“No, no!” Beatrice exclaimed. “The crystal is a healing gift. I don’t want your money,” she insisted.
Startled, he looked at the elderly woman’s distressed expression and put the bills back in his pocket. “You’re running a business, Beatrice. You can’t give things away.” Honestly, he was touched, even though the conversation was a bit eerie. Other than his siblings, no one had ever given him a gift. Although, he had to admit, this one did make him a bit uneasy. He certainly didn’t believe in her hocus-pocus, but there was something about the way she continued to give him her fixed stare that made him want to fidget like a naughty schoolboy.
It’s just a coincidence. She doesn’t really know what happened.
“I don’t need the money, Jared. My late husband was filthy rich in addition to being a stud. I’m loaded.” She gave him a sly wink.
Jared chuckled, more amused than he wanted to admit. “You’re still a businesswoman,” he reminded her.
“And a very good one . . . most of the time. I only give gifts in special cases. You and Mara are both special.” Beatrice went back to arranging her jewelry casually.
“You’re trying to help Mara, too?” Jared asked curiously.
Beatrice nodded. “Of course. Both of you. You were meant for each other.”
Jared shook his head adamantly. Beatrice was matchmaking, and it was terrifying the hell out of him. “I’m not meant for anybody,” he told her flatly.
“Oh yes, you are. You two were incredibly easy to predict. My spirit guide channeled the information to me quite loudly and clearly. Maybe you aren’t ready to believe it yet, but you will,” she told him mysteriously.
“Um . . . okay,” he said awkwardly, putting the key chain in his pocket. He’d let Beatrice have her delusions. She’d be disappointed when she found out she was wrong, but he wasn’t about to argue with her. Frankly, she was too damn frightening sometimes. Fact was, he actually did want to fuck Mara. But out of all the women in this town, how did Beatrice know exactly who he was obsessed with having in his bed?
Coincidence.
Yeah, it was definitely a lucky guess.
“She’s in one of the booths behind me,” Beatrice informed him casually, waving her thumb to the back of her.
“Thanks,” Jared mumbled, more than a little disconcerted. “I hope you have a prosperous day.”
“The same to you,” Beatrice answered, looking up at him with a knowing smile.
He hurried away from the elderly woman to go find Mara, sticking his hand in his pocket to rub the smooth stone unconsciously.
It’s just a damn rock. And Beatrice probably saw me talking with Mara at her store. She absolutely is not a psychic.
Nevertheless, he clutched the stone in his fingers as he searched out Mara, wishing the rock could actually solve some of his problems as Beatrice had promised.
“I’d be willing to pay almost any asking price for that.”
Mara startled, almost spilling the coffee onto her fingers as she filled a paper cup from her thermos. Glancing over her shoulder from her bent position, the first thing she noticed was that Jared Sinclair wasn’t staring at the coffee. His eyes were trained on her ample butt, which was sticking up in the air as she filled her cup.
“Coffee is free,” she told him as she straightened hastily, turning and holding out the cup. “It has creamer. I only bring it for myself, but I have plenty.”
What the hell is he doing here?
Jared Sinclair looked about as at home here in the middle of the wet, open field for the farmers’ market as he would doing any other everyday activity that the inhabitants of Amesport did on a regular basis.
He belonged in the corporate world, in an immaculate suit that he wouldn’t get dirty, sitting in a high-rise office discussing business deals. The only casual things about him were the rolled-up sleeves of his button-down shirt, which exposed strong, muscular forearms lightly covered with reddish-brown hair, and the open buttons at the neckline collar, which gave her just a tantalizing glimpse of one very masculine chest.
Jared finally accepted the cup from her hand as he met her eyes with an intensity that made her shudder. Not letting go of her gaze, he took a large sip of the hot coffee, watching her over the rim of the cup before replying in his sexy baritone, “I think you know I wasn’t talking about coffee, although if I can’t have what I want right now, I’ll take the caffeine. Thanks.”
Mara looked away from him, embarrassed. Ignoring his innuendo, she told him curiously, “This doesn’t exactly seem like your scene, and I’m surprised you don’t already have a cup of coffee in your hand. I rarely see you without one.”