The pain of that time kicked over him. The power, even after so many years, surprised him more than a rogue wave. “We came home early because our parents died.”
She stopped in her tracks, her hands falling to rest on his chest. “Oh, God, Jordan, I’m sorry. I knew they were dead, but I didn’t realize you’d lost them both at the same time. That must have been so difficult for you. How did you lose them?”
“In a boating accident. Emilio and I came home from Europe and assumed control of the business in Dad’s place.”
“And you never took a vacation again.” Her eyes glinted with a sympathetic air that made him uncomfortable.
He wanted to win her over, but not this way. “Like I said, I’m seeing the world on my terms. When the baby comes, I get to make my own schedule because I’m the boss. I promise, the kid will get trips to Disney. Don’t worry.”
She stared into his eyes and he wondered if she would press him on the issue of his parents. He braced himself.
Finally, she looked away and started walking again. “So when this baby asks about how Mom and Dad met and decided to start a family, what do we say?”
Relieved to be off the hook from more emotional topics, he answered with the first thought that popped to mind. “We tell him or her the truth.”
“The truth?” She snorted on a giggle. “Isn’t that a bit much for a child?”
“Not the way I see it.” His emotions still too damn raw, he needed—welcomed—the distraction of splaying his hands over her shoulders, sliding them up into her hair. A whiff of her perfume caught on the breeze to tempt him again.
“How do you see it?” Her words hitched with a betraying breathiness.
He stepped closer, skimming against her, each brush a hot temptation. “I would say that I saw a one-of-a-kind woman who knocked me off my feet.”
Her chest swelled with a gasp, her fuller breasts pressing against him as she leaned. “That’s nice.”
“Not nice so much as smart. I know special when I see it.” When he felt it. Like now. He soaked in the silkiness of her hair against his fingers.
Her lashes fluttered closed, then half-open again. “You’re using those stellar corporate boardroom skills on me.”
“Why is it so difficult for you to trust what I say?” He shoved aside a punch of guilt over the newspaper leak. He had been thinking of her peace of mind.
“It’s been a tough few months, learning about my father.” She waved a hand in the general direction of Cassie’s house. “Finding out about this other life of his. It can shake a person’s trust, especially when I already had doubts about the whole happily-ever-after gig in the first place.”
“I can understand that.” That wasn’t what he’d intended in bringing her here, damn it. He worked to steer the conversation back on path. “My parents had a great marriage. I’ve seen how it should work.”
“They loved each other?”
“Yes.” The loss squeezed his gut again.
She stared at him. Waiting. For?
Hell. She was talking about that L word, or the lack thereof between them.
He’d promised to be honest with her. He’d been able to go to the press to make things easier for her, but this would be different. He knew that.
He hooked his hands behind her waist, wishing this could be simpler, wishing they were free to take their time and let the simmering passions and feelings build.
Then again, would they have ever made time for that to happen if not for the pregnancy? The sand shifted under him as he thought of all he would have missed if he’d stayed away from Brooke Garrison. “Feelings grow over time. We have a lot to build on.”
“Thank you for being honest.”
At least he’d answered right. An exhale of relief gushed out of him in time with the receding wave. The next curl of the ocean around their feet sent desire pumping through him, an urge to forge ahead. “Then let’s be honest about what feelings we already have.”
Feelings?
She was awash in them at the moment. Sensual longing more than tingled over her now. It burned until she ached to sink deeper in the waves for relief.
Or submerge herself in the sweet release she knew she could find in Jordan’s arms.
Maybe that was her answer after all. Quit worrying so much about the rings and happily-ever-after family portraits. The baby wouldn’t be born for a few more months. Why deny herself the pleasure of exploring what she and Jordan did have figured out? How to bring each other unsurpassed pleasure.
Before she could change her mind, Brooke tucked her hand behind his neck and arched up on her toes to press her mouth to his. His low growl of appreciation rumbled against her already sensitive breasts a second before his arms secured her to him.