Page 10 of Two Hearts
“Fascinating,” said one of the men.“Tell me, McCain, is there good money in the field?”
Jack just smiled.“They don’t pay me nearly what I’m worth.”
The men around him released barks of laughter, and one of them slapped him on the back.“I like you, McCain.”His cigar smoke smelled good when it wafted toward Jack’s face.A little too good.Probably Cuban.If he’d been one of the shiny-faced little pricks on the other side of the room, Jack would have arrested him on the spot.But he wasn’t.He was part of the inner sanctum.Harry’s friends.Come to think of it, by dragging Jack into this little alcove where they’d gathered, Harry had made him a part of that clique, as well.
And the pretty boys out in the main part of the room didn’t like that one bit.
“Any chance I could convince you to go over security in my corporation?”the smoker asked, puffing some more.
“I don’t freelance,” Jack said.“And my…employer doesn’t think too highly of moonlighting.”
“And who would that be?Your employer?”
Again Jack smiled and, lowering his voice, leaned forward.The men around him leaned in, too.“I could tell you,” Jack said.“But then I’d have to kill you.”
Hands slapped knees, and they roared.Hell, fine.Jack had never done standup before, but if they liked it then he figured he could keep going all night.Glancing beyond the magic circle to the pretty boys relegated to the rest of the room, Jack saw looks of pure hatred sent his way.Uh-huh.Jealousy.He was eating it with a spoon.
But a second later all those pouting faces turned to the left and the men in Jack’s circle fell silent.Jack knew it was her.He felt her coming close even before he looked.And then he turned around and saw her.
She stood on the stairs for just a moment, before coming the rest of the way down.And Jack thought he couldn’t have been more starstruck if it had been Julia Roberts or Cindy Crawford coming down those stairs.She was grace, and poise, and elegance, and purity.And her dress…man, what a dress.As white as her soul, and as tight as Jack’s throat.Halter neck, just hinting at the shadowy well between her breasts.It hugged her figure all the way down to the slit that revealed teasing glimpses of her endlessly long legs.Her hair was piled up.Diamonds dangled from her ears, and her toes showed in those white shoes with their spiky high heels.
She came down the stairs, and started right toward Jack.He almost smiled as he watched her approaching, and he wondered just what the hell this was that was hitting him so hard and so fast.
Then the pretty boys crowded in, blocking her from Jack’s view.And she was smiling at them, answering their silly questions, nodding and looking interested in all they had to say, which was a lot.One brought her a drink and tried putting a possessive hand on her shoulder.Suddenly Jack felt like an intruder.
Then she looked past them, caught his eye and sent him a message.One he read so easily that for a minute, he didn’t move.Just stood there, thinking that was amazing.He and JW had been partners for five years before they’d been able to do that sort of thing—send an entire message with a single look.It shouldn’t be possible with someone he’d just met, Jack thought.
“Excuse me,” he said to the Old Boy network surrounding him.Then he went over there, shouldered his way through the handsome, hair-gel set of younger, richer, better-looking men who sent him nasty looks, and acted as if he were exhibiting the height of mannerlessness—but didn’t shove back.
“Hello again, Grace,” Jack said when he got to where she stood.“The way I remember it, you promised me a dance.”
She smiled, shoved the drink she held into some blond beach boy’s hand, and put her hand in Jack’s.The others faded back, all but gaping as he pulled her close.He put a hand on her waist, she slipped hers around his neck and moved against him, and they managed to dance themselves away from the hopeful crowd of phonies.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“No, thankyou.”
“You rescued my father, and now you rescued me.”
“You were doing fine.Could have had them all on their knees with a word.”
She shook her head.“Oh, God, no.Not in a million years, Jack.”
“What, you didn’t see the way they were all drooling over you?”
Lowering her chin so he couldn’t see her eyes, she sighed.“I’ve never been the sort of girl men do much drooling over.”
“No?”She could have fooled him, he thought.He was drooling plenty.
“No.”
“Well, you are tonight.You, um…you look…incredible.”
“Really?”She seemed genuinely surprised, not fishing for compliments.
“Oh, yeah.How can you not know that?What, you don’t have mirrors in this house?”
She smelled good.Shefeltgood against him, just lightly touching, brushing, teasing but totally innocent.
