“Merrick Hall, an all-boys school in Connecticut. Very Dead Poets Society with old buildings and rituals and dormitories. Top-notch learning, though.” He must have seen her alarmed look because he attempted a smile and went to her. “It was fine, really,” he assured her. “I belonged there. I met my best friends there. And despite my cold family, I do have some really great friends.”
Tori let out a breath. “Oh, of course you do. But now I understand your reluctance. Do you still see your mother? Your stepfather?”
He nodded. “Now and again. Despite everything, she is my mother.”
Tori was glad. Estrangement could be such a horrible thing.
“So now you know what I didn’t want to talk about over lunch.” He sipped at his drink this time, to her relief. “I don’t know what kind of father I’ll make. But I promise to try. Any kid of mine is going to feel wanted and loved. Not in the way.”
He said it with such finality that Tori’s heart broke just a little. She’d been brought up in a home with so much love. It was incomprehensible to think of a parent being so careless and dismissive, but she knew it happened.
She looked up at Jeremy, at his dark hair and stormy eyes and cheeks, slightly flushed from the day’s wind and the warm whiskey. She wanted to reach up and brush the errant curl off his forehead, to smooth the creases on his forehead, to see his lips curve in a smile again. But she kept her hands to herself, knowing that touching him, kissing him, would only make matters more complicated than they already were.
“Then we’re going to be fine,” she whispered, twisting her fingers together to keep from reaching out. “Because that’s what I want, too. And we’ll figure out the rest of the details somehow.”
Their gazes held for a few seconds, and then a few seconds more, long enough for something to stir between them. Her body remembered what his felt like and ached to feel it pressed against her again. She remembered how he tasted, the way he angled his head to kiss her, and how he nibbled at her lower lip before taking a kiss deeper.
She stepped back, unwilling to cross that line again. “I should go. It’s getting late and I’m on shift again tomorrow.”
“When do you get a day off?”
“On Thursday, when Tom is back from his holiday.”
“I’ll have narrowed down some properties by then. Why don’t you come along for some second walk-throughs? Some of these places are really stunning. You can tell me where we should eat lunch and we can make a day of it.”
She frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“How are we going to manage to parent together if we can’t get through a day in each other’s company?”
He made sense, even though Tori knew it was simplifying the matter. “Well, all right. If the weather is good. And as long as nothing comes up here.”
“Of course.”
She began to clear his plate and dinner mess and put it back on the room service cart. “You don’t have to do that,” he said.
She laughed. “Sure I do. I work here, remember? I’ll drop it off at the kitchen and then go home.”
He opened the door for her and she wheeled the cart out into the hall. Then she looked back at him. “Thanks for telling me about your family, Jeremy,” she said. “I know you didn’t want to.”
“It’s out there now,” he replied, leaning on the door. “Just please…don’t judge me on the basis of my relatives. I’ve tried very hard to be…different.”
“I judge a person on what I see them do,” she answered, and gave him a smile. “So far you’re in the clear.”
He smiled back then, a sexy sideways little slice of amusement. “I’ll see you soon.” Then with a little laugh, he backed up and shut the door.
She wheeled the cart down the hallway to the elevator while trying to calm her thrumming pulse. Amity was better than enmity, for sure, but how was she going to deal with a smiling Jeremy? Because she still found him incredibly attractive. Still got that light feeling in her chest when he smiled at her. And with their baby on the way, she couldn’t afford to let her head get into the clouds.
Life wasn’t made of fairy tales. It just had reality, and this was hers. She’d better figure it out.
Thursday dawned bright and clear, and after a brief meeting with Tom to bring him up to speed, Tori bundled up in her warm parka and gloves. Her knee-high boots and leggings were comfortable and warmer than she would have been in a skirt. The jacket was a bit snug around the waist, and she tugged on the zipper to get it over her growing bump. She supposed a new coat would be on the shopping list, but she hated spending the money on something she’d wear for only one winter.
Jeremy was waiting in the lounge sipping on coffee when she emerged from her office. To be honest, she was looking forward to the morning. There were worse things than wandering through luxury homes. She loved flipping through magazines and seeing the fancy decor. Now she could see some in person. Maybe even get some ideas for the hotel.
“Hi there.”
Jeremy turned around and she tried not to stare. He was in suit pants and shoes, with a soft wool coat and plaid scarf around his neck. His hair was finger-combed back from his face, making it seem groomed but carelessly so.
“Hi, yourself. Do you want a tea for the road? Something hot?”
“No, I’m fine. I had a decaf in the office with Tom this morning. You’re ready?”
“Just let me get this in a travel cup and I will be.” He flashed her a smile—another jolt to her heart—and beckoned for the waitress to grab him a cup. Within seconds he had his hand at the base of Tori’s spine, solicitously leading her out to his rental.
It was a freaking Jaguar.
He held the door and she slid into the sleek interior, the soft leather cradling her like it was shaped to her bottom. It was cold, but in moments he had the heater turned up and her heated seat on. A map on the console flashed and he hit a preset for one of the properties, and then they were on the road, heading toward Bridgewater.
“Where are we going first?”
He tapped the wheel along with the satellite radio station that was playing. “A house in the Pleasantville area. On the LaHave River.”
“I know the area.”
“Branson’s looking for a place to…well, regroup, I guess. He’s had a rough year.”
“Branson?”
“My client. And my friend.”
“How has his year been rough?”
Jeremy frowned. “It’s not really my place to say, you know? He’s a private guy, and I respect that. But if he wants to be invisible, I’m going to help him get what he needs and make sure it’s a good investment. I don’t think he’ll live here full-time, at least not after a while.” He looked over at Tori. “As his friend, my hope is he’ll put himself back together, and use this place as a summer home. Get back to throwing parties and having fun. He needs to smile again.”
Tori wondered what could be so awful that Jeremy couldn’t talk about it, but she respected his desire to protect his friend’s privacy. “He’s one of your Merrick friends?”
Jeremy nodded. “Yep.”
The drive to Pleasantville wasn’t long, and Jeremy had just finished his coffee when they pulled through iron gates into a long drive.
At the top was a gorgeous gray-shingled house with a three-car garage attached.