“Brad. We had coffee about a year ago.”

Ryn nodded but her brain shook its head at the complete lack of recognition.

“My daughter, Nora, went on a spring break trip with Maddie. We had coffee at the airport waiting for their flight to arrive.”

“Yes, I remember.” She finally did. Brad was in his fifties, but his loss of hair since she last saw him added another decade to his physical appearance, especially since he refused to just shave it all. The wispy combed-over strands were not attractive.

“You look amazing.”

“Oh, well, thank you.”

His inspection of her amazingness gave her a bad case of the creeps. “My divorce is final now. We should go out sometime for more than just coffee.”

“That’s a nice offer, but I …”

“You?” He inched closer.

“She’s taken.”

Ryn jumped.

Jackson stepped out of the vehicle, resting his arms on the roof.

“Oh, hi.” Brad smiled. “I didn’t realize Maddie had a brother.”

Ryn closed her eyes. There wasn’t a depth of hell deep enough to escape the humiliation.

“Funny guy. If you’re lucky, Ryn will get in the car before I have a chance to teach you a little lesson in manners.”

Brad held up his hands. “Sorry, man. Honest mistake.” He tipped up his chin. “See you around, Ryn.”

“Oh my God.” She sank into the seat and yanked at the seat belt, fumbling to fasten it. “That was the worst reality check ever.”

Jackson pulled away from the curb. “That you’re taken?”

“What? Taken? Are you serious? I’m taken alright. Taken for a fool. Who am I kidding? I’m not old enough to be your mother, but he thought so. What does that say about me?”

“He’s an idiot.”

“He wasn’t trying to be mean. It was an observation.”

Jackson shrugged. “You don’t look old. I look young. It’s this new moisturizer I’ve been using. I think it’s cut my wrinkles in half.”

The tight purse of her lips could not deter her smile. “Shut up. You’re so full of shit.”

“I’m not. It has this coconut oil base, and I dab just a little around my eyes at night before bed.”

“Enough. Just … don’t speak.” She laughed. “My ego needs a few moments of silence to grieve.”

All talk ceased as his hand took hers. She looked at their interlaced fingers and then at him. He could take her absolutely anywhere.

Chapter Eleven

A crisp, cool morning breeze crept though the western-facing window. The bed creaked with distress as Jillian flailed, tangling the sheet around her body and burying her head under the pillows.

“Jesus! What’s that sound?” Tearing the pillow from her face and flinging it across the room, she opened her eyes.

“Morning.” Jackson smiled around the tiny straw in his mouth and continued slurping the nearly empty contents of a juice box. “These are good. You should get them more often.”

Stretching on a big yawn, she rolled her head side to side. “Those are for the five-year-old twins staying with us. But I guess you’re not too far off, so …”

“You look like crap.” He shot the empty juice box across her room to the trash and of course he made it.

“Thank you. I love you too.”

“I told you inviting the ex-wife and her family to stay with us was monumentally stupid.”

Sitting up, she crossed her legs, resting her elbows on her knees. “Nice try, but that’s not it. AJ’s parents want him to move back to Portland for his treatment.”

“But he said no?”

“He hasn’t decided.”

“I’ll be back.” Jackson turned and Jillian leaped out of bed to chase after him, stopping him at the front door.

“Don’t you dare. You’ll have to go through me to get to him.” She stood tall, which was still short, and fisted her hands on her hips.

Jackson raised a single brow. “You do realize our sparring is for practice and exercise, but in a no-holds-barred situation I would take you down because I’m just physically that much stronger than you, right?”

“Maybe, but if I have to defend AJ from you, I won’t fight fair.”

“Which brings me to my next point.” With a wide stance, he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m doing this for you.”

“On our way back from Portland AJ hit me so you hit him back. I get it, even if I let him do it. But this isn’t about me and that’s what hurts the most. I have to let him make his own decisions and in the end he might not choose me. Hell … he might not even choose himself. The love he has for his family is admirable, it’s us, Jackson.”

The growing lump in her throat made it difficult to breathe, let alone speak. “If I were dying would you let me go … would you let me die in the arms of anyone else?”

Jackson flinched. “That’s not fair.”

“Agreed. Life is not fair, but it’s all we have. I’ll let him go and so will you.” She pushed his arms away from his chest and hugged him.

“You want to go with him.”

She nodded. “But I’m not.” A painful laugh broke from her chest. “He didn’t ask me … and I don’t think he will.”

Jackson kissed the top of her head. “He’s a fool.”

Resting her forehead on his sternum, she nodded. “Tell me a story, like a Sesame Street story.”

“Pfft … none of that.” He retreated to the kitchen, stealing another juice box from the refrigerator. “Ryn agreed to marry me.”

“Peachy.” Jillian hopped up on the counter and took the juice box Jackson offered. “When’s the big day?”

“We haven’t set a date yet. I think I should ask her father first.”

“Good call. She give you her virginity yet?”

A small smirk grew around his straw. “She has a daughter—twenty-one.”

“You should ask for her permission as well. I’m guessing it’s proper etiquette. Though she won’t give it to you.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s going to be pissed that her ‘old’ mom is marrying a guy that she wants to nail.”

Jackson tossed the box in the trash and grabbed a Red Bull to wash down the juice. “I’m pretty sure a woman can’t actually ‘nail’ a guy—not the right equipment. I can’t believe you sold enough Lascivio crap to win a car. You’re clearly not the sexpert everyone thinks you are.”

“Whatever. So how did it happen?”

“The proposal?”

“Yes. Did you get down on one knee and all that jazz?”

“Nope. I gave her the option of marriage or meaningless sex. She thought about it for a while and chose marriage. I think it was a good choice. But I also think it’s going to be a while before we have sex. For some reason she feels the need to ‘prepare’ herself. What do you think that means?”

Jillian giggled. “I’m not sure. She’s pushed a baby out of her vagina so accommodating your wee little penis shouldn’t be the issue.”

That earned her an exaggerated eye roll.

“Maybe…” she held up her index finger “…she doesn’t think that’s the hole you’re going to use.”

“Really? You think she’s preparing herself for anal sex with me?”

“No, not really.” She returned the same eye roll. “I think you make her completely self-conscious. She probably has a bit of overgrowth.”

“Pubic hair?”

“Maybe.”

“Huh … maybe I should tell her I’ve had sex with women who have pubic hair and it’s no big deal.”

They both laughed.

“Yes, there might even be an e-card that says that. No sense in beating around the bush.”

“Good morning.”

Jillian hopped off the counter.

“Hey, Brooke.”

Jackson gave her a half-smile and went to his room.

“He didn’t have to leave … unless you two were talking about me?”

“No.” Jillian laughed. “Unless you have pubic hair.”

An uneasy smile tugged at Brooke’s mouth. “I … I have some.”

Jillian’s smile doubled. It wasn’t a question and the fact that Brooke shared that personal bit of information with her was too hard to take seriously. “A landing patch?”

“Huh?”

Jillian shook her head. “Never mind. So how’d you sleep?”