Joshua’s lips quirked up in a partial smile, and she wished she could get him to smile fully. If he shared that same dimple that Jesse had in his right cheek, the dimple that not even Jesse’s beard had hidden … Oh my, that would be insane, and she’d be ticked and need a very convincing explanation of why he’d misled her. At the same time, she would be so happy. She and Jesse could spend the week together, developing what they’d started last night.
She realized that Joshua’s hand was still out, and he was regarding her as if she was missing the bread and mustard in her ham sandwich.
“Oh, sorry.” She laughed with embarrassment. “Jade Jardine.” She extended her hand. When their hands met, warm tingles started from his palm sliding along hers. His hand enveloped hers, and the feel of it reminded her of Jesse. How could she feel almost the same way with Joshua Jewel as she had with Jesse James? And the J’s. Oh my goodness!
She pulled her hand back, but kept studying him. “But I’m guessing you already knew that.”
“Knew what?” His lips stayed in a partial smile, but he didn’t give her a full grin. Was he trying to hide his dimple? Yet why in the world would Jesse hide from her? She tried to picture Joshua in a hat and sunglasses and a beard, with longish hair curling out of the hat. Could it really be her Jesse? Her Jesse? She was getting out of control now.
“Who I am,” she said with a challenging lift to her eyebrows.
He nodded. “You’re one of my employees.”
“Former,” she said.
That made his eyebrows lift. Did he not know? Maybe she did have a chance to tell him what was going on, from her perspective, before Curtis tainted him with false stories of her stealing money.
“Impressive,” she said when he didn’t say anything to her former comment. “You have, what … thousands of employees?” But she wasn’t sure if she was impressed or getting more clues to his true identity of Jesse. There was something else this guy was hiding. What was it? Sheesh, she’d need to be Detective Daisy to figure this man out.
He shrugged and kept studying her with those powerful eyes. They were in the shade here, so she had her sunglasses off too, but she wondered why he didn’t even have sunglasses or a hat with him. “Probably,” he admitted, “but only five of them earned this trip.”
“Thanks for not kicking me off when I quit.”
He appraised her, too serious for her liking now. “You want to tell me about that?”
“I’m assuming Curtis already gave you his version?”
“Yes.”
Frustration filled her. So he was already tainted. She waited to see what he’d surmised from Curtis, but he didn’t seem to want to give her any more details. “Do you believe him?”
Joshua shrugged. “The investigators are still looking into it.”
“So you do believe I embezzled or not?” she asked.
He spread his hands. “I don’t even know you.”
Her eyes narrowed. Was he Jesse or not?
“Would you like to tell me about it?” He leaned in a little closer, and she got a whiff of a manly, expensive cologne. Jesse’s cologne. Ding, ding, ding! She had him, oh man, she had him.
Excitement and desire rushed through her despite the seriousness of what they were discussing. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and hug him close, but at the same time, why would Jesse treat her like this, acting like he didn’t even know her? She hated being lied to. She couldn’t think of anything she hated worse. Her and Teal’s parents had been pathological liars, lying for the sake of lying, and then lying to cover up the previous lies. Could the man she thought she’d been falling for, and the man she had been so intrigued by, be the same man and be lying to her? Why? Because he believed she was stealing from him, or was there something else going on here?
“Do you want to tell me about why you quit?” he asked again in a low voice.
Jade pursed her lips. He wasn’t giving her anything. Why should she bare her soul? She shook her head. “Later. Right now, we’re going to try out body surfing.”
His eyes registered surprise, and he drew back. Jade jumped to her feet, walked down the four steps of the observation area, and then climbed the steps on the side of the Flow Rider and to the activity window. He followed her. They made it to the window, signed the release form, and got their bracelets. Then they headed back to the shortest line; there were only ten people on this side, as opposed to fifteen on the other. They soon found out why this line was shorter—this line was full of little kids who simply stayed belly down on the board and rode forever, while the other line was full of daredevil teenagers who did three-sixties, body rolls, and other tricks that ended their turns more quickly when they failed.
Jade put her sunglasses on and turned slightly to him. Joshua shaded his eyes and looked down at her. Now that they were standing, she was even more convinced that it was Jesse. He was that perfect height, about six-two, maybe seven inches taller than her five-seven. Now all she had to do was get him to smile so she could see that dimple, or somehow drag the truth out of him. The sucker. “Did you forget your sunglasses?” she asked.
He nodded.
“You seem really familiar to me,” she said, giving him a sidelong glance.
He pressed his lips together—definitely a clue that he was hiding something. “Well, a lot of people know the Jewel family and my siblings.”
“But you’ve somehow managed to stay out of the spotlight. Why?”
He looked down at her, and his blue eyes were full of suspicion. She didn’t like that. “Are you looking for an interview?”
“No,” she said, much too quickly to be convincing. She’d love an interview for her blog, but she wasn’t bringing that up yet. Her stomach rolled. Joshua-slash-Jesse wasn’t the only one hiding things. Did he know about her blog, or was he simply suspicious of anyone who asked him questions? “It is odd, though, that you’d reveal yourself to me when you usually hide your face from the world.”
They moved a space in line, and she went down a step while he stayed on the level part.
“I want to talk to you about why you quit,” he said.
She guessed she could buy that. He was probably livid that somebody had stolen from his company, and he’d want to get to the bottom of it. “So you don’t think there’s any other reason you’re so familiar to me? Maybe we’ve met before?” She arched an eyebrow and gave him a stare down. “Hmm?”
His blue eyes were full of amusement, as if she were a funny meme. At the same time, his lips curved up, but again it was like he suppressed his smile. Dang it. She needed to be funny, charming, get him to smile fully, and then she’d know for certain. She didn’t want to accuse Joshua Jewel of lying to her right up front and lose any chance of getting to know him, maybe getting that interview she’d denied wanting. Hopefully, she could tell her side of the story about Curtis accusing her of the ludicrous embezzlement charge. If this was Jesse, he already knew it.
“I don’t think I’d forget you,” he said in a sultry voice she found far too appealing.
Two could play at this game. She gave him a sassy smile. “You don’t know me. Maybe I’m completely forgettable.”
Joshua cracked a pretty good grin, and she thought a dimple was forming. He lowered his voice and said, “Completely irresistible.”
Jade’s stomach did a little flip, and her heart picked up a beat. Joshua Jewel was hitting on her. Or was it Jesse hitting on her? She was so confused, and she really, really wanted them to be the same man, because otherwise she was a flaky woman. She’d thought she was completely into Jesse, but how could she also be completely into someone else?
“That’s the terrifying thing,” Joshua said in that same low murmur.
“Terrifying?” she shot back. That wasn’t good. He had to be teasing. No way did she terrify someone ultra-impressive like Joshua Jewel, or Jesse James, or whoever he was.
“Your turn, lady!” a little kid yelled.
“I think he means you,” Joshua said in t
hat same husky voice, his eyes never leaving hers.
Jade pulled off her coverup dress and slid out of her flip-flops, stacking everything in a pile on the step. She glanced back at Joshua; he was watching her with a longing, almost hungry look. The bright Caribbean sun had nothing on that look in his eyes. She wanted to forget all about bodyboarding, grab him, kiss him, and then she’d know if he was Jesse or not. If Jesse had let her glimpse eyes like that, she never would’ve left the Jewel resort. Yet if this was Jesse, he’d have some serious explaining to do. Dang, she was confused.
“C’mon, lady,” the same little kid called. “Go, please.”
Jade flushed with embarrassment, breaking her concentration on Joshua. She hurried to the instructor, who handed her a board and asked, “Have you done this before?”
“In the ocean,” she said.
He smiled. “You’ll be great. Lie down on the board, and I’ll push you off.”
Jade set the board down on the blue edge at the front of the surfing machine like he showed her. She lay on her stomach on the soft board, her hands gripping the front edges. The instructor pushed her back into the flow of water. She and the board rushed up the wave. She was certain she would fling off the wave and slam into the backstop thing, like she’d seen some people do when they crashed, but as it reached the lip, the board sailed back down toward the bottom. Water sprayed in her face, but she realized she was riding in the surf.
“Yes!” she cried out.
She stayed in the main part of the rush of water, playing around with the board and directing it from side to side. She glanced over at Joshua, who gave her a thumbs-up and a partial smile. Why was he controlling his smiles? It had to be because he was Jesse and knew that if she saw that dimple, his game would be up. Yet why was he playing games with her? The Jesse she thought she’d been falling for wouldn’t have done that.
“Lift up!” the instructor yelled, demonstrating lifting his upper body.
Jade obeyed and pressed up on the board, similar to a cobra yoga position. He clapped, and she rode that way for a few seconds, turning the board back and forth.
“On your knees!” he called.
Jade was a little apprehensive, but she clung to the sides of the board and slowly pulled her knees forward. The board wobbled, and her stomach dropped. Miraculously, she didn’t go flying, so she kept bringing her knees up until she was kneeling on the board. It felt squirrely and her nerves were dancing as much as the board, but she was doing it.
A few triumphant seconds passed and the board seemed to settle. The instructor made the circle signal. “Turn around!” he hollered.
Jade’s eyes widened. She wasn’t so sure about that. He kept doing it, so finally she tried to pull at the side of the board so it would turn. It did, far too easily. She flipped one-eighty and was facing backwards. She screamed in surprise and pulled harder, and in response, it flipped her forward.
“Yes!” she screamed, taking her hands off the board to punch them in the air.
The board flipped up, and the wave caught her. Water filled her mouth and nose as she was sling-shotted up the wave, slammed into the soft plastic of the rear wall, and then got caught in the churning wave for a second.
Finding her footing on the slick surface, she stood shakily and wiped at her nose and eyes. She probably looked a sight. She was grateful to be wearing a one-piece, as at least there were no wardrobe malfunctions to worry about. She pushed her hair back out of her face.
Joshua had a board in hand and the instructor was talking to him, but he was watching her. When he met her gaze, he gave her a thumbs-up and she thought he mouthed, “Good job.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at him and walked out of the water, handing her board off to the next young kid in line. She went to the walkway below so she could watch Joshua.
He set the board down, pulled his shirt off, and dropped it on the side before picking up the board again. All Jade could do was gape at him. He was Jesse. He had to be. It was the same lean, tough chest she’d seen just yesterday. The same beautiful biceps and rounded shoulder muscles. It had to be him.
He lay down on the board and only went up a little ways of the incline before he was turning the board back and forth, cutting through the water with the board. The instructor didn’t even have to tell him before he was to his knees and then easily spinning a three-sixty.
Jade clapped and cheered for him, not sure if he could hear her over the flow of the water.
He looked at her and gave her that partial grin, then tilted up his chin to acknowledge her. Heat flowed over her again. That man was lethal with his looks. My, oh my. Was he Jesse or Joshua or both?
He did two more three-sixties, then lay back down on the board, held on to it, and did a complete roll. Jade whooped and heard others cheering with her. He was good. He did a couple more body rolls and then pulled himself back onto his knees. People in line and on the seats were clapping and hooting louder. He raised a hand in acknowledgment, and then he put both hands on the board and flipped just the board around as he sort of hopped on his knees and landed on the board after it completed its circle.
More people were cheering, but Jade was still the loudest. He did the same move again, but this time only one of his knees landed on the board, while one splashed into the water. The wave caught him and flung him up and off the wave into the mat at the back. Joshua stood quickly, pushing the water out of his hair and grinning as the crowd cheered.
Jade’s heart seemed to stop and then race like mad to catch up. The dimple. It was clear as the sparkling water and just as beautiful. That smile. He was … “Jesse!”
His eyes widened and his smile slipped.
In her rush to get to him, Jade didn’t even look where she was going as she ran over the front of the Flow Rider and hit the water. The slick slope flung her feet out from under her. Her back hit the plastic underside, and the wave threw her up the incline. She thought she heard Jesse calling her name.
She slammed into the mat at the back and bounced back slightly. Jesse was right there, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her to her feet.
Jade pushed her hair out of the way, wiped her face clean, and flung her arms around his neck. His firm body against hers felt amazing. This was it. This man was it. She’d found her spot, and nothing and nobody was going to tear her away. Just as soon as Joshua Jewel explained why he’d hidden from her and used an assumed name. At the moment, all she cared about was savoring the feel of him close. Joshua was Jesse. They were both fabulous. She loved Joshua’s name, Joshua’s eyes, Jesse’s dimple—her pulse raced faster—Jesse’s body.
Jesse held her against his side and escorted her out of the water.
“You okay?” one of the surf instructors asked.
“Yes,” she assured him. She turned to Jesse and exclaimed, “Jesse! I can’t believe it’s you.”
Joshua, or Jesse, stared at her with those too-blue eyes, but his smile was gone and his face gave nothing away. He could be Poker Peter for all she knew. What the heck?
“Jesse?” she asked tentatively.
“You’ll have to forgive me,” he said, all stiff and formal. “I have no idea who ‘Jesse’ is.” Joshua released her and stepped away.
Jade’s gaze studied each inch of him carefully as anger and frustration raced through her. She leaned toward him and poked her finger into his cheek where that once-irresistible dimple appeared. “Don’t you lie to me,” she hurled at him. “The dimple, your body, your lips. I know you! You are Jesse James.”
He gently took her hand, pulled it away from his face, and then released it. “Jesse James?” He gave her a mocking smile that didn’t show off his dimple. “Like the outlaw?”
“Don’t mock me,” she growled. “I know you’re Jesse. I know you are.” Her voice trembled, and she cleared her throat. She touched his arm, that beautiful, firm arm. Jesse’s arm. That arm had pulled her close last night. Those lips had changed her future. “Please, tell me the truth.
Why didn’t you tell me you were Jesse?”
He was staring at her like she’d grown two heads. Her pleas were falling on deaf ears. “I apologize, Miss Jardine, that I look like someone you know,” he said. “I’m sorry that I have no idea who your ‘Jesse’ is.” With that, he turned and walked away. He didn’t turn back to look at her. He didn’t come back for his T-shirt and shoes. He didn’t seem to care at all.
Jade watched him go in disbelief, but then the anger rolled in, pushing everything else out of the way. If that wasn’t Jesse, she was going insane. Yet maybe they just looked an awful lot alike. She’d heard that everybody had a clone, and truthfully, she’d never seen much of Jesse’s face beyond his nose and lips; his beard covered his cheeks and jaw, and his hat and sunglasses covered his eyes, forehead, and hair.
She had no idea what to think. Had she offended Joshua by calling him Jesse? It sure seemed like it, and maybe she’d lost her chance to plead her case about the embezzlement. She was confused and sad and lonelier than ever, thinking she’d found Jesse again, and losing him just as quickly. Hugging herself, she went to retrieve her coverup. Kids lining up for the Flow Rider, the spectators watching, and the instructors all looked at her as if she were Jilted Jade or maybe Crazy Callie.
She tilted her chin up, anger surfacing again. Joshua had made her feel like an idiot. All her dreams of meeting him before had been dashed. Joshua Jewel was a jerk. There was no way he could be her Jesse.
Chapter Six
Joshua felt like a class-one jerk as he walked away from Jade. She’d been absolutely adorable doing the simulated surfer with a beautiful grin and then so impetuously coming after him and falling on the machine. Holding her close had felt perfectly right, but he couldn’t admit to her that he was Jesse. He prided himself on his honesty and ethical business practices, and here he’d outright lied to her. Yet he couldn’t ignore the fear of her wanting to be around him as Joshua Jewel so she could expose him on her celebrity blog. He’d valued his privacy for too long to let himself get exposed like that, and she’d all but admitted she wanted an interview. As comfortable as he’d gotten with her as Jesse, she would definitely be able to weasel an interview out of him as Joshua.
Do Marry Your Billionaire Boss (Jewel Family Romance Book 1) Page 6
