in...she couldn’t remember how long. “It’s not you...it’s...I’m not allowed to go,” she said.
He sat even straighter, as if he was angry. “Your husband won’t let you out of the house?”
“I’m not married. It’s just...” Her cheeks flushed like they did when she was embarrassed. She blew out a breath. “RW Harper has a restraining order against me. I can’t go within ten feet of Casa Larga.”
He sat back in his chair and stared at her. She could see herself in his glasses and hated how small she looked. How fragile. She straightened her back.
“That’s right. Our little Julia wants to sue Mr. Harper,” Maria explained. “As if a lone woman could take on one of the most powerful men in America.”
Linda shook her head. “Should’ve waited until after the party. Nothing this exciting has ever happened here.”
The pilot shook his head as if he was...what? Amused? She rushed on. “Look. Someone has to stop that menace. It’s bad enough that his oil derricks are out there—” She motioned toward the ocean. “We know what happens if one of them starts leaking. But now he’s going to build in snowy plover habitat! He must be stopped. They’re endangered.”
“Come on, chica. You’re getting worked up over little birds again. And we have company.” Linda smiled at the man. “Good-looking company.”
“What’s Harper building?” he asked.
“She doesn’t know. It’s a rumor, that’s all,” Maria said.
“I’ve seen tracks by the nesting sites. A man like Harper doesn’t care who he hurts.” That last part came out tight, as if her throat was closing. Why all the emotions today? She grabbed Maria’s beer and took a sip.
Linda chimed in. “You need proof before you can sue someone like Mr. Harper. You should’ve waited.”
“Proof?” he asked.
“Yes. I think he’s got plans inside Casa Larga. I’ve seen contractors go in there. Lawyers. A carpenter. If I could just see the plans, understand what he’s developing—” She stopped. Why was she telling him this? What if he worked for Harper? “I’m not the kind of woman who breaks into a man’s home. I swear.”
“I could help you.”
His voice. Something about it thrilled and teased her. Her gaze was riveted to his mouth. The scar on the bottom added an extra zing to a pair of full lips. What would it be like to kiss that scar? Or kiss any part of a man? It had been so long...
Maria elbowed her.
She blinked. “How?”
“I’ll get you inside. Harper is expecting me. Come as my date tonight.”
“¡Órale, chica! You can dress as pirates and go undercovers.” By the twinkle in her eye, Linda was messing up her Spanglish on purpose. Her cousin meant sheets, not covert missions.
His lips lifted and her insides turned to mush. For just a second there he looked like...no. She couldn’t think about Matt. Projecting those feelings onto a stranger would get her into trouble. Deep trouble.
“Why do you want to help me?”
“‘Someone has to stop that menace.’” He repeated her words. “Like to see you do it.”
Why? He didn’t know her from anyone. It was more than likely that Harper had messed with this guy, too. Get close to a pirate and you get robbed—she’d learned that the hard way.
But Linda was right. Nothing this exciting had happened around here. The last time she’d been inside the mansion was with Matt. She’d need a strong male by her side to shield her from those painful memories. “Pick me up at Bougainvillea Lane, 3C. Need directions?”
He half snorted. “I can find it.”
With only three streets, Pueblicito was probably the smallest town he’d ever seen.
“Your churros, mister.” Ana, the waitress, deposited a heaping plate of the crispy, twisted doughnuts in front of him.
“Thanks.” He ran a finger through the cinnamon sugar and tasted it. He groaned with contentment.
“Hot and sweet?” Her voice was huskier than normal. She licked her lips without meaning to.
He pinned her with his gaze. How she wished she could take off those glasses and see into his eyes.
“So, um, got to go.” She stood before she embarrassed herself further. “I’ll find pirate costumes for us. See you at seven.”
She started walking before realizing that she didn’t even know the pilot’s name. Man, how hard up for a date was she?
“I’ll be there, Julia,” he called out.
Her footsteps stuttered at the way he said her name, but she didn’t turn around. Familiar. Overpowering. Sexy. She fought the waves of desire and kept her feet moving away from the table. The pilot was not the boy she’d given her heart to, no matter how hard she wished he could be. Her one and only love had been shot down in battle ten years ago.
Matt Harper was dead.
Every nerve in his body was firing, demanding him to grab that sweet ass of hers and press her up against the wall. He wanted to kiss the breath out of her lungs and never stop. Hell, he was pathetic. The woman hadn’t even recognized him.
Way to crush a man’s ego, sweetheart.
She walked away and he was powerless to pull his gaze off her. Pathetic.
“Show her a good time, guapo. But don’t break her heart.” Maria waggled her finger at him.
“Won’t be here long enough for hearts to break.” He swallowed the last of his beer.
Linda winked at Maria. “Good. He’s exactly what she needs.”
“A hot pilot to sweep her off her feet and fly away before he gets possessive?”
Linda huffed. “Maria, either dump Jaime or learn to live with him.”
Maria raised her hands. “I was just saying we all could use a little no-strings fun, but Julia deserves it more. After what happened...” She looked at Matt. “Well, she’s been through some stuff.”
She deserved what exactly? Hell, he’d been agonizing over a chick who’d forgotten him the minute he’d left. She’d called him her mistake. He should charter a plane and fly out of Plunder Cove right now.
Even so, the “stuff” worried him.
I have intel, my boy, the kind that destroys an entire family. Is that what you want to happen to her?
Had his father’s threat come to fruition? Was Julia in trouble?
“I’m glad you’re taking her to the party. She needs a little fun in her life,” said Maria.
“Should be interesting.” He said it like Linda had. But instead of the dirty sex she’d implied, his word meant closure. If he got lucky, there’d be both.
Hell, yes, he was going to the party for answers. Why did RW want him to come back? Was it to torture him by waving a gorgeous ex-girlfriend under his nose? Was his father that twisted? If so, Matt would tell the old man off on his way out of Dodge. But not before he made sure Julia was safe.
Those were his reasons for taking her to the party tonight. It had nothing to do with how sexy she looked coming and going. Or all the hot things he wanted to do to her, with her. One no-strings night with her might be just the thing he needed,