“Maybe we’ll forget to eat dinner.”
“It would be easy to skip dessert.”
“Okay, here they are, all four of them home for Christmas last December.”
Pierce studied the image. “Let me guess who is who,” he said, raising his hand to Jacquie’s bare shoulder. He let his fingertips slide across her skin and heard her inhale sharply.
“You’re giving me tingles,” she whispered.
“That’s the plan,” he whispered back. “My tingles are all present and accounted-for.”
She nestled closer at that and put one hand on his thigh beneath the table.
Pierce forced himself to consider the picture. Four good-looking kids stood with Jacquie, all tall, all grinning, all wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. A sparkling Christmas tree was behind them and wrapping paper and ribbons littered the floor. He could see some half-full wine glasses and guessed the picture had been taken after their holiday meal.
Jacquie was at the far right in a red sweater with a reindeer on the front. Its nose was a red pompom and she was laughing, obviously in her element to have her kids around her.
The young woman at the far left—in the snowman sweater—resembled Jacquie the most strongly. She had auburn hair that was cut short, but it was more her expression that reminded Pierce of Jacquie.
“Ashley,” he guessed, pointing to her, and Jacquie smiled up at him.
“She works as a production coordinator in LA and hopes to be a show-runner.”
“Ambitious?”
“And organized.”
Pierce looked again. Her husband must have had more fair coloring, since the boy who looked the youngest had dark blond hair. His sweater had Santa and his sleigh riding across it and was a horrible shade of green. “Cole?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Med school in Chicago, right?”
“You have a good memory.”
“It used to be part of the job description,” he acknowledged, looking again. “So, this must be Maddy.” He indicated a slightly shorter and more buxom girl with long fair hair. She was very pretty but only the steadiness of her gaze resembled Jacquie.
“Our financial analyst,” she agreed with a nod.
“The one working in England for the year.”
“That’s right.”
“So this is Brandon.” Pierce indicated the young man who towered over the others. His hair was long and dark, and he wore a sweater covered with candy canes. He’d pushed up the sleeves and his tattoos were visible, as well as the rings on his fingers. He looked a bit mischievous and Pierce realized he was the one who was the same age as Farah.
“My rebel,” Jacquie said. “He’s a bartender.”
“In Seattle.”
“Yes.”
“Attractive kids.”
“I think so.” Her smile was quick and wicked. “But I have a biased opinion.” She flicked a glance up at Pierce and their gazes snared. She was still close beside him, the heat of her thigh against his own, his hand still on her upper arm. He slid it down to the indent of her waist and splayed his fingers, feeling her catch her breath. Her eyes darkened and her gaze slipped to his mouth, then he saw the flick of her tongue.
It was the invitation he’d been waiting for. Pierce bent and kissed her slowly, giving her time to relax against him. He lifted her phone from her hand without breaking their kiss and put it on the table, then slid his fingers along her cheek. She shivered and opened her mouth to him, offering him more.
Pierce angled his mouth over hers, savoring the sweet, hot kiss, the one he hadn’t expected, the one he didn’t want to end.
Then the waiter cleared his throat.
Jacquie straightened and seized her phone, a flush spreading over her cheeks. The waiter put down her salad and Pierce’s soup, guessing from one glance at Pierce that he should be quick.
She was scrolling through pictures on her phone, then showed one to Pierce of Brandon and a pretty blue-haired girl, who was just as enthusiastically tattooed. He was carrying her on his back and she was laughing at him, mountains soaring into a blue sky behind them. “This is his girlfriend, Elizabeth,” she said, her voice husky, and he understood that she wanted to be on more neutral ground. He slid his hand to the back of her waist and she smiled at him. “She’s a software designer. They’re pretty avid bikers and hikers.”
“Wedding bells?”
“Not these two. Nothing so traditional. Maybe a handfasting under the moon. Maybe just babies. I don’t know and I don’t much care.” She moved back around the table and eyed her salad. “This looks delicious.”
“Now I can be blunt in return,” he said.
Her eyes widened as she looked at him. “Tell me.”
He nodded at the phone. “Turn it off. I want you to myself tonight.”
Jacquie smiled and flushed, doing as he asked and putting the phone back in her purse.
The soup was delicious. “You don’t mind if Brandon and Elizabeth don’t get married?” He was intrigued that she didn’t seem to be disappointed.
Jacquie put down her fork. “I want my kids to be happy. Brandon has never been interested in the conventional answer to anything. I’m glad he’s found someone who loves him just the way he is. They’re really good together. It’s been five years now, so it seems like it will last. That’s what matters most.” She tasted her salad and nodded approval, then waved her fork at him. “Now it’s your turn.”
“You know I don’t have kids.”
“But you came from somewhere. Everyone has family at some point in their lives.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Short date,” she said and widened her eyes. She didn’t prod him or start another topic of conversation. She just waited.
Pierce knew the trick of letting someone fill the silence. He was surprised by how effective it was against him.
The truth was he loved that Jacquie played hard.
“I grew up in California,” he admitted. “Small town. The military was the best ticket out of there and I took it.” It was true as far as it went, but it was only a tiny percentage of the full story. “I was surprised how much I liked the service, actually.”
“Why?”
“I was a bit
