Dream On (3 page)

Obviously she was still dreaming. This was no reality. “I was thinking about my latest book.”

He scooped up a forkful of eggs, arching a brow as he swallowed. “Tell me how that’s going.”

“It’s going great. I’ve sold a few books to a smaller publisher, but my agent has my latest and claims there’s going to be a bidding war by some of the big names out there.”

His beaming smile was like an arrow to her heart. “Always knew you could do it, Katie. You’ve always had amazing talent.”

She sniffed. Yeah, right. As if he’d ever taken the time to even ask her what she was writing or take the slightest interest in her work. How would he know how talented she was? He’d never read a word of what she’d written.

19

Jaci Burton

“I’ve read every book you’ve written. You have a gift, Kate. An amazing gift that I’m so glad you’re utilizing.”

Good thing she was sitting down or she’d have fallen to the ground. Shock made her eyes widen and she nearly choked on the orange juice she’d just swallowed.

“You’ve read my books?”

His smile was sheepish and he hunched his shoulders. “Yeah. I’m sorry it took me so long. You’re incredible, Kate. I wish I hadn’t been so selfish all those years so you’d have had more time to get your writing going. My leaving was actually the best thing for you. It made you write and submit your work.”

She sat back and regarded him, unable to believe this was the same Jack who used to sit across the table from her, on the rare occasions he was actually home, of course, so engrossed in his newspaper he’d never know whether she was there or not. And when he wasn’t busy with paperwork for his business, he was off on a trip. By the time he’d get home, he’d be exhausted and barely have time to spend with the boys, let alone inquire about her writing.

This Jack seemed relaxed, focusing all his attentions on her. She wasn’t used to this version of her husband and didn’t quite know how to react. Suspicious, she waited for him to launch into detailed explanations of what he’d been doing for the past five years, but so far, nothing about himself. Only about her.

Bizarre.

“You’re looking at me funny.”

She arched a brow. “Funny?”

“Yeah. Like you can’t believe I’m really here.”

Well, duh. What she couldn’t believe was the version of Jack that sat across from her. “This is too weird. You know it as well as I do.”

His lips curved into a grin. “Well, yeah, you could say that. But I’m here, so let’s make the best of it and not question why.”

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Dream On

Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one with questions. And more questions, especially when he got up, cleared the table and did all the dishes. This had to be a dream! Jack never did domestic chores around the house. Ever.

“Let’s go shopping.”

She stared at him as if he spoke a foreign language. “Huh?”

“Shopping. Go take a shower, get dressed and let’s go. Daylight’s wasting.”

Shock prevented her from objecting, especially when he grabbed her hands and hauled her to her feet. She stood and mutely allowed him to direct her down the hall toward the bathroom. She stepped into the hot shower, convinced she’d just dreamed the past couple hours and when she came out, she’d find Jack was still as gone as he had been the past five years.

But he wasn’t. She dried her hair, dressed and opened the bedroom door. There he stood, looking completely edible and way too good-looking for her. She cringed at the thought of being seen with him in public.

Then again, they really didn’t know anyone in town. The country house sat on over two acres of land overlooking the lake, and they mainly kept to themselves. The chances of running into anyone they knew in town were slim. When they stepped outside, a brisk gust of wind caught her jacket and flung it open. She held it tightly closed with one hand and looked around the circular driveway.

“Uhhh, Jack, where’s your car?”

“Don’t have it anymore. I took a taxi out here.”

“A taxi. From town?”

“Yeah. I grabbed your keys off the dresser. We’ll take your car.”

Stunned speechless, she slid in the car and buckled her seat belt. Jack never went anywhere without his expensive luxury sedan, his pride and joy, his status symbol of success. He’d never sell that car. And why didn’t he have another car to drive?

“Jack, I don’t under—”

21

Jaci Burton

“Why I’m going shopping with you?” he asked, cutting her off mid-question. “It’s simple. I’m going to do all the things I never did with you before. All the things I claimed to be too busy to do. Like shopping and buying you things and spending time with you.” He glanced at her and said, “I’ve missed just being with you, Katie. I’ve missed touching you, holding you and kissing you. I’ve missed pressing my body up against yours at night, breathing in the smell of your hair and skin. I miss all of that so much it makes me hurt inside.”

Tears pooled in her eyes and she willed them away, turning quickly to look out the window. She would not fall for his charm again. Nothing he said mattered to her. In an hour or two he’d grow tired of this game and be off on a phone call or a trip. He may have had an attack of nostalgia and maybe a little guilt, but that didn’t mean he’d come back to her. Not really.

She’d lost Jack forever a long time ago. Nothing he did or said now would bring back the man she once loved.

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Dream On

Chapter Four

“Are you insane?”

An hour into their shopping trip, Jack stood her in front of the town’s trendiest hair salon.

“Of course I’m not insane. You’re getting your hair and nails done today, and a pedicure. I’ll wait.”

“I am not getting anything done and you’re crazy.”

With eyes that sparkled like they had when he was young, he turned her toward the entrance of the salon where two smiling women waited to work on her. Hell, it would take them at least a week to make her look good.

“Go,” he whispered, his warm breath caressing her neck and making goose bumps pop out all over her skin. “I’ll be waiting for you. I’m not going anywhere, Katie, I promise.”

I’m not going anywhere
. Those words both chilled and warmed her during the twohour hair and nail extravaganza. She expected at any moment to look up and find Jack had disappeared, but he hadn’t. He sat in a chair at the front of the salon the entire time, reading magazines and occasionally glancing up to smile over at her. The looks he gave her heated her from the inside out. The way he used to look at her, before he got too busy to notice whether she was even in the room or not. Hot gazes filled with the promise of scorching sex.

The result was a complete biological meltdown. Her breasts ached and her nipples tightened. Her long-ignored pussy flamed to life, her clit quivering with the need to be touched, licked and sucked. She squirmed in her chair and tried to ignore her betraying body’s signals to leap from her seat, straddle Jack and fuck his brains out before he left her again.

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Jaci Burton

God, she missed sex with him. Even when they had reached the point where they’d become nearly strangers, when they came together at night it was explosive. They may have had a full list of problems, but sex had never been one of them. All those old feelings of desire and need and want came crashing down over her with every one of his seductive glances. Damn him. She was supposed to hate him, not crave him.

His gaze caught and held hers, and she read the heat in his eyes. Something passed between them at that moment and she shivered. It had been a long time since he looked at her with barely controlled hunger in his eyes. And she wasn’t immune, either. Her body was so in tune to him that it screamed from the inside out, waking with a sexual vengeance she wasn’t prepared to handle.

“Okay, honey, you’re all finished!”

Finally. She smiled apologetically at Mary, her hairdresser, who no doubt had to struggle with the messy mop on her head. But instead of looking disgusted, Mary beamed, winked and flipped Kate’s chair around so she could look in the mirror. Okay,
wow
was the first word that came to mind. Who was that woman in the mirror? Ten years had just been peeled away as she stared, openmouthed, at her reflection in the glass.

Two hours, a facial, eyebrow wax, haircut, color and makeup could not have made that drastic a change to her appearance. But it sure looked that way. They’d chopped off at least six inches of lifeless hair, giving her a newer, trendier cut that skimmed just along her chin. The color was a deep, rich auburn, bringing out the amber in her eyes and highlighting her cheekbones. The makeup they’d applied hadn’t hurt, either. As a stay at home writer she usually wore her pajamas and no makeup. Since Jack left she’d had no reason to get dressed, do anything with her hair or go out unless she met the boys or had a meeting. But this new hairstyle and makeup brightened her face like it hadn’t been for…years. That had to be the reason she looked so much younger now. 24

Dream On

“Get over there and show that hunky man of yours the new look,” Mary suggested. He wasn’t
her
hunky man. Not any longer. Nevertheless, she stood and headed toward Jack, who was currently engrossed in a weekly gossip magazine, of all things. He looked up when she stopped in front of him, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping. She suppressed a smile at her purely feminine reaction to his look of shock and pleasure.

“Wow,” he said, standing up and walking around her.

She felt more self-conscious than she ever had before, like Pygmalion’s creation at the grand unveiling. Had she really looked so bad before? The answer was yes, she realized with a huge rush of embarrassment. How could she have let herself go that way?

Jack stopped in front of her again, took her hands and pulled her against him. The first contact of her nipples against his hard chest was electrifying. She stared into his eyes, knowing she should object, push away. Something to maintain a careful distance between them. But for the life of her she couldn’t help but enjoy the way he looked at her right now.

“There’s my girl,” he whispered, slanting his lips across hers. It was a simple, gentle brush of mouth to mouth, but in a heartbeat all was lost. She breathed in the scent of him, thrilled to the softness of his lips against hers, the way his body fit against hers as if they’d been made for each other. She was suddenly sixteen years old again, being kissed for the very first time by the boy she’d fantasized about for years. Her relationship with Jack went so far back she couldn’t remember a time he wasn’t part of her life.

Which had made his abrupt departure so much worse.

Cruel reality intruded into her moment of nostalgic bliss and she placed her palms on his chest, gently pushing away. Her lips tingled, her nipples beading against her bra and her panties moistening. In an instant she’d forgotten everything he’d done to her, 25

Jaci Burton

the years of feeling betrayed by his broken promises. How easily she’d been seduced by male appreciation for surface appearance.

Jack searched her face and she realized he knew her thoughts.

“I know. I still have a lot to make up for, Katie. You don’t trust in my love and I don’t blame you for your lack of faith. One step at a time, okay?”

She nodded, wary but willing to keep an open mind.

“Let’s go shopping,” he said.

He took her hand and led her out of the salon and into the town’s trendiest clothing boutique. It was small and very, very expensive. She’d never been one to spend money on clothes, especially those that came with a price tag she could feed her family a month on.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked as he led her to the evening wear.

“Because I have to. I need to. I want to shower you with gifts and attention and everything you missed out on all those years because I was such a selfish bastard.”

She couldn’t argue with the selfish bastard part. “I don’t need any new clothes.”

“You have anything at the house to wear to go dancing at the country club?”

Country club? Who was he kidding? They weren’t even members there. “Jack, we don’t even belong—”

“We do now. Come on. Let’s go see what they have in here.”

They were greeted by a very tall, statuesque blonde who couldn’t be more than twenty-five. She smiled enthusiastically and led them to the cocktail dress section, no doubt smelling a sale. A big sale.

Hell, one outfit here could feed an entire third-world country for a month! But Jack insisted, grasping her hand and dragging her around while Suzie the salesclerk brought out a stack of dresses.

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Dream On

None of those dresses would either fit or look good on her. They were too short, too tight and would reveal way too much of everything she was desperate to conceal. But Jack chose five dresses and all but pushed her into the dressing room to try them on.

“I’ve also brought some undergarments and shoes to go with these dresses,” Suzie enthused, then shut the door and left Kate alone. She stared at the dresses and then her reflection in the mirror.

Too tight blue jeans and a bulky sweater did nothing for her figure. Then again, they suited her lifestyle. Those…things…hanging up in the room were not her and it was about time she made her choices clear to Jack and Suzie both. She turned and opened the door, stepping out and running smack into Jack’s chest.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” he said, pushing her backward and shutting the door behind him. “I thought you might try to make an escape. I’m here to see you don’t.”

“You’re not supposed to be in here!” she hissed.

He waved a hand toward the door and shrugged. “Oh, Suzie doesn’t care. She knows if she sells at least one of those dresses she’s going to make a bundle. Now try them on.”

“I will not.” Especially with him standing in the room with her. He hadn’t seen her naked in five years. Well, longer than that considering they hadn’t had much sex at the end and when they had it had typically been in the dark. No way was she going to let him see what her body looked like now.