The Mysterious Stranger (Triple Trouble) (22 page)

Fallon swirled the bit of brandy still in the bottom of her glass. “I should head upstairs, too,” she said, but made no move to stand. Jarrett walked to the sofa and sat next to her.

Except for the occasional faint snap from the fireplace, the room was quiet. A pleasant lethargy stole over her, draining her of free will. She would be content to stay here forever.

“What are you thinking?” Jarrett asked.

She leaned back, shifting so she faced him. A perfect male profile, she thought, her fingers itching to touch his face and the stubble darkening his jaw. “That this Christmas is turning out to be pretty wonderful,” she replied. “If a little strange.”

He angled toward her and their knees bumped. His jeans brushed against the flowing silk of her green skirt. “What’s strange about it?”

She smiled slowly. “The windows are open and I can hear the ocean. Twenty minutes ago there was a fire burning brightly. It’s an odd combination.”

“Do you miss snow?”

“No. There wasn’t any in Los Angeles. Well, maybe once every twelve years or something, but never on Christmas.”

“At least we don’t have the air-conditioning on. That’s happened a few years.”

“How many holiday seasons have you spent here?”

He shrugged. “Five or six.”

“Alone?”

“Sure.”

She thought about her own family. While she and her sisters weren’t close with their mother anymore, and their father had died many years ago, at least they had each other.

“Does that bother you?” she asked.

“It didn’t,” he said. “Now that I’ve experienced how the other half lives, I’m not sure I could go back. Earlier I was thinking about all the invitations Tracy issued to me. Maybe I shouldn’t have refused them. I would have liked to spend time with her and her family.”

“You have Anna Jane now,” she reminded him. “She’s wonderful, and she’s going to make all your holidays special.”

“What about your parents?” he asked.

“Elissa and I were just talking about that. I wish that…” Her voice trailed off. “It’s weird. When we were growing up and our folks were still together, I thought it would always be like that. They fought a lot, but I figured everyone’s mom and dad fought. Then they split up and a few years later our dad died. Nothing has ever been the same.”

“Your mother remarried?”

“Almost right after the divorce. She was very disappointed when my sisters and I refused to continue to be in ‘show’ business.” She said the word bitterly. “Now she has twins and they’re working steadily. It’s what she always wanted.”

“But you’re not close.”

“No.” She frowned, remembering the past. “It’s almost as if my parents bought into the myth of television, of the perfect family with perfect children. When that didn’t turn out to be real, they didn’t want any part of it. That attitude is one of the reasons I went into teaching. Kids are completely genuine.”

“I’m surprised you don’t have a couple dozen of your own.”

“I’d like to.”

She would. But in her mind, children meant family and that implied a husband and father. So far there hadn’t been anyone she was comfortable thinking of that way. Except for Jarrett. As she had been when she’d read her journal a couple of days ago, she was struck by how solitary her plans for the future had been.

“How do you survive being alone?” she asked. “I hadn’t realized that was what I expected for myself until recently, but apparently it’s the truth. I don’t like it and I’m not sure how to change it.”

He looked at her. Sadness darkened his eyes to the color of midnight. “I wouldn’t wish it on a snake,” he said. “It’s not living, it’s existing. You deserve more, Fallon. Don’t give up so easily.”

“I don’t want to, it’s just—”

How could she tell him there had never been anyone around to make her think otherwise?

“You have your sisters,” he reminded her.

“That’s not exactly the relationship I had in mind.”

She hadn’t noticed him moving, but suddenly he seemed to be sitting closer. She inhaled and caught his scent—an intriguing combination of male and cologne. A shiver rippled down her spine.

“What do you want?” he asked softly.

She didn’t know how to answer. She wasn’t sure what he was asking. Still, the word fell past her lips with no conscious thought on her part. “More.”

With one fluid, masterful gesture, he swept her into his arms. She went willingly, surging toward him, wrapping one arm around his neck, plunging her fingers through his hair. As his mouth came down to hers, she was ready, her lips already parted.

Jarrett resisted the powerful impulse to plunge into her mouth. As much as he wanted her, he knew it would be better if he held himself in check and savored the kiss. So he drew back at the last second and swept his tongue across her lower lip. She shuddered and whispered his name. The hand gripping his shoulder tightened. Her legs shifted restlessly as if she, too, felt uncontrollable hunger.

He cupped her head, burying his fingers in her loose curls. The soft silk of her hair caressed him. When he had teasingly circled her mouth, he slowly slipped inside, first laying claim to the sensitive skin of her inner lip before touching his tongue to the tip of hers.

Fire engulfed him. The need was incendiary, inescapable and instantaneous. His arousal throbbed with his rapid heartbeat. Every square inch of his body longed to be naked and pressed intimately against her. As he tilted his head and swept in deeper, he dropped one hand to her shoulder, then down her arm.

At the base of her elbow he slipped to her ribs. She clamped her lips around his tongue and sucked on him. The unexpected assault left him breathless and ready. He gave a guttural groan and cupped her breast.

The sweet curve nestled in his palm. His fingers curled around her as his thumb brushed over her taut nipple. The sucking increased, then stopped. She tilted her head back, gasping for air. He could see the rapid pulse at the base of her throat, and when she opened her eyes to look at him, desire clouded her green irises. Her mouth was swollen from their kisses.

“Jarrett, I—”

“Yeah,” he whispered, releasing her breast and pulling her hard against him. “Me, too.”

He kissed her cheek, her forehead, her nose and finally her mouth. When she parted her lips, he moved in slowly, sensuously, savoring the taste, the texture, all of her.

He was hard and hot and he suspected if he touched her between her silken thighs he would find her already wet. She obviously wanted him as much as he wanted her. Which made his decision not to make love tonight completely crazy.

If asked, he wouldn’t be able to explain it. Yet some voice in his head warned this wasn’t the right time. He knew down to his heart that making love with Fallon would be completely different from making love with anyone else. She had already invaded his life; he wasn’t ready to have her invade his soul.

He pulled back and smiled. “It’s late,” he said. “We should both be in bed.”

Her eyes widened.

“Separate beds,” he explained.

Questions swept across her face. Questions he couldn’t answer. He wasn’t sure why he was holding back. Maybe it was a mistake, but he didn’t think so.

The grandfather clock chimed the hour, and the melodious sound of bells interrupted his thoughts. They both glanced at the face of the clock. It was midnight.

“Merry Christmas,” he told her.

She stood, then bent at the waist and softly kissed his mouth. “Merry Christmas, Jarrett. And thank you.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Y
ou have to smile, Uncle Jarrett,” Anna Jane said.

Jarrett glanced up and smiled obligingly. The nine-year-old raised her new disposable camera to her right eye and pushed the button. When the picture was taken, she grinned. “This is fun.”

He had to agree. The living room looked as if there’d been a whirlwind through the place. Wrapping paper, empty boxes, bows and tags were scattered all around. Piles of presents teetered in different corners of the room. Again he was reminded of how things could have been if he’d allowed himself to accept his sister’s invitations. Yet he’d deliberately withdrawn. Had it been a form of punishment?

The thought hadn’t occurred to him before, but now that he mulled it over, it made sense. Despite the fact that he had tried to make things right with Charlotte and that he’d never wanted anything to happen to her, he still blamed himself for her death. A voice in his head kept telling him he should have known she was unstable before he ever started their affair. There hadn’t been any outward clues, but he was supposed to be good with people. Why hadn’t he sensed it?

All the logic in the world didn’t matter when guilt was involved. She’d died and he was responsible. She’d been buried in the ground, he’d buried himself alive, drowning in work, refusing to participate in the pleasures of life. Until one small girl and an amazing woman had returned him to the land of the living.

He wanted to go back in time and make it right with Charlotte and with Tracy. He wanted to relive those first years of Anna Jane’s life and watch her grow into the terrific kid she was today. But that wasn’t possible. He wasn’t going to get a chance to change the past, but he had been given another opportunity with the future.

“You’re looking happy about something,” Fallon said.

She sat cross-legged on the floor next to him. It had dawned clear and warm for Christmas and they were all in shorts. Fallon wore her hair loose, the way he liked it best. Minimal makeup accentuated her large eyes and tempting mouth. Now, as she smiled at him, all he could think about was stealing her away from the family scene and kissing her until they forgot everything except how much they wanted each other.

“I finally get the point of Dickens’s story A Christmas Carol,” he said. “I know exactly how Ebenezer Scrooge felt that morning.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been seeing ghosts,” she teased.

“Not exactly, but I have come to my senses.”

“I’m glad.”

“You’re partially responsible.”

A faint blush stained her cheeks. “That’s not true, Jarrett. You managed this all on your own. I was just the catalyst. If I hadn’t shown up, you would have figured out what to do.”

“Not in time to give Anna Jane a nice holiday.”

“You underestimate yourself.”

He wished she were telling the truth, but he knew better. He would have continued to bury himself in his work, because it was easier than learning how to deal with a child. He shuddered at the thought of Anna Jane’s disappointment. Thank God Fallon had helped him avert that crisis.

Kayla said something, capturing Fallon’s attention. Jarrett looked at the happy couples in the room. They nearly glowed with their affection for each other. He envied them that. Love between a man and a woman still terrified him. He knew the cost of loving someone to the exclusion of all else. It was safer to be alone. And yet— He drew in a breath. Being around Fallon made him want more. And wanting more was the reason he hadn’t made love to her last night.

He smiled at the thought. If he hadn’t wanted her so much, he would have taken her to his bed. If she hadn’t been starting to get under his skin it would have been easy to find comfort and release in her beautiful body. But his confused feelings complicated the situation. For now it was easier to hold back.

Anna Jane flopped down in front of him. “This has been a wonderful Christmas, Uncle Jarrett. Thank you very much.”

He looked at her and frowned. “There are two more packages.”

Her dark eyes widened as a slow grin split her face. “Really?”

“Yes. One for you and one for Fallon. I’m surprised you missed them.”

Anna Jane got up and walked over to the tree. The area underneath was empty. “There’s nothing here.”

“Check the lower branches. When I ran out of room on the floor, I put a couple of things there.”

“Oh, here they are,” she squealed as she handed her camera to Cole and reached for the packages. One was a three-inch-square box, the other a flat box about six by eight inches. Anna Jane read the tags and handed the larger gift to Fallon. “They’re from Uncle Jarrett,” she said.

Fallon raised her eyebrows. She pointed to the impressive pile in front of her. There were a couple of books, a T-shirt from the resort, some perfume and a large box of imported chocolates. “You’ve already done more than enough.”

He shrugged. “This is different.” He turned his attention to his niece. “You have to open yours first, Anna Jane.”

The child ripped off the paper and lifted the cover from the box. She exhaled a sigh of pure pleasure as she pulled out a delicate chain with a pendant. “It’s beautiful,” she said, her voice laced with awe. “Uncle Jarrett, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever, ever seen.”

She laid the pendant in her hand and held it out to him. The jeweler had worked a miracle, and in record time. As Jarrett had requested, the pendant was a small golden mermaid with a pretty smile and long curly hair. She wore a crown of tiny pearls. Her arms were outstretched as if she were offering a gift. Her miniature fingers clutched a twenty-five-point diamond.

Fallon felt her throat tighten as she stared at the pendant. Just when she figured Jarrett had gotten as close as he could to stealing her heart, he went and did something like this. The warm, thoughtful gesture warned her she was in more danger than she’d first realized.

“It’s amazing,” she said.

Her sisters crowded around. “Stunning,” Elissa agreed. “But why a mermaid?”

“When I couldn’t remember my name, Anna Jane called me Ariel, after the mermaid in the Disney movie. Because I’d washed up on the beach.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Kayla said. “Between Christmas and my wayward hormones, I just might have to cry.”

Anna Jane held the necklace out to Jarrett, then stood with her back to him and lifted her hair off her neck. “Put it on me, Uncle Jarrett. I want to wear it.”

He did as she requested. When the necklace was secure, Anna Jane spun around and threw herself at him. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly. “I love it and I love you.”

“Brat,” he said affectionately. “I’m glad.”