Chapter 5
Five
He was waiting at her law office the next day.
He looked luscious, of course. He was still wearing jeans and a western shirt. This time the shirt was a creamy beige that accented his golden skin tone. Could he be any more tempting?
“Mr. Sherwood’s been waiting for a while, Holly,” Cindy, the receptionist, said. “Said he had an appointment.”
Holly let out a harsh breath. Reprimanding Cindy would do no good. The young woman took phone calls and manned the lobby, and each tenant contributed to her salary. But each tenant who rented an office here kept his own calendar. Executive suites, the offices were called, and many sole proprietors found them an economical way do business while keeping the professional air of a downtown building. The situation usually worked just fine.
“Is everything okay, Holly?” Cindy asked. “It’s not like you to miss an appointment.”
I don’t miss an appointment…when I have one . Holly smiled at the receptionist. “Just running late is all.” Now, what to do with Jack? He’d already been waiting and to keep him any longer would look bad to Cindy. “Come with me, Mr. Sherwood.”
She opened the door to her office, gestured him in, and closed the door. “Don’t you have a home to go to?”
“Yup.” He took a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. He looked completely comfortable and at ease. And absolutely edible.
Damn him.
“Then why aren’t you there?”
“I have a legal problem.”
“How’d you find me?”
“A little bird.” He chuckled. “With a raspy voice and smoke on her breath.”
Holly rolled her eyes. “Sheila. One day I’m going to revert to my teenage years and kick that woman’s ass. I could take her, you know.”
Jack’s smile lit up the room. “Aw, leave her alone. Poor thing’s going to be on oxygen in ten years anyway.”
“That’s her own doing.”
“True enough, but don’t blame her. I was persistent.”
“Of course I blame her. She should keep my private information private.”
“Sugar, your business name and address are hardly private. I would have found you eventually. Sheila just sped up the process a little by telling me you were an attorney. It was easy enough to find you after that.” He leaned toward her and whispered. “I could’ve Googled you and found you myself.”
Holly moved away from him. Being too close to him kept her from thinking straight. She sat down behind her desk, inhaled, and looked right at him, determined not to be mesmerized by his dark gaze. “What is it that you want, Jack?”
“Besides you in my bed?”
A rush of heat crept over Holly’s skin. She cleared her throat. “Yes, besides that.”
“I told you. I have a legal problem.”
“Which is?”
“I need a document drawn up, giving me sole custody of my son.”
An anvil landed in Holly’s stomach. He had a son? “You have a son?”
“Sugar, you look like someone just told you pigs could fly. Surely this can’t be that surprising.”
“Well, I just—”
“If you’d had that drink with me last night, so we could get to know each other, I would’ve told you all about Sam.”
“And his mother?”
“Was a mistake I made seven years ago. No, I take that back. She wasn’t a mistake, or I wouldn’t have Sam. She came to me a year later. He was only a few months old. Said she couldn’t take care of him, that he was mine. So I took him.”
Holly stomach was churning. Jack was not who she thought he was. He wasn’t a player, wasn’t just after sex. “Did it occur to you to have a paternity test?”
“Yep. I had it. He’s mine.”
“Whatever happened to your…his mother?”
“Never heard another word from her.”
“Is your name on the birth certificate?”
“Yes.”
“Then there shouldn’t be any problem. The mother clearly abandoned him. If you haven’t heard from her in six years, why are you worried about it now?”
“It’s something I’ve put off long enough. I need to tie up some loose ends.”
“Good enough. I have to tell you though, this really isn’t my area. If you had Googled me, you’d have found that I’m an estate planning lawyer. I write wills and trusts. I don’t dabble in family law.”
“I want you to handle it.”
“I’m not qualified. I have a rolodex full of great family attorneys who will be more than happy to help you.”
“I want you.”
She let out a sigh. “You’re not hearing me, Jack.”
“Correction, sugar. You’re not hearing me .” He stood, walked around the desk, and turned her chair to face him. One long finger gently nudged her chin upward. “I’ll take the referral to a qualified attorney. I want this done right. But I’m still going to be here every morning until you agree to have coffee with me. Just coffee. No alcohol. No dinner. No kisses, no sex. Just one hour, Holly. That’s all I’m asking. One hour to get to know a little about me, and I’ll get to know a little about you. If you still want to say goodbye after that, I’ll walk away.”
“But I’m too old for you.”
“Bullshit.” He glided his fingers over her jawline to cup her cheek. With the calloused pad of his thumb, he lightly stroked her bottom lip.
She closed her eyes. His touch felt so wonderful, so perfect.
Would it really hurt to have coffee with the guy? They had no future, but heck, some caffeine and a heavy dose of cowboy drawl sounded pretty good right about now.
Oh, she’d regret it. Spending time with him would make it all that much harder to say goodbye. God knew, though, she’d been through worse.
“All right.” She placed her hand over his, still holding her cheek. It was firm, warm, and masculine and made her heart flutter.
Okay, that was a mistake. She brushed his hand away from her face and dropped her own to her side and stood. “Let’s go.”
They ended up at the coffee shop across the street, a little mom and pop shop called Mocha Dreams that had, so far, stood up to Starbucks. Jack bought Holly a vanilla latte and he had black coffee.
“I’m a purist,” he said.
She couldn’t help but smile.
“So,” he said, handing her the latte and pulling out a chair for her at one of the little round tables. “Tell me about Holly Taylor.”
“There’s a loaded question.” Holly tried to sound nonchalant. There was both nothing and everything to tell. Her life hadn’t been that exciting. “I’m from here originally. Where are you from?”
His grin split his face. “Texas.”
Of course. The drawl, the persistence, the raw male beauty, his size. Everything about Jack Sherwood was big .
“Okay, I’m dying to ask. Why were you modeling nude last night?”
His laugh filled the room. “I was doing a favor for a friend.”
“For who?”
“Mark Fleming, the teacher.”
“You know Professor Fleming?”
“He’s my godfather.”
This just kept getting better and better. Holly shook her head and took a sip of latte.
“So you were out late last night and up with the birds this morning. Where’s your boy?”
“Sam’s with my mom for the week, having some grandma time. Mom knew I was helping Mark out, knew I’d be out late. I’m modeling for all his classes this week, not just yours. Some are during the day.”
“What do you do otherwise?”
“I run a small ranch about an hour from here, so I’m used to getting up early.”
Holly shook her head again. “You’re not anything like I expected.”
“What’d you expect?”
“I don’t know. Kind of a cad, you know? A guy who’d bed a woman without knowing her.”
“Seems I recall the whole thing was your idea, sugar. Who was I to say no?”
“You’re right.” Holly couldn’t deny it. That night had been her idea. She’d used him, really. It hadn’t been a nice thing to do. “I’m sorry.”
He grinned. “You hear me complainin’?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Sugar, the only complaint I have is that you left without saying goodbye. I wanted to see you again.”
“Like I said, Jack, I was in a bad place then. I needed something. Someone. You were there, and you gave me a nice memory. It meant more than you know.”
“I don’t want to be a memory, Holly. I want to see you.”
“I’m too old for you.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s not dumb. You’re just starting out in life, and I’m—”
“For Christ’s sake, Holly, you’re forty. You’re not dead!” He looked around and lowered his voice. “I got a bigger bang out of being with you than I’ve ever had with a woman. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. Yeah, the sex was great. It was earth moving. I won’t lie to you. I want more of it. But I want to get to know you, too.”
“Now you know me. I’m Holly. I’m forty. Single, never been married. I’m a lawyer who wants to draw. Enough said.”
“Why don’t you want me?”
Holly’s mouth dropped open and she stared at his chiseled face. “Are you serious?”
“Well, something’s keepin’ you from seein’ me again.”
“It’s… It’s the age thing, cowboy.” She swallowed. “That’s all.”
“Not good enough, sugar.” He stood and tossed his empty coffee cup in the nearby wastebasket. “We’re going out tonight.”
“Jack, I have class.”
“Mark doesn’t have a class tonight.”
“It’s not Mark’s…Professor Fleming’s class. It’s a different class. Conceptual drawing.”
“Skip it.”
“No. Drawing is my passion. I don’t want to skip it.”
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Damn it, Jack. Why are you so determined?”
“I do whatever I can to get what I want, sugar. Right now, you’re it.”
Holly sighed. “Tomorrow night?”
“Don’t want to wait. But tomorrow will be, if that’s what it takes. The day after, I pick up Sam from my mom’s, and my time’ll be more limited.” He grinned. “In fact, tomorrow’s perfect.”
“Perfect?” What did he have in mind? And why did tomorrow sound like it wouldn’t work? “Oh!” She clapped her hand to her mouth. “Tomorrow’s no good. I have to go to Professor Fleming’s—”
“Exhibit,” Jack finished for her, still smiling. “I figured you’d like that idea, so I’ll be takin’ you. We’ll have dinner first. Deal?”
Warm tingles spiraled through Holly. He understood how much the exhibit meant to her. Maybe, just maybe…
She sighed.
No.
This was only temporary. Once Jack found out the truth about her, he wouldn’t want her anymore.