Hottest Mess (SIN 2)

They moved to the patio for port and dessert, and the conversation flowed from the house to their jobs to the weather to travel. It was normal and pleasant and way too surreal.

And despite everything, he was actually enjoying himself. Which, frankly, added to the strange quality of the evening.

"You met him?" Colin was asking Jane when Dallas tuned back into the conversation. "Lyle Tarpin?"

Jane nodded, looking exceptionally pleased with herself.

"He's the sitcom actor, right?" Dallas asked.

"I've heard he's looking to do features," Adele said, then laughed when everyone turned her direction. "Well, I do pay some attention to West Coast gossip."

"Yes to both of you," Jane said. "And the feature he's most interested in is The Price of Ransom."

"The movie based on your book?" Colin asked. "Sweetie, that's amazing." He pointed his finger at the group in general. "And that boy's a fine actor. I watched two seasons of his show when I dated the woman who played his mother."

"Did you?" Adele asked. "Dallas was just asking me who you dated between Lisa and me." She leaned toward him, then squeezed his leg as if to underscore the comment.

Dallas shifted, freeing himself from her touch, and saw that Jane was no longer looking at Colin, but was staring right at him.

"Mom said that, too." She peered at Dallas. "What was it you said it was for?"

Dallas frowned, wishing both women had kept quiet. "An ill-advised housewarming gift." He looked at Colin and forced a grin. "Trust me when I say you're glad I realized the stupidity of the idea."

"A montage of all the women in my life?"

"Something like that."

"Well, I can't say I regret any of them." He smiled at Adele, then turned his attention to Jane. "Not even your mother. Lord knows I put her through hell. Divorcing me was probably one of the two best things anyone has ever done for me."

"And the other?" Jane asked.

"It hurt, but terminating my rights to you. I'd gotten pull

ed in all the wrong directions. I needed a solid kick, and your mother and Eli provided it. I may not have realized it at the time, but I realize it now. And in the process, you got a good father." He looked from Jane to Dallas. "A good family."

Jane leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she said, as Dallas's gut twisted. Christ, he didn't want it to be true. He didn't want to learn that Colin was as bad as they suspected. That all this warm fuzzy talk was just a load of bullshit.

And there was Jane, laughing and talking as if Colin was one of the best men she knew.

He should tell her the truth about his suspicions. But then her smile wouldn't be so bright, and for every moment from here on out, she'd look at Colin through different eyes.

How could he take that from her? Destroy that relationship? Twist it so radically?

He couldn't. Not yet anyway. Not until he was sure.

For the next hour, he tried to slide back into the groove of the conversation, but he couldn't get his mind off the job. He'd already planted a device in the kitchen and Colin's bedroom--thanks to Colin's offer to give them a tour of the house early on--but he still needed to hit the study. And he needed to tell Colin about Bill's determination to poke into the Sykes kidnapping. Once he'd done that, he and Jane could leave.

He wanted to get her home. He wanted her in his bed. He wanted to lose himself in her and block out all the memories and all of his fears about Colin. About everything.

But first things first.

He leaned back in his chair and then casually turned toward Colin. "By the way, you should probably expect a call from Bill."

Colin's brows rose, and he looked toward Jane. "Bill Martin? Why?"

"Yes, why?" Jane put in.

Dallas kept his eyes on Colin, studying his face as he answered the question. "Because apparently he's learned about the kidnapping. And he's dead set on pursuing an investigation, working with the FBI, Interpol, I'm not really sure."