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She handed him the drink. “I’m Tori.”
“Hector.”
She smiled politely and then turned back to Jake. “I know you’re busy right now. I thought maybe we could meet for a drink later.”
Totally floored, he stood there, unable to think of a damn thing to say.
Uncertainty flickered in her face and then she gave a throaty laugh. “Unless you have a wife and a dozen kids waiting for you at home.”
Hector laughed. “Jake?”
He gave his friend a warning look. Bad enough she’d taken him by surprise. He didn’t need any commentary from Hector. “You can spread the fertilizer now. Start with the pink roses along the path to the pool.”
“Sure, boss.” Hector gave Tori a parting look before setting the glass aside and heaving the bag of fertilizer over his shoulder.
Jake waited until he was out of earshot and asked, “What time?”
“I’m flexible. Whenever you’re done here?”
He looked at his watch. “In about three hours.”
“Great.” Her lips curved in a sexy smile that made him second-guess his decision. Getting mixed up with a Whitford was begging for trouble.
“Where?”
She glanced toward the house, pristine white and stately against all the lush green oak and magnolia trees. “How about Mustang Sally’s? I assume the place is still there.”
Her suggestion surprised him. The bar wasn’t a place he figured she even knew about much less patronized. And then he got it. She didn’t want to be seen with him by anyone she knew.
Amazingly he didn’t feel the old anger he would have as a kid. The idea pissed him off but it amused him, too. Hell, he wasn’t the one looking for trouble. She was.
TORI GOT TO THE BAR a little early. She sat in the parking lot, listening to a classical CD, her sporty BMW lost in the myriad of huge pickup trucks that filled the lot. She hoped the bar wasn’t too noisy so that they could at least talk. Or maybe they shouldn’t. Maybe she should hang on to the fantasy of him she’d created in her mind. The one where he obeyed her every command and wanted nothing in return. Right. She’d been surprised enough to discover that his eyes were brown and not blue. Not just brown, actually, but an incredible whiskey-brown, brimming with an intensity that made her fantasies feel tame.
Summers spent gazing out her window, waiting for a glimpse of him, had spawned some juicy stories in her head. Like the time she’d imagined that he climbed the trellis outside her bedroom window and sneaked into her bed. What he’d actually done to her was a little fuzzy at the time since she’d only been about fourteen and rather sheltered, but she remembered he’d been gentle yet demanding, and the coaxing way he’d kissed her, touched her breasts…
Damn, but she wished she’d kept a journal. It would be fun to read now but she’d been too chicken to produce any evidence her mother could find.
A knock on her car window made her jump. She looked into Jake’s sexy brown eyes, and then turned the key in the ignition, shutting off the CD and air-conditioning. She grabbed her purse and opened the door. He’d straightened and stepped back, the fly of his faded jeans hitting her eye-level. It looked like that particular fantasy wasn’t far off base.
She got out and followed him across the parking lot and into the bar. Most of the tables were already taken, and all the places at the bar.
“Let’s try back here,” Jake said and led the way past a pair of crowded pool tables and a couple arguing over a game of darts.
In the far corner, it looked as if someone had recently abandoned a table, judging by the empty bottle of beer and the two dollar bills left behind.
“How about over there?” she asked, and moved to claim it before getting an answer.
It was perfect—as far away from the country and western music and the dart players’ cursing as they could get. They sat across from one another and a waitress promptly appeared to claim her tip.
She removed the empty bottle, swiped a cursory rag across the top of the table. “What can I get y’all?”
“What have you got on tap?” Tori asked and caught the surprised look Jake gave her.
The waitress named three beers and Tori ordered a Corona.
“Make that two,” Jake said, his eyes staying on Tori as the cute blond waitress walked away.
“What?” she finally asked him when he wouldn’t look away.
“You always drink beer?”
“No, sometimes I drink wine. I picked up the beer habit in college. Much to my mother’s delight.” Now, why had she added that tidbit? She sighed to herself. Obviously Freudian.
“I bet.”
“I’m twenty-six. Anything she doesn’t like about me, it’s time she got over it.”
Jake smiled. “You’ve been away at school all this time?”
“Just about. Four years of undergraduate studies, then one year of graduate school. I took a year off to go to Europe, then went back to school and finished my MBA.”
“You don’t look like an MBA.”
She laughed. “Thank you. I’ll definitely take that as a compliment.”
“Your parents must be pleased.”
Something in the tone of his voice made her uneasy. But she didn’t know him well, so she wouldn’t judge. Not yet. “Yeah, right,” she answered. “They about had cardiac arrests when I told them I wanted to take a year off. They threatened to cut me off and not pay for my last year’s tuition.”
“You didn’t back down?”
“No way. I told them I was tired of school anyway.” She leaned back to let the waitress set their beers on the table. When they made eye contact again, he had the most peculiar look on his face.
He smiled. “I take it they gave in.”
“After a mega lecture, but yes.” She picked up her beer and took a sip. She hadn’t expected to be so nervous. Of course she wasn’t in the habit of picking up guys. What if he turned her down? She took another sip, realized he was watching her and asked, “What about you?”
He shrugged. “Still in the landscaping business, as you can see.”
“Have you been here in Houston the whole time?”
“Do you mean, did I go away to school?”
She didn’t understand the hint of sarcasm in his tone but chose to ignore it. “School, traveling, whatever.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I went to California for a couple of years, and then Dallas for a short time.”
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 with him anyway. He wasn’t in her league. No blue blood to pass on to the kiddies. The idea pissed him off. “What makes you think I’m not looking for a relationship?”
Panic crossed her face giving him enormous satisfaction. But then she relaxed and met his eyes with a smugness that ruined his fun. “What are you, about thirty now?” He nodded, and she said, “No wife and kids yet, and when I mentioned the possibility, your friend laughed. Tells me I’m not far off base in my assumption.”
Friggin’ Hector. “Okay, so I’ve been busy.”
