“How so? Are you not listening?” she replied with an edge of irritation.
“I’m listening. You got to travel the world. You made good money, even if it was stolen from you. Landing a big account in the modeling world isn’t an easy task, so, again, you accomplished something impressive. Okay, you trusted the wrong person. Many of us have made that mistake.”
“Have you?”
Jackson was quiet as he looked at her, collecting his thoughts. “I’ve made many mistakes, and, yes, I’ve trusted the wrong person before. It’s something you allow to happen once. Trust me when I say you won’t be fooled again by someone like your ex-boyfriend.”
“I think I would be a fool to trust you.” This she somehow knew with every fiber of her being. Still, a shiver passed through her while she gazed at Jackson with a rapidly building attraction kindling inside her, and she couldn’t seem to turn away. It was absurd. She didn’t know him, couldn’t possibly know him after talking for only a few hours.
There was hot chemistry between them; that was more than clear. But there was a long way between chemistry and actually knowing the man. Was it his eyes? Though he tried to appear cold and calculating, there was a softness in their endless brown depths that spoke of honor and hardship and led her to believe she could trust him.
“You’re wise to think so,” he said.
“What is happening here?”
A couple of seconds passed before she realized she’d voiced her thought aloud.
“We’re connecting,” he answered, his hand lifting again as he held her captive with his gaze while his fingers trailed down her cheek and then caressed her bottom lip.
She fought the need rippling through her and tried to lighten the mood. She should turn away, but she couldn’t stop speaking to him, couldn’t end their night just yet. So she had no other choice but to put on a smile and challenge him.
“Okay, I’ve told you my pathetic sob story. Now it’s your turn to tell me something about you.”
He smiled, a secretive smile that said he wouldn’t give her anything of himself that he didn’t want to give. A smile that had her hand twitching with a need to run her fingers across that impressive expanse of his chest. That had her wanting to take a taste of those lips. Wanting to learn what he was hiding.
Shaking her head, she remained stubbornly silent, refusing to reveal anything further about herself until he gave up something—anything!
“I was once a completely different man,” he said, then was silent.
She raised her eyebrows expectantly. “You’re persistent in your silences, Jackson.”
He laughed. Oh, the sound of his soft laughter tickled her nerve endings, making her want so badly to close the gap between them.
“I was once married, to my college sweetheart. We had a daughter.” Jackson went silent as he looked at Alyssa.
She didn’t want to say a word, too afraid he would stop talking. She could see he didn’t even understand why he was telling her this, and the pain radiating from his eyes clearly made it obvious this wasn’t something he normally shared.
“My daughter’s name was Olivia. She was three months old when she died. For years I didn’t think I’d ever forgive myself for letting it happen.”
“Oh, Jackson . . .” What should she say? There was nothing that could make that kind of pain disappear.
“I was the fire chief. When I was finally able to enter that building and found her lifeless body, I was done with it all.” He spoke in almost a monotone, his eyes looking over her head as if he wasn’t even seeing her.
“What happened?”
“It’s a long story involving a bitter divorce and a fight for our daughter. My ex wasn’t a good woman, and she didn’t want our child. She was smoking in the apartment, fell asleep, and the building caught fire. I was young when I married, naive, with stars in my eyes. All I’d wanted was to settle down, have a family, and live happily ever after. I discovered it wasn’t going to happen. I will never love again, certainly never marry again, and I would never subject a child to the trauma of parents who hate each other.”
“You had to have loved her if you married her.” That’s how the world survived: people falling in love, getting married, and bringing a new generation into the world.
“I did. And I learned that love isn’t enough to counter greed, dishonesty, and selfishness.”
“Not everything is so black-and-white. Just because your wife turned out to be someone different from what you thought doesn’t mean all women are deceptive,” she said.
“Ha. All women want something, Alyssa. What is it that you want?”
She was instantly offended, and though she shouldn’t respond to such a crass question, she did. “I want to be happy, to have a family someday and live the American dream. I have to regroup, but just because I have to start over doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on life.”
“Give it a few more years.”
“You seem so sure, Jackson,” she said with sadness. “Where is the man who was just giving me a pep talk a few minutes ago?” He ignored her question, so she continued. “Yes, what you went through is horrible, but that doesn’t mean you have to change into another person entirely.”
“At one point in my life, all I wanted was to be a hero. Now I realize that people don’t want to be saved. They want to take and take, just like your manager took from you.”
“It’s too bad you feel that way,” she said with a sigh, thinking that opening up hadn’t been such a great idea. She decided to try to switch things up, to try to salvage their conversation. “You said you buy and sell companies now?”
“Yes. It’s boring, it’s easy, and I have a knack for it.”
“If it’s so boring, why do it?”
“Because it’s something to do. I have been investing for years; this was just another form of investment.”
“You’re right, that does sound boring,” she said with a laugh, and he raised his eyebrows.
“Are you mocking me, Alyssa?” Oh, the sound of his voice whispered right through her entire body.
“I find I quite enjoy mocking you. I have a feeling not too many people do it, Jackson.”
“You’re certainly right about that. Besides you, I think the only other people who would dare to challenge me or mock me are my father and brothers,” he said with a real smile.