strange-colored, pure liquid gold eyes that seemed to see straight through her. He might seem easygoing, she thought, but in truth, she would bet her last dollar that he was very astute, and sharp as a blade. Not much got past him.
“He’s Michael Bennet,” Theodore continued.
Michael offered a simple smile, “Hi. You must be Jessica Harris.”
She smiled back at him, liking him instantly, “Indeed, I must be.”
Theodore turned her attention toward another man with what almost felt like jealousy. “These three are Darryl, Justin, and Jonathan,” he added, nodding toward the other three men.
Darryl was staring at her intently, as though he was … listening for her inner voice. She stared back at him in surprise, but his face was devoid of emotion. She acknowledged the introduction and looked away from his piercing eyes.
Justin was a tall, slim man with brown hair and kind eyes, while Jonathan was a blonde with a gleam in his green eyes.
Every last one of the men focused on her with such intensity that her heart began to thump in her chest in alarm. She looked uncertainly at Theodore, “Is something wrong?”
He quirked a haughty eyebrow, “You tell me. These men are my best friends for life and you meet them and wanna run for the hills, literally. What’s going on?”
She shrugged, “I was enjoying a quiet morning with the sunrise, and suddenly, I’m in the midst of so much testosterone. I wouldn’t be a normal woman if I wasn’t at least a little bit rattled.”
Something indefinable passed in Theodore’s eyes and then he looked around the sandy stretch of earth. “No Kal and Arizona?”
She shook her head. “They are quite the handful. I decided to leave them at home with a sitter recommended by the daycare.”
He nodded. “Well, tomorrow is Carla’s birthday. It’s usually low-key but I think she would love to have her friends over. Will you come?”
Jessica bit her lip in indecision. Did she really want to be entangled with him and his daughter so much? She was coming to care for them, and that was the very last thing she wanted. But her kids loved parties, and they already loved Carla; they would be devastated if they missed her party.
She started to say she would bring them over, when an icy glare from Connor’s dark eyes speared her. His eyes were so eloquent that she easily read the warning in them.
Great. He obviously didn’t want them there.
She shook her head, feeling mild regret, “I think it would be best if Carla is surrounded by just you and the rest of her family.”
He lifted one eyebrow, “You haven’t been paying attention, have you? Apart from these five eggheads over here,” he said, flicking a mock disgusted glance at his friends, “There’s no one else Carla and I consider family. She usually spends her birthdays with just the five of us and Kat and Stephen.”
“Kat and Stephen?” she asked.
Darryl grinned, “My little soldiers.”
Jessica stared at how his expression softened completely, and her heart turned over. Maybe Theodore’s friends weren’t so bad, she thought, relaxing a little.
“That’s great. And no other kids, apart from yours, will be there?” she asked Darryl.
“Are you kidding? Stephen Cutler has three kids, and he would kill us if we didn’t take them off his hands that day,” Jonathan chuckled.
“Stephen Cutler?” she asked.
Theodore’s eyes narrowed as though he suspected her of something as he carefully supplied the answer, “The town’s mayor.”
“See?” she continued, looking at Theodore. “Carla will have plenty of company. She won’t miss us. But thanks for the invite.”
With a small smile, and determinedly keeping her gaze away from Connor’s piercing gaze, she turned away and climbed back onto the rock, feeling all their eyes boring into her back every step of the way.
Chapter 13
“What the hell did you do that for?” Darryl growled the moment they were out of sight of Jessica.
Connor frowned at him, “Me? What did I do?”
“I read minds, Connor,” Darryl reminded him. “She wanted to come until you scuttled the plans.”
Theodore was visibly displeased, although he didn’t want to examine his reason too closely. “Darryl is right. We needed her to be at the party so I could get her drunk and try to find out what she knows.”
Connor glared at Darryl, “If you’re such a fantastic mind reader, why couldn’t you just spare us the trouble and pick the information off her damn mind.”
Darryl’s glare intensified. “It doesn’t work that way, and you know it. I can only read what she