The Second Time Around (7 page)

“What I'm trying to say is life is too short. You've already spent the last five years running from Jabarie and your feelings. I just think it's time the two of you talk and try to work things out.”

An hour later, she was sitting out on the beach with a book. Instead of reading, she was thinking about what her aunt said.
Talk
. What in the world did they have to talk about? Five years ago Jabarie deceived her. Not the other way around. Memories of his betrayal were still fresh in her mind and her heart. She thought he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her yet she walked in to find him lying on the couch with another woman. Anger bubbled up inside her that she quickly pushed aside. Was she ever going to be able to get past the pain and get on with her life? At this point, she still wasn't sure. With a weary breath, Brenna decided that maybe Aunt Nellie was right. Before she left, they did need to talk. She would rather avoid the discussion; however, before she left they were going to have to dredge up the past. If she was ever going to get on with her life she needed to understand if everything he had told her was a lie and why. Finding him in the arms of another woman had hurt her far worse than the lawyer standing on her porch holding a prenuptial agreement.

Brenna had just opened her book when she glanced across the sand and noticed Jabarie coming from the direction of Aunt Nellie's. She groaned inwardly, knowing good and well her aunt had been more than happy to tell him where to find her. Not that she was hiding.

She watched him as he approached her not at all surprised that he'd shown up. The man had a head like a brick wall. Of course, that was one of the things she found most attractive about him—his stubborn determination to have things his way. Brenna knew last night when she refused to have dinner with him that he would be back again today. Jabarie had never been a man to give up easily, not when he wanted something badly enough. She just wished he had been that determined about their relationship.

Brushing the past aside, Brenna focused on the here and now.

As Jabarie moved toward her, she shook her head, hating the sudden ache in her belly that indicated that even after all these years he could still get to her. But, as her eyes traveled to the leather sandals on his feet back up to his dark bedroom eyes, she admitted that forgetting someone wasn't easy when they were that fine. Jabarie had a body that made a woman's panties fall off voluntarily. Today he was wearing blue jean shorts that emphasized his muscular thighs and calves. Her gaze swept up to his massive chest in a white cotton T-shirt that strained across the chest. She wasn't ready yet to admit it, but a small part of her had actually been looking forward to seeing him.

“Hello, Bren,” he said in a silky smooth voice that still aroused her.

She nodded. “Jabarie.”

He lowered onto the red beach blanket beside her and the familiar scent of cologne ruffled her nose and for a second she allowed herself to get lost in the memories of their life together. God, she missed him. The arguments, the laughter and great makeup sex. She once loved this handsome man sitting beside her. It had taken months for her to get to the point where she didn't miss him every waking hour and again in her dreams. Now here he was, back in her life, trying to put her through all that pain again. Well, she wasn't having it. She still cared deeply about him. That was a given. But she was not about to give her heart to him a second time no matter how much she missed him. Somehow she had to find closure while staying strong.

“You like Walter Mosley?” he asked as he reached for her book and read the blurb on the back.

“Oh, yeah,” she replied, glad that they had found a safe subject to break the tension floating around them. “I got hooked on him about two years ago.”

Nodding, he glanced up from the book jacket and met her eyes. “My secretary gave me a copy of his newest release for Christmas last year. I read it in a week.”

Smiling, Brenna stretched out her legs in front of her. “So you're reading now?”

Jabarie chuckled amusingly then set the book down on the blanket beside him. “Yes, I've been reading for pleasure for several years now. Remember how I used to tease you all the time about having your head buried in a book?”

Brenna nodded. “I remember, and you didn't believe me when I said you didn't know what you were missing.”

With a smile, Jabarie crossed his ankles, then leaned back and rested the weight of his body on his forearms. “I know now. Reading has been a wonderful escape for me. Ask your aunt. I've become a regular customer at her store.”

“Really?”

His grin deepened. “I've been reading at least two books a month. With work it isn't always easy but whenever I get the opportunity to hide out on the yacht for the weekend, I always take a book with me.”

Brenna swung her head around with surprise. “You have a yacht?”

He nodded. “My dad bought one about a year ago to impress his clients. She is a beauty, too. She belongs to all of us, but I think I use her more than anyone else.”

“Does that mean you've learned how to sail a boat?” She remembered it being a dream of his.

“No, not quite yet, but I'm learning. We have a captain and a full staff available whenever we take her out on the water.” He gave her a long dreamy look. “There is nothing like being out there. I've made a rule that when I go out I leave all my worries at the dock, then I enjoy two nights of catching up on reading and relaxation.”

As kids they used to call him water boy because every chance he had Jabarie was outside playing in the water. “Sounds like fun.”

“It is.” Reaching over, his hand caressed the length of her arms and their eyes met. “How about going out on the yacht with me next weekend?”

It took her a few minutes to find her voice. “No, that wouldn't be a good idea. That long, all by ourselves, we might end up killing each other.”

He fingered his neatly barbered mustache. “Or we'll find other ways to utilize our time.”

His sexual reference angered her. He was determined to get her back in his bed. Although, right now, that idea didn't sound too bad, she wasn't even about to go there with him. “I don't think so.”

Leaning forward, he asked, “Are you afraid to be alone with me?”

“Absolutely not!” Brenna cried louder than intended. The side of the beach where they were sitting was relatively empty, but a woman in a lounge chair a few yards away turned and peered over the top of her sunglasses at them before returning her attention to her book.

“I think you're lying,” he finally said.

“I'm not afraid of you, Jabarie.”

“Then prove it,” he challenged with a wide smirk.

Jabarie had been leaning toward her and when he realized that their mouths were only a few inches away, he pulled back. Physical desire was one thing, but he couldn't confuse it with the emotions she stirred within him. Lust surged through him as he breathed deeply. Brenna's scent was lightly floral and uniquely feminine and cried to everything that was masculine about him. His loins screamed at him not to take no for an answer. Damn, he needed to relieve his sexual frustration more than he'd thought, but they were lying on the beach, not in a bed. He leaned back onto his elbows and crossed his ankles.

“Okay, then if you're not afraid of me, why don't you want to go out?” he asked again. Talking was the only way to distract his attention away from her mouth, or so he thought before he watched her nibble nervously on the succulent bottom lip. He groaned to himself. They reminded him of a ripe red strawberry. Sweet and juicy.

“You know why. So I don't know why you keep asking me the same question over and over.”

“Because I'm not going to be happy until I get my way.”

“Too bad,” she replied with a stubborn tilt of her chin. “Now leave, you're bothering me.” Brenna then reached over for her book and flipped to the folded page and started reading as if he was no longer there. He didn't bother to leave. Instead, he took the opportunity to study her.

Her hair was pulled up and held in place by a rubber band. A tendril of hair had escaped and hung loosely along the side of her face. The contrast of honey brown hair and smooth caramel skin wasn't lost on him. He reached out and brushed the strand back into place then trailed a path along her cheek down to her neck. Brenna flinched.

“What were you out here thinking about?”

“Nothing,” she replied without looking up from the book.

“What do you mean nothing?” Sitting up, he snatched the book from her lap and held it behind his back so she couldn't reach it, despite her protest. “If you're sitting out here alone then you're thinking.”

Her eyes sparkled angrily. “And why do you think that?”

“Because I come out to the beach all the time when I want to be alone with my thoughts.”

“Really, and what do you think about?”

“You…and what happened between us five years ago.”

She looked away but her hand trembled slightly. “Sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone.”

He sat up abruptly. “But I don't want to. I need to understand why things went so wrong between us.”

Her shoulders slumped and she gave a resigned sigh. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“Yes, Brenna, I do. We need to clear the air and talk about what happened.”

“Why? That was five years ago. I've moved on.”

“Well, I haven't.”

She licked her dry lips and took a deep breath. “That's not my problem.”

“You're wrong. It is your problem. Every time I think about marriage and kids all I can see is you. I've tried having relationships with other women and they never last because all I can think about is you.”

She went completely still. She would never have expected him to say those words.

“I still love you. Nothing about that has changed.”

Her chest constricted and it hurt to breath. Everything started closing in and becoming too close for comfort the second he told her he still loved her. Liar!
If you loved me why were you with Anika?
She wanted to scream but could not find the air to do so. “Well, I don't love you.”

He took in a lungful of air then nodded. “I didn't expect you to.”

Her eyes darkened dangerously. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

She shrank back from him, carefully, and replaced the shield she'd worn when he had arrived. All traces of sadness left her face even though an aura of vulnerability lingered around her. If they hadn't grown up together, he may not have recognized it.

“Are you going to tell me what you were out here thinking about before I bothered you?”

She hesitated. “I told you. Nothing.”

“Tell me,” he said softly, knowing from his sister that women liked to talk about the things that were heavy on their minds. “Were you thinking about me?”

“No,” she said and let out a deep sigh as her eyes traveled out onto the water. “I was thinking about this place. I can't believe how much has changed. I really miss being here.”

Without really thinking Jabarie curved his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She laid her head against his shoulder. For several moments he offered strength and comfort. Closing her eyes, it was like they had slipped back in time when they could talk about anything. A time when they were young and eager to share all their secrets. When they had been hopelessly in love.

With her nestled so trustingly in his arms he knew he shouldn't betray that, but holding her petite frame had a distinct effect on him. When she tilted her head back and stared innocently up at him, he lowered his and brushed his lips over her mouth. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it was long enough to send his hormones into a tailspin.

“If you miss it here that much then move back.”

Brenna frowned and eased out of his embrace. “I have a life in Dallas.”

“You also have a life here that you can come back to.”

She shook her head. “It's not that simple.”

He gazed over at her trying to read her thoughts the way he used to be able to, but he couldn't. There was no way she could have had changed that much. Somewhere deep down inside had to be that girl he had once been hopelessly in love with. When she noticed him staring, she dropped her eyes. “Is there someone in Dallas waiting on you?” he asked.

Brenna thought about the few meaningless dates she had. There was not one man she could consider a strong possibility. “Yes…” she began and when she saw the muscles at his jaw flex, she continued. “My store.”

His expression softened. “You can always open another store.”

“And compete with my aunt, no way.”

“You can always take over her store. You know she's seriously thinking about selling.”

“She is?” That was the first she heard of that.