Falling for a Stranger (13 page)

"Does she?" Ria asked in dismay. She hadn't realized college would be coming up so soon.

"Sure. And there are all the tests you have to take as a junior," Drew continued. "I'm sure Megan's counselor has gone over all that."

"She has," Megan said, taking a sip of juice. "She keeps bugging me to sign up or take a prep class."

"You didn't tell me that," Ria said, feeling like a bad parent for not making sure Megan was on the college track. She'd been so busy concentrating on their safety that she'd let a lot of other things slide.

"It's not a big deal."

"Maybe it is," she murmured, realizing she needed to focus a little more on the future as well as the present.

"I'm going to lay down," Megan said, pushing back her chair as she stood up. "I'm tired."

"I'll check on you in a while," Ria said.

"You don't have to check on me; I'm not six." Megan turned to Drew. "Maybe you could give me a ride in a helicopter some time."

"I could definitely do that," he agreed.

Megan took her plate to the sink then headed into her bedroom.

"Nice kid," Drew said when they were alone. "How come she gets the bedroom?"

"She needs privacy more than I do. She's a teenager. And, no, I couldn’t afford a two-bedroom apartment."

He set down his fork. "Megan told me your parents are dead. Is that why you're raising her?"

She couldn't believe Megan had told him that, but at least he still thought Megan's parents and her parents were one and the same. "Yes, I'm raising Megan now, and as you've already noticed I'm not doing the greatest of jobs. I had no idea college applications started so early. I need to make sure Megan isn't missing any important dates."

"So you do want her to go to college and not follow in your wandering footsteps?"

"Megan and I are different people and my choices were very different than hers. Megan is smart, and I want her to have all the tools to do whatever she wants in life. And some of those tools can only be acquired with more formal education."

"Did your parents raise a fuss when you decided not to go to college?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not sure they even noticed."

He tilted his head to the left, his expression contemplative. She had a feeling he was putting things together, and they weren't making sense.

"So, I'm confused," he said. "You said your parents divorced when you were eleven. Megan told me her parents had the greatest love story of all time."

"Is that what you were talking about in the car?"

"Among other things. You have to be at least ten years older than Megan, maybe more. So I'm thinking you and Megan are not full siblings. Did one of your parents remarry? Is Megan the product of a second marriage?"

"Do you want some ice cream?" she asked, as she got to her feet to clear the table.

"You're going to ignore me?"

"I'm going to try."

"More mystery," he mused. "I'll figure it out, Ria. I don't think it will be that difficult."

She set their empty plates on the counter, then said, "Megan and I aren't full siblings. But I love her and she loves me, and that's all that matters." She gave him a pointed look. "Satisfied?"

"For the moment. It's very generous of you to step in and raise her."

"We're family. End of story."

He smiled. "I'm sure you'd like that to be the end of the story, but we both know it's not. Is Megan the reason you needed a clean start?"

"Partly," she admitted. "I'm not going to tell you anything else, Drew. I think you should go home now."

"I thought you said something about ice cream."

"Really? You're still hungry?"

He nodded. "What kind do you have?"

She opened the freezer. "Cookie dough."

"My favorite."

She hated to admit it was her favorite, too. She was trying to find reasons why she and Drew didn't go together, not why they did, but ice cream was the least of her problems.

She scooped out ice cream for two bowls and then carried them to the table. Before she handed him his bowl, she said, "One condition."

"What's that?"

"No more prying questions for the duration of the ice cream."

"You're always setting boundaries for us, Ria. What happened to the free spirited girl who sailed around the world instead of going to college? The one who lived on an island in the middle of nowhere, who took a chance on a stranger on a warm, tropical night?"

She knew he didn't intend to hurt her with the questions, but the reminder of who she used to be was more than a little painful.

"Can you agree to the rule or not?" she asked.

"Since you're holding my favorite ice cream hostage, I agree."

She pushed the bowl across the table. "Great."

"So," he began.

She sent him a pointed look.

"I wasn't going to ask about you," he said, as he spooned ice cream into his mouth. "Do you like Megan's boyfriend?"

"I wouldn't call Eric a boyfriend yet, but he seems like a good kid. He's a little shy, which I think is a good quality in a teenage boy. I'd be more worried about a cocky jock. They're always trouble."

"Are you speaking from experience?"

Although he'd once again veered into her personal territory, she decided to answer. "I dated one of the star football players junior year. He thought he was God's gift to girls, and most of us girls agreed. We went to the prom together. He got wasted, threw up on my shoes, and then got into a fight with one of his friends. It was a disaster. I'm hoping Megan's prom date is not as disappointing.

"So was that your type?" Drew asked. "The cocky jock?"

"Apparently I still have a weakness for that kind of man," she said pointedly.

"Hey don't put me in the same category as football vomit boy."

She didn't think he was anything like her prom date, but it was hard not to put him in the category of God's gift to women. He was very attractive with his thick wavy brown hair, intelligent eyes and strongly defined features. He was also intelligent and funny and he didn't take himself too seriously. He had a cocky edge, for sure, but that only made him more appealing. She liked a man who knew what he was doing, and Drew had already proven to her that he knew exactly what he was doing when it came to making a woman happy. She blushed at the thought and reached for her water glass.

"Getting hot in here?" he asked with a teasing smile. "I usually get cold when I eat ice cream."

"Let's talk about your for a change."

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about your prom date."

"I went with my girlfriend, Laurel. She was a runner. We were on the track team together. We were great pacing partners. Unfortunately, when we stopped running, we found that we didn't have a lot to talk about."

"And talking was important in a high school relationship?" she challenged.

"Maybe not so much," he admitted. "She was hot."

"I'll bet. How long were you together?"

"Until summer. She met someone else at a running camp, and I was happy to call it quits. I'd moved on from running to flying, and every spare minute I had went into flying lessons and getting enough hours so that I could get my license."

"When did you get that?"

"At sixteen. I got my driver's license and my pilot's license within three months of each other."

"Isn't it expensive to take flying lessons?"

He nodded. "Yes. I worked at the supermarket to help pay for it. But I also had a little help from my grandfather. He was a pilot, and he loved having someone to share his love of flying with. Kind of like your grandfather sharing his love of sailing."

"I thought you said your grandfather was a firefighter," she asked.

"Other grandfather. This was my biological mother's father."

"I need a family tree," she complained.

"It is a little complicated. I told you that my biological mom died when I was really young."

"I don't think you did," she said with a shake of her head.

"Oh, right. It was Megan I told."

"Why would you tell Megan that?"

"We were bonding," he said lightly. "Anyway, my mother's father was the pilot. He used to give me airplanes when I was little and talk about soaring into the sky. I loved listening to his stories."

"Do you still see him?"

"I try to stay in touch," Drew said. "There's a lot of family to keep happy."

"It sounds like it." She let out a breath, knowing she was getting too comfortable talking to Drew. "I should clean up."

"I'll help you."

"It's not a big deal. It will take me two seconds," she said, as she got to her feet. "You've done enough, and you should go home."

He stood up, blocking her way into the kitchen. "Every time I think about leaving you, I get the crazy feeling that I might never see you again, that you could disappear at any minute, without any explanation."

"That's not so crazy," she said meeting his gaze. "I have to protect Megan, Drew. And if that means I have to leave San Francisco, then that's exactly what I'll do." She paused. "But I'm not going anywhere soon. Megan couldn't possibly miss the prom."

"I want to help you, Ria," he said, a serious note in his voice. "Why don't you let me?"

His offer was tempting. She'd been carrying the burden for a long time. But she couldn't bring him into her mess. "There's nothing to do at the moment," she said, hoping the vague answer would be less challenging to him than an outright no.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now can you move out of the way, so I can wash these bowls?"

He took the bowls out of her hand and set them on the counter. Then he put his hands on her waist. A shot of desire swept through her at the purposeful look in his eyes.

"What—what are you doing?" she asked, hating the breathless note in her voice. But with Drew holding on to her, with his body calling out to hers, with the memories of how good they were together flooding through her mind, she was feeling more than a little off balance.

"I'm going to kiss you, Ria."

"No."

"Yes. I've been thinking about it all day, and I think you've been thinking about it, too. We were good together."

"For one night a long time ago, and maybe it wasn't that good," she added desperately.

"Only one way to find out."

His deep, rich voice sent more shivers down her spine. And then his mouth came down on hers in a hot, demanding kiss that made her head spin. She felt like she was going back in time. She was on the island again. The tropical air smelled like flowers, and the heat of the night mixed with the heat between them. There was no yesterday, no tomorrow, just the moment, the night.

She opened her mouth for a much needed breath, and Drew took that opportunity to slip inside, his tongue sweeping against her teeth, as he took possession of her mouth in a way that made her entire body melt. Her mind made a feeble effort to resist the need rocketing through her, but her brain was no match for the strength of her desire.

She slipped her hands around his waist, under his shirt, letting her fingers roam the warm, rippled muscles of his back. He was a strong man, and she needed that strength supporting her, surrounding her, inside of her. The need to have him ran so deep she could feel the ache.

Drew groaned against her mouth, as if he could feel it, too. He pulled her up against his hard body as he devoured her mouth. And it still wasn't enough. They were wearing too many clothes. She wanted his skin against her skin, no more barriers between them.

Drew must have read her mind, because he was pushing her jacket off of her shoulders, his hands slipping under her knit shirt.

Her breasts felt heavy, full, tender, and as his fingers caressed her stomach, she ached for those hands on her breasts, all over her body.

A crash broke them apart. She stared at Drew, then her gaze moved to Megan's door. "Megan," she called.

Her niece popped her head out of the bedroom. "Sorry, I knocked my books off the shelf." She paused, giving them a curious look. "Everything okay out here?"

"It's fine," Ria said, hoping Megan couldn't see how rattled she was.

"All right," Megan said.

As the bedroom door closed again, Ria stepped back from Drew. Her face felt like it was on fire. A few hot kisses, and she'd forgotten everything, including where she was and what she was supposed to be doing.

"Don’t say that was a mistake," Drew warned.

"It was a mistake." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, ignoring the tingling feeling in her breasts. "I can't do this with you. I have a kid now."

"Ria—"

"No more talking, please." She was holding on to her willpower by a thread. "Please go."

His lips drew into a tight line. "I'll go, but we both know we're going to end up right back here. One of these days you have to trust me."

"Trusting you is only a small part of it."

She slipped around him and walked over to the door. She opened it and waited. After a minute, he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and met her in the doorway.

"Just so you know," he said. "If you leave, I'll look for you. I'm not going to spend another year wondering where the hell you are, if you're dead or alive."

"I never asked you to wonder. You wanted one night. I gave it to you. That was supposed to be the end of our story."

"Well, it turns out it wasn't the end. It was just the beginning."

She pushed him into the hallway, shut the door, turned the deadbolt and fixed the chain. Then she leaned against the solid wood and drew in a deep breath, her heart still thudding against her chest. She put a hand to her mouth, her lips tender from the onslaught of his kiss. It had been exactly like the last time, fast, hot, intense, passionate…

But the last time she'd known she was leaving the next day. There would be no tomorrow, so she could live for the night.

Now she had to think about the future, about Megan, and about staying alive.

Chapter Ten

"Thanks for letting me stay home from school today," Megan said to Ria as they ate breakfast together on Monday morning.

Ria gave her niece a sympathetic smile. "Your face looks a hundred times better, but I do remember high school and mean girls. I think you can miss a day."