One More Day (6 page)

She gritted her teeth. “Whatever. The point is, my sister is locked out. I’m so glad Jackson was home. At least I know she’s safe with him.”

Sam frowned. “What do we know about this guy?”

Raina rolled her eyes and pulled up Ridley’s contact information so she could call her back.

 
“His boys come over and play in my yard all the time. He’s a music producer, a single dad and a real sweetheart. Any man who loves his momma that much is okay in my book. Ridley is probably safer with him than she would be staying at my house all alone. I was actually hoping to introduce them at some point, anyway. He’s just the kind of guy my sister
needs
to be involved with, unlike the losers she normally picks. He’s handsome, successful and most importantly, rich.”
 

She heaved a breath. “I’m really happy my sister came but man, this timing sucks. I’ve been trying to get in with Sports Illustrated forever. I can’t miss this shoot.”
 

“Why would you need to go home? Can't you just call your sister and give her the code?” Sam asked.

“I don't want her to be alone. I can barely understand her messages but she sounds like she’s been crying. All I can hear is ‘David’s gone’ so it sounds like she broke up with her new boyfriend, who was more than a little weird in my opinion. I told her he sounded like a scam artist but at least this one didn’t last long—” she stopped suddenly, tracing her thumb over the screen of her phone. Ridley’s number was still displayed.

“What?” Sam asked.

“Nothing, it’s just… I
could
have not checked my messages this morning. That’s possible, right?”

“Raina,” Sam warned.

“What! I’m just saying this time change is huge. Killer. It’s actually still Saturday evening back home. I could have been so tired that I shut my phone off last night and forgot to turn it back on this morning. Even if I remembered around lunch time, well it would be too late to call the East Coast then because it would be midnight there.” Her lips curled up in a small smile.

“You have that look,” Sam drawled. When she narrowed her eyes at him, he clarified “The look you get when you’re about to do something you
know
you shouldn’t. Which usually means I’ll have a mess to clean up afterward.”

“Don’t worry, Sam. This is one mess that you won’t have to deal with.” Raina bit her lip. “Besides, I’m not actually going to do anything. It’s more what I’m
not
going to do.”
 

Sam didn’t look mollified. “Are you going to ask your sister to join you in the Bahamas?”
 

“I am
not
.” She grinned at Sam. “She’s finally around the kind of guy she deserves to be with. I think she should stay exactly where she is.”

*
 
*
 
*
 
*
 
*

THE ALARM ON the wall of his study beeped. Jackson looked up. The system always sounded a warning when a door or window was opened. Something he considered a necessary precaution with two young children in the house.

He stood and strode to the window. Damn, he hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. Some host he was. He’d mentioned ordering takeout to Raina, but it was already after seven o’clock. It would probably make more sense to take her into town and just pick up something. Just then, he saw a blur of color on the edge of the yard. Raina was walking down his driveway with her backpack over her arm.

“Where is she going?” He watched as she looked down at something in her hand before turning left. She didn’t look back.

Shit.

“Well, what did you expect?” He cursed under his breath and grabbed his keys off the edge of his desk.
 

Outside, he waited as his garage door opened with agonizing slowness. Once he was on the street, he gunned his engine. Normally driving the convertible BMW was a pleasure. Today, he only cared that it was fast.

After he left his street he took a right onto Havensbrooke Drive and pressed his foot harder on the accelerator. Several of his neighbors raised a hand in greeting as he passed by, but he didn’t slow down. As he approached the stoplight at the entrance to his community, he cursed. How could she have gotten so far ahead of him on foot? A horn honked behind him and he looked up to see that the light was green. He also saw a small figure turning right on the main road.
 

“Gotcha.”

He pulled the wheel all the way to the right, cutting off the car that was about to make the turn. He ignored the chorus of honking horns behind him as he passed Raina and parked on the first side street he came to. He jumped out and jogged back to where she stood squinting at the small screen of her phone. When she heard him approach, she looked up absently.
 

“Excuse me, do you know where…” she trailed off as she met his eyes.
 

“I’m sure I do but I’m not going to tell you. Why are you walking? Why didn’t you just take one of your cars? Oh wait, if you’re locked out you don’t have your keys. Right. Where are you going anyway?”

She sighed and put her phone back in her pocket. “What does it matter?”

“Well, I was about to order dinner for myself and a guest until I realized said guest left without even saying goodbye.”

She flushed slightly before squaring her shoulders. “Look, it’s not going to happen.”

“What’s not going to happen?”

“Don’t pretend. You know I overheard you talking to your brother. You’ve made your feelings pretty clear; you think all pretty girls are attention whores who are lucky enough to get paid for letting people take their picture.”

He cringed at the word
whore
but didn’t interrupt.

“And, you know what? That’s fine because maybe I don’t think much of pretty boys who talk about women as if we’re all just vaginas with legs. Either way, I am not sleeping with you. So you can keep your fake sympathy. I’ll just be on my way.” She brushed past him and continued walking.

He jogged after her again.

“Please, wait. I know I’ve given you nothing but the worst possible impression of me today. But I guarantee you there are things about me that will surprise you.”

“I highly doubt that.” She pulled out her phone again, pointedly ignoring him.

“Hey! I’m a very nice person. I pay my taxes. I’ve never been arrested.”

“Good for you.” She didn’t stop walking.
 

“You already know that I’m a musician,” he added.

“Let me guess, you’re kind of a big deal? Get over yourself.”

Jackson scowled and sped up until he was walking next to her. “How can you think I’m this much of a jerk? Most single fathers don’t have time to do jerky things.”

Raina stopped walking so suddenly that her backpack swung off her shoulder and bumped against her thigh. “Wait, you’re the guy…”

“What?” Jackson asked.
 

“Nothing.” She swung her bag over her shoulder again but at least she’d stopped running away. “It’s hard to believe you’re the father of those adorable little boys. I used to tell people what a nice guy you were.”

“Usually I am. Today, I am clearly not myself.”

“Okay, well whatever. I know I’ve said things that I was ashamed of later, and lord knows I put my foot in my mouth more than it’s on the ground. That doesn’t change anything. I seem to attract trouble and I don’t want to bring that down on you or anyone else.”

He shaded his eyes with his hand. “Are you in trouble, Raina?”

She looked away for a moment before her eyes met his again. “I don’t know. I figure staying out of sight is a good idea though. Just in case.”

He looked back at the road. There wasn’t much traffic but they were definitely attracting attention. A blue sedan slowed down as it passed. Jackson lifted a hand in a friendly wave.
 

“Look, I don’t know the situation, but the idea of you running off alone doesn’t sit right with me. Hiding out at my place would be better than just running off with no plan at all. ”

Raina closed her eyes, her exhaustion so palpable that he knew he’d won.
 

“Staying does have a certain appeal.”

He turned back to his car, parked haphazardly at the curb behind them. “Let’s go back. At the least, you can sleep on it and then make a decision in the morning with a clear head.”

After a moment, she turned toward the car. He opened the door for her and she sank into the luxurious leather interior. He closed the door gently and went around to the driver’s side. Once he started the car, she turned her head toward him.
 

“Just so you know, you didn’t win that argument. I’m just too tired to fight anymore.”

He put the car in gear before glancing at her. “Believe me, beautiful, I know that. Let’s save the fight for tomorrow.”

“Okay.” She leaned her head back and looked out the window.

The next time Jackson looked at her, she was sound asleep.

RIDLEY WOKE SUNDAY morning to a soft tapping sound.
 

It took her a moment to remember where she was. Gorgeous antique furniture. Silky-soft sheets. She definitely wasn’t at home. The tapping sound started again. She turned her head toward the door.

“Raina? Are you awake?”

The deep voice coming through the door brought it all back. The accident. Agent Graham. Jackson. She pulled the pillow over her head and groaned.

“Raina?”

She threw the covers back. “Just a second!”
 

After a last ditch attempt to tame the flyaway strands around her face, she went to the door and yanked it open. Jackson jumped back at the sudden movement.

“Good morning. I was coming to see if you were hungry. You crashed pretty hard last night.” His eyes took in her sleep-creased face and wild hair.
 

I dare you to say something,
thought Ridley.
 

“But if you aren’t ready, that’s fine. I can wait.” He backed up a step.
 

She sighed. She must look truly feral if he was already backpedaling.
 

“No, I just need to brush my teeth and I’ll be down. Thanks.” She closed the door softly and grabbed her backpack. She carried it into the bathroom and pulled out her toothbrush. While she brushed her teeth, she inspected her face in the mirror. God, it was even worse than she thought. Not only did she still have creases from the pillow in her cheek but the eyelashes on her right side were stuck together making her look like she was cross-eyed.
 

Sigh.

“A femme fatale you are not.”
 

Ten minutes later, she crept down the staircase and stood in the middle of the biggest family room she’d ever seen. A huge wraparound sectional took up one wall and the other was dominated by a massive flat screen television. Despite the bounty of electronics, the room still retained an airy comfort, probably because everything was a different shade of cream or gold.
 

There was a piano in the corner and she wandered over. To her surprise, instead of the usual book of classics, there were loose pages of sheet music. She picked one up. The lines and notes appeared to have been drawn in pencil.

“Raina?”

She whirled around, the sheet music drifting to the floor at her feet. Jackson stood in the doorway. He held a spatula in his hands.
 

“There you are. I’m in the kitchen.”

Guiltily, she knelt and gathered the pages from the floor and placed them back on the piano. She wanted to ask about them but figured if she did, then he might decide to ask her questions, too. So she walked through the family room and into the kitchen. Jackson stood at the range, stirring a mound of eggs in a skillet.

“Morning. Did you sleep well?”

Ridley watched him stirring the eggs for a moment before walking behind him to peer through the window into the backyard. “Yeah, I think I may have actually passed out on the bed.”
 

“Understandable. You like cheese on your eggs?”

She turned to see him holding a bag of shredded cheese. At her nod, he spread a healthy layer on the eggs. Part of her wondered if she was still dreaming. A handsome man was cooking for her in a state-of-the-art, designer kitchen.
 

This was definitely
not
her life.

“So, I figure even if the locksmith doesn’t call back today we can just take it easy. I have no plans other than cleaning the grill. You’re welcome to hang out with me outside if you want.” He handed her a plate and fork. They sat side by side at the breakfast bar.

“Sure. I’ll help you.” She took a tentative bite of her eggs. He must have noticed her expression because he grimaced.

“Sorry I’m not a better cook. Eggs are about all I can handle without poisoning anyone.”

Ridley choked back a laugh. “No, they’re good.” After a couple of bites, she looked around. The house was perfectly quiet. “Are the kids coming down for breakfast?”

Jackson ducked his head. “Uh, no. Nick took them for the weekend. They won’t be back until tomorrow.”

“Oh, yes. I did overhear something about that yesterday.” She pursed her lips and focused on her food.

“Uh, yeah. I wanted to apologize again for what you heard. Nick can be an ass but he’s usually harmless.”

Ridley snorted. “It’s fine. I should know better than to eavesdrop by now. It never ends well.”

They finished their food in comfortable silence. He rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher, so she did the same. He wiped off the counter with a damp rag and then clapped his hands.
 

“Okay, I’m going to grab my cleaning supplies and then I’ll meet you outside. It’ll be nice to have company while I clean the grill. I always put it off until the last possible second because I hate doing it.”

“I’ll help you. I’ve cleaned a few grills in my time.” She motioned toward the laundry room. “Do you mind if I throw a few things in the wash first? I was going to yesterday but…”