Headed for Trouble - By Suzanne Brockmann Page 0,50

been permanently burned into his brain. Black—or purple—against the paleness of her smooth, perfect skin, as she’d tumbled back with him, onto his bed.

As he’d done what he’d been dying to do for years and years and years—to bury himself inside of her, to see her beautiful hair spilled across his pillows, to know that the smile that sparkled in her eyes was just for him.

Her eyes weren’t sparkling now. In fact, they were narrowed. She was looking pretty grim. And tired. Haunted, no doubt, from all she’d done and seen over the past long months, living in a war zone.

And Jack knew that if he had any chance at all here, it would come because he told her the truth, so he said, “Yeah. I wore the suit because you told me that night that I looked good in a suit, that it made you want to, you know, take off my suit and—”

“I remember what I said,” she cut him off, then swore, because her redhead’s complexion made it impossible for her to hide a blush. Yeah, she not only remembered what she’d said, she obviously remembered what they’d done after she’d said it.

Jack remembered, too. Vividly. In glorious Technicolor. Except for the color-of-her-panties part.

“I didn’t call you back,” he told her quietly, “because Becca threatened to kill herself. I made a really bad mistake, a few nights before you and I hooked up. She came over to my place, and … I thought it was … you know, once more for old times’ sake? It was stupid. I was stupid—I’ll be the first to admit that. I should have known better. But then when she …” It had been a nightmare—his ex-wife’s phone calls, her threats, his fear that she just might be crazy enough to do it. His twisted reasoning that she truly must’ve still loved him … “She’s the mother of my kids, Leen. I thought I needed to give it one more shot—regardless of what I really wanted. Which absolutely was you.”

She didn’t believe him. He could tell from the way she was nodding. “You could have written a note. Sent my panties back.”

Crap. “Would you believe me if I told you I wanted to keep them?”

She laughed in his face. “For Becca to find? No.”

“Yeah, that would’ve been bad,” he admitted. “But I did. Want to keep them. That’s not why I didn’t send them to you, though. It’s actually …” He just had to say it. “See, I, um, found two on my floor. Black and purple. I didn’t know which was—”

“That,” Arlene interrupted him, standing up and crossing toward the door, “I believe.”

Jack stayed in his seat, determined that she hear him out. “The others were Becca’s, and … I swear, Arlene, that night? I was certain my marriage was over and done. We’d been separated for six months. I spoke to a lawyer earlier that week—”

“Thanks for dropping by.”

He tried a new tack. “Maggie says you’re home only for a month.”

She opened the door. “Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. It’s time for you to go.”

“You know, if we worked hard at it, I’m pretty sure I could get you pregnant in that timeframe.”

“Joke’s over, Jack.” Arlene was getting seriously pissed.

But he still didn’t move. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. “I should have called you,” he said. “I was wrong, and I regret it. If I could do it over, and do it differently, I would. I would call you and I would explain, and I would …” He had to clear his throat. He closed his eyes and he just said it. “I would tell you how much that night meant to me, and how badly I wanted to have other nights, just like it, for the next fifty years.”

She shook her head, unrelenting, but then said, “You broke up with Becca a year ago. It never occurred to you to call me then?”

Hope shifted inside of him, just the slightest spark of life inside a miniscule seed, ready, with the least bit of encouragement, to grow. She’d obviously kept track of him. Asked Will for information.

“You were seeing what’s-his-name,” he pointed out. “Peter. The idiot.”

“If you thought he was such an idiot,” she countered, hands on her hips, “why not kick down my door and—”

“I thought you were in love with him. Will told me it was serious.”

She laughed her surprise, turning it into a scoff. “It wasn’t.”

“Yeah, well, Will told me it was.” Jack was unable to hide his