The Reunion: Claire's Rebuilding Contract (Starting Over Series) Read Free Page A

women really buy into your lines?” she asked sitting back.
     
    “Well, first it wasn’t a line. I was being completely serious. Second, something tells me that you aren’t used to a man complimenting you.” He continued eating his burger while staring into her eyes.
     
    Claire thought about his words for a moment. “No, I am most certainly not used to it.” She averted his steady gaze. Why was he staring at her?
     
    “Get used to it,” he said under his breath.
     
    “Excuse me?” she asked.
     
    “You should get used to it. You are a very beautiful woman, even when you’re covered in mud,” he said with a smile. “Now, please eat you buns…”
     
    “What?” Claire asked with her mouth hanging open.
     
    “Your buns. On your plate there,” he said pointing to her hamburger with a laugh. Claire’s face turned bright red. “It’s okay. It’s been a long day.”
     
    As they continued their lunch, Claire reassembled her hamburger, throwing caution to the wind when it came to her waistline. She enjoyed Jack’s company, and it was nice to get away from “life” for a little bit. Watching her neighbors lose their homes and seeing hers damaged was hard to take. It was like her life was in flux yet again, just as it had been after her divorce.
     
    Jack, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air. She hadn’t dated at all after the divorce, not that she was dating Jack either. But having a kind, chivalrous Southern gentleman in her presence was a welcome relief after eleven years with a narcissistic actor who only cared about his wants and needs.
     
    Claire’s thoughts were interrupted by the ring of her cell phone. It was Aven calling from Amelia’s house.
     
    “Honey, is everything okay?” she asked as she answered her phone. As she spoke to her daughter, Jack watched her face. She had the most gorgeous and thick dark hair. It was almost black. Her eyes were an interesting shade of brown with flecks of copper in them. Her smile was bright, and her skin was a tone of olive he’d never seen much on the women around here. He imagined she had some Native American genes in her family tree.
     
    “Everything okay?” he asked as she hung up her phone.
     
    “Oh, yes. She was excited because Amelia took her to see a movie and out for ice cream,” she said smiling.
     
    “Amelia?”
     
    “She’s my regular babysitter. Stay at home mom one county over. She’s keeping Aven until I can get the house back to some semblance of normal.”
     
    “I see. Well, I plan to help you do that quickly,” he said taking a final sip and standing up. “Ready?”
     
    “Sure,” she said standing up.
     
    “One question. Where did you get the name Aven?” he asked as they walked out onto the sidewalk after paying the bill.
     
    “My ex-husband is Irish. The name means ‘fair radiance’, and my daughter came out with fair skin and red hair, believe it or not,” she said with a giggle as she pulled on her own hair.
     
    “I guess a name like Callahan is Irish…” Jack said without thinking. Up until then, she’d had no idea he knew who she was and he’d wanted to keep it that way.
     
    “What did you just say?” she asked stopping dead in her tracks beside the truck.
     
    “Nothing.”
     
    “You said Callahan. My last name is Miller. How did you know?”
     
    “I found your divorce papers in the bushes. I didn’t know what they were until it was too late,” he said looking down at his cowboy boots.
     
    “I cannot believe this. Why didn’t you tell me that? Where are they? Did you sell them to some tabloid already?” she asked with her hands on her hips.
     
    “Settle down, woman. I put them inside your house. They are on your kitchen table. Why on Earth would you assume I sold them to a tabloid?” he asked.
     
    “Because that’s what people do. They destroy your life for fun and profit,” she said dryly as she climbed into the truck. This time, he dared not touch