“Well, even if we hadn’t kissed, I’d have still asked you out for tomorrow, just so you know. So whatever type of girl you are, I like her.” He moved behind her as they ascended the stairs toward her apartment. “What are you taking time off from?”
On the deck, she turned to face him, and for some reason her hands found his. This was so nice. She didn’t want it to get weird, and her world was a weird one, full of proper manners, proper attire, and odd hours, which were all reasons she wanted to experience being out of it. He was looking down at her expectantly. He must know at least something about the life she led, given his grandmother’s profession. She drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly.
“I’m a musician.” There. Simple, no big discussion.
His brows drew together, like he didn’t quite believe her. Who was she kidding? She’d never believe the generic term musician. It wasn’t like she could pull off being a rock star or even a singer. She was far too reserved for either.
“I’m a cellist.” She couldn’t help but smile at the word. She loved it. Everything about it—from the way it sailed off her tongue and felt feminine and exotic to the beautiful music it represented—everything except the life it made her lead.
“A cellist.”
“Yes.”
Jamie shook his head. “Vera is going to love you, and I have a feeling I’m going to be left in the dust tomorrow. Maybe I need to rethink my position on this date.”
Her mouth went dry, and she dropped her eyes.
With their hands still entwined, he used his finger to lift her chin and gazed into her eyes. He leaned down and kissed away all the worry that had coiled in her belly. When they parted, he stepped closer, so they were thigh to thigh. Her body went hot with desire again.
“Jess, I reconsidered my position, and I like this one even better. Will you spend tomorrow with me?”
Jess. Four simple letters that her mother had fought her entire youth. Her given name was Millicent Jessica Bail-Ayers, after her paternal grandmother. Thankfully, her parents had been kind enough to allow her to use the name Jessica instead of Millicent, but professionally she was known as Millicent J. Bail. Her parents had been smart enough to guide her in that direction as well, allowing her anonymity when away from the orchestra. Along with the middle name concession of her youth, her mother didn’t think shortened names were appropriate or appealing, and Jessica had gotten so used to hearing her mother correct people—Jessica, not Jess, please. It’s unbecoming of a lady—that she nearly corrected Jamie. She’d corrected everyone before him, but she liked hearing it from him.
Her mother was wrong. Jess was soft and feminine, at least coming from Jamie.
She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him, because if she didn’t, she’d think about how she’d wanted to all night long.
“Yes. I’d love to join you tomorrow.”
She’d have to relearn how to behave between now and then. Step number one…no tequila.
Chapter Four
FRIDAY MORNING JAMIE was up with the sun, after staying up most of the night working his way through emails and thinking about Jessica. He’d been so taken with her that when he’d tried to review the trouble reports his staff had sent him by email, he’d been too distracted and had given up after a page or two. He’d half expected Jessica to push him away when he’d first pressed his lips to hers last night, even though she’d asked him to kiss her. She’d taken him by surprise when she’d kissed him back as ravenously as a starving woman might eat her first meal. And later, he’d seen a shadow of worry pass over her eyes and just as quickly disappear. He wasn’t sure what to make of her, but after a kiss that reached inside his body and awakened senses he hadn’t ever felt before, he wanted to explore the possibilities.
When he went out for his run, Caden had been on his deck ready to go. Now they were closing in on the end of their four-mile run. It was only seven thirty and already the sun was blazing.
“So you’re going to the flea market with her?” Caden asked. “You know it’ll take the girls about ten seconds to get wind of this, right?”
“What makes you think they don’t already know?” Jamie asked.
“Good point, but Bella said you don’t date renters.”
“It’s not like it’s one of Theresa’s rules, or even one of mine. I just…haven’t. Besides, there’s a first time for everything.” They jogged up a back road toward the Seaside entrance. Jamie focused on the cadence of their footfalls on the pavement, a nice, even rhythm.
“And a last,” Caden said. “I’m convinced that something happens here on the Cape that makes couples come together.”
“Yeah? I’ve been coming up to Wellfleet for thirty years and I can count the number of women I’ve gone out with here on one hand.” Jamie waved his hand as they turned into Seaside. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m still single.”
“Did you OneClick her yet? Make sure she’s not a freak?”
Even after eight years, it was still strange to hear his company name in place of Google. “No, actually. I made a conscious decision not to check her out online. There’s so much crap on the Internet, and I don’t want to stare down some old boyfriend on a Facebook page, or worry about some blog that snapped a picture of her at the wrong moment to make her look like a ho.”
“Man, you think that’s smart?” Caden asked. “There are a lot of money-hungry people out there, and you’re not exactly middle class.”
Jamie shrugged. “I can tell if a woman’s after my money.”
“Must be hard to be worth a couple million.”
A couple? Try several hundred million. Jamie had assumed Bella had told Caden by now. Friendships ran deep at Seaside, and now he understood exactly how deep.
Money was something Jamie had because he worked hard. He didn’t think of it as who he was, and he didn’t think it made him any different from anyone else. It gave him a sense of security, but he did what he did for a living because he loved it. Figuring out technical puzzles and coming up with solutions was about the biggest thrill there was to Jamie, outside of the usual male sexual fantasies, of course.
The gravel road forked at the entrance. It ran in a circle through the development with Bella and Jenna’s cottages, the laundry building, and the house where Theresa lived and Jessica was renting down the fork to the left. The big house, as they called it, had been the only house on the property until the land was subdivided and the cottages were built. The road circled by the pool at the far end, and Jamie’s, Leanna’s, Tony’s, and Amy’s cottages were on the right side of the community. Jamie and Caden ran down the fork to the left.
“Glutton for punishment? You know they’ll all be together at our place,” Caden said.