he took her and the boys there.
“Blegck.” Greyson’s tongue stuck so far out his mouth Jack thought he might actually gag. “Mom, do we have to go?” the boy pleaded.
“That’s the grossest place,” Lilly said to Jillian.
“Oh, Jack, you don’t want to take Jillian and little Addison there.” His mother’s pinched face broadcasted her feelings. “You know they aren’t really your cousins.”
“Sure they are,” Jack defended his choice. “Grams’ family was related to everyone on the island, and his last name is Chel.” His mother had always looked down on the island relatives and Gramps’ fascination with its history. She was a modern-day woman and didn’t give one hoot about the region’s deep and fascinating past. She didn’t understand why anyone would bother studying history because it didn’t affect the bottom line of a profit and loss statement.
