better than a wife who would try to cheat on him with his best friend.”
It was the most he’d ever heard her say.
And she said it with passion. Concern. Like she cared.
Yeah, Jack was done waiting to have what he’d fucking pined for, for four very long years.
“Em,” he said, loosening his grip on her biceps and smoothing his hand down her arm until he held her hand.
She looked down at their clasped hands, her eyebrows raised.
“Em … I’d like to take you out. On a date.”
Her eyes flew to his, lips parted with surprise. “You? A … a date?”
Hearing the disbelief in her voice, he almost growled in frustration. He cursed that day at the music festival. She thought he was a player.
Okay, he wasn’t exactly not a player.
But not with her.
She was all he could see.
“No fucking around,” he promised. “I mean a real date. To be followed by another. And another and another …” Until there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Emery Saunders belonged to Jack Devlin and Jack Devlin belonged to her.
His pulse raced with excitement at the thought.
He could tell he’d shocked her.
She tugged on his hand and he tightened his grip.
“I would never hurt you.” He made his second promise.
Taking a shuddering breath, Emery studied him again, gazing deeply into his eyes, as if she could unearth all his secrets. She could. She had that power over him. Then, just as he worried her shyness would ruin any chance between them, her lips twitched just a little. An almost smile.
I want to make her laugh, he thought. Jack had never heard her laughter, and he wanted to more than anything else.
“Okay.”
Euphoria flooded him. “Okay?”
This time she grinned, and he saw the pink stain her cheeks. “Yes, I’ll go on a date with you, Jack Devlin.”
He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to haul her into his arms so badly and kiss the breath out of her … but he stopped himself.
It had to be slow.
Jack had to prove to her that he wanted more than just her gorgeous body.
He wanted everything from Emery.
Jack trusted his instincts. He knew he’d never meet a purer heart than the one that belonged to this beautiful woman.
Her goodness shone out of her.
She was an angel.
She was a beautiful sunrise dawning on a hope-filled new day.
Christ, this woman was turning him into a fucking poet. And a bad one at that. He smirked inwardly to himself.
Jack squeezed her hand and gently released it. “Friday night. I’ll pick you up from your beach house at 7:00 p.m. There’s this great seafood place about twenty minutes down the coast. We’ll have more privacy there. That work for you?”
She bit her bottom lip, looking so shy and adorable he wanted to kiss the shyness right out of her. She nodded, seemingly trying not to smile too hard.
Jack smiled hard enough for the two of them. “Good. Great. It’s a date.”
Emery nodded again.
“Have I stolen your ability to speak?” he teased.
She nodded.
Jack laughed, disbelieving she could make him feel this good when his gut was in turmoil.
Emery smiled.
They studied one another for a tension-filled time.
Jack regretfully took a step back. “I better go. I need to go talk to Cooper.”
“Good luck, Jack. And remember …” She started walking backward in the direction of her house. “Trust in him.”
“I will, sunrise.” The endearment slipped out before he could think on the wisdom of being so familiar with her.
“Sorry?” she squinted at him in confusion.
“Sunrise,” he repeated. “That’s what you remind me of.”
To his relief, Emery seemed to understand his sentiment without explanation. The surprised but soft expression on her face suggested she liked it. As did the way she ducked her head bashfully before giving him a little wave. Jack watched her turn on her heel to walk home.
He watched her for a while.
Then, with a shuddering sigh, he made his way up the beach to the boardwalk. At least he knew he had something to look forward to beyond the gut-wrenching task of telling Cooper about Dana.
Feeling more nauseated the closer he grew to the bar, Jack’s irritation increased as his cell rang in the back pocket of his jeans. He took it out and saw it was Rebecca.
It was late for a call from his little sister.
“Becs, what’s up?” he asked, coming to a stop outside the bar.
“It’s not your sister. It’s your father.” Ian’s brittle voice sent an icy shiver down Jack’s spine.
“Where’s Becs?”
“Something’s happened. Your sister is in