He certainly hadn’t expected to hear her stick up for him in that honey-sweet voice of hers. Not only had she gotten him away from Alana, but she’d slyly insinuated they were sneaking off to have sex. Or at least that was how he’d interpreted it. He wasn’t sure if she’d meant it to sound that way or if his dick had taken over his hearing.

Either way, he wasn’t going to resist if she wanted to drag him upstairs. Even if it really was just to sleep.

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that. She just pissed me off. One of your cousins. Really? Who hugs their cousin like that?” Ridley shook her head. “I won’t ask why you were attracted to her. She’s very pretty. Other than the crazy things stuck to her eyelashes and the pound of makeup she’s wearing.”

“No comment. But I’m willing to admit that most of my relationships are pretty shallow. My friends pushed me hard to get back into the dating scene after…”

“After your wife died. It’s okay, Matt told me. I’m really sorry.” She squeezed his hand as she said it.

His wife was usually a subject he didn’t discuss with anyone. Part of him was angry that Matt had told her, but the other part was glad. Jackson couldn’t figure out why, but for some reason he didn’t mind talking about it with Ridley. She seemed like she really was sorry for his pain and not just saying it to score points like most of the women who eventually found out.

“Thanks. It was a hard time and after a while I started dating just to shut everyone else up. I’m sure you can imagine the kind of women they were setting me up with.”

“Hey, I’m not judging. My own sister apparently thinks I’m a prude and need to sleep with a ‘real man’ like you.”

Jackson choked, letting go of her hand to thump himself on the chest. “What?”

“I know. Crazy, right?” Ridley continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was now completely aroused.

He put his hands in his pockets and tried to hitch his pants higher to cover his erection. “She actually said that?”

“Pretty much. She knows you’re exactly my type so she thinks I should use this time to seduce you. Of course, I told her I’d get right on that.” She laughed and covered her face with her hands. “Wow, that’s even more embarrassing than the first time I said it!”

“Jesus, Ridley.” Jackson held a hand to his heart, which was now pounding so hard he worried it might jump out of his chest and land on the grass. “If I actually thought you meant that, you wouldn’t be safe anywhere.”

“Jackson…” she pleaded. “Don’t make fun of me.” She peeked at him from between her fingers.

“I’m not making fun of you, trust me.” He stepped closer and pulled her hands down, holding them firmly in his. She watched with wide eyes as he dipped his head, her lips parting as he moved in.

There were a million reasons this was a bad idea. In fact, he’d listed them mentally just last night. However, he suddenly couldn’t come up with even one reason he shouldn’t kiss her. As he zeroed in on her mouth, all he could see was that her bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top. He was going to bite that plump lip.

Just then Matt walked up. “Hey. Look who just arrived.”

It took Jackson a few moments before he could tear his eyes away from Ridley’s. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a soft sigh, her breath wafting across his cheek. There were so many thoughts running through his head, all of them screaming at him to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder and take her in the house. Then they could “get right on it” as she’d jokingly put it.

Only he wouldn’t be playing around.

“Jackson? Uh, should I give you two a minute?” He met Matt’s amused eyes and then followed his finger to where he pointed across the grass. What he saw cooled him down instantly. He took a deep breath and stepped back from Ridley.

“We’ll definitely pick up this conversation later.” Then he turned to the older couple walking in their direction.

“Mom! Dad! Over here.” He waved his arm to attract their attention.

Alana, who’d been hovering off to the side watching them, huffed out a breath and scurried in the opposite direction, her short dress riding up as she trotted away.

“Well, what got her so excited? Not that I’m not happy she’s finally gone.” Ridley said.

He reflexively pulled her against his side again. Not that he wanted to fool his parents. His mother had eyes like a hawk and fooling her was something he hadn’t attempted since he was a teenager. No, he realized he wanted Ridley to meet his parents just because he liked her.

“She never got along with my mother. She’s probably afraid to face her. My mom is a bit intimidating sometimes.”

Before she could answer, his parents approached. His father immediately pulled him into a hearty hug. “There’s my boy!”

Jackson laughed and hugged him back, his father’s joy contagious. Mark Alexander had a way of making every gathering a party and treated everyone he met like family.

Between volunteer work mentoring at their church and taking on more summer workers than he needed, just so the local boys could have productive work, he was always helping others in some way. When Jackson was younger, it was hard for him to understand why his father gave so much of his time and energy to others. In some cases, he’d felt like people took advantage of his father’s welcoming nature.