“I don’t do the dating thing.”
“No, you only have sex with them. When was the last time you went out with a woman because you were interested inherand not what the sheets on her bed look like?” “I never look at the sheets.” He grinned.
She nudged him in the ribs again, this time harder.
Jack sighed. “Not including Lauren? Not since Amy.”
Pulling a bright pink muslin wrap out of the baby bag at her feet, Leah covered the pram
with it. Jack assumed it was to stop the sun from shining on Emma. “You went out on a date with Lauren?”
Jack pinched the bridge of his nose then undid the top two buttons of his shirt. It was either getting hotter or the conversation was making him uncomfortable. “Well, it wasn’t technically a date. I asked Lauren to meet me for a drink to discuss work. I used work as an excuse to get her to meet me.” Man, that sounded lame. Never had he used trickery to get a woman to go out with him. He was losing his touch.
“You tricked her?” Leah’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline before she tipped her head back and laughed. “Oh, this is too much. My big, handsome brother had to trick a woman to go out with him. Wait until I tell James, he’s going to have kittens! Why didn’t you just ask her out?” she asked, still laughing.
He rubbed his sweaty palms along the tops of his thighs. “I did, she said no.”
Leah wiped away the tears that had sprung from her eyes and said, “Let me get this right. Out of all the women you could’ve called, who would’ve been more than happy to meet up with you, you picked a woman you needed to trick to meet you?”
“Leah, drop it.” Her reaction was becoming really annoying. If they were home, he would’ve wrestled the brat to the ground and sat on her until she stopped laughing. Childish games they still played from time to time.
Leah must have noticed Jack wasn’t finding the conversation amusing and sobered up. She stared at him for a long time, like she was trying to work out what was going on inside his head. “You haven’t been in the social pages with a new conquest in days, and I have to wonder if
Lauren has something to do with that.”
He knew Lauren had everything to do with it, and he still needed to work out what it all meant. This wasn’t how he rolled. He worked hard, played harder, and enjoyed the company of beautiful women. But it was Lauren, who fought hard to stay away from him, who filled him with more excitement than all the women he had ever been with.
“I like Lauren. I think she’s great.”More than great, he thought. “But if you think it’s going to lead to anything serious, you’re wrong.” He’d like it to lead into his bedroom, or hers, but deep down, if he was honest, he couldn’t see Lauren being the type of woman he could have fun with for the night with no strings attached.
Leah shook her coffee cup and frowned, probably because it was empty, then placed it on
the seat. “We’ll see.” She looked skeptical. “But can I tell you something?”
“Will you keep it to yourself if I say no?”
She stuck her tongue out, and he chuckled. It would be a miracle if she kept things to herself. If she had something to say, she’d say it whether he wanted to hear it or not. “Lauren isn’t a woman you can mess around with. She’s not a two-in-the-morning booty call you can forget the moment the deed is done.”
He’d already figured that out, but he said, “You’ve been spending too much time with
Mum, you’re starting to sound just like her.”
Leah laughed. “Mum calls your women booty calls?”
“Not exactly, but she knows Lauren isn’t like them.”
“I like Lauren. I think she could be good for you. But if you’re not feeling the same way she is about you, then leave her alone.”
Jack scrubbed his face with his hands. He really didn’t want to be talking to Leah about his love life, or lack of one. “You don’t have to worry about Lauren. She’s made it perfectly clear she wants nothing to do with me.”
“Huh,” Leah said on a puff of breath. “From what I saw, it looks like she wantseverythingto do with you.”
“Are you reading those Mills and Boon romance books again? Because I think you’ve got love hearts over your eyes.”
“I’m being serious. I know what I saw—and that’s a woman who wants more than your body.”
“This time, sis, you are totally wrong. Apparently I fall into the category of a Mr. Pretty.”
“A what?”
