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Yeah, he drawled. She giggled at his lecherous smile. You almost
ready?
I just need to finish my makeup and put my earrings in. She patted his
chest and smiled up at him. Nervous?
A little. I know it s all show but... Rowdy searched for the right words
and watched her slip what looked like diamond studs in her ears.
But? Jade took a big fluffy brush and added some color to her cheeks,
then used another to apply powder to her face.
He watched her, every little movement, unable to keep a smile off his face.
It wasn t all show. Her gentleness and quiet understanding the previous night had
been just what he d needed after his afternoon with Liv. Yeah, he was a little
nervous, but damn she looked so pretty. Jade.
Hmmm?
You look beautiful.
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She paused, a lip lining pencil halfway to her mouth, and smiled at him
through the mirror. Thank you.
Thank you, be damned. You re supposed to say I know, Rowdy .
Jade chuckled softly and turned her attention back to her lip liner. He
moved up behind her, watching her through the mirror, his hands gently kneading
her shoulders. She stood up straight and leaned back against his chest. Rowdy
smiled at her, almost laughing at the urge to say I Love You.
Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?
Her lips twitched and finally curved into a smile before she ducked her
head.
Look at me, Jade Skye Ballard.
She did, from under her lashes, that shyness he rarely saw anymore now
back full force.
You re perfect, he whispered, smiling at her. You remind me of a china
doll with that pretty skin and those big green eyes.
I m not perfect, Rowdy, and I never will be. Some of the light faded
from her eyes. I m just me.
He could see the uncertainty, the sudden unease in the tense lines of her
face and spun her around to face him, wrapping his arms around her. He d
developed a weakness for her hugs. She made him feel needy but he didn t mind
anymore. You re perfect for me, Sassy Skye. Just the way you are.
# # #
Once they got on the highway and were headed north in Jade's Cougar, she
pinned him down about lunch and his mom and Joseph.
Guess I can t avoid your questions now, huh? He wasn t used to sharing
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this part of himself with himself, let alone anyone else. But he wanted to with her.
She turned down Sheryl Crow and glanced at him out of the corner of her
eye. So, tell me everything.
You sound like Liv.
How come you call your mom Liv?
How come you call your mom HH? he countered with a grin.
Alright, I ll give you that one. She smiled and squeezed his fingers with
her free hand. Come on, this is about her leaving you with Tim, right? After
your dad died?
There s a lot more to it than that, he said huskily.
She glanced over at him and touched the brake as a semi changed lanes in
front of them. They kept hitting pockets of early evening traffic and he watched
her maneuver in and around it a few minutes before he answered.
Dad was a drunk. A real mean one, and after Charlene ran off, things got
worse. One night I found him choking Liv on the living room floor and I went
after him.
Rowdy took comfort in the slight tightening of her grip on his fingers.
Telling her wasn t quite as bad as he d feared.
My God, she whispered. How old were you?
Sixteen.
Her grip on his fingers tightened again. Poor baby
I m not a poor baby, Jade. Rowdy swallowed the lump in his throat and
focused on the scenery passing by his window until the slowing of the car caught
his attention. Jade pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, put the car in park
and took off her sunglasses.
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He hadn t expected to see tears.
You re so damned touchy! She scowled briefly then sniffed and kneaded
his fingers. I didn t mean to imply you were. But I can t imagine... She sniffed
again and wiped away a tear.
Rowdy leaned closer. It s just the way things were. Don t cry. And I
didn t mean to get all touchy. It s still hard to talk about.
Nobody helped ya ll? Jade ducked her head and he let her cry for just a
minute, then continued, gently fingering her hair.
Not until that last time. Someone finally called the cops.
And now? How s your mom now? Is everything okay between you
two?
Everything s okay, I think, he whispered. And now, Mom doesn t look
like Mom but she acts like her. I think that was almost a bigger shock than finding
out she had a boyfriend. He laughed and leaned over to kiss her. She s changed
a lot.
You didn t actually think about her changing, too, Jade said softly once
he was done smearing her lipstick.
No, I didn t, he said, regret filling his voice. Shit...Sorry.
Why do you always apologize for swearing?
Mr. Boudreaux used to give us extra chores if we swore in front of the ladies.
He waited for her giggles to die down, then added, She thinks we re getting
married.
We ll deal with that later. I wanna ask you something.
Huh?
If your mom s changed, doesn t it stand to reason your sister s really
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changed, too?
She d thought of the one thing he hadn t. Or maybe the one thing he d
ignored. He slowly nodded. Yeah, but I ll deal with that after we get done with
the prospective in-laws.
Prospective? She quirked one slender eyebrow at him.
Yeah. He snorted. Okay, would you prefer bogus?
That sounds worse. And I feel awful dragging you into all of this.
Jade.
Hmmm? He didn t miss that look in her eyes. There was no doubt she
felt everything he did. Now if they could just get through dinner with her mother.
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