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Trey nodded, remembering his son’s anxious face. Of course she was right that Jason shouldn’t see conflict between them.
“I felt like crying,” she said, and took a sip of wine.
“We need to be more careful. Still, Kelly, you’d be a great mom.”
“You’re as delusional as your son,” she said. “I hate kids.”
“What? You certainly could have fooled me.”
“Well, considering the woman you married, maybe you’re easily fooled.”
Trey blinked, surprised by how much her comment stung. Maybe the fact that he had been a fool to marry Darlene was what made the words so difficult to hear. The truth often was.
“Gee, Kelly,” he said. “Why don’t you say what you really mean?”
At least she had the grace to blush. “Sorry. Like I said, I’m unsettled.”
“Right. Unsettled.” Trey took a long swallow of wine, disappointment searing his gut. But why? No more kisses? Because this woman didn’t want children? Why should he care?
Because Kelly’s true opinion of him was all too clear, now.
She’d seen right through him, knew the truth about him. He was a fool, a man who had done nothing useful with a life blessed by a fortunate birth. Kelly Jenkins had come from nothing yet had done far more with hers.
“So how do you want to get to work in the morning?” he asked.
“Actually, I’m off tomorrow. I hope to sleep in.”
He laughed, the sound harsh to his own ears. “Don’t count on it with a four-year-old searching for you.”
She nibbled at her bottom lip, looking uncertain. He focused on her lush mouth, remembering how soft and willing she’d been, and fought the urge to pull her into his arms again.
He took a step back from the bar. He needed to get away from her before he made an even bigger fool of himself.
“I trust you can find your room?” he asked as politely as he could manage.
“I think I know the way by now,” she muttered.
He bowed. “Then I’ll see you in the morning.”
Leaving his wine behind, he left Kelly at the bar, feeling the heat of her gaze on his back as he retreated.
He needed to vent a raging frustration that had been building since the kidnapping. Was this what Kelly meant about being unsettled? He felt like he had no foundation anymore, that his life was built on quicksand.
By the time Darlene had died, once every stint in rehab had failed, he’d felt nothing for her but pity. And then a fierce rage when he learned Jason had been in the vehicle with her.
And, yeah, maybe Kelly resembled Darlene a little, but Officer Jenkins was nothing like his ex-wife at all. Nothing.
He headed toward the tennis court. Smacking a few thousand tennis balls lobbed across the net from the automatic Ballmaster sounded about right.
He switched on the huge overheads. Light flooded the court, clearly illuminating the stark white lines, and he immediately felt better. Tennis was the only thing he’d ever done on his own that he’d been good at. Maybe because boundaries were obvious to him on the familiar and never-changing court.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
KELLY STRETCHED LONG under the warm, fluffy comforter. She couldn’t remember another time in her entire life when she’d slept so deeply or so well. She sighed, not wanting to leave her snug little cocoon.
It was her day off. She could sleep until noon.
And, hey, since she was living in Wentworth Manor, maybe she could order up breakfast in bed? She smiled at the thought. What time was it anyway?
She rolled to her right side expecting to read the digital clock on the nightstand. Instead she gazed into the big blue eyes of Jason Wentworth, his feet on the floor, elbows propped on the bed, staring at her.
“Hi, Mommy.”
Kelly swallowed, a burst of unexpected pleasure breaking through her sleepiness. “Hi, Jason.”
He climbed into bed beside her. She sat against the headboard and quickly pulled the covers over her chest. Was it okay to share this kind of intimacy with the kid? She always slept in a thin cotton tank top and panties. The little dude might think she was his mother, but she wasn’t. What should she do?
And where was Trey?
Jason settled himself against her belly, his knees bent. “You slept late this morning.”
