She glanced at the blue bottle perched beside a shot glass. “No, thank you.”
“Driving?” he asked mildly.
“Nicole dropped me off and took the car. She’s planning to pick me up.” In an hour, she thought as she dialed and pressed her cell to her ear. Three rings and then voicemail. She lowered her phone, and a text popped up on the screen.
At the mall buying supplies. Bad reception. Be there in 30. Go see Minny in the kitchen if you need to escape.
“She’s delayed,” Jared said.
It wasn’t a question, but she nodded.
“Pull up a chair.” He spoke in his lord-of-all-that-I-see tone. She’d joked with Finn that his friend tried to command the world around him. And it usually worked for him. Jared Mi
tchell had built an empire by walking into struggling companies, declaring them his—after forking over millions of dollars—and turning them around. He was smart, wealthy, and good-looking.
“Why are you eating alone in the kitchen?” she asked.
“I pay the bills around here.” He folded his napkin and placed it on the table beside his half-eaten meal. “They let me eat where I want.”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, still clutching her cell in her palm. “So you’re working?”
“Not anymore.” He pushed back from the table and stood. “I’m taking you home.”
“What? My date—”
“You were planning to finish your meal?” he asked.
“No.”
“I’ll have someone take care of him.”
She lowered her arms and arched her eyebrows. Her fingers curled around her phone. During her princess training, her coach had labeled this the “Surprised Cinderella” look. The “Oh-No-You-Don’t” expression usually followed. Neither looks were allowed outside the dressing room.
Jared grinned and offered a peek at his infamous dimples. “Yeah, I’ll have your waiter take him out back and . . . ” He glanced over at one of the line cooks who’d stopped chopping. “Your server will tell your date you didn’t feel well.”
“You don’t need to . . . He probably already left,” she said. “And I can wait for Nicole.”
He didn’t need to fix this mess. Tonight’s failure was a piece of her wrecked love life. She’d gone from cheating fiancé to online dating disasters. Only one decent date since she’d published her profile. She’d never imagined it would be this difficult to find a guy looking to settle down—a man who valued family and could make her laugh, with him, not at him.
“Everyone needs saving now and then.” He turned and headed for the door.
“Even you?” she challenged. She couldn’t picture it. At this point, he could probably buy his way out of any situation.
“Hasn’t happened yet, but I never rule anything out.” He opened the back door leading to the private employee parking area. “Let’s go, princess.”
Chapter 2
Finn owes me a ride on his new bike for stepping in and saving his sister.
Jared opened the passenger door to his Jaguar. Sure, he could afford an Italian motorcycle. But striking a deal to borrow his friend’s ride was more entertaining than handing over his credit card. Plus, he owned a garage full of sports cars he rarely drove, including his new Jag.
The F-type was a stunner from hood to bumper. But the car was nothing compared with the woman who was riding shotgun. Lucy had traded her signature blue costume for a white sleeveless dress that highlighted her toned legs. And the strappy sandals on her feet didn’t look anything like her fake glass slippers.
His gaze traveled north again. He’d bumped into Finn’s little sister here and there since she’d moved home to the Palm Beaches. But this was the first time he’d seen her sculpted calves.
Okay, maybe he owed Finn for the chance to save little Lucy Linden.
Once they were buckled in, he reversed out of the parking space and turned onto the four-lane street that separated his restaurant from the Intracoastal Waterway. The Jag’s engine purred as he sped through one green light after another. He hit a red, slowed to a stop, and stole another glance at his passenger.