“This damn city is so confusing. Look, let’s go back in before you hurt me some other way.”
“Oh God, you’re fine.”
“Good thing I got a good woman, a good, sensible woman, who’ll kiss it and make it better.”
“Kiss what, exactly?”
“Filthy mind.”
Chapter Thirteen
Back inside, Chet was sitting with Erika and Josh, this time in Jax’s seat. Josh was looking at him in utter and complete disbelief. No stone mask this time. One hundred percent disbelief at what he was seeing.
Jenna sat in her spot. Josh looked at her quickly, doing a damage assessment, no doubt, and then returned his gaze to Chet. Jax was headed off to the bar, shaking his head at Chet’s reappearance.
“C’mon, Chet, let’s go to the bar and talk about it,” Erika said as she gave Josh, and then Jenna, a look that said, “You owe me one.”
Chet followed her, still talking about a particular flower that he absolutely loved.
Josh turned to Jenna, disbelief still plain on his face. “I threatened the guy, pushed his face into a wall, and he shows up ten minutes later talking about flowers. Is this real life?”
“He’s probably on drugs, Josh. He’s not himself.”
Josh just looked back in Chet’s direction as he walked away, and shook his head. “Unreal,” he muttered. “That kid is unreal.”
Josh turned his attention back to Jenna. “I’m sorry I spied, Jenna, but you know yourself—if I’d shown up at your door after you told me not to follow you, you would’ve slammed it in my face.”
“You guys,” Erika said as she slid into her chair. “I’m sorry. I cannot deal with the bar.” She rubbed her temples. “Jax is having fun with Chet now, and Phil is staring at me…” She exhaled raggedly. “You can talk later. How’s Jax’s house going?”
“Wow.” Jenna grinned at her friend. “Super fun night out, huh?”
“I cannot decide if this place is better or worse than spending time with the general. No offense, Josh, but that’s where I’m at.”
“It was a piece of shit,” Jenna said before sipping her drink. “It probably shouldn’t have been sold in the condition it was.”
“Yeah, I was thinking that, too. Jax was happy enough to get a great price on it. He isn’t too bright when it comes to that kind of stuff.”
“To hear you talk, you’d think he’s dirt poor.”
“He doesn’t have all that much money. He makes a good living, but his parents don’t have a lot, and he’s helping put his sister through college.”
“Ah, that’ll do it. Good guy, though. Family man.”
Erika preened. She obviously thought so, too. If they did go the distance, it was clear he would do everything he could to take care of her. She earned a pretty penny, which she was great at saving, so she’d fix his financial problems as he fixed her loneliness problems. They would both think they were getting the better end of the bargain.
“In answer to your question, it’s going fine.” Jenna leaned into Josh. “It’ll be ready when it needs to be.”
“If it starts getting too expensive, let me know and I’ll cover the cost.”
“It won’t. You’re fine.”
“But if it does.”
“Then I’ll let you know.”
“Excuse me,” Josh said, lightly dragging his fingertips across her bare shoulder before standing.
“Where are you going?” Erika asked.
Josh stared down at her before moving off without a word. She shook her head and shrugged at the same time. “Probably going to the bathroom.”
“I forgot to tell you,” Jenna said. “Beware of jumping out and scaring Jax.”
“What?” Erika looked at her with her head cocked. Admittedly, it had come from left field.
“I thought it would be funny to jump out and scare Josh the other day. He very nearly took my head off.”
“Are you suicidal?”
“It seems so, yeah. I didn’t think he’d react like that.”
“They were trained in some extremely harsh settings to react exactly like that. That would’ve scared the be-jeebers outta me.”
“It happened so fast I didn’t really have a chance to be scared. Then he, like, had a meltdown, so I really didn’t have time to get scared.”
“You and your freak-outs and him and his meltdowns—”
“We gotta split,” Jax said, standing behind his chair. “That creep Chet keeps following us around and talking to him.” He threw a thumb Josh’s way. “I’m about to give him the fear o’ God so he’ll go away.”
“I tried that,” Josh said, standing off to the side, facing Jenna. “He plays dead.”
“Plays dead? Like a possum?”
“Yeah. First time I’ve seen a grown man do it, but there you go.”
“Huh. Anyway, where to?” Jax asked the girls.
Jenna looked over Josh’s rock-hard body, on display in that shirt and his snug slacks. “I’m okay with just going home, if it’s all the same to you guys.”
“No nightcap? At this rate we aren’t going to be hungover.” Erika gulped down the last of her drink.
“We can hit that wine bar in the Upper East Side. That’s close enough to everyone,” Josh said.
“No,” Jenna blurted.
Erika looked at her with surprise and a smile. “You took him there?”
Jenna shot a glance at Josh that promised pain, but said nothing.
“You’ve never invited me to your special wine bar,” Erika said.
“I go there to be alone.”
“Then why did you invite Josh?”
“I didn’t. He followed me.”
“Huh. And did you tell him you owned it?”
There was no mistaking the shock on Josh’s face. She’d never told anyone about her crazy venture into the unknown of business ownership. “How did you know?”
“You can’t keep much from me, I’m afraid. When you get all secretive, I worry about you. No telling what you’ll do. Plus, you love wine bars, and when it got voted the newest hot spot and you didn’t mention it, I looked into it. Just so happens, I approve.”
“Oh good, well, in that case, forgiven for spying,” Jenna said dryly.
“So, now that the secret’s out and Josh got to go, I wanna go.” Erika gave her a cheeky grin.
“No.”
“Well, Jax and I are going. Since it is a public place and everything, you can’t stop us.”
“Establishment has the right to refuse service to anyone.”
“But I’m dressed appropriately.” Jax beamed before mock-modeling his clothing. Clearly he was enjoying seeing someone else uncomfortable. “And that doesn’t happen often, so I need somewhere to fit in.”
“No.”
“We’re going,” Erika said, leading the way. “I will not be passed over for a man you’ve only known a couple weeks.”
“But he followed me…” Jenna whined.
They filed out of the bar, avoiding Chet and saying a couple of goodbyes. As they waited for a cab outside, Jenna noticed Josh looking at her. He was standing close, his hand lightly tracing her neck as he liked to do, his body heat soaking through her dress and making her shiver, despite the muggy heat of the night.
She returned his look and lost her sense of gravity as she fell into those sparkling hazel eyes. The world fell away and the only thing that existed was him, her, and his touch.
“You are so beautiful it hurts, Jenna,” Josh murmured. “In that dress you are a vision.”
“I feel pretty.”
“It shows. Makes you irresistible.”
“Why did you come after me? Why did you come here when I told you I didn’t want to see you again?”
“If you think that I am going to let you walk into danger on your own, you are delusional.”
“I’m not your problem, Josh.”
“You are my problem, and I do have a claim on you. I made that clear. And you have a cl
aim on me. We’re in this together, you and I, and I don’t normally court women by killing people and burying them in the woods.”
“What about when this is over?”
“Then I’ll find a different reason to have a claim on you.” His eyes were dark as he looked intently into hers.
She was filled with an anticipation that she’d never felt before. Would he make an advance on her tonight? Would he whisper sweet nothings that meant so much because they were genuine? Or would he let his body do the talking, showing her physically what she already knew inside?
She would give in tonight, right or wrong. She was sick of this game they were playing. It seemed the harder she pushed, the closer he got. Now that she knew he would stay around even if he wasn’t getting paid to be her bodyguard, she might as well just accept it.
Just as his lips connected with hers, Erika flagged down a cab. Jenna felt a jolt as her body filled with fire, starting from point of contact. Her skin flushed and her limbs filled with tingles. Now that she knew she would give in, all the memories of their lovemaking crowded together until she was ready to burst.
When the cab stopped, Josh began to pull away, but Jenna clung to him, kissing him desperately, not wanting the separation. Along with the pleasure, she remembered the support and closeness, the comfort. His body curled around hers, his warmth fighting the cold of her life.
“Really, Jenna?” she heard Erika say. “You can’t wait until—”
“Shhh!” Jax broke in.
“Well, we’re gonna lose this cab,” Erika whined.
Jenna backed off, Josh taking the hint and straightening up. His eyes danced and his lips were curled slightly at the corners. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. She knew that look.
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Stop gloating.”
“Why would I be gloating?” Josh asked as he followed her into the cab.
“Don’t have sex in this cab,” Erika said firmly. “It is not that kind of establishment.”
Chapter Fourteen
When they reached the wine bar, it was mobbed. It was always busy, but this was more than normal. Jenna led the way and was greeted by a smiling yet harassed hostess. A look of fear came over her face when she saw who it was.
“Hi, Jenna. Um…I’m so sorry, but your usual table is occupied. Please give me a moment to make room.”
“Wait, don’t chase anyone out. We have four anyway. But it looks like you guys are packed…”
The hostess looked back over the crowd. People were crammed in, all the seats filled, and more standing in any available open space.
“Yes, we’re trying to get a few people out, actually. We’re over capacity.”
“What’s the occasion? We haven’t had this many people since it was voted new hot spot.”
“I’m not sure, but it’s been this way most of the night. Let me get Jane for you.”
As they waited, a line formed behind them. Jane, the manager and sommelier, looked frazzled. She motioned for Jenna to follow her and walked back behind the bar and down, under the bar into the wine cellar. It was cool in there in order to properly preserve the wines. It was also blissfully quiet.
“Hi, Jenna.” Jane gave Jenna a hug. The woman was in her fifties, thin and mousy, wearing large glasses. She was from Napa originally and had been around wine all her life. She had even been a winemaker for a while until her husband got a great job opportunity and they had to move to New York.
“What’s going on?” Jenna asked as the others gathered around.
“It seems you’re a celebrity. There was a write-up with your picture in a dozen newspapers. That must be the building you’re working on? It’s huge! I didn’t realize. Anyway, we were mentioned. Where there’s a buzz, there are New York socialites.”
Jenna’s blood ran cold. She didn’t want this kind of publicity. She wanted the wine bar to make a name for itself without her past or other pursuits lending popularity. It would mean a surge in revenue now, but these types of people would see it as “old news” in a few weeks and it would become a cliché in the hot spot circuit. Patrons would move on for the next greatest thrill, and maybe take the regulars with them. Jenna would now have to wait for the surge of people to die down and find a way to update. The place would have to be done over so it could be “fresh” again.
What a pain.
Jenna scratched the side of her nose in irritation. “We’d better hire more temporary staff. It should only last a month or two, then it will dwindle again.”
“That’s what I was thinking. We need to increase stock, though. High rollers are coming through in droves. Nothing but the most expensive will do.”
“Take it while we got it. Just don’t take the easy road and get expensive crap or anything trendy. I will not sacrifice what I am trying to do here to appease some jerks. And I want to stay in the background. I won’t play owner and greet people and all that.”
“I didn’t think you would. I’ve got it all covered.”
“Thanks, Jane. Well, you might just set us up a foldaway table down here. Unless you think we’ll be in the way?”
“Of course.”
“Oh, and Jane—” Jenna’s words stopped Jane in mid-stride. Without realizing it, Jenna had used the “I’m the boss and this is what we are doing” voice. She softened her tone. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make this such a priority, it’s just that I found—uh, tasted a bottle earlier that I want to carry. We’ll talk about it later, but I just wanted to throw that out there.”
Jane smiled knowingly. Her eyes flicked to Josh. “No problem. Hi, Josh, nice to see you again.” And she bustled out the door.
“You know,” Josh said as he surveyed the cellar, “you should get that other, uh, sommalian person to come in and tell people wines they would like. It’s a kick.”
“Sommelier, idiot,” Jax said. He puffed out his chest and nudged Erika. She rolled her eyes.
“Sommelier, whatever.” Josh rested his hand on the small of Jenna’s back. “He did me, too. I didn’t try the wine, though.”
“What are you talking about?” Erika asked as Erin, the waitress, ran in.
“Hi, Jenna. Everyone. Welcome. Uh, I am here to— Oh, here.” She found the fold-up table and some chairs. She set them up in the very middle of the floor so they were easy to get around, then covered it with a white tablecloth. She was about to get some candles, but Jenna stopped her.
“We’re fine, Erin, thank you.”
“Are you sure?” Erin waited for a nod from Jenna, and then put the candles back. “Okay, Jane has some wines coming for you. Also, we have some cheese plates and sausage plates ready to go. Oh, and we’re doing chocolate tasting. It was a last-minute thing. It’ll all be to you shortly.”
“Great, Erin, thank you. Tell the staff that they can each pick an unopened bottle of their choosing to take home. Price doesn’t matter; just ring it up under my tab. Also, when you are all done for the night, you are welcome to close up shop and come down here for free drinks. I can order some pizzas if anyone is hungry.”
A smile spread across Erin’s face. “Thanks! I’ll tell everyone.” She nodded and bustled out again.
“Hard, but fair,” Jax said approvingly.
Jenna waved the comment away. “They are working their asses off for a bunch of snobby fuckwits. I’ll make a fortune off it. It’s the least I could do.”
“So, what about this sommelier?” Erika had a mind like a dog with a bone. Once she started wondering about something, she would chew on it until she got an answer. It was why working with her was so great. If there was a problem, Erika would figure it out eventually. Sometimes it might be a year after the project was finished, but she would get the answer if there was one.
“I went to this wine store around the corner—” Josh started.
“You went to a wine store? Looking for a five-dollar bottle of New York’s finest?” Jax grinned at him.
“I was being romantic, you dick.” Josh punche
d Jax in the arm. “Anyway, I said I needed a bottle to impress a girl—”
“Did it work?” Jax questioned as Erika asked, “Did you get a happy ending?”
“Are you guys trying to go on the road as a comedy team?” Josh asked with a dark look.
“Conquering one curb at a time,” Jax replied with a winning smile.
“Would you guys shut up and let him finish?” Jenna asked, trying to hide her own smile.
Everyone fell silent expectantly. “It was this little old man. He was all shriveled and hunched over. He starts asking me about Jenna. Stuff like what is her favorite food, what kind of flower does she like, all this stuff.”
“Did you know any of that stuff?” Jenna asked.
Josh looked at her like she was dense. “Of course. Impressing a girl 101.”
“What’s her favorite food?” Erika asked with narrow- eyed suspicion.
“Spaghetti carbonara, but she hates to admit it because she doesn’t like to eat it—it’s big on calories. Guilty pleasure. Oh, and now I think it is chocolate cake, but that might have some…bad memories.”
“How did you know that?” Jenna and Erika asked at the same time.
“My man does intel, that’s how,” Jax said smugly.
“All you have to do is look at all the takeout menus she has. There are always pen marks near spaghetti carbonara. Every single menu that has that dish has pen marks. She tends to pick Italian restaurants first, and always looks hard at that one item before deciding on something else.”
“Two things.” Erika held up a finger, thinking hard. “First, holy crap, Josh. I feel bad for her if she tries to get one over on you. Second, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk this much.”
Jenna was looking at Josh with awe. She had no idea she was that easy to read. She said so as Erin walked in with wine and food.
“You’re so not!” Erika said to Jenna as she scrutinized Josh. “It took me a full year to realize you had eating issues, let alone what food you liked best. And I only knew that because you admitted it guiltily after too much gin.”
Unexpected Guardian (Skyline Trilogy Book 3) Page 10
