She’d get through this. For once her past was going to work in her favor. If she could learn to live without the love of her parents, she could darn well learn to live without Jack’s.

“Excuse me, Miss?”

At the sound of the saleswoman’s voice, Mallory turned around. “Are you calling me?”

The blond-haired woman nodded. “These are for you.” She held out a sunglass case with the silver Prada logo on top.

Mallory shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“A good-looking man with dark hair said to tell you there’s a note inside. You are so lucky. It’s such a romantic gesture.”

“Well…” Speechless, Mallory accepted the case. As the saleswoman retreated, Mallory stayed seated so she could read and absorb Jack’s words.

What good are sunglasses without a convertible? Join me for the ride of your life. Fifteen minutes out front. If you dare to go out in broad daylight.

She slipped the glasses on and her adrenaline started pumping. Mallory Sinclair wasn’t a quitter. She wasn’t someone who felt sorry for herself and wallowed in pity. She was a survivor who made the best of what life threw her way.

But for whatever time they had left, fate had given her Jack. She loved him and maybe she couldn’t have him for forever-but she could most definitely have him for now.

MALLORY MANAGED to change clothes and get back downstairs with one minute to spare. She walked outside, caught sight of the red convertible gleaming in the sunlight and fell in love-this time with the sleek machine and the lure of freedom. Not to mention the man sitting in the driver’s seat.

He was tanned and sexy and waiting just for her. He honked the horn and waved her over. “Come on before we miss the best part of the day.”

She couldn’t see his eyes behind his darkened shades but just looking at him warmed her blood faster than the sun overhead. She ran to the car and jumped into the passenger seat. She paused only to pull her new glasses out of her bag and slide them onto the bridge of her nose. “I won’t ask how you knew about these, but thank you just the same.”

He slung one arm over the back of her seat. “You’re welcome. Pleasing you is my number one priority.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that.” She rubbed her hands together and reminded herself he was joking. “Where are we going?”

He grinned. “You’ll see.”

She kicked her sandals off and curled her legs beneath her. “I can’t wait.”

He studied her intently. His admiring gaze never left her face. “You look sexy in those lenses.”

She couldn’t doubt his sincerity and the compliment soothed her bruised feelings from earlier. “Thank you.”

His fingers brushed her bare shoulders, skimming the flesh her halter exposed, and she trembled. “That top is something else, too. Or should I say it’s the body beneath it that’s so spectacular.”

She laughed. “You can say whatever you want as long as you keep those compliments coming.”

“That’s no hardship, sweetheart.”

Her heart lodged in her throat. She couldn’t let his sweet-talking words go to her head. “Don’t you think we ought to get going before someone sees us looking and acting less than businesslike?”

“As usual you’ve got a point.” He shifted gears into drive, put his foot to the pedal and they hit the road. “And speaking of business, what’s going on with Rogers?”

Mallory shrugged. “He thinks he’s on to something. He’ll be in touch.”

“Soon, I hope. Lederman’s stalling is making me crazy. John Waldorf says things at the office are status quo and they’re handling his most recent business-no mention of Nantucket but it may be too new. We’ll see.”

She nodded. “But it’s all moot for the day anyway.”

“So let’s put it behind us for now, yes?”

She grinned. “Yes.” A day alone with Jack. She could handle that.

She’d let down her hair for his benefit and as the car picked up speed, the warm wind blew the longer pieces wildly around her face. She reveled in the freedom as he drove with one hand and laced his fingers through the strands with the other.

The sensual tugging on her scalp felt wickedly good. She leaned her head against the seat, shut her eyes and gave herself over to the sensation of the wind and his hands playing a seductive dance in her hair and against her skin.

“This is heaven,” she said aloud.

“Just wait till we reach our destination.”

Almost forty minutes of bliss and comfortable silence later they turned onto a road that ran parallel to the beach and boasted huge estates on the water.

Mallory peered through her sunglasses at the mansions, replete with gates, security systems and too many rooms to possibly count. Each one had a magnificent view. With the sun high in the blue sky and not a cloud in sight, the water seemed to go on forever.

Leaning closer to him for a better view out his side, his potent, masculine scent assaulted her senses. It was all she could do not to cuddle close. Thank heavens for the gear shift, she thought, which protected her from her baser impulses.

“Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live in one of those homes?” she asked instead.

His grunt let her know exactly what he thought of that question. “I grew up in a two-bedroom apartment in the city. One of those places was never within the realm of possibility.” His jaw clenched, making her think she’d hit a nerve.

She quickly changed the subject. “Well, I grew up in the suburbs. We used to go to Cape Cod and Rhode Island for a few weeks during the summers-as soon as sleep-away camp ended, which was how they got rid of me during the bulk of the summer.”

She shifted in her seat and glanced out the window at the ocean beyond. “My parents would drop me at an aunt’s house while they took off shopping or sightseeing. “‘You stay home, Mallory. You’re too young toappreciate antiques,’” she said in a perfect imitation of her mother.

“She sounds charming.”

“Cool is more like it. They both were. After dropping me off, they’d take these romantic drives around the beach or into town. I know this because it’s all my mother would talk about when they finally got back hours later-sometimes days if the whim struck.”

His assessing eyes bore into hers before he turned his focus back to the road. “You hated being left out.”

She gripped her forearms tight, hugging herself against the memories that surfaced as hard and strong as the ocean current. “I hated being the third wheel, which I was whether I was dragged along with them or left behind.”

“How’d you get through it?”

“By daydreaming about living in a castle or fantasy house where everyone catered to what I wanted. Especially my parents who couldn’t bear to be separated from their only daughter.” She let out a cynical laugh. “As if.”

His gut clenched in her defense. As if anything he felt on her behalf could chase away the truth of that awful time in her life. He hated that anyone could make her feel so isolated and alone.

“And now? You mentioned a heart scare to Lederman. Did you get through it okay?”

She leaned her head back against the seat. “It was easy enough to get through the incident itself considering they never called me until after he was released from the hospital and only then because they were returning my call. As usual they forgot all about me.”

Jack winced. He had wanted to protect her from the pain, not dig into old wounds. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

She laughed, easing the tension. “Sure you did, but that’s okay. I didn’t mean to bore you with my life story.”

“You could never bore me.” Anything that gave him an inkling as to what made her the woman she’d become was a fascination for him.

“Yeah, and I own some of this beachfront property I could sell you dirt cheap.” She grinned and the arousal he’d somehow held at bay for the entire drive came rushing back in full force.

He could see the sparkle in her eyes even behind the dark glasses and her easy smile seemed meant for him alone. Even if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t mind deluding himself for a while longer. But at least her quick comeback told him she underestimated the effect she had on him-which was a good thing, since it afforded him some protection against falling too hard.

And maybe he had some beachfront property he could sell himself, he thought wryly. He eased the car into a slow crawl. “Any more dreams you want to share? Like the ones for your future?”

“You mean, do I have the American dream of being someone’s wife with the house, the white picket fence, kids and a dog? Or do I dream of being barefoot and pregnant running around the kitchen baking cake and organizing PTA meetings?” She let out an ineloquent snort. “Not hardly.”

He propped one arm over the wheel and studied the woman beside him. Sarcasm aside, he caught a wistful quality in her voice and the longing in her expression told him she wanted some of those things more than she let on. Maybe even more than she admitted to herself.

And despite all good intentions, he could envision her in either of those roles she’d mentioned because Mallory was a woman who could accomplish anything she chose. When it came to the barefoot and pregnant part, well he was certain she’d excel at the getting pregnant part.

The driving need to test his theory grew stronger. So did the erection inside his shorts. It was a wonder she hadn’t called him on it already.

“What, no comment? The Terminator has nothing to say on my feelings about the American family?” she asked.

He felt sure she didn’t want to know what he was thinking at the moment. He donned a grin. “The Terminator doesn’t believe in the American dream either.”

She clucked her tongue. “I didn’t say I don’t believe, I said it won’t be happening for me. I’m the dreamer, remember?”