wavered, still annoyed that he was only here because he wanted a favor, not because he wanted to see her, but a little voice inside her said, Quit pretending you have a choice. All the safe, secure blocks and fences and supports she’d put under and around herself trembled in warning of a bigger shake-up, but it had been destined to happen sometime. Today was as good an opportunity as any.
It was so hard to be near him, though. He still got to her, so handsome despite being stubbled and rumpled and smelling faintly of leather and fuel and sweat. Maybe because he looked so nonplussed and human. Like he genuinely needed her. Again.
He wasn’t interested in her, she reminded herself, hurt even though she shouldn’t be. He’d warned her not to expect more than their one night. She hadn’t. It wasn’t like she’d been in love with him. Not deeply, anyway. Just tentatively.
No, it was the fact he hadn’t called when she’d had a serious reason to reach out to him. He shouldn’t have dismissed her like some ditzy woman who didn’t understand the rules. When he had texted her today with his cryptic message, she had responded. She expected that same consideration from him. He should have called her back.
He should know that he had his own baby who liked airplane rides.
* * *
Theo spoke to Gideon while Jaya chattered in French, ordering supplies to be delivered to their suite. When she began speaking Punjabi, she lost him, which irritated him further than he already was.
Forcing himself to pay attention to his own call, he heard Gideon say, “It’s a stunt. The son of an African prince. He’s chasing down his runaway wife, although the guns are real and so are the consequences. We’re stationary while the French and Spanish navies draw straws on whose jurisdiction we’re in. Of course the FBI wants a say because we have so many Americans on board. Meanwhile, our pirate is threatening to draw all of North Africa into the fight if we don’t turn over his wife, but if she’s stowing away, we haven’t found her. The ladies are having kittens that I sent the babies off the ship. Are they all right?”
“Safe,” Theo replied, eyeing Jaya as she toed off her shoes and shrunk by a couple of inches. Something in her expression seemed disturbingly vulnerable as she spoke with a lilt of persuasion into her phone. Her tone riled up oddly protective instincts in him when, on the surface, she looked more self-assured than ever.
Again he wondered if there was a man in her life, then cut off his speculation. The thought of her with a lover made him nauseous.
“Can you keep them out of sight?” Gideon continued. “Nic’s planning a broadcast from his cabin—man can’t stand to be scooped—but we want to leave the impression they’re still here, otherwise...”
“Understood. We’re off the grid.”
“Excellent. We’re a day from shore once we can move again and may have to wait for a slip in Marseilles. I’ll be in touch with an arrival time.”
Theo ended the call, mind eased that his siblings and spouses weren’t in immediate danger. Now he just had to—
A knock sounded and Jaya lowered her phone to motion at Theo. “That will be the bellman with the things I asked him to bring up. Take Androu to the bedroom while he brings everything in.”
Evie was rapt with her princess movie, dark head below the sofa back. He stepped out of the main room and continued to watch her as he listened to Jaya direct a pair of young men to leave everything inside the door. She continued her call as they left.
After hanging up a moment later, she walked him through his first diaper change, then briskly began moving objects to higher ground and double checking that doors were locked, particularly the one to the pool deck.
“We could swim with them later. They’d like that,” she murmured, sounding distracted, her nervous tension palpable. Maybe because he was hovering, but he couldn’t help himself. He told himself it was the new experience of child-minding. Androu still clung with determined little fists and tight legs which was a disturbing feeling that reinforced to him how inadequate he was with the task of reassurance. All Theo could do was hold him and follow Jaya around.
He wasn’t used to her taking an avoidance tack, though. In Bali, she had looked him in the eye and smiled every time he caught her eye, then blushed and shied maybe, but she’d never refused to meet his gaze. Her brisk movements around the flat were as much about putting distance between them as securing the space for the children.
Aware he was seeking his own sort of reassurance, he made himself halt in one spot and quit tagging after her like a lost puppy, but he couldn’t stop himself from watching her slender limbs and smooth efficiency. He couldn’t help remembering that her skin had smelled like cloves and almonds and her hair had been a cool weight of silk that had warmed against his bare chest.
She paused to scan the equipment littering the entrance.
“That seems like a lot of stuff. Two highchairs and a booster?” It looked like there were three portable cots, not that he was an expert on baby furniture.
“We can deal with this later. What did your brother-in-law say?”
He brought her up to speed and she nodded jerkily. “So a couple of days. You’re really sure you want me here? I’ll have to spend the night. That means—”
“It’s an imposition, I realize. Do you—” He swore under his breath, unable to put off asking. He didn’t even want to know, but it might help control his still thriving attraction. “Is there someone in your life this will affect?” he forced himself to ask.
She stilled, not looking at him. After a long second, she nodded. Then she lifted an expression that was frozen between tortured and fretful.
He swallowed, surprised how deeply the knife thrust and twisted even though he’d braced for it. Even though she had every right to get on with her life. He certainly had no right to possessiveness. This situation was going to be unbearable.
Let her call an agency.
Before he could work up the will to make the concession, soft, pitiful whimpers rose over a lullaby being sung on screen. Evie’s sobs turned into a heart-wrenching wail that made Jaya’s eyes pop. She rushed toward the girl.
“Baby, what happened? Did you hurt yourself?”
Theo lowered his lids in a wince. “I didn’t realize what you’d put on. That’s Rowan’s voice as the fairy godmother.”
Jaya gathered up the toddler in a cuddle and murmured words of comfort. Her swift loving care to a child she barely knew struck into his toughened heart like an axe, leaving a wound that gaped and ached. He’d just realized how perfect Jaya was on the heels of learning she belonged to another man. She should be with someone. She deserved to be happy.
He still hated himself for never calling her back. He’d never felt so alone and lonely—and he knew loneliness like other people knew the lyrics to a favorite song.
With his breath burning his lungs, he asked, “What should we do?”
He meant, Should we call in someone else? But she only rocked Evie and said, “There’s nothing we can do. Little ones need their mamas.” Her brow flinched before she tried to distract Evie with a cheerful, “But we could go swimming. Do you like to swim?”
The bait and switch worked and after waiting for swimsuits and special diapers, they all climbed into the pool. Again Jaya was a natural, showing him how to hold Androu and coach him to kick while Evie proved to be part mermaid, pushing herself free of Jaya’s grip and swimming to the edge where she came up to grin proudly.
It was a surprisingly conflict-free hour as he shifted his focus onto the moment and the safety of the children. Okay, he was also pretty damned aware of Jaya’s nipples poking against the wet cups of her modest one-piece black swimsuit, but thankfully the cool water kept his libido from responding too wildly. She was way off-limits, even further than when she’d worked for him, so he suppressed his interest