by Julie Caille
The phone rang.
Uncoiling like a compressed spring, Luke crossed the kitchen and grabbed the receiver, cradling it between his head and shoulder in a pose so familiar it caught Alicia like a blow to the solar plexus. A panoply of unwanted memories flooded her head.
“Yeah?” Though the greeting was curt, his tone warmed with his next words. “Oh, hi, Sharon. Yeah, she got here okay, thanks.”
Sipping her tea, Alicia studied him as he listened to a monologue on the other end of the line. Living under Luke’s roof was clearly going to be even more difficult than she’d imagined. It was bad enough that her emotions were stirred, but her physical awareness of him was almost painful. His jeans clung to his long legs and molded his hips and thighs almost like a second skin. Why did he have to look so damned sexy? Why couldn’t he have grown fat or bald? Ever since she had made her plans to fly south, she’d clung to the conviction that he was just another man, no different from the men she’d had to work with every day. She’d told herself that time had healed her wounds, that avoiding him all these years had been ridiculous, the act of a coward.
Now she knew it had been wise.
For he was different, and had always been different. Even grief and tragedy and time could not annul the fact that he was Luke, her first love. He was the first man she’d kissed, the first to touch her, both physically and emotionally. The first man she’d touched.
If only she didn’t remember so clearly. If only time had erased the memory of how his muscled chest felt beneath her palms, of his deep voice whispering words that had made her feel powerful and feminine. And though she had loved her husband when she married him, she had never been able to recapture the heady, tumultuous yearning she had felt for Luke.
But those memories created barriers now. Even if Luke hadn’t remembered that this was the tenth anniversary of the day he had proposed, he couldn’t possibly have forgotten the rest. Thank God she hadn’t given him her virginity. If they’d ever made love, she didn’t think she could have survived this at all.
“Okay, Sharon, that sounds great. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it. Right. Saturday at three. We’ll be there.” Luke hung up the phone.
“Who was that?” Alicia asked, trying to keep her voice normal. Heaven forbid he should guess her thoughts.
“Neighbors,” he said, turning toward her. “Sharon and Jim Redford. They live a couple of miles down the road. Sharon invited us to a cookout.” He studied her face as if trying to gauge her reaction. “I hope you don’t mind that I accepted for you. They’re good people. They have a son Ronnie’s age.”
“That sounds nice. No, I don’t mind at all.” Alicia’s fingers eased their grip on her glass; until this moment she hadn’t even realized how tightly she’d been holding it.
Luke went to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of beer. “They have a pool,” he added, twisting the top off. “Sharon said to bring our suits.” He leaned negligently against the kitchen counter and took a long pull of his drink. “You did bring one, didn’t you?”
“No. I didn’t expect to be swimming.”
He scanned her in an assessing manner. “We’d better go shopping then. Sharon’s suits won’t fit you, and I doubt you’d want to wear one of Nancy’s.”
“Nancy?”
“Sharon’s kid sister. She just graduated from USC. She’s going back in a few days to do graduate work.” One corner of his mouth quirked up. “She’s turned into a real California babe. Runs around in bikinis the size of a postage stamp.”
“And of course you think I couldn’t wear one like that,” Alicia said, and instantly wanted to kick herself. He’d think she was fishing for compliments when all she’d been trying to do was to assert herself.
“I didn’t say that.” This time his eyes roved over her more thoroughly than they had before, but with no hint of whether he still found her attractive. “I just thought you wouldn’t want to,” he said, a smooth challenge in his voice. “You were always the conservative type. Have you changed?”
Alicia shifted in her chair, disliking the way the conversation was headed. The conservative type. How was she to interpret that? And why did she find it so irritating?
“Not that much,” she said shortly. “I still don’t find it appropriate to run around half-naked in public.”
“Sharon’s backyard isn’t too public.”
“You know what I mean.”
Alicia’s mouth went dry as their gazes fused, then Luke broke the contact by taking another swig of beer. He seemed so much more relaxed than she was, so much more in control of himself than she remembered. At twenty he had been moody, intense. A lone wolf in search of a mate. Could he have changed so much? It was possible. His successes in life could have altered him, just as her lack of success, at least with marriage, made her defensive and on edge.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll take you to one of the malls and you can pick out something modest. You’ll be uncomfortable if you can’t go in the water. The sweat factor is about a hundred percent this time of year.”
“It certainly is,” she agreed, looking down at her fingers. “Speaking of which, I could sure use a shower.”
He put down his drink and straightened, his strong features set in a neutral expression. “I guess I should have shown you up to your room first. Sorry.”
“I wasn’t trying to criticize.” Alicia stood and cleared her throat, feeling absurdly self-conscious. “I enjoyed the ice tea, Luke. It was perfect.”
She didn’t know what she expected him to say. I remembered how you like it, baby. One teaspoon of sugar and three drops of lemon...
In contrast, his curt nod seemed almost a slap in the face. “I’ll get your suitcase.”
Feeling like a fool, Alicia followed him out of the kitchen. Obviously she meant nothing to him now.
Which, of course, was exactly the way she wanted it.
* * *
He hadn’t wanted her to come to Houston. He’d tried to think of a way to prevent her, but he couldn’t, not with the way Caroline and Richard’s will was set up. She had as much right to be here as he did and maybe more, since she and the boy were blood kin.
Luke didn’t dwell on the thought. The fact that he was adopted had ceased to matter to him years ago. Being taken in by the Garricks had been the best thing that ever happened to him, the zenith of his crazy childhood. If it hadn’t been for them, he’d probably be sitting in some prison cell right now, surrounded by bars and concrete walls. That was another thought he didn’t dwell on.
As Alicia disappeared into the upstairs bathroom, he lured Ronnie out of his room with promises of milk shakes and videos. The kid had moped long enough; despite what Luke had told Alicia, he didn’t like to leave Ronnie alone for more than a short while. Luke had spent enough time by himself to know that solitude was only healthy in moderate doses.
Trying not to think of Alicia standing naked in the shower, he settled Ronnie on the couch and switched on the VCR. They had watched the first half of Star Wars the previous evening, and Ronnie had been begging all day to see the rest. As Darth Vader filled the screen, wheezing evilly, Luke sat down next to Ronnie and pulled off his shoes. Slumping into the cushions, he closed his eyes and considered the present situation.
Seeing Alicia again had been a whole lot more stressful than he’d anticipated. He’d almost managed to forget how attractive she was, how powerfully she had drawn him with her wholesome good looks and ladylike charm. She no longer wore her blond hair long; now it was cut in a crisp, sassy style that suggested success and sophistication. Yet despite her career-girl image, she had somehow managed to retain that air of innocence that had caught at his gut the first time.
Damn.
She might call herself a city woman now, but in his eyes she was still the girl from the small New Jersey college town. The shy eighteen-year-old who had stood across from him at his brother’s wedding.
The girl in the dusky rose maid-of-honor’s dress.
; Luke’s jaw clenched at the memory. The one thing he did not intend to do was to fall for Alicia Brant all over again. No way was he going to get his head messed up a second time. Yes, he understood the reason for her visit; after all, he and Alicia had been named Ronnie’s joint guardians. If she considered it her duty to visit for a couple of weeks, then fine. He understood her decision and even agreed with it. He also appreciated her offer to help him dispose of Caroline’s personal possessions. But once duty was satisfied, she had better get that cute little butt back out of his life or he wouldn’t answer for the consequences.
“Hey, Uncle Luke.” Ronnie’s nudge roused his attention. “Can I have my milk shake now?”
“I forgot to get it for you, didn’t I? Jeez, I’m sorry. What kind do you want?”
“Chocolate?”
Luke got up, affectionately rumpling his nephew’s hair. “Okay, squirt. One chocolate milk shake coming up.”
Entering the kitchen, he found Daffy gazing mournfully into her empty water dish. Her food dish was empty, too, and it was past time for her dinner. Annoyed with himself, Luke refilled both bowls and added a couple of ice cubes to the water. How could he have forgotten the dog’s needs? Just having Alicia in the house was already making him nuts.
Retrieving the blender from the pantry, he threw in some milk and vanilla ice cream, then added a hefty dollop of chocolate sauce. As he plugged the cord into the outlet, he heard the upstairs shower shut off.
Immediately his imagination conjured up images. She would have one of his bath towels wrapped around her beautiful wet body, only it wouldn’t be large enough to cover more than the bare minimum. Cursing his choice of words, he punched the button on the blender.
Get a grip on yourself, Garrick. She’s going to be here for a while so you’d better get used to this.
He switched off the blender just in time to hear her light footsteps move from the bathroom to the guest room above his head. His mouth compressed, he filled a tall glass to the brim, grabbed his half-empty can of beer and went back to the living room.
Ronnie cuddled against him while they polished off their drinks and watched the movie. At least Ronnie watched the movie. Luke stared in the right direction and pretended to be interested while his thoughts prowled around in the past.
Alicia entered the room just as Luke Skywalker was guiding his X-wing fighter into the trench of the Death Star.
“Hi,” she said awkwardly. “Sorry I took so long.”
As her gaze shifted to Ronnie, Luke took silent stock of her apparel. The slacks and blouse she had worn earlier had been replaced by white shorts and a turquoise tank top. Through the thin cotton, he could see the faint lines of her bikini panties. They were of the high-cut variety, very enticing and very skimpy. His eyes wandered over her, taking in the heightened color in her cheeks and her long, beautiful, bare legs.
“Use the Force!” squealed Ronnie.
“Do you think that’s an appropriate movie for him to watch?” Alicia asked.
“Why not?” As she moved closer, Luke caught a flash of lacy pink bra at the edge of her neckline. “It’s a great movie,” he added, wishing irritably that he could say something intelligent. She was used to being around cerebral white-collar types, not guys like him. Heck, she had even married one. A dentist, for crying out loud.
“Yes, it is, but...” She stopped, her eyes still on Ronnie. “Could we talk in the kitchen?”
He wanted to say no. He didn’t want to be alone with her in any room, at any time. “Sure,” he said with a shrug.
Scooping up Ronnie’s empty glass and his beer can, he followed Alicia out of the room, his gaze riveted on the enticing sway of her hips. At eighteen, she’d been modest and virginal. He had never seen her completely naked, never buried himself inside her as he had ached to do. And it seemed ten years hadn’t erased that ache. Even now, it tightened his gut as he mentally undressed her, peeled off the top and shorts and that sexy pink bra. His hands itched to touch those legs, to slide up their smoothness until he reached the most secret and feminine part of her.
Annoyed with himself, he set the glass and can in the sink and turned. “Well?” He crossed his arms over his chest, deliberately assuming an aloof posture.
Her blue eyes met his. “Did it occur to you that at the beginning of that movie, Luke Skywalker loses his parents?”
“Actually it was his aunt and uncle.”
“Whatever,” she said with an impatient gesture. “It’s close enough to be a reminder. I think we should be more careful, don’t you?”
“I fast-forwarded through that part last night while he was letting the dog out. He didn’t even notice.”
“I see. Well, I’m glad about that.” She reached out, her hand gripping the back of a chair as if for support. “But, Luke, you shouldn’t have promised Ronnie a water bed before you talked to me about it. I don’t want him to be disappointed.”
“Why should he be disappointed?” Luke asked in bafflement.
She hesitated, then sat down, her face tense. “Look, there’s a lot of things we need to discuss. I know it’s awkward, but we have to do it. I don’t know why Caroline and Richard—” she paused and drew a deep breath “—I don’t know why they chose to make us both guardians, but that’s what they did.”
“Yeah, it was a damned weird thing for a couple of lawyers to do,” he agreed, a guarded note in his voice.
“You didn’t know about it, either?”
Heck, no, he hadn’t known about it. If he had, he’d have wrung Richard’s neck.
He shook his head. “When they made the first will,” he said shortly, “they asked me to be Ronnie’s guardian. They never mentioned any changes.”
Alicia looked down, her face pale. “You would think they would have warned us,” she said, her voice quivering. She covered her eyes with her hand, her soft lips distorted in her effort not to cry.
Dropping his arms to his sides, Luke thought of his brother and sister-in-law and felt the dull ache of grief grind in his stomach. Their second honeymoon to a romantic South Pacific island had ended in catastrophe. He would never forget his own agonized disbelief when he’d learned that the small sight-seeing plane they’d hired to tour the area had gone down in the ocean.
No bodies recovered. Nothing left but memories.
He stared down at a tiny crack in the tile, keeping all signs of emotion from his face. Grief wasn’t a thing he shared, not with anyone, and certainly not with Alicia. He couldn’t cry; he hadn’t done so since his mother died. He had never even expressed sorrow aloud—not when Alicia had shattered his life, and not when his adoptive parents had passed away. And he sure wasn’t about to change his habits now at the age of thirty.
But standing by, watching another person’s pain, was something else again. As a choked sob escaped Alicia, it took an enormous amount of self-restraint not to stride forward and take her in his arms. Luke’s hands knotted into fists as he grappled with the urge.
“I’m sure they thought there was no point,” he said gently. “Nobody expects something like that to happen.”
A single tear trickled down Alicia’s cheek. “I suppose you’re right.” Pulling a tissue from her pocket, she wiped her face and blew her pinkened nose. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring this up now. I wanted to talk to you about Ronnie’s future.”
“There’s plenty of time for that. You ought to use today to get settled. Tomorrow I’ll take you for a tour of the area. We can shop for a bathing suit and drive past Ronnie’s school—”
“What?” Her head jerked up.
“Brown Elementary,” he explained. “It’s only a couple of miles from here. I registered him for first grade the day before yesterday.”
Alicia’s reaction caught him off guard. Her blue eyes blazing beneath the wet fringe of her lashes, she surged to her feet and glared at him with fury.
“How dare you do such a thing?”
Chapter Two
Alicia’s hands cu
rled into fists as outrage jackknifed inside her chest. “How could you? And why?”
“Why?” Luke’s eyes narrowed. “School starts next week. I didn’t want to wait any longer.”
“So,” she grated, “you’re assuming Ronnie will live with you, is that it?”
“Well, where else would he go? You’re not suggesting he live with you?”
“Of course I’m suggesting it! I think it would be logical and fitting.”
“Fitting maybe, but where do you get logical?”
She could hear the skepticism in his voice, the flat note of mockery that, even at such a moment, produced a ripple of old, bitter memories. This was not the boy she had known, she reminded herself. Luke was a successful business owner now; he was used to calling the shots.
“Children Ronnie’s age need a mother,” she insisted. “He’s my sister’s child, Luke. Of course I want to take care of him.” She was not about to go into it any further than that; she owed him no soul-baring explanation.
He gazed steadily at her. With black stubble shadowing his jaw and faint age lines framing the corners of his mouth, he looked as grim as a pirate, and just about as intimidating. “And what about that fancy job of yours? You know, the forty-hour-a-week one? What about the neighborhood where you live? Is it a good place for kids, Alicia? Is there a place where they can run and play? Is it safe?” He sounded so reasonable, so smugly certain he knew best that she wanted to hit him.
“Of course it’s safe,” she retorted. “Do you think I’d live somewhere that wasn’t? There’s even a playground a block and a half down the street. And if we’re talking practicality, who’s going to take care of Ronnie if he stays with you? You have a store to run, which I bet takes a whole lot more than forty hours a week of your time.”
“I have five employees and a business partner,” he countered. “I can come and go as I please. Sharon has agreed to watch Ronnie after school every day except Tuesday. And on Tuesdays, I’ll bring him to the store to hang out. He loves it there.”
