Their waiter was amiable about them staying long after dinner was concluded, refilling their coffee cups each time they were half-empty. After a couple of hours, they ordered dessert before heading back to Mar Vista.
When they arrived, Kim glanced at the thick mist. “I know it’s foggy and late, but I’d love a walk.”
“No reason not to,” Brad said. “I’ve got an extra jacket if you need something warmer to wear.”
“I’m fine. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“It would be a pleasure,” he insisted. And it would be pleasurable in one way...though immensely uncomfortable in another. The pain in his leg seemed minor compared to the ache of desire every time he looked at her.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
JAMIE STUDIED HER Scrabble letters. She’d won the first turn, but there wasn’t much she could do with the tiles she’d drawn. Finally, she played the best word she saw out of the seven letters.
“RIDER,” she said. “With the double-letter and double-word squares, that makes fourteen points.” It wasn’t very high, but unless you drew fabulous letters, the starting player often didn’t get a great score.
Zack grinned. “Great. I can get rid of an awkward letter right at the start.” He put an S and an X on either side of the E in RIDER.
She raised her eyebrows. “You could have made the word SIX, and gotten more points with the double-letter squares.”
“What do you know about that?” he said with exaggerated surprise. “Guess I’m blind.”
“I don’t mind if you move your tiles.”
“No. I’m sure there’s an old rule saying you have to leave your letters where you first put them.”
“Right,” she agreed drily, wondering if he’d somehow managed to sneak the X out of the bag so he could yank her chain, or if that had been pure dumb luck. It was obvious what he was doing, and she was both flattered and wary. They were getting along all right for now, but that could change in a flash.
Feeling curiously melancholy, Jamie studied her letters. With either her IST or her Y she could build on Zack’s word. She hesitated. It would open up the board to play more letters and send a message that she wasn’t letting him get to her, but forming SEXIST would get her fewer points than playing the Y since it was worth more and she’d get a double-word score.
Slowly she put down the Y.
“Ah,” Zack said with a gleam in his eye. “Trying to make things more challenging, I see. SEXY gives me fewer openings to build from.”
His next word was innocuous. AROUND.
Jamie earned extra points, putting in an O to make DO and OX, and figured Zack had decided to compete more seriously when he put down Y and O, making SOY and OR. But he sneaked in a few suggestive words when he saw the opportunity. Of course, NECK should have been innocuous, except she recalled too well the way he’d nibbled his way from her ear to her shoulder...and from the gleam in his eyes, he was remembering it, as well.
Zack’s tactics distracted her, but she still won since he wasted opportunities for better scores in order to spell spicier words...including a few that her mom would blush to see on a game board.
“Another round?” he challenged.
She was pretty sure he meant an entirely different sort of game, but pretended he referred only to Scrabble. She dumped the tiles back into the cloth bag that she’d made years ago to make it easier to play.
When she drew the X midway through the match, she realized she could get a lot of points making a two-word match of AX and OX. On the other hand, she also had an E, with an available S.
Jamie stared at the letters for a long time. Before she could make up her mind, a noise outside caught Zack’s attention. He jumped to his feet, flicked off the light and hurried to the window. Jamie went to the one next to the front door and peered outside, too. Something had triggered the motion sensor, turning on the security lights. She stared into the foggy darkness for several minutes until the exterior light went off and didn’t come on again.
Zack came to her side. “Anything?”
“Nothing. You know, those lights go on and off all night. Sometimes I sit on the porch and watch the show for hours. There are deer, coyotes, skunks, raccoons...all sorts of critters. That’s why I don’t let Marlin out at night. He might mess with a skunk, or a coyote could grab him for a tasty treat.”
“Really?” Zack stood close, his breath fanning the side of her cheek.
“Yes,” she answered, clearing her throat.
“Why would they want to pick so much fur out of their teeth?” His arm crept around her waist.
“They...they wouldn’t know how thick it is until it was too late,” she managed to say. “Don’t you want to finish the game?”
“We’ve already spelled SEXY and NECK,” he answered, his head dropping down to caress the spot where her vein pulsed wildly. “And I know how to spell SHOULDER and LIPS and...”
The rational part of Jamie’s brain said that if she didn’t want to play this new game, it was time to quit. Zack would respect her choice.
The problem was that she didn’t want to quit; she wanted to touch and be touched. Her fingers traced Zack’s lean rib cage and muscular shoulders. He was taking entirely too long to get to her mouth, so she started an assault on his neck while tugging his shirt free to touch bare skin.
He dipped a hand into the gap of her overalls and she barely breathed as he explored.
Zack groaned. “Should we adjourn to the couch?” he groaned, pulling her against him.
“We’d have more room in my bed,” she murmured, taking a breath and backing up with him into the hallway and through her bedroom door. “Unless you prefer the couch.”
“Lady’s choice.”
His lips closed over hers while he unbuttoned his shirt, before working on hers again, only to get stymied by her overalls.
“What the...?” He stared at the buckles. “How do you get these things undone?”
She giggled as she unbuckled them. Zack took over when she was done, slowly pulling the old denim down to her thighs. There was little to hold them up at that point, and the overalls settled in a heap at her feet. The lacy briefs she was wearing made him gasp and he ran his fingers under the edge of the silky fabric. He took his time, nibbling her legs as he eased her panties down. When Zack reached her ankles, he tumbled her onto the bed and pulled the fabric free.
She reached for the bottom of her T-shirt, only to have him stop her, removing it himself in the same slow, deliciously torturous way he’d taken off her briefs. When his tongue finally began teasing her breast, she thought she might jump out of her skin.
“You...you’re overdressed,” she managed to say, but he took considerably less time getting rid of his own clothing. She was more than ready for him, hardly able to stand it while he stopped to don protection.
“Should we turn off the light,” she said, panting as his weight settled over her.
“Not now. Maybe next time...or the time after that,” he murmured.
* * *
MUCH LATER JAMIE listened to the lonely hoot of an owl that lived in the woods just south of the house. The moon shone through the high, open windows, illuminating the bedroom she’d chosen when she moved in the previous year. She’d decorated it according to her taste, not frilly, but simple, with touches of blue and white to lighten the beautiful old wood furniture she had collected from the other bedrooms.
Zack lay on his side next to her, deeply asleep, his arm resting on her bare hip.
Their first encounter in the trailer had been explosive; tonight had proved that wasn’t a fluke. If anything, this time was even more intense...more than once. Zack had amazing stamina.
How could she feel so good, yet so bothered? She did not want to care for Zack Denning. From the moment they’d met, she had r
ecognized he was the opposite of what she would want in a man, if she’d wanted one in the first place. Declaring romance a dead issue was so much easier than dealing with it.
Jamie frowned. Whatever was happening between her and Zack, it wasn’t romance...or was it?
The whole thing was so frustrating. She did not want to be involved with a high-powered entrepreneur who measured success through his account books. If she was going to get involved with a guy, it should be with someone similar to Zack’s brother. In some ways Brad even reminded her of Granddad.
By sheer logic, Kim was the best match for Zack, and Brad was the best match for her. Yet she felt only friendship for Brad, and he was head over heels for Kim.
Jamie turned her head to look at Zack’s handsome face in the moonlight. She’d already decided she didn’t want a casual, sexual relationship with him, or any guy, yet here she was, in bed with the man again.
Boy, did she have a talent for getting involved with the wrong man.
* * *
KIM WOKE BEFORE DAWN, not sure she’d gotten any quality sleep. All she’d dreamed about, all she could think about, was Brad.
She considered herself a rational woman. Lawyers had to be. Even in college she’d evaluated her relationship with Zack, analyzing and measuring how she felt and the goals they both had. She hadn’t doubted his affection, but she’d left him when she’d realized how far down she came on his list of priorities.
Now, Brad...he was a man who could get his priorities straight.
She groaned and rolled over. Who could have guessed she’d get off balance this way? All her reasons for taking minivacations were a crock and it was time to face the truth. She’d wanted to see Brad. And now, since their double date with Jamie and Zack, she was sensing heat in his gaze...the kind a woman hoped for. The night before, they’d talked for hours after dinner, and then walked along the shoreline, returning to sit in a romantic garden near the pool.
Why hadn’t he kissed her?
She’d sent every possible signal she knew, and Brad hadn’t picked up on any of them. Was she so out of practice?
Kim glanced at the lit face of the clock. She’d told the registration clerk that she might stay till Monday, but hadn’t made arrangements with her office.
Grabbing her cell phone, she dialed Chloe’s work number to leave a message. “Hi, it’s Kim,” she said. “Please shift my early appointment to one of the other partners and move everything else to later in the week. Please also apologize for me. Thanks.”
She disconnected and settled back. Maybe she could get more sleep. Bags under the eyes weren’t the most attractive thing to present to the world...especially to Brad.
* * *
THE VARIED CHIRPING of birds urged Zack awake. Jamie was still asleep; no doubt she was accustomed to the sounds of nature living on the edge of the salt marsh.
He gave a start as a feline head rose and stared at him. The cat had insinuated himself into the narrow space between their legs and Zack had a strange discomfort. It was an animal, for heaven’s sake. What did it care if the humans in his household had sex or not, especially since he’d probably been fixed. Of course, maybe Marlin was jealous, no longer possessing the parts that could bring the pure enjoyment he and Jamie had shared the night before.
“Sorry, pal,” he whispered. “I really hope you find pleasures to make up for it.”
The cat blinked sleepily before snuggling closer to Zack and closing his eyes in contentment.
“Is something wrong?” Jamie asked quietly.
“No, it’s just the cat.”
She glanced down and yawned. “He’s decided he likes you.” Her eyes closed again and her breathing deepened.
Zack checked the clock. It was almost six-thirty and Jamie had to be at the stand by eight. Much as he wanted to stay and make love to her again, he knew her alarm would go off soon. The least he could do was brew a pot of coffee.
Marlin meowed a complaint as he eased from the bed, then thumped onto the floor himself and followed. Zack quietly found his clothing and dressed before heading to the kitchen.
Checking the cupboards, Zack discovered a whole shelf filled with different kinds of coffee. A handwritten note was taped to the inside of the door providing measurements. Intrigued, he carefully spooned various coffee beans into the grinder. For one dark-roast variety, the instructions said “3 beans only.” With a grin, he counted them, ground the coffee and started the coffeemaker.
By the time Jamie wandered into the kitchen, he had breakfast ready.
* * *
JAMIE STARED AT the toast and scrambled eggs with diced vegetables. Who’d have guessed that Zack could cook? “That looks good.”
“I figured we could both use a healthy start.”
He handed her a cup of coffee and poured one for himself. “Hell,” he exclaimed after tasting it. “This is good.”
“You used Granddad’s recipe,” she said, recognizing the flavor.
“I thought you were joking before.”
“Nope. He experimented for years until he found one he thought was the best.”
Zack half closed his eyes and sipped appreciatively. Jamie knew how he felt. But she’d figured it tasted so good to her simply because she had a sentimental attachment to anything related to Granddad.
“Would you mind if I made a copy and showed it to Gordon?” Zack asked. “If he likes it, we could offer it on the menu as George Jenkins’s Private Blend.”
“Fine with me.”
He jumped up immediately and scribbled down the information from the cupboard.
Jamie brightened as the coffee took effect, and tucked into breakfast with more energy. Zack sat again and ate with her, glancing at her now and then as though he had something else on his mind.
“I was wondering,” he said as they were finishing. “Why would your ex-husband target the fruit stand? Revenge?”
Jamie put down her fork and sipped her coffee, her brow creased. “I don’t think so. I think he’s hoping I’ll run to him for protection. He was quite confident in divorce court that I’d never make it on my own.”
“Has he done this kind of thing before?” he asked.
“Not that I know of. Tim’s an ass, though. In business he’ll do whatever it takes to make a profit—cut a shady deal, lie his head off.”
“He doesn’t sound like a very nice guy, but it’s a big leap from corrupt business practices to the violence of this vandalism.”
“True.” She didn’t want to say anything more, but Zack was obviously suspicious.
“Jamie? Was he violent?” Zack pressed. “Was he, I mean...?”
She bit her lip and sighed. “He had his moments. I feel like an idiot for not realizing what a jerk he was. Our marriage was doomed from the start, though it took me a while to acknowledge the truth.”
“He hit you?”
“Not...often. I should have walked the first time he did something out of line. He wants to win and will try anything before giving up. All this stuff with the fruit stand— If he’s responsible, it isn’t because he loves me. He just wants to prove he was right.”
“I’m staying here until he’s arrested,” Zack declared. “You shouldn’t have to deal with him alone. Bastards shouldn’t get fair odds.”
Warmth flooded Jamie. Zack believed the odds were even between her and Tim, at least on an intellectual level. Still, she couldn’t relax her guard. Zack was temporary; she couldn’t make the mistake of starting to rely on him.
“I have to get going,” she said, checking her watch.
“Too bad we’re not people of leisure. We could...”
He raised his eyebrow suggestively and she gave him a strained smile. Much as she wanted to head back to the bedroom with Zack, it was a bad idea.
�
��You’re spending too much time with your wealthy guests,” she answered lightly. “They forget you’re a working man. But whether you do or not, I have responsibilities.”
“Okay. If there are any problems, and I mean any, call 9-1-1 and then dial me immediately. Aside from that, I’ll see you tonight.”
“You really don’t have to.”
“Yeah, I really do.”
* * *
THEY HEADED TO their respective vehicles and Zack watched Jamie climb into her old truck and drive out.
No wonder she was so determined to prove her independence. Her ex-husband must be desperate to think he could make Jamie question her ability to take care of herself. How dare he try to torment her with acts of violence and cruelty? But Tim wouldn’t get the better of Jamie; she was smart, beautiful and feisty as hell.
Jamie turned onto the road toward the beach and Zack forced himself to head to his apartment. He wasn’t a person of leisure, but it was time to back off and let his staff do their jobs. No more daily rounds. No checking purchase orders and invoices. No more reviewing every detail of how his department supervisors were handling things, inevitably giving the impression that he didn’t trust them. He had a sudden urge to contact the prior maintenance supervisor and ask if that was why he’d left. No. Best to cut his losses and move forward. He’d return to the management style that served him best in the past...one that didn’t scream “insecurity” and “paranoia.” It might even be a good idea to take a day off.
When Zack walked into the living room of his apartment, he was struck by how cold it seemed in comparison to the pleasant home Jamie had made in her grandfather’s house. Of course, he hadn’t intended to live permanently at the resort. Someday, down the line, he’d figured on building his own house and using the apartment for his convenience or for an on-site manager.
“Good morning,” Brad said from the kitchen. “Where were you all night, or do I need to ask?”
Harlequin Superromance January 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Everywhere She GoesA Promise for the BabyThat Summer at the Shore Page 77
