Jackson wasn't sure when he'd fallen in love with Greer. Could've been the first time he saw her, and that's why he hadn't confessed on the spot. Whenever it was, it'd been before the office encounter. He'd wanted to tell her then, but what he had said freaked her out enough so he needed to be careful.

He'd help her through this crisis and then convince her to stay. No matter what she said, he didn't believe she thought their tryst had been a mistake. Just the opposite. From the way she reacted to the sex, it'd been the best decision she'd made in long time concerning a man. He felt it in her touch. Heard it in her sighs. Saw it in her expression. She cared about him, but how much?

After mind blowing sex, sleep should be a no-brainer, but that didn't happen. He tossed and turned most of the night. He ran his hand over his face, then swung his feet to the floor. The clock showed five a.m. too damn early for a Saturday morning. But he was wide awake so no need torturing himself to force sleep. Stumbling to the bathroom, he dressed in his running gear. Jogging should clear his head.

*

Greer was more determined than ever to end the relationship with Jackson. She'd gotten in too deep and now he was falling for her. Crap. She'd fallen in lust with him too, but that didn't matter. She could push him from her mind. Just needed to keep telling herself he was like any other guy. One time. A stupid error in judgment. The most delicious, fabulous, hot, mistake she'd ever made, but also the worst.

She'd get through the custody battle, go home to Atlanta, and not look back. Getting over Jackson Bellefonte would be so much easier this way. A single sexual encounter didn't compare to a long-term relationship. But why did he have to be so loveable?

Her heart stopped. Loveable? Love? No. No way. She didn't love him. Couldn't. Wouldn't. He was no different when it came to commitment. Sure. At first, every guy made promises and most of the time meant to keep them, but rarely did. If a couple like Ava and Evan, who'd been so in love were unable to make it work, then no one could.

Twelve more hours. That's all she had to endure. A day with safari animals, food concoctions that sounded like they'd give you a severe case of heartburn, and Jackson. The biggest heart ailment of all.

She unwrapped the towel from her wet head and ran a brush through the curls. She'd stripped the color out. At some point, she'd end up before a judge, and purple hair wouldn't make the best impression. She needed to change her persona. Look more respectable. Not like some wild woman who had no business raising a child. She pulled the strands to the side and braided.

"Aunt Greer? Will you do my hair like yours?"

She spun around. Emma sat Indian style in the doorway. "You snuck up on me!"

She stood. "You were cloud thinking. Mommy used to say that."

"Grownups do that a lot." She maneuvered Emma to stand in front of her and brushed the tangled stands.

She couldn't let the Collins win, but felt powerless. They had money. Connections. How could she compete with that?

She wound the rubber band in place and hugged her. "I love you more than anything. You know that right?"

Emma snaked her arms around Greer's waist and hugged back. "I love you, too."

Even if the grandparents won, a judge would put visitation rules in place. The Collins couldn't shut her out. No court in the land would do that. Or would they? Maybe that's why the old couple wanted pictures. Not just to win the suit, but to prove she should be nowhere near the child. She shook her head. "What did you say?"

"I said, I love Jackson, too. I'm glad he's your boyfriend."

Greer sat on the edge of the tub. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Yes, he is."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because he says your name different from everybody else, and he smiles when he looks at you."

"He does?"

"Uh-huh."

Before she could respond, the doorbell rang, and Emma ran down the hall and opened the door. Damn. He looked good. But he always did, and now that they'd been intimate, he looked even better. It was knowing what those hands and lips could do— and they could do plenty. The thought made heat sink low in her belly and spread south.

"Hey sweet pea, you ready to go?" He returned her hug, then looked at Greer and smiled.

"See, I told you he's your boyfriend." Emma cut her eyes up at her aunt and laughed.

Greer grimaced. "No, he isn't."

Jackson pulled her into a hug. "Yes, I am."

She shrugged away. "No. You're not."

He winked at Emma. "Two against one. So, yeah. I am." He took Greer in his arms and kissed her.

What the hell was he doing? Her brain told her to push away, but her body said don't fight it. His lips destroyed every negative thought, and his arms furnished the safest place on the planet. God, how she'd love to stay there forever, but then she remembered no man committed to eternity. That was a term jewelers used to sell diamonds.

He was not her boyfriend. She didn't have those. Not in years. She had casual encounters. Not random. One night stands weren't her thing. When she got in the mood to do the dirty deed, she arranged a hooked up. Better than a vibrator. Nope. No boyfriends for her. She needed to make that clear to him. The office visit had been an outlet for the frustration he'd caused with all the sexting. Nothing more.

By the time they finished the wild animal safari and headed back across the Alabama/Georgia border, lunch was in order. He'd picked out a pizza place with arcade games and he and Emma played while Greer grabbed a table. Thankful to be in air conditioning, she blotted her face with a paper napkin. The aroma of fresh baked bread mixed with peppers, mushrooms, cheese and meat, caused her mouth to water.

She craned her neck to find her two companions in the crowd. Emma played a ball tossing game, with Jackson giving her tips on how to pitch. Unable to look at them any longer, she turned attention to her phone. The way the child idolized him, and the patience he had with her melted Greer's heart. He could break it too. Easily if she let him.

She looked to find them again. A woman had Jackson's attention. He appeared uncomfortable, but the dark haired beauty gazed at him as if he was on the menu. Greer's stomach knotted.

A minute later, the pizza came, and Greer texted Jackson. He read the message, then called Emma, took her by the hand, said a few more words to the stranger and walked away. Maybe a former girlfriend? If not, from the goo-goo eyes she'd been giving him, clearly she wanted to fill that vacancy.

Emma slid into the seat. Even though Greer had placed herself in the middle of the red plastic bench, that didn't deter Jackson. He nudged her over and planted himself next to her. His leg touched hers from hip to knee. She moved a little to the right, and he moved with her. Damn him.

"Look at all these tickets I won!" Emma pulled blue coupons from her jeans pocket and dangled them in midair. "I hope I can get a stuffed animal. If they have a giraffe that's what I want. Those were my favorite."

Jackson laughed. A sweet mellow tone and heat kicked up in Greer's nether region. She squeezed her legs together, and he noticed because he shot her a look and grinned. She drew a deep breath. From his expression, she knew what he was thinking.

"I bet they have one." He reached for Greer's hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. This time, she moved away, shifted her body, and brought her leg onto the seat in an awkward position that forced him to stay where he was.

He got the message and didn't like it. God, she could already read his thoughts from his body language. That was so—intimate.

He shoved a bite of pizza into his mouth, and cheese dangled from his lips. Emma pointed and laughed. He made a crazy face, stretched the wild string into the air, then sucked it in a little at a time. She laughed harder and Greer couldn't help but love the connection the two of them had.

Guilt overwhelmed her. Poor Emma. She'd lost her dad, and now Greer planned to take Jackson from her. She was the most horrible person alive, but there was no way around it. She'd given up single life for this new job and had been glad to do it, but she couldn't make every decision based on her niece's happiness. Didn't Greer deserve her own? How could she be a good parent if she wasn't happy?

"Hey, we have awhile before the movie starts, so why don't we go to the mall? They've got a kids area set up today for crafts and stuff. " Jackson stared at his partner in crime, but Greer knew the question was for her.

This was her opportunity to get away from him for a while. "Oh, I don't think so. We should go home and rest since we'll be up late."

"I don't want to rest. Please, please." Emma put her hands together as if praying and squeezed her eyes shut. The puppy dog face would be next and Greer had a hard time saying no to the pout.

Jackson copied Emma's actions and voiced the same plea.

"You two are terrible."

"Two to one," Jackson said. "Majority rules. You have to go."

"Maybe you could invite your new friend." Damn. She couldn't leave it alone. Had to open her mouth about the woman.

"You noticed her, huh? Admit it, Rosebud. You can't keep your eyes off me."

She poked his shoulder. "Shut up."

He leaned closer and brushed a sweet kiss on her lips. She sucked in a quick breath. "We're only friends and we may not be that for long if you don't stop bugging me. And don't kiss me."

He curled his lips into a lopsided grin. "Admit it. You liked it. Didn't she, sweet pea?"

"Uh-huh."

He gave her a high-five. "Another two against one. Give up, Rosebud. Today, you just can't win."

Greer hated not hating him. Detested that he could set her on fire with a look or that one little word. And loathed that he knew it. But that was okay, because once she cut him out of her life, he wouldn't be laughing anymore. There'd be no voting. She'd have the last say. Let him have his fun now, because come tomorrow, he'd be licking his wounds.

When they arrived at the mall, they went straight to the children's area and as Emma moved from table to table, Jackson and Greer watched from a nearby sofa. An aroma of cotton candy and popcorn hung heavy while the flowery fragrances from Dillard's cosmetic counter drifted into the open space.

Jackson propped his arm on the back of the seat and twirled a lock of Greer's hair around his finger, slid it free, and repeated the motion. He did it all the time without thinking. Every loop. Every inch. Drove her crazy.

"I'm on to you."

"About what?" He answered, but didn't take his eyes off Emma. The way he watched after the kid, people would assume he was her dad.

"All this majority rules crap. You're taking advantage because you know I won't argue in front of Emma, and that's not fair. You..."

"Come on, Rosebud. I thought by now you'd understand where you're concerned I won't ever play fair. You like bad boys? Well, then no more Mr. Nice Guy." His glare bore into her with a determination she'd not seen before. All the blood drained from her face causing her head to spin. Black dots blurred her vision. She struggled to finish her sentence, but couldn't.

"You okay? You're a little pale."

"I'm fine. Just mad, that's all. You won't listen. I'm trying to let you down easy because clearly the sex meant more to you than me." She thought he'd get angry, but instead, he smiled, and she thought about slapping that grin off his face.

"God, you're such a liar. It meant something all right, but you're too damn stubborn to admit it, and I won't give up until you do."

"Well, I'm not giving up until you believe what I say."

"Fair enough."

"Fine. I don't know why you're focused on me when you clearly having other women interested. At least one."

"I rest my case."

"What does that mean?"

"You're jealous."

"I am not! I'm saying you shouldn't waste your time on me when someone else wants your attention."

He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "You're the one I'm interested in, and later, I plan to show you how much."

His warm breath and hot words almost gave her an orgasm on the spot. She'd like to rip his clothes off and take him right there. Why was he torturing her this way? "No, you're not. We're not doing that again, so you can forget whatever you have planned."

"Okay. But I think you should know what you'll miss. I'd planned to plant my face between..." he nuzzled her ear to finish the sentence, then pulled back. "After that, I intended to bury my..."

She jerked away and gulped for breath. "Why are doing this?"

There was that grin again. "Doesn't matter since it won't happen." He glanced back toward Emma and waved.

How could he talk dirty to her in a public place and get her so worked up, and it not affect him? Since she'd told him no, maybe he wouldn't even try. Good. Not good. Damn. Okay. One more time before she ended things might not hurt. From what he promised, she was sure it wouldn't hurt at all. It'd feel damn good.

Three hours later, Jackson found a good spot at the drive-in and pulled into the space. The sun had gone to bed, and the moon welcomed the night. Since he'd given her his sex syllabus, she'd not been able to think of anything else. She ached all over and now that she wanted him to touch her, he'd kept his distance.

Bastard.

"Come on, sweet pea. Let's go get some dinner." He glanced at Greer. "Diet Dr. Pepper?"

"Yeah. Unless they have beer and Xanax."

Jackson chuckled. "A little agitated, are we?"

"Shut up. I was being funny."

"Yeah, I got that. We'll be right back."

Greer rested her head in the open window and stared up at the moon. Give in or not? No need to battle with herself any longer.

The next move he made, she wouldn't resist.

----------------------------------

What a tease.

Til next time,

x zuz