“We hung out and had a beer together. That’s all.” My chest squeezed a little, thinking about how thrilling it had been to kiss him on the cheek, only to find out less than twelve hours later that he was married.
“Any chemistry? Chemistry is everything, you know.”
I didn’t feel like telling her about the tsunami of desire I’d felt when Jack and I locked eyes, or about his marital status, so I shrugged. It also turned my stomach to think that my sister had chemistry with the bully who’d tormented us in high school. “Maybe. Dunno. Not really thinking of him in that way.”
“Oh, Maggie, what am I going to do with you? I’d always hoped we’d have kids at the same time, so we could raise babies together.”
I smiled, but it was a half-grimace. The idea of Tyler Carr as my brother-in-law was too horrible to consider. And possibly too dangerous.
“Well, I need to go see if Jack’s up. I promised him we’d go to Target and Home Depot today.” I stretched. This seemed like a good excuse to get out of the house.
She squinted. “I thought you two went to Target the other day.”
“Oh, uh.” I grabbed the donut box. I’d forgotten I’d already used that excuse. “He wants to build a bookshelf for my room. We’re going to pick out wood and stain and stuff.”
“And stuff,” she said, her face lighting up.
Gah. I hated lying to my sister.
Chapter Thirteen
Iwas a little out of breath from nerves and rage when Jack opened the door to his cabin. He wore low-slung jeans, rumpled hair, and nothing else. Perhaps he didn’t own many shirts.
Admittedly, he looked hot, especially with those abs, but I had more pressing issues on my mind. Like his marital status. And a murder case. Both were intertwined in my mind, because whether he had a wife might influence whether I wanted to continue sleuthing with him.
“Morning, sunshine,” he beamed, motioning for me to enter. For a married guy, he sure seemed happy to see me.
I handed him the donuts and walked inside. “I come bearing gifts. Maple bacon.”
“You might be the perfect woman.” He bit into a donut and groaned. “Holy hell, that’s a good donut.”
“About that.” I put my hands on my hips and scowled.
“I’m definitely a fan of donuts,” he replied.
“No. Women. About women.”
He swallowed and cocked an eyebrow. “You’re going to have to elaborate.”
“Are you married?” I blurted, then laughed. Lord, I was so inappropriate.
He looked confused, probably because I was still chuckling.
“Sorry. I laugh when I’m nervous. And, uh, I googled you, like you suggested, and read theMiami Heraldprofile about you and your wife.”
“Oh, now I understand.” He paused. “No. I’m not married. Our divorce was finalized last summer.”
I let out a breath, unsure how to take this news. He was single. Probably looking for a rebound hookup. This opened up several questions and possibilities, ones that I didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with at the moment.
“Well, good for you, if that’s what you wanted,” I said in a hearty tone, adding a little pump of my fist for emphasis.
“We grew apart, and she took a teaching position in Spain and I didn’t want to go. No kids, so we parted as friends. It’s what we both wanted.”
We stood there awkwardly, as Jack finished his first donut, still shirtless. His alluring self seemed to fill the room, and I was here for it. There was definitely an attraction between us. I wasn’tthatdense. And now that he was single, he was definitely fair game.
Wait. I didn’t want a relationship. But I wouldn’t mind a friends-with-benefits kind of thing.
He licked his thumb and stared at me with those brown eyes, and my mouth watered a little. I wondered if he was going to ask me if I was dating anyone.
