My Despicable Ex - Book 2 (5 page)

“
Make sure you maintain a good price point on your merchandise,” Jake said. “That’s the only way you’ll ever make any money, through wholesale and direct to the consumer.”

“
Hmm. I had no idea Mr. Fireman also dabbled in business.”

“
I actually know more than you’d think. It’s kind of a hobby of mine, and I’ve got a lot of downtime for reading at the firehouse. I’ve even taken some online classes. It’s just something I enjoy. Maybe I’ll run my own business someday.”

“
Maybe you can look at our business plan and see what you think.”

“
I’d love to,” he said as we walked into the park.

A woman with long, black hair approached us, selling flowers.

Jake bought a rose as yellow as the sun and tucked it in my hair, just above my ear. He flashed me a smile, showing off his perfect white teeth. “This represents all the light you bring into my life,” he said, ever the flirt.

I grinned. It was corny, but even in Paris, he could switch on his irresistible charm. “I’ve been rambling on and on,” I said. “Why don’t you tell me about being a firefighter in Texas? It must take a lot of courage and a real desire to help people.”

“
Yeah. I’ve been doing it for years now.”

“
It really is admirable. I know you always talked about doing it.”

“
When I got the job, I was ecstatic. We handle all sorts of things, from medical emergencies and house fires to false alarms and educating the public on fire safety. Emergency calls can happen at any time during the day or night. It’s our job to respond immediately.”

“
Wow. I bet you lose a lot of sleep.”

“
Constantly. When I get to a scene, I have to assess each emergency situation. I study the properties of the fire, the probability of the fire spreading, and victim needs. I have to make sure we can actually contain it. We must all intimately coordinate our activities and work as a team.”

“
What made you decide to put in for a transfer in to come back home?” I asked.

“
Actually, our chief told me about an opening here. The fire chief here is a friend of his and a great guy. Plus, there was a pay increase, with better benefits. My chief said they needed a qualified firefighter, but I told him I was happy there. The next thing I knew, he was putting in the paperwork for my transfer. I thought about fighting him on it, but then I remembered all my friends, family, parents…and you.”

“
Well, everyone was excited. I heard they threw you a big party and everything.”

My phone rang.

“
Hey, if you don’t mind, I’ve gotta take this.” I stepped away to talk to my retailer for a moment, and when I hung up and walked back over to Jake, he smiled.

“
Is everything okay?” he asked.

“
Yes. I’ve taken care of everything.”

When I sat down on the bench, he sat next to me, and his arm brushed mine. My emotions were all over the place. He was stirring up feelings I thought I’d buried long ago. There was no doubt about how hot he was, and I couldn’t help but be attracted to him. Any woman in her right mind would have been all over him, because he looked like a model right off the front cover of
GQ
. He still took my breath away, but the rational side of me kept me focused. He was poison, and I knew I needed to keep my distance. I knew the best thing for me to do was to complete my mission, collect my pay, and be on my merry way.

He turned in a circle and peered around. “Hey, why don’t we rent a car and drive around?”

“
We’re not gonna be here long enough for that.” Then suddenly, a thought came to me. “Remember when you taught me to drive a stick-shift?”

He laughed. “Heh. You almost gave me whiplash,” he said, smiling.

I playfully slugged him. “Hey! It didn’t take me long to figure it out.”

“
You almost ran over your neighbor’s poodle!”

“
Well, the little thing darted right out in front of me.”

“
I remember making out in the back of your car, and we accidently—”

“
Hit the stick, and the car rolled down the hill. Oh my gosh! It hit a tree, and my father almost killed me.”

“
He grounded you for three weeks or something, didn’t he?”

“
A whole month!”

“
Yeah, that’s right. You missed Homecoming.”

“
And I’d bought that red gown you couldn’t keep your eyes—or your hands—off of.”

“
Well, you got to wear it on our big date night to the opera.”

“
You hated the opera. I’m still sorry I made you sit through that. My mother bought the tickets, though, and I didn’t want to offend her. At least my red dress didn’t go to waste.”

“
I remember that dress.” His entire face lit up. “It fit you like a glove. You looked so hot.”

I smiled. “You couldn’t stop staring at me all night.”

“
And I still can’t, Ashly. You’re so beautiful.”

“
So…would you sit through another opera with me?”

“
Would you promise to wear that little red number?”

“
You always loved red.”

“
Heh. Well, I can’t really hold the opera against you. How many baseball games did I drag you to?”

“
Too many to count.”

He laughed.

I continued, “Do you still use a whole bottle of mustard on your hotdogs?”

“
Yeah. That’s what makes the hotdog so delicious.”

“
If you say so. Wait…are we really back to talking about condiments again?”

He chuckled. “I guess so.”

Talking about those times brought back so many familiar memories, and I couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

“
Here we are,” I said, pointing ahead at the Eiffel Tower, the global icon of France. The wrought-iron, lattice tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the River Seine in Paris was mesmerizing. “It’s so big,” I said.

“
It’s amazing,” Jake said. “It’s one of the things we always talked about visiting. It was on our dream list, remember?”

“
How could I forget?” I retorted. “I’m surprised you never came here on your own.”

“
It wouldn’t be the same without you. I saved Paris especially for you.”

“
If it weren’t for my mother’s Will, you’d be waiting a long, long time.”

“
I never would have come at all. I refused to share Paris with anybody but you.”

“
Still a charmer, huh?” I said, setting down the picnic basket and the huge bouquet of colorful, sweet-smelling flowers he’d bought for me from every vendor and kiosk we’d passed.

He smiled as he spread a blanket on the grass. He glanced down at the folder containing the instructions for our picture. “Okay, so…we have the checkered blanket, the picnic basket, the crackers, the cheese, the wine, and the glasses. It says we have to take one daytime picture and one nighttime one.”

I set the camera up on the tripod. “Let’s get the daytime one now, and we’ll come back for the night one later.”

“
Sounds like a plan,” he said. “We’ll have this place knocked off the list by tonight. We can leave first thing in the morning to our next destination.”

“
Pour the wine and get the cheese and crackers out.” As he set things up, I fiddled with the camera to make sure the shot was perfect. I could see the Tower in the background, in perfect focus, with our picnic in the foreground, so I set the automatic timer and rushed over.

Jake smiled and handed me a glass of wine. He proceeded to put an arm around me, and I smiled awkwardly. I couldn’t believe I was there, picnicking with him in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Am I nuts?
I had to mumble.

After the flash went off, he pulled his arm down and scooted away from me.

I got up and walked back over to the camera to check the picture. I let out a dramatic sigh. “It’s all wrong.”

“
What?”

“
I can’t see the picnic basket. I thought you were taking care of that.”

“
Simple fix. Let’s do it again.”

I let out a groan. “I’d prefer not to.”

“
The picture has to match the description. We’re not forfeiting our money over a picnic basket mistake.”

I hit the automatic button and rushed back over for another shot. There was that awkward moment once again as we sat next to each other. Thankfully, the light flashed quickly, signaling that the picture had been taken.

I hurried over to examine it. “We got ourselves a winner,” I said, satisfied.

“
Great! Then let’s dig in. The nighttime shot just needs us and the Tower.”

I blankly stared down at him as he put dip on his cracker, then poured himself a glass of wine.

“
Seriously?” he said. “You’re not going to eat any of this delicious spread?”

My stomach had been growling for hours, so I slowly walked over and casually sat as far away from him as I could.

He reached over and held a cracker with cheese. “Try it. It’s delicious.”

“
I can feed myself, but thank you.” I took a tentative bite, and it was delicious. “Wow! It’s fantastic.”

He smiled. “I knew you would love it.”

“
Thanks for packing this wonderful little snack.”

He flashed me his most gleaming smile. “You’re welcome.”

His messy black hair and bright blue eyes shimmered in the sun. He was so handsome; if I had him on my arm, I would have been the envy of every woman in Paris. I remembered how he used to play with my hair and kiss me deeply, and I couldn’t stop staring at his mouth. I would never forget his passionate kisses or the little picnics we’d shared before, none of which were as innocent as this one. When he caught me looking at him and grinned, I assumed the same memories were scrolling through his mind as well.

“
Do you remember how we stayed up all night listening to the waves, watching the stars, and talking about how we’d travel the world?” I asked.

“
Like it was yesterday.”

“
Maybe that’s why my mother organized this trip. She knew how much we wanted to travel the globe, and a lot of the places she’s forcing us to go are places I told her I wanted to see, places
we
wanted to see.”

“
Maybe she wanted you to have your dream vacation.”

“
No offense, but why with you? I mean, what mother would reward a man who broke her daughter’s heart like that, giving him a dream vacation and a load of cash?”

“
Your mom never liked me, Ashly, so I’m just as confused as you are about that. I’m not sure why she’d do all this for me, but I plan to enjoy it while it lasts.”

“
Well, maybe we’ll find out her reasoning when we collect all the pictures and get them back to my lawyer.”

“
Maybe so.”

I thought about checking out some of the Paris boutiques and seeing some of the sights. “Hey, Jake,” I said.

“
Yeah?”

“
How about we split up and meet back here tonight for the picture?”

He seemed confused that I’d want to ditch him for the day. “Why? You got other plans?”

“
Just some shopping and sightseeing. I’ll probably come back early because I’ve got a new novel I want to start on. It’s not often a girl gets to read in front of the Eiffel Tower.”