‘You’re welcome, ma’am.’
‘Take a seat and Jess’ll get you a drink. I’ll just go and get Linc. He’s reading Emmy a bedtime story.’
As Ali bustled out of the room Jessie busied herself putting the last of the food on the table. She pretended not to notice as Monroe folded his long frame into the chair opposite.
‘A beer would be great, Red.’ He said the nickname in a murmur that was deliberately familiar. Jessie looked up. He was watching her, confident and amused. ‘Cute dress.’He tilted his head to one side, took a good long look. ‘Fits you just right.’
Jessie felt her pulse skid into overdrive. She wasn’t sure why she’d decided to change into the figure-hugging silk dress for dinner, but it certainly hadn’t been to see that flare of heat in his eyes.
‘I’ll get your beer.’ She walked stiffly to the fridge. The low, masculine chuckle from behind her made her jaws tighten. Where were Linc and Ali? If she had to spend much longer alone with him, she’d dump the beer on his head.
Jessie didn’t miss the teasing heat in Monroe’s gaze when she plunked the glass of beer in front of him. Lounging in the chair, his lean, muscular physique looked magnificent. Her pulse thudded against her neck. Why did all the best-looking men have the most aggravating personalities?
‘Thanks, Red.’ He picked up the glass; one brow lifted as he eyed the huge foam head. ‘Looks like you need a little practice with your bar-tending skills, though.’
She smiled sweetly at him. ‘I’m sorry to say I don’t have the time. I’m too busy making obsequious apologies to people who don’t deserve them.’
He barked out a laugh just as Linc and Ali walked into the room.
‘Monroe, good to see you.’ Linc held out a hand. ‘I hope Jessie’s making you feel at home.’
‘She certainly is,’ Monroe said smoothly as he stood up and shook his brother’s hand.
As they all settled down to eat, Jessie couldn’t resist sticking her tongue out at him from behind her sister’s back. He winked back, making her regret the childish gesture. She’d ignore him, she thought, as she picked up her knife and fork. Now, if only she could swallow, too.
Monroe thought the dinner would be stiff and formal, but he found it surprisingly easy to talk to his brother and sister-in-law. He hadn’t eaten since a stale bagel that morning in an interstate truck stop, so the mouth-watering selection of salads and cold cuts also went down well.
He’d expected lots of probing questions about what the hell he’d been doing all this time while his brother had made a staggering success of his life. Instead Linc and Ali kept their inquiries discreet and when he didn’t elaborate they seemed more than happy to take up the slack, telling him funny stories about their family and how they’d first met.
Monroe hadn’t missed the intimate looks that passed from husband to wife during the telling. He also noticed the way his brother never seemed to miss an opportunity to touch his wife.
The gentle, possessive hand resting on the small of her back when she sat down to eat. The way his fingers stroked her arm when she passed him the salad bowl. The love between them was so tangible, Monroe was touched despite his determination to remain aloof.
Monroe liked watching people. It helped him create the pictures he painted. But while he could see the love between Linc and his wife, he was more interested in the reaction of Ali’s sister. He had seen the shadow of longing in Jessie’s eyes.
When Linc and Ali left the table to get the dessert, Monroe kept his eyes on Jessie. She watched the couple walk over to the large open kitchen together, the yearning in her eyes obvious when Linc pulled his wife into a fleeting embrace behind the breakfast bar. What was Jessie thinking, he wondered, with that romantic look in her eyes?
She turned suddenly, and caught him studying her.
‘Will you stop staring at me? It happens to be flipping rude.’
It was the first time she’d spoken to him directly since handing him his beer. The exasperation in her voice made him smile.
‘So’s swearing at the table, Red, but you don’t hear me complaining.’
Would she never be able to get the last word with this man? Jessie thought as her teeth ground together.
To her surprise, the dinner hadn’t been as excruciating as she thought it would be. For an ex-con and obvious reprobate he could be charming when he wanted to be. Although she noticed he’d been cleverly evasive whenever Ali or Linc had asked him about his life. He just said he’d been ‘on the move.’ Well, okay, she didn’t exactly have a spectacular career at the moment, but she did have goals, objectives. At the very least, she did a bit more than just travel around on a motorbike.
She’d also caught him staring at her several times during the meal. That last probing look, when she’d been daydreaming about having a marriage like Linc and Ali’s, had really unsettled her. The strange sense of envy she felt was one of her most shameful secrets.
‘Flipping is hardly a swear word,’ she whispered, so Linc and Ali wouldn’t overhear them. ‘It’s just an expression.’
‘Red, anything’s a swear word when you say it with that look in your eye.’
She choked down her pithy response when Ali appeared with a huge lemon pie.
‘I hope you’ve still got some room left, Monroe,’ Ai said, placing the pie on the table.
Monroe leaned back and patted his flat belly. ‘I might just have a little.’
The pie was served as soon as Linc arrived with a gallon of ice cream. Avoiding Monroe’s gaze, which seemed to be fixed on her yet again, Jessie gave Linc her sweetest smile. ‘I thought I’d go into town tomorrow and beg the people at the Cranford Art Gallery for the Saturday job they’ve been advertising. Could I borrow the BMW?’
‘Sorry, Jess.’ Linc scooped some more ice cream onto his plate. ‘It’s making a weird noise. I’m planning to get the guy at the shop to take a look at it.’
‘I’ll give it a look.’
Linc stopped eating at Monroe’s casual comment. ‘There’s no need.’
Monroe forked up another generous piece of pie, sent his brother a level look. ‘Sure there is.’
Jessie could see Linc was on the verge of refusing again, when Ali touched his arm, silencing him. Ali beamed a smile at Monroe. ‘That’s great, Monroe. It’ll save us the trouble of having to call the mechanic.’
Jessie wondered at the sudden tension in the room between the two men. It was also odd that Monroe had made the offer. After all, wasn’t he supposed to be a deadbeat? She shrugged the thought aside; it made no difference to her what he was. She turned to Ali. ‘Are you using the people carrier tomorrow?’
Ali nodded. ‘Linc and I promised Emmy we’d go to the funfair at Pleasance Beach. Maybe we could drop you off in town and then pick you up later. Did you have a particular time in mind?’
‘It’s
