For the Love of You

by Donna Hill

  Jewel laughed. “Me, too, now that I think about it.”

  Craig slapped his palms on the table and leaned forward. “You gotta be kidding me. You’re right here in the mix.”

  He tipped his head back in disbelief, and Jewel stole a quick look at the tight cords of his neck. She ran her tongue across her lips. “Guilty,” she murmured.

  Craig’s gaze settled on her face. “We ’bout to change that right now, darlin’.” His right brow rose to punctuate his declaration just as their waitress approached.

  They placed their order for two buckets of crayfish, seasoned fries, coleslaw and a pitcher of beer.

  “I’m going to regret this in the morning,” Jewel said when the humongous order arrived and was placed in front of them.

  “Live for the moment, darlin’. Sometimes we just have to give in to our fantasies.”

  Jewel’s belly clenched. It was as if he’d read her mind or channeled her thoughts. She cleared her throat. “Maybe you’re right.”

  For the next few minutes, the only conversation between them was groans of delight.

  “Damn, I missed this,” Craig finally said. He wiped his fingers and mouth with the linen napkin and then took a long swallow of beer. The bucket was still half-full.

  Jewel wiped her fingers and mouth as well and pushed out a breath. “Whew.” She giggled. “I haven’t thrown down like that for a while.” She put her napkin aside. “So, Mr. Lawson, I hope you don’t think that I’ve forgotten our agreement.” She reached for her mug of beer.

  “Agreement? The film?”

  She pursed her lips in feigned annoyance. “You know perfectly well that’s not what I mean.”

  He tried to look sheepish. “Okay, fine. What do you want to know?”

  “If you missed this all so much,” she said with an encompassing wave of her hands, “then why did you stay away for so long?”

  * * *

  Craig linked his long fingers together, rocked his jaw and took a sobering breath. “I’m sure you’ve heard about my family—the famous and the infamous.” He chuckled.

  “A little—more about your uncle the senator.”

  Craig nodded. “Well, there is a whole host of us Lawsons. And from birth expectation is high—unreachable for some of us. We had to live up to the long legacy of the name as well as what was deemed to be our role in the ongoing saga of our lives.”

  “And you clearly decided that you weren’t going to toe the family line.”

  He snorted a laugh. “Something like that. It didn’t go over well.”

  “What was it that you didn’t want to do?”

  Craig paused, trying to frame the story in his head. “My father, Jake Lawson, is the youngest of the three brothers. My uncle Paul is the eldest, and my uncle Branford the senator. My grandfather Clive runs the family—his sons—like a well-oiled machine. He set down the template for success, and none of his sons ever deviated from it. Gramps’s grandparents were slaves. His parents grew up on a plantation.” He gaze rose from studying his fingers to land on her face. “Very much like your home.” He took another swallow of his beer. “My template was to follow in my father’s footsteps. Jake Lawson is probably—at least the last time I checked—the most influential land developer in the country. If it’s being bought, sold or imagined, my father more than likely has a hand in it.”

  “And he wanted you to join the family business.”

  Craig nodded in agreement. “It wasn’t for me.”

  “Why wouldn’t your father want his son to pursue his own destiny?”

  His jaw clenched. He glanced away. “He has his reasons,” he said, his voice low and gravelly.

  Jewel watched the array of emotions flit across Craig’s countenance. There was clearly more there than he was telling. But it wasn’t her place to pull it out of him. Everyone was entitled to their secrets, her included.

  “You have sisters and brothers?” she asked, attempting to lift him out of the pit that he’d lowered himself into.

  A soft smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, my brother, Myles, and my sister, Alyse.”

  “Do they live here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “They must miss you,” she said softly. As an only child, she’d never known what it felt like to have a sibling to share a life with, memories, joys and sorrows.

  Craig finished off his beer, peeled the shell off a crayfish and popped it in his mouth. He chewed slowly. “You have sisters and brothers?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “No. Just me.”

  They studied each other for a moment.

  “What did your parents want for you?”

  Her expression softened. “They wanted me to be happy. My happiness took the form of art, and my dad was behind me a thousand percent.”

  “What about your mom?”

  Her deep sigh was audible. “She died when I was six. Ovarian cancer.”

  “Oh...man, I’m really sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” She swallowed. “My dad...he really stepped up. He was mom, dad and my best friend. He sacrificed a lot so that I could pursue my art. I’ll never be able to repay him for all that he did for me.” She expelled a breath as a wave of sadness swept though her. She pushed it away. “So what do you do besides create make-believe and date all your leading ladies?”

  Craig tossed his head back and let loose a hearty laugh that warmed Jewel all the way down to her toes. It was a feel-good laugh.

  “Ah, Ms. Fontaine, you wound me,” he said in an exaggerated drawl. He pressed his hand to his chest.

  “Well, if it’s on the internet, it must be true,” she teased.

  “Yeah, right. And Kanye will win as president.”

  “Touché.” But she really did want him to tell her about the women in his life. Did they matter? Did he remember their names? Would he remember hers?

  He leaned back in his seat and angled his head to the side. “The tabloids, TMZ...always blow things out of proportion. They always think they have the inside story on what goes on in people’s private lives.”

  His voice had taken on a hard edge, Jewel realized.

  “They don’t. They have no clue and what they don’t know they make up.” He refilled his beer mug from the pitcher.

  “Is that what happened to you?” she asked softly.

  His dark eyes flashed for a moment, and in that split second she caught the depth of hurt that swam beneath, and then just as quickly it was gone.

  Craig shrugged. “It comes with the territory, darlin’.” A smile curved his mouth. He lifted his mug and took a short swallow of beer.

  “Do you watch your own films?” Jewel asked with a warm smile. She knew that they needed to switch gears, lighten the mood and move away from the murky waters of the past.

  Craig grinned. “Only the dailies.”

  “Dailies?”

  “Yeah. The cuts from each day of shooting.” He rested his arms on the table and launched into an animated discussion about the behind-the-scenes activities of filmmaking.

  Jewel listened, fascinated as much by what she learned about the moviemaking process as what she did about Craig Lawson. He was a passionate man. A dedicated man, a man of conviction. He respected his crew and was loyal to his friends. Like her he was well traveled, and much to her amazement he spoke French and Spanish—just as she did. He told her about some of his many trips around the globe, the people that he’d met, the customs and cultures that he’d encountered. Like his uncle Branford, he was well versed in the political climate of the States as well as abroad. And nowhere in any of the scenarios that he presented was there a significant other in the picture.

  “Can I get you two anything else?”

  They both looked up at the server that they didn’t recogn
ize then took a look around the restaurant. The clientele had shifted from late lunch goers to dinner guests—they could tell by the briefcases resting beside polished shoes and the relief in the after-work laughter. They’d been talking for hours.

  Craig grinned at Jewel. “Uh, I think we’re done. Can I get the check, please?”

  “Sure thing.” She slipped the leather carrier out of her apron pocket and placed it on the table.

  The instant she turned away, Jewel and Craig burst into laughter. Jewel checked her watch. “We’ve been here for almost four hours!”

  “Time flies when you’re in good company,” he said as he gaze settled slowly and completely on her face.

  Jewel felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Her stomach fluttered. “Yes, it does,” she said softly.

  They strolled slowly back to Craig’s vehicle, commenting on the shops and people that they passed along the way.

  This felt good, Jewel realized. It had been so long that she’d been out with a man she’d forgotten how wonderful it felt to be looked after, admired, to be in the company of a handsome, sexy man that any woman would switch places with her to be with. But this was real life, not some story on the big screen. She knew in her gut that nothing much could happen between them. In another couple of months he’d be gone, on to his next project in some far-flung corner of the world.

  She studied his profile as they walked and talked. It was as if his features had been carved by a skilled hand. She wanted to reach out and stroke the curve of his jaw, the angle of his forehead, run her finger along the full lips. And then as if he was once again reading her thoughts, he took her hand. The jolt of the contact set her heart racing.

  His long fingers curved around her hand and held it possessively. She stared at him. He brought her hand to his lips and tenderly kissed it then continued walking, as if they always walked through the streets of downtown New Orleans holding hands.

  * * *

  “Thank you for a lovely afternoon,” Craig said with a smoldering smile.

  They stood facing each other, inches apart, on her front porch. Jewel’s heart thumped. “I’m glad I went.”

  “Are you?” His brows tightened as he took a step closer, forcing her to look up.

  Her throat worked. “Very.”

  “That’s good to know, because I want to do it again.”

  Jewel swallowed. “Lunch?”

  “Dinner...and then breakfast.”

  The implication was clear. Heat flashed through her limbs. Her head swam.

  “How does that sound?”

  “It sounds...”

  Before she could form the words, he’d slid his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against the hard lines of his body, and the world disappeared as his head came down and those lips that that she had fantasized about kissing covered hers. The kiss was electric, slow and sweet. She couldn’t think over the hum that echoed deep in his throat as he deepened their kiss, teasing her mouth with a swipe of his tongue. Her entire body vibrated and felt weak all at once. Her fingers held onto the tight ropes of his arms, and all she could piece together in her head was that she didn’t want it to end. But then it did.

  Craig looked down into her upturned face. “You let me know when,” he said, his voice low and ragged. He traced her bottom lip with the tip of his finger, turned and strode down the walkway to his car, and like waking from a dream he was gone.

  But it wasn’t a dream. She ran her tongue across her lips and tasted him, shut her eyes and saw him. It was very real.

  Chapter 4

  Craig was met at the front door of the hotel by the black-jacketed valet that gallantly opened the chrome and glass door and wished him a practiced “Enjoy your stay.” Craig strode across the lobby floor and stabbed the up button on the elevator panel. He was more than two hours late for his sit-down with his team. He hadn’t intended to be gone as long as he had, and neither had he intended to be so affected by a simple kiss. The entire ride back from Jewel’s home to the hotel his thoughts leapfrogged each other, never allowing him a moment to catch them and try to figure out what he was thinking and feeling.

  “Well, there you are,” Anthony greeted him the moment Craig entered the suite. “Thought you’d forgotten all about us.” He eyed Craig for a response.

  “Yeah, sorry for the delay. Got caught up.” He avoided Anthony’s pointed stare and shrugged out of his lightweight leather jacket and tossed it on a chair. “Where are we with things?”

  “Everyone has arrived, and we were working out the shooting schedule. The primary actors, Milan and Hamilton, arrived about an hour ago. They’re getting settled in their rooms.”

  Craig nodded, taking in the information. “Cool. I want to have a sit-down with the primaries in about an hour.”

  “Sure.” He paused. “So...how was lunch?”

  “Filling.” His cell phone chirped in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw his sister’s name on the screen. He blew out a breath. “Gotta take this.” He pressed the talk icon. “Hey, sis.” He turned away from Anthony and crossed the room to the window. “How are you?” He didn’t have to wait long for his sister to read him the riot act.

  “Why do I have to read about you being back in town? You couldn’t call?”

  Craig briefly shut his eyes. He knew his sister. And when she went on a tear, she didn’t stop until she was beyond satisfied. “Sorry, sis. I’ve been crazy busy from the moment we landed.”

  “Lousy excuse,” she groused. “So,” she puffed into the phone. “How are you and where are you staying?”

  He held back a smile, envisioning his petite sister’s dark eyes cinched at the corners and her mouth in a tight, disapproving line. As the youngest of the three and the only girl, Alyse learned early that she had to be just as tough if not tougher than her big brothers and be able to stand toe to toe with their father.

  “I’m fine, thanks, sis. And I’m staying at the Marriott in the Quarter.”

  “Fancy,” she teased. “So I’m free this evening. I can meet you at your hotel.”

  Craig knew that, much like him, the word no didn’t factor into Alyse’s vocabulary. He exhaled slowly. “Sure. How about eight?”

  “I’ll see you then. Myles is out of town, by the way. But he should be back by the weekend.”

  “I’ll be sure to give him a call.”

  The elephant sat between them. Their father. Thankfully Alyse didn’t bring him up. Craig was not in the mood to discuss their father at the moment, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid the conversation later. “Look, sis, I gotta run. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Fine. Looking forward to seeing you, Craig,” she said, her tone finally softening.

  “Me, too, sis. Later.” He disconnected the call, shook his head and slid the phone back into his pocket. The sound of voices and activity drew his attention to the main room. Milan Chase had arrived, and one would think that his crew had never been in the presence of a movie star with the way they tripped over each other to introduce themselves.

  Milan Chase was the epitome of classy, sexy beauty, but more than that she was an incredible actress who knew her worth down to the last penny and who had two Golden Globes and an Oscar nomination to her credit. Not only was she good at what she did on camera, she was an astute businesswoman who was notorious for tough negotiations for all of her contracts. Even her lawyers deferred to her. He’d had brief reservations in casting Milan for the lead role. Not because of her ability, but because of their history.

  Craig entered the open living space, and like the parting of the sea, his crew moved aside as he strode toward Milan.

  “Glad you got here safe and sound,” he said in an intimate tone. He took her hands in his and kissed her right cheek then her left.

  “Craig,” she said in her patented throaty
whisper. “Good to see you again.” Her lashes fluttered for an instant.

  “You, too. How are your accommodations?”

  “Perfect.”

  “Good.” He released her hands. “I was in the midst of planning a meeting in about an hour. You good with that?” He slung his hands into his pockets.

  “Absolutely. I’m anxious to get started.”

  Craig nodded. “You can hang out here or wait in your room until we’re ready. Up to you.”

  “I might as well stay, get familiar with the crew.”

  “That’s fine.” He patted her shoulder and started to move away.

  “Craig...”

  He glanced over his shoulder then turned. “Yeah?”

  Milan stepped closer. “Are you free later tonight?”

  His eyes widened for an instant. “Tonight? Actually, I have plans.”

  She lowered her gaze then looked directly at him. “Tomorrow night, then.”

  He cleared his throat. “I’ll, uh, let you know. Is there a problem?”

  “Not at all. I thought we could catch up for old times’ sake.”

  He rocked his jaw. The last thing he needed was to rekindle the embers with Milan, but he didn’t want her as an adversary, either. “Maybe we can do drinks,” he offered to appease her. “How’s that?”

  “Sure.” She flashed her movie star smile. “Drinks sound fine.”

  “Craig...”

  He turned toward the sound of his name. “Duty calls. Check you later.” He walked over to Anthony.

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “Looked like you needed rescuing,” Anthony said under his breath.

  “You noticed that, huh? Thanks.”

  “I let everyone know to be in place for the meeting. The main thing is the shooting schedule for week one. Everything cool with the location?”

  “Yes. I have some adjustments to make to the contract and I’ll get it signed.”

  Anthony’s right brow rose. “You? Paul or Diane can do that.”