It took them half an hour to drive to the steak house. It was very rustic, and a favorite place to eat for many of the more affluent residents, and even more so the resort guests, situated as it was between two towns. Prossers Bay had approximately six thousand inhabitants and Mayberry had not much more than that, and was another half hour down the coast in the other direction.
The radio was on and, by the way she tapped her fingers, he thought she was okay with his selection of easy listening. His last girlfriend had liked loud pop, and was always singing at the top of her lungs, which might not have been so terrible if her voice hadn’t sounded like a cat being strangled. In his book, a comfortable silence was much more pleasant. But was Megan comfortable? He glanced at her a few times. She had a frown marring that cute face and he wanted to make it disappear.
“Have you been to Louis’s before?”
She jumped and put a hand on her heart, recovering quickly from her daydream, which he hoped he was the main feature.
“Some of the residents from Prossers Bay have probably been here a few times, but a lot wouldn’t be able to afford it. It’s not of the same caliber as the local steak restaurant or the cafes in town. More like the restaurant at Haven and the fancy places you’re used to, I’d imagine.”
His eyebrows shot up at her assumption. “Actually, I don’t eat out much, not even at the resort.”
That frown reappeared.
“I guess you can get the restaurant at the resort to cook whatever you fancy, whenever you want it and delivered it to your house.”
Jordan already knew that her perception of his life clearly disturbed her, and maybe some of her calls were close to the mark, but in this instance, she was dead wrong. “I could live like that, but I choose to do a lot of my own cooking.”
“Seriously? You don’t look like the type.”
“To cook? I didn’t know there was a type.”
“Sure there is. Uptight and bossy. Oh, wait a minute, maybe you are the right type.”
“You can’t help judging me, just because I have money, can you?” He pulled into the parking lot and turned to her. “Couldn’t you pretend, just for one night, to believe that I’m a good guy and you don’t need to challenge me on everything you think I am?”
“I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything. You make me want to be naughty… I mean bad… I mean…”
He brushed a wayward curl off her cheek, taking pleasure in her slight shiver. “I get it. You get a perverse pleasure out of teasing me, and it isn’t going to change anytime soon. I guess I can take it as long as you don’t mind me returning the favor.”
Megan didn’t answer him, although her cheeks were very pink and she looked very flustered. He wondered if the sort of teasing he’d conjured up had occurred to her as well. He got out of the car, taking a few seconds to adjust himself, trying to get out of his mind the image of her naked on his bed, before he went around to her door to open it.
With her cheeks still flushed, and looking damned cute, Jordan smiled at her. He’d bet that she didn’t get embarrassed that often, and her slip of the tongue had certainly done that. Speaking of which, he would like to taste that tongue of hers, and sample some of her naughtiness, one day. But best he didn’t think about any of that now. He held his hand out to her.
“Come on, let’s eat, I’m starving.”
She took his hand, and it was his turn to heat up. There was no way he could help staring at the delicious length of leg she exposed through the slit in the side of the dress that he hadn’t noticed earlier, as she climbed out. He felt a little off kilter. Not only had she slipped under his skin with her feistiness, but the attraction was amplifying every day he was around her.
He shook his head to clear it as they walked up to the front door to be greeted by the maître d’ as soon as they walked in.
“Good evening, Mr. Lambert. We have a table for you by the window.”
“Thank you, Jason.”
Megan looked impressed. The table was in a perfect spot, just like the restaurant itself, which was on the top of a hill and had a sweeping view of Prossers Bay in one direction, and the town of Mayberry in the other.
After the waiter had handed them their menus and left, Megan leaned across to him. “How come he knows your name if you don’t come here often?”
“I tried to get him to come and work for me, but it didn’t work out.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Did you approach everyone in this part of New Zealand?”
“Not everyone,” he laughed. ‘It just seemed like a good idea to offer jobs to the locals first. Not just to support the towns, but in a business way. It would only add to what I was trying to achieve at the resort.”
“Which was?”
“A home away from home. People working and living in the area would be more likely to be proud of it, and show our guests Prossers Bay in the right way.”
“I’ve only been at Haven for a few weeks, but I believe you’ve done that. The guests are always making comments to the staff or amongst themselves about how they can’t wait to come back. You should be very proud of what you’ve managed in a relatively short space of time.”
“Wow, high praise indeed, coming from you. Yes, I am proud of Haven. It has everything that a person could want when they want to get away from their lives, but don’t want to be too isolated.”
“Of course it’s only for people with money.”
At her words, Jordan felt a recurring niggle that had been bothering him for a while. The town was not wealthy as such. It was the visitors to the resort, and the ones who owned the beachside condos and houses who had the money, not the ordinary residents, or people who stayed at the campgrounds and the B&B’s.
“There are a few cheaper rooms,” he couldn’t help saying defensively.
Megan snorted. “I know, I organize their cleaning, but they’re still not cheap enough for people like me, and then there’s all the add-ons.”
“Which you don’t have to have.”
“True, but who wouldn’t want a spa treatment? Or a board sailing lesson? Or to go snorkeling and scuba diving?”
“All those things cost money to have on offer. I can’t give them away for free.”
“What about making a couple of things inclusive in the price? I bet more people would come if you advertised things like that. And once they’re here, they’ll probably do more. I don’t think you’d lose any money from it. Not in the long run.”
Megan made sense, and she was opening his eyes to things he had thought about and dismissed. Sound business practice was to offer something for free and, generally, people couldn’t resist. He’d had too much to do early on but now, with people like her around, he had a bit more time for the marketing side of things.
“I guess I could offer the snorkeling for free from the beach for children or families. Just around the point there’s plenty of fish by the rocks, and I could give a demonstration, say every morning at a specific time. Then they could carry on by themselves. What a great idea. Thanks, Megan.”
He was rewarded with a grin.
“You could do the same with kayaking. If someone wants to keep the kayak for their stay, then you could charge a fee, but if it’s just a couple of hours then where’s the harm in a free session?”
“You certainly know your stuff.”
“Isn’t that why you hired me?”
“One of the reasons, the main reason, but there are others.”
“Are you flirting with me?” she blurted out, then put a hand up to her mouth, obviously regretting the question.
“I’m glad you finally noticed. I guess I’ve been doing it wrong all this time.”
There was that gorgeous blush creeping across her cheeks again as she quickly hid behind the menu. He hadn’t had this much fun for a long time, and he hoped it wouldn’t stop after one date.
“You’re staring at me.”
“I’m wondering what you’d like. From the menu.” He winked at her
.
She laughed out loud. It was a hearty sound that warmed his insides and made him want to hear it again.
“Let’s order and then you can tell me all the ways I can give free stuff to my guests. I bet you have a long list.”
“Lucky I’m hungry, because you’re right. I do have a long list, and I think we should start with leftovers.”
“Leftovers?”
“Your kitchen wastes food and I think you should send it over it to the camp. Especially when they have needy children on site.”
“But I already sponsor the camp.” Damn, why had he told her that? “Forget I said that,” he said lamely. It was too late. Megan was great friends with Jeanne and Allan from the camp and, by the look on her face, she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“You’re the one who paid for that school to come from the city last year? You paid for all those poor children to have the great outdoors experience?”
“It’s supposed to be anonymous. Please don’t tell anyone. Only you and Chelsea know that it’s me.”
“But why? You should be proud of it.”
“I am, but I don’t do it for the recognition.”
“Very noble, but a little short-sighted.” She sounded frustrated.
“Sorry, I don’t get what you mean.”
Megan sighed. “For a savvy businessman, you sure have it wrong.” She put a hand up and began to tick off her fingers. “A, you can use the publicity if it’s not you, but Haven Resort, sponsoring things like that. B, it’s tax deductible, so it won’t cost as much. And C, if it doesn’t cost as much each time, then you can afford to do it more often. It’s simply Marketing 101.”
Jordan was stunned. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Thank you will suffice.”
“Thank you, Megan. I love the concept of more bang for my buck even if having my name associated with it doesn’t appeal to me. And my accountant’s going to be upset that I listened to you and not him, but it’s all worth it to get more sponsorship out there.”
“Precisely. Now, where’s the waiter?”
Jordan couldn’t believe his luck. Not only was he dining with a beautiful woman, but she was the most intelligent one he’d dated in a very long time, and she worked for him.
Now, if he could just convince her to give the two of them a chance, he’d be a very happy man. He touched his glass to hers in a toast, and realized he was incredibly happy right now.
Chapter 8
Megan had to admit that she’d had a lovely evening despite her reservations. They’d sparred and laughed and sparred some more. Jordan got her, and the realization made her heart feel light for the first time in years.
When he dropped her home a few hours later, he undid his seatbelt and turned to face her. “Would you like me to take Lisa home?”
Touched that he’d even thought of it, she declined. “No, thanks. She wouldn’t be happy with that. She’ll probably stay the night, or Allan will pick her up if she decides to go home.”
“Fair enough. I’ve never dated a woman with children, so I wasn’t sure how this side of things worked. Plus, Lisa doesn’t know me at all.”
Megan was surprised once more at his understanding. “Have you ever been around kids?”
“That would be a ‘no.’ When I came to Christmas lunch last year, I was amazed and horrified to see so many of them with free rein. Shit, I don’t mean that the way it sounds.”
Megan frowned. “How do you mean it?”
“Well, they were loud and all over the place, yelling and carrying on. Their parents, for the most part, seemed to be ignoring them.”
“Parents need to unwind as well, you know. And no matter how it looked, all of those kids were being watched over, and they all behaved extremely well, considering how many differing ages there were.”
“Really?” he asked dubiously.
“Tell me something – weren’t you ever a child?”
“Sure, but I wasn’t like that.”
Megan slapped her forehead. “Oh boy. What does that even mean?”
“I did track and field and learned the piano. I studied hard.”
She turned back to him. “Sounds like an all-American boy. What about play dates and hooking up with friends at the mall?”
He shook his head. “Definitely none of that.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“I have a brother, but he was quite a bit younger than me.”
“And was he as okay with that kind of life as you were?”
Jordan pondered that for a moment. “I never thought of it like that, but probably not. He was a rebel, and got into a lot of trouble.”
“Such as?”
“Ditching school and getting drunk.”
“And, naturally, you didn’t do either of those things?”
“Now you’re making fun of me. Don’t make it sound like I was stuck up. I had my moments of acting out.”
“I wouldn’t dare suggest otherwise, and now you have my undivided attention and curiosity. What, pray tell, did you do that could be construed as acting out?”
“I once had two girlfriends at the same time,” he blurted. And I filled in for the football team when I’d told my parents that I was at the library studying.”
Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “Whoa, there. The second one sounds like a normal reaction to being told what you could or couldn’t do. As for the first, I hope it’s not a story you’ve repeated to too many women.”
“They were twins. It was complicated.”
“Are you trying to get me to never speak to you again?”
“No, why?”
“Jordan, you can’t be that dense. I have twins,” she enunciated very slowly.
He looked thunderstruck. “You’re right. What was I thinking? You’re the only woman I’ve told that to, and I have no idea why. I knew it was wrong, but in my defense, it was their idea. They were very close and they both wanted to go out with me in high school. They couldn’t decide on who should, and no way was I going to choose.”
“I can’t believe I’m even discussing this, but how did it end?”
“They found some brothers who fit their boyfriend profile much better than I did.”
“In that there were two of them?”
“Precisely.”
Suddenly, they were both laughing.
Jordan pointed at her. “What about you? What’s the worst thing you ever did?”
“Are you kidding me? How about getting knocked up and having twins with no husband in sight?”
“Did he know about the girls?”
She looked down, the laughter drying in her throat. “He knew. He left before they were born, but we’d known since the scan at twenty weeks that there were two babies, and that they were girls. I also contacted him after the births, which went against every instinct not to, but the girls deserved a father, so I gave him the option to be involved.” Megan was playing with her handbag straps, twisting them hard. “He was busy with his company, but he wished me luck and offered to send money.”
“Well, that’s something.”
She looked at him like he was an alien. “Was it? Anyway, I refused to take it.”
He hesitated but seemed incapable of letting the matter rest. “Why would you do that when you were struggling?”
“I didn’t want his guilt money. If he’d asked to see them, or helped out in any way with their physical care, I would have welcomed it. But he didn’t want anything to do with them. I got that he didn’t love me, but I can’t forgive him for not trying to love my girls. It was, is, hard work, but I owe him nothing, and that’s how I like it.”
“Won’t they ask to see him when they get older?”
“I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we are all the family we want or need. A man would complicate things, and I don’t have the time or the energy for those sorts of complications.” Her eyes felt like they were brimming with her depth of feeling, and she need to get awa
y from Jordan before she lost all control.
Fortunately, he made it easy for her.
“Good to know. Well, I had better let you get inside. Thanks for the company and the insight. I guess I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there.”
Megan went inside and leaned against the door, listening to his retreating footsteps. Why had she done that? He was a nice guy. Yes, he was, but he wasn’t the sort of man who wanted a family – a ready-made family at that. She didn’t even know if he liked kids, and she couldn’t afford to date him and run the risk of the girls falling for him, and him walking away one day. Sure, that wasn’t her only concern, but it was a deal-breaker. She rubbed her face hard. She had to stop this. Jordan Lambert was likely to make her crazy at this rate.
Tonight had been a bad idea, as she’d known it would be, so she only had herself to blame for feeling bad. Bad about being mean to him. Bad about still wanting him, no matter that she couldn’t have him.
Keep busy and keep sane. That had been her motto when she was lonely and scared, and she might have to resurrect it until she could be around him and not have it mean so much.
Jordan had been hovering outside Megan’s office, waiting for her to arrive at work. The date last night had gone so well, until he’d realized he had no idea what he was doing with her. Why would he want to force a relationship with a woman like Megan? She’d made it abundantly clear from day one that she had no room in her life for him, regardless of the chemistry between them.
Chemistry. They definitely had that in abundance. He knew she felt it too, and he’d convinced himself that it was worth pursuing her for. He’d given it a lot of thought last night when he was frustrated and hurt by her dismissal. He had to leave her alone, but he certainly didn’t want things to be awkward between them. They needed to talk as soon as she got here and try to clear the air.
“Jordan! There you are. I asked for you at the front desk, but that horrid woman who followed you from New York said you were busy. I knew you’d be around somewhere, and that you’d be able to squeeze in some time for me.”
The long-legged blonde threw her arms around him and planted a kiss firmly on his shocked mouth. What the hell was his ex-girlfriend, Amanda, doing here?
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