Without the couple of beers he’d consumed earlier that night, and probably without the heady abandon of being a fresh high school graduate, he wouldn’t have had the balls to do what he did next. But in the shadows of a diner hallway at two in the morning, woozy from the late night and Pearl’s perfume, there wasn’t a thing stopping him. Jace bent down and kissed her. His tongue teased open her lips, and his thumb stroked the underside of her chin. Soft, pliant, delicious under his touch. For a second, the small sober part of his brain wondered if she’d stop him.
She didn’t.
Her tongue met his, equally curious and seeking, and her hands snaked around him. He moved his lips to her cheek, then her neck, then the soft spot below her ear. She trembled under his touch.
“Pearl?” Dolly’s voice echoed down the hall. “You finish the bathrooms?”
His eyes flew open. Pearl looked up at him, her own eyes glinting with laughter. Oops. We got caught. Her hands made their way from around his neck to her own front pockets.
“Just about,” she called back.
Shit, was Jace’s first thought. I don’t even know if she has a boyfriend.
Probably shouldn’t have done that since I’m leaving in the morning, was his second.
Chapter One
“McClintock.” Jace answered his cell on the first ring.
“You there yet?”
He swung the Mercedes into a tight parking spot at the end of The Esplanade. “Just.”
“I’ve got two meetings back to back this afternoon. Evans will be here at six to hear your report. You’ll be back by then?”
“Should be.” He climbed from the car and straightened his suit. The heavy Florida air swallowed him up at once, and perspiration broke out across the back of his neck. Damn August humidity. “Shouldn’t take me more than a half-hour down here. I’m just laying the groundwork.”
“Be savvy. She’s said no to three other agents.”
Jace crossed the street as traffic stopped at the light. “That’s why you hired me, right?”
Marshall Reagan, owner of the biggest commercial real estate firm in Tampa, chuckled. “Damn straight. First time I’m letting you out on your own, though, so make me proud.”
Jace intended to do just that. He knew what was riding on this deal: not only a part in developing one of the hottest properties on Florida’s Gulf Coast, but a promotion and a corner office if he handled things right.
One block from his destination, he slowed. Shit. It’s worse than I thought. The Esplanade had taken a beating from the previous year’s hurricane. Two condo complexes - wiped out entirely. One of the most exclusive restaurants on the block - gone, except for its kitchen. Most of the buildings in the two-block stretch had been razed last winter. Insurance wouldn’t have covered the rebuilds, and most of the owners had moved inland or north to safer states like North Carolina or Virginia.
As a result, billionaire hotel mogul Carl Evans had spotted the chance to pick up the lots at a steal. A casino, resort hotel, and waterpark were on his agenda, and he’d chosen none other than Reagan Realty to represent him. He’d purchased six lots over the last year, and he’d already sketched out his proposal for the town’s planning board. The only problem? One little owner who refused to sell. One little owner who’d opened the day after the hurricane, serving free coffee and breakfast to anyone who stopped by to help with the cleanup. One little owner who’d claimed that corner of The Esplanade in Venice for almost a century, and who’d already told both Carl Evans and Marshall Reagan what they could do with their offers to buy the place.
Jace took a deep breath. He’d agreed to help Marshall with the deal long before he knew the end goal. Hell, as a young agent with the hottest firm in the state, he would’ve jumped through burning hoops for the chance to work with Evans Enterprises. He would’ve tried to close on the moon, on the entire country of China, if it meant the prestige and money Marshall promised.
Then he found out what Evans Enterprises was really after. Nothing as big as the moon. In fact, they didn’t even want anything outside of the state of Florida. No, Carl Evans just wanted someone to convince Dolly DeVane to sell her rundown, one-story diner, which was bleeding money and yet refused to close its doors.
As Jace stood outside the diner, his palms grew slick. He hadn’t stepped foot in this town since the day after graduation; Toby, Bryce, and he had all hightailed it sixty miles north to Tampa and never looked back. Now he summoned all his strength, put away the pieces of him that had once lived in this place, and pulled open the front door.
It’s a business deal, that’s all. Dolly will understand. If she even remembers you.
But it wasn’t Dolly who greeted him from behind the register as he stepped inside. If he’d taken a trip to outer space and found Neil Armstrong himself living there, Jace couldn’t have been more surprised.
I thought she left.
Why didn’t she leave?
The one person he’d thought about more than anyone else over the last five years, the one person he’d both hoped someday to see again and hoped never to run into, stood in the middle of the diner, order pad in hand and pencil tucked behind her ear.
Pearl.
*****
Pearl forced herself to keep her eyes on the coffee she was pouring into Gary Winters’ mug. “There you go. All warmed up. Saved the bottom of the pot for you, just the way you like it. Steak and egg sandwich coming up in five minutes.”
The old man grinned at her. “You’ve got the best on the block, Pearl.”
We’ve got the only on the block, she resisted answering. Nearly every other establishment had folded its doors after the previous season’s hurricane. Only Dolly’s Diner soldiered on, though the customers had dwindled from packed crowds at breakfast and lunch to a few stools at the counter and maybe a table or two. It had almost broken her aunt’s heart to close for dinner a few months back, but they couldn’t afford to stay open the extra hours.
Pearl brewed a fresh pot of coffee, deliberately taking her time. She didn’t dare look back at him, though she swore she could feel the heat from his body radiating across the room. She pressed her lips together. She knew why Jace McClintock was here. She’d heard the rumors. She just couldn’t believe it.
“Well, you’re about a hundred times prettier than you were in high school,” came the voice from behind her.
She smoothed her apron and put on a wicked smile as she turned. “Meaning what? That sounds an awful lot like I was a dog back then.”
He’d crossed the diner and now stood less than two feet away from her. Only the counter separated them. Good thing, too, because her heart hammered at the memory of the last time he’d set foot in there. A flash of shadows took over her mind’s eye: Jace’s strong arms supporting her as he kissed her until her breath stopped.
“Not even close,” he said as he slid onto a stool. He wore a high-end suit and what looked like a Rolex watch, and his hair was trimmed neatly over his ears. Still chestnut brown, still framing those piercing blue eyes, still enough to turn her mouth dry. “Meaning you were the most beautiful girl in school. Now you’ve gotta be the most beautiful woman in town. Maybe even this entire coast.”
“And when’s the last time you were actually back in town?” She leaned against the wall, arms folded. Maybe if she muffled the sound of her galloping heart, he wouldn’t guess how he still turned her on. God Almighty, he’d turned into one amazing specimen of a man.
He lifted both palms in a gesture of surrender. “You got me. I haven’t been back in a while.”
Since you pressed me against the wall in the hallway and kissed me until time stopped.
“So, what brings you in now?” she asked. Might as well play the game. Maybe she’d heard wrong. Maybe he wasn’t one of the vultures swooping in on this end of The Esplanade, buying up the last of the properties to turn it into a casino and upscale hotel.
He blinked, long and slow, before answering. “I’m sure you know.”
He slipped a business card from a sleek gold holder. No wedding ring, she noticed as she watched him push it across the counter. “I’m working for Reagan Realty up in Tampa.”
“Congratulations,” she said around the lump that had worked its way into her throat. “That’s a big agency.”
He shrugged as if it didn’t mean much. “One of our clients wants to buy this property.”
She had to hand it to him; he didn’t play games or beat around the bush. “And I’m sure you know we aren’t interested in selling.”
His eyebrows lifted. “We?”
Her jaw twitched before she could control it. “My aunt isn’t.”
“What about your uncle?”
The question twisted a sharp knife inside her chest. Apparently Jace hadn’t done his homework before returning to Venice to sweet-talk her.
“Uncle Bill died six months ago.”
The shock turned his handsome features dark. Before she realized it, he’d reached across the counter and enveloped her hand in his. “Pearl, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
She let herself enjoy the jolt of hot current that traveled from his palm to hers before she pulled her hand away. “He had a heart attack while we were trying to rebuild. He was working here late one night by himself.” She wiped away tears. Six months, and she still ached every day for the man who’d tucked her into bed since kindergarten. “We went to bed, me and Dolly. Didn’t know anything had happened until she woke up after midnight and he wasn’t home yet.”
“I’m sorry,” Jace said again, and sincerity rang in his voice. “He was a good man. I liked him a lot.”
She nodded and reached for a napkin to blow her nose. “I know.”
He shifted on the stool, and she wondered what came next. A formal buyer’s proposal? A heartfelt speech about how Dolly would be better off if she sold the place, took the money, and started over somewhere else?
Maybe, whispered a totally irrational voice in the back of her mind, he’ll shove you up against the wall again and have his way with you.
Not that she’d mind. She’d thought about that night more than any normal girl should. Replayed every word, every touch, every incredible, unfamiliar sensation that had passed through her body in the span of five minutes.
For better or for worse, Pearl DeVane had compared every single man she’d kissed, dated, or slept with in the last five years to Jace McClintock, who sat across the counter looking at her with intense blue eyes. So when he opened his mouth and asked the question she didn’t expect, she said yes before he’d finished.
“Do you want to get dinner tonight?”
Chapter Two
“I should have something to report in the morning.” Jace paced outside Café Angelo, scanning Venice Avenue and the surrounding sidewalks for Pearl. “It took longer than I thought.”
First lie he’d told his boss.
“It’s all right,” Marshall Reagan said in a smooth voice, typically impossible to read over the phone. He could be pissed. He could also be sipping Scotch and viewing porn, the way Jace knew he did in his office after hours. “I’m meeting Evans at the golf course at noon.”
“I’ll be in the office before nine.”
“Okay then,” Marshall said.
Jace wasn’t sure if that was a goodbye or a blow off, but he didn’t really care. He’d figure out something to tell his boss and Carl Evans tomorrow. Maybe Dolly was closer to selling than he guessed. Maybe the diner wouldn’t be that hard a negotiation.
Yeah, right. He dropped his phone into his pocket and tugged at the untucked polo shirt he’d changed into over jeans and tennis shoes. He always kept at least two wardrobe changes in his car, along with a toiletry bag in case he ended up spending the night somewhere he hadn’t expected.
Not like he was planning on spending the night in Venice, but he also wasn’t about to put any absolutely-nots on what might happen in the few hours he was here. He hadn’t stopped thinking about Pearl since seeing her a few hours earlier. She’d gotten a little curvier over time and a lot more confident. That much he could see in the way she held herself, the lift in her chin and the cutting look in her eyes as she sized up his suit and hair and business card.
For a Tuesday night, the restaurant was packed, but Jace had slipped the hostess a twenty and asked her to reserve an outside table in the most secluded spot. That move he’d learned from his boss, who claimed money could get a man anything he wanted, as long as he was willing to pay.
Everything has a price, Marshall often said at meetings, and though he meant it as an advantage, more than once Jace wondered if his boss realized the flip side of that. Yes, everything was for sale, but at some point the scales tipped, didn’t they? He wasn’t sure every cost was worth it.
Pearl emerged from the shadows of the parking lot across the street, and everything else went out of Jace’s head. She wore a light blue sundress and silver sandals, and she’d loosed her hair from its earlier ponytail. “Hi,” she said as she approached. That tiny gap in her front teeth peeked out as she smiled. She took in the crowded tables and the people waiting in the courtyard outside. “We might not get a table.”
He held out his arm, crooked at the elbow. “I pulled some strings.”
She gave him a funny look as she wrapped her hand around his arm. A hundred volts of pure sexual energy shot straight to his groin. Oh, hell. He was in a whole lot of trouble.
He lifted a finger at the hostess, who led them to the table he’d requested. She laid out menus and silverware, then lit the candle. “Ricardo will be your waiter tonight. Enjoy your meal.”
Jace pulled out Pearl’s chair, taking a quick moment to breathe in the perfume she wore, different than the scent he remembered. Of course, a lot had changed since high school. He’d be a fool to think otherwise.
“Do you drink?” he asked, suddenly nervous. C’mon, McClintock. Relax. You’ve had dinner with some of the most powerful people in the state. But it didn’t matter. Pearl DeVane knew him. Probably remembered the scrappy teen he used to be. And the way she was scrutinizing him, he had a good feeling she was sizing him up and trying to guess all the ways he might have changed in the years since - or not.
“Red wine goes best with their pizza,” she said. “If you’re in the mood, that is.”
In the mood for what? he almost blurted out, but he was pretty sure the fire in his cheeks had already given away his thoughts. “Sounds good,” he said instead. “Do they still have their sesame seed crust?” He opened a menu.
“They do.” She opened her menu as well, and the candlelight caught her manicure, short, pale-pink nails, which belied the fact she worked in a diner.
Of course, he didn’t know how much she worked at the diner. Full time? Once in a while, to help out her aunt?
He scanned the choices and folded his menu again. After ordering a bottle of merlot, he leaned back in his chair and watched the moonlight play over her face. She unwrapped her silverware and put her napkin in her lap.
“This is a little awkward, right?” she said when she looked up at him again. “I mean…” She waved her hand in the air between them.
“You mean because of what happened the last time we saw each other?”
She paused. “I was thinking more along the lines of the fact that now you’re conspiring with the enemy.”
“The enemy?” He lowered his voice as Ricardo delivered their wine. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”
“Carl Evans is known as a shark around here,” she said as she sipped her wine. “He cut a lot of small businesses off at the knees after the hurricane. You remember Lolly’s, the cigar shop across the street from us?”
Jace nodded.
“And Uptowne Grille, the next block down, and the consignment shop next to them. He made them offers they couldn’t refuse, and now they’re all gone. All razed for this big, amazing casino and hotel he wants to put up, which is gonna look like every other casino and hotel in every other city in this
state.” Her fingers tightened around the stem of her glass.
Well, shit. He knew all that, and though he could make the argument that those businesses had already been spiraling downward, he guessed Pearl didn’t want to hear it.
He reached across the table for her free hand instead. “I didn’t ask you to dinner to talk business.” Okay, maybe he had, but he could put that on the back burner for a little while.
She curled her fingers into his palm for the span of a breath or two before pulling her hand away. “Then where did this all come from?”
“Can’t a guy ask a beautiful woman to dinner?”
She cocked a brow. “I suppose.”
“Then that’s what this is. Plus a chance for us to catch up.” Ricardo arrived with a giant wooden bowl of tossed salad, served family-style. Jace handed her the tongs. “After you.”
She piled her plate high, adding extra jalapenos.
She likes it hot, Jace thought. He grinned.
“So, what have you been doing with yourself?” she asked. “Besides getting your real estate license?”
“That’s about it,” he confessed. “Just trying to work my way up. I got a break when Marshall Reagan hired me, and I’m trying to make the most of it. I don’t have any grand stories about traveling the world or developing a patent or winning the lottery.”
“Too bad.” Her smile curved up.
“Yeah, too bad. I moved to Tampa after high school, got an apartment with Toby for a couple of years, and did a bunch of odd jobs while I was taking classes for my license.”
“What kind of odd jobs?”
“Worked in a diner for a while, if you can believe that. On the grill.” He’d also been a telemarketer, a computer salesman, and a school janitor for a brief stretch of time. He’d worked with a whole lot of shit, enough to know he had a good thing going on now.
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 48
