Yours Seductively

Chapter 10.4

   Tyler left much sooner that either of them would have liked. He has no choice, of course, since he had to pick up the children. They were leaving early the next morning to go visit Sarah in Atlanta. What bothered her, though, was that it hadn't even seemed to occur to him to invite Jane along. She told herself not to be offended. Tyler was obviously concentrating on establishing a relationship with her before introducing her into his family. That made sense, she supposed—but she had really enjoyed the family picnic, and she would love to be included again.

   But she could wait, she told herself, until he was ready. Or at least until her limited patience ran out completely.

   He kissed her lingeringly at the door. "I'll call you."

   "Drive carefully tomorrow."

   "I will."

   "And give my best to your sister and her husband and their new baby."

   For some reason, he frowned again—just a little—but he nodded. "I'll do that."

   "Good night," she said, trying to keep the wistfulness out of her voice.

   He kissed her again. "Good night, Jane."

   As she locked the door and prepared to get ready for bed, she realized that she was missing Tyler already, wondering when she would see him again. It was a little scary how hard she had fallen for him. How much she suddenly had at stake.

   She had come back to Honoria when she'd realized that something was missing from her life. She'd thought facing her past, and reexamining her roots would help her identify what she needed to fulfill her. It wasn't money—she could have gone on making a decent income in New York. More than she made here, actually. It wasn't fake, though there had been a time when she'd fantasized about that, too—before she'd realized that she wasn't destined for superstardom. She was too private and independent for that sort of fishbowl life, anyway.

   One of the first things she had done when she came back was to revisit the old house on the edge of town where she had grown up. Someone had taken pains to repair the signed of neglect her parents had left behind when they'd moved away. The little house bore new siding, shutters and shingles, and the carport had been enclosed to make a garage. It was obvious that whoever lived there now took pride in the place. But Jane had been unable to appreciate the improvements. She had looked at the house and had remembered the unhappiness she'd known there. She'd spent a long time parked on the side of the road, staring at the darkened windows, and putting those memories to rest.

   Since then, she had found fulfillment here in several ways. Her teaching job—the chance to be a positive influence in so many students' lived, the opportunity to encourage their creativity and talent. Her participation in the fledgling community theater—a chance to be actively involved in the community, to encourage the arts I Honoria. The new friends she had made and the old ones she had reconnected with.

   And she had fallen in love.

   She had watched Sally and Dave having their picnic with their children yesterday, and she'd found herself envying them. Wondering if she would ever have what they'd found—commitment, security, children.

   She wondered if there was even the slightest chance that she would have those things with Tyler.

   He'd had it all before. She realized that, and she was honest enough to admit to herself that it bothered her sometimes. Mostly because she knew so little about his marriage bbhad he loved his late wife so much that he would never recover, never love anyone else that much again?

   He wanted her—she could hardly doubt that now—but could he ever love her?