Her Great Expectations (16 page)

“Yours is much better, though.”

Sienna could barely choke down the morsel on her fork. Perspiration dampened her hairline. What had she done? She wished a trapdoor would open beneath her chair and swallow her up, phony dinner and all. She wished she could laugh it off and confess the truth. Instead she smiled tightly and said, “Thank you. More lentils?”

“Where do you get these Puy lentils?” Lexie asked. “I haven’t been able to find them in Summerside.”

“I…l-let me see,” Sienna stammered. Her throat closed up at the thought of uttering another lie. “I can’t remember.”

“Bromptons Deli in Mornington carries them,” Jack said. “Maybe that’s where you got them. Or else some place in the city?”

“M-Mornington.”

“I’ll have to get some,” Lexie said. “This is a lot like the lentil dish you make, Jack. I
love
that.”

Sienna had to grip the seat of her chair so as not to squirm like a six-year-old. She was a grown woman, a doctor and a respected member of the community. How had she gotten herself into this situation? Her own stupid pride, that’s how.

“Something like it,” Jack agreed. “Rex, is that your ’67 Jaguar out front?”

“It is.” Rex beamed. Without further prompting he launched into a tale of how much trouble he had getting parts.

Sienna breathed out slowly and unclenched her fists in her lap. Gradually she relaxed enough to ask Glyneth how things were at City Hospital, where Glyneth was head nurse. She told her friend about Erica, and about Oliver’s canceled trip and his lip piercing. Glyneth in turn told her about the new registrar who was a pain in the butt, Rex’s mother, who was staying with them for all of December, and their fifteen-year-old daughter’s first boyfriend.

When everyone was finished eating Sienna removed the dinner plates and brought out goblets of tiramisu. “Who wants coffee and who wants tea?”

She had both ready to go, so it was merely a matter of filling cups and ferrying sugar and cream to the table.

“You’re so organized,” Lexie said. “I don’t know how you do it. Especially with all the food preparation. It was absolutely perfect.”

“Please, it was nothing.” She really wished the praise would stop. She wasn’t perfect; she was deceitful.

Jack dug in to his tiramisu. “This is seriously good. You must have spent days cooking.”

Her misery was complete. He believed in her, trusted her, and she’d lied to him.

It was well past midnight before Sienna hugged Glyneth and Rex goodbye at the door. Renita, Martin, Lexie and Peter had left half an hour earlier.

“Come and visit us,” Glyneth said. “You, too, Jack.”

“You bet.” Jack followed Rex off the veranda. “I’ll take a closer look at the Jag before you go.”

While Jack and Rex went to examine the car, Sienna was grateful for a private moment with Glyneth. “What should I do about Erica? Anthony wants me to go see her.”

“Why, so he can rub your nose in it?” Glyneth said. “I’m sorry she’s not well, but it’s asking too much from you.”

“She was my friend.”

“Until she stole your husband. You don’t owe her anything.” Glyneth gave her another hug. “Forget about them. Things seem to have worked out well for you in Summerside. Jack is a keeper.”

“I’m telling you, we’re not together.” And if he ever found out what she’d done tonight, he wouldn’t respect her.

Sienna waved and walked back up the path into the house. The sound of clinking glass coming from the garage hurried her through the hall. Jack was putting the wine bottles into the recycling bin. Oh, no. There was no way he could have missed seeing the Instant Gourmet wrappings.

Jack came into the kitchen from the brightly lit garage. His eyes met hers, knocking the wind out of her.
He knew.

His lowered eyebrows and down-turned mouth made her realize just how congenial his usual expression was. Now he just looked…angry. Sienna felt the rich tiramisu rise in her stomach. “You caught me red-handed. Jack, I lied. I’m sorry.”

To her surprise, he burst out laughing. “I knew the moment you made me guess about the dressing for the oysters. You should have seen your face when you tried to come up with an answer.”

“What? You think this is funny? I lied to you, to everyone.” She plunged her hands into her hair, wishing she could pull it over her face and hide. “This is the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

Sobering, Jack leaned against the counter, elbows angled back. “Why did you do it?”

“I wanted to impress you with my cooking. You’re so good yourself and I know you set a lot of store by dinner parties…” She trailed off. It was pointless to go on.

“No, you did it because you’re an overachiever. And possibly because you wanted to show me up, to prove a person could do anything they set their mind to. If you could pull off a gourmet meal, I could build a perfect GPS, run the Men’s Shed, become prime minister, fly to the moon…”

“Okay, just stop.”

“Don’t you get it?” he continued. “The food is secondary. The whole point of a dinner party is the
company.
Do you really think I’m such a…a shallow person as to care about whether the lentils come from France or bloody Timbuktu? I wouldn’t care if you opened a tin of beans. I’d eat three-day-old leftovers. I’d eat two-minute noodles. I’d eat frickin’ stale crackers if—”

“If what?”

He sucked in a breath and then let it out in a gust. “And by the way, I’m friends with the owner of Instant Gourmet.”

She groaned. “Of course you are. You know everyone in town. How did I ever think I could get away with it?”

“That’s my lentil recipe.”

She buried her face in her hands. “I can’t look you in the eye,” she said, her voice muffled. “Just walk away and leave me to fall on my chef’s knife.”

He chuckled. “I think it’s cute that you wanted to impress me.”

“I don’t want to be cute. I want to be perfect.”

“Perfection isn’t top of my list of desirable qualities in a woman.” Then he was pulling her hands away from her face and brushing back her hair. “You’re so smart and efficient, if you didn’t have some faults you’d be intimidating.”

“I don’t have faults—just endearing idiosyncrasies.”

“You have sexy breasts and a sweet little ass.” He dipped his head and pulled her chin up. “And you’re driving me crazy with wanting you.”

He kissed her.

This isn’t supposed to happen.

Yet Sienna found herself running her hands up his chest and across his broad shoulders. Her eyes fluttered closed under the onslaught of Jack’s mouth. And his hands.
Oh, his hands.
Cupping her face, outlining the shape of her hips, her waist, her breasts. Sliding beneath her blouse, so hot she could swear she heard her skin sizzle.

With difficulty she pushed away from him.

“What’s wrong?” His breath gusted against her neck, making her shiver.

“This isn’t a good idea.”

“You’re right. It’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever had.”

“Then you should go.”

“No, I should stay.”

God help her, she wanted him to. He was making her crazy, too. She could never be with a man like Jack. But she couldn’t stop thinking about him, night and day.

Sienna swallowed hard against her panic. How many years had it been since she’d been with a new man? Sixteen, seventeen?

“Okay, then,” she said. “I’ll show you my bedroom.”

“Forget the bedroom,” he said, his voice husky. “We’ll do it right here.”

Sienna swallowed hard. His body was so taut and strong. Anthony had never been this fit. He shrugged out of his shirt, favoring his injured arm. Soon he would be naked. Then she would be naked. And they were going to have sex. In the kitchen. She nervously frayed the ends of a long strand of her hair. She’d come to Summerside looking for friends, not a lover. She needed time to get over Anthony, to reconnect with Oliver, to find herself, too.

“I have scented candles in the bedroom,” she said, stalling. “A king-size mattress—”

“I don’t need scented candles.” He plunged his hands in her hair and tugged her forward, lowering his face to her neck. “Mmm. Pineapple.” He nipped and licked his way down her neck. “Will Oliver be coming home soon?”

“He’s staying overnight at Jason’s.”

Jack unhooked her bra and tossed it away. It landed half in the fruit bowl, one cup over a grapefruit.

“Sex doesn’t belong in the
kitchen,
” she murmured. “I want this to be perfect.”

“Sex doesn’t have to be perfect. It belongs anywhere two people want to do it.” He reached over and flicked off the light switch, leaving only the light over the stove.

He pulled her arms up around his neck, pressing her bare breasts against his chest.

Heat pooled in her belly and between her legs. With a sigh, she softened against his body. Her mind ceased its frenzied spinning and she focused only on the sensation of being in his arms.

His hands skimmed her hips, found her zipper and slid it down. Her skirt dropped around her ankles, trapping her in its folds. Then his hand dipped inside her lace panties, his work-roughened fingertips an erotic contrast to her slippery softness. Her knees sagged and she clung to him as he deepened the kiss.

She slid a hand down his chest and over his belly to open the snap on his jeans. Peeling them down, she saw that his black boxers were bulging. He had the tightest butt she’d ever curled her fingers around. Jack lowered his head to draw a taut nipple into his mouth and Sienna moaned softly. Their breathing was short and shallow, audible. She pressed her hips against his, trying to get as close as possible.

She gave a whoop as, without warning, he lifted her onto the edge of the counter. Nudging her knees apart, he stepped between them while he alternately licked and sucked her nipples until she felt a sensual ache in her groin.

“Condom,” she managed to whisper.

“I’ve got one,” he said, fishing it out of his pocket.

It took him only a moment to get it on, and then he sank into her. She closed her legs around his hips. And then he started to move inside her and she gripped him tightly, her eyes glazed. The fruit bowl vibrated with every pump of his hips; her bra slipped off and fell onto the floor.

Clinging to his shoulders, Sienna arched her back, Jack held her in arms of iron, the tendons in his neck straining. Her muscles tightened and with a shuddering cry she held on to him as wave after wave convulsed her body. Triggered by her climax, Jack gave one last thrust. His body went rigid and he called her name.

Her heart still thundering in her ears, she collapsed her head on his shoulder. She’d needed this so badly, needed to just let go. It seemed to her she’d held herself in check ever since she’d made the decision to leave Anthony. Maybe even before that, when she’d agreed to marry him.

Maybe her whole life.

His eyes snapped open. Sienna was leaning over him, wavy red hair spilling over her breasts. She was tickling his face with the tip of one long strand. Her gray-green eyes sparkled and her mouth curved deliciously behind her fingers as she tried to contain her laughter.

Jack came fully awake to find himself adrift in shell-pink-and-lavender linen that popped against slate-blue walls. “I never figured you for a pastel person.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” She kissed him lightly, then lay on her side, facing him on her pillow.

Her nose was slightly crooked and her chin too pointed to balance her wide-set eyes. In the morning light she looked like a flawed angel. “I know you’re beautiful.”

“How’s your shoulder?” she asked, her cheeks pink. “We got pretty acrobatic, even after we moved to the bedroom.”

“My shoulder’s fine.” It was a bit sore, but he didn’t want to talk about that. He rolled onto his back and pulled her into his arms, her head on his chest, her body tucked against his side, small and snug. The first year after Leanne died, he’d slept with a dozen women. The next year the number halved. He hadn’t formed a relationship with any of those women. He’d wanted meaningless sex—until he’d realized how empty that made him feel. This year there’d been no one.

“Do you want breakfast?” Sienna asked, rubbing lazy circles on his chest. She rolled onto her back and stretched her arms wide. “I’m
starving.
Coffee and toast okay?”

“Or you could run down to Instant Gourmet and get two orders of eggs Benedict,” he murmured lazily.

She batted him with a pillow, forcing him awake. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“I made love with a woman who doesn’t cook,” Jack said to the ceiling. “I can’t believe it.”

“Stay there. I’ll be right back.” She bounded out of bed, her thick unruly hair swinging.

Jack was enjoying the sight of her nakedness, especially the sweet curve of her hips, but she pulled on a blue silk dressing gown, flipped her hair outside the collar and tied it tight. While she was gone he must have dozed again, because the next thing he knew she was bringing in a tray bearing steaming coffee and a plate of slightly burned toast. He struggled to a sitting position.

“I know it’s not much nourishment for a man,” she said, placing the tray on his lap while she climbed back into bed. “I was so traumatized by dinner party preparations I didn’t buy any regular groceries.”

“Next time we’ll stay at my house and
I
will cook breakfast,” he said, reaching for a mug.

“Next time?” She gave him a sidelong glance over a triangle of toast.

“Sure,” he said cautiously. “Why not?” Then because she didn’t answer right away, he filled the silence with the thing he’d been mulling over since he’d talked to Steve last night before the dinner party. “I’ve decided to start up the Men’s Shed again.”

She put down her toast. “That’s wonderful. When did you decide this?”

“Yesterday. Seeing my dad, I realized how much he needs the Shed. And, well, I enjoyed having a purpose to my day.” Jack glanced away, aware of the huge admission he’d just made, praying she didn’t make a big deal of it.

“I’m so happy,” she enthused. “For Steve, for the guys, for
you.
This is fantastic.” She punched him lightly on his good shoulder. “See, it wasn’t so hard. Your old life wasn’t working anymore, so you changed. Once you get the guys busy on a project, you can fix your GPS.”

Jack felt himself go cold. She thought
she’d
changed him. It was easy to make a suggestion—just start up a Men’s Shed, Jack, just invent a GPS—and another thing entirely to make it happen. If he mentioned that he was already working on the GPS, she’d be certain she had a hand in it. “What if I don’t want to?”

What if he couldn’t?

Her eyes widened as she realized her mistake. “I didn’t mean you
had
to.”

“I hope not.” If not the GPS, it would be something else. He had his life sorted out. He didn’t need to live up to her expectations.

Jack tried to go back to his breakfast, but he couldn’t relax. The lavender sheet was tucked under his butt, trapping him in place, and there were crumbs in his chest hair. The silence between him and Sienna wasn’t comfortable. Maybe breakfast in bed was just a bit too cozy, too soon. He set his half-finished coffee on the side table. “I’d better get home and let Bogie out. He’ll be bursting.”

“Are you sure?” She bit her lip. “I thought we could go for a walk later.”

“I was going to go running.” He pushed the covers back and yanked the sheet free so he could swing his legs out.

“I could run with you.” When he didn’t reply she added, “Or not. Never mind. Olly will be home soon. I should spend time with him today.” She glanced at the clock and feigned surprise. “Wow, I had no idea it was that late.”

Jack started to pull on his clothes. There was a hard lump in his throat. He couldn’t leave her like this. “What about a movie later this week?”

“Sure! Thursday?”

“Ye— No, I promised Renita I’d go to an investment talk with her.” Renita would let him off if he asked, but that cold part of him didn’t want to ask. “Friday?”

“Can’t,” Sienna said. “Bev, the receptionist at the clinic, invited me to her daughter’s hen night.”

“Okay.” Jack scrubbed a hand through his hair. This was awful. He was crazy about this woman. He absolutely could not walk out and leave her feeling rejected. But for the life of him he couldn’t seem to get back that warm fuzzy feeling. “I’ll give you a call. We’ll sort something out.”

“You’re mad at me for bringing up your GPS,” she said flatly, her arms hanging at her sides.

“No, of course not.” He pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on top of her head. “
Thank you
for a fantastic night. If I don’t run into you beforehand we’ll catch up for dinner at my place on Saturday.” He looked down. Damn if her eyes weren’t glistening.

“Perfect.” She blinked, then forced a smile. “Saturday.”