Mom came in through the door from the garage, jerking me out of my memories of that day with Jamie in the dorm. I tugged my shirt lower and spun to face the counter, pretending to get some coffee. Honestly, I just wanted to hide the bulge in my track pants. Ever since that day, every time I saw Jamie the same thing happened. The memory of the day she was so vulnerable warmed my blood and made me want her all over again.

But Mom was here. And I’d just been with Ash the night before, and my wife was missing. I was an ass for even thinking about Jamie that way. Or Ash, for that matter. My wife, the woman I loved more than anything, was gone, and I was getting wood over someone else. What kind of man was I?

“Mason,” Mom called. “Jamie was just telling me what she’s been up to. Did you hear? She helps to teach at a program for troubled youths.”

“I’m teaching them how to repair cars,” said Jamie as she followed my mom into the kitchen.

“Isn’t that wonderful?” Mom was smiling from ear to ear.

“Wonderful,” I said, distracted by the streak of grease across Jamie’s forehead.

“Mason,” Mom scolded. I was thirty-six years old and my mom still had the ability to make me feel like a teenager.

I tried a smile. “It’s really great, Jamie. I’m glad you found a great way to use your talents.”

Jamie narrowed her eyes at me. She went to the sink and washed the grease from her hands and arms. Mom helped her to wash away the dark smudge on her forehead. All I could think of was slipping up behind her and pushing her shirt up around her shoulders so I could taste her back. I cleared my throat. Hard.

Mom slapped me on the arm. “Mason, stop being so surly. Nobody likes a grump.”

Jamie crossed to the coffeepot and poured herself a mug. She hitched a hip against the counter and stared at me over the rim of the cup. She didn’t blink. She just stared. It totally unnerved me, to the point that I choked on my coffee.

“Mason!” Mom said, coming over to whack me on the back. “What is up with you today? Wasting a good sip of coffee like that…” Then she grinned.

I pinched my lips together tightly. It didn’t feel right laughing while Lynn was missing. It just didn’t.

Mom sobered when she saw the look on my face. “Jamie and I were just talking about going shopping. Would you like to join us?” She stared at me expectantly.

“Not a chance in hell,” I muttered.

Mom gave me that look that only moms can give. “Fine. Stay here.” She turned to Jamie. “Are you ready?”

Jamie dropped her eyes from where they had been resting on my lips and nodded her head. “Of course.”

Mom stepped onto her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, and I let her. “Lynn will be back soon,” she whispered. She moved so that she could look into my eyes. “I know Lynn, and Lynn loves you too much to stay gone forever. She’ll be back. Mark my words.”

I just nodded.

“It was good to see you, Mason,” Jamie said quietly.

I followed them to the door and held it open with my hip. “You too, Jamie. Thanks for working on the car. Let me know if I owe you anything.”

She nodded, her eyes holding mine as she passed by me in the doorway. Her fingertips dragged across my stomach. I sucked in a hard breath. She followed Mom to her car, and I closed the door, leaning hard against it.

Jamie had a way of bringing me to my knees. She wasn’t sophisticated and she didn’t work hard to be pretty. She was just Jamie. She carried the scars of her past, but they didn’t define her. Her quick wit and her sexy smile got me every time.

Suddenly, my door flew open and Jamie rushed across the room, flinging herself into my arms. I caught her against me and she crushed her lips to mine. “I told your mom I forgot my keys,” she muttered, lifting her lips only momentarily from mine. Her tongue slipped into my mouth and her hand lowered to grab my cock through my track pants.

I lifted my hands to her face and threaded my fingers into the hair at her temples, then I gave it a hard tug, pulling her head back. Her chin tilted up in the air, and a siren’s smile raised the corners of her lips.

“I missed you,” she said.

“I missed you too.” And I did. I’d go to hell for it, but I did. I missed her. I wanted her. It had been so long.

She stared into my eyes. “I haven’t talked to her,” she said so softly that I could barely hear her. “But we’ll find her. I promise.” Her gaze dropped to my mouth. “Kiss me one last time,” she said. “Then I have to go.”

I kissed her, my lips desperate while hers were soft.

“I know you’re hurting,” she said.

My gut twisted. “I need her back.”

“I know.” She stepped onto her tiptoes one last time and kissed me slowly. “I know you do.”

“It was really great to see you. I wish we had more time.”

She settled back on her heels. “I had better go.”

I nodded, letting her go slowly, reluctantly.

“I love you,” she said quietly.

I nodded again. “I love you too. I wish…”

I shook my head. I wished a lot of things. I wished my mom hadn’t been there. I wished the situation was different. I wished…

It seemed like my life was a series of wishes. And when Lynn was here, those wishes were fulfilled.

“I know,” she said. She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me quickly, and then she darted out the door. I ran a hand through my hair and sagged onto the sofa.

I wanted Lynn back. I needed for Lynn to come back.