The Chesapeake Diaries Series (142 page)

Jesse came into the room carrying two bags from which heavenly fragrances wafted.

“I don’t know what Violet ordered, but it smells great.” He placed the bags on the table and grinned when he saw that Brooke had folded up the files and cleared away the papers and pens. “Work time is over. I agree. Let me get a few plates …”

He disappeared down the hall as he talked, his voice fading out for a moment, then rising again as he returned to the conference room.

“… and we can take a few minutes to unwind. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a long day.” He handed Brooke the plates. “What about you? How was your day?”

“Long,” she agreed, and told him about the cupcakes she’d risen early to bake and deliver. Then, having been asked for more, she went back home and baked another three dozen cupcakes.

“So basically you baked all day.” He started to unpack the bags.

“No, I had two classes, one this morning, one this afternoon.”

“You’re almost finished, though, right?”

She nodded. “I’ll have my B.S. in December. Assuming, of course, that I don’t screw up between now and then.”

He shook his head. “Not gonna happen. You’re focused and you’re fierce in that. You do what you set out to do. That’s one of the things I really like and admire about you. You’re not afraid to work hard and you don’t make excuses for yourself.”

Before she could respond to the compliment, he’d opened a container. “Looks like brown rice.” He opened another and sniffed. “And … beef in what smells like a wine sauce.”

She opened the large Styrofoam box. “Salad. Looks like enough for both of us.”

“Is this okay with you?” he asked.

“It’s perfect. Thanks, Jesse. This was a nice idea.”

“I’m glad you agreed. Otherwise, I’d be trolling for some fast food tonight.” He handed her the containers so she could serve herself.

“Is that your way of reminding me that I promised you a cookbook?” She glanced up and caught his eye as he moved his chair just a little closer to hers.

“That wasn’t subtle?”

“I’ll do better than that.” She spooned beef and rice onto her plate and handed the containers back to him. “I’ll bring the cookbook and the ingredients for something terrific and I’ll cook at your place.”

“That’s an offer I’d never refuse.” He smiled and she noticed that the closer she got, the deeper his dimples appeared.

Who could resist a man whose smile went all the way to his eyes and who had dimples? Especially a man who looked at her the way he was looking at her right that moment.

So why, she couldn’t help but wonder, hadn’t he asked her out? For a moment she felt something in common with all those guys who’d been turned down when they’d called her, as if the tables had suddenly been turned and she was looking at the situation from an unfamiliar perspective. But unlike the guys who’d asked her out and taken no for an answer, she wasn’t
going to shrug her shoulders and walk away. There was something between her and Jesse, something electric that hung in the air of the conference room, that dared her to come a little closer and drew her in.

“How about Saturday night?” She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Unless, of course, you have other plans …”

“No plans. I’m all yours.” His voice was casual, friendly even, but when his eyes met hers, there was a hint of something dark and sultry there.

Her breath caught in her throat and she shifted in her seat. When their knees touched under the table, it was all she could do not to kick off her shoes and run her toes along the side of his calf. How, she mused, would he react if she did just that?

The temptation was greater than she’d imagined it would be, and she wished the notion had never occurred to her. Suddenly she couldn’t get the thought of touching him out of her mind.

“Brooke?” He waved a hand in front of her face slowly, slowly enough to hypnotize her.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I was just …”

He put his fork down and reached out for her, his hand at the nape of her neck, and drew her slowly to him. When his lips brushed against hers, she felt a jolt that shot all the way through her, and she knew she was in big trouble.

She dropped her fork and touched the side of his face, her hand lingering on his cheek. His mouth claimed her, his lips hungry on hers, his tongue tracing the corners of her mouth. She felt him in every fiber of her body, and when he pushed his chair back and pulled her onto his lap, she went willingly. His
tongue met hers through parted lips and the zing she’d felt when he first kissed her intensified. She held his face in her hands and kissed him in a way she’d thought she’d forgotten how to kiss. She felt as if she’d caught fire, the heat that moved through her burning hotter and hotter. She turned so that her body pressed closer to his, unable to stop herself, drawn into him by a force more powerful than either of them. When his mouth made its way down the side of her throat, she was barely aware that the “Yes, yes …” she heard murmured was coming from her. His hand slid up her thigh and she knew that a few more inches and she’d explode right there and then.

She wasn’t sure what to do next, it had been so long since she’d wanted so terribly, ached so deeply, for a man’s touch. His thumb moved farther up under her skirt and found its way under the thin silk of her thong. When his fingers brushed against her core she saw stars.

“Oh my God, Jesse,” she gasped as wave after wave of a pleasure close to pain coursed through her.

“Shhhh,” he whispered, his breath hot against her ear. “Let it go, Brooke …”

As if she could stop the flood of sensation that rippled through her body. As if she could do anything but ride the rhythm of his fingers as they slipped inside her and threatened to bring her back to the brink again. What she most wanted was the feel of his hands on her skin. It had been so long since she’d been touched with such gentleness and such need. She met his eyes and started to unbutton her shirt, hoping that he would understand that this wasn’t something she did every day, but that whatever had started between
them as friendship had just ignited into something else, something she hadn’t expected, but couldn’t turn away from. His free hand closed over her breast and she fumbled with the buttons, pulling her bra strap down to free herself from it. His thumb and forefinger teased her flesh until she peaked again, this time arching her back until she thought she’d break in two.

“Oh my God, Jesse.”

“That had a familiar ring to it,” he gasped, and turned her to straddle him. She took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. She had just reached for his belt buckle to undo it, when the front door slammed.

She sat up as if she’d been shot.

“You expecting someone?” she panted.

“No.” He cleared his throat. “We had dinner, right?”

She nodded.

“Then it’s not the delivery boy.” He groaned and moved her off him. “This had better be good,” he muttered. “Give me a minute to get rid of whoever it is.”

“Hello? Is anyone here?” a voice called from the front hall.

“Hell.” Jesse went to the door and gestured for Brooke to stay where she was. Rattled, she slipped back into her bra and buttoned her shirt. She stood and smoothed her skirt and looked under the table for her shoes, wondering when she’d taken them off.

“I’m looking for Jesse Enright.” She heard the voice from the hall.

“You’ve found him. What can I do for you?”

“I have this letter …”

Brooke froze, one shoe on, the other dangling from the tips of her toes. She heard the sound of paper rustling, and squeezed her eyes tightly closed.

Oh, no … please, God, anyone but …

“I’m Jason Bowers. You represent my sister-in-law, Brooke Bowers, right?”

“That’s correct. Mr. Bowers, come on into my office and we’ll …”

There was the sound of more paper rattling.

“I know how lawyers work. I know that once someone is represented, the opposing party isn’t allowed to talk to them. So I just want you—”

“Mr. Bowers, you’ve totally misunderstood the intent of my letter. Brooke was merely trying to—”

“—to find out if I was going to stiff my nephew. I got that.”

“—determine if you were still in business, and if so, she just wanted to know—”

“—if she was ever going to see a penny of the money Eric loaned me. Right. I got that part, too.”

“Please come into my office and sit down, Mr. Bowers. I can tell you’re upset, and I know that’s the last thing Brooke would want.”

“At this point, I don’t really care what Brooke would want. Here’s a cashier’s check made out to her for the full fifty thousand dollars. You tell her …”

Brooke couldn’t take any more. She smoothed her hair and hoped she didn’t look like she’d been doing what she and Jesse had been doing before Jason had let himself into the building. She stepped into the hall and walked toward the foyer.

“You can tell me yourself, Jace.”

She couldn’t remember Jason Bowers ever looking the way he looked at that moment when he saw her. He stared at her, then at Jesse.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. You hook up with this lawyer, then the two of you decide to squeeze me into—” Jason took one too many steps toward Brooke, and Jesse reacted.

“Whoa, hold it, buddy.” Jesse grabbed him by the arm.

“Get your hands off me.” Jason’s anger went clear to his eyes.

“Jace, could we please sit down and talk for a few minutes? Could you let me explain why I asked Jesse to write that letter?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious.”

“It isn’t what you think.” She lowered her voice. “Please. For Logan’s sake, could we just talk about this and why I asked Jesse to send that letter?”

Jason glanced at Jesse, and Brooke could see that her brother-in-law figured he now had two reasons to want to deck him, and the letter wasn’t the part that he was most objecting to.

“First of all, this firm has represented my family for well over one hundred years. Jesse is a member of the firm. When I needed legal counsel, I called on him. He’s my lawyer, and he’s my friend.”

“I think I can figure out what he is, Brooke. I’m not blind.”

“I had an appointment late this afternoon to have my will rewritten.” That was true, but she couldn’t bring herself to say more.

“You don’t owe me any explanations, Brooke.”

“You’re right. I don’t. But I can see you’re upset,
and I don’t want you to be. There isn’t any reason to be. As far as the letter is concerned, I merely asked Jesse to help me find out what the status of the business is at this point.”

“You could have called me and asked me yourself.”

“I did that. Twice. You didn’t return my calls.”

“If you left messages, I never got them.”

“Check with your garage, or wherever it is that you keep your equipment. That’s the number you gave me. It’s the only one I had.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “The status of the business is ‘sold.’ ”

“When did you sell it?” She frowned.

“The day after I got this letter. There’s a guy who’s been wanting to buy me out for the last couple of years. I called him and told him this was his chance. He met my price, and we signed the papers on Monday. I drove up here to pay back what I owed you.”

“You sold your business?” She closed the distance between them slowly. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I couldn’t pay you back any other way.”

“I wasn’t asking you to pay me back, you idiot. I was only asking
what was going on
. What part of that don’t you get?” She poked him in the chest. He was six four but to her, he was still Eric’s little brother. “You’re asking me why I didn’t call? Why didn’t
you
call when you received the letter? If you didn’t want to talk to me, you could have called Jesse.”

“I thought—”

“You didn’t think with anything but your Irish temper.” She went to him and put her arms around him, and he let her. “Oh, Jason, I never intended for you to do something like that. I wasn’t asking for money. I
just wanted some information. I wasn’t hounding you or asking you to pay back Eric’s share. I just wanted to know.”

“Well, now you do.”

“So what are you going to do?” she asked.

He took a deep breath. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“You Bowers guys with your hot heads,” she muttered. “I’m hoping that’s one thing Logan didn’t inherit from his father.”

She poked him again. “And stop glaring at Jesse.”

His eyes shifted from Jesse back to Brooke.

“Sorry,” he said, though he clearly didn’t mean it. “But you know, my brother hasn’t even been gone for three years, Brooke. I can’t help but wonder how long you waited before you—”

She felt as if she’d taken a sharp, swift punch to the gut.

“All right.” Jesse stepped forward and put a hand on Brooke’s shoulder. “I think that’s enough. You don’t know a thing about her, or about our relationship, and frankly, it’s none of your business.”

“I can tell by looking at both of you what your relationship is.”

“So what you’re saying is that after Eric died, Brooke should have become a nun?”

“Of course not. I’m just saying it hasn’t been that long.”

“You said it yourself. Almost three years. Have you gone three years without someone loving you?”

“We’re not talking about my life. We’re talking about Brooke’s.”

“Look, I don’t know you, and I didn’t know your
brother. And for what it’s worth, I am sorry for what happened to him.”

Jason smirked and it was becoming more and more apparent to Brooke that Jesse was using every bit of his self-control not to throw the first punch.

“From everything I’ve heard from everyone who’s met him, Eric was a hell of a guy. I know Brooke’s missed him terribly. I’m sure you do, too.”

Jason’s smirk began to fade slowly.

“But all that aside—you don’t get to decide when it’s time for Brooke to try to rebuild her life. And you don’t get to decide who she builds it with. Whatever you think you know about her and this situation—you’re probably wrong.” Jesse’s hand touched the small of her back.

As the two men stared at each other, Brooke could almost feel the steam begin to evaporate from the foyer, where only moments earlier, the emotions had built close to the combustion point.