And then she had it. Maybe it took getting away from their home to see the situation clearly. The hinge was his fortieth birthday. Everything had seemed normal until then. They'd bickered over the usual stuff, of course, whether Rebecca planned too many sleepovers, whether they really needed that second fridge in the garage, but they'd still had those quiet moments when one or the other would look over and say, "I love you. You should know how much I love you."
Now Tess didn't know anything. The ocean breeze ruffled his hair. Maybe they should have it out now. She would put it to him, insist he tell her what was going on.
"Dah?"
Both their heads whipped toward the other occupied chair on the porch. Russ was sitting up in his nest of blanket, his whiskey eyes trained on his daddy. "Dah?"
Expressions chased themselves so fast across David's face that she couldn't catch a one of them. "Russ," he whispered. Then he looked over at Tess. "I've got to go. Don't want to be late to soccer."
In a blink he was gone, without another glance at their youngest child.
"Dah," Russ said, his voice rising to a wail.
Tess rushed to him, taking him into her arms for comfort. For both their comfort. "Sweet baby," she said against his soft hair as he snuggled close. His warm weight settled her unsteady heartbeat. "It's okay, it's going to be okay."
For her too, she decided. And it was okay David was gone. She was glad she'd lost the chance to grill him on the great change that had come into his life.
Because she was pretty sure she wasn't ready to hear the truth.
* * *
GRIFFIN DIDN'T flinch when Jane confronted him in the kitchen the morning following her visit to her father. He set down the newspaper and gave her his full regard. After that titillating exchange of kisses in the storeroom at Captain Crow's, he figured he knew exactly how to handle her when her badgering became unbearable. When she started nagging him about the writing and about his feelings, he had a simple strategy he could implement.
She'd had a day and a night to mull over what had happened between them, and about now he imagined she'd be very wary of any repeat of their lip-to-lip, skin-to-skin contact. Sure, there was definite chemistry between them, but he'd bet she didn't appreciate it in the least. As smokin' hot as they were together, she'd appeared bewildered by the subsequent sexual daze. To be honest, her sweet confusion had surprised him - and was yet another turn-on - but the dazzle would surely put up Jane's hackles.
The minute he started smoldering at her again, she'd go into full retreat. Giving him the upper hand.
He'd had many long, wakeful hours in the dark to convince himself of that conclusion. And to decide that he was right...the best way to keep her out of his head would be by coming on to her.
Her hands were on her hips and her eyes were narrowed. "What are you grinning like that for? Give me one good reason why you didn't do as you promised and set up your home office yesterday."
"You're cute when you're lecturing me," he said, ignoring her question. She was. She had on a prim little pale blue dress, the cotton dotted with sprigs of white flowers. Her flat shoes were white too, with a leather bow over the toes. "Tell me about your panties. Are they another pair with baby-doll ruffles? Or something different? I love those kind with a lot of cheek peek."
Her eyes rounded and her mouth dropped open.
My work here is done, he thought, lifting the newspaper again.
She snatched it from his hands and tossed it onto the counter behind her. "Let's go, buster," she said, grabbing his wrist and tugging him to his feet. "I almost broke my neck on the boxes when I came in the door last night."
With a grimace, he let her lead him out of the kitchen to the entryway. Okay, the delivery did pose a bit of a danger. Jane swiped up the carton that held computer paper, yellow notepads and packages of pencils and pens. Then she tucked a three foot by two foot whiteboard under her arm and turned her expectant gaze upon him.
The remaining boxes were bulky but not heavy, and he could watch her hips sway as he trailed her to the small room adjacent to the living area. Apparently she'd decided