“Tristan?”

He glanced over at her. “Yes?”

Her gaze immediately latched on to his lips. They were full, nice, inviting. She felt a sudden pull in her stomach. She wondered how they would feel if she were to press hers against them.

“Dani?”

She snatched her gaze from his lips up to his eyes. They were eyes that were studying her intently. “What?”

“You called my name. What did you want?”

Frowning, Danielle compressed her lips, deciding for the moment to keep her mouth closed or else she might say the wrong thing. There was no way she would tell him that for a crazy moment she had been ready to ask if she could sample his lips.

“Dani? What’s wrong?”

If only he knew.

BRENDA JACKSON

is a die “heart” romantic who married her childhood sweetheart and still proudly wears the “going steady” ring he gave her when she was fifteen. Because she’s always believed in the power of love, Brenda’s stories always have happy endings. In her real-life love story, Brenda and her husband of thirty-six years live in Jacksonville, Florida, and have two sons.

A USA TODAY bestselling author of more than fifty romance novels, Brenda is also a recent retiree who worked thirty-seven years in management at a major insurance company. She divides her time between family, writing and traveling. You may write to Brenda at P.O Box 28267, Jacksonville, Florida 32226; e-mail her at WriterBJackson@aol.com or visit her Web site at www.brendajackson.net.

Just Deserts
Brenda Jackson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

It was a great pleasure to work on a project with two good author buddies of mine, Carla Fredd and Carmen Green!

From the moment we decided to write this trilogy, I was fascinated with Danielle’s character. I knew she would be a likable person, but she would also be someone who was hurting from the deceit of a man she thought was her husband.

And then there was Tristan, her best friend and, unbeknownst to Danielle, the man who has secretly been in love with her for years. I found myself rooting for Tristan and hoping that Danielle would finally realize what was right before her eyes.

I took the following question to my book club: “Can you fall in love with your best friend?” The responses were great and thought-provoking and started a lot of discussions. Overwhelmingly, we agreed that starting out as best friends makes for the best relationships.

I hope all of you enjoy reading Tristan and Danielle’s story, where you will see if that holds true.

Also, I would love for you to join me for the Madaris Family Reunion Cruise to Canada out of New York in June 2009. Please visit my Web site for more details!

Happy reading!

Brenda Jackson

Contents

Acknowledgment

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

Acknowledgment

To the love of my life, Gerald Jackson, Sr. Happy 36th anniversary!

To my author buddies, Carla Fredd and Carmen Green. I had fun working with you ladies on this one.

Let’s do it again!

To everyone who will be joining me on the 2009 Cruise to Canada. This one is for you!

For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

—Galatians 6:3

Chapter 1

If it had been left up to Tristan Adams, he would not have given Danielle Timmons-Foster the news. But it hadn’t been left up to him. For the past two months her life had been one hellacious lie. A part of him wondered if one more lie wouldn’t hurt. But for Danielle he knew it would.

And when she hurt, he hurt.

She had dropped onto the sofa and was staring at him as if he had totally lost his mind. He almost wished he had. Or, at least, that this episode had been one long nightmare they would finally wake up from—and find that not only was her husband not dead, but that he hadn’t left three wives behind. Three wives who, until a couple of months ago, each assumed they were Mrs. Marc Foster. And now to add salt to the wound, he’d just told Danielle there might be a fourth woman out there with the title, as well.

“Tristan, please tell me you’re joking,” Danielle said, her voice soft, low and sounding utterly defeated. “It’s a sick joke, but I’ll accept it. I don’t want to believe what you just said. I can’t believe what you just said.”

He nodded slowly, understanding. He had been with her when she’d gotten the call two months ago that her husband of five years was dead after having choked on—of all things—his wedding ring. He’d also been with her at Marc’s funeral in California when they’d discovered she wasn’t the only Mrs. Foster. And he’d been by her side at the attorney’s office when it had been declared that the second wife, Renée, was the legal Mrs. Foster and that Danielle, his first wife, and Alexandra, his third, had gotten duped with phony marriage licenses.

He released a long sigh and crossed the living room’s hardwood floor to sit beside Danielle on the sofa. He took her hand in his and tried to smile. “Dani, I stopped teasing you the day you began wearing your first training bra, remember?”

He knew that would get a smile out of her. She would remember that day. It would remind her of happier times when her brother had been alive. Tristan couldn’t help but smile himself whenever he thought of Paul Timmons, his best friend since kindergarten. They’d lived in the same neighborhood and had gone to school together, had played peewee football and gone off to college together—roommates at the University of Florida in Gainesville, a long way from their hometown of Port St. Lucie, Florida. And then when they’d finished college, they’d returned home to go into business together. They started A&T Shipping Company, making it into a very successful corporation. Then the Iraq war started and Paul’s reserve unit was shipped out for duty. Paul never made it back home alive.

“When will it end?” Danielle asked, her words intruding into his thoughts. “How could I have been married to a man and not know him the way I thought I did?”

Tristan’s grip on her hand tightened. They had covered this ground before and he felt partly to blame. Danielle had been a well-known international model when she had been contacted about Paul’s death. Since their parents had gotten killed in a plane crash her first year in college, Paul had been all the family she’d had. Losing him had taken a toll on her. Claiming she was tired of the glitz and glamour of life as a successful fashion model, she had returned to Port St. Lucie to take over Paul’s role as Tristan’s partner.

Barely two months after Paul’s death, Marc Foster had opened a business account, and since Danielle’s role was to wine and dine new clients, she had taken on Marc. If Tristan hadn’t been so torn up with grief himself over losing his best friend, he would have seen Marc for the conniving snake he was. Marc had set his sights on Danielle and less than a month later, Danielle had called to say she and Marc had eloped to Atlanta.

The reason Tristan blamed himself was that he had promised Paul the day he’d left for Iraq that if anything were to happen to Paul, he would look after Danielle. Apparently he’d done a piss-poor job of it.

Danielle pulled her hand from his, stood up and began pacing the floor. It wasn’t hard to realize she was madder than hell. He would be, too, if he were in her shoes.

She had dropped by last night for dinner and he had talked her into spending the night, since the guest room practically had her name on it, anyway. He knew she thought of him as nothing more than her best friend and confidant. He was hoping that one day she would begin to see him as more.

He leaned back in the sofa trying to recall when he had finally broken down and admitted to himself that he was in love with her. Had it been that day she’d called to say she’d eloped? That was probably the reason he had taken off a couple of days and drank himself into a stupor.

He had called himself all kinds of fool for letting Marc into her life, but not once had Tristan gotten out of line or tried convincing her to divorce the guy. He’d respected her marriage. He’d even tried to like Marc. When he saw that he couldn’t, he’d gone five years and pretended he did.

But he should have suspected something wasn’t on the up-and-up with the guy. Because Danielle confided in Tristan, he knew about the spats the couple had about Marc’s job as a salesman and the frequency of his out-of-town trips. He also knew that they were on bad terms around the issue of children—Danielle wanted a child but Marc never seemed to have the time to slow down and give her one. Now they knew why. The man had been living a double life. Tristan took that back. Marc Foster had been living a triple life. And now, according to Marc’s brother, Chris, who’d called late last night, there may have been a fourth woman involved.

“Who told you about the fourth woman?”

He glanced over at Danielle. She stood—all five foot eight of her—in a stance he found totally sexy. She was an absolutely gorgeous woman whose face and body had once graced the covers of a number of magazines. Her face was tilted at a haughty angle, her hands were on her hips, her feet were bare, and she was wearing a short skirt with an even shorter ribbed top. Today she looked more like twenty than thirty, with a body that made men weep.

His gaze zeroed in on her face. She had coffee-colored skin, dark almond eyes and lush, full lips. Her shoulder-length hair was tousled and sexy. She looked like she’d just crawled out of bed. Too bad it hadn’t been his.

Dani didn’t know how he felt about her. Didn’t have a clue. She assumed their relationship—as it had always been—was that of little sister and big brother. Boy, was she wrong. At thirty-four, he could no longer think of her as a little sister. She was a full-grown woman in every sense of the word. But he would continue to be her best friend until she finally opened her eyes to see just how things really were.

“Tristan?”

Her saying his name reminded him that he hadn’t answered her question. “Chris called after you went to bed last night.”

She inhaled and he watched the movement of her chest when she did so. The low cut of her top displayed the top swell of her breasts. “Do Alex and Renée know?”

He shrugged. “Yes. Chris mentioned he told Renée and that he had spoken to Hunter to relay the news to Alexandra.”

He thought about the three women, who at Marc’s funeral had quickly become bitter enemies. Over the past couple of months, however, after discovering that Marc had been a pathological liar, they had actually bonded. Marc had betrayed all three of them. And now there might be a fourth one out there.

Alexandra and Hunter Smith had gotten married last month, and Renée and Chris Foster were engaged and would be getting married later this month. Hunter was Chris’s friend. He’d agreed to fly to Atlanta and escort Alexandra to Marc’s funeral in California two months ago.

“How did Chris find out?”

Tristan hesitated before saying anything, deciding to give her the skimmed-down version without a lot of detail. If he told her everything, she’d be more upset. “It seems that Marc had a locker at the airport. Chris had all Marc’s mail at that post-office box in Costa Woods forwarded to him, and two days ago he received a renewal notice for the locker. Chris caught a plane out to California to check out the locker and found an apartment key inside it. After a little investigating he determined where the apartment was located and went there.”

“And?”

“And from what he discovered, he reached the conclusion that there could be a fourth Mrs. Foster, or that Marc was planning another wedding. Chris leans toward the latter.”

“The bastard!”

Tristan went to her and pulled her into his arms, wanting her to get her emotions out. She had cried in the attorney’s office when it was revealed that Marc was sterile, but he felt she was still holding a lot inside. She refused to let all of it out.

She pulled away from his arms. “No, I won’t cry again,” she said angrily. “If I cry again that means Marc has succeeded in humiliating me again. And I won’t let him.”

Danielle walked back over to the sofa and calmly sat down. “Now, Tristan,” she said in a composed voice, “does Chris know how to contact the woman?”

He sat beside her. “No,” he said.

“Who’s been paying the rent?”

“Chris spoke with the landlord and it appears Marc had a paid-up lease for a full year.”

Danielle nodded. “And from what Chris found at the apartment he’s pretty sure there might be a fourth woman?”

“Yes, it’s a very good possibility.”

She stood up again. “Then we have to do something. We need to find out if she was a wife or a fiancée. We need to—”

He pulled her back down on the sofa beside him. “We, namely you, need to slow down and relax, Danielle. You’ve been through a lot these past two months and I don’t want to see you lose it.”

She lifted a brow. “Lose it?”

“Yes. Have a nervous breakdown or something,” he tried to say delicately. “I don’t want to see you lose control.”

She scoffed at his words. “Oh, come on, Tris. I’m always in control. I’m—”

“Danielle,” he said in a firm voice, “do I need to remind you that you lost it one day and slapped someone? You, who’re too compassionate to even squish a bug, actually slapped Alexandra.”

He watched as she lowered her head in shame. Then she raised her head and he noted first regret and then fire in her eyes. “Okay, that was one time I admit I lost it. Hell, Tristan, she pissed me off. If you had any idea what she said—”

“I know what she said. She told us and she apologized.”

“And I apologized, as well. I even offered to let her slap me back,” she said in earnest.

Tristan couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of the offer Danielle had made that day. “Well, still, you’ve been under a lot of emotional stress and pressure and need to get away.”

“Get away?” she asked with an incredulous look on her face.

“Yes, get away.”

“Tristan, I can’t get away. I’ve taken enough time away from A&T as it is, trying to straighten out the mess Marc left me in.”

“You can and you will. Take off, Danielle. Fly to New York and visit some of your friends. Or better yet, fly to Paris to visit that model friend of yours. What’s her name?”

“Lust.”

“On second thought maybe you don’t need to fly to Paris.”

A smile touched Danielle’s face. “Trying to be big brother, Tristan?”

“Someone has to keep you out of trouble.”

“Whatever.”

“Now where were we? Oh, yeah, we were discussing your need to get away. And I don’t want to hear any argument out of you.”

She looked at him and he knew she was itching to make a word of protest, but she had to know it wouldn’t do any good. When he had his mind made up, that was it. “Okay, okay. And if I do get away for a few days, when I come back will you promise to help me find out more about that fourth woman?”

He shook his head. “Dani, I’m sure Chris is already on it. He’s an FBI agent, so he’ll know how to track her down.”

“Yes, but I want to be there when he does. You know how it was with Alex, Renée and me. One of us needs to be there to assure this woman that everything will be okay and that we were all duped by Marc and survived. Since I’m the oldest among Marc’s wives, that task belongs to me.”

Tristan studied her stubborn features, especially the firm set of her lips. They were lips he had placed a friendly kiss on a number of times but had never taken with the fire and passion that burned in his loins whenever he looked at them. “Okay, Danielle, I don’t think Chris will have a problem with that. I’ll run it by him the next time we talk.”

“Thanks. And I also want to thank you for standing by me the way you have the past couple of months. You took time away from the company to be with me and I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“No, I feel I need to mention it, Tris. You’ve been super and you’re the best friend a girl could have.” She then leaned down and kissed his cheek before prancing off toward the guest room and closing the door behind her.

The moment Danielle closed the door behind her she grabbed her cell phone off the dresser. It was still early morning, but she hoped that Alex and Renée were out of bed already. And if they weren’t that was too bad, because they needed to discuss this latest development.

She shook her head when she thought about their relationship. At first it had been fiery, with each of them thinking she was the real Mrs. Foster and the other two were frauds. Tempers had flared, nasty words had been spoken, as Tristan had reminded her, she had even gotten physical. All because Marc had turned out to be a no-good bastard with a capital B. He had played each of them and played them well. He had taken over a million dollars from Alex and had even purchased a yacht Alex hadn’t known he had. From Renée, he had taken her aunt Gert’s priceless diamond necklace; luckily it had been recovered. As for herself, Marc had destroyed the one thing she wanted most from her marriage—a child.

When she, Alex and Renée had finally transferred their anger for each other to where it truly belonged—on Marc—they were able to sort things and see just how deep his deceit had gone. And now, according to Tristan, it may have gone deeper than any of them could have ever imagined.

“Hello.”

“Alex, wake up. It’s Danielle.”

There was a pause and then. “Danielle, why are you calling at nine in the morning?”

She wanted to remind her that most people were out of bed by that time. Instead, she said, “Sorry, but we need to talk. Hold tight while I get Renée on the line.”

Danielle shook her head and smiled as she punched in Renée’s phone number. Alexandra, at twenty-one, was the youngest of the three, and when Danielle had first met her at Marc’s funeral, Alex had come across as one ditzy chick with too much money on her hands, thanks to her wealthy family. What woman would show up at her dead husband’s funeral wearing, of all things, a sleeveless white dress with black polka dots and some outlandish hat on her head? But after getting to know Alex, Danielle had discovered that she was actually quite smart.

But no one, Danielle decided, was smarter than Renée, wife number two, who at twenty-four was a college professor. Since the first grade Renée had attended exclusive boarding schools on academic scholarships, and people always considered her somewhat of a genius. According to Renée, all she ever wanted to do was live a normal life, and she’d fallen for Marc because he was able to make her feel less like a brain and more like a woman.

“Yes?”

“Renée?” She sounded sleepy, too. Did everybody sleep late on Saturday morning? She wondered. “This is Danielle. I have Alex on the line. We need to talk. Hold on for a sec while I get her.”

She then switched over to bring Alex on the line, only to discover she wasn’t there, although she could hear noise in the background. “Alex? Are you there? What’s going on?”

“Sorry about that, Danielle, but both Hunter and Little Sweetie don’t like it that you woke them up.”

Danielle rolled her eyes. Hunter was Alex’s husband of less than a month, and Little Sweetie was Alex’s dog, which Alex treated like a human being. “Apologize to them both, please, but by now I’m sure you’ve heard that there’s a possibility Marc might have been engaged to another woman.”

“Yes, we heard,” Renée said. “And as far as I’m concerned, she should be counting her blessings that a wedding never took place.”

“You’re right,” Danielle said. “But think of the emotional trauma it might cause her when she finds out about us.”

“Maybe she won’t find out,” Alex said quietly. And then in a playful voice she said, “Stop that, Hunter. We can’t mess around now. I’m talking to my wives-in-law.”

Danielle rolled her eyes again at the term Alex had adopted to define their relationship. “What do you think we should do, Renée?” Danielle asked. At least she was certain she had Renée’s attention. When a few seconds ticked by and Renée didn’t respond, Danielle asked again. “Renée?”

“Oh, sorry. What was your question?”

Danielle wanted to throw the phone down and scream. There could be only one reason Renée was not focused. “Is Chris there with you, Renée?”

“Of course he’s here. He lives here. Don’t you remember I told you that he transferred to Birmingham and is working for an agency here while we plan the wedding?”

“Sorry, I did forget. And how are the wedding plans coming along?”

“Fine. Just three more weeks to go. I’m getting excited.”

Danielle couldn’t help but be excited for her. Marc had been an ass and as far as she was concerned, both Alex and Renée deserved real happiness in their lives.

So did she.

But there was no way she could be happy until she uncovered the mystery surrounding the fourth woman. “Look, evidently this is not a good time to discuss anything with you two, so how about calling me back later? And Renée, it would be nice if Chris was included in our call. Then he could cover everything with us that he found at Marc’s apartment.”

“And what are you planning to do after that?” Alex asked on a yawn.

“I plan to find her.”

“Take Tristan with you when you go looking for her,” Renée said.

Danielle lifted a brow. “Why?”

“It will be fun,” Renée answered.

“Besides, he seems to like spending time with you,” Alex added.

Danielle knew what Alex and Renée were getting at. She was well aware that they thought something was going on between her and Tristan because of the time he had playfully kissed her hand in front of them. She had tried convincing them that she and Tristan were nothing more than best buddies, but evidently they didn’t believe her. “Thanks for the suggestion, Alex. I just might do that. Goodbye.”

Then she quickly hung up the phone.

An hour or so later, bored with the book she’d been reading, Danielle left the confines of her bedroom to look for Tristan. Funny how she considered the guest room at Tristan’s house as her room. When had that started? She wondered. Right after Paul had died and she had left the modeling world to return to Port St. Lucie.

It was hard to convince the people she’d known all her life that she was no longer Dani, the highly paid fashion model who’d walked numerous runways and been named one of the top models in the world by People.

And then when half the modeling world, including Tyra, Viva and Heidi, had shown up at Paul’s funeral, her home—the one she and Paul had inherited after their parents’ death—had become an overnight sensation, drawing thousands of people who drove by hoping to see a celebrity. So it had been Tristan’s home where she would escape to whenever she needed to get away and find solace and peace.

Even after she’d married Marc and they had their little spats, it wasn’t unusual for her to show up here late at night. And since she had her own key, sometimes Tristan wouldn’t even know she was there until he awoke the next morning.

She smiled, remembering the time he had brought a date home only to find Danielle coming from the kitchen wearing a bathrobe. He’d had a lot of explaining to do, trying to convince Sharon What’s-her-name that their relationship was strictly platonic.

Danielle rounded the corner and came to a stop. Tristan was stretched out on the sofa sound asleep. Poor baby. She tiptoed quietly over to him, understanding why he was so exhausted. Now that their business had expanded, grown by leaps and bounds, the two of them no longer had to be tied to the office to run things. Tristan, however, was still very much hands-on. Danielle loved her role working in PR and being all over the place. All the contacts she’d made over the years proved to be an asset in bringing new accounts A&T’s way.

Stooping down, she studied Tristan’s features, seeing how they’d changed over the years. He no longer had that boyish look. He had grown into an extremely handsome man. He had chocolate-colored skin and the most gorgeous dark eyes and lips she had ever seen on a man. His long eyelashes were to die for, but then, she couldn’t discount his blunt nose and chiseled jaw. Both added arrogance to his features, a characteristic Tristan could not claim. He had to be the most humble man she knew.

His skin looked soft to the touch, and she knew from experience it was. She fought back the temptation to touch him now. She remembered the crush she’d had on him at twelve, until that day she’d seen him kissing Sadie McClelland in the park. It had broken her heart. She had run home crying to her mother, who’d hugged her and explained that it wasn’t real love she felt for Tristan but hero worship, and there was a big difference.

What her mother said that day had made real good sense at the time, but now Danielle couldn’t help wondering if at one time during her life she had actually loved Tristan. Really loved him.

She almost gasped when his eyes flickered open and she suddenly felt trapped by his dark gaze. Something stirred within her that almost made her moan. She actually felt herself swaying. Inhaling deeply, she tried thinking of something to say, but he beat her to it.

“You were staring at me.”

“Yes,” she answered with a guilty nod. “You were sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you.”

He held her gaze a little longer and then shifted positions to sit up. He rubbed his hands down his face. “Okay, I’m awake now, Dani. What’s wrong?”

Dani.

That had always been his name for her, although Paul and her parents had stuck to Danielle. When she became a model it had been so easy to use the name he’d given her.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just talked to Alex and Renée a few minutes ago.”

“And?”

Danielle dropped down beside him, forcing him to scoot over to make room. “And neither of them seems interested in finding the fourth woman.”

He took her hand in his, something he’d been doing a lot lately. “Dani, I think they’re interested. They just don’t have the fire about it that you do. I hate to tell you this, but now they have lives. Alexandra is married and Renée will be getting married this month. They have moved beyond what Marc did to them.”

“And you don’t think I have?”

He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. “I just don’t think it’s as easy for you to let go. Maybe it’s because you were Marc’s first wife. Or it could be because you were married to him the longest. But then, it might be your age.”

Tristan swallowed, realizing he’d just made a mistake when he saw the narrowing of Danielle’s eyes and the stiffening of her spine. “What about my age, Tris?”

Looking into her scowling face, he knew he had to smooth things over or get a cold shoulder the rest of the day. “What I mean, Dani, is that you’re a lot more mature than Alexandra and Renée. That’s not a bad thing. You’ve been where they have yet to go. What they are experiencing now is—”

“Men!”

He lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”

“Men,” she said, as if with distaste. “Alex and Renée have a man in their lives. I’m not involved with anyone so I have a lot more personal time on my hands.”

Tristan took a minute to fully absorb what she had said. “And why do you think that is, Dani? Other than Marc, I’ve never known you to become involved with anyone, at least not seriously.”

“Yeah, and look where my involvement with Marc got me. The man was a con artist extraordinaire. He caught me at a vulnerable time and swept me off my feet. The next thing I knew I was in Atlanta getting married.”

“Because you thought you loved him?” he asked quietly, wondering what her answer would be. During the past five years there were times he actually thought she loved Marc, and then there were times he’d been filled with doubt.

She seemed to think deeply about his question and then she said, “No, because at that time I thought he loved me. I wanted someone to love me. I was hurt. I felt alone. And then Marc appeared and seemed capable of making me feel whole. Not special but whole. There is a difference.”

He leaned back on the sofa. “And what’s the difference?”

She leaned back with him. “I felt special as a model. I was used to getting all kinds of attention, even when I didn’t want it. But Marc made me see the importance of moving on after losing Paul, and he was there to help me get beyond my grief.”

Tristan didn’t say anything for a while. Marc had done for her what he should have done. He, Tristan, had let her down and in the interim left the door wide open for another man to walk in and have her. A part of him would never forgive himself for doing that. For five years he had to endure the pain of knowing the woman he loved had married someone else.

“Why did you stay with him if you didn’t love him?” he finally asked.

She curled up by his side. He knew that to her it was a natural thing to do, no big deal. She had no way of knowing how her closeness was making his heart leap in his chest. “You of all people know how things were between me and Marc, Tris. I confided to you about it. We hadn’t been married a year when I noticed he was taking more and more trips out of town and was becoming distant. There were blocks of time—and I mean huge blocks—when we didn’t even share a bed when he was home. And when he was away he seldom called, claiming his business was keeping him extremely busy.”

She paused for a moment, then continued, “I never told you this part, but I even threatened him with a divorce if he didn’t get his act together. I was beginning to feel like we were married in name only. Hell, I was spending more time over here with you than at my house, because he was never there. When Hurricane Frances swept through here a few years ago, I was stranded with you the entire time while Marc was somewhere else.”

Tristan nodded, remembering the time. They had been stuck here without any electrical power while her husband had been no telling where and with whom.

“You said you had threatened him with divorce. What happened to make you change your mind?”

She met his gaze. “A baby,” she said softly. “He promised me a baby.”

Tristan didn’t say anything. All he could do was remember the day she found out that the one thing Marc had promised her had been the one thing he couldn’t deliver. A case of the mumps in his teens had left him incapable of fathering a child. She had taken the news hard.

She turned to Tristan now, took hold of his hand as he had done hers so many times when they talked. She met his gaze. “You know how much I wanted a child. The last time Marc and I were together, I mean really together, was around eight months before he died. That night Marc promised that he would slow down his travels and take time to start the family he knew I wanted.”

He felt her tighten her hold on his hand, and he squeezed back. “And you know what hurts, Tris? What really hurts?”

“No, what really hurts, Dani?”

He met her gaze and wished he hadn’t. There were tears there, big tears, and he felt his heart stop. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, hold her and whisper how much he loved her and tell her that from now on he would not let anything or anyone hurt her again. But at this moment, she didn’t need to hear what he had to say. She needed for him to listen.

“What really hurts, Tris, is knowing Marc never intended to keep that promise. He lied about that like he’d lied about so many other things.”

And then she broke down and began crying in earnest, and he reached out and pulled her into his arms. He held her and told her not to cry, that things would work out fine, and that one day she would get the baby she wanted. The family she desired.

An inner part of Tristan broke, as well. The tears Danielle had refused to shed earlier were pouring like torrential rain. He could actually feel her pain.

And he knew at that moment that he would be the one to fulfill the promise Marc had broken, the one her dead husband had never intended to keep, the one that kept tearing her up inside. He would become her husband one day and give her the love and respect she deserved. He would cherish her, protect her.

She didn’t know it yet, but one day she would.

Chapter 2

Danielle glanced over at Tristan. She knew at this point it would be a complete waste of her time to try to convince him she didn’t need to get away, since they were on the plane, buckled in and waiting for takeoff. The only good thing was that he was coming with her and had agreed that on their way back from San Francisco they would make a stop in Alabama to attend Chris and Renée’s wedding.

She had to admit she was excited about going to San Francisco. She had spent a month in the Bay Area a few years back while doing a photo shoot, and looked forward to going just for fun and relaxation.

She watched Tristan key something into his BlackBerry. She hadn’t wanted him to bring anything work related, but…that was the one concession she had ultimately agreed to when he had taken her up on her offer to come along: that he be allowed to check on things in the office periodically.

“How are things on the home front?” she decided to ask.

He looked up at her and smiled and not for the first time lately, his smile seemed to reach out and touch her in a way it hadn’t before. She found the sensation odd, but was determined not to make a big deal out of it.

“Everything is fine. We should feel good that we have such a great work crew.”

She knew that was true, but there was one thing she felt she needed to say. “Yes, but I see that Karin Stokes likes spending a lot of time in your office.” She could tell by the look that suddenly appeared in his eyes that her observation surprised him.

“Don’t you think that’s rather comical for you to say since she’s my administrative assistant?”

She gave him a pointed look. “She’s also a woman trying to hit on her boss. Trust me, I know. When is Madeline returning from her foot surgery, anyway?”

A part of Tristan wondered if Dani knew she was sounding like a jealous woman. He found it interesting. A slow, easy smile curved his lips when he said, “Madeline will be back in the office by the time we return.”

He looked deep into her eyes. “Does that make you happy?” The same part of him dared her to deny it.

She didn’t. “Yes, it makes me happy.”

And as if that was that, she lay her head back and closed her eyes. Tristan couldn’t stop the chuckle that formed deep in his throat. He wanted to ask her to explain herself, but halted the impulse. Why had she gotten possessive all of a sudden? Not that he was complaining. Still, he couldn’t help but be curious.

Feeling rather smug, he put his head back and closed his eyes, too, remembering the past week. She’d spent the whole week in his guest room and hadn’t returned home. He hadn’t asked when she was leaving and she hadn’t volunteered any information. They simply lived under the same roof in harmony as if it was nothing unusual for him to wake up each morning and find her there and to say good-night to her when he turned in for bed.

He figured it was something about spending so much time at her house—the one she’d shared with Marc—that bothered her, and he was more than satisfied with going to bed at night knowing she was down the hall.

It had been downright difficult to get her to take a trip, but finally he’d managed to work out a deal with her. She was hell-bent on finding this fourth woman, so he had agreed to help her do so if she would get away for a while. So now here they were on a plane in the middle of the week, flying to San Francisco for a few days. He had even tried to get her to agree to a full week, but she had refused, saying that she wouldn’t be able to rest until she found the fourth woman.

Chris had a few leads but had agreed not to do anything until they met with him. As Tristan had explained to Marc’s brother, there was something driving Danielle to be the one to bring closure to what had happened. Somehow he knew it would only be then that she got some kind of emotional relief.

Danielle slowly opened her eyes, tilted her head and looked over at Tristan. His eyes were closed. She wondered what he was thinking about. Was he beginning to think she was a pain in the behind? Was he wondering when she would finally pack up her stuff and leave his house?

She knew she probably should do so soon, but the thought of going home dampened her already low spirits. She couldn’t deal with the anger she felt each and every time she thought about Marc and all the things he’d done.

Deciding to read a book, she reached into her carry-on to grab the mystery novel she had started yesterday.

“You okay?” Tristan asked.

She glanced over at him again. His dark eyes were studying her intently. “Yes. Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I wasn’t asleep. Just resting.”

“Oh.”

“So, what do you have planned for us when we get to San Francisco?” he asked.

“I thought we’d do some sightseeing and a little shopping.”

His eyes widened, as if she’d said a bad word. “Shopping?”

“Yes. You’ve been shopping with me before.”

“I know. Don’t remind me.”

She chuckled. “Was it that bad?”

“No, to be honest, it was worse.

She playfully punched him in the shoulder.

“Hey, take it easy on me, will you? That hurt,” he said, rubbing the spot.

“You’re a strong man. You can take it.”

“Yeah, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to take you, Dani.”

She stared at him, wondering what he meant by that. She parted her lips to ask, and as if he knew what her question would be, he placed his finger to her lips, smiled and said, “Remind me to tell you later.”

Danielle felt the elegance of the hotel the moment they walked through the front doors into the spacious atrium, with its marble floors and myriad, healthy-looking, potted plants. As she and Tristan stepped into the elevator, she said, “I hope you don’t mind that I got us a suite.”

He glanced at her. “Why should I mind? I’m getting used to having you around.”

She smiled. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It depends, Dani. If you begin talking business it will become a bad thing.”

She laughed. “Okay, I promise not to talk business. I even promise not to be in the same room with you whenever you pull out your BlackBerry. But it seems to me that you’re the one who’s having a hard time remembering we’re here to relax.”

“I’ll relax once that huge Smithfield order leaves the warehouse. We promised them that entire shipment would arrive at its destination by Friday.”

“And it will, so chill,” she said, easing closer to him when another couple got on the elevator.

“Okay, I’ll chill, but I want you to do the same. And if you begin talking about Marc, I’ll throttle you. For the next five days I want you to rest and relax and only think of good things.”

“Considering how my life has gone lately, that will be hard.”

“Try doing so, anyway.”

Danielle decided this was not a good time to mention that she had made Alex and Renée promise to keep in touch and let her know if there were any new developments about the fourth woman. When she had told them she would be going to San Francisco for a few days and with whom, they’d seem overjoyed. It was a waste of time trying to convince them that they were barking up the wrong tree with their assumptions about her and Tristan, but she figured now that they had men in their lives they were desperately trying to find someone for her. She was genuinely happy for Alex and Renée and was glad what Marc had done hadn’t left any permanent scars.

And she did intend to get on with her new life once she brought closure to her past. Men had a tendency to hit on her all the time, and lately, since word had gotten around that she was a widow, they’d become a little bold. She was grateful that, thanks to Chris, the media hadn’t gotten wind of what Marc had done. The tabloids were always looking for a way to link her with someone, but after she’d married Marc they figured there was nothing new and exciting in her life and had pretty much left her alone for the past five years. If only they knew.

She glanced over at Tristan and knew that one of the reasons men weren’t hitting on her more was him. The two of them were always together, and a number of people had the same assumption as Alex and Renée that something was going on between them.

She had mentioned this to Tristan a few times, not wanting those rumors to ever ruin things between him and a woman. He’d told her not to worry about it and to let people think whatever they wanted.

She figured he wasn’t all that concerned because he wasn’t dating anyone exclusively now. As far as she knew, he wasn’t dating at all. She would probably be the first to know, since she hung out with him so much. At night he was at home with her and when he went out, it was with her. No wonder people thought something was going on between them.

Maybe, she thought now, it was a subject she should broach with him again. “Tristan?”

“Yes?”

Her gaze immediately latched on to his lips. They were full, inviting. She felt a sudden pull in her stomach. She wondered how they would feel if she were to press hers against them.

“Dani?”

She snatched her gaze from his lips and focused on his eyes. His probing eyes. “What?”

“You called me. What did you want?”

Frowning, Danielle compressed her lips, deciding for the moment to keep her mouth closed or else she might say the wrong thing. There was no way she would tell him that for a crazy moment she had been almost ready to ask if she could sample his lips. Almost.

“Dani? What’s wrong?”

If only he knew. She glanced up at him and at the other people on the elevator and leaned over and whispered, “It’s nothing major. We can talk about it later.”

He looked at her as if confused. “All right.”

And then she felt it. He had caught hold of her hand and lightly squeezed her fingers. As always, that was his way of letting her know that things would be fine. Of course, that was easy for him to convey—he hadn’t been privy to her thoughts. If he’d known what she was thinking he would probably run in the opposite direction.

Contrary to what some people wanted to believe, Tristan was not attracted to her. He thought of her as a kid sister and nothing more. She knew all about that promise he’d made to Paul to watch out for her. That had been why she’d eloped with Marc and hadn’t told Tristan until it was over. There was no doubt in her mind that he would have found a way to stop the wedding, convince her she was acting irrationally. Now, considering everything, she wished he had intervened. She wouldn’t be in this predicament.

The elevator door whooshed open, and she and Tristan stepped off. He continued to hold her hand as they walked down the long hallway.

“I was able to get tickets for that train ride through Napa Valley tomorrow,” he said.

She smiled at him. “That sounds wonderful. It’s a while since I’ve been in this area. I’d also like to cross the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

As they continued walking down the hall toward their suite, she couldn’t help but get excited about the next five days they would be spending together.

Tristan began unpacking his clothes and putting them away. The suite was even nicer than he’d thought it would be. Two bedrooms and a common living area, it was roomy, spacious and just what he and Dani needed. As much as he wanted to spend time with her, he didn’t want to cramp her space.

Actually he had been surprised that she had insisted he come along. He had wanted her to take time away, thinking she needed to be by herself. But then, almost too late, he’d realized that any man in his right mind wouldn’t send a woman who looked like Danielle off on a vacation alone. The moment they had walked into the hotel lobby it seemed that the eyes of every single male in the place were drawn to her.

When he heard a knock, he crossed the room to the door that connected to the suite’s living room. He opened it to find Danielle standing there in a printed, flyaway cover-up with a matching bikini underneath. He forced his gaze off the outfit, above her exposed stomach, and up to her face. “Going to the pool?”

She smiled. “Yes, and I wanted to see if you’d like to join me.”

“I’m still unpacking.”

“Boy, you’re slow. One of the first things you learn as a model is the correct way to pack so you can unpack easily. I’m going to have you show you how it works one of these days.”

She glanced around him to see his room. “It looks like mine.”

He opened the door wider. “Come on in. If you don’t mind waiting for minute, I’ll join you in that swim.”

“Sure,” she said, entering the room when he moved aside. She immediately crossed to the window.

Tristan’s gaze roamed over her and the outfit she was wearing. He was glad she had agreed to wait for him. There was no way he wanted her anywhere near the pool without him.

“Hey, wait a minute. You have a better view of the Bay. That’s not fair.”

He chuckled as he went about placing his shirts on hangers. “Stop whining. I’ll swap if you want,” he offered. Or you can just stay in this room with me if you prefer. He wanted to say it but he didn’t.

“That’s okay,” she said, grinning. “I’ll let you keep this one pleasure in life.”

He glanced over at her, saw her beauty against the backdrop of the view outside the window and thought there couldn’t be any pleasure greater than loving her. “Have you decided what we’re going to do for dinner?”

She left the window to sit on his bed. “The restaurant downstairs looks nice. Why don’t we eat there tonight?”

“That’s fine with me. I’m going to step into the bathroom to put on my swim trunks and will be back out in a second.”

“All right.”

And then he disappeared, putting a closed door between him and temptation.

“So, what were you going to ask me about earlier on the elevator?”

Danielle glanced over at Tristan. They were lying side by side on loungers by the pool. It was a beautiful July day and a bright sun was in the sky. She thought the swim trunks Tristan wore looked sexy on him. She’d always thought he had a nice body.

Earlier, when she’d gotten up to get drinks for them at the poolside bar, she’d noticed a woman trying to catch his eye. Danielle knew enough about women to know that although the woman had a nice body, she was probably in her fifties. She was definitely a cougar. And Danielle had no intention of letting her get her claws into Tristan. At first the thought of her being so overprotective gave her pause. Hadn’t she felt the same way about Karin Stokes? But then she realized Tristan was such a nice guy, someone had to look out for him. There were too many unscrupulous women out there, like the cougar in the lounger on the other side of the pool who was still trying to get his eye. Why didn’t the woman just give up?

“Um, I was just wondering,” she said, deciding to respond since he had inquired, “why you aren’t seriously dating anybody.”

He released her gaze to look out over the pool. “I don’t have the time.”

She grinned. “I thought that was one of the things in life that a man typically made time for. Paul usually did.”

Tristan chuckled. “Yeah, he did, didn’t he?”

Both of them knew her brother had been a ladies’ man. She and Tristan hadn’t been the only ones grieving over his death. A lot of the single ladies in Port St. Lucie had been grieving as well. “So, Tris, what’s the real deal?”

Tristan didn’t say anything at first, deciding to think about what response he would give Danielle. He could come right out and say he wasn’t dating anyone because she was the one and only woman for him. But he reconsidered. Given what she was going through right now and had gone through over the past two months, hearing that would be the last thing she needed. He made his head rule his heart and said, “I’ve been too busy.”

“And I guess I haven’t been helping matters.”

He frowned. “I thought we weren’t going there, Dani. Don’t bring him on this trip,” he said rather harshly and then regretted it.

For once he wanted her to relax and have a good time without thinking of what had been going on in her life for the past couple of months. He knew for her it would be hard to do, but he wanted her to try.

“Sorry.”

“You’re forgiven.”

A few silent moments passed and then she said, “Did I tell you I got a call from Jeri?”

His frown deepened. Jeri had been her agent. More than once the woman had tried luring Danielle back into the world of glitz and glamour. “No, you didn’t. What did she want?” he asked, trying to keep the irritation he felt out of his voice.

“A major designer is putting a project together for the holidays and wants me included.”

Alarm rammed through his nervous system. He couldn’t help wondering if this thing with Marc would be what sent her back to the world she’d left behind five years ago. “What did you tell her?”

“I told her there was no way I could participate. I have a full-time job at A&T.”

He appreciated her loyalty to the company and was grateful she wasn’t thinking about leaving A&T. To be open-minded and fair, he said, “You know, if you really want to do it, we could arrange things for you to take some time off. It might be a good opportunity for you.”

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