Catching Serenity (27 page)

“
I have no idea, but if she doesn’t leave soon, we might as well go,” he said. “Seems to me she’s on her own time and, to be honest, I’m starting to feel silly standing here watching a woman reading a smut novel.”

Carmen snapped
the book closed and replaced it on the shelf. She turned in their direction and pushed the sunglasses further up on her nose with one red fingernail. Her heart thumping in her chest, Serenity turned and grabbed a book from the nearest shelf. She shifted her weight onto her other foot, gasping as Jackson swept her into his arms and crushed his lips down on hers. Off-balance, she grasped both his arms. Catching her, he pulled her against him, so close she could feel his heart racing. Or was it hers?

“
Wha...a...t?
” she sputtered.
I’m protesting this why?

“
Relax and kiss me,” Jackson murmured. “Go with me on this.”

“
If you insist.” Sighing against his lips, Serenity reveled in how perfectly they fit, the feel, the texture, the slight roughness of his chin. She moved her hands over his firm chest, up to his shoulder blades and then around to the back of his neck, her fingers lightly touching the curls on his collar. A quiet moan escaped from somewhere inside her, but she didn’t care. Or was the moan from Jackson? Could it be tandem moaning?

She hadn
’t been kissed in so long. Hadn’t been held and caressed. Even so, with Danny, it was never like
this
. Then it was over. Dropping his arms and releasing her, Jackson turned away just when she was starting to get the hang of it. The kiss was so unexpected, and there was definite, scorching heat. Undeniable
passion
. Serenity moved one hand over her mouth and stared at him, unsure what to say. What just happened?

“
Come on!” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper, motioning with one hand as if she dawdled. “Hurry up, so we can follow her some more.”

Too dumbfounded to speak, Serenity tugged her purse strap over one shoulder and headed out the door of the
library behind him, ignoring his outstretched hand. Talk about a deflated ego. What a fool she was. Like she was a big, helium-filled balloon, and someone stuck a pin in her as the air slowly filtered out. Shaking, she moved one hand over her stomach and deep-breathed a couple of times in an attempt to regain her equilibrium.

Their first kiss and it was all for show. Jackson
Ross sure knew how to flatter a girl.

~
CHAPTER 29~

They followed about twenty paces behind
Carmen as she walked down the street. Serenity’s steps faltered and Jackson tossed a look over one shoulder and made that annoying gesture with his hand again.

“
I’m coming,” she muttered, quickening her steps to reach his side. They walked in silence, slowing when Carmen slowed and keeping pace with her.

A couple of minutes
later, she entered a small apartment building two streets over from Inner Serenity. Jackson walked a few steps ahead of her. Catching up to him, Serenity refused to look his way, still befuddled by what had transpired.

“
I’ll find out who owns the building and see if I can learn anything else.” Putting a gentle hand on her arm, he steered her away and turned in the opposite direction. “Good thing she didn’t seem to pick up on the fact she was being followed. Like I said, she’s not very good at hiding, if that’s her intent.” Jackson stopped and his eyes widened. “You’re not saying anything and you’ve got kind of a wild look in your eyes. What’s wrong? Speak to me.”

Serenity turned away.
“It’s nothing.”

From the corner of her eye, she could tell he
raked his fingers through his hair. Next he’d be rubbing his hand over his chin. She was getting rather used to his habits and found them all endearing.

“
Not buying it. Tell me.”

“
I can only imagine how you’re such an expert, Mr. Psychologist. Knowing how women tick and all.” She cringed. That didn’t sound pretty, and the only guarantee was that it irritated him. It annoyed her even more that his statement sounded like something her father would say.

“
Look, if this is about me kissing you...” Sure enough, Jackson rubbed his hand over his chin with a frown.

Her hands traveled to her hips.
“You’d better believe it’s about the kiss!” Frustration bubbled up inside her when the corners of his mouth lifted. “I don’t find anything funny about the fact that you played with my emotions.”

“
Serenity, baby, you’ve got it all wrong.” He frowned. “Don’t get mad. It couldn’t be helped.”

She took an involuntary step backward as he came closer.
“Don’t
baby
me.” What was it about men and that particular nickname? “Did your lips just
happen
to fall on mine? I’m a party to the entire kissing scenario. Or was it that my lips were the nearest ones handy to satisfy your...primal urges?”

He laughed but stopped
when he saw her frown. “Oh, come on, Serenity. What’s got you more upset...the fact that I kissed you in public the first time or the fact that I broke it off so abruptly?” His grin broke through. “If it’s any consolation, I really enjoyed it. Loved it. Want to dance on a rooftop and shout to the world about it. It ended all too soon. I thought we fit pretty well together, but that’s another thing I suspected all along.”

“
Oh...you!” She seethed, but part of her wanted to laugh. The tension was getting to her. She needed to go to the beach and take a long walk, feel the wind whip through her hair and clear her head. Get Jackson Ross and that kiss out of her head. How pathetic was she if all it took was one pretend passionate kiss to get her so stirred up?

“
What did you expect me to do?” he asked. “The woman—Carmen—was headed straight for us, and no offense, but you looked like a sitting duck. You couldn’t be a detective if your life depended on it.”

“
So,” she said, twisting her mouth not to give into a threatening grin, “your best solution was to grab and kiss me like some kind of sex-crazed man so the woman wouldn’t notice we were watching her?”

“
Well, yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“
If anything, you probably called even more attention to us. Ever think about that?”

“
We might never know. If she
is
following you, we gave her something to see, right?” When she shook her head, he shrugged and started walking again. “You’re really cute when you’re all feisty and flustered. So, did the kiss do anything for you?”

S
erenity blew out a sigh. No sense in sparring with him. She was tired and wanted to go home. “It was good.” Much better than good, but it was all she could muster.

When she stopped,
Jackson backed up a few steps to stand beside her. “Care to share?”

“
Did you say the
first
time?”

Tilting his head to one side, he appeared
puzzled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“
The kiss. You said something about it being the
first
time.”

That slow, lazy grin surfaced.
“Yeah, I guess I did.”

“
Which would imply there’s going to be a second time, and...”
Stop talking now.

Jackson took a step closer.
“Would you like a repeat performance right here? Right now? I’m willing if you are.”

She whirled around and started walking.
“That won’t be necessary.” When he was beside her again, she darted a glance his way. “I like my kisses private.”

Shaking his head, Jackson chuckled under his breath.
“I’ll keep that in mind for future reference. And, I realize I’m probably pushing my luck here, but what was the hip action you mentioned?”

“
What?” She shook her head.

“
When you were telling me how you knew it was Carmen and you said something like, ‘It’s all in the hips.’” Oh, his grin hinted of mischief, dimple and all. “Should I ask for a demonstration? That’s bound to be interesting.”

Well, fine, she
’d give the man a show. “All right, mister. You asked for it.” Glancing around, relieved no one else was around and they were alone, Serenity demonstrated, feeling foolish but doing her best to duplicate the gentle sway of her hips. “This is how Carmen walks. I noticed it at the picnic.” She sighed and stopped. “You can’t tell me you didn’t, Jackson. You’re a man, you’re breathing and you’re not blind. It’s the calculated kind of move designed to attract every red-blooded man on the planet.”

He laughed and crossed his arms over that distractingly taut chest.
“Remember, I’m a blue-blooded male. I’m different.”

“
Yes, you are definitely that last part. I’ll give you that much.” They started walking back in the direction of her office.

“
By the way, that little hip action thing was pretty sexy,” he said. When he reached for her, Serenity slipped her hand in his. “You can do it anytime you want, but in private, if you please.”

Serenity felt her cheeks flush. All she could do was give him a goofy smile and keep walking, but
maybe with a little more hip action than usual.

Tru
e to form, Justin marched in Jackson’s office for his appointment the following Tuesday morning. Waving to Arnie on the shelf, he stopped at the terrarium to pay his respects to Señor Igor before plopping in the small chair opposite his desk. “You’re playing Mozart.”

“
That’s right,” Jackson said, not bothering to hide his surprise. Ever since he’d heard Mozart in Serenity’s office, he’d developed more of an appreciation for classical music. “It’s Symphony Number Ten in G—”

“
Symphony Number
Five
in G Minor.” Mrs. Johnson came into the office, closing the door behind her.

“
You’re right,” Jackson said. “My mistake.” As usual, the woman’s expression was stoic and noncommittal. What were the odds she’d know it by name, the
exact
same symphony he’d heard playing in Serenity’s office?

“
Grandma takes me to the symphony in New York sometimes,” he said. When talking with this child, he had to remind himself this patient was only a four-year-old boy. In terms of certain aspects of his life, Justin was more on-par with a
twenty
-four-year-old man. He appreciated how Mrs. Johnson dressed him age-appropriately in shorts and T-shirts instead of like a miniature corporate executive. No doubt, this child would grow up to be a fine man in spite of the apparent lack of parental presence in his life. He’d seen a lot of families where grandparents—one or both—had become the primary caregivers for their grandchildren for any number of reasons. Most accepted the responsibility with grace, and some even fought for the right to raise them.

“
That’s wonderful, Justin. Your grandmother wants to make sure you learn about all kinds of things. Music and the arts are important and help us better understand the world around us.” Jackson tried not to smirk at the pompousness of that spiel, but it
was
true. Sure, he’d appreciated cultural things in the past, but he’d never thought much about attending the orchestra although he’d seen a few Broadway plays. Even then, he’d gone primarily because his date wanted to go, but he’d drawn the line at musicals.

Returning
his focus to his patient, irritated by his own lack of concentration, Jackson cleared his throat. The drawing. Justin mentioned it in the last session and Mrs. Johnson promised to tell him more about the mysterious relatives in Croisette Shores. “I understand you have something you want to show me today?”

“
Yep. Nana has it.” Sliding out of the chair, Justin walked over to her, leaning against her knees and swaying back and forth while he waited. The boy’s body language reinforced the inherent trust and affection shared between him and his grandmother. Outside of the office, Jackson imagined she was loving and giving, unlike the cool and distant woman she presented in their sessions.

Opening her purse, Mrs. Johnson pulled
out a piece of heavy white paper folded in quarters and handed it to Justin. “Go show Dr. Ross your nice drawing, sweetie.”

Jackson sat up straighter
and his pulse picked up speed. Reaching for the paper, he unfolded it, but didn’t look at it. Not yet, although it took restraint. “Can you tell me about your drawing?” Walking around the desk, he pulled a chair next to where Justin sat in the smaller one. His knee bothered him more than usual and he tried to hide his grimace. “Who’s this?” He held up the drawing of four figures and pointed to the tall, thin figure of a woman. Jackson hid his smile when he realized the dark circles over the eyes represented sunglasses.

“
That’s Nana.” Based on Justin’s expression, that question was a dumb one.

“
And this?” The figure was as tall as the rendering of his grandmother, but she wore a long, flowing pink gown. He’d colored her hair yellow and her big eyes bright blue.

“
That’s my mama.” The boy’s tone sounded somewhat wistful and he touched the drawing, his finger lingering on the figure for a few seconds.

Jackson
searched for the right questions and his mind raced almost as fast as his pulse. “Your mama looks very pretty.”

He
nodded. “She’s beautiful.” He glanced at his grandmother. “Right, Nana?”

“
Yes.” One word, but tinged with an edge of raw emotion he’d never heard from her before.