Treading Water: Coming Home Part 11

"Ah, you're finally awake," Ashton said from the doorway as he came in holding two mugs of coffee. His hair was wet from the shower and his face freshly shaven.

Noticing that he wore a T-s.h.i.+rt and shorts had Jill realizing she was wearing only a T-s.h.i.+rt of his and a pair of panties.

"You conked out on me," he said.

"Did I?" she asked as she took a mug from him.

"Totally. I didn't know how you liked your coffee, so I guessed on the cream and sugar."

"Perfect." She glanced at him, embarra.s.sed to know he'd undressed her and put her to bed. "Care to explain how I lost my clothes?"

His sheepish grin was far too adorable. "I wanted you comfortable. You were so tired." He traced a line from her cheek to her ear, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"And there was nothing in it for you?"

"I was a perfect gentleman. When I get to see the goods, I want you wide awake and fully aware."

Jill nearly choked on her next sip of coffee. "Thanks for the warning."

"No problem."

That smile, those green eyes, those cheekbones, the thick blond hair... He was absolutely gorgeous, and all his attention was directed at her. A flutter of nerves. .h.i.t her belly. What was she doing here? What had she been thinking coming all this way with him when they'd never had so much as a date before this?

"Don't do that," he said sternly.

"Do what?"

"Start second-guessing everything."

Annoyed that she was so easily read, she said, "That's not what I'm doing."

"Isn't it?"

"Maybe a little," she said, amused.

"Well, don't. We're two friends spending some time together. Nothing more, nothing less."

She glanced at him over the rim of her mug. "Nothing more?"

His eyes flared with desire. "Only if it's what you want."

"What about what you want?"

"I want to see you relaxed and rested. Anything else is a bonus."

"So you're not after a vacation fling?" Jill couldn't believe she was being so blunt with him.

Apparently, he couldn't either, because his mouth fell open in surprise. "Not exactly."

"What does that mean?" The lawyer in her needed to know the terms before she agreed to the contract.

"It means," he said, combing his fingers through her tangled hair, "I want more than a vacation fling."

She hadn't expected him to say that. "With me?" she asked, hating how her voice sounded so squeaky.

"Yes, with you, silly," he said, laughing.

"I, um... well... oh."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't had enough coffee for this conversation." She glanced down at the other pillow, which was smooth and not indented, and then forced herself to look at him. "Where did you sleep?"

"In the other room."

Jill bit her lip, trying to make sense of him. He hadn't been shy about the fact that he wanted her, and yet he'd slept elsewhere. He'd been a gentleman and hadn't taken advantage of an easy opportunity.

He reached for her free hand and surprised her when he placed a kiss on her palm. The gesture sent a tingle of sensation from her arm to her nipples, which were suddenly standing at full attention.

"Do you remember the first time we met?"

Confused by the sudden s.h.i.+ft in conversation, Jill thought about that for a second. "It was right after I graduated from law school and went to work for Kate. We were negotiating her new contract with Long Road Records."

"Right. You were wearing a navy suit with a pale pink blouse. You had on these s.e.xy, oversized beads." He used his fingertip to demonstrate exactly where the necklace had lain against her neck. "And sky-high heels that made your legs look crazy long. You had your hair in a very professional bun."

As Jill watched, astounded that he recalled every detail of what she'd worn that day, he gathered up her hair and twisted it into a bun that he pressed against the back of her neck. "Like that," he said, surveying his handiwork. "You walked into the room, and I never heard another word that was said, except if you said it. You were so gorgeous and sincere and green-very, very green-but you were a tiger on your sister's behalf.

"I wanted to reach across the table and tug on the pins holding your hair so I could see what it looked like down." He released his hold on her hair and watched it tumble over her shoulders. "It was all I could do to stay seated when I was so drawn to you." Nudging her hair to the side, he touched his lips to her neck. "I've wanted you, fiercely, every day since then. So no, I'm not all that interested in a vacation fling. What I want from you, Jill Harrington, goes far beyond our vacation."

Jill had been rendered speechless, which wasn't easy to do.

"Nothing to say?" he asked, amus.e.m.e.nt marking his handsome features.

"I... I didn't know you felt that way."

"For a long time I went out of my way to keep my crush hidden from you. Our families have a bit of history that I figured would be a problem for us. Every time I saw you, though, I wanted you more than the last time. After a while, I stopped caring about our family history or that your sister slept with my dad and all the c.r.a.p that caused. All I cared about was getting to know you better."

Jill stared at him, astounded and amazed.

"Will you say something? Please? You're killing me."

"I... I thought it was just me."

She swore he stopped breathing for a minute, and then he recovered, took the mug from her and put it on the bedside table. With his face mere inches from hers, he said, "You thought what was just you?"

"The crush, the crazy nerves I'd get every time I knew I was going to see you, the aggravation I felt because you threw me off my game-every time."

"Jill-"

"I couldn't reconcile you with the man my sister had such animosity toward. I couldn't figure out how it was possible that I was so drawn to you when she dislikes you so intensely."

He winced and then sighed. "She has good reason to dislike me."

Jill hadn't expected him to say that either. "What do you mean?"

Ashton looked away from her, focusing on the view of the ocean. "When I found out about her and my dad, I called your dad. Not one of my finer moments."

"It must've been a big shock to find out about your dad and Kate."

"It was... That was a bad day, especially because not long before that he'd looked me in the eye and lied about not knowing who she was involved with. That hurt more than anything, and I'm not proud of the way I behaved."

She reached for his hand, which seemed to surprise him.

"For a long time after it ended between them, I wondered if he'd ever be the same. He was so sad. I hated that I'd caused that to a certain extent."

"You didn't cause their breakup."

"I know, but I didn't help anything. I was very unforgiving and intolerant."

"You'd also been lied to by the most important person in your life."

"Yeah. Still..."

"It was a long time ago. We've all done things we regret."

"I can't picture you doing anything stupid," he said with a grin, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

"I did my share of stupid things."

"Like what? Name one stupid thing you did-and don't forget, I came clean with you."

After a brief pause to consider which of her stupid things she would share, she decided on the stupidest of all stupid things. "After my mom got hurt, my dad was a mess for a long time. It was really hard to watch." Jill could still remember the pain of those early days like it was only yesterday rather than thirteen years ago. "It took him a long time to accept that her condition was likely permanent. He was out of work for a year, and when he went back, he met someone else through a job his company was managing for a Chicago-based hotel company. They dated long-distance for several months, and then they decided Andi and her son Eric should move to Rhode Island to live with us, and I...I was less than welcoming to her."

"I bet they understood how hard it was for you to see someone taking your mom's place."

"It wasn't like that, though. Andi never tried to take my mom's place. She was very considerate of my sisters and me and what we'd been through. I, on the other hand, was a monster."

"You were a kid, and you were hurting."

"We all have regrets, Ashton."

"I suppose."

"I have to tell you something, and it might upset you, but after knowing how hurt you were when your dad lied to you, I don't want to do the same thing."

Taken aback, he said, "Okay..."

"Kate is in St. Kitts."

"Oh. Huh." He rubbed a hand over the stubble on his face. "So someone told her where he is."

"Buddy did."

Ashton got up from the bed and walked over to look out the window. "He's with someone else now. Mari. They've been together for more than six months."

"That must be why she said it didn't go as she'd hoped at first, but later, she said he came over and they talked. She said it seemed like there might be hope for them." Jill hesitated, but only briefly, before she got up to join him, sliding an arm around his waist. "You're upset. I'm sorry."

"No." He turned and put his arms around her, drawing her in close to him.

Her hands landed on his chest, molding to sculpted pectorals. "Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking that I went to an awful lot of trouble to get you here, and the last thing I want to talk about is my dad and your sister and what may or may not be happening between them-again."

"You're not mad that she's there?"

"No." Ashton looked down at her. "He was a mess after things went bad with her. In some ways he was never the same. If she's what he wants, I'm not getting in the way of it this time. It's his life."

"And hers."

"Yes, hers, too."

"If she and your dad were together, you might have to start being civil to her."

His face twisted into an expression of sheer horror. "I would? Really?"

Jill play punched his belly. "Be careful. That's my sister you're talking about."

"Which is the number one reason I promise to be civil to her from here on out."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yes," he said softly, his lips hovering just above hers. "I'd do it for you-and only for you."

"And not your dad?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"Something tells me he won't care much whether or not I approve this time around."

"You're probably right."

"Are you going to kiss me or tease me?"

"I thought you were going to kiss me."

"We need to work on our nonverbal communication." He closed the small s.p.a.ce between them, resting his lips lightly against hers in an undemanding kiss that made all her most important parts tingle. Right when things were starting to get interesting, he pulled back. "Do you want to go to the beach?"

"I was sort of liking that."

His face lifted into a sultry, s.e.xy grin that made her want to purr. "There'll be much more where that came from-after we have some fun."