Coming Home (12 page)

“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 shift 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 sexy, 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, amusement 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 crap 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 space 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, sexy grin that made her want to purr. “There’ll be much more where that came from—after we have some fun.”

Chapter 6

“Where do we go from here?” Kate asked over dinner on the patio. They’d whiled away the entire day in bed, emerging only when they couldn’t go any longer without eating.

“I don’t know exactly.”

“You live here. I live in Nashville—when I’m not touring. I’m having a hard time picturing how this will work.”

“How about I come to wherever you are when you’re working. And when you’re not working, we come here.”

Kate stared at him, incredulous. “You’d do that? You love it here.”

“Yes, I do.” He reached for her hand and touched his lips to the inside of her wrist. “But I love it here even more.”

The vibration of his voice against her skin made her shiver. “Are you sure that’s what you want? You have a life here, friends and—”

“I’m very sure that’s what I want.”

“I’ve been thinking about cutting back on the touring.”

“You keep a relentless schedule. I don’t know how you do it.”

“For so long, I felt like it was necessary to go, go, go and get out there so I wouldn’t be forgotten or overlooked or some other terrible thing that would ruin my career.”

“It’s probably safe to assume at this point you won’t be overlooked or forgotten, darlin’. Your fans adore you.”

“I’m so lucky to have such faithful fans, and I feel obligated to make myself available to them.”

“You have to think of your health. I don’t like those dark circles under your eyes.”

“They’re so ugly. I hate them.” Kate raised her hands to her face, self-conscious about the purple grooves under her eyes.

“You need some rest and some downtime to rejuvenate. What do you think about staying here with me for a while? And not just a week or two.”

“
Stay
here?”

“That’s what I said.”

“I need to see Thunder. I promised him I’d be home, and he’ll be wondering where I am.”

“I could fly you home any time you want to go.”

“You still have your plane?”

“I have a new one since I last saw you—a sweet twin-engine Cessna. It’ll get us to Nashville in a few hours.”

“So it could really be that simple? I stay here with you and go home once in a while?”

“It could really be that simple. You could rest, relax, write some new music, shop, sleep. Whatever you want.”

Kate sat back in her chair and took a drink of her wine. “God, that sounds heavenly.”

“Some St. Kitts therapy might be just what the doctor ordered.”

“I don’t know…”

“What don’t you know, darlin’?”

“It’ll sound stupid.”

“Say it anyway.”

Kate’s face heated with embarrassment. “I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable staying with you in the place you shared with Mari.”

“Then we’ll get a different place. I rent month to month. I have for years.”

“Oh. I figured you owned it.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t want to be tied here if I decided to move on. I spent so much of my life chained to that gigantic house in Nashville. I didn’t want those kinds of obligations anymore.”

His words stuck a chord of fear in Kate. What if they’d conceived a child? Would he want that kind of obligation after already raising a child?
 

“Kate? What is it?”

“You don’t want obligations, yet you’re committing to this whole life with me.”

“I don’t want
real estate
. That’s a different kind of obligation.” He reclaimed her hand and kissed her palm, her wrist and the inside of her elbow. “There’re obligations, and then there is joy and pleasure and peace. Finally, some peace.”

“You haven’t been at peace here?” She gestured to their view of paradise.

“There was always something—or I should say some
one
—missing. Our relationship was unfinished, and that left me unsettled. I was content but not entirely happy. Now I have a chance to be both, so you bet I want to be obligated to you.”

Without releasing his hand, Kate got up and went to him.
 

Reid guided her onto his lap and put his arms around her.

“That might be the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me,” she said, “and if I’m recalling correctly, you said some pretty sweet things to me way back when.”

His laugh rumbled through her as his love surrounded her—steady and sure and as solid as it ever was.