His Long-Lost Family. Brenda Harlen

      Except that when she’d finally gotten up the nerve to call, he’d told her that he was once again engaged to Sara Ross—the daughter of one of the senior partners at his firm. And while Kelly didn’t believe he would get married solely for the purpose of advancing his career, she didn’t doubt that dumping the boss’s daughter would jeopardize his future at the firm. And nothing had mattered to Jackson as much as his career. So she’d only offered congratulations and ended the call with her heart in pieces and the news of her pregnancy unrevealed.

      “Yeah, you told me what happened,” Lukas admitted now. “But you didn’t tell me who the father was.”

      “No, I didn’t,” she agreed. “And I’m not going to tell you now. Not until I’ve told him.”

      She could tell by the muscle that clenched in his jaw that Lukas wasn’t finished with his interrogation, but she also knew he wouldn’t press for more details. At least not yet.

      Jack was distracted, and he’d never been the type to let anything—or anyone—interfere with his concentration, especially when it came to his work. He was a well-respected and generously compensated family law attorney because he was diligent and focused. He paid attention to details and he made every client feel as if his or her case was the only one that mattered.

      And yet, in the middle of a cross-examination during a custody hearing that morning, he’d actually lost his train of thought. Sure, he’d recovered fairly quickly, and it didn’t seem as if anyone else in the courtroom had even noticed that he’d faltered. But he’d noticed. And he knew that it was Kelly Cooper’s fault.

      “Hello, Jackson.”

      He blinked, half-suspecting that her appearance in the open doorway of his office was an illusion, and more than half-hoping that she would disappear again. But when he opened his eyes, she was still there—and looking even hotter than the woman who had starred in his dreams the night before. And the night before that. In fact, every one of the five nights that had passed since she’d come back to Pinehurst.

      She made her way across the carpet, putting one sexy foot in front of the other in the way that women had perfected to make their hips sway and men drool. And as much as he wished it weren’t true, he was very close to drooling.

      Damn, she looked spectacular. In the slim-fitting burgundy skirt, silky white V-neck blouse and peep-toe shoes that added close to three inches to her five-foot-seven-inch frame, she looked professional, confident—and dangerous.

      He frowned at the thought, but he couldn’t deny it was true. For too many years, Kelly Cooper had threatened his peace of mind. It had been easy enough to ignore the girl next door when she was a kid. Then adolescence had turned her bony, sticklike figure into a woman’s body with subtle but undeniable curves. And he’d started to have very inappropriate fantasies about his little brother’s best friend. Thankfully, he’d gone away to school and had managed to put her out of his mind. Mostly.

      “You told me to call you, but you haven’t returned any of my calls. I was beginning to think I would have to schedule an appointment to see you.”

      “I’m not hard to find, but I am busy,” he said pointedly.

      “I can appreciate that,” she said. “And I promise you, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.”

      “How did you get past my secretary?” Colleen was usually a pit bull when it came to protecting her boss’s time and space.

      Kelly just smiled. “Your secretary was my eleventhgrade lab partner.”

      Having lived in Pinehurst his whole life, he understood that personal connections frequently trumped protocol. “Okay, that answers the how,” he admitted. “But not the why.”

      She settled into one of the client chairs on the other side of his desk, and crossed one long, shapely leg over the other. “I just wanted to talk to you without my daughter or your brother interrupting, so I asked Colleen if she could squeeze me into your appointment schedule.”

      “Now you’ve stirred my curiosity,” he admitted. And certain other areas as well.

      “Your brother was, and still is, my best friend,” she reminded him. “And while you and I were never close friends, we used to be friendly. And then, for one incredible weekend, we were a lot more.”

      Whatever he’d expected when she’d walked through his door, it wasn’t a walk down memory lane. Not that he was unwilling to take the journey, but he knew it was unwise. His past with Kelly was the past—no way would he risk starting anything up again with his brother living in the same town. Luke had always been protective of his friend and if he ever suspected that Jack had been naked with Kelly—well, Jack didn’t even want to think about what he might do. It was smarter, and safer, to keep the past in the past. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

      “Because I’m hoping, now that I’m living in Pinehurst again, that we can get back to being friendly.”

      “Have I been unfriendly?”

      “Not exactly,” she admitted. “You’ve been…distant.”

      “I’ve been busy,” he said again.

      “Your brother and sister-in-law invited Ava and I over for burgers last night and while we were there, one of Georgia’s sons asked Matthew why ‘Uncle Jack’ hasn’t been around to visit in so long. Matt told him you had a big court case coming up, but the way he looked at me before he responded made me think he was making excuses.”

      “He wasn’t.”

      “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable visiting your brother and his family just because I’m living next door.”

      “I don’t.”

      She shifted forward in her chair, enough so that he could see the slightest hint of cleavage in the V-neck of her blouse. “You’re not worried that the chemistry that exploded between us thirteen years ago might still be simmering?”

      “No,” he lied.

      “Well, that’s good then,” she said, but her easy smile didn’t reach her eyes.

      “Thirteen years is a long time,” he said, in an attempt to convince himself as much as her.

      She nodded. “It always boggled my mind that I could be such good friends with Lukas, that I could snuggle up with him to watch a movie, hold his hand as a gesture of comfort or support, and never feel anything remotely like the zing that I felt whenever I was in the same room with you.”

      “Chemistry is a personal thing,” he noted.

      She tilted her head to look up at him. “Have you ever felt that zing with anyone else?”

      “Too many times to count,” he lied.

      She seemed disappointed—and maybe even a little hurt—by his casual response. But Kelly being Kelly, she didn’t try to deny her feelings or hide behind a flippant response. She was, as always, brutally and painfully honest.

      “I haven’t,” she told him. “From the first time you kissed me, on my sixteenth birthday, I’ve never felt that zing with anyone else.”

      “Not even your husband?” he challenged.

      She shook her head. “No, not with anyone else.”

      Knowing how incredibly passionate she was, he was surprised that she would settle for comfort and companionship. On the other hand, it might explain why her marriage had failed.

      “I think you’re romanticizing the memory,” he told her.

      “Maybe,” she allowed. “But it wasn’t my first kiss. And you weren’t my first lover—but you’re the one I’ve never forgotten.”

      Even if what she was saying was true, he wouldn’t let it matter. Because rekindling a romantic relationship with Kelly wasn’t