by Jamie Pope
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Chase only goes for elegant, Ivy League–educated women from well-off families to avoid opportunists. He might have a little fling here and there, but no one ever knows about it. He seems like the kind of guy who should be married with two kids already, but I don’t think he trusts anybody enough to let them get that close to him.”
Amber nodded. It made sense. It made sense that he went for women who were the opposite of her. She usually stayed away from men like him. “How do you know so much about Chase?”
“He and his family are big in the Seattle society circles and so is my cousin, Simone, who used to date him. She always says he was the one who got away.”
“Oh. Tell her I’m sorry for her loss.”
“You’re no sorrier than she is.” She laughed. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later.”
She watched Nita walk out before she turned her attention back to Chase.
He was caught up in work again. Eyes glued to the screen, fingers on the keyboard. Forehead scrunched in concentration. She used to think that he was cold. Aloof. Maybe a little bit snobbish. But after talking to him a few times, she realized that he was none of those things.
What he was was incredibly focused.
And fine.
Amber was an artist so she could see beauty where others sometimes missed it, but no one could deny how handsome he was. How symmetrical his features were. How rich and deep the color of his skin was. She thought of chocolate diamonds when she thought of him. She loved her intricate wire pieces, but if she was going to design a piece of jewelry to represent him she would use chocolate diamonds and white diamonds swirled together in a beautiful necklace to be worn close to the heart. Something classic and elegant with a little bit of a twist.
It was no wonder he was a target for shady females. He looked like a man with a lot to offer.
She was staring at him this time, she realized as she wiped the same section of the counter for the dozenth time. He hadn’t noticed she was there. Hadn’t felt her eyes on him yet. She had noticed him at the sushi place. She hadn’t meant to stop. Told herself to keep on walking by, but she couldn’t go by without speaking to him, without having those gorgeous dark eyes of his focus on her. He pulled her in with those eyes. With that deep, smooth voice. He made her want to stay and talk and know more about him when she should have gone on and ignored him and stayed away from him.
He wasn’t her type of guy. He had money. He practically smelled of money. That may be a positive with most women, but it wasn’t for her. People with a lot of it didn’t often realize how hard it was to get. He didn’t bat a lash when he tossed a fifty-dollar bill on the table to cover a tab that couldn’t have been more than ten. It nearly took her breath away, though. She had to work hours to make that much money.
And then when he asked her to make the bracelets, he offered her more than she could have imagined. And he did it all while telling her to value herself more.
No man had ever told her that. No one had ever told her that.
He was all wrong for her. Too rich. Too organized. Too buttoned-up. But she still couldn’t force herself to stay away.
She turned back to her espresso machine and a few minutes later she once again slid a steaming drink in front of him along with a plate of shortbread cookies.
“You must have read my mind.” He looked up at her as he lifted the cup.
“You needed a caffeine fix?”
“No. I was thinking I needed a beautiful woman to bring me my caffeine fix.”
She tried to stay cool, but the line made her blush. “Oh. You’re smooth, sir. I thought you could use a break.”
“Please. Sit down.” He smiled over his mug just before he took a long sip. She watched him drink the special coffee she had made just for him and watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. She wondered what it would be like to pop a button on his shirt and place her lips on his throat. She wondered how his skin would feel beneath her mouth. She wondered how he would smell. A clean scent. Or something a little darker, a little spicier. Either way she was sure it was intoxicating.
She mentally shook herself. Where did that thought come from?
She would stay far away from that neck. She didn’t like to mix business with pleasure. She made it a rule. She needed this job. It was helping her pay her way through school. She couldn’t afford a fling with her boss.
“Myers’ coffee is always good, but you did something special to this,” he said to her.
“Mexican coffee. My own special recipe with just a hint of vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate. When I serve it at parties, I go all out and make it with tequila, Kahlúa and melted vanilla ice cream. But I toned it down for you tonight. This bakery doesn’t have a liquor license.”
“Do you throw a lot of parties?”
“Between working here, getting my master’s and designing jewelry, I don’t have time to throw any parties. The last one I threw was for my ex’s thirty-fifth. I went through a lot for trouble for it, only to break up with him a month later. I’m kind of wishing I had broken it off before I bought him the most expensive thing I’ve ever purchased in my life.”
“Don’t tell me you bought him a car?”
“Do I look like the kind of woman that would go around buying men cars?”
“I don’t know. Women do all sorts of things for the men they love.”
He was right. She had been so much of her life leading with her heart. She had been prepared to give up a lot of things to please Steven, but in the end giving up herself seemed too big of a price to pay.
“What did you get him?”
“An original James Van Der Zee photograph. Do you know who he was?”
“A photographer. Famous for capturing the Harlem Renaissance through his lens.”
“Exactly.” She smiled at him, impressed that he knew who she was referring to. “I found a small photograph of his in a shop and thought my ex would love it. He didn’t. He was hoping for a new camera, which would have cost even more than the photograph.”
“Some men don’t know how good they have it. You must have really loved him if you gave him such a gift.”
“I thought he was the love of my life at one point. But I think I loved the potential of him.” She’d bet her ex wouldn’t say the same thing about her. He loved what she could do for him. He felt like he was a serious photo journalist, while she was just playing at her jewelry design. Jewelry making he called it. He referred to it as her hobby instead of her dream, treated it as it something that she merely liked instead of had a passion or talent for. She put up with a few years of slights and digs, with him diminishing what she did while lifting up his own work.
The truth was, they had been in the same places in their careers. He’d had one piece picked up by a national magazine the year before they met, but nothing big after. The only jobs he could get were for small local newspapers and unpaid gigs for bloggers. Amber’s business had been growing at the time; she had designed some pieces for the wealthier set and gotten her work carried in a few small boutiques. And she had supported him, too. Picking up the slack by taking on extra shifts when his jobs had all but dried up at one point, but she stuck by him, a lot longer than she should have, because she had been in love then. She’d thought with her heart instead of her head. But that was all done now.
Chase seemed similar to her ex. Serious about his work. Focused. Driven. He was being nice to her now, ordering bracelets for the women in his family, but he probably thought her jewelry design was just a hobby, too. And one man in her life like that had been too many. She never wanted to experience that again. That’s why finishing her degree and learning the business end was so important. She was ready to show the world and anyone who doubted her that she was a serious artist and that she had a lot to offer.
That’s why she was adopting a no-men policy. Chase was incredibly good-looking, heart-poundingly so, but she was going to keep her distance. Some conversation. A shared plate of sweets was just enough.
Amber couldn’t afford any entanglements in her life right now.
“What do you mean by that?” His eyes swept across her face, studying him. “Potential?”
“Everybody has potential,” she said, remembering that she had said that about her ex. “Don’t you think about a woman’s potential before you decide whether you are going to date her or not? Her potential to be a good partner. Her potential to be a wife. Her potential to be a mother. Her potential to further her career. I’d bet you’re the type of guy who has a spreadsheet with fifty-six characteristics a woman must have in order to date you. And each woman you meet is put into a column. Fling, casual partner or lifelong mate.” She thought about what Nita just told her. Amber knew she was the exact opposite of the women Chase normally dated, but that was okay. She wasn’t looking to be his potential partner and she didn’t want him to think she wanted anything else from him either.
“You think you know me so well? First you think I’m boring and now you magically know what I want in a woman.” He raised a brow at her and smiled. She found it incredibly sexy. There was a little dimple on his cheek. The urge to kiss it came over her. She wondered what he would do if she leaned over and kissed his face. How he would react? What would be his next step?
She shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling of wanting to kiss him for the second time that night.
“I just know you’re organized. I saw the business plan you constructed for this place. I’m learning how to write them for school, but yours was incredible. Beautiful, really. I’ve never seen so many colorful charts in one place. And you say you’re not artistic.”
He took a long sip of his coffee as he looked at her. She felt like blushing with the way his eyes kept passing over her face. It was silly. She was an adult, but the way he looked at her made her feel like a girl again. “How did you see our business plan?”
“Your sister showed me. I was having trouble with an assignment and I asked for her help. She showed me your work. I was incredibly impressed, but I guess I shouldn’t be. You went to one of the best business schools in the country. You’re a pro at it.”
He nodded. “I spent many years in the corporate world. If you ever need help with an assignment, you can come to me. I won’t even charge you for my time.”
“How sweet,” she said, wanting to take him up on his offer but knowing it probably wasn’t a smart idea. She was pushing the limits of her willpower by being here with him tonight. “I might take you up on that.”
He nodded and reached for a cookie. “I still want to hear about this guy with potential that you bought the Van Der Zee for.”
“He was a photographer. I met him while I was taking an art class at the local university. He was one of those people with big visions. He did what he called artistic photo journalism. Wanted to change the world with his work.”
“That sounds admirable.”
“It was, but the relationship was a little one-sided. And being with somebody who just takes can be draining. I felt like I was sacrificing what I wanted, so he could live out his dreams. I couldn’t do that. I watched my mother do that. Give up her dreams to be a wife. To raise a family. I know she loved us. And not once did she treat us like we were a burden, but I knew she wished she could have lived out her dreams. She was an illustrator. A great one. Some of her work made it into magazines, but I think her dream was to do children’s books.”
“She gave it up completely? Was your father not encouraging?”
“He didn’t discourage her, but there were four kids and my brother was always sick when he was younger. Life got in the way. Money needed to come in. My mother had no choice but to be practical. She sacrificed her dreams for us.”
“And you don’t want to be like her?”
She shook her head. “I want to have a career for her. I feel that there’s always a little sadness in her. A little regret that she was never able to share her work with the world.”
“You should encourage her to try again. Even if it doesn’t get her anywhere, you should encourage her to draw again. Maybe take a class or two. I know a woman who gives scholarships to African American women over forty for school. I can recommend her for one.”
His kindness took her by surprise. And it was then she knew he wasn’t all that similar to her ex. Steven would have never thought about someone else’s dreams, much less go out of his way to help them achieve them. “You would really do that?”
“I’ll make the call tomorrow if you want.” He took a card out of his pocket and wrote a phone number on the back. “My home number is on here. Talk to your mother. If she wants to go through with it, call me and I’ll make it happen.”
She picked up the card and studied it for a moment, studied the bold handwriting, the sleek design of the card, anything so she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. She was feeling a little more emotional than she would like. She was feeling as though she really wanted to kiss him. “I’m sure she would love to go back to school. She’ll be grateful.” She looked up at him only to find him already looking at her, those beautiful intelligent eyes sweeping across her face. “I’m grateful for this.”
“I admire creative people. You may think I’m all about numbers, but I’m a big believer in dreams. This bakery is here all because Lillian had a vision and a dream. There’s nothing wrong with a little dreaming.”
“That’s sweet, Chase.” She was sitting in the chair next to him and leaned over and kissed his cheek. She hadn’t meant to. It was unconscious, really, but her lips sought out his face. They lingered on his smooth skin, just a moment too long. He smelled good. Clean. Expensive. With a little bit of the heavenly scent of the bakery lingering on him.
She lifted her lips away, tried to back away before she got caught up, before she wasn’t able to make herself back away. But it was already too late. Because Chase slid his hand along her cheek and brought her face closer to his.
He kissed her. Not hot and fiery like she might have wanted, but slow and deep like she needed. That kiss gave her another glimpse inside of him. It told her how he might be as her lover, in her bed. He would take his time just like he was taking his time now, kissing her thoroughly, not leaving any part of her mouth untasted. He would do that to her body and she could just see him starting at her toes and working his way up. His lips caressing her calves, her thighs, in between her legs.
She moaned, arousal spiking even though it was just a soft kiss, even though he probably hadn’t meant for it to be so sexual. But she was that attracted to him. “You deserved more than what that guy gave you,” he said softly as he lifted his lips from hers. “I’m glad you realized that.”
He sat up straight then, drained his coffee mug and shut his laptop, as if nothing had happened, as though he hadn’t just kissed the hell out of her. “It’s getting late. Let me walk you to your car.”
Chapter 3
“Why didn’t you tell me you had gotten a new television?” Jackson said to Chase the next evening as he spread his long legs out on Chase’s leather couch and stared up at his new forty-two-inch LCD. “It’s so beautiful I think I might cry.”
Chase just shook his head as he watched his younger brother make himself comfortable while he made them both pre-dinner drinks at his bar. “Maybe I didn’t think you would care that much, or maybe I thought if I didn’t tell you I could avoid your putting your dirty feet all over my furniture.”
“I was going to suggest we try that new fusion place down the block.” Jackson kicked off his shoes. “But the game is on and it would just seem like a crime to leave this big beautiful screen alone all night.”
“We don’t have to go out.” He handed J
ack his dirty Martini, kind of relieved that his brother wanted to stay in tonight. He was feeling a little funky today. His sister had noticed, but he told Mariah he thought it was allergies or an oncoming cold that was making him feel off. It was neither of those things, though. It was Amber.
He had kissed her last night. He wasn’t planning to. He hadn’t meant to, but she leaned in and kissed his cheek. Her smooth full lips, her warm sweet breath caressed his cheek, her lovely feminine smell flipped on a switch or something inside of him and made him forget about logic and common sense and all the rules he had set up for himself when it came to women, But he had to kiss her last night. He couldn’t stop himself and he was glad he hadn’t, because he knew if he’d walked out of there without touching his lips to hers, he would have regretted it.
She hadn’t kissed him back. She didn’t pull away, but she let herself be kissed. Opened her mouth beneath his, went soft and pliant from his touch and made little breathy moans while he explored her mouth, driving him wild. And it was right then he knew he couldn’t just kiss her and walk away. He knew that one kiss wouldn’t be enough and that he would have to have more.
Mariah hadn’t explicitly said anything to him yet about not seeing Amber, but he knew his sister didn’t want him messing with her friend. She was right. Starting things up with an employee of the bakery would be inadvisable. It could end up messy and Chase didn’t do messy. Especially after that woman, with whom he had done nothing but kiss, showed up, claiming that she was pregnant by him. He knew it was wiser to stick to his checklist. Stick to a certain type of woman. A woman who was just like him, but those lips... One kiss, one taste wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him. He wanted to kiss her all over. He wanted to start at the top and work his way down. He wanted to kiss every inch of that supple brown skin and bury himself inside and feel her legs wrapped around him.
