Seductively Yours

She opened the door. After only a moment’s pause, she cocked her head and planted a hand on her slender hip. “Why, Trevor McBride. Fancy finding you here.”

The last time Trevor had last seen Jamie, she had been a sophomore in high school, he’d been a senior. Despite her instant recognition, he knew he’d changed a great deal since then. With the exception of her hair color, he couldn’t see that Jamie had changed much at all. The years had been extremely kind to her.

He took a moment to study her. Looking as though she had just run her hand through it, her dark red hair stood in damp spikes around her face, which was flushed and beaded with perspiration. She wore a towel around her neck, a turquoise T-shirt, black shorts, baggy socks and expensive-looking athletic shoes. Several stud earrings decorated each of her ears, but he didn’t see any other jewelry. If she had worn any makeup earlier, it was gone now.

The grubby look had never particularly appealed to him. But on Jamie, it was most definitely appealing. He had always found himself drawn to her, even when he’d made every effort to resist the attraction.

That was something else that hadn’t changed, apparently.

He lifted his gaze to her face, seeing himself reflected in her vividly green eyes. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Tae-Bo.” She wiped her face with one corner of the towel. “Wanna join me for a quick punch-and-kick?”

“No, thank you,” he answered politely.

She grinned. “The last time we talked, I think I asked if you wanted to duck behind the gym for a little kiss-and-grope,” she mused. “And I’m pretty sure you took me up on it.”

He cleared his throat, refusing to be drawn into his youthful indiscretions. He definitely remembered when he had first kissed her behind the gym. And he remembered just as clearly telling her it couldn’t happen again. Even though it had on an occasion or two. “The reason I’m here…”

She laughed…exactly the same way she’d laughed at him almost fifteen years ago. And it made him feel as awkward and self-conscious now as it had then. How could she still do that to him? “I know why you’re here,” she said. “And it has nothing to do with a stroll down memory lane.”

“No. I wanted to…”

She moved out of the doorway. “Come in, Trev. I need a drink.”

No one else had ever called him Trev. He wouldn’t have let anyone else get away with it. Somehow, it had always sounded sort of natural coming from Jamie. “I can’t stay long,” he said, glancing at his watch. “My mom’s sitting with the kids and—”

“We’ll just have a quick drink,” she said over her shoulder.

He could either follow her or be left standing alone on her porch. With a rather wistful glance back at his car, he stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him.

It was no surprise to discover that Jamie’s decorating was as vivid and unconventional as she was. An almost dizzying array of fabrics and colors clashed and competed with a number of objects Jamie had collected. His gaze slid from a six-inch plastic Statue of Liberty to a porcelain figurine of Marilyn Monroe, then paused for a moment on one of the dozens of framed photographs in the room. This one showed Jamie snuggled up to a man who looked suspiciously like a famous television comedian. Next to it was a shot of Jamie mugging with an Academy Award–winning actress.

There were others, but he didn’t take time to study them all. Nor would he allow himself to be impressed. After all, Jamie’s New York acting career had lasted less than ten years, and now she was teaching drama at the local high school. Like him, Jamie had ended up right back where she had started.

He wondered if her return had been any happier than his own.

Without bothering to ask if he wanted anything, Jamie poured bottled water over two glasses of ice and pressed one into his hand. She drank half her own without pausing for air, then set the glass on the counter, her full, unpainted lips glistening with drops of moisture. “Before you launch into the speech I’m sure you’ve carefully prepared, I just want to say that there’s really no need. I happened to be close by when your son fell into the pool this afternoon and I jumped in to pull him out. Anyone else would have done the same thing.”

“But no one else did,” he replied. “You saved Sam’s life, Jamie. There’s no way for me to adequately express my gratitude.”

“Let’s just stick with ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome,’ shall we?”

His lips twitched, though he was trying not to smile. This was too important. “Thank you.”

She nodded briskly. “You’re welcome.”

“It isn’t enough, you know. Not for what you did.”

She shrugged. “I’m just glad I was there.”

“So am I,” he agreed, his tone heartfelt.

She picked up her glass. “Let’s take these into the living room.”

Once again, he had to follow or be left behind. He took a sip of his water, then left the full glass on the counter as he trailed her into the other room. “Jamie…”

She kicked off her shoes and curled up on her jewel-tone striped couch, waving him into a nearby chair. “Your kids are adorable, Trevor.”

“Thank you.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. He had expressed his gratitude—at least, as much as she had allowed him to—which was all he’d intended to do. He hadn’t planned on an extended visit. After all, despite a couple of memorable past encounters, he and Jamie Flaherty were basically strangers.

“How old are they?”

“Sam turned five last month. Abbie’s fourteen months.”

“I heard that your wife died last year. I’m sorry.”

He had no intention of talking about his late wife. He merely nodded in response to her expression of sympathy.

“Are you a good father?”

She asked the question completely seriously, as if he should be able to easily reply with a simple yes or no. Even when they were kids, he’d never known quite how to respond to many of the things Jamie said. “I do my best.”

“Your nanny—”

“I fired her this evening.”

Jamie blinked. “You fired her?”

“She almost let my son drown. She told me herself that she never saw him go in the water. She knew he couldn’t swim.”

“She was playing with Abbie. She seemed very fond of her.”

“Yes, she was good with Abbie,” he conceded. “But she didn’t bond well with Sam. Because she couldn’t communicate well with him, she tended to ignore him. I have two kids. I need someone who will look after both of them while I’m working.”

Jamie studied his face a moment. “You always were a bit intolerant of other people’s failings.”

“When it comes to my children’s safety, I will always demand perfection,” he answered flatly, oddly stung by her criticism.

“Of course.”

He couldn’t quite read her expression now. Satisfied that he’d made his point, he added, “Tomorrow, I’ll make sure that sorry excuse for a lifeguard loses his job, as well.”

“I hope you don’t do that. He’s young. The pool’s only been open for a couple of weeks. He was completely shaken by what almost happened today. I’m sure he’ll be more vigilant from now on.”

“Not at the pool where my children swim, he won’t.”

Jamie’s eyes narrowed. “Funny,” she said, her voice soft. “I remembered you being stuffy and arrogant, but I never thought of you as a complete jerk.”