Long-Lost Mom. Jill Shalvis

a long time ago. The only women he let in his life now were strong-willed, self-possessed, sophisticated women who not only took care of themselves, but were not looking for any sort of permanence.

      He might have laughed, for a woman in his life, any woman, was rare indeed. With his booming business and his vivacious daughter, Stone had little to no social time left over for himself. After so long he’d gotten used to it. Almost. But a small part of him couldn’t help but wonder... when would he meet someone who would reawaken his heart?

      She smiled, although it was clearly forced. “Well...it was nice to see you again.”

      So polite, he thought. So hurt. Dammit. “Wait,” he said just as she turned away, cursing himself even as he took a step toward her. “Are you coming for pizza night?”

      Startled, she stared at him from behind those disconcertingly dark glasses. “I don’t think so.” A slim shoulder lifted. “I don’t know anyone.”

      “You know us.” He had no idea why he was doing this, but something about her called to him on a deep primal level he was reluctant to explore. “Come on. It’d be a great way for you to acclimate yourself to small-town life.”

      Suspicion filled her fine features. “How do you know I’m not used to it already?”

      How to disburse that frightened-doe look? he wondered. “Your clothes for starters. We’re a one-school town here, and you’re dressed pretty fancy for a basketball game starring our local ten-year-olds.”

      He laughed when she stared down at herself, taking in the expensive leather flats, the slim fitted trousers that outlined her showcase legs, her soft silky blouse, with the hint of lace and sexy curves beneath it. She wore a string of fine pearls on her elegant neck that reminded him of something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but—

      “Well, believe it or not, I grew up in a small town.” Her face colored slightly when he arched his brows in surprise. “But it’s been a while.”

      “Daaaddyyyyy!”

      Stone swiveled toward the voice. Sara stood in the doorway to the gymnasium, waving wildly, making him smile. “Coming,” he called.

      He turned back to Jenna and caught the unwitting look of sheer longing she’d cast toward Sara. It wasn’t the thought of pizza that put that look on her face, he somehow knew, but loneliness.

      Something he understood all too well. It called to him, but was he really ready for this? “Come on,” he said quietly with an inner sigh of resignation. Hell, no, he wasn’t ready, but he couldn’t ignore the strange pull of attraction. He held out a hand. “Let’s go eat.”

      * * *

      Her deep-rooted fear of again being shunned by the town nearly overcame her, but Jenna had a stiff talk with herself as she followed Stone and Sara in her own car to the pizza joint.

      Clearly no one was going to recognize her.

      And though she’d come back with the intention of letting everyone know who she was, especially Sara, Jenna was beginning to see the advantage of remaining silent, if only for a little while.

      Until she proved she’d changed.

      She was no longer a young terrified girl on the path of destruction. She’d become a woman who could control herself and her destiny.

      A woman who was going to show everyone how worthy she was. A woman who hoped someday soon to have her daughter back in her life.

      Having decided this, it was all she could do to contain herself as she stepped from her car and looked at the two people standing there waiting for her. Stone was leaning against his truck, long legs casually crossed, one hand tucked into his sweatshirt pocket, the other resting on Sara’s shoulders. He was relaxed, yet so clearly strong and vital and content with himself and his surroundings. Jenna knew what iron will and inner strength existed just beneath the surface of that body, and admired him for it.

      To be half as confident as he...

      He smiled a greeting then, his face transforming into the easygoing carefree Stone she used to know, and Jenna was forced to add yet another trait to her list—utterly sexy.

      She stumbled at the thought, as again, ridiculously, she found herself rendered stupid by the impact of Stone’s fathomless gaze. He reached for her, an automatic gesture. Their hands brushed, his large one grasping her much smaller one, and she jumped at the contact. It was startling, that someone who moved and talked with such languid ease had such heat in his skin.

      And in his eyes as they held hers.

      Stone held open the restaurant door, letting first Sara, then Jenna, into the noisy but warm and welcoming place. It was packed, filled to the brim with hungry laughing talking people. Some Jenna recognized from her past and some she didn’t.

      She hesitated, suddenly unsure, panicky.

      What if she saw him—the man she’d let destroy her life? It had been so long ago, but seeing the man who had molested her would really make her lose any bit of control she still had. He’d likely be here, principal of the only school in town. Her heart thumped against her ribs as she whipped her head back and forth, searching the crowd.

      She was making a big deal of nothing, she told herself when she didn’t find him. For all she knew. Rand Ridgeway had moved on, or at least changed occupations.

      No sight of him. Still, she couldn’t relax, couldn’t make herself step farther in.

      But then she felt Stone’s big warm hand gently rest on the small of her back in an old-fashioned gesture to guide her, and she nearly leaped right out of her skin.

      When was the last time she’d been touched like that? As if she mattered? She looked up and he murmured something incoherent, something meant to be soothing, and it was.

      She forced herself to relax, to lose the wide-eyed panic she knew she’d displayed. Stone didn’t keep his hand on her; in fact, he removed it immediately, making it the casual chivalrous gesture it had been meant to be—which in no way explained why her knees wobbled.

      “I’m so ready to eat,” Sara declared as they wound their way through the sea of tables.

      They were stopped several times by people who wanted to say hello or to congratulate Sara and Stone on the win. Several were business associates, and Stone nodded politely to everyone, while a portion of his mind remained occupied by the enigmatic woman walking in front of him as if to the guillotine.

      The farther they went into the restaurant, the stiffer her shoulders became, and again, he wondered why.

      Who was she? Why did he care? And why couldn’t he be attracted to someone without problems? Someone who had nothing to hide?

      “Hello, Stone.”

      He sighed. The woman who’d stepped between him and Cindy was Nellie, the postal clerk. She loved to keep her nose in everybody’s business but her own. He’d known her since high school, and in all that time, her crush on him had never faded.

      Short and wide as the aisle in which they were standing in, Nellie effectively blocked their way, making Stone want to groan, for he knew there would be no moving past her until she was good and finished with him.

      Nellie eyed Cindy with undisguised interest, but spoke to Stone. “You didn’t pick up your mail today, hon. Everything okay?”

      He used a post-office box for his business because he often received huge shipments of supplies for the prototypes he put together. He had to, dealing as he did with hundreds of school districts and the way his business was growing by leaps and bounds.

      Nellie read the return address on every package.

      “Everything’s fine.” And if he had told her otherwise, he’d probably hear it on the evening news. “I’ll get it later.”

      Nellie still stared at Cindy, who stood directly in front of Stone, her back