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Chapter Two
Jack was standing on a ladder, his head in the elevator shaft, when the walkie-talkie on his belt let loose with a static string of mostly unintelligible words. “Who’s here to see me?” he asked above the sound of power drills, reverberating from several floors above.
“Caroline Mayer,” a cool voice said behind him.
Jack ventured a look down at the elevator floor. From his perch on the ladder he saw those crystal-blue eyes staring up at him.
Hoping she was there to make peace—not cancel on his mom and the rest of the family for that evening—Jack hooked the walkie-talkie back on his belt, set his tools on the metal shelf and climbed down the steps until they stood face-to-face. Desire caught fire inside him, throwing him off guard. “We have to stop meeting like this.”
She propped her hands on her slender hips. “Ha-ha.”
The pulse in her throat was throbbing much too quickly. He twisted his lips into a crooked line, then murmured offhandedly, “Glad you think I’m funny.”
She made no effort to mask her pique. “What exactly were you doing?”
Jack shrugged. “What does it look like I was doing? I was taking apart a security camera that isn’t functioning the way it should.”
Temper flared in her cheeks, turning them a rosy coral. “Don’t you have people who do this sort of thing for you?”
Yes, he had employees. Two hundred of them, in fact, most of who were at this very moment working on the computer and phone and satellite systems all over One Trinity River Place. Comprised of office space, retail stores, restaurants and luxury condominiums in the heart of downtown Fort Worth, the high-rise was a visible testament to his success and that of his four best friends. But, Jack noted, Caroline did not seem any more impressed with his achievement than she was with his efforts to protect his family.
So be it.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t work, too,” Jack shot back, keeping his eyes on hers. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a hands-on type of guy.”
Who was always putting his foot in his mouth, especially around her, Jack thought, noting her telltale blush of awareness at his unintended pun.
“Not that I …” He started to apologize, stopped at the ice in her eyes.
“What?” She was daring him to go on. To take the opportunity and make some sort of pass. Which he knew she would promptly reject.
Determined to come out the victor in this little battle of wills, Jack relaxed, shook his head. “Nothing.”
Caroline scoffed and glanced away. As she did so, Jack noticed the pulse jumping in her throat. Was it his imagination, or was the heat of their two bodies, standing so improbably close together, making the elevator cage really warm?
Jack drew a deep breath. Once again, he noticed her lack of perfume. And the sunny, subtle fragrance of her hair and skin.
He wondered if that was by accident or design, and what kind of fragrance she would choose when she did wear perfume. What would she wear on a date? Or to make love …
Not that he needed to know that. The two of them were already at an impasse and never likely to go down that road. Which was yet another reason to keep this unexpected tête-à-tête short, Jack thought.
He put a suitable amount of disinterest in his manner—the kind he had used to push away women. After his wife had left, the word had gotten out what a mistrusting cynic he had become.
“What did you need?” he asked curtly.
She looked equally ambivalent. “To warn you.”
Jack’s brow furrowed. He thought he had been the one calling the shots, since it was his family who had been trying to employ her services. “Oh?”
“I thought about it overnight and I’ve decided to plan your mother’s wedding for her.”
Jack bit down on an oath. He massaged the rigid muscles along the base of his neck. “Does she know?”
Caroline looked at him, nonchalant. “Not yet.”
He surveyed her with exaggerated politeness. “Why are you telling me?”
Caroline’s expression became inscrutable once again. “Because I also wanted you to know I wouldn’t tell her what you asked me to do yesterday.”
Jack wasn’t sure he wanted to be beholden to her. Or any woman, for that matter. He let the lift of his brows say it all. “Why not?”
Her eyes clouded over. “I don’t want to hurt Patrice.”
That, Jack had to admire. Still, once you had been fooled and abandoned the heartless way he had been, you couldn’t help but be on the alert for the next scam. “So this isn’t blackmail.”
Caroline recoiled slightly in shock, uttered a mirthless laugh and said drily, “It hadn’t occurred to me.” Her blue eyes gleamed with sincerity. She waved her hand delicately. “But if you would prefer …”
What Jack would prefer was to have never made the mistake of trying to enlist Caroline Mayer’s help in the first place. But since he couldn’t undo that action, he figured they had no choice but to be exceedingly clear with one another. “So you’re not going to help me try and put the brakes on my mother’s rash decision?”
Caroline leaned closer. “Not only am I not going to help, I’m going to make sure your mother’s dreams—as they pertain to her wedding—do come true.”
Dread spiraled through Jack as he thought of his mother having to endure any more unexpected emotional pain than she had already suffered in this lifetime. No one had been able to do anything about the first time. Now, it was different. Now, he could take action. “And if I continue to feel otherwise and try and derail things because it’s the only way I know how to protect my mother?”
“I’ll find out,” Caroline Mayer promised resolutely. “And I’ll bust you the moment I do.”
“WHOA. SOUNDS LIKE SHE put you on notice,” Grady McCabe told Jack. He and his friends and fellow businessmen had met for a pickup basketball game at the local gym later that evening.
Travis Carson dribbled past, handling the ball as easily as any construction project that came his way. “Either that or the lady wants an excuse to stay close to you.”
“Why would you think that?” Jack demanded in frustration, then stole the ball and dribbled to the basket, shot, watched with satisfaction as it slid in.
“Probably …” Dan Kingsland caught the rebound and propelled the ball through the hoop, earning another two points for his “team” “… because it’s clear the woman got under your skin in what … two minutes of meeting her?”
Less, Jack thought, recalling his initial visceral reaction to the woman. Dan, an architect, was pretty perceptive. There was just something about Caroline Mayer that had stopped Jack in his tracks, mesmerized, every testosterone-laced inch of him on red-hot alert. But that was probably easily explained, too, given the fact he hadn’t been near a woman since his divorce from Vanessa, and could happily live the rest of his life without ever losing hold of his senses and falling in love again.
Jack argued with a frown, “It wasn’t that tempestuous.”
“Might as well have been, given the way you’ve been talking about it,” Nate Hutchinson, the only bachelor in the group, said. As a successful financial advisor and all-around great guy, it was likely Nate wouldn’t be single for long.
All the guys nodded their agreement. Nate caught the ball and passed it to Grady.
Jack tried to steal it before Grady could shoot, but failed. Irritably, he raced back down to the other end