God, the memory of her.
He wished, in that moment, he’d gone upstairs before the movie ended. The memory of her tight, little body against his was the last thing he needed right before a family picnic, but not kissing her last night would have taken more self-control than he had.
He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else before he got an erection. He ran through baseball stats, the track listing for the last album he’d produced and was halfway through mentally reciting the states in alphabetical order before he felt calm enough to open his eyes.
He walked back to the kitchen and stared blankly out the window into the backyard where his brothers were setting up the last of the picnic tables.
He’d done the right thing in walking away but damn if it hadn’t been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. Seducing her last night would have been a mistake. He didn’t want her to come to his bed because she was scared and feeling vulnerable. He wanted her to come to him because she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
He just hoped she hadn’t interpreted his “make yourself at home” last night as “make yourself scarce.” He really wanted her to come down and join the party. After everything she’d been through, she needed to relax and get her mind off things.
“Hey, what are you doing in here?” Nick stepped in from the patio, pulling the sliding glass doors closed behind him. “Everyone’s starting to arrive.”
Irritated that he was just standing in the middle of his kitchen mooning like a teenage boy, Jackson turned to dig in the refrigerator. A second later he handed his brother a platter of sliced tomatoes, lettuce and cheese.
“I’m just getting the last of the food together.”
Nick arched a brow. “Right. The fact that you’re inside has nothing to do with the beautiful girl upstairs in your bedroom.”
He didn’t look at his brother as he yanked the ketchup, mustard and relish bottles from the refrigerator and set them out on the table.
“Of course she’s beautiful. She’s a model, so she’s hardly going to be ugly, right? And she’s not in my bedroom, get your mind out of the gutter.”
He slammed the last bottle on the table harder than he’d intended and the wood responded with a loud CRACK.
“Can't you just put her in a hotel?” Nick grumbled.
Jackson looked back at the stairs again. “Look, I already called a locksmith, but you and I both know that no one is coming out on a holiday. In the meantime, Ridley is staying here with us where she’s safe.”
“Ridley?” Nick asked.
“Yeah, it’s her real name. Anyway, she's a nice girl and there's no reason to push her off to a hotel where she'll be by herself.”
Before his brother could question him further, namely about why Jackson felt it was his responsibility to keep her safe, the sliding door opened again and Matt came barreling inside.
“Whoa, watch it!” Nick juggled the tray in his hands trying to keep the tomatoes from sliding off the edge as Matt clipped his shoulder in his haste to get by.
“Sorry, man. I just need to get out of here.” Matt’s cheeks were bright red beneath his normally dusky skin color. He’d either gotten an instant sunburn or was really pissed.
“What happened?” Jackson crossed his arms. Matt didn’t say anything.
Jackson looked at his brother and motioned toward the door. Without a word, Nicholas carried the tray outside to the backyard and closed the door behind him. He was glad his brother wasn’t the type to take offense. They were all great friends but he knew how Matt was. He’d have a much better chance of finding out what was bothering him if they didn’t have an audience.
“You look pissed off. You were in a decent enough mood when you got here, so what’s happened in the last hour that has you looking like you’re ready to spit nails?”
“It’s nothing. I think I should go. I don’t want to ruin your party for everyone else.”
“Let me guess, Trent and Mara just arrived, right? Man, you have got to let it go. She’s a grown woman. She’s had boyfriends before and you haven’t been this crazy.”
“He’s going to ask her to marry him. He just told me.” Matt growled and then in a sudden move turned and punched a hole in the wall next to him.
The sliding glass door opened again. Trent and Mara stood on the patio gaping at them. Nicholas walked up behind them and peered over Mara’s shoulder.
“Damn! Cleanup on aisle four,” he joked.
Matt stalked into the living room and Jackson ran his hands over his hair roughly. How had a simple family cookout turned into a soap opera?
Chapter Seven
“WHAT DO YOU mean you won’t give me the code?”
Ridley bit her lip and hoped no one downstairs could hear her. Not that they needed any more evidence of the crazy town her life had become.
“Exactly what I said. I am not giving you the code,” Raina pronounced. “I am so sorry about what happened to David. I didn’t like the idea of him poking around in our past but I wouldn’t have wished him dead, especially not in a fiery car crash. But if the police think it wasn’t an accident, then that means he was mixed up with some pretty shady people. And if they’re looking for you, the first place they’ll look is my house.”
“I told you, I never told David about you.”
“I know but if he had any investigative skills at all, he would have figured out that you were a twin. It wouldn’t have taken much for him to figure out who I am. And if he figured it out, then someone else could have, too.”