She sighed, drew him closer. And let him take her deeper.
Soft, slow, moist. The chill of the air against her heated skin, the scent of the night, the whisper of her name through lips moving, moving over her own.
If all the years between had formed a gulf between them, this one kiss in a deserted autumn garden began to forge the bridge.
It was he who drew back, then shook her to the core by grasping both of her hands, bringing them to his lips. “Give me a chance, Dana.”
“You dont know what youre asking. No, you dont,” she said before he could speak. “And I dont know the answer yet. If you want one that matters, youre going to have to give me time to figure it out.”
“Okay.” He kept her hands in his, but stepped back. “Ill wait. But I meant what I said before, about helping you. It hasnt anything to do with this.”
“I have to think about that, too.”
“All right.”
But there was one thing she knew, Dana realized as they walked back for his car. She wasnt still in love with him. They were, as hed said, different people now. And what she felt for him now made the love shed had for the boy seem as pale and thin as morning mist.
* * *
JORDAN let himself into the house, switched off the porch light. It had been a very long time, he reflected, since anyone had left a light on for him.
His choice, of course. That was what everything came down to. Hed chosen to leave the Valley, to leave Dana, and his friends and all that was familiar.
It had been the right choice; he would stand by that. But he could see now that his method of making it had been the flaw. The flaw that had left a crack in what had been. Just how did a man go about building something new on a faulty foundation?
He started toward the steps, then stopped as Flynn came down them.
“Waiting up for me, Dad? Did I miss curfew?”
“I see your night on the town put you in a cheery mood. Why dont we step back into my office?”
Without waiting for assent, Flynn strolled back to the kitchen. He took a look around. Okay, it was a hideous room, even he could see that. The ancient copper-tone appliances, the ugly cabinets and linoleum that possibly had looked fresh and jazzy in his grandfathers generation.
But he still couldnt visualize how it could, or would, look when Malory got done with it. No more than he could understand why the prospect of ripping it apart and putting it back together made her so happy.
“The guys are coming in Monday to bomb this place.”
“Not a moment too soon,” Jordan commented.
“I was going to get around to it, sooner or later. It wasnt like I was using it. But since Malory, stuff actually gets cooked in here.” He bumped the stove with his foot. “She has a deep and violent hatred for this appliance. Its kind of scary.”
“You brought me back here to talk about Malorys obsession with kitchen appliances?” “No. I wanted cookies. Malory has this rule against eating them in bed. This is something else I cant figure,” he continued as he got a bag of Chips Ahoy out of the cupboard. “But Im an easygoing guy. You want milk?”
“No.”
His friend was wearing gray sweats and a T-shirt that might have been new during his sophomore year of college. His feet were bare, his expression easy.
Looks, Jordan knew, could be very deceiving.
“And youre not easygoing, Hennessy. You pretend to be easygoing so you can get your own way.”
“Im not eating these in bed, am I?”
“Small potatoes, son. You got the woman in your bed.”
“Yeah.” Grinning, Flynn poured a glass of milk, then sat down, stretched out his legs. “I do. Of course, shes up there reading instead of offering me intriguing and varied sexual favors, but I can bide my time.”
Jordan sat. Flynn, he knew from long experience, would get to his point eventually. “So, you want to talk about your sex life? Is this going to be a bragging session, or are you looking for advice?”