front of Kayla annoyed him. Though by the calculating look in Gretta’s eyes, she’d probably watched them from afar and was purposefully goading Kayla while staking her claim on him.
Of which she had none, he thought irritably.
After three dates with Gretta, and especially after tonight, it was becoming increasingly obvious that it was time to sever their relationship before she entrenched herself any deeper into his life. Each of the three times they’d been together, she grew more smothering, more demanding, and now, too damned possessive. The signs were ones he recognized too well—like many that had come before Gretta, she had designs on becoming Mrs. Jack Tremaine.
Not likely. She was far from what he considered wife material, which made him look at Kayla in a whole new light.
The contrast between the two women was glaring. While Gretta was outwardly beautiful and sophisticated with an amazing body compliments of plastic surgery, she lacked the warmth and genuine goodness that Kayla exuded so effortlessly, so naturally. And those traits were beginning to matter to him, in ways he was more than ready to open himself up to. With the right woman.
A man and his wife came up to the table, and Kayla quietly excused herself to help the couple choose their desserts. But not before he saw the regret glimmering in her eyes.
He felt like the world’s biggest heel.
He wanted to call her back, apologize for Gretta’s rude comments, and explain that his interest in her was real. But there was nothing left to say to Kayla…not until he ended things with Gretta.
Which couldn’t be soon enough for him.
2
“SO, HOW DID your catered event go tonight?”
“Not bad.” Tucking the cordless phone between her neck and ear, Kayla settled against the pillows propped against the headboard of her bed, glad to hear her sister’s encouraging voice after her busy, exhausting evening. “Better than expected, actually.” If you don’t count what an absolute fool I made of myself over the gorgeous, sexy Jack Tremaine.
She cringed at the embarrassing memory, still unable to believe that she’d read all the signals between them so inaccurately. She’d thought, hoped, that the attraction was mutual, that the interest she’d glimpsed in the depths of his devastatingly blue eyes had been real.
Obviously, she’d only imagined what she wanted to be real—for her to be the focus of a good-looking man’s attentions, and for him to look deeper than at surface appearances.
The truth of the matter was, she wasn’t head-turningly gorgeous or sophisticated, and she never would be. That wasn’t who she was, as she’d learned the hard way in her previous relationship.
Doug had been a good-looking man she’d met after struggling to shed those stubborn twenty pounds that always seemed to hang on to her hips and thighs. They’d dated for a year, and she’d thought he might be “the one”, until she’d gradually started gaining the weight back. Then, she’d seen a very judgmental side to the man she’d thought she’d known so well. That side had reinforced every negative comment her mother had ever made about her less-than-perfect body. Doug had issued her an ultimatum that had struck right where she was the most vulnerable—get skinny again, or get dumped.
Knowing she was destined to be curvaceous, and refusing to change for any man ever again, she’d ended the relationship. It had taken her months to come to terms with the fact that she’d never be svelte and slender like her sister, to believe in herself and accept her full curves and ordinary, but pretty features. She only had relapses when someone or something dredged up the insecurities she’d lived with most of her life.
And Jack Tremaine’s date had managed to do that exceptionally well.
“Did you dazzle the Chamber of Commerce members with your awesome desserts?” Jillian asked, pulling her back from her unpleasant memories.
“I had no complaints.” And that was enough for Kayla to consider the evening a victory. “A few chamber members took my business card for future events, so, all in all, it was great exposure.” Though it remained to be seen if any of them actually followed up on their promises to contact her—especially Jack Tremaine.
“Here comes the million-dollar question. Did you meet any good-looking businessmen this evening?” Jillian’s tone was low and teasing.
Kayla’s cheeks flushed at the one man in particular who loomed larger than life in her mind, and she closed her eyes to bring him into better focus. Too easily, she conjured up seductive blue eyes that set her pulse fluttering, pitch-black hair cut into a short, executive style that accentuated his chiseled features, and big hands with long, tapered fingers designed to bring a woman’s body immense pleasure. Then there was that sexy, lean frame of his that filled out his charcoal suit as if it had been custom made for him—and no doubt probably had.
She bit her bottom lip and pressed a hand to the butterflies taking flight in her stomach, debating whether or not to share her secret with Jillian. She was dying to confide in someone about Jack Tremaine, and Jillian was not only her sister, but one of her best friends.
“Okay, so I did meet a guy,” Kayla said on a rush of breath. “And I have to confess that he looked more scrumptious than that triple fudge Bavarian torte you were eating earlier today.”
“Whoa!” Jillian’s breezy laughter drifted over the phone line. “I didn’t think anything topped that dessert!”
Kayla giggled, too, and added naughtily, “I wanted to top him with the dessert and eat him up, bite by delicious bite.”
“You are so bad,” Jillian scolded lightly, though she was enjoying their playful banter just as much. “Is he single and available?”
Her little fantasy of having Jack Tremaine covered in her richest, most mouthwatering torte came to a screeching halt. “Unfortunately, no. After he spent a good fifteen minutes flirting with me, this svelte young woman on stiletto heels came along, hooked her arm possessively through his and glared at me. I think if I’d dared to touch him, she’d have clawed my eyes out.”
Kayla still found it hard to believe she’d misjudged Jack Tremaine so badly, that she’d let his charming words suck her in. The other woman hadn’t seemed at all his type intellectually, neither had her cool personality. But then again, his lady friend had the kind of Barbie-doll shape that turned a man’s head. And sometimes men found outward beauty more attractive than brains.
“What can I say,” she said, striving for a flippant tone that she didn’t completely feel. “Some girls have all the luck, and the figure to go with it.”
“Kayla…” Jillian said softly.
“I’m okay. Really,” she assured her sister, and directed their conversation back to business. “The guy I met is Jack Tremaine, who owns Tremaine’s Downtown. He said he was interested in revamping his dessert menu and took my business card, but it remains to be seen if he’ll actually call.”
“Wow, Kayla, that would be quite a name to add to your résumé.”
“Tell me about it,” she said wryly, and gave her sister the details of her conversation with Jack. Then she brought their call to an end with a promise to meet her for lunch later in the week.
