Page 61 of Under His Skin

“Waverley is playing Go Fish with me. Want to play?”

“Taggart Jackson! You know you’re not supposed to be bothering our guests. You get inside right now,” Tracie hollered from the doorway.

“But we’re playing Go Fish.”

“I don’t care. Now come in here and have your lunch, then you and your sisters can go swimming later.”

The kid’s face dropped and he gathered his cards that Waverley had shuffled and stacked for him.

“Thanks for playing with me,” she said.

“Yeah. Bye.”

They both watched as Taggart moped across the tiles and up the steps to the entrance and disappeared in the house.

“How was fishing?” she asked, smiling prettily at him.

Her blond hair was pulled up and off her neck, leaving a swath of skin that begged for him to kiss it, particularly an area where a tendril of hair was tickling the skin as a breeze swirled it around. Only there wasn’t a soul around for him to play the role of doting boyfriend for. Instead, he took a seat across from her. “Fishing was fine, but it was the view that made it worth the hassle.”

If she had suffered from her sleeplessness last night, she covered it well as she grinned at him. She was wearing a pretty green top that was the color of fresh grass with the top two buttons undone and giving him a teasing glimpse of skin. Her brown eyes were clear and sparkling under the bright sun overhead, while her lips were a shiny pink that matched the color of her cheeks and had him wondering how they’d taste and how soon he’d get to find out.

“How about you?” he asked. “Do anything fun this morning?”

“Pretty uneventful. There was some talk about snorkeling, but in the end, we settled for Bloody Marys on the beach instead. I think we’re supposed to head into Key West in an hour for lunch and shopping, then the inevitable bar crawl along Duval Street.”

“Which could provide the perfect opportunity for Ronnie to slip away and meet up with Spencer, who wouldn’t likely be recognized here in the Keys. I’ll have to keep a close eye on him.”

There was a sudden squeal followed by a burst of childish laughter from inside. “Both of you. Upstairs now,” Tracie screamed in outrage.

He met Waverley’s gaze, who wasn’t hiding her laughter. “Have I mentioned her twin girls are little hellions? You’ll be lucky if you don’t make their acquaintance this weekend.”

He nodded up to the house. “The kid. Taggart? He seems okay. I kind of feel bad for him.”

“He is sweet. Quiet but sweet. Probably self-preservation.”

He cracked a smile at that bit of truth. “You were pretty good with him.”

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

“I’m not surprised. More curious. Wondering why you never had any of your own kids.”

The happiness on her face from a moment before disappeared and she glanced down to study her fingernails.

Damn. He’d obviously hit a nerve. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. It’s not any of my business.”

“It’s okay,” she said, taking a moment as she seemed to compose her thoughts. “I’ve always wanted kids. Spencer, too, or at least that’s what he said. But he convinced me that we should wait. That kids would demand a lot of our time and attention that we couldn’t afford, not with him getting his career off the ground and my work at the foundation.” She shrugged and forced a grin. “I guess it was probably for the best.”

He leaned forward and took her hand, running his thumb along the soft skin. “I’m sorry, Waverley. You would have been a great mom.”

She blinked back unshed tears and nodded. “Thank you.”

Gently, he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to it. She trembled slightly at the touch, and for a moment they just looked into the other’s eyes, the need for words made unnecessary.

“One hour warning!” someone shouted from the patio doors, and they looked up to see Tracie and Julie waving to them. They’d probably been watching them the entire time if the grins on their faces were any indication. “We’re taking the boat to avoid traffic.”

Boat was a little misleading, as he’d been on the million-dollar yacht for most of the morning. He gave a thumbs-up to acknowledge this before turning back to Waverley. “Guess I should shower and get ready. You coming up?”

“Soon,” she said. “I’m just going to enjoy the quiet for another minute.”

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