Cross My Heart (A Contemporary Romance Novel)

guys.”
    “Good night,” they both said.
    Jenna glanced at Michael, who was watching his daughter disappear up the stairs. Then he turned to her. “I don’t know how to thank you,” he said as he opened the door and the two of them stepped outside. “Claire was so different, tonight. With you here.”
    “It was my pleasure. And I had a great time, not to mention an incredible meal.”
    They walked in silence for a minute, across the broad expanse of his beautiful lawn towards her much more unkempt one. The soft night air was lush and fragrant.
    She glanced up at him, and the moonlight was bright enough that she could see his face clearly, although she wasn’t sure about his expression. He seemed to be frowning a little.
    “Michael, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
    He looked down at her. “Uh…sure. I mean, no. I don’t mind.”
    “I should warn you, it’s personal. So don’t answer if you don’t feel like it.”
    He lifted an eyebrow. “How personal?”
    “Why does Claire live with her grandparents? And not with you?”
    “Oh,” he said, as if he’d been expecting something else. They were close to her back door now, and she took a detour to a bench in the back yard. She sat sideways, facing him with her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around her shins, while he faced forward. He didn’t answer her question right away, and she had a chance to study him.
    His hands were in his pockets and his legs were stretched out, one ankle hooked over the other. Even in the moonlight she could sense the tension in him—his shoulders stiff, his muscles tight.
    “It’s okay if you’d rather not talk about it.”
    He shrugged. “No, it’s all right.” He turned his head to look at her. “Claire’s mother and I split up when Claire was three. After the divorce, Angela took Claire to Florida, to be near her family. A few years ago, Angela was killed in a car accident.”
    Jenna’s heart clenched. So she had died.
    Michael took a breath. “I thought about moving down there, but I had commitments at the hospital I couldn’t walk away from. I asked Claire to come live with me, but her grandparents offered her a home and she said she’d rather stay where she was.”
    Ouch.
    “Have you asked her again, since then?”
    He was quiet for a moment. “I think she’s better off where she is,” he said finally. “My schedule is pretty hectic, and I don’t have family in the area. It would just be me, and I wouldn’t be around that much. All Claire’s friends are in Florida, not to mention her grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins…Angela had a huge family.”
    “You could ask, though. Even if she ends up saying no, she might like to be asked.”
    He looked at her. “You know, you’re pretty pushy for a woman I just met four hours ago.”
    That made her smile. “Fair enough. I’m sorry.”
    He shook his head. “No, you’re right. I should ask her. The truth is…” He hesitated. “The truth is, she’d probably say no, which would hurt more than I’d like to admit. Or…she might say yes. And that would scare the crap out of me.”
    Her heart tightened in her chest. “Michael, I saw how you were with Claire tonight. Just the fact that you invited me over, knowing it would make her happy…it’s obvious you’re trying as hard as you can.”
    “Sure I am. You think I like being a lousy dad?”
    “You’re not—”
    “Don’t,” he said roughly. She stared at him, startled, and he rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Sorry. I’m not usually like this. The only person in the world who can get under my skin is Claire. Sometimes I wish…”
    “What?” she asked after a moment.
    “Nothing.”
    He closed his eyes. One of his hands, the one nearest to her, was fisted on his thigh. Without stopping to think, she reached out and covered it with hers.
    His eyes snapped open and his head swiveled towards her. After a moment he relaxed his hand, turning it so they were palm to palm. Then he laced his fingers through hers.
    Jenna stopped breathing. Warm tingles, like darts of electricity, were shooting up her arm and all through her body.
    His eyes were on her—not asking or demanding anything, just…on her. She watched his chest rise with a quick, sharp breath.
    She felt lightheaded.
    There were so many things she liked about this man. His intelligence, his love for his daughter…even his devotion to science, because it was a passion so different from any of her own.
    All of which