The Tycoon's Defiant Southern Belle (8 page)

But Jade also knew that not liking grits was a heinous crime in the south.  Everyone
loved grits and only true southerners preferred butter on their grits.  Some people
put cream and sugar on them, others even put maple syrup or cheese.  In Jade’s opinion,
there really was no way to make grits taste good.  In her mind, they had a taste similar
to glue, or at least what glue would taste like if she ever deigned to eat glue, which
she wouldn’t.  But then, she ate grits whenever she was at one of these events, so
maybe she should try glue….what was she thinking?  Her mind was going off in very
odd directions and she put the blame all on the huge man sitting next to her and taking
up too much space on the bench. 

Angelo chuckled softly, refusing to let her get away with such an obvious fib.  “You
hate grits.  And I suspect that you also dislike collard greens as well.”  He stated
the accusation so softly that only she could hear him.  Suddenly, her plate was taken
out of her hands and replaced with a practically clean plate.  She glanced down, astonished,
and then looked around at the others around them, wondering if anyone had seen what
Angelo had just done. 

Thankfully, no one was really paying much attention to them.  Too many people were
milling about on the deck so she breathed a bit easier, relieved that they had gotten
away with the switch. 

“How did you know?” she whispered, smiling when Deena turned back to them, but then
was caught by another friend. 

“How did I know that you don’t like grits or collard greens?” he asked, putting more
vinegar on the greens before scooping some up onto his fork.

She waved to a couple that she knew from church, pretending that she’d already finished
her meal and hadn’t just let Angelo abscond with the vile parts of her dinner.  “Yes. 
What gave me away?”

He laughed softly.  “It was the lack of any expression on your face that tipped me
off.  That and the way you ate the ham biscuits and the fried chicken, leaving behind
those two items.  Dead giveaway.”

She shifted uncomfortably on her portion of the bench, irritated that he had read
her so easily.  “I might have just been saving them for the end because I liked them
so much and wanted to….”

“Give it up, Jade.  You hate grits.”

She huffed a bit, not sure if she could lie her way through this argument.  “Every
southerner loves grits,” she stated emphatically.

He looked down at her face, that irritating amusement still there.  “And you want
so badly to be a southerner that you’re willing to eat a starch just to fit in?”

She crossed and uncrossed her legs, trying to find a suitable answer.  “I try to be
polite when things are served.”

He let her get away with that, only because several other people came over, wanting
a word with him.  Jade tried to stand up and walk away, but Angelo, irritating man
that he was, put his arm around the back of the bench with his hand holding her in
place.  When she tried to get up anyway, his fingers slid into her hair, touching
her skin.  She shivered, almost closing her eyes with his touch but she couldn’t pull
away.  She loved the way his fingers touched her.  It was almost as if her skin came
alive, became electrified and each part of her wanted to shift in her chair so another
area of her skin could feel his touch. 

“Breathe, Jade,” he whispered softly into her ear. 

She took a deep breath, unaware that she’d been holding it while he touched her. 
She felt self-conscious about his secret touch, but the conversations swirled around
her with no one seeming to notice his hand on the back of her neck. 

“Jade!” Deena called out to her.  “Your mother just arrived and she’s looking for
you.”

Jade trembled, her body not sure if she wanted to stay here more, secretly enjoying
Angelo’s hands touching her once again after such a long absence, or go to her mother. 
It was a conflict and she couldn’t decide, which seemed ridiculous.  She should be
jumping up and running to her mother, or more specifically, running away from Angelo’s
touch.

“Go to your mother,” he said softly, pulling his hand away. 

As soon as his touch was gone, she could think more rationally.  She stood up, took
a deep breath, then reached down to take Angelo’s plate as well as hers to the kitchen
where she suspected her mother would be, trying to help with either the cooking or
cleaning. 

“Momma!” Jade called out as soon as she stepped into the house.  Sure enough, her
mother was offering to bring out dessert but the hostess was laughing off the offer. 
At Jade’s call, her mother’s head spun around and Jade was instantly enveloped in
a warm, effusive hug!

“Goodness, child.  Where have you been?” Leslie asked, looking at her daughter with
merry eyes.  “Are you feeling okay?  You look a little flushed.  Has that gorgeous
man been making you blush again?” she asked as she surveyed her daughter with a knowing
look. 

Jade shook her head, taking her mother’s arm and linking it with hers to guide her
outside.  “It’s just warm.  I’m glad you’re here.”

“I know.  It’s been almost a week since I’ve seen you.  I’ve been wondering what’s
been going on with your man and hoping you’ve gotten over your issues.”

Jade didn’t roll her eyes.  “I spoke to you on the phone just yesterday, Momma.  And
you know nothing has changed.”

“Yes, but wait until you have kids,” her mother said, patting her daughter’s hand. 
“You’ll understand why I ask.”  She shook her head when Jade opened her mouth to explain. 
“And don’t worry.  I know you’ve been extremely busy with your newest project and
I’m excited for you.  You’ve loved that house ever since we moved here.  It’s just
nice that the house comes with a drool-worthy owner as well,” she said with a mischievous
glint.

Jade looked behind her worriedly, hoping Angelo wasn’t hearing her mother’s comments. 
But of course he was.  He’d moved from the bench to the edge of the deck, a beer in
his hand and surrounded by other men who were trying desperately hard to look as sophisticated
and confident, but none of them even coming close.  And he was looking right at her,
winking at her once again to let her know that he’d heard everything. 

Not that he hadn’t figured out that she loved that old place, she thought as she led
her mother over to a group of her friends and joining into the conversation.  If Angelo
had figured out that she hated grits and collard greens, he surely knew how she felt
about his house. 

Something to her left caught her eye and she turned her head.  She didn’t think many
others at the party noticed, but Dave was coming out of the trees that grew at the
edge of the yard.  He looked unkempt, his hair slightly messed up and his shirt almost
looked…had he unbuttoned his shirt for some reason? 

He was far enough away and coming out of an area that wasn’t noticeable to most of
the other guests, but Jade watched with growing fascination as Dave tucked in his
shirt more securely before he stepped around the corner to re-join the party. 

Jade didn’t say anything but when Dave moved up to her, putting his arm around her
waist casually, something inside of her recoiled.  She didn’t like Dave’s hand there. 
Was it because she suspected something had been going on with him?  Surely it wasn’t
because she didn’t like Dave touching her.  She’d been with Dave for years now.  He
was her sweetheart.  There was nothing wrong with his touch. 

But she still moved out of his arms, pretending to be reaching for a dessert plate
that had just been set out on the food tables.  She even handed him one, trying to
appear gracious and kind.  But in her mind, she accepted that she wanted his hands
otherwise occupied.  Holding a dessert plate meant he couldn’t touch her. 

And then her eyes looked up again catching another movement to her left.  Jade watched
with astonishment as Molly walked out of the same area of the tree line from which
Dave had just emerged.  “Huh,” she said, holding her plate and staring openly at the
woman as Molly too adjusted her clothing, pulling her fingers through her hair to
make it look more presentable. 

“What’s wrong, honey?” Dave asked, taking a bite of the dessert cake. 

Jade held her untouched dessert in front of her, unaware that the rest of the group
was waiting to hear what had caused her to stare in the odd direction.  “Molly’s coming
out of the tree line over there.”  And then she turned to look at Dave.  “That’s just
where you were coming out a moment ago,” she said, her eyebrows going up as she waited
for an explanation.

Jade had no idea that the six other people standing next to and behind her were now
looking at Molly, then back at Dave.  She was focused only on Dave’s flushed features
and his eyes, which couldn’t look at hers.  “What were you doing in the woods with
Molly, Dave?” she asked, amazed that she would feel so calm when she knew, deep inside
herself, that Dave had been in the woods with Molly doing things that Jade wouldn’t
allow him to do with her. 

Dave ran a hand through his hair, his fingers shaking slightly.  “I wasn’t in the
woods, Jade.  I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Deena stepped into the group as well.  “I saw you coming out almost in the exact same
area.  What’s going on, Dave?” she asked, adding her censure to the six others. 

Jade had to give him credit.  He regrouped quickly, his eyes scanning the scowling
crowd and realizing that he was in a no-win situation here.  “Can we talk about this
later?” he asked, trying to put his arm back around Jade’s waist but she took a quick
step backwards and shook her head.  “I don’t think so, Dave.”

Dave’s face turned a painful color of red and he gritted his teeth.  “This isn’t what
it looks like,” he growled, furious beyond words.  “Molly means nothing to me!”

It was unfortunate that Molly chose that point to step onto the deck.  With Dave’s
fervent words carrying over the whole crowd, all eyes turned to face Molly, their
curiosity piqued. 

“Excuse me?” Molly demanded, her crazy curls going every which way as she flipped
her copper hair behind her head.  With hands fisted on her hips, she glared right
back at Dave, unconcerned that she was now the center of everyone’s attention.  “What
the hell do you mean, I mean nothing to you?”  She took several steps forward and
slapped her open palm against his cheek, causing his skin to go from pink to white
and then right back to that painful red once again.  But this time, the red was mostly
in the shape of Molly’s hand and he cursed under his breath, causing several of the
older ladies to gasp in horror. 

“Excuse me,” he said as politely as possible.  His eyes frantically went from Jade
to Molly, then back again, obviously trying to decide who to appease first.  He tried
to take Jade’s hand, causing Molly to gasp in anger.  But Jade was having none of
that and she quickly pulled her hand free of his grasp, refusing to take a step away
from the party to hear his explanations. 

“I think you owe Molly an apology,” she said softly and with as much dignity as possible. 
“And I think maybe you should leave so that Patricia’s party can continue without
further incident.” 

Dave hesitated, but when there was complete silence he accepted that he was persona
non grata at the moment.  “I apologize for the disruption of the party,” he said with
what little dignity he had left.  With that, he walked away. 

Molly didn’t like that one little bit.  Apparently, her anger over his disrespect
vanished and she rushed after Dave, hoping to appease his anger and embarrassment. 

Jade watched it all, wondering why she wasn’t feeling more betrayed.  She’d been with
Dave for years.  They’d gone through so much together, but at this particular moment,
she couldn’t work up any indignation for what had just happened.  Perhaps because
of her own ambivalent feelings towards Dave over the past several weeks.  All of which
were caused by none other than Angelo Donati.  She turned around, her eyes scanning
the group once again until her gaze collided with his.  Those dark eyebrows went up
as if he were trying to tell her “I told you so”. 

Jade sighed heavily, wondering why she’d missed something so obvious.  How long had
Dave been having an affair?  She had no clue.  Thankfully, the crowd was eager to
pretend that nothing had just occurred among their group.  Everyone immediately started
chatting away, either coming up with a new topic of conversation or resuming the one
that had been aborted by the scene with Dave.  No one dared to come up and ask Jade
if she were okay.  That wouldn’t be the proper, southern thing to do.  But Jade suspected
that every woman standing around was working out in their mind what sort of baked
goods she would be bringing by to Jade’s house tomorrow morning.  It was just how
things were done, she knew.  When someone “passed” or a major event occurred in someone’s
life, baking was a southern woman’s way of showing their solidarity and support. 
It might happen in other areas of the world, but Jade knew that it was a southern
tradition that would continue to be passed down from one generation of women to the
next.  She actually smiled at the thought, feeling connected and included.  That was
the thing about traditions, even the crazy ones.  They might not make sense, but they
“felt” right and gave a tangible show of support. 

Jade sighed as her doorbell rang once again.  She’d known last night that this would
happen but she hadn’t considered the scope of everyone’s reaction.  There wasn’t a
surface in her kitchen that wasn’t covered by some sort of cake, cupcake, chocolate
torte, chocolate tart or chocolate truffle.  It seemed that every woman who had been
at the party last night had immediately gone home and baked or cooked something for
Jade, almost all of it in chocolate and definitely everything in high calories and
carbs. 

Jade had nothing against carbs.  They were a major food group in her life.  And chocolate? 
That was a no brainer. 

But she really wasn’t devastated and it felt wrong to accept all of these gifts and
condolences on a relationship that, Jade now knew, had fizzled out years ago.  She
and Dave had been together only out of habit and not out of any real affection for
each other. 

Oh, she knew that she would always consider him a friend, but she hadn’t truly felt
anything deeper than mild affection for a long time now. 

She’d never admit any of this to Angelo though.  He’d been telling her this for weeks
now and she’d used Dave as a buffer against falling into his arms. 

As she answered the door for about the fiftieth time that afternoon, she wondered
if that was why she had reacted so strongly to Angelo’s touch and his kisses.  She
preferred to think that she was made of much sterner stuff and if she were in love
with a man, no other male would tempt her. 

But she also knew that she hadn’t really been put to the test.  She’d been with Dave
for so long, no one had even come….

There he was.  The man himself creating a huge shadow over her doorway.  “What are
you doing here?” she asked with resignation.  “Did you come here to gloat?  To tell
me that you’ve told me this all along?”  She leaned against the wooden doorway, her
cheek trying to absorb the coolness of anything since she knew her body was heating
up just at the sight of Angelo looking so delicious in khaki slacks and a white, button
down shirt rolled up on his forearms.  She stared at that piece of skin, her fingers
remembering what it felt like, all those muscles and that fascinating skin. 

She tore her eyes away from Angelo and took a deep breath, bracing herself for his
words. 

“Want an escape from the chocolate onslaught?” he asked.

Jade had to laugh because her house definitely smelled like a chocolate factory. 
“I would love it,” she said and stepped out of the house, pulling her door closed
behind her. 

“Don’t you need to lock up?” he asked as she moved outside.

“Lock up?” she asked, confused as she looked up at him, her eyes squinting in the
bright sunshine. 

He tilted his head slightly behind her.  “Your door.  Don’t you need to lock your
door?”

Jade laughed and shook her head.  “Not here.  That’s for you city folk,” she teased
him.  “Believe it or not, there’s very little crime here.  I only lock my door when
I go out of town.”

They walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the abnormally cool summer day.  The humidity
had dissipated the previous night after storms had roared through, leaving everything
smelling fresh and clean, if wet.  The temperature had dropped about ten degrees so
it was only a sweltering eighty-five degrees today. 

“I’m sorry I haven’t been over at the house today,” she said, but wondered why she
was apologizing.  She had been avoiding the man for the past week,  “I haven’t been
able to get away from the doorbell today.  It seems that everyone in the area heard
about Dave’s betrayal and thought to bring over something to help me get through the
pain of our breakup.”

Angelo looked down at her beautiful face, noting the sparkle in her blue eyes and
the lack of tear stains or even redness around her eyes.  “You don’t look too upset
by the knowledge that Dave was seeing Molly.”

Jade smirked.  “Let’s call it what it is, okay?  Dave was messing around with Molly
behind my back.  He wasn’t dating her, he wasn’t sweetly courting her.  He was…”

“I know,” he said and put a hand to her shoulder.  “But even still, you’re not angry
about his betrayal as much as you’re furious with him doing it behind your back. 
Am I right?”

She trembled slightly with his heavy hand but shook her head.  “No.  I’m not hurt. 
Unfortunately.”

“Well, it’s hard to be angry when you’ve done the same to him.”

Jade started to contradict him, but she closed her mouth, knowing that he was simply
stating the truth.  Although her unfaithfulness hadn’t been to the same degree.  “Yes,”
she sighed. 

She was staring down at the sidewalk, unaware of where they were going as they talked. 
It was nice to discuss something other than Dave’s betrayal, especially since she
felt like a coward for doing the same thing to him and not saying anything last night. 
Of course, she hadn’t had sex with Angelo at a party, and in the woods, no less! 
“Why in the world would he have sex outside!” she asked him, completely off subject. 

Angelo stopped and looked down at her, seeing her horrified and confused expression
and he couldn’t stop the chuckle.  “I take it you’re not much of an exhibitionist,
eh?” he suggested.

Jade’s cheeks turned pink at his question and she wasn’t able to answer him.  She
looked away, down at her feet, at the sidewalk and checked out her nails.  “I guess
I’m a bit naïve, aren’t I?” she asked finally.

Angelo couldn’t resist.  He bent down and gently kissed her.  It was only a brief
touch, but it was enough to fluster her, which made him feel good.  He liked that
he could do this to her.  “I know just the thing to get over a breakup that you didn’t
care about,” he said and put his arm around her shoulders.

The overhead door chimes were the first thing to break her out of the daze that Angelo’s
kiss had put her into.  The teenager’s mouth hanging open behind the ice cream counter
was the next.  She looked around, suddenly realizing where they were.  “We can’t be
here,” she whispered up to him with a horrid sense of urgency.  She tried to take
his hand and pull him out but he wouldn’t budge.  “Angelo, we have to get out of here,”
she hissed again, grabbing his arm this time.

Angelo continued to ignore her.  “The lady will have cherry vanilla ice cream in a
cup with caramel sauce and a double helping of whip cream.”  He looked down into her
frantic eyes and smiled.  “With two cherries,” he followed up.

The teen behind the counter looked at Angelo with growing fascination.  It took him
an instant, but the boy finally snapped out of it and he grabbed the ice cream scooper,
filling Angelo’s order.  When the cup was sitting on the counter, Angelo said, “I’ll
have a scoop of praline pecan and strawberry.”

The boy quickly grabbed a bigger cup and put the two scoops into the cup.  Angelo
gave him a ten dollar bill and thanked him, taking both cups and walking to the door.

Jade stared after him, her lips trying to tell him to go to hell, but she couldn’t
seem to form the words.  He just kept walking, standing in the doorway then waiting
for her to follow him.  “Are you coming?  The ice cream is melting.”

Jade stomped to the door angrily.  “We can’t be here!” she growled to him.  “Let’s
go.”

Angelo shook his head with a barely-there smile.  “Take your ice cream, Jade.  Pick
a table.”

Jade looked around, finally aware that others were watching them, all of them just
as fascinated by the scene as the boy inside the ice cream shop had been.  In defeat,
she took her ice cream cup and walked over to one of the empty tables with a large
umbrella offering shade.  She sat down and stared at her ice cream cup, wondering
how she could avoid the next round of gossip. 

When he sat down across from her and leaned back in the dainty looking chair, she
glared at him, suddenly realizing what he was doing.  “You know exactly what’s going
to happen now, don’t you?” she asked him. 

Angelo looked up at her, trying to appear innocent. 

“Don’t even try it!” she said, but she picked up her spoon and took a bite of the
decadent treat.  “You know what this will look like, don’t you?”

His smile grew wider.  “If you’re trying to imply that I might be doing something
other than helping you feel better after your breakup last night, I can’t imagine
what is on your mind.”

She took another bite, loving the rich ice cream.  “You’re trying to get everyone
to think that we’re together now,” she hissed.

Angelo raised an eyebrow once again.  “We are together.”

She was startled by that comment but tilted her head.  “Are we getting married then?”
thinking to startle him, to break his confidence.

“No.  You definitely wouldn’t want me as a husband,” he replied with grave seriousness. 
“But we are a couple.”

His statement certainly turned the tables on her.  She hadn’t startled him at all
but she was stunned.  “I’m guessing you’re trying to tell me that you think you’d
make a very poor life mate?”

He shrugged one of his extremely large shoulders and took another bite of his ice
cream.  “Let’s just say that marriage might not be the best idea.  But I can take
care of you.”

Although he didn’t look at her, she could tell that there was much more behind his
words.  It was almost as if he were pained to say them to her, wanting the words to
be different.  “Just as a point, I can take care of myself.  But I’m more interested
to know why you think you would make a poor husband.”  She took several spoonfuls
of ice cream while she waited for him to reply.

He put his empty ice cream cup on the table and looked across at her.  “Experience
has taught me a lot.  And I know you wouldn’t want me as a husband.”

His words made something inside of her ache with the pain he was feeling and trying
not to reveal to her.  She couldn’t believe what he was telling her.  But it stood
to keep in mind as they moved forward.  “I’ll consider myself forewarned,” she said. 

“Good.”  He looked down at her almost empty cup, smiling slightly as she ate the second
maraschino cherry.  “Are you ready to get to work?  One of the contractors broke several
pieces of plaster this morning.”

Jade gasped and jumped up from the table, horrified that just one morning away and
things were getting off schedule.  “Good grief,” she said and tossed her now empty
ice cream cup away along with his.  “Let’s go.” 

She was already walking down the sidewalk, ignoring the stares of the others while
Angelo walked beside her.  She thought about all he’d said over ice cream and something
bothered her.  Why did he think he would be a horrible husband?  The thought kept
nagging at her as they walked past the stores, waving to the various people out and
about doing their own business.  By the time they’d turned the corner heading back
to his house, she couldn’t stop her curiosity any longer. 

“Angelo, where were you born?’ she asked, trying to prod for more information.

“In New York City,” he said and pulled one of the low-hanging branches out of her
way, only releasing it when she’d passed by it.  “Why do you ask?”

She shrugged but bit her lower lip.  “It just occurred to me that I don’t really know
anything about you.  I mean…you’ve kissed me…several times actually…” she shivered
at the memory, her body starting to clamor once again for his touch but she pushed
that need behind her. 

“And we’ll do that again very soon,” he commented with a smile. 

“Regardless,” she replied a bit breathlessly, “and the whole town will think that
we’re an item after the last hour but it struck me that I don’t really know anything
about you except that Jasper seems to love sneaking over to your place and Rufus loves
you now too for some reason.  And since that ridiculous dog doesn’t really get up
for anyone, much less an intruder if I ever had one, then the stupid thing rousing
himself to go visit you is a miracle in itself.”

He kept his secret about her animals’ devotion to herself.  “What do you want to know?”

“What was it like growing up in New York?  It seems like it would be busy and hard
to get around.”

Angelo shook his head.  “It was okay.”

Jade looked up at him and saw the closed off expression in his eyes.  She understood
that questions about his childhood were off limits, but that had never stopped her
from probing before.  “Where do your parents live?” she asked.

There was a long silence and Jade thought he might be ignoring her question.  So she
was startled when he said, “They died.”

Jade stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and watched his broad shoulders and muscular
back for a moment until he realized she wasn’t next to him any longer.  When it hit
him, he also stopped, then turned around to find out why she’d stopped.

“So who raised you?” she asked carefully.

Angelo turned and looked down at her, seeing the soft, compelling concern in her eyes. 
For a moment, he let her concern wash over him, fill him and warm his heart.  But
when he started to realize what he was doing, he stiffened his resolve and pulled
back.  “I raised myself,” he said as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.