Don't Tempt Me by Julie Ortolon Page A

be a really stupid idea."
    "What do you mean, not ready to settle down?" Rory stared at him. "You just passed the big three-oh, brother. How long do you plan to wait before you start a family?"
    "Come on, brat, I just got you two raised. Has it occurred to you I might like a little time on my own before I tie myself down with a second family?"
    "Excuse me?" Emotions paraded across his little sister's face, going from disbelief to hurt. "Well, gee, I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were such a burden to you."
    Oh, hell. He glanced at Alli and saw the same wounded look. "You weren't, and you know it. It's just, I'd like to ... I don't know, not worry about anyone but me for a little while. And truthfully, I don't think Jackie is any more interested in marriage and kids right now than I am. So, no matchmaking, okay? All it will do is create a really awkward situation for everyone concerned."
    "Oh, all right," Rory groused, and he would have breathed a sigh of relief if she hadn't smiled. "Although you're wrong about Jackie not wanting kids. Or haven't you noticed the way she looks at Lauren?"
    "What?" He blinked.
    "Rory's right," Allison said. "I noticed it, too."
    "Give me a break." He laughed nervously. "Alli, you've told me yourself, not all women want to be mommies."
    "Maybe not," Alli said. "But Jackie does."
    Before he could even think of an appropriate response to that, he heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs. He turned just as Jackie appeared in the doorway wearing a white shirt tucked into worn-out jeans that had a split at one knee. From the swell of her breasts, he knew she'd left off the sports bra in exchange for something more feminine ---but what? Plain cotton? Satin and lace?
    His libido did a slow spin as he contemplated the possibilities.
    She stopped abruptly when she noticed his scrutiny. "What?"
    "Nothing." He shook his head to clear his brain.
    "Good morning," Rory said brightly, glancing between him and Jackie. "We were wondering when you'd come down."
    "Did you sleep well?" Alli asked.
    "A little too well, I guess." Jackie sighed. She'd finger-combed her damp hair straight back, accentuating her exotic features. "It looks like I slept through breakfast."
    "Not a problem," he assured her. "I can fix whatever you want. Eggs, bacon, French toast?"
    "Just a pastry and some coffee will be fine." She rubbed her stomach and he realized she did that a lot.
    "Here you go." Rory grabbed a cup and filled it from the silver coffee urn. "Do you take anything in it?"
    "No, just black."
    Adrian checked the wicker basket of pastries that sat in the middle of the table. "Try one of the bran muffins. It'll soften the blow of that caffeine."
    "Thanks." She accepted the coffee cup from Rory and took a sip but made no move toward the table.
    Rory nudged Allison and nodded toward the door. "We'll be in the kitchen if you two need anything."
    He stifled a groan as they bustled out with their arms full of dishes. So much for Rory not playing matchmaker. Someday his baby sister needed to learn she couldn't order the universe around with the sheer force of her will. Wanting something, even wanting it badly, didn't automatically make it happen.
    "So," he said to Jackie as he continued clearing the table, "do you have any plans for today? Other than reading the diaries?"
    "Actually" ---she stepped closer to him to check out the pastries and he caught the scent of some tropical shampoo that made him wonder how she'd look in a bikini sunning herself on a white sand beach ---"I was thinking I should go see the ship before everything goes to hell and I have to leave."
    "What?" He shoved aside a fantasy of tumbling naked with Jackie in the surf to concentrate on her words. "First of all, everything's going to work out fine. And second, even if it doesn't, you're free to dive around the ship anytime you want."
    "I appreciate that, but I've learned to not count on people's hospitality lasting beyond the moment."
    "Not a bad