Heartless Rebel by Lynn Raye Harris Page A

excuse I needed to leave,” she said coolly. “I needed the shove out the
door, and he provided it.”
                 “Ah,”
he said. “And yet you still believe in happy ever afters.”
                 She
refused to be embarrassed over it. “I think it’s possible, yes. Don’t you?”
                 “No,
I don’t.”
                 Cara
resisted the urge to snort. Of course he wouldn’t believe in love that lasted
forever. Jack lived in the moment. And yet she felt like challenging him on it.
                 “What
about this wedding we’re going to? Don’t you believe they’ll be happy
together?”
                 “I
hope so. Nathaniel deserves happiness.”
                 Interestingly,
she was incensed for Nathaniel, whoever he was. “Does Nathaniel know you don’t
give him very good odds of being happy with his new wife?”
                 Jack’s
expression was wry. “I doubt he cares. He’s always done what he wanted. My
opinion doesn’t matter much.”
                 “Sensible
man,” she said. “How long have you known him?”
                 “All
my life. He’s my brother.”
                 Her
heart skipped a beat. He was taking her to a family wedding? She’d thought it
was just a wedding, not a family function. It had seemed so much easier when it
had been simply a wedding .
                 “What’s
the matter?” he asked when she didn’t say anything.
                 Cara
swallowed. “I didn’t realize I’d be meeting your family. That seems much more
personal than a business arrangement.”
                 “It’s
not. We’re not a very close family.”
                 Something
in his tone made her heart ache. She wasn’t close to her father, not anymore,
but she couldn’t imagine life without Mama and Remy and Evie. It was true she
wanted adventure, true she wanted to explore and do her own thing, but to not
have them to go home to? To not have that safe haven that would always be
there, especially now that she’d done so much to secure it for them?
                 It
was unthinkable.
                 “I
see this surprises you,” he said. “And yet, here you are, thousands of miles
from home.”
                 “I
left for many reasons, but we’re still very close.”
                 His
gaze roamed her face. “Yes, I believe that. There’s a light in your eyes
whenever you mention them. And you’ve clearly worked very hard to provide for
them.”
                 “I
love them,” she said. And then, because she couldn’t stop herself, she asked,
“Aren’t you ever lonely, Jack?”
                 His
expression was tired, bleak. She saw the wounded warrior now, the man behind
the mask—or were there more masks, more layers of obfuscation? It wouldn’t
surprise her if there were.
                 “I’ve
been alone too long to be lonely,” he said.
                 “That’s
ridiculous. How can you say that?”
                 He
traced the line of her jaw with two fingers. “You’re very naive, Cara. We don’t
all need the company of others to make our lives complete.”
                 She
bristled. “I choose to think of myself as optimistic. There’s nothing wrong
with hoping for the best. Nothing wrong with wanting to share my life with
someone.”
                 The
boat thudded against the rubber bumpers of the dock, signaling that the ride
was over. Jack stepped back, took her hand in his as if she were a child.
                 “Wait,”
she said when he tried to lead her toward the gangway. He gave her that look
she was getting to know so well, the one that said he was annoyed but
tolerating her. Well, nothing said she had to stand for it. She wasn’t letting
him barrel through her