The Comeback Girl (14 page)

She nodded. But her lips were tender and soft, and they showed the effect of his kiss. He pulled her close again and gently brushed his lips across hers by way of apology. “That got a little crazy. Who knew we could still ignite that kind of fire?”

“Sparks,” she said with a satisfied sigh. She smiled as he applied butterfly kisses to her cheekbones, her eyes and her nose. “I’ve heard the body remembers long after the brain forgets.”

In the distance, there was the sound of a car door opening and closing, but Donnie ignored it now that they had their emotions under control. This was friendly playful kissing. Nothing to get worked up about.

“Mom?”

Unless you were Zach.

Kris pulled away and tried to step out of his reach, but Donnie caught her hand and refused to let go. “Zach,” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here? I thought you and your dad were going to the mountains.”

“Been there, done that,” another voice said.

A man joined them. Tyler Harrison. He’d apparently been walking toward them but Donnie had missed his approach since he was torn between his concern for Kristin and dealing with Zach’s scowl.

“Zach wanted to take Sarge for a run,” Tyler added. “I suggested the park.”

It was almost dark, and Donnie couldn’t see the man clearly. The shadows suggested that he was gaunt but still formidable. The kind of person who came prepared for a fight and never gave an inch. The same way he’d been in high school.

Only now, Donnie had a better understanding of cause and effect. “Tyler Harrison’s father was known as the town crook. Try carrying that load
when you’re a kid, and see how
you
turn out,” Donnie’s anger management counselor had suggested.

Kris’s hand clutched Donnie’s. He felt her shiver of apprehension, but to his surprise she faced Tyler and said, “Did Zach tell you that Donnie and I are getting married tomorrow?”

“Zach mentioned it. Yes.” His tone seemed tinged with sarcasm. “I assumed it was a desperate ploy to thwart my custody suit.”

Donnie didn’t care for the man’s attitude, but he couldn’t blame him. Not only did Tyler and Kris have issues, but the hard feelings between Donnie and Tyler had never been resolved. Even now, nearly a dozen years later, Donnie could recall the words that had brought them to blows.

Kristin had remained in the car that night, getting dressed. Donnie and Ty were well out of earshot when they’d fought. Even barefoot and in his skivvies, Tyler had challenged Donnie. He’d called him a bootlicking fascist. That, Donnie could have taken, but when Ty bragged about how easy it had been to seduce Kristin, Donnie had lost it. He might have killed the man if his friends hadn’t intervened.

Kristin glanced at him with concern—no doubt also recalling the last time the three of them met. Donnie was determined to keep things civil. He wasn’t a jealous kid with an ego problem anymore. He was an officer of the law. And a father. His main concern at the moment was Zach.

“Zach, how about we take Sarge to the dog run?
Your mother and Tyler could probably use a minute or two.”

The boy hesitated, but Kristin gave him a nod. He turned around, dog at his heels. Donnie doubted that Zach wanted to talk to him, but he followed, anyway.

When they reached the opposite side of the park where wild grasses remained unmowed and wild-flowers blossomed each spring, Sarge took off. Donnie looked at Zach and said, “What you saw was a friendly kiss, Zach, nothing more.”

Thank goodness the boy hadn’t shown up five minutes earlier.
“Does it bother you to see us kiss?”

“Nah. She’s had dates before. She’s very pretty.”

“Yes, she is.” Donnie looked at the boy thoughtfully. “You know, it used to bother me when my mom began dating after my dad died. But then I realized she needed to be more than a mom sometimes.”

Sarge suddenly materialized at Donnie’s side. He smelled like tarweed—a pungent, low-growing brush that was starting to bloom. “Do you think you’ll have time to give him a bath in the morning?” Donnie asked. “That is, if the wedding is still on.”

It was darker in this part of the park, and while Donnie couldn’t swear to it, he thought he saw Zach smile. “It’s what my mom wants. Are you still going to teach me new chords?”

Donnie smiled. “Sure.”

“My dad told me he’s going to move here next month.”

The thought made Donnie uneasy, but he could see that Zach was happy about it. “Good. I bet he’s eager to spend time with you and get to know you better.”

“I guess.”

Donnie hoped Ty’s motivation was to be near his son and not to build a shopping mall with a bypass around the town. There were aspects of Gold Creek that needed changing, but thoughtless commercial development wasn’t one of them. Donnie had his own plans for Gold Creek—and they didn’t involve a bulldozer.

“A
RE WE GOING
to keep things civil?” Kristin asked Tyler.

“I will if you will, but if Zach and I hadn’t shown up when we did, you would have been lying down,” he said. Although the words were snide, his tone was something else. Bittersweet? Resigned?

And he was right. There’d been a moment when she’d been on the verge of losing control. “Then it’s a good thing you showed up. You know how much I hate being the focus of gossip.”

Her wry tone must have connected because he smiled. Briefly. Then his look turned serious.

“I have an investigator checking into your past.”

Kris wondered what he’d find. She’d been very
careful about dating when Zach was growing up. She seldom let a man close enough to become a friend to Zach and no man spent the night if Zach was home.

“You can hire a dozen,” she said, faking a confidence she didn’t feel. “They’ll confirm that I’ve always tried my best to be a good mother.”

He reclined against the plank picnic table, crossing one ankle over the other. She felt a shiver pass through her.

“What if I find a couple of guys who are willing to testify that you gave them
more
than a massage? What will that say about your fitness to be a parent?”

Kristin’s stomach flip-flopped. “I’ve never been anything but professional with my clients. Massage is about healing, Tyler. Anyone who’s ever been a client of mine knows that.”

His light chuckle had an ominous ring to it. “I didn’t say they were clients of yours. But for the right price, you can find somebody who will say whatever you tell them to say.”

Suddenly, her fear eased. If he really planned to do this, she thought, he probably wouldn’t tell her about it ahead of time. Curious, she asked, “Zach said you might be moving to Gold Creek?” She looked over her shoulder to see where Donnie and Zach were. “I heard you got married.”

“And divorced.”

“Was she the woman your mother told Ida Jane about? The socialite from back East?”

His left eyebrow arched in question—just the way Zach’s did. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“When I first moved back to the States with my cousins, I called Ida Jane and asked her to talk to your mother. To get your address or phone number. I was going to tell you about your son.”

He looked skeptical. “When was this?”

She told him the date. She could picture it clearly.

“Ida told me that according to Gloria, you were doing great. You were in college and engaged to a woman with a pedigree a mile long.” She looked at her hands. “She said you were happy.”

He didn’t say anything.

“I told myself I was doing you a favor. That I’d already screwed up your life, so by not contacting you I was doing the right thing.”

“Bullsh—”

She touched his arm. “I knew it was wrong. Even then. But I was afraid, Tyler. If you married some rich, influential woman, you’d be the perfect family. You’d be able to take Zach away from me. I was struggling to keep food on the table, but—” She looked him in the eye. “Nobody could have loved Zach more than I did. Not even you.”

He broke contact with her by standing. “For what it’s worth, my ex was no socialite. She’s a lawyer who tried to sue me. We were married only two years. And after I left Gold Creek, I didn’t
contact Mother—or anyone else from this town—for six years.”

Kristin looked up in surprise. “But your mother wrote all sorts of stuff about you in her column. Your business success. Your travels. Ida sent me the clippings.”

He made an off-hand motion. “We create the fantasy we need to get by. Gloria needed to pretend that she had the perfect son. You let yourself believe that I wouldn’t
care
that you kept our son a secret.”

“That was wrong, Tyler. But you don’t know what I was going through at the time. I’d let down my family, my town. Still, you have every right to be bitter, but—”

He cut her off. “Bitter? The word doesn’t come close to describing how I feel.” He stared at her, eyes narrowed. “You can marry the pope, but it won’t help.”

He laughed at his inadvertent joke. The sound was as unnerving as the whine of a dentist’s drill.

Her heart beat frantically as she watched him walk to his Mercedes. Zach and Sarge met him there; Donnie kept walking without saying a word to Tyler. His pace increased the closer he came to Kristin.

“The bastard,” he hissed when he saw her face. “What did he say?”

Kris shook her head. “Nothing I didn’t deserve.”

Donnie took her hand and led her toward the steps. “Let’s go. We have a big day tomorrow.”

Tomorrow.
My wedding day.
Suddenly, the enormity of what she was about to do hit her.

She looked at the man who would be her husband within twenty-four hours. “If I’m getting married tomorrow, Donnie, I need to know the truth.”

“What truth?”

“About why we’re doing this. At the moment, I feel as if my whole life has been built on lies. It has to stop here. I can’t go into this marriage just to help you win an election or to protect myself from the courts. If you love me, prove it. Make love to me. Lucas is spending the night with Sandy. We could go to your place.”

When Donnie opened his mouth, she braced to hear the word no, but suddenly he smiled and said, “Well…if you insist.”

H
E’D LEFT
the exterior porch light on and was pleased by the homey glow it gave the place, but instead of taking Kristin through the front door as he would a guest, Donnie made a conscious choice to pull into the garage.

“I’d better remember to give you the opener,” he said, pressing the plastic remote on his visor. “Mom left hers.”

Kristin hadn’t said much since her request to go home with him; Donnie wondered if she was having second thoughts.

“What did Maureen say when you told her about the wedding?”

Kris’s voice was soft and a little tentative, but he gave her credit for trying to maintain a cool front. “She said it broke her heart not to be here, but she wished us good luck and much happiness.

“What does Ida Jane think about our plan?” Donnie asked. For a man who’d been offered his favorite sexual fantasy on a plate, he sure was having a difficult time bringing himself to act on it. “Your sisters are pitching in to help, but does your aunt think we’re crazy?”

He turned off the engine and let his hand fall to the back of the seat so he could touch her hair. One curl wrapped around his finger as if she’d lassoed him.

“She’s very excited. She thinks we should have done it a long time ago.”

She moved back slightly. “Why do you ask? Are you having second thoughts?”

“Not about marrying you.” He rubbed his forehead. “I just regret that you’re being shortchanged by my agenda. Maybe we should wait till after the election. I probably won’t win the dang thing anyway.”

“Donnie, what’s really going on here?”

“I resigned today, Kris. And I guess the reality is hitting me now.”

She unsnapped her seat belt and shifted sideways to face him. “We ate dinner together, took a walk, made out, and
now
you mention, ‘Oh, by the way, I quit my job today’? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”

Her eyes went big and she blinked several times then broke out laughing. “Donavon Grimaldo, you’re too much. You take the word
gentleman
to new extremes.”

He couldn’t decide if that was meant as a compliment or not, but when she reached out and cupped his jaw, she said, “Let’s go inside. Ty is bringing Zach home around midnight, so we don’t have much time.”

Donnie leaned into her touch. “Do you want me to carry you across the threshold?” he said, nipping her fingers playfully.

For the briefest moment, he thought she might cry, but then a smile lit up her face and she said, “Sure, if your back is up to the task.”

K
RISTIN EXITED
the car and stood for a moment, looking around. Donnie’s garage was neater and cleaner than her house.

“Coming?” he asked, joining her.

There’s still time to back out.
They weren’t touching, but she could feel him. Big, strong, reliable—everything she wasn’t. And a longing so intense it erased her fears and made her reach out to put her arms around him.

He might have settled for a friendly hug, but Kristin rose to her tiptoes and plastered her front to his—her bosom to his chest, bellies touching. His surprised gasp turned to a smile of pleasure, and he dipped his head to kiss her.

Nobody had ever kissed her like Donnie Grimaldo. When she sighed with pleasure, he moved against her and she could feel his desire. He linked his hands at her waist then rocked back enough to look into her eyes. “I do not have a bad back. Mind if I prove it to you?”

Kris nodded; she didn’t trust her vocal cords. He bent and hooked his left arm beneath her knees then straightened. The look in his eyes made her feel
desirable and sexy. “I always thought this was a silly ritual, but now I can see its attraction.”

His eyes sparkled with laughter. She reached out to open the door. He hefted her up a little more snugly then walked through sideways. The door closed behind them.

Donnie didn’t bother with lights. He headed straight toward his bedroom.

Feeling oddly emboldened, Kristin asked, “I don’t suppose you’d consider fulfilling one other fantasy of mine, would you?”

He stopped in the middle of the hallway. “What is it?”

A blush heated her cheeks. It was silly, so teenage girlish, but she couldn’t pass up the chance. “Sing to me.”

“I haven’t sung in years.”

“Well, I haven’t made love in years, so we’re even,” she said, then immediately wished she hadn’t.

He started walking again.

“When you left for Ireland, I was obsessed by the image of you making love to dozens of sexy foreign men.”

Kris chuckled. “At one time or individually?”

“Singularly, but in quick succession.” His tone was light, but she knew he was serious.

“Well, there was this guy. A cute young English lad who was sitting next to me on the plane to London. He seemed pretty interested until I threw up
in a bag and accidentally got a little on him. He didn’t say another word the whole trip.”

He rubbed his chin against the top of her head. “Poor Kris.”

They’d reached his room. The door was open and all the curtains were as well. A silvery light filled the room. The bed was huge, and a moonlit rectangle of gray highlighted a two-foot by three-foot section in the center.

“I didn’t notice the skylight the other day.”

“Sandy’s obsession. She wanted one in every room, but I was reluctant to put more money into the house. Thank goodness our contractor agreed that the roofline of the house wouldn’t accommodate any others economically.”

“It’s cool. Aren’t you tempted to stay awake all night following the stars?”

“Not lately. Maybe it will be different having you here.”

She knew what he meant, but that kind of domestic bliss was almost too scary to think about.

She wiggled for him to let her down.

Once she was standing, he closed and locked the door. “I don’t expect Lucas to come home, but I didn’t expect Zach and Tyler to show up at the park, either,” he said, dropping his keys on the dresser just inside the door.

Kristin moved away. “Wasn’t that unbelievable? You don’t think Ty’s private investigator is following me, do you?”

Donnie put his hand at the small of her back and
ushered her forward. “I didn’t know Harrison had hired a P.I.”

“He said he needed to look into my past.”

“Well, rest easy. I’m sure you don’t have anything to hide. And the last time I checked with Ed, there hadn’t been any strangers asking questions about you.”

“Did you find out whether or not your co-workers are coming to the wedding?”

Her obvious stall apparently didn’t fool Donnie, who caught the loose end of her shawl and reeled her to him, inch by inch. “Forget about tomorrow. Tonight we make up for lost time.”

His arms were warm and comforting, but his kiss was demanding. He wanted her, and it felt good.

Kristin looped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Memories of their first kiss—so many years ago—flooded her senses.

“I feel like I’ve come home,” she said, more to herself than Donnie.

He pulled back slightly, his hands resting on her hips. His thumbs idly brushed the side of her belly. “I know what you mean.”

“This feels so natural,” she said, smiling. “It’s as if our first kiss when we were kids was imprinted for life.”

Donnie took a deep breath and looked toward the ceiling. “I guess this is confession time.”

Her heart stalled at his serious tone.

“You weren’t the first girl I ever kissed.”

“You told me I was the first. When I was four
teen. You lied?” Kristin dropped her hands to his chest and pushed him away. He backed up a step, but even in the dim light she could see his grin.

“Who was the little witch?” Kris said, hands on her hips.

“Cathy Beaumont. We were six. She said kissing meant that we were married. Unfortunately, she didn’t tell me this until after we kissed, then I started to cry because I thought that meant I’d have to live at her house. My mother was a much better cook than Mrs. Beaumont.”

His smile was so Donnie—the Donnie she’d loved for as long as she could remember. Her heart expanded within her chest. She stepped close enough to reach the buttons on his shirt. “Cathy moved away when we were in fifth or sixth grade, right?” she asked.

Donnie went still, but he said softly, “I think so.”

“Good. I’d hate to have to hurt her at this late date.” She undid the buttons quickly. “You know, invite her in for a free, hot-stone therapy then accidentally drop a rock on her.”

Donnie cocked his head. “You’d do that for me?”

“For me. I’m the jealous type.”

She separated the two halves of his shirt and gazed upon his bare chest. Very different from her memory. Broader, more muscular. A thick thatch of chest hair filled in the space between his small ruddy nipples. “This is new,” she said, running her
fingers through the soft, silky mat. “I like what you’ve done with your chest.”

His chuckle rumbled beneath her fingers. “Thank you. They call it age.”

“And free weights,” she added. He worked at staying fit; she’d known that the minute she’d seen him in uniform.

Thinking about him at the gym made a tingle pass through her body, and the fire that had been banked ignited. If he was as good as she remembered… “Can we make love?”

Donnie shrugged off his shirt and started to undo his belt. “If you insist,” he said with a rueful grin. “On one condition.”

Kris’s gaze was glued to his waistline. “What?”

“You strip for me. The way you did that afternoon at the bordello.”

Kris’s face turned hot, and she swallowed noisily. She’d hoped he’d forgotten about that. “Uh…I don’t know. I’m not seventeen, and it might not be the same without a bottle of cheap wine first.”

With one quick jerk, he pulled the belt free of its loops. His jeans were loose and they inched down on his hips. She could see the line of his underwear.
Red briefs?

Donnie seemed to read her mind, because he grinned and unzipped his pants.
Yep, red.

“Nice undies,” she said. Her voice sounded strangled. She could hardly wait to see him without his jeans, but he didn’t give her the chance. He kicked off his shoes and bent over to remove his
socks then strolled to the bed, where he fluffed up two already fluffy shams and made a backrest for himself against the headboard.

He flopped onto his back and crossed his legs at the ankles. “Do you need music?” he asked. Amusement—and something else—made his tone husky. “I could hum.”

The
something
gave her the courage to step toward the bed. “You could sing.”

Their gazes met—just the bed separating them.

Donnie cleared his throat and sang,
“‘When years have passed and we look back on what we learned and knew, we’ll fondly say this was the place where our spirits grew. Gold Creek High, Gold Creek High…’”

She ripped off her blouse and threw it at him.

Laughing, he caught it in midair. “Sorry. I’m a little nervous, okay? That’s all that came to mind.”

Arms crossed at her chest, she shivered. Not from the coolness of the air but from the desire she saw in his eyes.

He took a deep breath and started again. Soft and low, a tune she hadn’t heard in ages but recognized immediately. Her favorite Beatles song, “If I Fell In Love With You.”

She lowered her arms and closed her eyes, swaying to the melody. Her long, peasant skirt caressed her bare legs like a scarf when she moved. She gathered a handful of material and lifted it to expose one leg then stepped onto the bed.

Soft, yet firm enough to let her move without
losing her balance, the mattress provided a comfortable platform. She looked up at the starlit night framed by the skylight and lifted her arms as she twirled in small circles of her own. His song faltered momentarily, but he picked it up again, humming in places when he couldn’t remember the words. Feeling a bit dizzy, she stopped and faced him.

Their gazes held as she worked the waistband over her hips and let the skirt fall to her feet.

She glanced down to be sure she’d worn matching underwear. A skimpy pink bra that Andi had outgrown and white bikini panties with rose-colored butterflies.

He made a sputtering sound. “Hmm…hmm…hmm.”

Kristin turned from him, and looking over her shoulder, unhooked her bra. She’d never felt more exposed, or more sensual. Donnie’s unzipped jeans were showing the impact of her striptease. With a provocative laugh, she tossed the bra his way. It landed right where she wanted it to—across his zipper.

Donnie looked down and laughed. “Hell, yes, I’m turned on. Damn, girl, you’ve got moves.”

He sat up and extended a hand to beckon her closer.

This meant turning around and moving into the spotlight cast by the moon. Would he see the spidery lines left by her pregnancy? Or the veins in her breasts? Evidence that she’d borne another
man’s child even though she had always been in love with Donnie.

“You are so beautiful,” he said, his voice still deepened as if in song, but the words were slow and purposeful. “It’s as if you just stepped out of my memory.”

She moved closer, unable to stay back. “I’m not the same person I was, Donnie.”

“Neither am I, but this is who we are. And you’re amazing. Come here.” He patted a spot beside him.

She dropped to her knees and leaned down to kiss him. She watched the lazy, sensual way his eyes closed, and felt a yearning so great, she almost cried out.

Perhaps she did because Donnie answered by wrapping his arms around her bare back and pulling her to him. Her nipples—erect and sensitized—brushed against the hair on his chest. “Oh, Donnie, I need this so badly, but I’m not on the pill. I never could take it because it made me sick, remember? Tell me you have protection.”

He stretched to reach the bedside table. From a drawer he withdrew a shiny packet.

“Thank God,” she murmured. She closed her eyes and kissed him—giving in to sensations that took her to a place where nothing mattered except loving and being loved. Now and forever.

D
ONNIE AWAKENED
with a start. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. In fact, he’d promised Kristin he
wouldn’t, but making love two times in quick succession qualified as miraculous in his book, and he’d needed a few minutes to recover. And rejoice.