old car she’d seen just that morning, spluttering down the road in front of Anja’s house. Why did it feel as if he was talking about her? To her? As if he instinctively knew that she’d turned her back on the place she’d once called home? As if he knew that she’d run from the parents who hadn’t cared enough to even try to make her believe that they wanted her to stay?
‘When are they coming back?’ Dylan asked gruffly. Jess shook her head, ignoring the need to push for more answers. To find out why telling her he’d run from home had clearly upset him. It was none of her business.
‘The end of the month.’ Though Jess had a feeling it would be a lot sooner once she told Anja that Dylan had returned. ‘How long have you been back?’
‘You were right,’ he replied. ‘About a week.’
So he’d been chopping up wood since the day he’d returned, she thought, and forced away the sudden disappointment that came from knowing she’d no longer be able to watch him. How could she, knowing who he was?
Older brother of her best friend. Uncle to the child she carried.
‘Do you know where I’ve been?’
‘The UK?’ He nodded. ‘Yeah, Anja told me you’ve been away for...business.’
‘Clearly that isn’t all she told you,’ he said with a self-deprecating smile.
‘No.’
The smile dimmed. ‘There’s a lot you seem to know about me, Jessica, and yet I haven’t even heard about you.’
‘Does that surprise you?’
‘No.’ A fleeting shadow of pain darkened his features. ‘But I’m back now.’
‘So you are.’
‘And I’d like to have my return start on the right foot.’
Something pulsed in the air between them, but Jess refused to acknowledge it. ‘Yeah, okay. Go for it.’
He smiled at her, and this time it wasn’t laden with emotion. It was an easy, natural smile she imagined he’d give when he saw an old friend, or during his favourite movie. But it sent an unnatural frisson through her body.
‘You should have lunch with me.’
‘No,’ she said immediately.
‘You have somewhere else to be?’
‘No, but—’
‘Then have lunch with me.’
‘No, thank you,’ she said more firmly, hoping none of the panic she felt was evident in her voice. ‘You were...busy before I interrupted.’
‘After what happened, I think I’m done for the day.’
‘I really don’t think I should—’
‘Please.’ His smile widened and she almost felt faint. ‘I’d like to get to know the woman staying in my sister’s house. The woman who’s clearly a good friend of hers.’ He paused. ‘That’s what I meant by having my return start on the right foot. If you and I are on good terms when Anja gets back...’
The seconds ticked by, and then Jess narrowed her eyes. ‘You’re schmoozing me!’
Surprise captured his features, and then he laughed. A loud, genuine laugh that started at those fantastic abs and went all the way up to his perfect hair. It was fascinating to watch. The even angles of his face were animated with joy, those chocolate-whisky eyes she only now noticed he shared with his sister alight with appreciation.
She’d never been much of a beard woman, but Dylan’s stubble was dissuading her of that belief. She loved that his skin reminded her of oak—not too light, not too dark. And she really loved that he still didn’t have a shirt on, so she could appreciate that colour over hard, defined muscle...
‘If I told you I was, would that make you want to have lunch with me any less than you already do?’ he asked, interrupting her hormone-driven thoughts.
‘Probably.’ She waited. ‘So, are you?’
Now he chuckled. ‘No.’
She tilted her head. Watched him. ‘You’re the CEO of an international engineering company. I’d imagine that requires some measure of intelligence.’
‘You’re saying I’m not intelligent?’
‘Only if you expect me to believe that you’re not trying to...charm me into having lunch with you.’
‘Well, I am taking some time off from work. Perhaps that’s why I’m off my game. Why I’ve made such an unforgivable mistake.’
‘You’re still doing it!’
He smiled. ‘I can’t help it.’
‘Great. It’ll make my refusal so much easier then.’
‘No, wait,’ he said, grabbing her wrist when she turned. He let go when she turned back. Her skin prickled. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just...easier to schmooze than to...earnestly ask you to have lunch with me.’
‘Why do you want to have lunch with me so badly?’
‘You’re Anja’s friend and...and I’d like to show her that I’m serious about coming back to fix things. That’s why I’m here,’ he told her softly. ‘I want to fix what I broke when I left, and if you and I are on good terms...’ He shrugged. ‘I wasn’t lying about that, Jess.’
As Jess studied him she felt herself soften. She hated that she did, but she couldn’t ignore the emotion behind his words. The hope. She also couldn’t ignore how much it spoke to her own desire. The deep, dark one that she would never have admitted aloud to anyone.
That some day her parents would show up for her, just like it seemed Dylan had for Anja. That some day they’d want to fix things with her just as badly as Dylan clearly wanted to with his sister.
It was a stupid hope, one her experiences growing up had taught her not to entertain. But still, it made her want to say yes to Dylan. That, and the desire to prevent the child she carried from growing up in the tension, the brokenness that currently existed in Anja’s family. The same kind of tension and brokenness that Jess had grown up with.
Jess knew Anja was stubborn, and she wouldn’t let the brother who’d left her after their father had died just come strolling back into her life. Not when that brother had broken her heart by leaving. Not when he’d broken his promise to always be there for her.
‘I don’t know why you left, Dylan,’ Jess said softly, ‘or why you didn’t come home for two years. That’s probably none of my business...though what I’m about to ask you falls under that category, too. But...why haven’t you come over to speak with Anja since you got back?’
It was such a long time before he answered that Jess was sure he wouldn’t answer her at all. ‘I didn’t know whether she’d
