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She braked to a stop in front of Wentworth Villa and found Jason and Trey waiting for her on the marble steps.
Almost, but not quite.
Jason wore his bathing suit. Trey looked like a Greek statute come to life in shorts and a light blue knit shirt.
When she exited the vehicle, the kid jumped up and ran toward her. She raised her gaze to Trey’s and went still at the emotion she read in his eyes.
* * *
AS JASON LEAPED into Kelly’s arms, Trey resisted the urge to move toward the pair and hug them both tight. Sometimes he thought the two of them were all he needed in the world to make him happy.
Unfortunately, life was never that simple. At least not his life. And definitely not today. He shoved away disturbing thoughts. He’d deal with that when the time came. Kelly was here. He’d enjoy her company for whatever time they had.
She lowered Jason to his feet, grabbed his son’s hand and moved up the steps toward him, her blond hair shining in the sun. Why was it that each time he saw her, she appeared more lovely than even his most vivid memories?
“Daddy says you arrested the bad guys,” Jason told Kelly.
Kelly flashed Trey a look, eyebrows raised.
“Dr. Barth said to be honest with him,” Trey told her.
“Well, thanks to your daddy,” Kelly said, “the mean man is in jail now and can never harm anyone ever again.”
Jason screwed up his face. “What did Daddy do?”
Kelly knelt in front of Jason and pointed to a video camera over the wrought iron gate. “See that little box?”
Jason nodded.
“That’s a camera. Your daddy put lots of boxes like that at my house so the bad guys couldn’t get in.”
Trey’s heart lurched when his son beamed at him with wide-eyed approval.
“Wow,” Jason said and ran over to hug his daddy’s legs.
With a hand on his son’s head, Trey met Kelly’s gaze and mouthed, “Thank you.”
She shook her head and said, “Thank you.”
Trey stared at her, committing every feature on her face to memory. He’d expected fury from her over the security system. What a surprise that she was actually grateful. He wanted to tell her so many things—most of all how he felt about her—but knew that he shouldn’t. Couldn’t.
Jason pulled back. “Do you want to watch me swim, Kelly?”
“Of course I do,” Kelly said, as if there were nothing else in the world she would enjoy more.
And he loved her for how good she was to Jason, for Jason. He knew asking her to come in person had been unfair. Unfair to everyone, but when she’d called to tell him the news, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He’d had to see her one last time.
Chatting about how far Jason could swim underwater with one breath, the three of them moved into the house and out onto the patio where Jason immediately jumped into the pool. He and Kelly sat at a table where, in anticipation of Jason’s wanting to swim, Trey had arranged for a chilled bottle of champagne in an ice bucket.
She cocked an eyebrow. “It’s five o’clock somewhere?”
“Don’t you think we deserve a celebration?” Trey asked.
She grinned. “Indeed, I do.”
Trey busied himself opening the wine, loving the idea that he’d gotten such a beautiful smile from her. He wished he could be the one to make that happen more often.
Olga, his new housekeeper, appeared asking if they needed anything. Trey requested a cheese-and-fruit plate.
“Still trying to fatten me up, Mr. Wentworth?”
“You’ve lost weight,” he said tersely.
She shrugged and motioned with her chin toward the bodyguard sitting on the other side of the pool watching Jason.
“Are you going to keep the Protection Alliance around now that Chandler’s in custody?”
Trey poured wine into the glasses and said, “I’ve cut down the operatives to two and will leave it at that for another month. I’ve decided to keep one on duty at all times.”
“Just in case,” she said, raising her glass.
He raised his glass to her. “Just in case.”
“Kelly, watch this,” Jason shouted from the pool.
“I’m watching, sweetie,” she yelled back.
“Tell me now while he’s in the water,” Trey said, leaning forward.
