“You don’t have to hire me for a job. If it’ll help me make things right with Kamaria, I’ll do the work for free.”
“Nice ass and you do freebies? Kamaria was right. You are the perfect man. Please don’t mess this up with her again.”
The traffic light changed. The cars in front of him started moving, giving Jack just enough space to turn off onto a less crowded side street.
“I won’t,” he promised. “Just text me the address. I’m on my way.”
Kamaria stared off at the red rock formations in the distance. Being in Sedona usually gave her the peace of mind she needed to tackle huge chunks of writing. But not this time. Whenever she sat down at her laptop, all she could think about was Jack.
She pushed away from her desk, causing her chair to roll backward. Dammit. She didn’t know why she was so hung up on this guy. There were so many reasons why nothing long term could ever happen between them. But the fact that the last time she saw him, he had automatically assumed the worst of her… She wondered how something that should’ve been insignificant had the power to devastate her so much.
What happened in Vegas was supposed to stay in Vegas.
She looked out the window again. She saw a pickup truck pull into the driveway. It said Alderisi Home Renovations on the side. It couldn’t be… Kamaria snatched up her phone and called Chastity.
“Tough Ta-Tas Literary Management.”
“Chastity, tell me why Jack’s truck is parked in front of the house.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I have someone coming out to do an estimate for some renovations.”
Kamaria pinched the bridge of her nose. “Chastity, you don’t forget anything. And this isn’t a random someone outside.”
“I can’t help it if the fix-it guy happens to be cute.” Kamaria watched Jack jump out of his truck and look around the property. “I have it on good authority that he has a great ass.”
Kamaria tightened the sash on her robe. She glanced in the mirror. Her cleavage still peeked out. Her tousled locks framed her face. Today would be the day that she looked like a disheveled sex goddess. God, would he think that she’d planned to greet him in only a silk robe? Helloo, desperate much? She could run upstairs. Maybe hide. Change into some clothes. “Please tell me that you hired a look-alike male prostitute to put Jack’s business logo on a truck and drive all the way out here.”
Chastity sighed. “I can’t, because I did no such thing. I didn’t hire anybody to drive anywhere. He called me.”
She could hear his boots crunch up the gravel walkway. When he reached the rickety step outside of the screen door, it shook the whole house. He tapped the knocker against the door.
“He’s here. I can’t believe he’s here. Chastity, I’m gonna get you for this.”
“How about getting me a decent maid of honor dress for the wedding? Have fun, Mari. You’re getting a second chance. Don’t mess this one up, hon.”
The dial tone rang in her ear. Who was thinking about wedding bells when she and Jack couldn’t even figure out the first date?
A second heavy knock on the door made her jump. She flew down the staircase to the ground floor and yanked open the door. She quickly folded her arms across her chest.
“Kamaria.” Jack breathed her name through the screen door.
“What are you doing here, Jack?” Even though he still stood on the lower step, his chin cleared the top of her head by a few inches. She felt her nipples pebble beneath her arms at the sound of his voice. She squeezed herself tighter. No, she wouldn’t cave that easily. He was the one who had been in the wrong.
“Can I come in?”
She felt her pulse quicken. The tortured look in his eyes made her want to reach out to him. No. She needed to stand her ground. “That depends. Chastity said she wants you to look over the house for a renovation estimate. So, did you come all this way for Chastity…or are you here for me?”
“I came for you.” Jack shifted the tool box under his arm. “But she wasn’t kidding when she said this house needed some work. I’m glad Chastity asked me to come out to take a look.”
“Come out to take a look?” Kamaria stepped aside and pushed the screen door open. “You make it sound like you were around the corner instead of a four-hour drive away.”
“It was no biggie. The landscape on the way was almost as beautiful as you.”
He came for me. She would’ve swooned if she wasn’t supposed to be mad at him. If this is what those grand gesture moments in romance novels actually felt like, she had been totally writing them wrong. “Ha! Cute. Just keep the noise down while you do whatever you need to do. I have a book to finish.”
“No problem.” The normal gleam in his eyes looked flat. But his expression told her nothing. Now, of all times, now he was going to master a poker face.
“Jack, seriously, why are you here?”
“I told you. I’m. Here. For. You.”
“Chastity said you called her. What about all that talk about keeping her out of our business?”
Jack paused. “We didn’t part on the best of terms. And I never got your phone number so I could contact you directly.”
“All of my contact information is in the hotel database. Why didn’t you swipe it from there?”
“Because that…” Jack pulled open the screen door. He stepped forward to brush a stray lock from her face. “…Is considered stalking.”
“And showing up like this isn’t?”
“I was invited.”
“Not by me.”
“It’s not your house.”
Kamaria scrunched up her face. “That’s not entirely correct. What did Chastity tell you?”
“Nothing, except the address and that this was her family’s property. Look, I know I hurt you. I assumed the worst without gathering the facts. I apologize for that. Chastity told me what happened. How you had that breakthrough during your speech. I hate that I missed it.” Jack paused to run his hand through his hair. Kamaria wished he hadn’t done that. The gesture made her want to drag him upstairs into her bed. “She told me how you came into the casino to tell me about it, not to play.”
She nodded her head.
“All I wanted to say was that I’m proud of you. And that I’m sorry.” Jack picked up his gear. “I’ll get to looking the place over now. We can keep it strictly professional this time. I won’t bother you again.”
“Wait.” She grabbed Jack by the arm. “Why did you brush me off when I said I was ready to take us past that weekend?”
Jack stared at her hand. She detected a ghost of a smile curving his lips. “I didn’t mean it that way. Of course I wanted to keep seeing you, but away from Las Vegas.”
“So…” She returned his smile. This was starting to feel like a middle school “you hang up first” conversation.
“Don’t you have a book to finish, Kamaria?”
“Don’t you have a major renovation to plan? Look, thanks. Your apology. I appreciate that. So what now?”
“If you think you’re ready, I’d love to have something more with you. I told you I’m not a fling kind of guy. I’m all in or nothing. But, I care enough to not put you in a situation that’s not good for you. It’s not like I can ask you to come back to Vegas with me.”
“And I can’t ask you to stay here with me in the boonies. You have a business to run.”
“A business that sometimes requires working on projects out of town,” he reminded her. Jack tapped his boot upon the warped wooden floor in the living room. He looked back to inspect the creaky screened porch he had just walked through.
“Chastity wasn’t kidding about these floors. How old is this house?”
“About a hundred years old. Why?”
“That means it definitely needs some work done somewhere. With a house this old, it might take a few weeks.” He leaned forward so they were eye to eye. “Do you think that would be long enough for us to figure something out?”
“I can’t ask y
ou to stay here and work on my house for free.”
“Your house? Chastity said that this house belonged to her family.”
“I was on a winning streak the year before my grandma passed. She said it was her dream to die surrounded by the beauty of the desert. So, Chastity and I bought this for her. Technically, it’s our house.”
“You have a pretty generous agent.”
“She’s my agent and my cousin. She’s also a nosy busybody.”
“…Who thinks I have a great ass. That’s payment enough for any renovations.”
“Maybe. But I say you still send her an invoice with a few zeros added. Let her freak out a bit before we tell her it isn’t real.” Kamaria pulled Jack back into the house and shut the front door. She took a handful of his delicious ass and squeezed. “As long as she continues to maintain her ‘look but don’t touch’ policy on this ass, then she doesn’t have to pay.”
“Speaking of paying, I believe this belongs to you.” Jack tossed her an odd colored coin. She snatched it out of the air and looked it over. It was her lucky poker chip. The one she would squeeze when the desire to play again came on too strong. Her anchor during the toughest days. The one he had taken from her that first day in the casino.
“You kept it?”
He shrugged. “You said it was special. And since I was the one who caved first, I thought you deserved it.”
“You caved first on what?”
“Our bet. Remember, your rule about no emotions, blah blah blah?”
“Oh that.” She looked up at him and stood on her tiptoes so she could wrap her arms around his neck. Man, he was gorgeous. She’d hit the jackpot this time. “You know I was full of it, right? I knew I liked you even then.”
“Of course. But I knew if I raised the stakes, then we would both win.” He kissed her on the nose.
“So what did we win?”
“Forever, if we play our cards right.”
“I’ll bet on that.” She pulled him closer and kissed him.
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Acknowledgments
Diallo, Saran and Daddy–thank you for keeping me sane while I finished this story.
Mommy and Miz Alice–thank you for tolerating my reclusive writer ways…and moods (smile).
Vanessa–thank you for your input and patience…on all 7 rounds.
A special shout out to all my RSJ peeps, my Voices at VONA peeps, my Depressed Elephant crew and my Popular Fiction Auteurs peeps–I don’t think you all realize how much I love, appreciate, and miss you guys.
About the Author
Kaia Danielle writes romance, women’s fiction and a graphic novel that is resisting the revision process. She tweets about being a Jersey Girl in South Georgia and popular culture in general on her @kaiawrites handle. She is an alum of the VONA writing workshop. Her website is www.kaiawrites.com
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Calling Her Bluff (What Happens in Vegas) Page 9
