Part 16 (1/2)

He smiled again, and once more she caught a glimpse of the man he'd been before cancer had taken over.

”We won't tell Jack,” he replied with a wink.

”Won't tell Jack what?”

Startled, Donovan looked behind her. Her stomach rolled. Her insides quaked. And her heart started up like a rocket shooting into s.p.a.ce.

Wearing nothing but those d.a.m.n board shorts, with all that tanned skin and those bulging biceps, he looked like every woman's dream-the oven mitts and pan only added to his s.e.x appeal.

He hadn't shaved-again-and those eyes of his were dark as they regarded her, a strange look in their depths.

Quickly, she swiped at the still damp tears in the corners of her eyes and attempted a smile as she ignored his question.

”Dinner's ready?” she asked instead.

”Yes,” Jack replied, nodding to Brett as he moved past them and set the large pan on the picnic table. ”Sabrina will be down in a minute.”

Jack leaned against the table, his eyes moving from Donovan to Brett. ”How ya feeling?” he asked.

”Better than ever,” Brett replied. ”I like your girl.”

Donovan's eyes slid away, and she watched the kids as they clambered out of the water and ran toward them.

She wanted that. She wanted to be Jack's girl.

She wanted his baby.

She thought of Brett and Sabrina and their bittersweet, tragic story. Maybe Brett was right. Her story wasn't over. Maybe everything keeping her and Jack apart didn't matter. Maybe Cooper's threats didn't matter and the whole mess with Derek, that awful night from five years ago? Maybe it was time to tell Jack that story.

Maybe it was time for Donovan to write her own story. Time for her to face some hard truths. To admit to past mistakes and take a chance on the only man she would ever love.

Of course the question was, did she have enough b.a.l.l.s to do it?

Chapter Nineteen.

It was just before eleven when Jack and Donovan headed up to his place, but it felt much later. He was dead tired. He was running on little sleep, and a full day on the water with the kids hadn't helped.

It had been one h.e.l.l of a weird day, and he was just about ready for it to be over. He'd barely exchanged two words with Donovan since the morning, but he'd felt her eyes on him more than once throughout the evening. Something was up, a s.h.i.+ft in their universe and something was about to happen. He could feel it.

But what?

He watched as she cradled Coco and picked her way along the path in the dark. Her hair was loose, the long blond tangles falling halfway down her back and the breeze played with the ends. Dressed in one of his old sweats.h.i.+rts, she looked so d.a.m.n small-no wonder his protective instincts were kicking in. There were solar lights along the path but still, the steps were uneven, and he was ready to catch her if she stumbled.

She didn't, and he followed her inside the house. He'd left one lamp on near the leather sofa and long shadows filled in most of the great room. She walked a few paces and then paused, absently petting Coco as she turned to him. The shadows made her eyes look huge and mysterious, her mouth so d.a.m.n kissable that his mind started to wander to places it shouldn't. And that hair. Jesus that hair. She looked as wild and untamed as when he'd first met her.

Coco hopped out of her arms and sniffed around Jack's feet, his little body trembling with excitement. The dog barked once and then ran to the sofa, tail wagging fiercely before he settled down, little tongue out and panting as if he'd just run a quarter mile.

Donovan licked her lips, bit on her bottom one, but her eyes never left his. The silence between them felt so big that it was loud and alive and full of hard things.

”I should just...I'll head up now,” Donovan said softly, turning toward the stairs.

”No. Wait.” Jack blew out a long breath and rubbed the back of his neck. ”I...we need to talk.”

Donovan took a few seconds before she turned back around. She opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it before she could get any words out. He let that dark and heavy silence wash over him again, watching her closely, waiting for her to react.

But she kept silent, so he plunged forward, speaking the things that he'd been thinking about all afternoon.

”This is wrong, Donnie. All of it. I should never have forced you to come up here with me. I don't know what I was thinking.” He sighed. ”Obviously I wasn't and I apologize for that. I don't want to do this anymore.”

Her eyes slid away, and he clenched his fists together. He needed for her to understand.

”You don't want to be here, and I'm not the guy who's gonna force it. Not anymore. I don't have time for the kind of bulls.h.i.+t we're playing at. I'm not that guy. I never was.”

He crossed over to the kitchen and scooped up a small plastic bag. ”I got this when I was in town.”

”What is it?”

She was close. Not only could he smell that sweet scent that was all Donovan, but he felt her. Like an imprint or a brand seared into his flesh.

He turned back to her, angry and not really knowing why. ”It's a pregnancy test. Says it can give a reading as early as seven days after conception, which from my way of figuring is right about now. Take it and then we'll know for sure.”

She stared at the bag in his hands for several moments.

”And then what?” she whispered.

”Then you can go home, and we'll figure out the rest. If you're pregnant we'll deal with it. If not, well...” He shrugged but didn't say anything more.

She reached for the bag, and he let her take it, his heart now thudding heavily as she tossed it back onto the counter. Her lips parted, her breathing became short and erratic. That something he felt earlier was back. That something was brewing. He felt it settle between them. Felt it settle inside him.

Her eyes were lowered, the long lashes sweeping across her cheeks and throwing shadows. Was she shaking?

”What if I don't...” She blew out a long breath, eyes still averted. ”What if I don't want to go home?” she whispered.

That thing inside him, whatever the h.e.l.l it was, unfurled, firing off a shot of adrenaline to every cell in his body. He was hot, so d.a.m.n hot and tight from the strength of it, that he growled like an animal. Eyes narrowed, he reached for her, a hand on her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

”What are you saying exactly?” he asked carefully, wanting to get this right. No more room for misunderstandings. Not now.

For a second, he thought she was going to bolt. But then her hands slipped up over his forearms, holding him in place, and she licked that d.a.m.n mouth, her tongue lingering in the corners for a heartbeat.

”I'm saying that I'm sorry for what happened five years ago. I'm sorry for Belize. I'm sorry for a lot of things, but most of all I'm sorry that I hurt you.” She paused, eyes wide and s.h.i.+ny. ”I never wanted that Jack. I was trying to protect you and it just went all wrong. If I could go back and change things, I would. But I can't. I can only change right now and right now I don't want to be anywhere else other than here with you.”

Jack was silent. What the h.e.l.l did he say to that? This was the last thing he'd expected to hear. He'd thought about Donovan and their situation all day and the only scenario he'd considered was her taking the d.a.m.n test and leaving for LA in the morning.

”f.u.c.k,” he muttered, yanking his hands from her and taking a step back. ”Jesus Christ, Donnie.” He ran his hands through his hair, eyes on her. He was p.i.s.sed off, but he didn't know what the h.e.l.l he was p.i.s.sed off at. Donovan for throwing a curveball just when he'd finally decided enough was enough, or himself for actually entertaining the idea of Donovan. Of the two of them together.

How crazy was that?