Jill Shalvis: Long-Lost Mom

Daddy . God, the way she said that, it made Jenna yearn. Made her ache. Made her want to cry, something she absolutely could not do with the protective contacts in, for it would burn like hell.

“We’re going, honey.” But Stone didn’t move for an interminably long moment.

Jenna didn’t, either. She held her breath, absorbing the intensity of his gaze. As the nearly visible electrical current ran between the two of them, she wondered how long this could continue.

“Daddy?”

“I know, Sara.” He smiled down at her, handed her the basketball and a backpack. “Here, take these. I’ll catch up in a sec.”

Happily Sara took his things, shot a shy smile at Jenna and walked away.

Stone waited, wanting to be certain Sara was out of earshot. “Look,” he said to the silent woman, feeling a little foolish. “This might seem odd, but…do I know you?”

Cindy paled. “What…what do you mean?”

He knew that following his gut instinct had been the right thing to do, given her reaction. But it explained nothing, certainly not the strange mixture of dismay and wonder just the sight of her evoked. “Have we met before?”

She raised a hand to her face, just as she had at the beach, as if she wanted to hide herself from him, which made no sense. But she seemed so distressed that Stone took pity on her and said quickly, as gently as he could, “I’m sorry. It’s just that you look…” What? She didn’t look familiar, not at all, and yet, he could swear that he knew her from somewhere.

But if he’d met this slender beauty before, certainly he would remember.

She made a soft sound, one that conveyed a wrenching sorrow. The urge to move forward, to take her arm and offer some sort of solace was strong.

But he’d sworn off damsels in distress a long time ago. The only women he let in his life now were strong-willed, self-possessed, sophisticated women who not only took care of themselves, but were not looking for any sort of permanence.

He might have laughed, for a woman in his life, any woman, was rare indeed. With his booming business and his vivacious daughter, Stone had little to no social time left over for himself. After so long he’d gotten used to it. Almost. But a small part of him couldn’t help but wonder… when would he meet someone who would reawaken his heart?

She smiled, although it was clearly forced. “Well…it was nice to see you again.”

So polite, he thought. So hurt. Dammit . “Wait,” he said just as she turned away, cursing himself even as he took a step toward her. “Are you coming for pizza night?”

Startled, she stared at him from behind those disconcertingly dark glasses. “I don’t think so.” A slim shoulder lifted. “I don’t know anyone.”

“You know us.” He had no idea why he was doing this, but something about her called to him on a deep primal level he was reluctant to explore. “Come on. It’d be a great way for you to acclimate yourself to small-town life.”

Suspicion filled her fine features. “How do you know I’m not used to it already?”

How to disburse that frightened-doe look? he wondered. “Your clothes for starters. We’re a one-school town here, and you’re dressed pretty fancy for a basketball game starring our local ten-year-olds.”

He laughed when she stared down at herself, taking in the expensive leather flats, the slim fitted trousers that outlined her showcase legs, her soft silky blouse, with the hint of lace and sexy curves beneath it. She wore a string of fine pearls on her elegant neck that reminded him of something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but-

“Well, believe it or not, I grew up in a small town.” Her face colored slightly when he arched his brows in surprise. “But it’s been a while.”

“Daaaddyyyyy!”

Stone swiveled toward the voice. Sara stood in the doorway to the gymnasium, waving wildly, making him smile. “Coming,” he called.

He turned back to Jenna and caught the unwitting look of sheer longing she’d cast toward Sara. It wasn’t the thought of pizza that put that look on her face, he somehow knew, but loneliness.

Something he understood all too well. It called to him, but was he really ready for this? “Come on,” he said quietly with an inner sigh of resignation. Hell, no, he wasn’t ready, but he couldn’t ignore the strange pull of attraction. He held out a hand. “Let’s go eat.”

Her deep-rooted fear of again being shunned by the town nearly overcame her, but Jenna had a stiff talk with herself as she followed Stone and Sara in her own car to the pizza joint.

Clearly no one was going to recognize her.

And though she’d come back with the intention of letting everyone know who she was, especially Sara, Jenna was beginning to see the advantage of remaining silent, if only for a little while.

Until she proved she’d changed.

She was no longer a young terrified girl on the path of destruction. She’d become a woman who could control herself and her destiny.

A woman who was going to show everyone how worthy she was. A woman who hoped someday soon to have her daughter back in her life.

Having decided this, it was all she could do to contain herself as she stepped from her car and looked at the two people standing there waiting for her. Stone was leaning against his truck, long legs casually crossed, one hand tucked into his sweatshirt pocket, the other resting on Sara’s shoulders. He was relaxed, yet so clearly strong and vital and content with himself and his surroundings. Jenna knew what iron will and inner strength existed just beneath the surface of that body, and admired him for it.

To be half as confident as he…

He smiled a greeting then, his face transforming into the easygoing carefree Stone she used to know, and Jenna was forced to add yet another trait to her list- utterly sexy .

She stumbled at the thought, as again, ridiculously, she found herself rendered stupid by the impact of Stone’s fathomless gaze. He reached for her, an automatic gesture. Their hands brushed, his large one grasping her much smaller one, and she jumped at the contact. It was startling, that someone who moved and talked with such languid ease had such heat in his skin.

And in his eyes as they held hers.

Stone held open the restaurant door, letting first Sara, then Jenna, into the noisy but warm and welcoming place. It was packed, filled to the brim with hungry laughing talking people. Some Jenna recognized from her past and some she didn’t.

She hesitated, suddenly unsure, panicky.

What if she saw him -the man she’d let destroy her life? It had been so long ago, but seeing the man who had molested her would really make her lose any bit of control she still had. He’d likely be here, principal of the only school in town. Her heart thumped against her ribs as she whipped her head back and forth, searching the crowd.

She was making a big deal of nothing, she told herself when she didn’t find him. For all she knew. Rand Ridgeway had moved on, or at least changed occupations.

No sight of him. Still, she couldn’t relax, couldn’t make herself step farther in.

But then she felt Stone’s big warm hand gently rest on the small of her back in an old-fashioned gesture to guide her, and she nearly leaped right out of her skin.

When was the last time she’d been touched like that? As if she mattered? She looked up and he murmured something incoherent, something meant to be soothing, and it was.

She forced herself to relax, to lose the wide-eyed panic she knew she’d displayed. Stone didn’t keep his hand on her; in fact, he removed it immediately, making it the casual chivalrous gesture it had been meant to be-which in no way explained why her knees wobbled.