Page 41 of Keeping Guard
“When you became mine to worry about.” Finished filling the pot, Jack set it on the counter. “She’s a beautiful woman, and she seems nice. A good person.”
“But?” He knew where this was going, and he couldn’t disagree. Still, he was getting pissed. What he did or did not do with a woman wasn’t any of Jack’s concern.
“There’s always a but, yeah? This one is, are you in the right frame of mind for a relationship? Or are you just looking for an affair?”
“I have no intention of messing around with her. She asked me to camp out in her guest room for a few days until her ex gets the message that she’s done with him. I agreed, and that’s all I’m doing.” And kissing her, but he’d keep that to himself. Besides, he wasn’t going to do it again.Or she could be the one worth getting your head screwed on straight for.He needed to put a stop to that kind of thinkingandthe kissing. Done with this conversation, he picked up the ice bucket, then walked out.
The girls were stretched out on chaise longues. “Ice delivery.” He helped them put the bottles from the bag into the ice.
“Thanks,” Nichole said. She glanced up at Jack when he walked up. “You bring the opener, babe?”
“Don’t need one.” He took the bottle she held and twisted off the cap.
“I’m impressed.” Peyton looked at Noah and flirtatiously fluttered her eyelashes. “Are you manly enough to do that, too?”
“For you, princess, I’ll slay dragons.” Where the hell had that come from? Jack snorted, and Nichole was watching them with a curious gleam in her eyes. He didn’t like it.
He twisted the cap off, and after handing the bottle back to her, he perched on the deck railing, about as far away as he could get from her. Jack grabbed a bottle, then settled on the lounge chair next to Nichole.
“You want a beer?” Peyton asked.
“Sure.”
“What flavor?”
“I’ll stick with the Elk It Up. That’s one of Peyton’s creations,” he told Jack and Nichole. Peyton gave him a soft smile, and he wished he could take the words back. He didn’t want her soft smiles.Liar.
Three dogs raced onto the deck, two going to Jack and one to Nichole. Jack leaned over and put a hand on each of their heads. “We have guests, so be on your best behavior.”
“What pretty dogs.” Peyton held out a hand to the one next to Nichole.
“That one is Rambo,” Jack said. “He belongs to Nichole.” He tapped the Belgian Malinois on the head. “This is Dakota. She’s the head honcho of the bunch.” He moved his hand to the other dog. “This goofball is Maggie May. She’s a kleptomaniac, so guard your stuff around her.”
“You’re making that up,” Peyton said.
Nichole shook her head. “No, she really is. She’ll steal anything that catches her fancy.”
“She stole one of my shoes the night I was here,” Noah said.
Peyton grinned. “That’s funny.”
“Where’s Lucky?” Jack said.
“At Peyton’s.” He’d left him behind because he needed a night without a dog shadowing him. Jack could shoot disapproval his way all he wanted. He focused on Peyton, who was laughing at something Nichole said.
Damn, she was pretty. It wasn’t just her sky-blue eyes and long, inky-black hair, nor a body he itched to explore, that called to him. As much as those attributes appealed, it was her inner light that drew him in, that he longed to touch. He thought she could help him heal, but he had nothing to offer in return. All he could do was take, and he wouldn’t do that to her.
As he perched on the railing, listening to the three of them talk, his gaze stayed on Peyton. Every emotion showed on her face and in her eyes when she talked. Her hands were never still. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she’d been friends with Jack and Nichole for years.
The sun was setting, he was surrounded by people he liked, particularly one of them, and the conversation was interesting and sometimes funny, especially when Peyton got going. It was almost too easy to think life was normal, that he had possibilities. He wanted that to be true, but it wasn’t.
“What about you? What’s your superpower?” Peyton said, looking at him.
“Superpower?” His thoughts had drifted, and he tried to run their conversation back through his mind. He didn’t have a clue what they’d been talking about.
“Yeah. Jack can touch his nose with his tongue, which is impossible for most people. Nichole can wiggle her ears, and I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue.”
“You can do that?” What else could she do with her tongue?
