Reid looked right at her then. “If you don’t care to join me, I can call you a cab and have you picked up. I’m staying.”
Jovie huffed but followed Reid into the house.
The young man had stopped just inside the door to wait for them. It was warm in the house. The ovens probably heated up the area and it didn’t seem to have any air conditioning to speak of. They were led through the house, which was packed with people eating what looked like mountains of food, and through another door out onto a covered and screened in patio. After the heat of the house, the breeze was nice and cool and made Reid feel instantly better.
“Here you are, ma’am.” The young man pulled out the seat for Jovie. She sat and allowed him to slide her in to the table. Reid took his own seat. “Now, what can I get you two? Do you want to start off with drinks or go ahead and put in your order? Silly, me, let me grab you some menus.”
“No need. I think I already know what I want.”
“Chicken fried steak, right?”
“Right, with mashed potatoes and gravy and corn on the cob.”
“That’s our most famous meal. You’ve come to the right place for food like that. What about a drink?”
“What do you recommend?”
“Sweet tea is the only thing I’d recommend with Gran’s chicken fry.”
“Sweet tea it is, then. Thank you.”
“And for you miss?”
“I’ll just have a salad with ranch and some water if you don’t mind.”
The boy nodded and took off back into the house.
“That’s all you want?”
Jovie shrugged.
Reid leaned back in his chair, relishing the breeze and taking in all the smells that poured from inside the home. He was mildly surprised when his phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket to check the readout. “Winslow,” he said into the receiver.
“Hey, Mr. Winslow, it’s Vivi. I’m calling today to do a simple follow-up. I haven’t heard from you in some time, so I assume it’s going well, but I still thought I’d touch base with you. How are you two getting along?” Reid glanced over at Jovie, who was picking idly at her nails and clearly trying not to touch anything.
“Excuse me,” he said to her, making his way back through the house and out to the car again. “To be honest, Vivi, it’s not going so well. She was alright at first, but now that it’s been a couple dates, I’m starting to see that she’s just like everyone else. I’d just leave and go back to Paloma but I’m still really upset with her over her lie.”
“I’m sorry, what? I thought you were still with Paloma, what is going on?”
“No, I haven’t seen her in nearly two weeks.”
“You are going to have to elaborate.”
“Okay, I called your office to tell you how great it was going with Paloma, but you weren’t in. I didn’t expect you to be, it was late.” Reid was pacing in the lot now, kicking up dirt and covering his shoes. “Well, someone picked up and I told her how great Paloma was and how well things were going. She then told me that Paloma hadn’t passed the vetting and that she had no money and not even a home. I felt utterly betrayed and I cut things off with her. The assistant set me up with another girl. It went alright at first, but now I’m not so sure.”
“An assistant set you up?” There was the sound of typing. “Oh my. Paloma didn’t pass the vetting. Reid, I’m so sorry about that. I took a chance and went for it. I am terribly, terribly sorry.”
“The thing is I really liked Paloma. We hit is off so well. I was just betrayed at her lies. But she didn’t lie directly to me, she lied to you. The more I think about it, the less angry I am.”
“Who is this woman you were set up with instead?”
“Her name is Jovie Margaux.” There was silence on the line for some time.
“I don’t have a Jovie in my system.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I think she set you up. I don’t know what happened. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
“No, Vivi. I’ll get to the bottom of it.” Anger bubbled up inside him. He knew his face was red and he wouldn’t be surprised if he had steam coming out of his ears. He walked back into the restaurant and straight into the kitchen, startling the old woman at the oven. “I’m sorry to do this, but something’s come up. I was going to eat out on the porch, but now I’ve got to run. Can I get my food to go?”
The old woman scrunched up her lined face in a huge smile and motioned to the plate of food that sat steaming on the counter. She handed him a to-go box and he spooned his food and Jovie’s salad into it. “Thank you so much. I apologize for this. I hope this makes up for it.” He dug into his pocket and pulled a hundred dollar bill out, handing it to her. Her smile fell and then returned instantly.
“Bless you, young man.” He passed the young waiter on his way out and asked him to send his date to the front of the restaurant. The boy agreed and Reid returned to the car. When she appeared, she looked utterly confused.
“What’s going on?”
“I thought about it and you were right, that place was a little like a shack. I grabbed our food to go and thought maybe we would eat at your place or something.” Her face brightened immediately. He drove through the streets back to her place. He was barely able to keep his anger under control but he didn’t want to fight in the car. He parked in front of her place, but didn’t get out. “Jovie, how did you get into the system?”
“What?”
“How did you get hooked up with me? Do you have a friend inside Lovers?”
She looked shocked again and a little incredulous. Her demeanor changed in an instant and she scooted a little closer to him in her seat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why don’t you come on in and we can skip the meal for now.” She leaned in to try to kiss him, but Reid pushed her away.
“I want an answer.” His voice was low as he tried to control his rage. Jovie could see he wasn’t playing around. She scooted back to her side of the car and huffed.
“Fine. Miranda is my friend. I’ve been trying to get her to hook me up with one of you rich guys for some time. I do fine by myself, but I don’t want to work. I would love to just be a kept woman. I thought if I could get my foot in, I’d be able to get one of you to love me and insist I leave my job and stay at home and, I dunno, raise babies or whatever rich housewives do.”
“Out.”
“What?”
“Get out of my car!” he shouted. The second she was clear of the vehicle, he pulled out, rubber squealing as he laid on the gas.
Chapter 19
Paloma hadn’t left her room since returning from the beach. It had been a couple of hours, but she couldn’t show her face, not even to Kit. Her shame and betrayal were the worst feelings she had even had. Her phone rang, startling her. She grabbed for it and looked at the screen. Reid? No, no way. She hit the button to block the number and tossed her phone back on the floor. She was done with him for good. What did he even want? Frustrated, she got up and went into the kitchen. Slamming through all the counters finally brought Kit out of her own room.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Do you know who just called me? Reid. He just called me!” She let out a snarl of rage and slammed the fridge shut.
“Okay, but what does that have to do with our kitchen?”
“Comfort food, Kit. I need something fattening or fried or both. I don’t even know. I’m so angry.”
“Well, what did he want?”
“I didn’t answer it.” Kit finally grabbed Paloma and moved her over to the couch. “I didn’t want to talk to him. After what he’s put me through and then he thinks he can just pull me back in. I’m not having it. I don’t want to hear his side of the story.”
“This sounds familiar.” Paloma gave her a sideways look. “Isn’t that exactly what he did to you that made you so mad? He didn’t give you a chance to tell your side of the story. Well now you are doing the same to him. I d
on’t think that’s fair.”
“Now you’re on his side? I thought you hated him.”
“I haven’t even met him, but it’s clear to me that you don’t hate him. Paloma, you really care about him and that’s why he was able to hurt you so much. I think you should at least give him that little bit to tell his side of the story.”
“I don’t know, Kit. I’m so hurt. I don’t even think I could face him.”
Just then there was a knock at the door. Kit looked at Paloma, shrugged, and then got up to get the door.
Reid stood on the other side with a to-go box of food and a bouquet of purple flowers. “You must be Kit. I’m—”
“I know who you are. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“I know. I know. Look, I’m a terrible person. I found out that she wasn’t who I thought she was and I cut her off. Now I feel like a total ass and I just want to talk to her. That’s all I want.”
Paloma appeared behind Kit and looked right into his eyes. “Let him in,” she whispered.
“You need me to get rid of him, you just holler.” Kit walked into her room as Reid and Paloma stared at each other in the living room.
“I, uh, I brought these for you.” He handed her the flowers. “I also thought that you’d like a chicken fried steak and potatoes from this little house place down on Milton.”
“You went to Gran’s?”
“You know it?”
“Of course I do. Best chicken fried steak in town.”
“It’s still warm. I went there after I saw you at the pier. I couldn’t get you out of my head. Then I found out that my date was just another conniving liar and I couldn’t take that. I felt betrayed again, just like I did when I found out that you had no money, or a job, or a home. It was a little overwhelming and I didn’t handle it well.”
Paloma took the food and retrieved two plates from the kitchen. She split the meal in two and set the plates on the table. “Join me. Let’s talk about it.” Her voice was low and quiet. Sad. He sat across from her and took the fork he offered. “I’ll go first. I was going to tell you. I was going to come clean with you that night but I couldn’t figure out how to tell you.
I really liked you so much. I still do. At first I wanted security, that’s true, but when I met you and we really hit it off that all changed. I genuinely like you, Reid. I had a great time and I’m sorry I ruined it.” Tears welled in her eyes and he reached across the table to wipe them away. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. I should have given you the time to explain it to me. Truth is that I really like you too, Paloma. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since that day. I wish we could erase the past and just start over.”
“Let’s do that. Right here, over this amazing food.”
Reid looked down at his plate. The food was still warm and smelled amazing. He cut into the steak and took a bite. Paloma watched him chew and savor the food on his plate.
“Jesus, this is amazing. She makes that out of that tiny kitchen in her little house?”
“Yep, she lives in the upstairs room. I bet it’s hot up there.”
“Do you think she’d be offended if I bought her out and set her up in a real restaurant?”
Paloma’s eyes brightened. “You would do that for her?”
“Of course. Plus, she would need a manager for her restaurant. And a protégé. Do you think we would be able to talk her into it?”
“I think it’s an amazing idea.”
“Then let’s go ask her.” He stood and held out a hand to help her up. When she was standing, they were close enough that she could feel his body pressed up to hers. He leaned in and kissed her passionately, causing her whole body to tingle. She returned his kiss with gusto, letting him explore her mouth with his. He took her breath away in so many ways. “I think, maybe, we could ask her later.”
Paloma laughed and started to back towards her bedroom. The passion they had felt that first night was reignited and they couldn’t hold it back. They tore at each other’s clothes, trying to get the threads off as fast as possible. Paloma kicked her foot out and closed the door behind him. “I think she can wait.”
Reid smiled as he pulled his shirt over his head. She followed his lead, releasing her heavy breasts and showing off her dark skin. He couldn’t wait to get his hands all over it. His fingers danced on her rib cage before wrapping around her waist and pulled her to him again.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I can’t believe it took me so long. I was such an idiot. I’m crazy about you, Paloma.”
They fell into a heap on the bed, his lips dancing along her skin and causing goosebumps to rise all over her. A sigh escaped her lips as he ran his tongue around one small, hard nipple before taking it gently in his teeth. He slid his hands down her sides, causing her to giggle and squirm. “I didn’t know you were ticklish.”
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”
“I’m going to find out. All of it.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Their lovemaking was passionate and unhurried. Paloma felt home for the first time in many months and was finally at peace. She knew that her life was going to change for the better, and it wasn’t just the money he had, it was him, all of him. Reid Winslow was the kind of man she needed in her life and she was going to go to great lengths to be the woman he needed in his. Their giggles and moans continued well into the night.
THE END
Thank you for reading!
Turn the page to read: “A Twin Deception” by Izabella Brooks
Twin Deception by Izabella Brooks
Chapter 1
Sadi sat in the black leather high back chair, watching the news as the chemical in her hair set under the dryer. God knew she hated going through this every couple weeks, but Luke liked blonde hair. She had heard that as a passing comment when she had been little more than an admin assistant at his company, Pearson and Pearson.
Sadi had set her sights on the boss and she wasn't going to stop until she had him. She had died her hair blonde, spent what little money she had on better, more expensive clothing which fit her just right. She had used her long legs and curves for all they were worth. She had started working out four times a week and drinking more water. And she had dyed her long auburn hair a platinum blonde that she had always hated on other women.
Apparently whatever she had done had worked. Luke Pearson had noticed her within a couple days of the transformation. He had stopped in front of her desk, arms crossed across his chest, grinning that familiar Pearson grin which never failed to make Sadi’s heart stop.
She frowned. At least it never used to fail. Now.... she was engaged to a successful, wealthy, attractive man. The rock on her finger cost more than what most people made in a year. She had a huge house complete with a pool, tennis court, and sauna, a black sports car and a red one too, a personal trainer, a dietician, a hair stylist, a personal shopper, a cook, and a cleaner. She didn't have to do a damn thing if she didn't want to.
Sadi picked up a magazine and glanced at it absently. She wondered why none of those things made her happy anymore. They had at the beginning. She had loved when Luke courted her, taking her out to expensive restaurants, fancy clubs, plays and shows. She had loved his house and all his cars, the giant pool in the backyard, and the fact she never had to cook or clean or grocery shop if she didn't feel like it. She didn’t even have to work.
She used to have a purpose beyond getting herself to her latest appointment. She didn't even have to do that if she didn't want to do so. They had a driver who would take her. She supposed she could use her upcoming wedding to give her life meaning, but even that fell flat, just like her relationship.
Lately she and Luke hadn’t had the spark they used to have. They hadn't made love in months. Sadi still found Luke attractive. He was tall with a physique to die for. All the time Luke spent working out had left him with a god-like physique. Well tone
d muscles, rock hard abs. His sandy blonde hair and grey blue eyes topped everything off.
He ate healthy and his skin glowed. He still looked like a god to Sadi, yet they hadn't so much as touched each other in weeks. He had seemed too busy with work to even notice her. At least Sadi assumed that’s what kept him busy. She hadn't asked about his hobbies or his business in a very long time, though she used to work at Pearson and Pearson and she should have cared.
Luke used to plan getaways for the two of them, little romantic liaisons stolen when his demanding schedule would allow, but even those had faded into the background as well.
Sadi missed the man Luke used to be. She flipped a page in the magazine and stared at the shiny lipstick covering the perfect model’s lips on the glossy paper in front of her. It wasn’t right to put the blame all on Luke. If Sadi were honest with herself, she missed the woman she used to be. She knew it was true what everyone said. That money couldn't bring you happiness. It could buy you nice things and give you a comfortable life, but it left a hollow spot in her chest that she couldn’t seem to fill.
She watched the bad news images flash across the TV screen in the corner, and shifted uncomfortably in her chair under the dryer, the smell of chemicals burning her nose. No wonder they made her scalp itch and burn like fire. The stuff felt completely toxic.
Setting the magazine aside, Sadi thought about her upcoming wedding. She knew deep down inside that she should break off her engagement to Luke. He was a good man and she liked to think she was a good person as well. Lately though, she doubted it.
She knew she wasn't happy, but she was unwilling to go back to a one bedroom apartment and a minimum wage job. Getting engaged to Luke had been like winning the lottery. Sadi just wished she could find some light in the current darkness in which she was stumbling around.
The Billionaire's Mistaken Match ( A BWWM Romance) Page 9