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Inside of him, in the place he'd ignored so long he'd been sure it had died, a flicker of feeling stirred his heart. He cared about this child. Almost as much as he'd once foolishly allowed himself to care about Megan.
"I can't believe this is the same little girl you brought to the store almost two weeks ago," Megan said. "She's blossomed under your care."
Her praise embarrassed him. And pleased him. "We understand each other," he said.
Bonnie tilted her head back and smiled at him. "We're going to be together forever."
"Yeah." He tapped her nose. He hadn't been faithful to all his promises, but this was one he was determined to keep. She was just a little girl, yet she'd been the one to show him how empty his life was and how hard it had become to spend it alone. The child wasn't enough to fill up the hole inside, or take away the bitterness from the past, but she blurred the edges enough that he could forget what had happened and ignore the taunting of what should have been.
"All right, children. Line up here for the egg race," Mr. Greeley called from across the clearing.
"Can I? Can I?" Bonnie asked eagerly. She looked from Megan to Justin and back.
Justin grinned. "Go on. But if you get covered with broken eggs, don't expect me to wash your dress."
Bonnie sprang to her feet. "I'll be extra, extra careful."
She raced toward the children milling around the butcher. Megan watched her go, waiting tensely to see what would happen when she arrived. Mr. Greeley glanced at the girl, then handed her a spoon. Several of the children stared curiously. Colleen's daughter sniffed imperiously, just like her mother, then one redheaded boy, about seven or eight, elbowed the girl in the ribs and grinned at Bonnie.
Megan relaxed against the tree. "I think she's going to be all right with the children."
"Good." Justin stretched out on the blanket at her feet. As the temperature had climbed, he'd taken off his jacket. His long-sleeved white shirt contrasted with his tanned face and hands. He closed his eyes as if preparing to doze. Mrs. Dobson had gone off to talk with some of her friends, so the two of them were alone on the blanket, surrounded by the rest of the town. It was the most public of privacies.
Megan stared at Justin, at his familiar features. His mouth relaxed into a faint smile. She could see the tail of the scar under his lower lip, and the lines beside his eyes. His jaw had always been square, but his face had grown leaner in his time away. His breathing slowed. She admired the length and breadth of his chest, remembering how it had felt when she'd touched him there. Her fingers tingled, as did
I her breasts and between her— She swallowed hard, trying to ignore her lascivious thoughts. She still couldn't believe what they'd done, what she'd allowed him to do. It wasn't right. Not just because I they weren't even courting, let alone engaged, but because I Justin would be leaving Landing. What if she continued to I allow him liberties? Wouldn't she then be risking more than \ her body and reputation? Wouldn't she be risking her heart? She couldn't. If it was broken again, it wouldn't mend.
But it was difficult to ignore the handsome man stretched out before her. She rose to her knees and began collecting plates and placing them in the basket she'd brought. Silverware clinked as she tossed it on top of the dishes. She left out their tin cups in case anyone wanted more lemonade. She picked up the chocolate cake she'd brought and was lowering it into the basket, when something grabbed her ankle. She almost dropped the platter.
Half turning, she saw Justin's arm sticking out from the hem of her dress. She could feel his warm fingers against her skin. His thumb moved slowly back and forth over her an-klebone.
"What are you doing?" she asked softly, then darted a glance around to see who had noticed. The children were lining up for their race and everyone seemed to be watching them.
"You're making too much noise," Justin said without opening his eyes. His words were slow and lazy, his voice so low her mouth watered. "I couldn't sleep."
"You could have told me to be quiet instead of accosting me."
"Darlin', you don't know the first thing about being accosted."
His hand moved a little higher up her calf. Megan froze in place, awkwardly stretched out on her knees, one hand supporting herself, the other holding a half-eaten chocolate cake. Her arm cramped up, but she didn't move. A delicious lethargy swept over her. Justin Kincaid had his hand on her leg. In front of the entire town. And no one had noticed. Then his fingers moved again and she didn't care about the town or her muscles. She didn't care about anything but the stroking against her skin and the heat that spiraled up her thighs and higher to her female place. Her breathing increased.
