A Better Man(26)

Clearly the man had an effect on her.

For several years after graduation, she'd hated him. Carried a grudge so big she'd needed a U-­Haul truck to tow it around. Then she'd realized she'd had no one but herself to blame for the heartache. People couldn't hurt you unless you let them. She'd let her guard down and he'd seized the opportunity. Which was why she never thought she'd hear a word of remorse come from his sensuous lips. But he'd surprised her by doing exactly that.

She should have forgiven him even without an apology. She knew how teenagers were. Most didn't think about anything except what happened in their own little world. But when she'd found out the real reason he'd left her waiting that night, she couldn't stop the hurt.

Yes, she knew how the popular crowd Jordan had belonged to thought of her back then. She'd never be one of them. She wouldn't want to. She accepted who she was, and she was perfectly okay with the fact that it wasn't her lot to be glamorous or live a glamorous life.

After her marriage ended she'd had to learn to like herself again. To trust herself and her instincts. She'd always depended on being smart, yet it had totally let her down when she'd needed it most. Trusting herself and her instincts didn't come easy. Which was only one reason why she wondered how she'd proceed with this project to salvage Nicole Kincade's education and find out what was bothering the girl, when Lucy knew she might very well be distracted by Jordan.

Where he was concerned her instincts jumped up and down and waved a red flag. How could she go one-­on-­one, face-­to-­face with him in a matter that might take days, weeks, or even months? She didn't know if she had the kind of moxie she'd need to deal with him. Yes, she'd been strong enough to pull herself from the depths of hell once. But this was different.

Jordan Kincade was a different kind of trouble.

Call her shallow, but when confronted with a man who looked like a dark, sexy, sinful fallen angel, she couldn't stop her fantasies from taking flight. She imagined he'd fill a woman's head with pretty words, then touch her body with skillful hands.

She'd never known a man like that.

No one could deny he was good-­looking. And probably more than a little self-­centered. Not that she'd cyberstalked him, but in the photos she'd seen posted in celebrity news or sports Web sites he'd never downplayed his wild behavior. With a different voluptuous female on his arm in almost every shot, his expressive eyes and wide grin flaunted the fact that he devoured every single moment of his fortune and fame like a fine wine. Those he'd left back in the little town of Sunshine hadn't stood a chance.

Jordan was a dangerous man. He lived a dangerous life. Played a vicious and dangerous game. Even more hazardous was the charm he turned on like tap water. It oozed from every pore and had probably lured more than one woman to heartbreak and disappointment. But Lucy knew she had to suck it up and tighten the waistband on her big girl panties in order to help Nicole. She'd have to be careful around the man. Never let her guard down. She'd played with the devil before and lost. She was proud to have survived the ordeal and come out wiser. But that didn't mean she'd willingly put herself back in the devil's path.

True, Jordan had apologized for something he'd done fifteen years ago. Her ex had never apologized. And he'd had a million reasons why he should have. The difference between the two was that Jordan at least had a conscience. Her ex had not.



       
         
       
        

After one more gigantic bite of ice cream, Lucy put the top back on the container. She fed Ziggy his supposedly flatulence-­reducing kibble and went upstairs to change into something more comfortable. Her agenda for the rest of the night was to figure out a way to help Nicole with the least amount of exposure to the troubled girl's sexy big brother.

As Jordan turned the SUV onto the winding gravel road that led to his family vineyards, the sun sat low in the western sky. Beams of orange and gold shot out from its core while the puffy white clouds turned a picturesque pink.

Relief flowed through his veins that Lucy was onboard to help him with Nicole. Between the two of them they should be able to get things figured out and get his sister back on track.

That was if he could keep from being distracted by Lucy.

Tonight he still had business to handle. And for this mission he probably needed fireproof gloves.

Though the hand-­painted Sunshine Creek Vineyards sign in front of the big stone pillars and iron gate had faded, the rows of grapevines on either side of the road made for an impressive entry. Once the vines turned a vibrant green and became laden with deep purple or golden fruit, the vineyard would look like a showplace. Unless you dug a little deeper, it was easy to miss the dated appearance of the buildings that dotted the property.