At this moment, necessity didn’t make her job any more appealing. “If you gentleman will excuse me?” She rose from her seat and both men stood.

She’d catch up with Jack later and fill him in on the call. As to whether anything else transpired between them-well the next invitation was up to him.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JACK WATCHED Mallory’s retreat, regret clenching and unclenching his gut. Calling her one of the boys had been necessary, but one of the hardest things he’d ever done-because he knew how deep his words would wound her. There was nothing he could do about it now, so he turned back to Lederman.

“Come on, Paul, she’s gone. Now tell me what you’ve got going. I met up with Eva down at the gym. Now she’s hot.”

“She’s yesterday. You know that Nantucket deal I was telling you about?” He dropped his voice to a hushed tone.

Jack groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re buying a resort just to get an in with some woman.” He glanced out toward the large veranda-like porch where Mallory had gone and realized he’d buy a lot more than land just to keep her with him.

The more he learned about her past, the better he understood her. He respected her professional climb and he trusted her.

“What better way to retain control of the situation?” Lederman asked.

Jack sighed. Regardless if he could empathize with the concept Lederman had just broached, professionally the man was talking a suicide move. Paul was thinking but not with his brain.

“Look, say you hire me and I get you out of this marriage with most of your assets intact. Why would you go buying yourself a problem? Screw the woman if you have to and walk away. You’ve heard of sexual harassment. You buy the resort, you’re buying yourself major headaches.”

“This woman’s special.” The older man leaned forward in his seat. “And she understands me, something I don’t have now.”

“They’re all special in the beginning,” Jack said, repeating the same mantra he’d used on other clients embarking on an affair while embroiled in a messy divorce.

Only this time, a voice in his head he’d never heard before argued that maybe Lederman had a point. Maybe one woman could be special enough to make it worth risking everything for.

That’s when Jack knew, morning or not, he needed a stiff drink. Or an immediate getaway from the enclosed hotel atmosphere and the intensity of the feelings Mallory effortlessly invoked.

Lederman shook his head, his lips thinning in disappointment. “You’re too young to be so cynical. Maybe you need to get lucky yourself.”

Jack let out a laugh. Lederman would fall over in his chair if he knew how close Jack was to getting lucky. “You’re paying me to be cynical. Which reminds me, are we in or out as your divorce attorneys? Because much as I like it here, I can’t afford to lounge around much longer.”

“Relax, Jack. Like you said, I’m paying you to lounge around. I’ll see you later.”

Jack groaned. What he needed was to get the hell out of this resort and back into the real world, but with Lederman calling the shots that wouldn’t be happening. Still, there were other ways of alleviating his cabin fever.

The ball was back in his court where Mallory was concerned, and he knew just the solution. He’d take Mallory into the real world-where he’d see how little they had in common and where he’d be reminded of how much he hated the feeling of being tied to any one woman.

Special ones like Mallory included.

MALLORY STOOD in the luxury gift shop of the hotel, looking over the array of eyewear. She tried on gold-rimmed Fendi frames, thick-framed black Gucci sunglasses and Prada glasses with no frames at all. They were all way out of her price range, but she continued to look, convinced that wearing such feminine and sexy glasses would rebuild her pride, still wounded from being called one of the boys. By Jack.

“Have you made a decision?” The saleswoman asked.

Mallory shook her head. “I’d love these.” She slid on the Prada glasses, so opposite of her daily frames, and posed in front of the mirror. With the sun shining through the windows and no heavy black lenses bogging her down she felt lighter and freer.

“The lavender tint compliments your skin tone.”

Mallory didn’t know if that was truth or a sales pitch, not that it mattered. “Unfortunately they’re beyond my means.” She’d spent her surplus money on the cozy cabin for herself and Jack. The memories they made there would last a lot longer than an expensive pair of sunglasses or the illusion of femininity and freedom they provided.

All she needed to do was glance in the mirror without her glasses to see the shabby truth. She pulled off the shades and handed them back to the woman. “Thank you anyway.”

“My pleasure. Here’s my card if you change your mind.”

Mallory smiled. “I appreciate that.” She left the store, realizing she’d fallen into an oh-poor-me routine that was as pathetic as it was unnecessary.

She’d chosen her life and had no business regretting it now, just because she’d gone and fallen in love with Jack.

She’d fallen in love with Jack.

Mallory stumbled toward the group of chairs arranged in the center of the lobby. She settled herself into the nearest one before her knees buckled beneath her. She’d fallen in love with Jack. The revelation shouldn’t be a shock. It was exactly what she’d feared when she’d embarked on this trip, even though she hadn’t voiced that fear aloud. Her heart thudded hard in her chest. She tried to calm herself by forcing deep and even breaths.

She’d get through this. For once her past was going to work in her favor. If she could learn to live without the love of her parents, she could darn well learn to live without Jack’s.

“Excuse me, Miss?”

At the sound of the saleswoman’s voice, Mallory turned around. “Are you calling me?”

The blond-haired woman nodded. “These are for you.” She held out a sunglass case with the silver Prada logo on top.

Mallory shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“A good-looking man with dark hair said to tell you there’s a note inside. You are so lucky. It’s such a romantic gesture.”

“Well…” Speechless, Mallory accepted the case. As the saleswoman retreated, Mallory stayed seated so she could read and absorb Jack’s words.

What good are sunglasses without a convertible? Join me for the ride of your life. Fifteen minutes out front. If you dare to go out in broad daylight.

She slipped the glasses on and her adrenaline started pumping. Mallory Sinclair wasn’t a quitter. She wasn’t someone who felt sorry for herself and wallowed in pity. She was a survivor who made the best of what life threw her way.

But for whatever time they had left, fate had given her Jack. She loved him and maybe she couldn’t have him for forever-but she could most definitely have him for now.

MALLORY MANAGED to change clothes and get back downstairs with one minute to spare. She walked outside, caught sight of the red convertible gleaming in the sunlight and fell in love-this time with the sleek machine and the lure of freedom. Not to mention the man sitting in the driver’s seat.

He was tanned and sexy and waiting just for her. He honked the horn and waved her over. “Come on before we miss the best part of the day.”

She couldn’t see his eyes behind his darkened shades but just looking at him warmed her blood faster than the sun overhead. She ran to the car and jumped into the passenger seat. She paused only to pull her new glasses out of her bag and slide them onto the bridge of her nose. “I won’t ask how you knew about these, but thank you just the same.”

He slung one arm over the back of her seat. “You’re welcome. Pleasing you is my number one priority.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that.” She rubbed her hands together and reminded herself he was joking. “Where are we going?”

He grinned. “You’ll see.”

She kicked her sandals off and curled her legs beneath her. “I can’t wait.”

He studied her intently. His admiring gaze never left her face. “You look sexy in those lenses.”

She couldn’t doubt his sincerity and the compliment soothed her bruised feelings from earlier. “Thank you.”

His fingers brushed her bare shoulders, skimming the flesh her halter exposed, and she trembled. “That top is something else, too. Or should I say it’s the body beneath it that’s so spectacular.”

She laughed. “You can say whatever you want as long as you keep those compliments coming.”

“That’s no hardship, sweetheart.”

Her heart lodged in her throat. She couldn’t let his sweet-talking words go to her head. “Don’t you think we ought to get going before someone sees us looking and acting less than businesslike?”

“As usual you’ve got a point.” He shifted gears into drive, put his foot to the pedal and they hit the road. “And speaking of business, what’s going on with Rogers?”

Mallory shrugged. “He thinks he’s on to something. He’ll be in touch.”

“Soon, I hope. Lederman’s stalling is making me crazy. John Waldorf says things at the office are status quo and they’re handling his most recent business-no mention of Nantucket but it may be too new. We’ll see.”

She nodded. “But it’s all moot for the day anyway.”

“So let’s put it behind us for now, yes?”

She grinned. “Yes.” A day alone with Jack. She could handle that.

She’d let down her hair for his benefit and as the car picked up speed, the warm wind blew the longer pieces wildly around her face. She reveled in the freedom as he drove with one hand and laced his fingers through the strands with the other.

The sensual tugging on her scalp felt wickedly good. She leaned her head against the seat, shut her eyes and gave herself over to the sensation of the wind and his hands playing a seductive dance in her hair and against her skin.

“This is heaven,” she said aloud.

“Just wait till we reach our destination.”

Almost forty minutes of bliss and comfortable silence later they turned onto a road that ran parallel to the beach and boasted huge estates on the water.

Mallory peered through her sunglasses at the mansions, replete with gates, security systems and too many rooms to possibly count. Each one had a magnificent view. With the sun high in the blue sky and not a cloud in sight, the water seemed to go on forever.

Leaning closer to him for a better view out his side, his potent, masculine scent assaulted her senses. It was all she could do not to cuddle close. Thank heavens for the gear shift, she thought, which protected her from her baser impulses.

“Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live in one of those homes?” she asked instead.

His grunt let her know exactly what he thought of that question. “I grew up in a two-bedroom apartment in the city. One of those places was never within the realm of possibility.” His jaw clenched, making her think she’d hit a nerve.

She quickly changed the subject. “Well, I grew up in the suburbs. We used to go to Cape Cod and Rhode Island for a few weeks during the summers-as soon as sleep-away camp ended, which was how they got rid of me during the bulk of the summer.”

She shifted in her seat and glanced out the window at the ocean beyond. “My parents would drop me at an aunt’s house while they took off shopping or sightseeing. “‘You stay home, Mallory. You’re too young toappreciate antiques,’” she said in a perfect imitation of her mother.

“She sounds charming.”

“Cool is more like it. They both were. After dropping me off, they’d take these romantic drives around the beach or into town. I know this because it’s all my mother would talk about when they finally got back hours later-sometimes days if the whim struck.”

His assessing eyes bore into hers before he turned his focus back to the road. “You hated being left out.”

She gripped her forearms tight, hugging herself against the memories that surfaced as hard and strong as the ocean current. “I hated being the third wheel, which I was whether I was dragged along with them or left behind.”

“How’d you get through it?”

“By daydreaming about living in a castle or fantasy house where everyone catered to what I wanted. Especially my parents who couldn’t bear to be separated from their only daughter.” She let out a cynical laugh. “As if.”

His gut clenched in her defense. As if anything he felt on her behalf could chase away the truth of that awful time in her life. He hated that anyone could make her feel so isolated and alone.