Oh God, what if I’ve met a real life Christian Grey?
“Lucy?” Jared’s voice cut through the sexy, yet scary mental picture. She liked the idea of toys, but she’d stopped wearing corsets beneath her fitted costumes because she found them too painful and restrictive. She wasn’t interested in pain mixed with pleasure. Still, the idea of the handcuffs intrigued her. Or maybe it was just the man in the picture . . .
She slid her phone back into her purse. “Work email. I’ll reply later.”
“Bullshit,” he said mildly.
She met his playful, seemingly all-knowing gaze. “You think I’m lying about an email?”
“I know you are,” he said simply. “Your cheeks turned pink, and your eyes widened.”
“Fine. You’re right.” She ignored the of-course-I-am gleam in his eyes. “I’m seeing someone.”
“Last week’s lunch date?” he asked.
She shook her head. “He hasn’t been to The Taco Bar.”
He moved to her side and placed his hand on her elbow. “You can tell me all about him while we walk.” He guided her away from the bar. “But in about thirty seconds, you need to put your rescue plans into action.”
“I don’t have a plan. And you don’t need saving.”
“The Tennyson heirs are here.” He scanned the crowd. “Somewhere. When they find me, they’ll ask about the sugar deal. When I tell them that it’s in flux, they’ll share their opinion on every other possible investment.”
“Isn’t that why you’re here? To listen to your investors?”
“Your brother has it covered.” He stepped away from the bar, drawing her with him. “At least the first shift. I’ll probably need to shake their hands and listen for a while. But I’d rather wait until they’ve had a few.”
She smiled and nodded at a familiar face across the room. Delaney Mayor waved back. But when Lucy stepped forward to greet her friend and longtime client, Jared led her in the opposite direction. “You’re using me to manipulate a client, Jared. This is about work. You don’t need to be saved.”
“You’re rescuing me from at least thirty minutes of boredom,” he said.
“How noble of me,” she murmured.
Jared steered her through the double doors and into the country club’s quiet hallway. Ten paces down the corridor, he turned right and led her into the library.
“They lit the fire?” Lucy stared at the leaping flames on the far side of the small room. Lined with bookcases and filled with a pair of ornate loveseats, the room looked out of place for south Florida.
“Ambiance.” Jared released her arm and strolled over to the sitting area.
“It’s June in South Florida.”
He sank into the loveseat and leaned back. His blue eyes focused on her. Out of all the people in the room next door, clamoring for a chance to talk to the bored bachelor, she had Jared Mitchell’s complete attention.
“Relax, Lucy.”
I can’t around you!
She wished she could shout at him. Ever since he’d kissed her, ever since he’d dangled the possibility of becoming one of his girlfriends by stealing her away from her date, she’d let herself want him. Not a lot. She knew better. But just a little.
He nodded to the open doors. “I need to give Finn twenty minutes, maybe a little longer, to handle business out there.”
She abandoned her fight-or-flight pose in the doorway and joined him in the sitting area. But she claimed the couch opposite him. The wooden coffee table offered a solid barrier between them.
Still, he was close enough to touch. Her stomach spun as if invaded by cartoon butterflies. She closed her eyes, blocking out the intimate setting and the ridiculous fire.
I’ve known Jared my entire life, she thought. He ate dinner at our house at least four nights a week when I was a kid. I shouldn’t be nervous. Not around him.
But they weren’t children anymore. He wasn’t her brother’s friend who’d come to dinner and inhaled his meal as if he’d skipped breakfast and lunch.