dark ginger eyes. Despite all of her features that drove him crazy with desire if he allowed himself to think about her too long, it was her lips that always kept his gaze a little longer than they should. He’d never seen lips so rich and pouty, which was saying a lot because he’d seen his fair share of lips. Today her lips were decorated in a striking burgundy lipstick. A shade that only made him want to kiss her even more than usual. After a few seconds, her lips parted, causing him to take a step closer.
“How about we take that walk?” she said, placing a hand on his chest. He glanced down at her hand, trying to shake the visions of her lips softly kissing his body.
Once they began walking and he felt like he had a handle on his thoughts, he started the conversation.
“I wanted to apologize for surprising you by popping up in Miami. I suppose I could have left you a voice mail when you didn’t answer.”
“Yes, you could have,” she said with a laugh. “But I should have returned your calls. Sorry about that.”
“It’s no big deal. Although I’m curious why you’ve been avoiding me.”
She glanced at him before looking forward. “I’m sure you already know why, but in hindsight, I guess I’ve been acting childish. I’m a grown woman avoiding a sexy man all because we almost kissed. Seems pretty pathetic when you say it out loud.”
So she thinks I’m sexy? She probably hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but it didn’t stop him from enjoying the fact that she’d said it anyway.
“I guess I understand. But I thought that talking as much as we have these past four months while I was in Europe would have made you feel more at ease. I, for one, enjoyed our conversations.”
“I did, too,” she said, lightly touching his arm. Even though her touch was light, he still felt her warmth travel throughout his body. “I just have a lot going on right now and I’m afraid that you’re a distraction I can’t afford.”
“I never asked you for anything other than friendship.”
Danni gave him a look of disbelief. “Oh, come on, Jaleen. You and I both know that you don’t do friendships with the opposite sex.”
“We’ve been friends for years, right? Or do you deny it?”
“Yeah, but most of that time was spent arguing with one another. And I’m not sure if friends is the right word. Close associates may be more accurate since the only reason we communicated with each other was the fact that we shared so many mutual friends.”
He wanted to tell her that he suspected they knew each other more than she gave them credit for, but he knew when to leave the battle to fight another day.
“Tell you what. While I’m in Miami, how about we work on building a friendship?” That way, I can prove to you that it may be time to take this friendship to another level.
She shot him a look of skepticism before her lips curled into a smile. “Why do I have a feeling that you have an even bigger plan brewing in your mind?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” He feigned a look of innocence. “I’m just a guy asking a girl if she’ll embark on a new friendship journey with me.”
Danni rapidly blinked her eyes in surprise before she burst out in laughter. Soon, he was laughing right along with her. When their laughing began to die down, Danni spoke first.
“I’m curious as to what this friendship journey will entail and, although I want to say no, I’m too curious not to say yes.”
“Good decision,” he said as they walked in a comfortable stride. Jaleen really didn’t have a plan brewing like Danni had assumed. But now that she’d put the idea in his mind, a friendship plan with Danni was exactly what he would concoct.
* * *
As Jaleen glanced around the poor excuse for a rooftop terrace of the South Beach boutique hotel he’d be renovating over the course of the next few months, he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed at the task before him. It was one of five hotels he had to flip and though he usually didn’t stress out over jobs, he was stressing over this one.
Although the family business his grandfather had started began as a small real-estate company, Jaleen’s father and uncle had grown Walker Realty Partner into a multimillion-dollar company. In the Walker family, your path was laid out for you from the time you were born. Both of Jaleen’s older brothers each had a key role in the business, and although flipping real estate was a huge part of their company, Jaleen’s specialty was flipping boutique resorts. It was something he’d started doing just to see if he could prove to his father that he could be an asset to the family business. Jael Walker was not a man who was easily impressed. Especially when he felt as though his youngest son wasn’t cutthroat enough to make the decisions needed to get far in the industry.
“Hey, boss, where do you want us to start?”
Jaleen glanced over at Jesse, the head of his construction team. “Rally up the team in the back of the restaurant on the lower level.”
“Will do.”
When his father had informed him that their company had won the bid for five boutique hotels scattered throughout the heart of South Beach, the only reason Jaleen had been willing to return to the States after being in Europe was the fact that he’d known Danni was in Miami. Yeah, it was nice to know he had other friends there, as well, but he’d promised himself he’d live at least a year in Europe working out of the small international Walker Realty Partner office. Considering that his cousin was currently managing all of their international projects, it had taken more than a little persuasion for his dad and uncle to agree to a one-year hiatus from their projects in the States. His dad hadn’t really agreed to the entire year, but his uncle’s blessing had been enough.
However, little had he known how much was riding on the success of his South Beach renovations. To say that his dad and uncle had made some poor business decisions over the years was putting it mildly. Now, not only did Jaleen have the responsibility of getting this job done in record time, but his family’s company was relying on the money they would get when they resold the properties.
“Okay, men,” he said when he arrived at the restaurant. “Ideally, we’d love to finish this project in three months.” A couple expected groans echoed throughout the room. “I know it’s a tight timeline, but we’ve had tighter and managed to complete the renovation on time. On behalf of Walker Realty Partner, I’d like to thank each of you for all the hard work you continuously put into our renovations.” Jaleen touched on a few additional key points before releasing the men to get started.
At the end of an entire twelve-hour day, he wasn’t as confident that they’d make the deadline. He was almost to the apartment he’d rented for the duration of his stay when his cell phone rang.
“Hey, Aiden. What’s up man?”
“Jay, I know it’s last minute, but Summer and I figured we’d have a few folks over tonight for some food and drinks. We wanted to extend an invite to you if you’re free.”
Damn. He was so exhausted he couldn’t even guarantee he wouldn’t fall asleep sitting on Summer and Aiden’s couch.
“I don’t know, man. I’m pretty wiped out.”
“Okay, so I’ll be honest,” Aiden said. “Summer is always inviting the ladies over and, usually, I either hang with them or I leave to hang out with some of the guys I’ve met since moving to Miami. But I called a couple of my guys and they are busy.”
“So I’m your next best choice? I’m offended,” Jaleen said, mocking irritation.
“Nah, man. You only just told us you’d be here for a while a couple of days ago, so it slipped my mind.”
“I’m just messing with you.” Jaleen ran his hand down his face as he weighed his options. “Is Danni going to be there?”
Aiden