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.”Jacoby had opened his mouth, but the words, low and deep, came from overhead.From a pair of battle-worn work boots planted right behind the little boy, Gina allowed her gaze to travel upward over faded denim, a worn leather belt and a black T-shirt partially visible beneath a threadbare jean jacket.Rising slowly, she continued her perusal over broad shoulders and a day’s worth of stubble that only seemed to harden angular cheeks and jaw.She reached dark eyes staring at her from beneath the frayed rim of a baseball cap that had seen better days.“Justin.” Darn, her voice still held that husky tone.“Hello.”His gaze slowly trailed the length of her before zeroing in on her mouth for a full second.Then he looked into her eyes.“Hello yourself.”“Did you get it, Dad? Did ya?”Justin handed whatever it was he carried to the boy.“Right where you left it on the front seat.”Jacoby took the paper and tugged on Gina’s hand at the same time.“Look! I drew this!”It took a hard blink to break the hold of Justin’s gaze on her.She again dropped to her knees, this time to look at a crayon drawing.Two figures with matching dark hair stood in a kitchen while a fire blazed in the nearby fireplace.“Wow, this must be of the two of you, huh?”Jacoby beamed.“We’re baking cookies.We did it twice this week, peanut butter and snickerdoodles.Those are my favorites.”“And what’s this?” Gina pointed to an oversize box near the fireplace.“That’s our new television.Dad and I love to watch the vinege cartoons together.”“Vintage.” Justin offered the correct word.“Vintage,” Jacoby repeated, then leaned in closer and dropped his voice to a whisper.“That means old.”She smiled.“Which old cartoons are your favorites?”“I like Tom & Jerry.Dad likes the Justice League.He says Wonder Woman is his favorite.”That caused Gina to look up at Justin.“Wonder Woman?”He offered a casual shrug.“What can I say? I’m a sucker for a woman in a strapless one-piece.”How about a strapless bikini?The silent question echoed in Gina’s head as she thought about the skimpy bathing suit—purchased on a whim—she’d been wearing just over twenty-four hours ago.Happy that she’d managed not to ask the question aloud, Gina turned her attention back to Jacoby.“Well, that’s a terrific picture.You did a great job.”“It’s for you.” Jacoby thrust the paper into her hands.“Me? Are you sure you don’t want to give it to your dad?”“Naw, he’s already got lots of my drawings hanging on the fridge and stuff.He says I’m a regular P-Pablo Picasso.He’s a famous painter, you know.Besides, I signed it to you.” Jacoby pointed at the writing in the corner.“See? Right there.”She did see.In shaky block letters it read: TO GINA.LOVE, JACOBY.A sudden lump in her throat kept her from answering, but she nodded her thanks.Just then, a red-headed boy called Jacoby over to see something.“That’s Dustin.Can I go?” Jacoby asked.Gina stood, her eyes glued to the paper, but saw Justin hesitate for a moment before giving the boy a quick nod.She turned and laid the drawing on a nearby waist-high bookshelf, smoothing the creased corners with her fingertips.“He worked really hard on that.”She whirled around.Justin had moved in behind her, trapping her in a corner.“I can tell.It’s beautiful and I’ll treasure it.”Something hot flared in his eyes, darkening them.He started to take another step toward her, then shoved his hands deep into his pockets and inched backward instead.“I need to talk to you.”It was noisy in the children’s section, so Gina took a step closer to hear him.“Ah, okay.”“Can we go somewhere so I don’t sound like an idiot?”His whispered voice was far from idiotic.Heck, his soft tone was turning her insides to mush just like that night in his kitchen.And where had that led? To her feeling like a fool for the second time in a matter of days.Kissing Justin had been the last thing on her mind when he’d called asking for help and yet they’d ended up in each other’s arms.Thanks to her.She’d kissed him first.Of course, he’d quickly taken over, literally sweeping her off her feet.Who knew where it would’ve led—“Gina?”Her face flamed at being caught in the memory and at the desperate need to repeat that mistake, right here and now.Hoping her tan hid the evidence of her embarrassment, she grabbed her jacket and purse, noticing the number of fascinated glances from the other parents.“I—I need to get to work.It’s my first night back since—”“Your sudden vacation.Yeah, I know.Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.” Justin held out Jacoby’s picture to her, his voice at a normal level as he turned toward his son.“Come on, bud.We’re out of here.”Jacoby raced over to them.“Dad, did you hear? A famous race car driver from right here in Destiny was in a real bad car accident!”Jacoby’s friend and the older man with him, obviously his father from the matching strawberry-blond hair and freckles, joined them.“He’s talking about Bobby Winslow,” the man said.“One of the other parents just heard it on the radio.I guess he crashed while getting ready for an upcoming race [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]