The Perfect Storm (The Blake Boys Book 6) (6 page)

“You’re in a good mood.” Teri-Lyn said as she sat down to the kitchen table.

“I had a very interesting night.” J.J. took a seat and put seven-month-old Colby on his lap.

“I noticed you got home pretty late.” Teri-Lyn set the juice down on the table.

“How did you trick Morgan and Seth into letting you have the boys again?” J.J. balanced Colby as he clumsily tried to stand up by grabbing his shirt.

“Please, they were happy to get some quality time. I’ll take him.” Teri-Lyn smiled.

“No worries. Colby and I are fine.” He began spoon-feeding his nephew pureed bananas and peaches while taking bites off his own plate. J.J. got Jake and Connor into the fun as he made faces and played with them. He started singing one of those songs from Jake’s favorite children’s show, Doodles the Bear, and they’d gotten into a good groove when he looked up to see his parents staring at him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.” John Jacob forked some eggs into his mouth.

“You should stay out late more often.” Teri-Lyn chewed on a piece of bacon.

He took a sip of his juice. “I intend to.”

“I rode past the house yesterday,” John Jacob said. “Construction is coming along. I think they’ll be finished ahead of schedule.”

“You hear that boys? The play room Uncle J.J. is having built for you will be ready ahead of time.” J.J. smiled.

He helped his mother get the boys cleaned up. Connor and Colby took off in their walkers after Jake, who went into the living room to play. J.J. remembered the days of Seth and the boys following him around everywhere he went. The last seven years he’d hadn’t spent as much time with them as he would have liked, but that was changing.

He wanted to see Sam again and he had to figure out how it could be done. He needed to feel her soft skin and the silky smooth feel of her hair. He still didn’t have a date for the governor’s party. He could invite her to escort him as a security assignment. It was the perfect excuse to see her again before they left for Denver.

* * *

Sam put on her eye and ear protection, loaded the gun, then took a deep breath and aimed at the target. As soon as she felt the bullet leave the chamber, she felt like a piece of herself had been restored. Last night she’d made the biggest mistake of her life, making out with J.J. Blake. She worked for him for heaven’s sake! So what if she got to run her hands over those well-defined arms and perfect ass, and he smelled so good that she could swear that his scent had attached itself to her skin. But she was a professional. All she had to do was get his assurance of discretion and they could put it behind them.

She was content with her three-year man drought but she knew you didn’t come back into the game and get sacked by the star quarterback. You had a few inconsequential dates with some nice guy who you didn’t care if you saw again.

Surely, it meant nothing, J.J. had been on a dating spree the last few months and she doubted his libidinous pursuits would end with her. He was gorgeous, charming and had a wicked sense of humor when he wasn’t being super serious, which was most of the time. She wondered why his relationship with his ex-wife failed. There weren’t many notes on his marriage in his file but there were plenty of receipts for her jewelry for insurance purposes. He’d dropped a fortune in baubles on the woman and he let her take it all with her when she left.

Sam reloaded the gun and continued firing, hoping to shake this off the mania because she had a lot of work piling up at her office. A few more clips ought to help get the dull ache of sexual frustration out of her system. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so troublesome if the feel of J.J.’s lips weren’t lingering on hers.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Kendrick.

“I hear you took down a pick pocket while you were on your date with Blake.”

“It wasn’t a date, it was a business meeting.”

“You keep telling yourself that.” He grinned.

“What’s the matter Kendrick, you jealous?”

“I can’t imagine you holding out for one of these rich guys you babysit. If lascivious looks were against the law, half of your clients would be in jail.” Kendrick changed the empty magazine in his gun.

“It doesn’t mean I’m looking back.” She was adamant about her no-fraternization policy.

“Of course, why would you look at one those bozos when you’ve been working with me so long?” He grinned.

“Never gonna happen, Kendrick.” Sam shook her head. Kendrick had an ego the size of the great state of Texas.

She started firing again. It would have taken little coaxing to make an exception for J.J. She had to keep her wits about her before she did something stupid like sleep with the man.

CHAPTER FIVE

J.J., Tate, and Seth walked through the jewelry store looking for the perfect ring for Isabelle. Today they were in an upscale jewelry store. The owner was a family friend who assured Tate he’d find the ring of his dreams. Tate still hadn’t decided when he was going to pop the question.

“This is nice.” Seth pointed to an enormous pear shaped diamond.

“I like this one.” Tate pointed an even bigger princess cut ring with diamonds on the band as well.

“Good, then I can use that to get the sports channel instead of having a satellite dish installed.” J.J. mused.

“What are the rules for buying an engagement ring, anyway?” Tate asked.

“Daddy said the smaller the hand, the bigger the diamond,” Seth quipped.

A salesperson appeared and put J.J. out of his misery.

“So have you thought about what you’re going to do after you retire from football?” he asked Seth as he looked at a nice pear of pearl earrings for their momma, who had a birthday coming up.

“I’m looking at all options that don’t take me away from Morgan and the boys.”

“Well, there’s a big office down the hall from mine waiting for you when you’re ready.” J.J. smiled.

“Thanks. It would be nice to work with my big brother. How are things at the office?”

“Regency is doing their annual audit of security protocols.” J.J. picked up a brochure and thumbed through it.

“So you’ve met Sam?” Seth gave him a knowing grin.

J.J. rubbed the back of his neck. “Am I the only person who didn’t know Sam was a woman?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“I think Bubba has a thing for her. He bought her a box of these expensive cigars that are hard to get.”

“Bubba’s been doing those audits with Sam for three years. If he hasn’t made a move by now, I don’t think it’s going to happen. Besides, he’s been dating Felicia for six months now. So do you like her? Or are you curious about Bubba’s love life for another reason?”

“What’s not to like? She’s beautiful, smart and knows how to handle herself in a fight.”

“Sounds like a great combination to me.” Seth laughed.

J.J. motioned to the sales clerk that he wanted the pearls.

“I’ve meaning to mention this to you.
Sports Now
contacted my publicist and asked if we’d be interested in doing an interview together.”

“Really?” J.J. blinked.

“They’d like to do a highlight of your football days and we’d get to do a joint interview. I think it’s a great idea.” Seth beamed.

J.J. didn’t know what to say. Those were some dark years, the injury and the recovery. He’d buried the regret and disappointment in the recesses of his mind when he learned he’d never play again. The end of his career was also when he and Eden had begun to unravel. The idea of revisiting all that was nauseating, but maybe Seth was right. Maybe a joint interview—the two of them moving on, and life after football—would fit right in with the new house, the new life, the new outlook.

“If you’re in, I’m game. Sounds like fun.”

Besides, spending time with Seth sounded great to him. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his brothers.

Tate waved them over, when they got there he was holding up the bauble that would cement his future with Isabelle. It was an exquisite ten-carat Asscher-cut diamond ring.

“That’s quite a statement. Will it affect how she plays the violin?” Seth laughed.

“She may need physical therapy again to wear it.” J.J. quipped.

“It’s her.” Tate grinned.

“It’s an excellent choice. You done good.” J.J. patted his brother on the back. “And I’ll be able to pick up the sports channel when you two come over.”

* * *

J.J. had no trouble getting Sam to agree to attending the governor’s party as his plus one. She opened the door and he was not surprised that she looked stunning in an elegant black dress that silhouetted every luscious contour of her toned body.

“You look nice,” he murmured.

“Just nice?” she said as she picked up her purse.

“Sometimes a few simple words are all that’s needed to convey beauty.”

If he’d said what was really on his mind she would have slapped him. Part of his plan to neutralize his attraction to Sam was to keep it strictly professional until he could figure his out next move, and that included compliments. He couldn’t afford to act stupid. The issue of the undeniable chemistry between would have to wait. But not too long.

Anna Beth had received a heads up that Eden would be attending the party. He knew she wouldn’t be coming alone, so he expected some awkwardness tonight.

“Eden’s going to be here tonight,” he blurted out as he drove to the party.

“I see.” Sam looked at him for the first time since he picked her up. “How do you feel about that?”

His jaw ticked. “Like it’s going to be a long night.”

“It doesn’t have to be. An hour is a respectable time to mingle and get out of Dodge. I would tell you not to engage, but I suspect that’s not your style.”

“I don’t hide,” he said.

“How could you? A big man like you sticks out like a rabbit at a rodeo.” She laughed.

He gave her an amused look. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. My grandmother used to say things like that all the time. I may have misquoted her.”

“I spent enough time in the confines of Eden’s machinations. I won’t be doing it again.”

J.J. pulled up to the governor’s mansion, gave the valet the keys to his Porsche Cayenne, and rounded the SUV to assist Sam. When she placed her strappy, sandaled foot onto the pavement, the slit on the side of the dress opened to reveal her soft, toned sexy leg. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the matter at hand. Meet and greet with Ethan and a few other people, and then he was out there. He was wedged between a woman he was immensely attracted to and his ex-wife who was at the same party. He couldn’t think of a worse place to be.

Damn his resolve not to do anything stupid. He was exactly where he wanted to be.

“How about beautiful?” he said as he offered his arm to her.

“What about beautiful?” She stopped their stride.

“You look beautiful tonight. And it’s not just the dress. That’s just the wrapping.”

“Thank you. I take back what I said about you looking like a troll.”

He laughed. “You didn’t say that.”

“I was thinking it when you said I looked
nice
. You don’t look so bad yourself. You do know how to wear a suit. It’s like your body was made for fine clothing.”

“I could say the same about you.” J.J. grabbed two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter. “A toast to good tailoring.”

“Amen.” She smiled.

J.J. and Sam made their way around the room and he wasn’t surprised she knew many of the people. He knew some of the client names she rattled off and was impressed and a little peeved. At least two of those guys were infamous skirt chasers who hit on every woman in a fifty mile radius. And they would make a play because she was a beautiful, capable woman who made a man’s dick hard just by walking into a room. They’d been mingling and making a polite conversation for an hour before they finally saw the governor.

“J.J., thank you for coming!” The governor gave him a firm handshake.

“Good to see you again, Ethan,” J.J. responded.

“Sam, it’s always a pleasure seeing you. My parties are so much more interesting when you’re here.” The governor greeted her with a hug.

“It doesn’t really feel like work when I’m here.” Sam smiled.

“And you’re here with one of my favorite people.” The governor turned to J.J. “It’s been so hard lately for J.J. to come to my parties.”

“It’s been hard to get away from the office these days.”

“It seems you’ve been busy with other things as well.” Ethan winked and looked at Sam.

“Sam is the assigned security specialist from Regency.”

“If you say so.” Ethan smiled.

Out of the corner of his eye J.J. spotted Eden with Dax Howard. Dax was an all-around jerk and a womanizer.

“I guess you and Eden had a civilized divorce. I see you both have moved on. But if you ask me, I’d say she traded down.” The governor nodded and went on to the next party guest.

“Dax Howard is a jackass,” Sam murmured.

“You know him?”

“I used to be assigned to his account before the incident.”

J.J.’s jaw ticked. “Did that asshole do something to you?” He noticed her posture stiffened and the grip on her champagne flute tightened.

“Do you remember last year when he had a broken arm and told everyone he’d injured it while surf gliding in the Caribbean?” She sipped her champagne.

“Yeah.”

“He collided with me.” She waggled her eyebrows. “So how do you want to do this?”

“Do what?”

“Forgive me.” She shook her head. “Force of habit from spending time with your brother Tyler. I always assume a fight will ensue.”

“One of these days we have to talk about what my brother does when he’s away from the ranch.”

“That’s a violation of his confidentiality.”

“You’re not his shrink or his priest.” He chuckled.

“True, but confidentiality is part of the agreement. And I promised your brother that as long as his antics don’t trigger an international incident, I would refrain from tattling on him.”

“Now I’m curious about why you agreed.”