One More Day (28 page)

“No. Not every song I write ends up being good enough to record, unfortunately. I’m probably going to end up scrapping it since I can’t quite get the music right.”

She met his eyes. “It sounded perfect to me.”

He stopped. They stood staring at each other for a moment before he tipped her chin up. He pressed his lips to hers gently. Ridley stood still, completely stunned. He’d kissed her many times. Sudden kisses. Shockingly erotic kisses. Kisses in places she couldn’t even say out loud.

But he’d never kissed her like this. Like he just wanted to be close to her. Not for anything sexual but just because he craved her presence.
 

On the ride home Jackson seemed unusually quiet and Ridley didn’t try to fill the silence with small talk. She was too preoccupied with her own thoughts about the events of the night.
 

They pulled into the Mason’s driveway and Jackson left the car running while he jogged up the steps and hit the doorbell. Katie opened the door, juggling a tricycle and a toddler. Jackson grabbed the tricycle before it hit him in the shins and chucked the toddler under the chin. A second later, he came back down the driveway carrying Jase while Chris followed. After he buckled them both into their car seats they continued down the street.

After they entered the house, the boys ran up the stairs, stomping and shrieking. Jackson waited until they were out of sight before grabbing Ridley around the waist and burying his face in her hair.

“Sorry for all the drama tonight. I should have warned you what we were dealing with before we got there.”

She turned in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck. She breathed in his earthy scent before turning her face up to his.
 

“It’s okay. I’m just glad I was there. I really think Kaylee is having a hard time.”

“I’m glad you were there, too.”

Stroking a hand down the side of his cheek, she felt his quick intake of breath. His cheek felt rough against her palm and he turned his head to press a kiss to her fingers.
 

Ridley sucked in a breath at the look of tenderness that crossed Jackson’s face. She swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. There were so many things she wanted to tell him. That she was sorry for bringing up bad memories. That his wife’s accident wasn’t his fault.

That she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

But what if he wasn’t ready to hear it? Things were moving so fast and she had no idea if he would feel the same way. She couldn’t take it if she bared her heart only to realize he wasn’t capable of returning her feelings.
 

A door slammed upstairs and they jumped apart.
 

“I guess I should get the boys ready for bed.” Jackson kissed her forehead and then crossed to the stairs. She watched him go, temporarily hypnotized by the sight of his broad shoulders flexing beneath his shirt.

The man didn’t know the effect he had on her. She couldn’t seem to think about anything other than being with him. Making love to him.
 

That’s because you’re falling in love with him.

There had been no words of love spoken between them, just words of passion. She was old enough and wise enough to know the difference. They’d agreed to a “no-strings” arrangement just to avoid these types of entanglements. And she couldn’t blame him for that. She’d started this knowing exactly what she was getting into. She wouldn’t allow her pride to get in the way of enjoying the time they did have together. She could be cosmopolitan and sophisticated if she had to be. She would act as if it was no big deal and she wouldn’t cry her eyes out over a man who obviously didn’t love her.
 

But she couldn’t deny that the day he decided he was done with her was going to tear her heart out.

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JACKSON CLOSED THE door to his room and let his head fall back against the wood. It had taken a solid thirty minutes to calm Chris down enough to sleep and Jase had gotten out of bed five times after that. When he’d emerged, the door to the guest room was closed.
 

He changed into sweatpants and sat on the edge of his bed. It had been an eventful day and he was tired. But the idea of climbing into his bed alone didn’t appeal at all.
 

He hadn’t known how intensely personal it would be to play her one of his songs. Especially something that she’d inspired, not that she knew that. Something had happened back at the studio. It had felt like baring himself in a way that he wasn’t sure he was ready for.
 

He yanked the covers back angrily and got into the bed. A week. She’d only been there a week and it felt like she was already intricately woven through every area of his life. He couldn’t get in his bed, put his children to sleep or go to the studio without feeling as though she was there in some way.
 

After ten minutes he got back up. Ridley was surely already asleep and he wasn’t enough of an ass to wake her, he just wanted to see her. He walked down the hallway to her door and knocked lightly before he opened it.

Ridley lay on her back, her long hair splayed out on the pillow like a curtain. One of her hands was flung out to the side and the other was resting on her stomach. He kissed her gently on the forehead and breathed deeply of her scent.
 

Could he ever get enough of her?
 

Before he knew what he was doing, he’d crossed to the other side of the bed and climbed in. As soon as he slid beneath the covers, Ridley turned toward him and opened her eyes.
 

“Jackson. You’re here.” She blinked at him sleepily before scooting closer and burrowing next to him.

Was it possible that he was falling for her?
 

He was already uncharacteristically possessive around her, as though no one else should ever hear her laugh or see her beautiful smile. It was ridiculous but he wanted to be the only one who made her happy and the only one who brought that smile to her face.

He watched as she took a deep breath and tucked her hand beneath her cheek. Warmth and something he couldn’t identify rose in his chest. This was the first time they had spent the night together without making love and somehow he felt closer to her than ever before.
 

Although he had long felt the need to stay clear of women in general, with Ridley it was different. He didn’t feel the need to prove himself when he was with her. She was honest and loving, and he knew he could trust her with his life. He found himself wanting to do things for her, for no apparent reason. He wanted to make her feel special and cherished. He just felt at home.

When he was with her, he felt he was where he belonged.

He eased the covers down so he could see her in the dim light of the moon. Her pouty lips and long lashes made her seem so innocent, but he knew a tigress lurked beneath the seemingly docile exterior. She was everything God meant for a woman to be, strong and determined but sweet and thoughtful. Just the kind of woman he needed in a wife.

Wife, what am I thinking of?
 

They’d only known each other a week and he’d already learned the hard way that he was a bad husband. But somehow, when he looked in her eyes, trying again didn’t seem so impossible.
 

“I love you,” he whispered.

He wasn’t ready to buy a ring just yet, but he also wasn’t willing to let her just walk away. Once Elliott found out who she was running from, they would be closer to resolving the demons of the past and building the perfect future he wanted to create for her. As he looked at her sweet face, gentle with sleep, he made a promise.
 

I will keep you safe.
 

Even if it took everything he had.

JACKSON SLOWED AS he neared the office and turned into The Rush, a popular café on the corner. The small restaurant had been around for as long as he could remember. Mac was probably in the office waiting for him but he would just have to wait. His assistant knew he had an addiction to The Rush’s sweet potato fries because he came just about every Saturday for an order of them and a sandwich. Rubbing his stomach, he resolved to hit the gym an extra day this week.
 

Entering, he grabbed a spot at the counter and waved to the petite, copper-skinned woman behind the counter. She slung the towel that she was using to wipe off the register over her shoulder and came over to kiss his cheek.

“Hey sweet stuff, I been expecting you. I got your fries on order already and your sandwich should be ready in a few.” She moved quickly behind the counter ringing up orders and shouting back new ones with easy efficiency.
 

“Thanks, Doris, I can always count on you.” She threw him a lazy grin as she counted out change for a portly man with graying hair. Once done with the customer, she came around the counter and hefted herself up onto the stool next to him.

“Are you gonna stay here by yourself or go eat with your friend?” She blew out her breath and swiped a few stray hairs behind her ear. She nodded her head toward the back of the restaurant.

“One of my friends is here?” He craned his neck to see over the head of the woman sitting at the bar next to him. There was a young couple in one of the booths on the back wall. An older man read the newspaper at a center table. A teenaged girl sat in the corner booth texting.

“I don’t see anyone.” He turned back to Doris and shrugged.

“That’s odd. He was just here a few minutes ago. Same guy came in yesterday looking for you, too. Said he was in town on business and asked if I knew where you lived. I told him I can’t remember the name of these fancy communities. Haven’s Port. Haven’s Peak.”
 

Jackson smiled. “Havensbrooke.”

She waved her hands. “Whatever. Oh, there he is!”

He turned and looked out the store’s plate glass front window. A dark haired man stood outside on the curb just about to get into an older model Cadillac. The hair on the back of Jackson’s neck stood up.
 

He’d never seen the guy before.

“He specifically asked for me?” Jackson asked.
 

Doris thought about it before saying, “Yeah, he definitely said Jackson Alexander. Why? Is everything okay?” She glanced over his shoulder worriedly.
 

He pulled out some cash from his wallet and put it on the counter. “Can you wrap up my lunch for me? I’ll be right back,” he said as he rose from his barstool.

He pushed open the front door, the tinkle of the door chime loud in his ears. The man was in his car backing up.

“Hey! Wait,” he called out.
 

The man lifted his head and their eyes met. He couldn’t see clearly between the car’s slightly tinted windows and the blinding noon sun but he was sure the guy saw him. Only he didn’t stop. He gunned the engine and whipped the wheel, his tires spinning in the gravel lining the parking lot.

“What the hell!” Jackson jumped back as a cloud of dust spun from the wheels and enveloped him. He watched the car drive away until it turned right at the closest streetlight.
 

It never slowed down.
 

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit one of the speed dials. “Elliott? I need your help.”

“Whatever you need.”

He looked back at the diner where Doris stood in the doorway watching. “A security detail for Ridley and the kids. I’m not sure why, call it paranoia, but I want to make sure they’re protected.”

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JACKSON LED RIDLEY through the entryway and into the family room at his parent’s ranch-style home. After a lazy Saturday with the boys in the park, he’d finally convinced her to come to Sunday dinner. He hadn’t told her about the guy he’d seen the prior day. It was probably nothing and he definitely didn’t want to worry her but there was no way he was leaving her alone.

“Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”
 

He knew she was uncomfortable with the idea of being around his family again. He was, too. A little. If his parents saw him with Ridley again, and heard from the boys that they’d been spending so much time together, they would assume they were serious.
 

He loved Ridley. There was no point hiding from it anymore just because it seemed so sudden. There was no way he’d let her go back to Florida without a fight. But in his parent’s opinion, there was only one point to a serious relationship. Marriage. Which he wasn’t even ready to think about yet.

Was he?

“The style is similar to your house.” Ridley pointed to the draperies and furnishings in the family room, all various shades of blue. The old-fashioned armchairs were passed down from his mom’s parents, Jackson knew. Most of the rest of the furniture had been replaced in the past few years.
 

“Yeah, my mom helped me decorate the house. She’s really into all that stuff. I’m practically color blind.”
 

He and Nick, both, had been adamant that their successes would give their parents access to whatever they wanted. The only thing his mother had wanted was to redecorate, since the family home had pretty much looked the same since he was a child. His father had yet to allow either of them to buy him anything.
 

Jackson was itching to replace the old pickup truck his father drove. He would have just done it without asking but he secretly thought his dad might have a fondness for the beast. He’d been threatening to replace it for years but never had.