A Better Man(60)

Too soon he lifted his head and while he still framed her face between his hands, she licked the delicious taste of him from her lips.

"Never apologize, Lucy." His dark blue gaze looked right into her eyes. "Not for who you are, who you've been, or what you've been through."

He kissed her again. Briefly. "I think you're an incredible woman. And I'm damn happy you're interested in me. Because I sure as hell am interested in you."

"Jordan, I-­"

His lips came down on hers again and he swept her up in another wave of want and need. She was just about to pull him inside the house when the kiss ended, his hands slipped from her face, and he took a step back.



       
         
       
        

"Sweet dreams, Lucy. Don't think about the bad stuff. It's all behind you now."

He gave her a smile before he turned and walked back down her pathway. Before he got in the SUV, he stopped and said, "A woman like you deserves to be treated well because she matters. You matter to me, Lucy."

As he drove away, any remaining ice around her heart completely melted.





Chapter 10


Jordan parked the SUV at his grandfather's cabin. Instead of going inside, he walked behind the brick structure to the creek, which flowed at full capacity from the spring snowmelt and rains. Moonlight filtered through the trees and dotted the dirt pathway with dancing light. He reached up and undid his tie as he walked and listened to the water tumble over rocks and sand to clear his head. Before he knew it he found himself strolling up and down the rows of Chardonnay and Riesling grapevines.

When he'd been a kid he enjoyed this place because of the adventures he and his brothers had. But when his grandparents passed away and his family relocated here he'd felt no real connection. If he had to be honest, a part of that came from him not wanting to move from the East Coast, where hockey rated higher on the sports ladder than pro football. As a teenager he'd never been around long enough to get to know Sunshine Valley well. Maybe if he'd gotten his hands dirty in the soil that grew the grapes that made the wine, he would have found that bond. Hard to say.

Except for hockey he'd never really made a deep connection with anything other than his family before.

The events of the past few weeks had changed everything.

With his family he was trying to make up for lost time. With his sister he was trying to step up and be the good big brother he should have been all these years. With Lucy he'd started out trying to make up for the way he'd blown her off on their graduation night, but his feelings for her were transforming into something bigger than he'd ever imagined.

The dark situation Lucy had been in for so long haunted him to the core. Not only because of how horrible it must have been for her, but also because he couldn't ignore the part he might have played in her marrying such a mean son of a bitch. Maybe if he'd actually taken her out on graduation night like he should have, she would have believed she had more value than to ever get involved with someone like that.

The possibility weighed heavy in his chest. But it had nothing to do with the way he saw her now or the way she made him feel.

His sister had some serious issues he needed to figure the hell out. Fast. He worried about her. She seemed so miserable. So breakable. And because he didn't know her well enough, he worried she might do something to harm herself. 

A shiver ran down his back at the horrible thought.

And then there was the fact that someone had been stealing from his parents. Who would have done such a thing? And why? His parents had been warm, generous people. If someone had been in need, all they'd had to do was ask for help.

He wished they were here now. He could use a little parental advice. A little nudge in the back and a pat on the head that told him he was doing the right thing.

God, he missed them.

An ache filled his chest and his eyes watered. If he could just have a few minutes with them again to tell them he loved them.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

Jordan wiped his eyes and looked up to find Ethan strolling toward him.

"Trying to work some shit out in my head. What are you doing?"

"I heard your SUV pull up but didn't hear the cabin door close." Ethan shrugged his broad shoulders. "I got worried."

His baby brother had always been the most sensitive of their motley crew. Ethan had been the one they all thought would set down roots, marry young, and have a bunch of kids running around. But the girl he'd loved had broken his heart and Ethan had gone in a direction opposite of settling down.

"No need to worry," Jordan said. "I've just got a bunch of stuff to figure out." Like the string of text messages he'd been receiving from his agent and coach.