attraction would be a huge risk. Though Mia was beautiful, she could also distract him from his purpose, which was getting his mother back to Chicago, safely and with her heart intact. And yet, even though his instincts told him to back off, Jack couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to just let go.
He sucked in a sharp breath, then reached around her and opened the car door. “We should probably get going,” he murmured.
“Right,” she said, avoiding his gaze.
He smiled to himself as he circled the car. This was the last place on earth he would have ever expected to find a woman who tied him up in knots. Had he known he’d meet someone like Mia, he might have decided to stay at home. Though it would be difficult, he was going to have to keep their relationship strictly platonic.
Unless, of course, she convinced him otherwise.
2
“WHAT IS SHE LIKE? Is she pretty? Is she putting on the full court press or is she playing it coy?”
Mia sighed, leaning back against the edge of the kitchen counter as she spoke on her cell phone with her sister Danielle. “She seems really nice. And she is pretty in a very natural way. She has beautiful skin.”
“Probably had plastic surgery,” Dani said.
“I don’t think so. I think she’s just naturally beautiful. Like Mom.” Mia swallowed hard. “To be honest, I think Mom probably would have liked her.” She peeked out the back door to watch her father and Jack’s mother. They were enjoying cocktails on the rear terrace, caught up in another private conversation between the two of them.
Dani gasped. “What are you saying? Are you saying you like her?”
“No! I barely know her,” Mia protested. “I’m just saying that she isn’t some evil stepmonster, out to steal all our father’s money and make our holidays a living hell. I don’t even think she’s interested in romance.”
“Every single woman is interested in romance. Especially with a rich and somewhat sexy guy.”
“Seriously, I’m watching them right now,” Mia said. “All they do is talk.”
“What else have you found out?”
“Not much. I’ve been a little preoccupied with other matters.”
“What could be more important than this?” Dani cried.
Mia pulled the phone away from her ear and waited for her sister to calm down. Finally, after a few minutes, it seemed safe to proceed. “She brought her son with her. And he’s…he’s…” Maybe it would be best to just say it out loud. “He’s incredibly hot.”
“What?”
“Nothing,” Mia said. “I—I have to go now.”
“He’s hot? Who’s hot? Mia, what is going on?”
“I’ve got to run,” Mia said. “Call you later.” She quickly turned off the phone, then silenced the ringer, as well. No doubt Dani would call Steph, and then Steph would be on the line in a few minutes demanding answers of her own.
She walked through the kitchen and out into the late-afternoon sun shining on the wide terrace. Only her father and Elyse weren’t sitting at the table anymore. “Daddy?”
She walked back inside and called out again. But the house was silent.
They couldn’t have gone far. Her father was still hobbling around on crutches. She decided to pay a visit to the guesthouse and grabbed a pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator to offer as an excuse.
She found Jack sitting on the small patio at the front of the house, his computer open on the teak table in front of him. When he heard her footsteps on the gravel path, he turned and smiled. “Hey, there.”
“Hi,” Mia said. “I brought you and your mom some iced tea.”
“She’s not here. I thought she was still with your dad.”
Mia set the pitcher down on the table. “No. They’re not in the house.”
Jack slowly stood. “Where do you think they’ve gone?”
“Well, they can’t be far. My dad can’t drive.”
“My mother can,” he countered.
“I wonder if the car is still here.”
They both hurried back down the path and then circled the house to the wide driveway. The black Mercedes was nowhere in sight.
“Great,” he muttered. “I thought you were going to keep an eye on them.”
“They’re not children,” Mia snapped. “What was I supposed to do, pull up a chair and watch them every second?”
“No, but you certainly should have known if they decided to go somewhere. Doesn’t your father let you know when he leaves the house?”
“No. Does your mother tell you her every move?” Mia replied.
“Yes, she usually does. It’s just something we do in our family. We take care of each other.” Jack turned to face her. “Where do you think they went?”
“Dinner? We didn’t have much in the fridge and I’m sure they were starting to get hungry. They probably went to Serafina’s, a restaurant in town. It’s one of my dad’s favorite places.”
“Let’s go, then,” Jack said, starting toward her car.
“You want to go get them?”
“No, I want to see what they’re doing. How are we supposed to keep this under control when we don’t know what’s going on?”
Mia shook her head. “I’m not spying on them.”
“Who says we have to spy? You and I just decided to go out and get a drink and, funny enough, we just happened to end up at your dad’s favorite restaurant.”
Mia stared at him for a long moment. “Wow. Do you let your mother go grocery shopping on her own or do you follow her around with the cart telling her what cereal to buy?”
Jack shook his head and held out his hand. “If you don’t want to go, give me your keys.”
Mia couldn’t help but think he was going too far. What could possibly happen between Ben and Elyse when they were out in public? “You know, my dad isn’t such a bad guy. In fact, he’s really kind of a catch.”
“I’m sure he is,” Jack said. His expression softened. “I know he is. It’s just that my mom hasn’t dated at all in more than forty years. If your dad makes some kind of move, she won’t know what to do.”
“I think you underestimate your mom,” Mia said.
Mia got behind the wheel, Jack jumped in the passenger seat and
