Page 96 of Seasoned
“Not as much as I’d like to, but I plan to change that in the future. More traveling is definitely in my plans.”
“You own two more stores now, right? Congratulations.”
“Thank you. It’s lots of work, but I love it. That’s about all I have to say on the business front. On the personal side, my parents are settled in Florida now. I helped them buy a condo on the beach, which was a longtime dream of theirs.”
“What about your sister—the one who was in your hotel room that one time I stopped by? She was crying about something, and I left so the two of you could talk.”
“Oh, Fiona. She was going through a messy divorce. She finally got rid of her cheating husband and went back to school. She became an anesthesiologist and still lives in Atlanta.”
“Have you visited her in the intervening years?”
Jackie opened her mouth and quickly shut it. An awkward silence overwhelmed the small balcony.
“You have been back. And you never called,” he said in a heavy voice.
“You never called me, Tyson,” she reminded him, her voice thick with unwanted sorrow. If he’d called just once, she would have hopped on a plane and met him anywhere he asked.
“I know.” The burden of regret pressed his shoulders into a downward slope.
Jackie drained her glass and set it on the metal table nearby. “It’s late. I should go.”
He took her hand, and once again she was overwhelmed by his touch. Her fingers trembled and her body awakened with a need that defied reason.
“I wasn’t ready. I’m not making excuses, I’m explaining.”
“I don’t think I can do this.” Her voice shook.
The night had been going so well, but the emotional turmoil he inflicted threatened to sully the minutes that remained. She wanted to escape. Needed to be free from him and the fantasy life she conjured every time she considered what could have been if they’d stayed in touch.
Jackie tugged her hand, but Tyson’s grip tightened. “Three dates. That’s what you agreed to.”
She swallowed hard and cast her gaze to the concrete floor at their feet.
Tyson lifted her hand to his lips and slowly placed three kisses—one,two,three—across her knuckles. By the time the last kiss landed, her fingers had curled tight around his and a flare of yearning so deep consumed her that she almost begged him to screw her.
He stepped closer, forcing her to look up into his dark eyes. His mouth temptingly near. His gray-speckled beard close enough for her to rub her cheek against. How was it possible to want him so much after all this time? Yet she couldn’t take the final step and reach out—pull him close and end the misery that had plagued her since he showed up at Bodacious that first night.
“How long do you plan to stay here, Tyson?”
“As long as it takes to win you over.”
Jackie shook her head. “That’s not what we agreed to.”
His lips flattened with disappointment, and then he said, “All right then. Two more dates, like we agreed. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Two more,” Jackie agreed, wishing she were strong enough to say no…and simply walk away.
7
Today’s date was a bit unorthodox, and Jackie had not known what to expect when Tyson called and told her to dress casually, they were going to do some exercising. With only her keys and a small change purse attached to the keychain containing her I.D., credit cards, and a little cash, she rounded the corner of her house and met Tyson in front of the driveway’s three-car garage. To her surprise, he had a new vehicle—a black Cadillac SUV with two bikes hitched to the back.
“You changed cars,” she commented, walking slowly toward him.
Of course he looked scrumptious in a set of blue joggers and a navy T-shirt. She wore red joggers and a white T-shirt.
“The two-seater wasn’t practical in general, and definitely not for what I have planned today.”
“And what do you have planned today?” She eyed the bicycles with dread.
