A Reckless Note (Brilliance Trilogy #1) - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,16
person, I think, but quickly discard this idea. Crystal had called him reserved and I sense that in him, but then I of all people understand what’s it’s like to be friendly, but still guarded.
He leads me past the line to the register where a sixty-something woman with shoulder-length silky all-gray hair and delicate, lovely features, is filling orders. “Hey, Jenny,” he says and pulls me closer, intimately closer, my hip at his hip, and when he looks down at me, heat blossoms between us. “You do like sugar cookies, right?”
Somehow the question feels as intimate as how we are now standing. And I don’t want to step away. “I love sugar cookies,” I confess. “The more icing the better.”
“She’s a keeper, Kace,” Jenny announces, clearly overhearing.
My cheeks heat with the implication that we’re on a date. Kace gives me a light nudge under the chin. “There’s that blush again. How do you drink your latte? Jenny has every latte flavor you can think of.”
“Non-fat white mocha?”
His lips curve, something akin to approval in his eyes I don’t understand until he refocuses on Jenny and says, “My normal times two today.”
His normal. He drinks white mochas?
“You run Jerry off today?” he asks Jenny.
“Oh that man,” Jenny grumbles. “He pulled his back taking out the trash. I think he’s faking. He wanted a day off.”
“Us men have bad backs,” Kace argues. “Be easy on him, Jenny.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She grimaces, but somehow even that is delicate, like a flower nudged by the wind. “I’ll think about it. Order coming right up, Kace.” She waves at me and winks.
My cheeks heat all over and Kace gives a low chuckle. “Come on.” He’s still holding my hand when he starts walking, pulling me along with him—no, more like guiding me—through the seating area, and around the counter, to the same exact table I’d shared with Alexander. The table is against the wall, and Kace grabs my bag from me and sets it on the chair that ensures I sit right next to him, not across from him, as I had Alexander. He pulls out that chair and invites me to sit.
For just a moment, I’m frozen there, staring at him, trying to understand what’s happening. What am I doing with this man, and why, despite all my mother’s warnings and my good sense, do I want to keep doing it?
His lips hint at a smile, his eyes with mischief. “Should I tell you what I’m reading into that look you’re giving me right now?”
“No, actually,” I say quickly, pretty sure my look was far more telling than intended. “Don’t.” I sit.
He laughs that low and sultry laugh of his and helps me scoot up to the table. Once I’m settled, he claims the seat next to me. “You want to tell me yourself, then?” he asks.
“No. I don’t believe I will.”
He considers me a moment, those blue eyes seeing a bit too much for my comfort before he lets me off the hook. He shrugs out of his jacket and settles it on the back of his chair. “How upset was your client?”
“Pretty upset, but not at me,” I say. “I called him right before the bidding and confirmed his top price. He did pressure me this morning to right his wrong, but clearly, I never had a chance with Alexander.”
“No. You didn’t. What he says and does is always about positioning and an agenda. Alexander is all about power.” He angles in my direction, all of his attention on me. “Every move he makes is about control and power.”
“But your moves aren’t?”
“I’m many things, but I don’t resemble Alexander in any way.” It’s not exactly a direct answer, I realize, but before I can push him, he adds, “If you haven’t figured that out yet, you will.”
The comment takes me off guard. It suggests that he’s offering me the opportunity to find out, to know him, and my head swims with the right and wrong of what’s happening between me and this man, and something is happening. And so, at least for now, I dare to accept. “It seems you’re a regular here.”
“I’ve been coming in here since I was a kid with my parents. Jenny and Jerry were good friends with my parents. They’re like second parents to me. They used to reward me with cookies and cupcakes for long hours of practice.”
I give a tiny smile. “No wonder you were able to skip the line.”