“What’s so damn funny?”
“Not a thing.” His brother held up one hand in peace. “I’m just saying, she’s a gorgeous woman is all.”
“Am I blind suddenly?” Jesse demanded. “I can’t see a beautiful woman so you and Mom have to point it out to me?”
“Mom, too, huh?” Will nodded. “Interesting.”
Irritated with himself and his whole family, Jesse snapped, “No, it’s not interesting. There’s nothing interesting, damn it.”
“Yeah, I’m convinced.” Grinning now, Will walked back to his chair, sat down and propped his boots up on the coffee table again. Turning his gaze to Jesse, he said, “Beautiful woman, great kid who already likes you, yeah, nothing to see here.”
Jesse’s gaze shot to his brother’s. Now he saw the same speculative gleam in Will’s eyes that he’d seen on his mother’s face just a little while ago.
Well, they could just get over it. He wasn’t looking at Jillian any more than any other red-blooded male would. He could appreciate a hot woman with great legs, a wide mouth, full breasts and a first-class behind without it meaning anything. His insides fisted, and his groin went hard enough that his jeans felt like torture.
Fine. He wanted her. He could admit that—to himself. But want didn’t mean anything. It was temporary. Want could be eased by having. And that was what this was coming to. But being with Jillian wasn’t going to turn out like his mother and brother were clearly hoping. He wasn’t looking for a family.
Jesse already had Brody to look out for. He owed that boy because if it hadn’t been for Jesse, Brody’s daddy wouldn’t have died. So his job now was to be there for Lucy. For her son. He didn’t have the right to go looking for something just for himself. Selfish needs had to be buried for the sake of doing the right thing.
But knowing that didn’t make this any easier. Tossing the rest of his scotch down his throat, he set the glass down and headed for the door.
“Where’re you going?” Will called after him.
“Home.” To take a cold shower.
CHAPTER FIVE
The first day at Jillian’s new job went great.
She loved working with Ginger and the two other women, Patti and Teresa. The kids were terrific, with only a couple of tantrums thrown here and there, and best of all, Mac was with her during the day and making friends already. Jillian had a good feeling about how this was going.
When she’d first come to Royal she’d hoped only for a settlement from her baby’s father. Instead, she’d found friends who had helped her get started on a whole new life—and she was eager to make the most of it. Already, her apartment felt like home as she and Mac decorated and made it their own. Not long ago, she’d worried about the future, and now, all she saw were possibilities.
She even enjoyed her new routine. People could complain and say their daily chores were a rut, but to Jillian, a rut just meant “comfort zone.” Every morning on the way to work, she stopped at the Royal diner to get herself a cup of coffee and some chocolate milk for Mac. And what really pleased Jillian was that already she was being treated like a regular. Now she and her baby girl were part of other people’s routines.
Only that morning, Amanda Battle had called out a hello and said she had Jillian’s order ready to go. It was a special kind of feeling, Jillian told herself, knowing that she was finally in a place where she and Mac could belong. Far from the neon and crowds of Vegas, in this small town, she could build something good and strong for her and her daughter.
Letting her gaze sweep around the bright room filled with young voices, she felt more confident about her life than she ever had before.
With one exception.
Her mind kept drifting to thoughts of Jesse Navarro.
She’d tried to stop, but her brain was working against her. And not just her brain. Her own body was traitorous, too. Every night, when she tried to sleep, her subconscious provided image after image of Jesse. His thick dark hair. Chocolate eyes. That cowboy hat pulled low on his forehead. The way faded jeans clung to muscular, long legs…
“Miss Jill!” Small hands tugging at her black slacks, an excitable voice calling a shortened version of her name since the tiny ones had too much trouble with Jillian. A little boy jumping up and down, looking at her with desperation in his eyes and just like that, her fantasies were dead, supplanted by reality.
“What is it, Cole?” she asked, crouching so she could look the three-year-old in the eye.
“Potty!” He danced in place as if to let her know he really meant it.
“Oh!” No time to waste. Jillian straightened quickly and started moving. Taking him by the hand, she said, “Okay, let’s go,” and headed for the bathroom. Then the front door opened, and she stopped dead as Jesse Navarro walked into the room.