She was a grown woman who certainly knew her own mind and didn’t mind speaking it. She was obviously unattached and in need of a little romance or she wouldn’t have kissed him the way she had in front of the grocery store. He’d already made it clear that he was just passing through, so there was no need for her to get the wrong idea.
He leaned against the glass as Emmy and Jessie disappeared from view. Maybe he’d test the waters tonight, see how she responded to the suggestion. His lips curved as he thought about what he and Jessie could do to amuse each other over the next month or so.
CHAPTER SIX
‘GET a grip, woman!’ Jessie stalked over to her wardrobe.
The cerise linen dress she shoved back in was the fourth outfit she’d tried on in less than twenty minutes. Staring into the snarl of colours and fabrics, she resisted the urge to stamp her foot.
What on earth was the matter with her?
Why did she care what Monroe thought of her outfit anyway? Determined not to waste any more time on a decision that should have taken her ten seconds, she grabbed the first thing that came to hand.
You could never go wrong with the old little black dress, she thought as she slipped the slinky Lycra sheath over her head.
She examined herself in the wardrobe’s full-length mirror, caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Was the outfit maybe a little too sexy for an evening barbecue with her family? She could picture Monroe’s lazy smile. The hot look in his eyes.
Stop it, you silly cow. The LBD was fine; he probably wouldn’t even notice that the material clung a little too closely to every curve.
She never should have invited him. She’d known this was going to happen. She slammed the wardrobe door and slipped on a pair of simple red pumps. She pulled a matching silk scarf from the array in her dresser and tied it loosely round her neck. She might have guessed she would blow this completely out of proportion.
She didn’t know what it was about Monroe, but whenever she was near him she was so brutally aware of him she couldn’t seem to think about anything else but the feel of his lips on hers. His long, strong body pressed against her. It was ridiculous—they’d only shared one kiss and he’d made it quite clear that, for him at least, it had just been play-acting. But her flustered response when their fingers had touched over the water glass that afternoon went to show she could not be trusted to keep her cool around him.
She was a grown woman. She did not have crushes. She’d just never been kissed like that before and she still needed a bit more time to settle.
The way she was feeling at the moment, twenty-five years probably wouldn’t be long enough.
Jessie stepped out into the hallway and closed the door to her room. Relax and breathe, she told herself as she walked stiffly down the stairs.
Jessie was both relieved and disappointed when she walked out onto the terrace and saw that Monroe wasn’t there yet.
The night was balmy and warm and the smell of jasmine hung in the air like a rich woman’s perfume. The fairy lights Linc had rigged up over the barbecue winked in the dusk and reflected off the surface of the pool like cheeky little water nymphs.
The fluttering in her stomach calmed as she strolled round the water to the grill. As Linc lorded it over the flames with a pair of barbecue tongs, the mouth-watering scent of cooking meat surrounded him.
Looking up, he caught sight of her and smiled. ‘Hey, good-looking.’
The tightness in Jessie’s chest eased, the familiarity of family making her feel safe and secure. ‘That should be my line, shouldn’t it?’ She gave Linc a light kiss on the cheek. ‘As in what you got cookin’?’
‘About a half a cow,’ Linc joked. ‘I hope you’re hungry.’
Where once the teasing admiration in her brother-in-law’s eyes would have had Jessie blushing profusely, now she simply felt a warm, comfortable feeling settle in.
‘Stop flirting with my sister and watch what you’re doing,’ Ali called out from behind them. ‘I don’t want burnt cow again, thank you very much.’
Jessie turned to see her sister flopped in a large armchair. Emmy giggled, glancing up from the jigsaw she was piecing together by her mother’s feet.
‘Stop your belly-aching, woman,’ Linc replied, giving Jessie a conspiratorial wink.
Jessie grinned back at him, then sat down in the chair next to her sister. ‘Still feeling exhausted?’
Ali adjusted herself in her seat and huffed. ‘No, not really, I just have this devilish urge to make Linc’s life hell at the moment.’ The twinkle in her eyes was positively wicked. ‘After all, he’s the one responsible for this.’Ali laid her palms heavily on the impressive mound of her belly.
‘The way I heard it,’ Jessie leant in and whispered to her sister, ‘he wasn’t the only one there.’
Ali laughed and gave her a light slap on the arm. ‘Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side. And by the way, while we’re talking about sisterly solidarity,’ she continued, giving Jessie’s figure a quick appraisal, ‘it would help if you didn’t look like a supermodel while I look like a beached whale.’
‘Thanks, I think,’ Jessie replied.
‘Mummy, when’s Uncle Monroe going to be here?’ Emmy’s sleepy enquiry made Jessie’s pulse spike.
‘Soon, honey,’ Ali replied, her voice relaxed. ‘What time did you tell him, Jess?’
‘I don’t remember. But he can see the pool terrace from his bedroom window, he must know we’re out here.’
‘Good point,’ Ali remarked, eyeing her sister thoughtfully. ‘You know, it’s funny,’ Ali continued, her voice suspiciously light, ‘but I’ve noticed it’s only your invitations that he accepts.’
Jessie’s head swung round, the gaze that had strayed up to Monroe’s apartment window focused on her sister again. ‘What are you trying to say?’
‘Nothing. Just that he’s quite a hunk, isn’t he?’
‘I…I guess so,’ Jessie sputtered, seeing the sharp look on her sister’s face. She tensed. This was what she’d been afraid of. Did her sister think she was developing some sort of ridiculous crush on Monroe?
Ali touched Jessie’s arm, her voice softened. ‘I happen to know from experience, Jess, that the Latimer men are hard to resist.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘All I’m saying is, if you need to talk, I’m here.’Ali smiled, patting her rounded belly. ‘In fact, I’m anchored to the spot.’
Linc had started piling the steaks onto a large serving plate when Jessie spotted Monroe’s tall figure strolling towards them in the darkening twilight.
Emmy scrambled out of her lap. ‘Uncle Roe!’The little girl dashed across the lawn towards him, her drowsiness forgotten in a spurt of excitement.
Jessie
