by Patricia Kay
The children all wandered off into the family room to play video games, and soon only Réne, Jett Hebert, Neil and Norman Cantrelle, and Jack were left in the living room.
Neil turned to Jack. “So how long have you known Nicole?”
The question was innocent enough, but Jack knew a protective brother when he saw one. The thing was, he didn’t blame Neil. If he had a sister like Nicole, he’d be protective, too. Lord knows, looking the way she did, she could use all the protecting she could get.
If he wasn’t such a nice guy, he would’ve already tried to get into her bed.
“We met a few weeks ago.” He wondered if he should elaborate, then decided he’d wait for Nicole to bring up the subject of Elise.
Suddenly Réne gave him a startled look. “You’re the one she told me about. The one looking for that other girl.”
So Réne remembered.
“What girl?” Norman and Neil said in unison.
“Some girl who looks like Nicole,” Réne explained. “Jack thought—”
Jack decided to intervene. He explained his mission in New Orleans and how he and Nicole had gotten to be friends. “Anyway, she thought this weekend might be a good opportunity for me to talk to you about this, even though she said none of you would be able to help me.”
Neil’s dark eyes were still; Norman’s eyes were narrowed, and Jack knew both brothers were taking his measure, deciding how they felt about his following their little sister home from work, deciding if they trusted him.
For the rest of the day—all through dinner, and after dinner, and into the evening, as they ate and drank and watched television and talked—Jack knew they were still trying to make up their minds. He tried in every way he knew to show them he was no threat to Nicole.
Finally, when Neil and Norman and their wives and children were ready to leave, Neil walked up to Jack and said, “Maybe you and Nicole would like to come over tomorrow night. We’ll have a chance to talk more.”
“Sounds good,” Jack said.
Neil smiled, and Jack knew he’d passed the test, whatever it was.
* * *
Several times during the day, Nicole wondered what Jack was thinking. She saw how he hung back, watching and listening, instead of really taking part. Her family could be intimidating, she knew, but she hoped Jack liked them. She wasn’t sure why this was so important to her—after all, Jack would be gone soon, so what did it matter?—but still, she was proud of her family, she loved them, and she wanted Jack to love them, too.
Why is that? Because you think if he loves them, somehow, magically, everything will be okay? That he’ll suddenly change?
Nicole refused to listen to that carping inner voice that wouldn’t seem to leave her alone.
By the time evening came, Jack had loosened up. When Denise asked him to tell them about his job, he complied.
“No two stories are ever the same,” he said. “I’ve covered all kinds of wars, from simple skirmishes to full-blown air wars, and it’s always different, always exciting.”
“It also sounds dangerous,” Denise commented.
“Yes, many times it is.”
“How did you happen to become an investigative journalist?” Alice asked.
“I kind of fell into it. After I graduated from Stanford, I figured I owed myself a vacation. I’d been in school for six straight years, first getting my bachelor’s degree, then my master’s. Anyway, I set out to tour Europe, and while I was in London I got caught in the middle of an IRA bombing. I wasn’t injured, but I saw everything that happened, and because I’ve always kept a journal, I wrote it all down and sent it to a friend of mine who works for the Houston Herald. The Herald published the story, and one thing led to another. Eventually I got an offer from World Press.” A wry smile tipped his lips. “Now I can’t imagine doing anything else. The work is addictive.”
“Yes,” Neil agreed. “It’s like police work, I imagine. Once you’ve done something like it, it’s hard to go back to being a plain, simple person with an ordinary job. Danger and tension are more powerful addictions than drugs or alcohol.”
Jack nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. The danger and constant tension keep your wits sharp and your body in tune with all the forces around you. There’s no other feeling that quite compares to it.”
Denise cut a look Nicole’s way, and Nicole saw it. She knew Denise well enough to know that her sister was already worried about Nicole ending up with a broken heart.
Nicole had to admit that Jack’s words had given her pause. Down deep she’d always known his work was important to him; she just hadn’t realized how all- encompassing it was, what a formidable rival it was.
She also hadn’t realized what a difference there was in not only their family life, but in their educational and social backgrounds. When he’d told her about his mother and her charity work, it hadn’t really registered in Nicole’s mind, but Jack’s parents were probably wealthy. He was even farther away from her in terms of background and interests than she could possibly have imagined. And when you added the fact that Nicole had had a child without benefit of marriage, well...
She tried to put her depressing thoughts out of her mind. She decided to enjoy the rest of the time she had with him, take what little she could get and then go on with her life.
She really had no other choice.
“Nicole,” Laura said as she prepared to leave. “Can we take Aimee home with us to spend the night with Celeste?”
“Oh, I don’t know—”
“Please, Mommy. Please.”
“Please, Aunt Nicole,” Celeste piped up, blue eyes that were exactly like her mother’s—wide and beseeching.
“Oh, let the girls be together,” Arlette said. “Come here, my babies, give Grandmama a kiss.”
Nicole relented.
Soon everyone was gone except for her parents and Jack. Jack, who had been sitting in an easy chair with his legs stretched out in front of him, said, “I have to walk some of this food off.” He rubbed his stomach. “I still hurt from everything your mother stuffed into me.” He stood. “Want to go for a walk with me?”
Nicole nodded.
After they’d both donned jackets, they walked outside. The clear, cool night air whispered around them as they walked up the driveway and down the road toward the edge of the woods. Nicole looked up. A full moon was clearly visible in the starry night. She sighed. “It’s beautiful out tonight, isn’t it?
“Beautiful,” he murmured.
Something about his tone caused her to look up, and what she saw there in his face, clearly visible in the bright moonlight, was enough to set her pulses racing.
Jack reached for her hand and tugged her toward the trees on the right side of the road. When the shadows engulfed them, he turned her to face him. His hands settled on her shoulders, and Nicole, whose heart was beating faster and faster, raised her eyes to meet his gaze.
“Nicole,” he said, his voice gruff. “More than anything in the world, what I want right now is to kiss you.”
They stared into each other’s eyes as his words settled into her brain, beating there like the wings of a bird. All around them were soft night sounds: the rustle of some nocturnal animal deeper in the woods, the chirping of crickets, the distant sound of a car.
Nicole wet her lips and said huskily, “Then what are you waiting for?”
Chapter 9
She lifted her face, and at the first touch of Jack’s lips, all Nicole’s sensible resolutions vanished. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and let him pull her close.
The world spun as she lost herself in his embrace. In that moment, nothing else existed.
Only Jack.
“Nicole,” he muttered as his lips trailed down to her neck. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I can’t even think straight for wanting you.”
Her heart thundered in her ears as his mouth captured hers again, his tongue thrusting deep inside, claiming her, branding her. Deep i
n her belly was an answering throb.
His hands kneaded her back, then slid lower, pressing her closer. A kaleidoscope of sensations rocketed through Nicole, consuming her like tongues of fire consuming dry wood.
She wanted him.
She wanted him with an intensity and hunger that was painful. And she knew he wanted her with the same powerful, driving need. For the hunger raging through her body was echoed in the hard, hot, pulsing answer she felt through the fabric of her jeans.
But sanity returned with the sound of an approaching car.
Nicole tore her mouth from his. “Jack—”
“No, don’t. Don’t turn away from me—” He pulled her deeper into the woods, away from sight, and tried to capture her mouth again, but she kept her head averted. “Oh, God...” he moaned, releasing her suddenly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why you have this effect on me, but all I have to do is touch you, and bingo, I lose control.”
Nicole’s heart still hammered in her chest, her breathing was still labored, and she still ached inside. She longed to appease the ache, but she knew tonight was not the time to do it.
She wasn’t sure when the right time might be. She only knew she and Jack had to return to her parents’ home, they had to go to separate rooms, and they had to pretend all was calm, all was normal. They had to pretend they’d taken a casual walk. They had to act like casual friends.
It might be the hardest thing Nicole had ever had to do.
“Jack,” she said, finally looking up into his eyes. “It’s not your fault. I wanted you to kiss me. I—I still want you to kiss me—” She raised her hands when he would have taken her in his arms again. “No, wait, let me finish. I—” Oh, shoot, she might as well be truthful with him. He knew how she felt anyway. She’d made her feelings all too plain. “I don’t think this weekend is the time to explore our feelings. When we get back to New Orleans, we’ll talk about it, okay?”
He hesitated, his eyes gleaming in the darkness, then said slowly, his voice rough and uneven, “It’s not going to be easy, being around you for three more days, and not touching you.”
Nicole squeezed her eyes shut. Her emotions were so ragged, so frazzled, she felt as if she might burst into tears. Oh, God. She wanted him so. Why did he make her feel this way? Why did she care so much? Why had she fallen in love with him? For she had fallen in love with him, and she had to face it. No more pretending she might fall in love with Jack. She was all the way, head-over-heels, mindlessly, hopelessly in love with Jack Forrester. Mr. I-don’t-need-anyone Jack Forrester. A man who was as different from her as the sun was from the moon, as night was from day. A man who would, without question, break her heart into tiny pieces and never look back.
“Let’s walk,” she said, more upset than she wanted him to see. She headed back toward the road and heard the rustle of leaves and twigs as he followed her.
They didn’t talk. They walked around the neighborhood until Nicole felt calm again. Then she turned toward home, with him at her side.
When they reached her parents’ home once more, Jack stopped her at the door. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
He touched her cheek, and Nicole leaned into the caress. “Nicole,” he said softly. “I promise you I’ll never do anything unless you want me to.”
She nodded. She’d always known she would have to make the choice.
Still holding her cheek, he leaned forward and dropped a light, tender kiss on her half-open mouth. “Ready?” he whispered.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He nodded, opened the front door and stood back to let her walk in ahead of him.
* * *
On Saturday night Nicole and Jack were invited to join her siblings and their spouses at the local Knights of Columbus annual Thanksgiving dance.
“It’ll be fun,” Nicole promised. Her eyes twinkled. “And this time I’m going to make you get up and try the dances!”
“Oh, joy,” Jack said. If there was anything he hated, it was making a fool of himself.
Nicole laughed.
The sound of her laughter never failed to stir him. There was something infectious about its uninhibited delight. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of listening to Nicole laugh. He also didn’t think he’d ever get tired of looking at her. He looked at her now as she stood over the ice cream section of the local supermarket. She had volunteered her services when her mother mentioned needing some groceries, so Jack was pressed into service, too.
Today Nicole wore faded jeans, an oversized bright green sweater, green socks and loafers. Long silver earrings in the shape of stars swung from her ears. Everything about her glowed: her hair, her eyes, her skin, her smile, even her cherry-red lipstick. Jack thought she looked like an ornament—bright, shiny and beautiful.
“What?” she said, looking up and catching him studying her. She gave him a quizzical smile. “Do I have lipstick on my teeth or something?”
He shook his head.
She dropped a carton of pralines and cream into the shopping cart, but her gaze stayed riveted to his, compelling him to answer honestly. “I was just thinking how much I like being around you.”
Pink tinged her cheekbones, but she didn’t avert her gaze. “I like being with you, too,” she said softly.
Something around Jack’s heart tightened painfully. He would miss her when he returned to Houston. He would miss her very, very much.
That night, Denise and Jett came by the house to pick up Jack and Nicole. When the four of them entered the Knights of Columbus dance hall, the band was just warming up, but the big room was already three-quarters full.
“Cajuns take their dancing seriously,” Nicole said.
“Are all these people Cajuns?”
“No, not all. Some are Italians. Some are Irish. But the majority are Cajuns—some full-blooded French and others with a bit of Spanish blood mixed in.”
Soon Neil and Laura and Norman and Alice joined their group. They commandeered a long table toward the back of the hall. Jack looked around with interest. The musicians began warming up, and there were discordant sounds of guitars, keyboard and an accordion. The drummer did a few cadences, as well.
“This is the band that played for our wedding reception,” Alice offered. “They’re really good. The Bayou Boys.”
Jack thought of the various wedding receptions he’d attended in Houston. Elegant country club affairs. He thought this might be a lot more fun.
Once the music started, both Jett Hebert and the Cantrelle brothers led their wives to the dance floor.
“Come on, Jack,” Nicole said, laughing.
Jack knew this was a no-win situation. If he refused to go out and at least try the dance, Nicole and her family would think he was a poor sport. If he went out there and made the fool of himself he knew he would, they’d feel sorry for him. Of course, there were compensations, he decided, once he was actually up on the floor and had Nicole in his arms. He now had a perfectly legitimate excuse for holding her.
She looked gorgeous tonight, he thought, in a red dress made of some kind of silky, floaty material. With it she wore matching red pumps and long, dangling red earrings made out of some kind of bright stones.
“Now this is a slower dance—the easiest ones to learn. Have you done any dancing at all?”
“Sure, but nothing complicated.”
“This is just your basic two-step. Look, like this.”
She gently but firmly led him in the dance, and after a few turns around the floor, Jack got the hang of the rhythm and relaxed a bit.
Nicole tilted her head back and gave him a dazzling smile. “That’s it! You’ve really got it now!”
She sounded so happy, she made him feel good. He tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer. Her hair smelled sweet and fragrant, like summer roses. He could feel the softness of her breasts pressed against his chest, the firm muscles of her back where he held her, and the brush of her thighs against his as they glided ac
ross the floor.
All around them other couples swayed and swirled to the seductive, lilting music, but Jack was so lost in the sensations generated by dancing with Nicole, he was almost oblivious to anything else. When the song ended, he didn’t want to let her go.
The next number was much faster, but after a couple of stumbling efforts, Jack found he was able to master the footwork. It helped that Nicole didn’t try to teach him anything too fancy.
“You’re a natural-born dancer, Jack,” she said, eyes sparkling. “Isn’t this fun?”
He had to admit it was. But it was also a kind of agony for him. Because the longer they danced, the more he wanted her. One part of him savored the delicious friction, the permitted intimacy. Another part of him knew this was just going to make things harder for him when the inevitable parting came.
This weekend had shown him something—something he hadn’t known before. Nicole Cantrelle was not a woman he would easily forget. If he could forget her at all.
* * *
“So, little sister,” said Denise. “Just how serious is this relationship?”
Nicole’s eyes moved from Denise, to Laura, to Alice. All three women were eagerly waiting for her answer. The band was taking a break, and the men had disappeared in the direction of the bar. “It’s not really a relationship,” she hedged.
“Looks like a relationship to me,” Denise insisted. “How about you two? What do you think?”
“I’ll never believe the two of you are just friends,” Laura said.
“Not the way he looks at you,” Alice added.
“Not to mention the way you look at him,” Denise said pointedly.
Alice chuckled. “I saw how the two of you were dancing. Why, you couldn’t have fit a postage stamp between you on that last dance. And Jack looked positively blissful!”
“Actually, I think the word is besotted,” Laura said, her blue eyes dancing.
“Come on, tell all,” Denise said.
Nicole could feel herself blushing. “Okay, I’ll admit I’m very attracted to him.”
“We already figured that out,” said Alice. She sipped from her glass of soda.
