Page 26 of Love and Loathing

Three days later, and she was still mad at herself. Of course, it’d been true. She’d met up with Jacob after he got off work at the build site and invited him to family dinner Sunday night. Brandon wasn’t coming, and Jacob had done a pretty great job of endearing himself back into the good graces of the town. Her ma had been ecstatic when she’d found out. Her dad hadn’t.

But she didn’t care about her mother’s weird gentleman caller thing. All Jessie cared about was finding out more about where Daniel was. So far, Jacob had successfully blocked every attempt to discover it. It was annoying the living daylights out of her. That, combined with Daniel’s useless vanity poses on Instagram, meant she was still no closer to finding him.

But her dad would help her at dinner on Sunday.

Jessie pulled up in front of Sunset Valley Lodge and Spa and parked. She’d been riding her bike around town since the weather warmed, but should couldn’t ride her bike up the canyon. Too bad. She was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs and would’ve like the extra time to get there. She hadn’t gotten any more texts from Alex since Wednesday. Not even to tell her when they were meeting. She’d found that out last night when Charlie had stopped in to pick up Caroline for a date.

She got out of her car, slamming the door behind her, then tugged at her pencil skirt and straightened her pinstripe button-up. It was one of her best work outfits that flattered her finger and complexion. She’d tried not to think about why that should matter as she’d been putting it on that morning. She headed toward the front door of the beautiful lodge—all wood beams, pitched roofs, and lots of windows.

For some reason, it made her a little nervous. There was no reason it should, but this place, a place she’d never hope to stay in, suddenly seemed like a reminder of just how different she and Alex were. Night and day. From two completely different worlds. He was richer’n Croesus, and she was so poor she had a tumbleweed for a pet.

She went through the foyer and to the front desk. Charlie had mentioned they’d be meeting in their villa instead of the conference room this time. She didn’t know where to go to get to the villas. The clerk pointed her the right way.

She searched for villa one hundred seven, and when she found it, she froze. It was bigger than the house she and Caroline had wanted to buy! And cuter too. It had a very posh log cabin sort of appearance. Like this was the kind of cabin rich people stayed in at their lakeside homes. And the money she needed for a down payment on her house was probably pennies in comparison to this place. Steeling herself, she knocked.

The door opened almost immediately, and there stood the man who had been invading her thoughts way too often of late. Alex nodded at her and stood back so she could come in. He was in jeans and a T-shirt again today. And he really looked good in jeans and a T-shirt.

She stepped past him and stood in the hall as he shut the door.

“Thank you for coming to the villa,” Alex said. He seemed nervous. “The, uh, conference rooms were all booked.”

Shewasnervous. “It’s no problem.” How exactly was she supposed to act now? Why, oh why had she ever texted/flirted with him? Before that, she could fall back on her usual contempt. They’d throw some insults back and forth and then get on with life, but now she just couldn’t bring herself to do that. It wasn’t like they were friends, especially not after how their text sesh had ended, but somehow, now it felt like they’d made an uneasy alliance. One that was making them uneasy.

He signaled down the hall. “No notes?”

She lifted her phone. “It’s a video pitch.”

He cocked a brow.

“I make videos. That’s what I do. That’s also why you’re considering hiring me.” She tugged at her shirt sleeve. “So a video pitch seemed like the way to go.”

He smiled. “I can’t wait to see it.”

She breathed out. Well, that was easier than she’d thought.

They stepped into the living room, and Charlie turned from where he sat on one of two couches in the living room. “Hey, Jessie.”

Jessie froze and her jaw dropped. This place was unreal! Dark-stained hardwood floors, a round metal chandelier with Edison lights, a leather couch on a woolly rug facing a large stone fireplace with a TV over the mantel, two leather chairs at the far end of the main room faced a view overlooking the valley … and was that a friggin’ hot tub? “Holy Toledo!”

Alex and Charlie exchanged looks and chuckled. “You like it?” Alex asked.

“Do I like it? This is the nicest place I’ve ever been in, ever.”

Charlie stood and pointed behind Jessie. “Did you see the kitchen?”

She turned and brought her hands to her heart. It had a huge stove and an island with seating on stools for four, lots of counter space with marble tops, and a fridge bigger than the one at her parents’ house times two. “I bet Cash would love this.” He’d been cooking his delicacies almost every Sunday in her mom’s teeny tiny kitchen.

“Who’s Cash?” Alex asked, his voice a little tight.

“Oh, he’s Jo’s fiancé. Jo’s my cousin.” She cleared her throat. “He’s a highfalutin chef with several restaurants in California. He comes over almost every Sunday and makes us dinner.”

Charlie narrowed his gaze. “Cash … Evans?”

She walked past both men to the living room. “Yeah, that’s him.” She plopped down on the cushions.

“Wait, Cash Evans? As in Oyster and Lime? A Cut Above? Rustic House, Pizza Co.?” Alex glanced at Charlie.

She squished down in the butter soft leather—so much better than her mother’s plastic-covered couch. Oh yeah—this was heaven. “A Cut Above is his. I don’t know about those other ones.”

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