It Takes Three. Teresa Southwick

Kelsey of course, were feeling a little nervous about it. They just hoped their baby sister knew what she was doing. Which was more than Jenna could say for herself, given the thoroughly unrestrained way she had just kissed Jake Remington, behaving as if the two of them had never been apart!

      Kelsey studied Jenna’s face. “The date was that good, huh?”

      Jenna scowled at Kelsey. “The man is absolutely impossible! Not to mention arrogant, assuming and antagonizing.”

      Kelsey nodded with exaggerated indignation. “And those are just the As.”

      Jenna gave Kelsey a warning look. She was in no mood for jokes. “I mean it.” Feeling like she was burning up all over, Jenna lifted her skirt, peeled off her pantyhose, then padded barefoot to the refrigerator. “I’d hoped otherwise, but that Jake Remington hasn’t changed one bit.”

      Kelsey followed Jenna to the kitchen and accepted a cold beer. “Neither have you, apparently.”

      Jenna paused, her hand curled around the bottle cap in mid-twist. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She set the long-necked brown bottle on the counter and finished opening it with a sharp twist.

      “Come on, Jenna.” Kelsey grinned as she opened her beer and took a long thirsty drink more suitable for a rough-and-tumble cowboy than the fine Texas lady she’d been reared to be. “This is your baby sister you’re talking to here.” She waggled her eyebrows at Jenna. “The one who used to sneak into your room at night and hear all about your clandestine dates with Jake. All those summers you two sneaked around to see each other, so his parents wouldn’t find out he was smitten with a poor local girl instead of one of the rich debs from Dallas they wanted him to marry.”

      Jenna went to the pantry and brought out a bag of blue corn tortilla chips and an unopened jar of salsa. “He did marry one of them. He married Melinda Carrington.”

      Kelsey shrugged and leaned against the counter, her Texas Rangers baseball-style pajamas molding her slender frame. She watched as Jenna poured chips and salsa into serving dishes and carried them back into the living room. “Yeah, and from what I heard Jake divorced her, too.”

      “Your point, being…?” Jenna asked, as the two settled back onto the sofa.

      “That,” Kelsey spelled out gently, “it’s pretty clear you never stopped loving him. And he probably hasn’t stopped loving you, either. Or else he wouldn’t be here.”

      “The only reason he is here is because he thinks he can make money off my clothing designs. Lots of it. And, as a matter of fact, I do, too,” Jenna confided as she rubbed her tense shoulders with her hands. “I’ve known that for a long time. All I’ve needed was the money—and the backing—to expand.”

      Kelsey loaded a chip with salsa. “I hate to burst your bubble, sis, but Jake could make money off dozens of other businesses in Texas, if that’s all he’s after.”

      Unfortunately, Jenna knew that was true, too. She sighed and took another sip of beer. “He also wants me to help turn his little girl, Alexandra, into a lady and get her outfitted in some pretty dresses.”

      “There are hundreds upon hundreds of children’s clothing shops in this state. Why come to you for that, when you don’t even design children’s clothing?”

      “Because Alex is hard to please,” Jenna answered, remembering without wanting to how cute and lively Jake’s little girl had been, even if she had been out of control.

      Kelsey shrugged and reached for another chip. “People who specialize in selling to the super-rich are well versed in ‘difficult,’ Jenna. Probably even more so when it comes to their spoiled-rotten kids.”

      Irritated at having her theories shot down one by one, Jenna frowned at her baby sister, and continued trying to convince them both that Jake’s actions were not due to any long lost love for her, as he claimed. “There is no where else in Laramie to go for lah-de-dah clothing. He just built a ranch here. He and his daughter are living here now.”

      Kelsey made a dissenting face. “He could still drive to Dallas.”

      “His ex-wife will be here in two days.”

      Kelsey rolled her eyes. “It’s a two-hour drive there, even less to San Antonio from here. So don’t give me that. He could easily go there to buy dresses for Alexandra if he wanted to.”

      Jenna sighed.

      “Face it, sis.” Kelsey leaned forward earnestly. “Jake Remington is here for one reason and one reason only. He wants you back in his life. Probably as his wife. Which is why he’s trying so hard to get you and his daughter together. Before he can make a real move on you, he’s got to make sure the two of you can get along.”

      Kelsey had never stayed any guy’s girlfriend for long—she was way too fickle for that—but she was very good at analyzing what was going on between a man and a woman. Too good sometimes, Jenna thought, as her baby sister’s words hit close to home. “That door is closed,” she retorted stubbornly, refusing to let herself hope, even for one second, that her sister might be right about Jake’s intentions.

      “I see.” Kelsey grinned and peered at her in a parody of Dr. Ruth. “And iss that vhat you told him vhen he kissed you?”

      Jenna’s jaw dropped open. Her hand flew to her mouth. “How did you—?”

      “Please.” Kelsey rolled her eyes, her exasperation with her older sister mounting. “With the two of you alone on some romantic excursion! With Jake in hot pursuit? Don’t forget, I used to hear about those kisses.” Kelsey clasped her hands to her chest and pretended to be overcome with an intense longing of her very own. “Just hearing about them was enough to make me swoon.”

      Deciding it was high time she got in her nightclothes, too, Jenna vaulted to her feet and headed for her bedroom, Kelsey right behind her. Jenna was still flushing self-consciously as she took off her earrings and dropped them onto her vanity. “I was young then. Impressionable.” She lifted her hands to her neck and began struggling with the clasp of her necklace.

      Kelsey gave her a knowing look as she stepped behind her to lend a hand. “And now you’re old enough to do all the things you used to only dream about,” she teased, releasing the clasp.

      It was Jenna’s turn to roll her eyes. She dropped her necklace beside her earrings and turned. There was really no way to tell how experienced Kelsey was—she acted like she had done everything there was to be done and then some—but Jenna had a feeling that was all an act, meant to intimidate the guys and keep them at bay. Jenna shook her head. “You’re incorrigible.”

      Kelsey acknowledged this with a mischievous grin. Then her smile faded as abruptly as it had appeared. She looked at Jenna steadily, her eyes brimming with concern, then said softly, “And you’re dreaming if you think a man like Jake is just going to go away.”

      Jenna steeled herself against the hurt she was sure would come if she didn’t shield her heart. Jake had devastated her before. It had taken her years to recover. She didn’t care what he said, she was not going to let him do it again. She folded her arms in front of her stubbornly as she slipped out of her dress. “I don’t care what he wants! He’s not going to get it this time.” Jenna stomped over to her closet and hung up her dress. “I’ll do business with him. I’ll outfit his daughter, but that’s it.”

      JENNA WAS HALF HOPING Jake would send his daughter over to her shop with someone else to order a few dresses, but of course that didn’t happen. The next morning, his charcoal-gray truck pulled up in front of her shop and parked at the curb, followed by the red sport utility vehicle with Clara at the wheel. Jake and Alexandra stepped out of the truck, Clara stepped out of the S.U.V. Clara waved and headed off down the sidewalk on some other errand. A few seconds later, Jake held the door for his daughter and Alexandra Remington stomped in with all the petulance an almost-six-year-old could muster. While Jake put his briefcase down next to the sales counter and took off his black Stetson, Alex planted her hands on her hips and