didn’t—couldn’t—respond.
Because standing at the car rental counter, where Lukas said he would be waiting, was his brother, Jackson, instead.
“Mom?” Ava prompted, sounding genuinely concerned. “What’s wrong?”
Kelly had to remind herself to breathe, and she exhaled slowly. “Nothing’s wrong,” she lied, not wanting to alarm her daughter. “I just lost my train of thought for a moment.”
“Well, put brake lights on next time,” Ava suggested. Then, after looking around, “I don’t see Uncle Luke anywhere.”
“Apparently there’s been a change of plans,” Kelly noted, trying to keep her tone light while she inwardly cursed Lukas Garrett all the way to hell and back.
“Does that mean we’re going to rent a car?” Ava asked.
“No, it means you’re going to meet Uncle Luke’s brother.”
A lot sooner than I had planned.
She stood for another minute, still rooted to the spot, and just looked at Jackson. She hadn’t seen him in thirteen years, but she’d recognized him immediately. But it was more than the dark brown hair that was always immaculately trimmed, more than the exquisitely shaped mouth that had inspired so many of her teenage fantasies, and more than the green eyes that were as dark and clear as emeralds. It was even more than the fact that he was six feet of solidly built male, with broad shoulders and strong arms that ensured any woman would feel secure and protected in his embrace. It was, more than anything else, the way Kelly felt when she looked at him—all hot and tingly and tongue-tied.
Sternly reminding herself that she wasn’t still sixteen years old—or even twenty-one—she took a step toward him.
He glanced up from the book he was reading—a legal journal of some kind—as if he sensed her approach. She’d noticed that the book was in his left hand, and that the third finger was bare. But the fact that he’d been divorced for quite a few years now didn’t make him any less off-limits.
As he closed the cover of the journal, his gaze skimmed over her, from the top of her head to her toes in a quick, cursory perusal that nevertheless caused heat to flare low in her belly and spread through her veins. She hadn’t counted on this, and that was a definite miscalculation on her part.
But how could she have known that, after so many years, he would still have this effect on her? Because even from a distance, even after so much time, she couldn’t deny her body’s instinctive response to him. Or the ache in her heart.
She pushed her bangs away from her face and silently reprimanded herself for even noticing that her hair was as flat and tired as the rest of her. She’d dressed comfortably for travel in a pair of faded jeans and an ancient University of Chicago sweatshirt and had put on the barest touch of makeup before heading out to the airport more than ten hours earlier. As a result, she felt not just unprepared but ill-equipped to come face-to-face with Jackson now.
When she’d decided to return to Pinehurst, she’d known it was inevitable that she would see him. But she hadn’t planned on seeing him when she was looking like this. She knew it shouldn’t matter, but when a woman was facing an ex-lover, she wanted to look her best. Unfortunately, she wasn’t even close.
Those green eyes lifted to her face again. “Hello, Kelly.”
Two simple words, but after so many years of silence, the achingly familiar voice was like a warm caress.
Her heart was pounding inside of her chest, but she inclined her head and responded in a similarly casual tone. “Jackson.”
His lips curved, just a little, and she suddenly remembered that no one else, aside from his mother, had ever called him “Jackson.” At least not more than once. But he’d never been Jack to Kelly—that name was too common, and Jackson was anything but. She had, occasionally, shortened his name to Jacks, but that seemed too familiar now.
He shifted his attention to her daughter again. “You must be Ava.”
The girl nodded, her gaze darting from her mother to Jackson and back again, as if she sensed the strange undercurrents between them.
Kelly held her breath, waiting for any sign of recognition. But there wasn’t any. And why would there be? Unless Lukas had shared the occasional photos that she’d sent to him, Jackson had never seen her daughter before. But she’d thought he might see some of the familial resemblance that Kelly saw whenever she looked at her little girl.
“I’m Jack Garrett, Luke’s brother.” He offered his hand.
Kelly fought an almost irresistible urge to cry as she watched them shake hands. It broke her heart to see the distance between them, but what had she expected? It was her fault that neither of them knew the truth of their connection.
Thirteen years ago, Jackson had been focused on his career above all else. He’d been clear that he had no interest in having a family, at least not any time in the near future. That was one of the reasons why Kelly had honestly believed she’d made the right decision. But she didn’t know what was right for any of them now.
She wanted Ava to know her father, but only if Jackson was prepared to be a father. And she was afraid to finally reveal the secret she’d kept for so long because she knew that when she did, it was quite possible he would hate her—either for keeping his child from him for so many years…or for bringing her into his life now.
“You seem surprised to see me,” Jackson said, speaking to Kelly again as they made their way toward the exit.
Surprised was barely the tip of her emotional iceberg, so she only said, “I was expecting Lukas.”
“He said he’d let you know that I’d be meeting you instead.”
“Maybe he tried,” she admitted, taking her cell out of her purse. “I turned off my phone when we boarded the plane.”
She powered it up now and heard the familiar chime that indicated a text message. But since it was written in Luke’s unique form of shorthand and without any punctuation, she had to read it twice before she figured out what it said.
Srry kel ER at clinic cant meet u sending j instead will stop by ur plc if not 2 late
Gee, thanks for the warning, Lukas.
“I’m guessing that’s his message,” Jackson said, his voice tinged with humor as he popped the trunk of his car to load their suitcases.
Of course he would find this amusing. He wasn’t the one who’d been blindsided by the change of plans.
“You guessed right,” she agreed lightly, then slid into the soft leather passenger seat of his luxury sedan.
Ava was already in the backseat with her mp3 player plugged in, leaving her mother to make conversation with Jackson. But Kelly didn’t know what to say. She’d known that she would see him again—but she hadn’t expected that he would be the first person she saw at the airport, and she mentally cursed Lukas again.
Of course, he couldn’t know what he’d done. After all, he didn’t know that his brother was the only man she’d ever really loved.
Well, this is more than a little awkward, Jack thought, as he pulled out onto the highway heading toward Pinehurst. He’d suspected that it would be, considering that the last time he’d seen Kelly, they’d both been naked. Which was definitely not something he should be thinking about right now—not under any circumstances and certainly not with her daughter in the backseat.
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, but the smooth, warm leather beneath his palms made him itch to feel the much softer, warmer texture of Kelly’s skin. Not that he really knew what her skin felt like—it was ridiculous to think that he could recall those kind of details after so much time had passed. So why was he convinced that her skin was softer than silk? Why did he remember that her