He never got mushy. That was for women, or men who were too weak to hide their emotions. What the hell was happening here?

All he knew was that he hadn’t had a moment alone with Lucy all afternoon, and he didn’t like it one bit. Granted, he was the host and besides handling the barbecue, he also had to play bartender and handle some PR with his peers. But dammit, the one thing he wanted was in his line of sight but out of his reach.

And the way things were going, it didn’t look like he’d be able to grab a minute alone with her for some time to come.

Not that he was sure what he wanted to do if he had that minute with her, but he’d damn sure think of something.

“Your girl is spectacular.”

Jake turned and smiled at Maria Sampson. He’d known her husband, Steve, since they’d apprenticed together on his first job site. Steve had been four years older but as green as Jake.

“Thanks.”

“She’s great with Bayley.”

He followed Maria’s gaze to see Bayley pulling herself to a standing position by grabbing on to Lucy’s blue top, which appeared to be sliding further down her chest, nearly revealing her perfect breasts. Lucy just laughed, gently extricated Bayley’s hand from inside the top, and held on to the baby’s little fingers so she could stand.

“Yeah. She’s great.”

“Good choice, Jake,” Maria said. He watched as she went over and rescued Lucy from Bayley’s chubby clutches. Lucy looked as if she was reluctant to let the baby go.

There it was again, that tugging on his heart. Oh, man, he needed a drink. And maybe a stiff dose of some angry testosterone before he ended up dropping to his knees in front of Lucy and begging her to marry him and bear his children.

Wouldn’t she get a laugh out of that one?

Thankfully, he spent the next hour busily feeding everyone and cleaning up the mess.

By the time dusk rolled around, most of the group was ready to head home.

Jake was more than ready for them to be gone.

Thank God Lucy had planned this party. One by one everyone had congratulated him and told him it had been the best contractors’ barbecue yet. But he wasn’t about to take the credit. Left up to him, they’d have had hot dogs, beans and beer, and would have spent the entire day sitting around and staring at each other.

Lucy had saved his butt.

“She sure saved your behind today,” Bob said, coming up to stand next to him.

They both watched Lucy play a round of some kind of Nerf ball game with the kids. She looked to be having as much fun as the children. Her eyes would go wide over some antic, then she’d giggle uncontrollably, finally ending up with two or three little ones tumbling on top of her.

Jake bit back a groan at watching her writhe all over the ground, her slender legs exposed in her little shorts. What he wouldn’t give to join her and really give her a reason to roll around.

He popped open the can and took a couple quick gulps, thankful for the cooling liquid on his parched throat. Figured today would be the hottest day of the summer so far.

Fortunately, Lucy had anticipated it and suggested the tents to keep the sun away.

Face it. She’d thought of everything.

“Shelly really likes her. Hell, all the women like her. Nobody had an unkind word to say about her.” Bob looked at Jake and shrugged, almost as if he was sorry to be the bearer of that news.

Didn’t surprise Jake in the least. He’d been busy today, but not too busy that he didn’t notice the way she fit in with his crowd. Not that he’d worried she wouldn’t. Well, maybe a little. Funny how she could be so at ease with his kind of people, when he expected her to be bored or appalled at the behavior of the kids.

“I’m glad Shelly liked her.” Her opinion meant a lot to Jake. Shelly had called him on some of the women he’d brought around over the years, and damn if she hadn’t been right about every one of the women she’d told him were a complete waste of his time.

“I gotta warn you,” Bob said, “she’s already thinking of you two as a permanent couple.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Not gonna happen.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Bob’s snicker didn’t go unnoticed. Nor did his mumbled “famous last words” as he walked away.

No. It wasn’t gonna happen. Not now, not ever. So he might as well get any heart tugging, thinking of Lucy as goddess of creation, out of his head, because their worlds were not going to collide.

Trouble was, they already had. Every day he spent with her she wriggled more and more into his head, his mind and his heart. He had to get her out of there, and fast. To her, this was just a charade. If he got attached to her he was going to lose.

Hell, he’d already lost. Everyone had left, finally, and he stood at the back door, mesmerized while watching that perfect backside of hers as she bent over to pick up trash. Little blue shorts stretched tight, along with that clingy top that showed just a hint of cl**vage along with some blue, lacy-looking bra.

He adjusted his shorts, feeling the almost instantaneous twitching which always occurred whenever she was around.

Thankfully he had been too busy today. Wouldn’t have looked too good to have his peers see him follow Lucy around the yard, drooling like a dog on a too hot summer day.

She finally turned and spotted him, then straightened and graced him with a brilliant smile that he could see despite the gathering darkness. He walked toward her.

“You don’t have to clean up,” he said, taking the trash bag from her hands.

She frowned. “I don’t mind. Besides, there’s not much left to do. Most everyone put all their trash in the bags.”

They patrolled the yard together, Lucy clearing off the last of the cans and paper plates that had been left, while Jake held open the trash bag. He kind of liked this domestic stuff. Surprisingly, she hadn’t complained once about doing any of the prep work or the clean up.

For a stuck-up socialite, she sure seemed to enjoy the down home simplicity of his life.

Or maybe he was reading into this what he wanted to see, not the way things really were. She was simply being polite because he’d asked for her help. Nothing more than that.

“I think we got it all picked up,” she said, sweeping her hair away from her face.

She stood in the middle of the yard, hands on hips, and nodded.

They headed into the house and Jake fixed them both a drink, then motioned for Lucy to join him in the living room. They sat on the leather sofa, which felt cool to his legs after the itching heat from outside.

“Thank you for helping. Thanks for everything today. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

A blush stained her cheeks. “It was fun. I didn’t mind at all. Do you think it turned out okay?”

“Hell yeah. From what I heard it was the hit of all the barbecues so far.” He stretched his legs on the coffee table in front of him. “Everyone said they’d have a hard time competing with this one.”

“Oh, it wasn’t that big a deal. Just a few bites of food and some games for the kids.”

She looked beautiful sitting there, her expression tentative, yet hopeful. For someone with so much going for her, she sure seemed a mass of insecurities. Didn’t she realize how great she was?

Reaching out, he grabbed a loose curl and threaded it through his fingers.

“You did more than just a little. Take a bow, you deserve it. And I really appreciate your help.”

“You’re welcome. I actually had a great time today.”

“I could tell. You seemed to really enjoy the kids,” he said, trying to find some way to break the spell she wove over him.

She grinned. “I love being around kids. I wish I had more exposure to them, but unfortunately, not many of the people I know have children. The social events I attend don’t allow kids.”

“You know, you looked completely different out there today. Nothing like a lawyer at all.”

One corner of her mouth lifted in that saucy grin he liked so much. “Really? And what did I look like?”

He thought a moment, and then it struck him. The way the children gravitated to her, her natural ability to make them feel comfortable. “You looked more like a kindergarten teacher.”

Her face paled and the smile died on her face. Tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to spill over.

“Hey. What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m sorry, it’s just that I, what I mean is, what you said, oh, never mind. I’m sorry, please excuse me.” Her last words were said on a quivering gasp. She set her glass on the table and literally ran into his bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

Jake sat there, stunned and confused.

What the hell had he said to set her off like that?

Chapter Eight

Lucy sniffled and blew her nose, dreading the moment she’d have to leave Jake’s bathroom. What an idiot she was, falling apart like that in front of him. Poor guy probably had no idea what had caused her flood of tears. He was most likely blaming himself right now for some imagined transgression. She really should get out there and let him know her meltdown had nothing to do with him.

As soon as her face looked less blotchy and her nose didn’t light up as red as a certain Christmas reindeer’s. Lord, she looked dreadful.

“Lucy?”

She whirled around at the knock at the door and the sound of Jake’s voice. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She sniffed.

He was quiet for a moment and she thought he’d left, until he said, “Uh, are you gonna come out any time soon?”

Not if she could help it. How was she going to explain what just happened? Chalk it up to PMS? Discussion of anything female usually resulted in the man wanting to end the topic of conversation immediately. That could work.

She turned to the mirror, scrunched her face at her reflection, and proceeded to the door, opening it with a smile.

The look of genuine concern on Jake’s face was enough to make the tears well all over again.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m great.” She opened the door and stepped out into the hall. “Just a bout with PMS, I think.”

Yes, that definitely worked. The look of horror on his face was almost laughable.

She bit her lip to suppress a threatening giggle. “Shall we go back to the living room?” she suggested.

“Nah, I’ve got a better idea. Come with me.”

Jake grabbed her hand and led her through the kitchen to the backyard. Lucy gasped when she saw what he’d done.

Lit candles sat on the ground near the oversized trampoline, where Jake had thrown a pile of blankets. When she turned to him, he smiled.

“Might be some shooting stars tonight, according to the forecast. Thought we might relax out here and stare at the sky for awhile.”

When she didn’t say anything, he added, “You know, relax and unwind a bit? It was a pretty hectic day.”

Just like that, with no mention of her tearful exit earlier. “It sounds great. I’d love to.”

They headed over to the trampoline. Before she could climb on, Jake scooped her up in his arms and easily lifted her onto the wiggly apparatus. After a few seconds she managed to balance enough to make it to the center of the trampoline. He jumped on and joined her.

He’d spread out a couple sleeping bags on the bottom and added a few folded blankets for them to cover up with. She shivered, and he reached under the blanket for a sweatshirt.

“Here, put this on. It’s kind of cool now that the sun’s gone down.” She took the offered sweatshirt and balanced on her knees in order to put it on. It hung way below her shorts and smelled spicy clean, just like Jake. She couldn’t resist the urge to hug his garment next to her before settling in on the blankets.

“You’ll have to lay down to see, otherwise you’ll get an ache in your neck.” Following his lead she lay on her back. He pulled the blankets over them both and settled in next to her.

Try as she might to focus on the stars, the man next to her grabbed all her attention.

She listened to the sound of his even breathing, intensely aware of his warm body fitted so closely against hers. How would they feel nestled up against each other, her leg wrapped over his, her head resting on his chest?

And how would he react if she threw herself on him like that? Would he bolt, or would he welcome her in his embrace?

How many times over the past couple weeks had she thought about what it would be like to lie na**d next to him? She’d caught glimpses of his strong, muscled body, and many times thought about that body covering hers in passion.

Why was she even thinking these thoughts? They weren’t even really dating.

Sure, she’d come to think of Jake as a friend, someone she felt comfortable around. But as a lover, a potential partner? No. He wouldn’t be happy in her world, and her family and peers would never welcome him. And that she’d never put him through.

Not that he’d be interested, anyway.

She laughed at the way her mind wandered.

“What are you laughing about?”

“Oh. Um, nothing. My mind was wandering.”

“About?”

How would he react if she told him what she’d really been thinking? “I was thinking about a case I’m taking to court next week.”

“Oh.”

Idiot. She had to blast these thoughts of her and Jake into orbit, shoot them across the sky like the stars they were watching, until the thoughts disappeared out of sight.

And out of her mind.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asked.