Maddie shoved aside the breakfast tray after nearly inhaling the food Jack had prepared. She tugged the sash of her robe tighter around her waist.
Her waist.
In a few months she might not have a waist.
Her hand splayed across her abdomen and she wondered if their attempt had been successful. Could conception be happening now? Would she be pregnant by nightfall but unable to know for another few weeks?
Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked in an effort to hold them in check. She had expected to be awash with emotions after she and Jack had sex, but what she sensed right now went far beyond her expectations.
Why had sex with him left her such an emotional mess? Jack had driven her to heights she hadn’t imagined. And after bringing her the breakfast tray, he had disappeared into the bathroom again to finish dressing and shave.
He stepped into the bedroom doorway. “I need to go to Charlotte’s and check on a few things,” he said. “Will you be okay here by yourself?”
Maddie nodded. “Will you have your cell phone just in case I need you?” She snagged a small bit of crisp bacon from her plate and popped it into her mouth.
“Yeah. I’m not sure how much she has on her to-do list, so I have no idea how long I’ll be gone.”
“You go take care of…whatever,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I’ll be fine.”
Jack turned to move away.
“The breakfast was delicious, by the way,” Maddie added, almost as an afterthought. “Do you treat all your women to breakfast in bed?”
As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted the callous comment. She was jumping to conclusions again, judging the man by rumors from sources she now realized were most likely unreliable.
“Only my wives,” he retorted, a momentary spark of displeasure flashing across his face. “And just in case you’re wondering, you are the first.”
His steps were heavy as he crossed the cabin, and only after she heard the door close did she carry her tray to the kitchen.
After washing the dishes and set them in the drainer to dry, she returned to the bedroom and pulled clean clothes from her bag. She showered, dressed and combed her wet hair into place, allowing it to air dry. Pulling out the paperback novel she’d brought along, she settled into one of the upholstered recliners to read.
The mystery couldn’t hold her attention for long, and her thoughts wandered to Jack’s departure. What was the story behind him and Charlotte? He’d promised to explain, and she needed to remember to ask. If she’d been family, he probably would have introduced her as such. As it stood, the elderly woman was just another missing piece of the puzzle Jack has become.
Did he really have to play handyman, or was he simply giving her space because he knew things would be awkward between them after sex? Once again she rested her hand across her belly and said a silent prayer that this attempt had succeeded. Because as amazing as the physical aspect had been, Maddie wasn’t sure she could withstand the emotional onslaught of having sex with Jack again.
She wondered if much of her reaction was because it had been such a long time since she’d been with anyone sexually. Alex had been dead a year and was sick for two years before that. Chemo had left him impotent. When your husband was fighting for his life, sex wasn’t exactly on the top of the priority list.
And now sex—sex with Jack—had become a priority, and despite all the talks she’d given herself in the bathroom mirror, she still experienced a certain degree of completely unrealistic guilt. Perhaps it stemmed from her own relative inexperience with men. Jack was only her second lover. She’d never trusted men because of her father’s infidelity, and her stepfather had only increased her distrust.
Alex had been her safe haven, her security, and now he was gone, and in his place stood a man who’d made her feel alive again. Maddie thought back to Jack’s insistence that their coupling involve pleasure. And he had undeniably delivered on that issue. No doubt about it, Jack Worth knew how to satisfy a woman.
Jack wasn’t just a good lover. He was a great lover. He was her best lover, and if a pregnancy test in two weeks showed a positive result, she’d never get to experience her best lover again. Why did that thought rock her to her soul? Theirs wasn’t a love affair to last for all time; it was a marriage purely for convenience. Sex once, hopefully a pregnancy and then they could resume their separate lives under the same roof. And that was beginning to scare her because she might just be wanting more from their arrangement.
* * *
Maddie woke on Sunday to a quiet house and wondered if Jack was still asleep on the sofa or if he’d escaped to Charlotte’s again. He had disappeared for most of Saturday afternoon and returned in time to throw two steaks on the grill and feed her dinner. From the array of convenience food wrappers she’d seen in the trash bin at home, she had assumed he didn’t know how to cook. Here was another surprise.
Pulling on her robe, she tiptoed to the kitchen. Jack lay still on the sofa, partially covered by a blanket and snoring softly. She tugged one corner of the fleece material and covered his bare feet. He turned his head, muttered something and settled back into whatever—or whomever—he was dreaming about. She’d insisted on separate bedrooms and only having sex when she was fertile. So why was her mind filling with thoughts of being cradled all night in his arms?
As quietly as possible, she pulled a package of pastries from the freezer and put them in the microwave to heat. Then she filled the coffee maker with water and scooped grounds into the basket. As the machine gurgled and hissed, she tiptoed back to the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and fixing her hair, she applied a little mascara and lip-gloss and dressed in the slacks and blouse she planned to wear back to Atlanta later that afternoon.
As she walked from the bedroom, head bent to fasten the bottom button of her blouse, she collided with a solid wall of bare chest. Jack wrapped his arms around her to steady her and when she looked up at his face, that zing traveled through her again and settled in her belly. Jack’s sleep pants rode low on his hips, revealing a tanned and sculpted body—sculpted not from hours in a gym, but hours of hard work. A day’s growth of beard darkened his jaw and sleep still clouded his eyes.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, releasing his hold on her and shuffling past her into the bathroom.
The sizzle disappeared. Probably just hunger, she thought, praying her body didn’t betray her by turning her face and neck bright crimson.
She returned to the kitchen, removed the pastries from the microwave and poured herself a cup of coffee. She needed the caffeine to drive away the lingering sleepiness brought on by alternating dreams of making love to Jack under the stars and cradling her baby in her arms. And as quickly as she’d taken the first sip of coffee, she remembered that pregnant women shouldn’t consume caffeine.
Jack walked into the kitchen just as she dumped the entire cup down the sink. “You should have nuked it if it was too cold. That’s what I do,” he said, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and poured himself a cup.
“It’s not that,” she said hesitantly. “It’s just that if I got pregnant yesterday, I shouldn’t be having caffeine.”
His gaze slipped to her abdomen, and the blush she’d avoided earlier colored her cheeks. To his credit he said nothing and snagged a pastry from the plate.
“You probably shouldn’t be having this either,” he added, holding out the sugary confection. “I guess I should be making sure you eat right and not filling the fridge with junk food.” He scarfed it down in three bites then grabbed another. “We should leave here by three to avoid the Sunday afternoon rush back into town. And if you’d like the grand tour of Pleasant Junction and Cedar Gap, we need to leave a little earlier.”
“Maybe next time?”
“Gotcha,” he replied, a bemused grin curling his lips.
If there was a next time.
* * *
“What’s this?” Jack asked, holding up an engraved invitation. “Did we get invited to some fancy-ass wing-ding?” He turned the envelope over to check the address.
Maddie snatched it from him. “The fancy-ass wing-ding is the annual charity gala for the Atlanta Women’s League. They raise money for abused and neglected children, but we’re not going. I returned the RSVP card week before last.”
Jack breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good, cause I’m just all gala-ed out. And besides, I have nothing to wear to a fancy-ass wing-ding.”
Maddie shook her head and returned to unloading the groceries she’d picked up on the way home from work. In the ten days since they’d been at the cabin, Jack had been spending less time sprawled on the couch downstairs watching sports and more time upstairs making sure she ate properly and helping out with small things.
“I guess you get invited to things like this because of your work?” He vaguely remembered Alex mentioning some sort of deal where he had to wear a tux and make small talk all night. Jack was more of a cowboy boots, jeans and sports talk kind of guy, and he was secretly glad Maddie had declined the invitation.
“Yes, and Judge Benson’s wife is the president of the Women’s League, too. We’ve served on a couple of boards together. Normally I’d have gone to Fire and Ice but I just didn’t want to face Judge Ward because I know he’ll be there too. His wife—”
“Judge Ward? The one you want to convince that you’re happily married?”
“Yes,” she said, drawing the word out until it contained more than one syllable.
“Could you call them back and tell them you changed your mind?”
A plan was forming in his mind. A plan that if properly executed should convince even the cynical Judge Ward that he and Maddie were madly in love and destined for a long and happy life together. Jack abhorred deception, especially since he’d been the victim of his mother’s. But sometimes a little white lie made things better and no one was worse for its commission.
“I suppose,” she began hesitantly. “But I can see the wheels turning in your head and I don’t think I’m going to like the result.”
“Hear me out, Maddie.” He pulled out a chair from the kitchen table, turned it around and sat, resting his arms along the back of the chair. “The big reason we said I do is because of Judge Ward and what he’d do if you got pregnant and you weren’t married. And Tess even told me that we needed to make sure that as far as the public was concerned we were married. She said I should take you out—to dinner, to a play or the symphony. You know, go places where we’d be seen, especially by the people who really count.”
“When did Tess tell you that?”
“Right after she promised to castrate me with a dull paring knife if I did anything to hurt you.”
“And she would, too.”
Jack flinched. How two decidedly different women could be such good friends still baffled him. Or maybe Maddie had a sadistic streak she kept well hidden.
“Anyway, my uh…body parts notwithstanding, that charity deal would be the perfect place to be seen. We can dance, schmooze and drink their liquor, and I promise you I’ll be the most impressive husband there.”
“I don’t know, Jack. I’m not sure we could pull it off.” Maddie eyed him warily.
“Oh, ye of little faith. Are you afraid you can’t do it? He stood and strode toward her. “Or are you afraid I can’t?”
He’d been doubted most of his life, and until Alex Prescott had taken a chance on him, Jack had doubted himself. Now he was ready to rise to another trial, no matter what.
“You’ll have to get a tuxedo,” she said in a challenging manner.
Jack groaned inwardly at the thought of dressing in a penguin suit. “How do you know I don’t already have one?” He lobbed the verbal ball back into her court and waited for her answer.
Maddie folded the last paper bag from the grocery store, and Jack could tell she was working through her answer. Thinking ahead to anticipate his next question. Formulating several alternative replies, just like she’d do in a courtroom.
“I guess I don’t,” she responded.
“Well, I don’t.” He moved closer until they were standing on opposite sides of the kitchen island. “If you were to change your mind and decide to go, I’d have to rent one. I could get Millie to help me.” He remembered the dent the Armani tie had made in his checkbook and reconsidered. “Or you could help me. Then if anyone asked, you could say you helped me pick it out.”
Maddie gave him a look of disbelief.
“Okay, I’m reaching. But it can work, Maddie. I know it can. Are you in?” He leaned against the island until the edge of the granite top bit into his hip. “Will you go out with me on…?” He picked up the invitation again to verify the date. “Friday night?”
When she nodded in agreement, he pumped his fist then resumed a more composed demeanor. “I guess the question now is do you have something to wear? Or am I going to have to help you shop for a dress?”
“I can hear the sarcasm just dripping from your voice, Jack. You can relax. I have a black dress I’ve worn to a few other events and it will work just perfectly.”
“Black? But this is the Fire and Ice ball. You need to be wearing red because…” Jack cut himself off before he told her she was red hot and sexy and he embarrassed himself.
“Because?”
“Well, because it’s Fire and Ice and a red dress would be real fiery. How about we meet at the mall tomorrow after work and find you a hot red dress and get me fitted for a tux?”
Maddie turned back to the refrigerator and opened the freezer compartment. “Do you want healthy frozen pizza for dinner or healthy frozen lasagna?”
She was avoiding him. But why? Didn’t most women love to shop, especially when someone else was picking up the tab? Or had he told her the shopping trip was on him? Regardless, her avoidance bothered him.
He stepped around the island and moved beside her to stare into the freezer. “Give me the pizza and then tell me why you changed the subject.” He pulled two boxes from the freezer, opened them and handed them off to Maddie for microwaving.
“I just have a lot on my mind right now.”
“Anything I can help with?” He turned her around to face away from him, then placed his hands on her shoulders and began to knead the knotted muscles in her shoulders.
“You already did. Weekend before last.”
Jack calculated mentally and realized that Maddie should find out soon if she’d gotten pregnant. This time next week she could be picking out baby furniture and interviewing nanny candidates. He’d help with anything he could—or more accurately, what Maddie would allow. She’d been adamant she would make it on her own. Her baby would have a mother and a sperm donor—pretty much like what Jack’s life had been, but this baby’s donor would have a name.
“Yeah, I guess I did.” He continued kneading and recognized the moment she began to relax. “How soon will you be able to tell for sure?”
“Probably on Saturday, but sometimes when I’ve been under a lot of stress I can be a day or two late.”
“Have you bought one of those home tests yet? It should tell you how long you have to wait.”
“I got one at the grocery store today. I…uh…left it in the car.”
He’d seen the woman stark naked and yet she was timid about a home pregnancy test? Of course, part of him could understand. He hated to buy condoms from a female store clerk, especially one old enough to be his mother or grandmother. He always wondered if they were secretly damning him to hell for having sex so much he needed the super-size box.
“Get it and I’ll take care of the microwave. Then we’ll figure out what to do.” He gave her a little push toward the garage, then pulled two forks from the drawer and poured two glasses of decaf iced tea. By the time she’d returned with a small blue box, he’d placed their dinner on the kitchen table and made a resolution that regardless of what Maddie thought she wanted, he’d see to it that the baby—if there was one—wouldn’t be called a bastard.
* * *
By noon the following day, Jack had a pair of shiny shoes and a black tuxedo and hanging on his closet door, but he’d drawn the line at a bow tie. Instead he chose a regular necktie, solid black with subtle black stripes. He’d also drawn the line at a frilly shirt and picked a plain white one. Selecting his tuxedo had been the easy part of the shopping trip.
He met Maddie after work at the same mall where Millie had taken him shopping, and when he saw the look of approval on her face, he made a mental note to send Millie a dozen roses. Two dozen if the mission succeeded.
Where his noontime shopping trip had been quick and easy, finding the perfect dress for Maddie got off to a slow start. Millie had warned him he would be spending lots of time sitting on chairs outside dressing rooms, offering opinions that often didn’t amount to anything and then escorting her to the next store to repeat the process.
At the fifth or sixth store, just when she seemed ready to surrender tearfully, a twenty-something sales clerk disappeared into a back room and returned with another dress. “Someone asked us yesterday afternoon to hold this, but she hasn’t come back. It’s been more than twenty-four hours so you can try it if you like.”
In the past Jack had heard women talk about not knowing what you wanted until you saw it, and he immediately saw that principle in action. Maddie’s eyes brightened as she followed the clerk into the dressing room area and he sat in yet another uncomfortable chair and waited, calling upon the name of every deity he could remember, willing them to make the dress fit.
When Maddie emerged from the dressing room, Jack’s prayers had been answered. She wore a red, strapless, floor-length dress with a silvery-white pattern scattered throughout. Red trim crisscrossed at the top and accentuated her breasts while the fabric was gathered at the waist and made her appear even curvier.
She stepped in front of a long mirror and turned slowly, taking in her reflection from all angles.
“The ruching at the waist looks perfect on you,” the young woman commented. “You have the perfect figure for it.” She adjusted the back and hem, and then stepped back to scrutinize her handiwork. “Don’t you think the dress looks fabulous on your wife?”
She had directed the question to Jack, but he was so mesmerized he could hardly think, much less answer.
Maddie turned back to face the mirror and frowned. “If you don’t think it’s right, we can try another—”
“It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect,” Jack said, snapping out of his trance. “It’s fire and ice and I don’t think you could find anything better if we looked forever.”
“You aren’t just saying that because your feet hurt or you’re hungry, are you?” Jack heard the frustration in her voice.
He rose from the chair and moved to stand behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders then skimmed his palms lightly down her arms and back up again. “My feet are just fine, thank you,” he whispered in her ear. His gaze captured hers in the mirror and the only hunger he had was a longing for her. “This is the one, Maddie.” He traced one finger along the neckline of the dress to where it dipped between her breasts and she shivered beneath his touch.
“If you don’t already have shoes, they have a fab pair of red sandals downstairs,” the saleswoman piped in. “And of course you need to wear a diamond necklace and earrings. Tiffany is just half a mile up Peachtree Road.”
Maddie swiveled to her right. “Of course,” she said in agreement. “I’ll check the shoe department.”
The spell had been broken and the connection Jack had felt with his wife was gone. Maddie returned to the dressing room in a rustle of fabric, and he returned to his chair, wondering if the shoe department had more comfortable seats and if Tiffany sold anything with a price tag under the gross national product of a small country.
* * *
Jack paced the length of the family room and waited for Maddie to finish dressing. They had plenty of time to drive to the St. Germaine, park and make their properly timed entrance at the Fire and Ice ball. That is if they walked out the front door within the next twenty minutes.
Shower, shave, comb, put on a tux and tie the tie. It took thirty minutes tops. Jack reined in his impatience, though, not only because he knew Maddie wanted to make a good impression, but also because he suspected she was going to look like a million dollars and he got the first look.
He also reined in his libido because this wasn’t about him; it was all about her and putting forth the right image. They’d have to smile, touch and act like they were in love. Jack found it difficult to deliberately deceive friends. Millie knew everything and so did Maddie’s friend Tess. But everyone else had to believe they were crazy in love.
Jack was afraid, though, that after they behaved like a married couple in public until midnight, he’d want to behave like one in private until dawn.
He heard a cough from the opposite side of the room and turned. Maddie had looked gorgeous in the store. Now she was stunning except for…
“Why are you wearing pearls?” he asked, looking at her intently, seeing the same pearl necklace and earrings she’d worn at their wedding. “You told me you had diamonds.”
She glanced away as if embarrassed.
“Alex gave them to me for our anniversary. I only wore them twice—at his funeral and…”
“And?” He raised an eyebrow a fraction of an inch.
“I guess we should be going now, hmmm?” She gathered her purse and wrap from the sofa and moved past him toward the garage.
He grasped her hand with enough force to stop her. “Why, Maddie? Why won’t you wear them?” he asked.
She stiffened and raised her chin, sending him a defiant look. “The other time I wore them was the night he gave them to me. I wore them to bed. The diamonds and nothing else.”
A mental picture of Maddie in bed, warm, wet and wearing nothing but diamonds had his blood doing a quick U-turn and heading south.
Unconsciously, he gripped her arm a little tighter and then heard her sharp intake of breath. He loosened his hold then rubbed his thumb along her delicate wrist.
“Wear them.”
“But—”
“These are nice,” he said, fingering the pearls around her neck. “But diamonds will be the ice to compliment the fire in your dress.”
And maybe they’d be the ice to douse the fire in his groin.
“And what if someone asks me about them? How do I tell them they were a gift from my husband?”
“You tell them they were a gift from your husband. They don’t need to know which husband.”
“But—”
“Please? For me?”
He was a damn fool. His libido did not need any more goading, but he wanted Judge Thomas Jefferson Ward to leave the ball knowing without any doubt that Maddie was legally married and living in wedded bliss.
Maddie sighed, then pressed her purse and shawl into his hands and disappeared into her bedroom. She returned carrying a navy velvet jewelry box and a lighter blue pouch. Jack recognized the pouch from Tiffany and suspected the navy box bore their name, too. He thought he’d done well purchasing her engagement ring from the exclusive shop, but he was afraid after he saw the contents of the box, he’d be demoted to the lightweight division.
Maddie opened the box and a diamond necklace contrasted starkly against the dark lining. Diamonds set in an X pattern were placed at intervals with round stones to create the look of a dazzling string of stars.
“Would you help me put it on? I have trouble with the clasp.” She wrapped the necklace around her neck then turned her back to him.
Jack stepped forward and grasped the ends of the necklace, fumbling momentarily before securing them together. He let his hands slide from the back of her neck to her shoulders. The warmth of her skin seeped into his fingers, and unconsciously he gently kneaded her flesh.
He heard Maddie’s breath catch in her throat and he removed his hands. He stepped back and Maddie turned around, fingering the necklace to straighten it. She picked up the blue pouch and shook it. A pair of earrings in the same star design fell into her palm. Skillfully she pulled off the backing and fastened the earring to her earlobe. Then she repeated the process with the other earring while Jack stood transfixed.
She’d been stunning before; now she was breathtaking. Jack felt the same way he had at Primrose Cottage—overwhelmed by her beauty and still not quite believing she’d agreed to his offer. And within a few days, they’d know whether their attempt at pregnancy had worked. If it had, he’d play things by ear and be as supportive as possible. If not, maybe she’d wear the diamonds in bed for him the next time they tried.
* * *
Jack braked the car in front of the hotel and angled out when the valet opened his door. He tossed the key to the young man and hurried to the other side to help Maddie maneuver her long skirt out of the car.
The St. Germaine was a remnant of the roaring twenties and had been renovated to its former glory a decade before. When they stepped into the San Regis ballroom, Jack cast a brief glance around the room. He’d come a long way from the trailer park on the south side of town.
Tables covered in white linen circled the perimeter. A half dozen small candles flickered on every table and the crystal chandeliers shimmered overhead to create a festive atmosphere.
Maddie was greeted immediately by several well-heeled older women and he was introduced to a bevy of Atlanta’s upper crust.
“Would you like something to drink?” he asked Maddie, leaning close to be heard over the orchestra and several hundred voices echoing off the high ceilings. She smiled and nodded.
He left her in conversation with her boss’s wife and made his way across the ballroom to the bar. He ordered scotch for himself and club soda for Maddie, and waited for the bartender to prepare the drinks. Two gray-haired men stepped beside him and both ordered bourbon.
“It looks like I’ll probably get the party nod for the next election,” one said in a deep southern drawl. “And when I win, I’m goin’ to clean house in the ad litem program. I got one little gal who thinks she’s pulled a fast one on me. But I have her number and I will not let someone who makes a joke of the institution of marriage represent helpless children in court.”
“Good for you,” his friend replied in an accent that indicated he’d been transplanted to Georgia. “Some of these young folks have no sense of decency any more, and it pains me to see them representing the laws of this state.”
Jack dropped a few bills in the tip bowl and took two glasses from the bartender. He was sure the drawl belonged to Maddie’s nemesis and hurried back to warn her.
“You’ll never guess who I ran into at the bar,” he said, pressing the tumbler into her hand. “Your old friend Judge Ward. Or at least I think it was from the way he was talking. I had to stifle the urge to deck him right there. I didn’t think you would appreciate me killing a sitting judge at a charity ball. The papers would have a field day with that.”
“Speaking of the devil,” she mumbled, plastering a smile on her face. “Judge Ward, it’s nice to see you again,” she said, holding out her right hand. “And Mrs. Ward.”
“Miz Prescott,” he drawled, lifting her hand to his lips for a brief, and very affected, kiss. “Or are you using your married name? So many of you younger gals don’t change your names anymore. I suppose this is the brand-new husband I’ve been hearing about?” The man turned and extended his hand to Jack.
Jack introduced himself and tried to size up the man. He was probably more a legend in his own mind than a legend in his field, but he did wield the power to affect Maddie’s career, and that’s why Jack maintained an even composure. Knocking back the whole glass of scotch probably wasn’t a good idea, so he handed it off to a passing waiter and eliminated the temptation.
“That’s a beautiful ring,” Mrs. Ward commented. “How long have you two been married, dear?”
“Just a few weeks now, isn’t it?” the judge interrupted. “And it seems just like yesterday that your first husband passed. I was awfully sorry to hear about that. He was such a successful businessman and a real asset to this community.” He surveyed Jack from his fresh haircut to the laces of his shiny shoes and flashed a smile as phony as Monopoly money.
Jack wanted to tell the man to take his innuendo and snobbery and stuff it, but for Maddie’s sake he’d play nice.
“And what do you do for a living, Mr. Worth?” Mrs. Ward asked. Her interest seemed sincere.
“I’m in residential construction, ma’am. I’ve built homes for several football and baseball players here in the Atlanta area, and right now I’m working on a project for the owner of LRL Media Group.”
“You’re building Leland and Rosemarie Levernier’s new house? Rosemarie showed me the blueprints and the interior designer’s plans. It’s going to be a lovely home. She was quite excited about it. I’ll have to tell her I met her builder.”
Jack smiled weakly and wondered just how much worse his luck could run tonight.
“You were partners with your wife’s late husband weren’t you?”
Your luck just ran out, man.
“Yes, sir. We were partners for seven years before he died.”
“And wasn’t it nice of you to take over the business and then marry your partner’s widow so soon after his death?”
“With all due respect, sir, I’d love to stay here and chat with you and Mrs. Ward,” Jack began, taking Maddie’s hand in his. “But I need to dance with my wife because the orchestra just started playing our song.”
Jack placed his right hand against Maddie’s back and guided her toward the polished wood dance floor. He pulled her toward him and let his hand slide further down her back.
“I didn’t know we had a song,” she whispered. “Especially not ‘Midnight Train to Georgia.’”
“We do now, and if we’re going to convince the good judge, and I use the term quite loosely, you can’t dance with me at arm’s length.” Jack tugged her closer and began to move to the music. “Relax.” He put his lips next to her ear and spoke in a low tone. “We’re supposed to look like we’re dancing, not engaged in hand-to-hand combat. I suppose we should have practiced a little at home, huh?”
Maddie giggled and went from edgy to relaxed in two beats. She settled into his arms and matched his movement as the orchestra segued from one number to the next. Her breasts pressed against him and he breathed in her subtle perfume.
“I think we’ll be okay if we just sway to the music, and I’ll do my best to avoid stepping on those new shoes,” he grinned.
“I always wanted to learn ballroom dancing. It was one of those things Alex and I never got around to.” Jack caught a hint of melancholy in her voice.
If he closed his eyes, he could imagine Maddie in bed with him again, doing a different kind of dance. Jack began to hope against hope they hadn’t studied well enough for the upcoming pregnancy test and failed so he could make love to her again. He ached to feel her touch against his bare skin, to hear her moan and feel her tremble as she came apart in his arms.
He pressed his lips to her temple then kissed down her cheek. He hesitated briefly before slanting his mouth across hers and brushing his lips gently against the velvet warmth of hers. Her lips parted and he tentatively touched his tongue to hers. Maddie breathed out on a sigh and kissed with a hunger that was at odds with her calm exterior.
The kiss sent a spiral of need straight to Jack’s groin, making him the one who was stiff and edgy. He broke the kiss and opened his eyes. Her eyes fluttered open, then closed again as her hand moved to his neck and her fingers ruffled the hair at his nape.
Jack’s lips descended to recapture hers. He sipped gently then nibbled greedily until she opened to him again and his tongue swept inside. Though it was feverish, the kiss had a dream-like intimacy that made him forget they were surrounded by hundreds of people. Made him forget this woman was his wife in name only. Made him forget that his life—their lives—might change drastically over the next few days.
The intimacy of their kiss was shattered, however, when someone nearby called out. “Get a room, you two.”
Maddie startled and pulled away from the embrace.
“Stay close, sweetheart, or I’ll embarrass us both even more,” he muttered as he willed his blood supply to redirect itself back to his brain and furnish his gray matter with enough nourishment to figure out how to get himself and Maddie out of this situation.
A man could lie about a lot of things, but he couldn’t fake a hard-on. Jack was definitely turned on and all it had required was a slow dance and a kiss. He felt as awkward as a twelve-year-old boy at his first dance, yet as excited as a teenager with his first girlie magazine.
He was with the prettiest girl in school and he wanted nothing more than to get a room and do all the wondrous things his traitorous mind imagined.