Penalty Clause

by Lori Ryan

  Andrew knew that stubborn tone in her voice, but he also knew if Nora was the one to hire the extra staff, she’d eventually just let them all go when she thought she no longer needed them. If he hired the staff, he could control how long they stayed.

  Controlling? Yes. But, Andrew wasn’t taking any more chances on Nora’s safety. Nora had capitulated only when Andrew told her he needed some way to alleviate his guilt. He laid it on thick, telling Nora she needed to let him do these things for her so he could live with himself after what he’d let happen to her.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she had finally said, literally throwing her hands up in the air. “If you must.”

  And they’d left it at that.

  Andrew and Lydia had taken to eating dinner sitting on the couch in Nora’s temporary bedroom to keep Nora company. One evening, as Lydia brought in her peach cobbler for dessert, Nora piped up with news that jolted Andrew back into his teen years.

  “Jillie Walsh just moved back in next door, Andrew. Do you remember Jill?” Nora knew damn well that Andrew remembered Jill. When Andrew was fifteen, he had the biggest crush of his life on the next door neighbor’s granddaughter, Jill.

  Andrew hadn’t been very good at hiding his crush when Jill was eighteen and he’d only been fifteen. Jill Walsh had come to visit her grandparents many times. But the summer that Andrew was fifteen, Jill spent two months with here before she went off to college. Andrew spent most of the summer at his upstairs window watching Jill swim in the Walsh’s pool. Jill may have been oblivious to Andrew’s attention but Nora had certainly caught on to the reason for his sudden attachment to the upstairs window. Luckily for Jill, her bedroom was on the other side of the house or Andrew would likely have watched a lot more than Jill in her bathing suit by the pool.

  “Really? I didn’t think the Walshes lived next door anymore,” Andrew said.

  Andrew’s years in the corporate world had at least honed his skill at hiding his feelings so Andrew was able to act a lot more casual about Jill this time around. But Andrew wasn’t feeling as nonchalant on the inside as he was acting on the outside.

  The mention of Jill’s name began a slow burn in Andrew’s body. He thought back to her long blond hair and captivating hazel eyes. Andrew hadn’t seen eyes like that on another woman in all these years. And no woman Andrew had been with lived up to his fantasies about Jill. Not even Blair, the woman Andrew had once loved.

  Andrew wondered briefly if even Jill herself could live up to his fantasies but he had a disturbing feeling an older, more mature Jill would live up to them and then some.

  “They moved to South Carolina to live near their son two years ago but they kept the house. It’s been empty until now, but Jillie was divorced in September and she wanted to relocate. She’s moved into their house while she figures out what she wants to do.”

  It didn’t surprise Andrew that Nora already had the whole story behind Jill’s reappearance. He was always amazed at how quickly Nora and Lydia had the scoop on everyone in the neighborhood.

  “Wow,” said Andrew, “I didn’t even know she was married. Where has she been all these years?”

  “She and her husband lived in Hartford for the past few years. Mrs. Berlinger down the street spoke to her the other day but Jill didn’t tell her much about the divorce. No kids, so it was a clean break,” Nora said.

  “Jill’s a photographer. Nature pictures, I think.” Lydia added that tidbit to the story as she cleared the peach cobbler dishes.

  “Mrs. Berlinger said Jillie will be staying in her grandparents’ house until she figures out where she wants to buy something of her own,” Nora said. “You should go over and say hello tomorrow. I’m sure she’d be happy to see a friendly face now that she’s back.”

  Andrew helped Nora back into her bed and raised the safety rails on the side. Nora scowled and Andrew knew she would make Lydia lower them after he left.

  “Maybe I’ll run over and say hello in the morning.” Andrew tried to sound casual even as his body tensed at the thought of seeing Jill again. It was stupid, but he had thought of Jill on occasion over the years and sometimes, when he saw a blond woman in a crowd, he would even crane his neck to see if she was Jill. None of them had been Jill, so the thought that she was once again just next door caused fantasies to race through his mind.

  Chapter Three

  It was no surprise that an hour later Andrew found himself standing at the upstairs window in the carriage house. He looked out onto the Walsh’s property, thinking about Jill. He didn’t actually expect to see her, but when he thought about what he was doing, he kicked himself for acting like such an adolescent jerk. Andrew was just about to turn away when a light spilled out onto the backyard. Then, her back door opened and a large brown dog ran out into the yard, barking and jumping in the snow. Jill followed, wrapped in a blanket. Andrew stepped back a few inches to avoid being seen but he couldn’t help watching just a moment longer when Jill looked up at the stars.

  Jill was more beautiful than ever. Looking down on her, Andrew could see she was still incredibly sexy. If she was even half as sweet and kind-hearted as he remembered, Andrew couldn’t imagine how her husband let her get away. Her ex must be a first class idiot.

  There were a few small snowflakes falling and when Jill raised her chin to catch the snowflakes on her tongue, Andrew let out a low groan. Shaking his head at himself, he walked into his bathroom, turned on the shower, stripped down, and doused himself with cold water. He had a feeling it wouldn’t work, but he had to try to wash away the sight of snowflakes melting on Jill Walsh’s tongue.

  ***

  Jill was content to be back in her grandparents’ home. Since the morning ten months ago when Jake announced he loved someone else and wanted a divorce, she’d felt lost and anchorless. It was good to be in a place filled with happy memories. Jill didn’t have many friends in the area since she had only visited her grandparents during the summers and hadn’t been here in years, but she figured she’d get out and meet people. She’d make friends eventually and feel more settled.

  Girlfriends. Only girlfriends. Jill didn’t need any men in her life at this point. She’d been completely blindsided when Jake said he wasn’t happy. She had believed in their love, their marriage, and their commitment to one another. At this point, Jill couldn’t imagine letting herself trust that way again. After all, even if she thought she was in love, how could Jill trust in another person’s feelings, in the strength of their commitment to one another after the colossal mess of her marriage?

  She couldn’t. It was just that simple. Jill couldn’t trust like that ever again. What she was feeling right now hurt too much to risk going through this again.

  Jill frowned, knowing it would be sad to live without love in her life, but she just didn’t see any way to let herself take that kind of chance. Okay, so maybe she’d have to let up on the girlfriends-only thing. She’d just keep anything that did happen with a guy completely casual. Yeah. A good no-strings-attached fling every once in a while wouldn’t hurt. But that would be it.

  She opened the back door and stepped out into the backyard. Jill watched Rev, her chocolate Labradoodle race off to chase snowflakes. That dog was always happy, no matter what he was doing, and his happiness managed to bring a smile to Jill’s face.

  Jill looked up at the night sky. She was probably ready for a good fling to help erase the sting of her husband’s betrayal. It was odd, really, the way she felt after the divorce. Jill was still confident in so many ways. She knew she was smart, and for the most part, still felt attractive. She knew she was a good friend, had a good sense of humor and that she was a talented photographer. She knew and believed all those things.

  Even so, there was still a nagging sense of…inadequacy. A feeling that maybe she should have been able to keep her husband from straying.

  Jill’s parents had been together for fifty-two years and were still happily married. They’d built a strong and loving marriage that la
sted. Why couldn’t Jill? Jill wondered what was wrong with her that her marriage didn’t last. She even wondered if her inexperience in the bedroom before she married Jake had left her ill equipped to please him and keep him satisfied. Her head told her that was foolish. Jake was the one at fault for his behavior. In her head, she knew that. Her heart just had trouble believing it.

  Jill sat down on the rocker on the back porch and watched the snowfall and found herself thinking about the boy who used to visit his grandmother next door. She wondered where Andrew Weston had ended up. Though Andrew had been three years younger than her the last summer she’d spent here, Andrew’s attention had been hard to miss.

  Though flattering, his fifteen years to her eighteen stopped the adulation from going any further. Despite that, even then, Jill knew Andrew would grow up to be more than just good looking someday.

  Jill felt a shiver of excitement rush through her as she tried to imagine a grown up Andrew Weston paying that kind of attention to her. What had only been flattering in a cute, kid-next-door kind of way back then might be downright exciting now.

  With a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold, Jill called Rev, smiling as she watched her dog race back to her. She’d give anything to be as happy as that big, dumb dog. They walked back in the house together where Jill headed off for a restless night’s sleep. Her dreams that night were heated and racy, filled with a grown up version of the boy next door, doing more than watching her as she lay by the swimming pool.

  Chapter Four

  Andrew poured his coffee and walked over to the window of the carriage house to see how much snow had stuck to the ground the night before. He scratched his face as he went. He was sleeping in later while on leave from the office and had let the scruff on his chin grow longer.

  The snow had just dusted the ground and was already melting away in the mid-morning sun. But, Andrew was treated to another sight that was more welcoming than snow. Jill Walsh was back in her grandparents’ backyard. Andrew watched as she stretched up toward a tree limb. She hung what looked like a saltlick in a small metal frame mounted on the tree. Jill’s dog ran in circles around her as she walked across the huge backyard toward another tree. Andrew could make out one of the metal frames on that tree as well.

  Andrew laughed to himself as he watched her. Most people thought of the deer as pests that ate the flowers and shrubs but she was encouraging them to come visit her.

  What the hell? Might as well go say hey to pretty Jillie Walsh.

  Andrew drew a pair of threadbare jeans up over his hips and tossed a well-worn Yale sweatshirt over his t-shirt, then threw his feet into a pair of duck boots. He trotted downstairs without bothering to tie the laces of the boots. His grandmother’s yard connected with the Walsh’s by a fence in the main areas but toward the back, where the yards became more wooded, the fence ended and the two yards were open to one another. Andrew trotted around the back end of the fence and headed toward Jill.

  Before he reached her, Andrew was greeted by Jill’s dog, who ran up to Andrew as if the two of them were old friends. The dog jumped up with both paws on Andrew’s chest to land kisses on Andrew’s face.

  “Hey, boy,” Andrew said. He buried his hands in the curly fur to give the dog a good scratch before heading toward Jill.

  Jill was headed back toward the house so Andrew called out to her as he fell into an easy jog. “Jill! Welcome back.”

  Andrew watched as Jill turned toward him and squinted against the glare of the morning sun. She hesitated before returning his greeting. The dog ran back and forth between Jill and Andrew, bouncing as if he couldn’t wait for them to meet up in the middle.

  “Andrew? Wow, is that really you?” Jill asked.

  “Yeah. I heard you were back in town. Saw you out here and thought I’d say hi before breakfast,” Andrew explained as he approached her.

  Jill let out a laugh. “Breakfast? It’s almost ten thirty. You’re just having breakfast?”

  Andrew shrugged. “I’ve been sleeping in lately.”

  Andrew had no problem getting up at six o’clock on days he went to the office, but easily reverted to sleeping later on weekends and vacations when he felt like it.

  Jill tilted her head and studied him. “You’re living at your grandmother’s?”

  “Uh, just for a while,” Andrew said vaguely, not sure if Nora would want him to mention her hip. Nora was proud and might not want everyone to know how much help she needed right now. “I’m taking a leave of absence from work for a while,” Andrew said.

  “Um, I was just going to make some hot chocolate,” Jill said. She gestured over her shoulder toward the house. “Do you want some?”

  “Sure.”

  Andrew eyed Jill sideways as they walked toward the house together. He couldn’t believe how incredible she looked with her cheeks all red from the cold and her hair tangled up around the collar of her coat. Andrew was dying to see what she looked like when all the layers of winter clothing were stripped off.

  Most of the women he dated wore ridiculously tiny coats and gloves made for fashion, not warmth. Jill was bundled up in an old, bulky ski jacket and still looked better than any of those other women. She had very little makeup on, but her eyes sparkled and Andrew found he couldn’t look away from them as the two of them talked. Jill Walsh still had the same appeal, and he still responded. More so now as a man who’d experienced women than he had as a fifteen year-old boy with only his imagination to fuel him.

  He shook off his thoughts. Jill Walsh was his grandmother’s neighbor and Andrew knew his grandmother was still friends with Jill’s grandparents. In his book, that meant Jill Walsh was off limits. Andrew didn’t date women that close to home.

  Jill opened the door and stomped the snow off her boots. He watched with interest as she stripped off her coat and crossed to the stove to turn on a burner. Yup. Incredible body, just like he figured. Damn, what a waste. Why did the woman who was so strictly off limits have to be so damn gorgeous?

  “Nora said you’re a photographer now,” Andrew’s voice was husky. He tried to control his response and pulled his boots off before grabbing a stool at the kitchen island.

  “Mmm hmm. It started out as mostly a hobby but now I’m trying to make it work fulltime.”

  “What do you photograph? Do you do portraits and things or…?” Andrew’s voice trailed off as his gaze moved to Jill’s slender fingers as she added marshmallows to a mug of steaming hot chocolate and handed it to him.

  How the hell can fingers be sexy?

  Andrew knew the answer to that. They were sexy because he pictured those fingers on him. Running over his chest, digging into his shoulders…damn. Now he was aroused.

  Oh crap. Not good. Think baseball stats. Old women doing aerobics in their underwear. The square root of 759 is…27.55. No, 27.54. It helped to be good with numbers at times like this.

  “I photograph nature, mostly. Occasionally, people or pets, but mostly nature and wildlife. I got lucky and found a couple of galleries that exhibit my work. Now I’m working with a marketing group here to set up an online store for prints, gift cards, that sort of thing.”

  “I’d like to see some of your work sometime,” Andrew said, but he noted that Jill looked hesitant, almost shy about discussing her work, and she didn’t offer to show him any pieces.

  ***

  Jill watched Andrew over her mug, and made idle small talk with him about New Haven but her heart rate was going a mile a minute. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. That dirty blond hair that was just a tad too long. Scruffy chin and strong jaw. And, those eyes. Those eyes that that were so steamy and sinful, they made Jill feel like she could melt in a puddle at his feet if she didn’t look away.

  Just last night Jill had wondered what Andrew would be like all grown up and here he was in the flesh as if her thoughts had conjured him out of thin air.

  And oh, what incredible flesh his was. Jill had guessed Andrew would be good looking as an adult,
but good looking didn’t begin to describe the perfect model of manliness sitting before her. Jill casually let her eyes drop to his chest and was amazed at the hard expanse of it, evident under the snug fit of the sweatshirt he wore. Andrew’s jeans hugged lean hips and long legs and Jill suspected there wouldn’t be an ounce of fat under those clothes.

  The soft, faded material of Andrew’s jeans tugged tightly across his thighs as he raised his feet onto the rungs of his kitchen stool. Jill swallowed a groan and dragged her eyes away from his lap. Except her gaze caught on other parts of his lap as she tried to pull away and she couldn’t prevent the quick glance at his zipper or the imagined images of what lay beneath it.

  Crappity, crap, crap. Stop looking, Jill!

  Jill forced her eyes up, but even that was problematic. Just the sight of Andrew’s hands when he accepted the mug sent Jill’s mind reeling in naughty directions. She shivered when his hand brushed hers and wondered what those strong hands would feel like on her skin, around her waist, or skimming up to her breasts. Jill blushed and had difficulty drawing her eyes to Andrew’s face.

  She almost cringed to think she was sitting in her grandparents’ kitchen thinking about a naked Andrew Weston.

  I must be more overdue for a meaningless fling than I thought, Jill mused as she watched Andrew wink at her over his mug. On so many men, a wink like that would look like such as arrogant gesture. For Andrew, it just looked easy and sexy. Just part of who he was.

  Jill wondered if she could sleep with Andrew. He sure seemed to be laid back and not exactly Mr. Commitment, which boded well for a casual fling. On the other hand, Andrew was too close to home to mess around with. Their families were close. Things would be uncomfortable down the road when they had to see each other, after it ended. Probably not wise to mess with Andrew Weston, even if he was a Greek god brought to life in her kitchen. Jill buried a sigh and focused on friendly chit chat instead of sexy fantasies.