by Minx Malone
It doesn’t mean anything, he’s just being nice so you don’t get lost in the crowd, she thought. Still, she couldn’t deny the feel of his large hand around hers was a thrill.
Several of the girls looked at Ridley critically before dismissing her and turning back to Jackson. Apparently they didn’t find her to be a threat.
It took all her willpower not to throw her arms around him and say, “He’s mine, back off biyatches!” just to see the looks on their faces. She doubted Jackson would share the humor though, so she refrained.
Jackson pulled her closer until she stood right under his arm. “Ridley, I want to introduce my oldest brother, Bennett.”
A ruggedly handsome man with light brown skin shook her hand vigorously. “Nice to meet you, Ridley. I hope you’re feeling better.”
She blushed furiously as everyone looked at her speculatively. “I am, much better.” She glanced up at Jackson. He seemed to understand her discomfort because he quickly turned to someone else.
“And these are the other members of our usual group, Trent Townsend and Mara Simmons. Mara is Matt’s twin sister.”
He addressed Mara directly. “You should have seen her talking to Matt earlier. He actually listened to her. It was amazing.”
Embarrassed at the praise, Ridley shook hands with them both, surprised when Mara pulled her into a quick hug.
“Thanks for talking Matt down. He just came back from overseas and he hasn’t been himself lately. I don’t think he’s adjusting to civilian life so well.”
Mara looked over at Trent who hugged her close to his side and kissed the tip of her nose.
Ridley swallowed back a sudden stab of envy. With just one look, she could sense the bond between them. She’d always wondered what it would be like to have that kind of connection with someone.
“Well, let’s get something to eat. I went a little overboard on the grill.” Jackson tugged her toward the long picnic tables set up in the middle of the lawn.
The two boys she remembered from earlier that morning ran up. The smallest one didn’t wait to be picked up, just latched on to Jackson’s pant leg and started climbing like he was scaling a wall. “Daddy, we want ice cream!”
Jackson scooped him up and held him cuddled in the crook of his arm. “Not yet, little man. Let’s get some food first.”
Ridley’s heart slammed against her chest. It shouldn’t be so hot that he was such a devoted father. She busied herself by picking up a paper plate and filling it with potato chips. He’d kissed her last night, but that didn’t mean he was single. For all she knew his ex-wife or girlfriend could be at the party, too. Jackson wasn’t the kind of man any sane woman would let get away, especially if they had a family.
She pushed down a pang of regret and focused on the food. The last time she’d liked a guy he’d ended up dead, so it was probably better if she kept her thoughts off romance. Her time was going to be occupied, in near future, just trying to stay out of harm’s way.
She put a hot dog on a bun and bit into it angrily.
“So, your real name is actually Ridley?” Matt appeared on her left and she jumped.
“Oh, hi. Yeah, I changed it years ago.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t just use your real name. It’s so distinctive. Although I can understand not liking it. The only people who call me Matthew are my mother and people who want to get punched in the face. And don’t even get Mara started on her name.”
“What? Mara is perfect. Short, feminine and easy to pronounce.”
“It’s actually Marina. My parents love to sail.” Matt rolled his eyes. “So, why do you look like you want to punch a wall now?” Matt grabbed a paper plate. “Or like you want to punch Jackson. What did he do?”
She choked down the last piece of her food. “Nothing. So, how old are Jackson’s kids?” She didn’t look at him as she asked, just put another hot dog on her plate and picked up the ketchup bottle.
Matt raised an eyebrow when she squeezed too hard and ketchup squirted all over the table. “What’s up with all this love in the air? I need to watch my back before I get hit with an arrow.”
“What? I didn’t say… I was just wondering.”
Matt looked at her from the corner of his eye. “You were just wondering where their mother is? Normally I’d make you work for it, but I like you. So, I’ll just tell you straight out that you might not want to go there. Jackson is a great guy but ever since his wife died, he hasn’t been the same.”
Ridley looked back at Jackson and the two kids clinging to him. “Oh, no. I had no idea. When they said they didn’t have a mom, I assumed it was due to divorce or something. Was it recent?”
“It was about three years ago. Jase had just been born. I don’t even think the boys remember her. Jackson doesn’t like talking about it, so he usually lets people assume he’s divorced. I’m only telling you this so you’ll understand why I’m warning you. You seem like a nice girl and I’d hate to see you get your heart broken.”
Jackson looked up then and their eyes met.
I understand loss, too. Believe me.
“Don’t worry about me. Jackson is just being nice since we’re neighbors. My heart is in no danger.”
But even as she said it she knew it was a lie.
* * * * *
JACKSON BOBBED HIS head to the beat of the music, pretending that he was having a good time. His other brother, Elliott, had finally shown up and taken over his usual party position as makeshift DJ. He’d hooked his laptop computer up to a pair of monster-size speakers and put on a huge pair of earphones. Anti-social as a rule, he preferred presiding over the music so he didn’t have to dance or talk to anyone. Or rather, deal with people who walked up and tried to talk to him.
Luckily Jackson had been able to grab him before he’d gotten busy to ask him to find out a little more about Ridley’s friend, David. If anyone could get to the bottom of a mystery, it was Elliott.
Bennett was on the other side of the yard keeping an eye on the boys while they played. Nicholas was near them flirting with a pretty blonde in a miniskirt. The girls were dancing, the guys were watching and there was plenty of food. On all accounts, it was a successful party.
Other than the fact that he couldn’t keep his eyes off his temporary houseguest.
“As the host of this party you should probably smile every once in a while. Act like you’re having fun.” Mara appeared at his left elbow, looking like a Sofia Vergara clone in her crisp, white shorts and tank top.
“I am having fun. Especially now that you’re here.” He winked at her. Flirting with Mara was a time-honored tradition in their group, partially because she was naturally playful, and partially because it pissed off Matt so much. He frowned as he thought of the fist-sized hole in his living room wall.
As if she sensed the direction of his thoughts, Mara frowned, too. “I’m worried about Matt. Will you talk to him?”
“Of course. Ridley was able to calm him earlier, so I think he’s okay now. But hopefully I can get him to talk to me before he puts his fist through anything else.”
She nodded quickly and then surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck. He had to switch his beer to his left hand to keep from dropping it. When she pulled back, her eyes were slightly shiny.
Please god, don’t start crying.
“Sorry. I’m fine. Don’t get that panicked look.” She swiped under her eyes. “It’s just been a hard transition with him coming back from Iraq. Then there’s the thing with Trent.” She flushed slightly and averted her eyes.
All joking aside, he’d never taken flirting with Mara seriously, so he couldn’t deny that the idea of her and Trent as a couple was just… weird. As beautiful as she was, it would feel too much like hitting on his own sister, if he’d had one. Plus, if he was honest, she really wasn’t his type. Cynthia had been quiet, more into playing the piano and singing to the boys than socializing. As wild and outgoing as he appeared to his friends, he connected bett
er with quiet, introverted women.
Women like Ridley.
“Jackson, there you are,” a voice called out.
He turned and then groaned.
What the hell is she doing here?
Alana, inappropriately dressed as usual, in some sort of clingy, white silk dress, picked her way across the lawn on her needle-thin heels.
Mara turned as well and then glared at him. “Please tell me you’re not still seeing her?”
Alana reached them before he could answer. Her gaze settled on Mara. “Oh hello, Mona. It’s been ages.”
Mara didn’t even bother responding, just turned and walked off.
“What are you doing here, Alana?”
He didn’t bother with pleasantries. If her past behavior was anything to go on, she only showed up when she wanted something. It was just a matter of getting her to admit what it was.
“I remembered you used to have your little party every year for Memorial Day. I just took a chance and decided to swing by." She glanced around, a look of disgust passing over her face when she took in the tables lined with picnic food. “I don’t know why you don’t get this catered.”
“You remembering the date doesn't explain why you're here. We broke up a year ago.”
“We broke up ten months ago. I think we were a little rash,” Alana huffed. She smoothed a non-existent wrinkle out of her dress. It wasn’t like her to be fidgety or self-conscious, so the movement was telling.
“You slept with my assistant.” It was strange how saying it out loud wasn’t as difficult as it had been just a few months ago. She seemed alarmed at his blunt statement but covered it quickly with a cajoling expression.
“I did not sleep with him. That was a misunderstanding.” She tried to reach for his arm but he stepped back.
“I don’t think I misunderstood you bent over his desk. Not that it matters because I’m seeing someone else now.” The lie jumped, unbidden, from his mouth.
Shit.
“You are? Who? It’s that Mona girl, isn’t it? She always had a thing for you.” Alana crossed her arms.
“It’s not Mara. It’s no one you know.” He really wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings but maybe thinking he had a girlfriend would finally convince her that it was over between them. Nothing else he’d tried had gotten the point across.
“Look, I’m sorry for the way things ended between us but I’ve moved on and I suggest you do the same.” Happy that for once he had the last word, he turned to walk away and then stopped dead in his tracks.
Ridley stood right behind him watching the exchange with wide eyes.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“OH, GREAT. SHE has a lot of nerve showing up here.” Matt looked over her shoulder and frowned. Ridley turned and peered in the same direction. There were so many people there that she couldn’t be sure what he was looking at.
Until her eyes zeroed in on Jackson and Mara talking to a beautiful woman in a short, white dress.
“Who is that?” She hated to ask, hated that she wanted to know so badly. The woman was tall and thin with long, curly brown hair. Her light brown skin looked airbrushed, almost as if she’d photo shopped herself before leaving the house. Just then she tossed her long hair over her shoulder and smiled at Jackson.
Ridley hated her on sight.
Mara turned and walked away from them, her shoulders drawn up and her lips twisted into a snarl. Matt chuckled and tossed his empty beer bottle in one of the recycling bins nearby.
“That is Jackson’s bitchy ex-girlfriend. Looks like she’s already pissed Mara off. Typical.”
Jackson crossed his arms, his body language communicating that he definitely didn’t want to be there. Miss Photoshop clearly didn’t get the message because she kept moving closer and closer, leaning in toward Jackson as she spoke even as he leaned away. Ridley clenched her fists.
Without thinking about what she was doing she found herself moving in their direction.
“I’m sorry for the way things ended between us but I’ve moved on and I suggest you do the same.” Jackson turned as she walked up. Her mouth went dry.
The bravado that had compelled her to march over there didn’t extend to knowing what to say.
“Hey, I was wondering where you’d gone off to.”
The other woman looked her up and down but didn’t extend her hand. “I’m Alana. I don’t think I’ve met you before.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ridley.”
Jackson put an arm around her and anchored her to his side. “Hey, baby. I didn’t mean to abandon you.” He nuzzled her hair and snaked an arm around her back to settle possessively on her waist.
She looked at him in shock, then quickly covered her reaction with a bright smile. Her pulse raced as she curled against Jackson’s chest. It shouldn’t give her such satisfaction to see the other woman’s eyes narrow at the affectionate gesture.
If he wanted her to play along to get rid of a clingy ex-girlfriend she could do that. It was no big deal, despite the fact that her libido was suddenly wide awake and doing the samba. She’d have to be dead not to react to the flex and play of Jackson’s muscles under the thin, short-sleeved shirt he wore.
Especially when he was holding her so tightly that she was plastered against those muscles.
“No, I was fine,” she managed to get out, hoping her voice didn’t betray just how turned on she actually was. Did he have to smell like that, all warm and slightly sweet?
“I was just hanging out with Matt and watching the boys play. The thing is, I hate to be a party pooper but I think I'm going to go upstairs and lie down for a bit.”
She figured it was as good an excuse as any. It was one thing to play lovers for a few minutes to fool his ex, but she couldn’t be this close to Jackson for too long without melting into a puddle. No doubt, they were already attracting attention. She turned and met Nick’s frosty gaze. She smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back.
What is his deal?
“You live here?" Alana asked suspiciously. “Who are you, one of his little cousins?”
Ridley would have laughed in any other circumstance. She was used to the criticism. When people found out who her sister was, their first question was usually why don’t you look like that? She was immune to rudeness at this point and she certainly wasn’t going to take offense when the criticism came from a woman who looked like she had bird feathers or something equally ridiculous stuck to her eyelashes.
“Yes, I live here.”
The ironic thing was she didn’t even have to lie. She currently was living there, and unless her sister changed her mind about letting her stay in her house alone, she’d be there until Raina came back.
Jackson’s hand tightened around her waist before he turned to look at her, his gratitude clear by the way the stress lines around his eyes relaxed a little. In that moment, Ridley experienced a fierce surge of protectiveness.
Cat fights weren’t her style and she’d never been the type to engage in verbal spats over a man. If a man wanted to be with her, then he needed to tell other women that he was taken.
Period.
But in this case, not only was Jackson not her boyfriend but she could clearly read the S.O.S. signals the poor man was sending out. This girl looked like the type who wouldn’t take no for an answer, and as his friend, she was more than happy to help him get this she-cat-in-heat off his back.
“Like I said, I’m going upstairs to rest. Are you coming?” she asked.
Jackson nodded slowly, as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. Alana watched them with slitted eyes, her mouth falling open slightly as Ridley threaded her fingers through Jackson’s. Just as they were walking off, Ridley turned back.
“And if Jackson and I are cousins, then I'm pretty sure we're both going to hell.”
* * * * *
DID SHE REALLY just say that?
Jackson was fully aware that he was playing with fire. He couldn’t articulate what had made him do
it. It was one thing to tell Alana he was dating someone else, but to draft Ridley into playing the part without permission was just asking to get slapped. He was lucky she’d gone along with it at all.
He certainly hadn’t expected to hear her stick up for him in that honey-sweet voice of hers. Not only had she gotten him away from Alana, but she’d slyly insinuated they were sneaking off to have sex. Or at least that was how he’d interpreted it. He wasn’t sure if she’d meant it to sound that way or if his dick had taken over his hearing.
Either way, he wasn’t going to resist if she wanted to drag him upstairs. Even if it really was just to sleep.
“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that. She just pissed me off. One of your cousins. Really? Who hugs their cousin like that?” Ridley shook her head. “I won’t ask why you were attracted to her. She’s very pretty. Other than the crazy things stuck to her eyelashes and the pound of makeup she’s wearing.”
“No comment. But I’m willing to admit that most of my relationships are pretty shallow. My friends pushed me hard to get back into the dating scene after…”
“After your wife died. It’s okay, Matt told me. I’m really sorry.” She squeezed his hand as she said it.
His wife was usually a subject he didn’t discuss with anyone. Part of him was angry that Matt had told her, but the other part was glad. Jackson couldn’t figure out why, but for some reason he didn’t mind talking about it with Ridley. She seemed like she really was sorry for his pain and not just saying it to score points like most of the women who eventually found out.
“Thanks. It was a hard time and after a while I started dating just to shut everyone else up. I’m sure you can imagine the kind of women they were setting me up with.”
“Hey, I’m not judging. My own sister apparently thinks I’m a prude and need to sleep with a ‘real man’ like you.”
