She waited but he didn’t seem inclined to give out any more information. “Think you’ll stay in Houston?” she finally asked.
“Probably. You?”
The question startled her. “Of course. This is our headquarters.”
“Ah, staying in the family business.”
Her defenses rose. “Haven’t you?”
One side of his mouth lifted as he picked up his beer. “Not exactly.”
She watched him tilt the bottle to his lips, wondering why she’d gotten so defensive. She’d be a fool not to keep her hand in Whitford Industries. The company was well-known, the name respected and recognized worldwide. No shame in wanting to stay a part of that success.
He set the beer back on the table, leaving his long, lean fingers wrapped around the bottle, stirring her creative mind and making her forget about anything to do with business.
His nails were surprisingly clean considering the type of work he did, and she easily imagined him running his palms down her bare back, over her breasts.
“So, Tori, why are we here?”
She looked up into those intense dark eyes and wondered what he’d do if she suddenly ran her foot up his leg. She smiled. “Weren’t you ever curious? For years the most we did was wave to each other.”
His brows rose slightly. “Why do you suppose that was?”
“I wasn’t allowed to talk to you,” she said, the surprise in his face giving her pause. “I had piano lessons twice a week, ballet three times, and a riding lesson on the weekend. Mother didn’t leave me much time for distractions.”
One side of his mouth went up in a cocky, almost patronizing way.
“What’s that for?”
“What?”
“That look.”
“Admit it, your mama didn’t want you hanging around with anyone the likes of me.”
“That’s not true.” Indignation rose in her voice. “Of course you were so much older.” She paused. “Mother isn’t a snob.”
“You know her. I don’t,” he said, shrugging.
Tori sighed. “Okay, sometimes she is. But I don’t think—” She broke off, sighing again, unable to defend a position of which she was uncertain. A thin line existed between snobbery and concern for the Whitford name and business.
“Hey, it doesn’t matter.” He gave her a crooked smile. “You were brave enough to break the barrier. Go where no Whitford has gone before.”
“Very funny.”
He laughed, reached across the table and covered her hand with his rougher palm. The contact jolted her, and when their eyes met she knew he felt the spark, too. He didn’t retreat, but ran the pad of his thumb along the side of her wrist. A small innocuous movement that shouldn’t have driven her crazy. She sucked in a breath, and then let it out slowly. His sexy gaze fell to her lips and her mouth went too dry to swallow.
He released her, grabbed his beer and leaned back in his chair. “So, what now?”
Tori took a deep breath. She didn’t want to sound too obvious or eager, but no sense wasting any time, either. “Have you eaten? We could have dinner.”
He smiled. “I meant, what will you do now that you’ve finished school?”
“Oh.” She gave a breezy laugh, not about to show her embarrassment. “I’ll be staying in Houston. I haven’t found an apartment yet, though.”
He seemed surprised. “You’re moving out?”
“Of course. You don’t still live with your father, do you?” She paused, recognizing her gaffe. “Not that it would be a bad thing if you did.”
“Relax. I don’t, but if I did live with my old man, I wouldn’t take offense. He’s a pretty okay guy.”
The look of genuine affection on Jake’s face warmed her. Sadly she couldn’t say the same for her parents. She loved and respected them, but she didn’t like either of them much. Then again, maybe she’d like her father if she’d really gotten to know him. He’d always been working or away on business. Often their schedules clashed. When she’d be home from boarding school for the summer or the occasional weekend, he’d be away. Mostly she wouldn’t see him for months at a time.
When she finally slipped out of her musings, she found Jake watching her with open curiosity. His gaze lowered briefly to her breasts, rose to linger on her lips before meeting her eyes. And then it narrowed slightly. “What exactly do you want from me?” he asked finally.
She’d rehearsed all the way over here. Her e-mail buddies were behind her a hundred percent. They’d all voted for the direct approach. She breathed deeply, and said, “Sex.”
3
THE BAND, just back from a break, started playing an energetic Garth Brooks song when Jake thought he heard Tori say the most bizarre thing. He smiled just thinking about her reaction if he were to tell her what he thought she’d said.
She smiled back and leaned forward until her breasts grazed the table, her clingy V-neck shirt showing off a mouthwatering amount of cleavage. “Is that a yes?”
He sobered quickly. “I didn’t hear you.”
She straightened, her smile disappearing. “Look, it’s either yes or no. You won’t hurt my feelings if you aren’t interested. But it isn’t necessary to toy with me. Because that won’t happen.”
She’d lied. He had hurt her feelings. It was in her eyes, and the defensiveness of her body language as she crossed her arms and shrunk back against the scarred wood chair.
“Seriously,” he said, “I thought I heard you but you couldn’t have said what I think you did.”
Her mouth began to curve again. “I probably shouldn’t have put it that way.”
Jake stared back. Man, she had a set of balls on her. Not a bad thing, but damn if he knew what to say.
She blinked, looking a little uneasy, and then picked up her beer and finished it off.
“Okay,” he said slowly. “I’m thinking you want to tangle the sheets a little. Am I on the right track?”
She nodded, breaking eye contact to signal the waitress for another beer. She looked back at him, moistened her lips and said, “No strings attached of course.”
It wasn’t hard to keep a straight face. He was still blown away. “For your benefit or mine?”
“For both of us.” She shrugged. “I doubt you’re looking for a relationship, and neither am I.”
Not
