He liked her shoes, black with open toes and a wedge heel. He particularly liked the wink of her toes, her slim ankles, and those toned, tanned calves.
“Riley?”
He quickly straightened, shaking off his wayward thoughts. He closed the door and crossed to the driver’s side.
“I hope this is another casual spot,” she said.
He started the engine, putting it into first and pulling the sports car away from the curb. Then he reached into the centre console and extracted his sun glasses.
“It’s nicer than the food court,” he said.
“Waiters and everything?”
“I’m hoping to redeem myself.”
“I had a lot of fun at the pier.”
“I know. I’m talking about the way I behaved after the pier.” He figured there was no point in letting it simmer.
“Did something go wrong?” she asked, canting herself in the seat so she was looking directly at him.
He pulled the car to a stop at the light leading onto Hamilton, flipping on his left signal. “I didn’t want to push you.”
It was true. It might not be the whole truth, but it was definitely true.
“You’d rather I pushed you.”
He turned his head to take in her forthright expression. “I promise you, that’ll never happen again.”
“I can’t see your eyes.”
He pulled off his glasses to make his intentions crystal clear. “That’ll never happen again.”
“Good to know.” Her gaze flicked out the windshield. “Light’s green.”
A horn sounded behind him.
* * *
It was pretty clear to Kalissa that the drive was going to take more than an hour. Riley had chosen the scenic route, taking secondary roads that meandered along the lakeshore.
“How did it go with Darci last night?” he asked her as they made their way past a beach. The strip of park was quiet except for the wind blowing through the oak trees and the whitecaps crashing on shore.
“How did you know about last night?”
“Megan mentioned it. She said you went to the mansion.”
Kalissa smiled at the memory. “That’s some house they’ve got out there.”
“Big?” asked Riley.
“Humongous.”
“I guess that’s what you can buy when you’re a billionaire.”
“Shane doesn’t seem like a billionaire.”
Sure, he had nice clothes and expensive real estate, and she was pretty sure Darci had said something last night about a private jet. But if you’d met him at a shopping mall or on the street, you’d never know.
Riley looked skeptical “How does he not seem like a billionaire?”
“He’s pretty down to earth.”
“He’s trying to impress you.”
“I don’t see why he’d care.”
“Maybe because you’re Darci’s twin sister?”
“He seems genuine.”
“I doubt that.”
The flip remark annoyed her. “How would you know? You’ve never even met him.”
“I met him once,” said Riley, an edge to his voice. “In passing. A long time ago.” He paused. “I’m sure he’s changed.”
“Why are you doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“Giving in with your teeth clenched. If you want to fight with me, fight with me.”
“I don’t want to fight with you.”
“You’ve obviously got something against Shane. Or are you jealous of his money?”
“He’s just one more rich guy in Chicago.”
“Well, I’m a little jealous of his money.” Not that Kalissa had any interest in a mansion. But she’d love to pay down Mosaic’s line of credit. And she could sure get used to that wine cellar.
“He’ll probably give you some of it,” said Riley.
“I should sock you for that one.”
“Not while I’m driving. But later, if you like.”
“I wouldn’t take his money if he forced it on me. Just because there’s some random, genetic connection between me and Darci—”
“She’s your identical twin.”
“I know that.”
“That’s hardly random.”
“My point is, being related to her doesn’t give me any call on their wealth. That’s one of the reasons I tried to stay away from her. I knew everybody would think I was after her money. I’m incredibly grateful that Darci and Shane at least don’t think I’m a gold digger.”
“I don’t think you’re a gold digger.”
“Then why are we arguing about it?”
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“I did not.”
“You said you were jealous of his money.”
She realized Riley was right. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Okay.”
“I meant it in a theoretical, fantasy-like way. Who wouldn’t want a little extra money to toss around?”
“I’d take a little extra money.” Riley slowed the car and pulled off the road into a wide parking lot.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m thirsty.”
He maneuvered the car into an empty parking stall close to a grassy, tree lined area of the park. The branches swayed in the wind, and there was a strip of sandy beach on the far side of the lawn, with big foaming waves rushing up onto it.
“We could take a walk on the beach,” he suggested.
She couldn’t help but smile at that. “Have you been brushing up on dating?”
“Huh?”
“Long walks on the beach. I’m pretty sure that’s the number one documented female dating fantasy. We expect you to pour out your heart and soul to us, while holding our hands, scampering in the waves, and looking like a guy in a hair products’ commercial.”
His brows went up. “Scamper?”
“Yes.”
“I did not know any of that.”
She gave him a smirk. “Are you afraid to scamper?”
He reached down to untie the laces of his hikers, heaving a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll do what I have to do.”
She realized he was serious about walking. “I’ve never seen it done during a gale force wind.”
He glanced out the windshield. “It doesn’t look so bad.”
She retrieved her purse from beside her feet, opening it to search for a stray ponytail elastic. “Probably no more than sixty knots. But I am thirsty.”
“That’s the spirit. I’d say forty-five knots, tops.”
While he peeled off his boots, Kalissa fastened her hair and kicked off her sandals.
They got out of the car into the breeze. Luckily, it was warm. In fact, it was kind of refreshing.
She tipped her chin and let the sunshine caress her face.
Riley slipped his hand into hers, and they started across the thick grass to the concession stand.
Halfway there, a black lab bounded toward them. It dropped a stick at their feet and wagged its tail, brown eyes looking eagerly up.
Riley let go of Kalissa’s hand and picked up the stick. He gave it a mighty throw, sending it spiraling in a high arc to land on an empty stretch of sand.
“That’s some arm,” she told him.
“I was a pitcher for a while in high school.”
“Were you good?”
“Not bad. There were other guys who were better.”
She found her sympathies engaging. “Did you get cut from the team?”
“No.” He gave her a playful shove with his hip. “I did not get cut from the team. I had too much studying to do senior year, so I didn’t try out.”
“What were you studying? Where did you go to college?”
“I stayed in Illinois. IIT Armour College.”
“Nice. I went to community college, got a diploma not a degree. I was pretty much on my own for money. Well, I was completely on my own for money.”
The dog loped toward them again, returning the stick.
Riley threw it once more.
“You like dogs?” Kalissa asked.
“I do.”
“Did you have them growing up?”
He shook his head. “Pets were not one of my mother’s priorities.”
“What about your dad? Brothers and sisters?”
His gaze was on the dog as it picked up the stick. “Just me and my mom. It wasn’t Norman Rockwell.”
“Same with me,” she said. “Which isn’t unusual for adopted kids.”
“Was it lonely for you?” he asked, taking her hand again.
“It was. She, uh...” Kalissa hesitated. She didn’t like to broadcast her past. But it sounded like Riley had been there himself.
“My adopted dad died when I was five. My mother never really recovered. She drank after that. Quite a lot. So I pretty much raised myself.”
He gave her hand a small squeeze. “My mother worked. She didn’t have the skills to make much money, so she was gone for long hours. I hear you on raising yourself.”
“How could you afford IIT?”
“I was lucky enough to get a scholarship.”
“So, quitting baseball worked for you.”
“It did.”
“I wasn’t smart enough to get more than a community college scholarship.” She wasn’t indulging in self-pity. It was just a fact.
“Don’t sell yourself short. Your intellect gives me a run for my money.”
She appreciated the sentiment. “I’m beginning to doubt that.”
“It wasn’t brilliance that got me there. I studied my butt off in senior year. I had my head in textbooks every waking minute.”
“I worked weekends and most evenings in high school.”
If she hadn’t, they never would have made the rent on their modest basement suite. By that time, her mother was drunk every day, and welfare checks alone would never have covered their living expenses.
The dog was back again, dropping the stick.
“He knows you’re a soft touch,” said Kalissa.
Riley hurled the stick. “He’ll wear out eventually.”
“Thank goodness you can throw so far.”
“If you’d had time to study,” said Riley, “You could have won any scholarship you wanted.”
She didn’t buy it for a second.
“I can tell,” he said.
“You cannot.”
“How were your grades?”
“Fine. I guess they were good.”
“How good?”
“A’s and B’s,” she admitted.
She’d been lucky enough to have a knack for most subjects. It made up for her lack of time to study around her part time job. But high school coursework was nothing compared to college.
“I rest my case,” he said. “Soda good for you?”
They had arrived at the little concession stand set amongst a dozen wooden picnic tables.
“You have no case. Soda sounds great.”
Riley stepped up and placed their order.
“You think you’ll ever get a dog?” Kalissa asked while they waited.
“I will someday. Maybe when I’m settled, when the business is running well, and I have a family.”
“You want a family?”
“Yes, I do. I want a wife, a couple of kids, and a white picket fence. I want to create what I never had growing up.”
“Norman Rockwell?”
“A modern version.”
The young man behind the counter handed them two cardboard cups filled with ice and cola.
“If you need any landscaping,” Kalissa joked as they strolled away.
“You’ll be my first call.”
“Unless you’re planning to stay in the house you’ve got. It’s going to look great. Well, from the outside.” She hadn’t seen much of the inside, only the basement.
His tone turned intimate. “You’ll have to come and see the rest of it.”
She looked up, meeting his dark eyes, and her heart gave a couple of quick beats. “You think?”
“I know.”
The dog dropped the stick beside Riley’s feet, and Kalissa’s phone rang in her pocket.
He quickly got rid of the stick again.
“It’s Megan,” said Kalissa.
He surprised her by whisking the phone out of her hand.
“Hey,” she protested.
He put it to his ear. “Megan? Yeah. Can this wait?”
“Give that back,” said Kalissa.
“Uh-huh,” he said into the phone.
Kalissa leaned in to call out. “Megan? Megan, I’m here.”
“Don’t be melodramatic,” Riley said to Kalissa. “She is,” he said into the phone. Then he gave a mischievous grin. “No, we’re not.”
“What’s she asking?” Kalissa stage whispered.
“What do you think?” he asked her.
Kalissa called into the phone again. “We’re in public, on the beach.”
“How would you feel about Kalissa turning this thing off for a while?” Riley asked Megan.
“I’m not turning my phone off,” said Kalissa.
“Okay,” said Riley.
“Good,” said Kalissa.
“I was talking to Megan.”
“I’m not turning it off.”
“Great,” said Riley. “Thanks.” He ended the call.
“Hey!”
“She’s fine with you turning it off.”
“I’m not turning it off.”
Megan’s calls were probably the only ones that might be important, but she could get other calls. Her sister, for example.
“I will if you will,” said Riley.
“No.”
“Let’s pretend we’re out of tower range.”
“Like if we were hiking the Adirondacks?”
He handed her phone back then drew his own out of his pocket. He moved his way through the screens.
“There,” he said. “Mine’s off.” He waited.
“I didn’t agree to this.”
“This is a lot like hiking the Adirondacks. Except there’ll be plumbing, fine china, and a Maitre-de.”
A Maitre-de? “Where, exactly are you taking me?”
“Turn off your phone. You can do it, Kalissa.”
Something was making her hesitate. But there was no reason to refuse. If Megan knew she was out of touch, nobody would worry if they couldn’t reach her. “If I turn it off, you’ll tell me where we’re going?”
“Absolutely.”
She gauged his expression. “Tell me first.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“I don’t.”
He gave a long suffering sigh. “It’s a restaurant called the Trestle Tree. It’s in a historic building on the lakeshore. It used to belong to a railway baron.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“You think I’m making it up?”
“I think I don’t know much more than I did two minutes ago.”
“Maybe, but I kept my side of the bargain.”
He had her there.
She gave in and shut down her phone.
Five
“I’m not going in there,” said Kalissa, one hand resting on the dashboard.
Riley didn’t understand. “I ate
there once a couple of years ago. It’s really nice inside.”
As far as he was concerned, it was nice outside too, a four-story, red brick, historic building, lined with arched windows and decorated with a narrow wrought iron balcony along the second floor. It was illuminated by pot lights and spotlessly maintained, with a gleaming white concrete staircase and trimmed plants bracketing a green and glass double door.
“I’m talking about the people,” she said.
“What’s wrong with the people?”
A man in a neat business suit was escorting two women up the short staircase. He looked to be in his fifties. One woman was about the same age. The other looked to be in her twenties. A daughter, Riley guessed. He didn’t see a single thing wrong with them.
“Are you blind?”
He assumed it was a rhetorical question, but he answered anyway. “No.”
“The dresses, Riley. Look at their dresses.”
“What about them?”
One woman was in royal blue, the other in black.
“Now, look at me.” She gestured to herself.
“You look fantastic.”
She did. The simple black slacks clung to the curve of her hips, and the white top showed off her tan. Her hair was only slightly windswept. Her green eyes sparkled beneath the streetlight, and her face seemed to get more beautiful by the minute.
“I’m wearing jeans.”
“Those aren’t jeans.”
“They’re black, but they are jeans. And look at you?”
He glanced down at his khaki pants. Okay, they weren’t exactly formal, but they were clean.
“You look like you walked off a shop floor.”
“I did.”
“Exactly. Let’s go somewhere else, maybe a café or a drive-through.”
“You want me to take you to a drive-through?”
Like he was going to trump Shane by taking her to a drive-through. No way. Tonight was about impressing her, showing her his better qualities before Shane could enumerate his failings.
“We could grab a burger and find a nice park for a picnic.”
“We’re not going to a drive-through. Look at those people.” He pointed to a party of four on the sidewalk. “They’re more casually dressed.”
“Nice try.”
Okay, so maybe it was a stretch. The men were both wearing blazers, but the women’s dresses were much shorter and less formal.
Seduced by the CEO Page 6
