Next Song I Sing (NEXT TIME AROUND)

by McDonald, Donna

  “Cars last forever in California, don’t they? So how long have you been the bartender here?” Chloe asked.

  Sam smiled as he held the front door open for Chloe to enter. “Since I gave up investment banking, which would be about thirteen years ago now. But I also manage the bars at Jasper’s other two hotels.”

  “Jasper owns more than one hotel?” Chloe asked, stopping in shock then walking on when she realized Sam was still moving forward.

  “Yes. I’m sure he’ll tell you about it sometime,” Sam said, smiling.

  Both of them slowed as they saw Jasper following a tall, well-dressed blonde into the café.

  Chloe stopped dead and stood still. “That was Jasper’s ex-wife wasn’t it? He told me he was meeting her before she left. He didn’t say she looked like that. Is she a model?” She saw the truth on Sam’s face. “God—how crazy am I? I can’t do this. I’m getting my things and taking a taxi to Taylor’s.”

  “No, you’re not,” Sam said firmly, gripping Chloe’s arm and dragging her along with him, thinking Jasper was going to owe him big for this.

  If he hadn’t seen Chloe kiss Jasper last night, he would be damn tempted to steal the woman away from his stupid friend who left her alone to play nice with Rayonna. Sam could think of lots of ways to reassure Chloe that even a well-dressed model was no competition at all.

  “Come with me. You’re going to let me make you a drink and listen to my stories about Jasper. Rayonna is nothing more than a clone of several others before her. Jasper Wade was trained from the cradle to be seen with women like that, and he hasn’t really liked any of them. Trust me. I’ve known the man for over twenty-five years. You are our type, Chloe. If I say any more on that subject, Jasper is going to want to kick my ass.”

  Chloe breathed out a breath at finding yet another charming man and let Sam Hanson pull her into the lounge and onto a bar stool.

  “Mai Tai, right?” he asked.

  Chloe shook her head. “No—I need something stronger than that to banish the vision of Jasper and his ex. Rum and coke. Strongest rum you have, double-shot please.”

  Sam shook his head and laughed. “I’ll make you a drink for free if you answer a question. Why does a woman as sexy as you not know it and enjoy it? Are you unaware of your appeal or just scared?”

  “A woman as sexy as me?” Chloe asked on a laugh. “Since I have trouble having the word sexy applied to me without laughing, we’ll just go with scared.”

  “Rayonna is history and has been for while. Jasper is totally gone on you,” Sam told her. “Surely you know that just in two days. I have never seen him pursue any woman as aggressively as he’s going after you, nor kiss a woman in public as if he owned her. If you’re not interested in him, let him down easy, okay? Oh, and let me give you my phone number before you run. You’re my type too.”

  Chloe laughed and sipped her coke. “No can do, Sam. I’m gone on Jasper as well. I don’t know how much longer I can keep pretending I need more time to be sure. It’s happened so fast my head is spinning.”

  Now it was Sam’s turn to laugh. “See? Sexy, beautiful, and honest. I knew you had the winning combination. Too bad Jasper found you first.”

  “Stop,” Chloe protested, laughing to cover her pleasure at his flirting. “I bartended to work my way through college. I picked up guys like you every night.”

  “Me too. Well, not guys. Let’s just say I totally agree that a bartender is never without company when he or she wants it,” Sam told her, flirting a bit still because he couldn’t help himself. Chloe’s laugh was too charming to resist. In fact, everything about her was hard to resist.

  Chloe Zanders was sitting across from him wide-eyed, nervous, and all but begging to be reassured about her attractiveness. Any sane man with his senses intact would have wanted to answer that need in her. Suddenly, what he’d said to Jasper about cutting in on him with Chloe wasn’t a joke, so Sam made himself remember how Chloe had lingered over kissing his friend the evening before. It brought his lecherous thoughts down a couple notches.

  Chloe sighed into her half-finished drink. “You know, in college I was a terrible flirt and routinely dated multiple men. I didn’t take many of them seriously. I enjoyed them all. Then I got a job in a prestigious accounting firm, made big bucks, and found myself accidentally in a relationship with a married man because the SOB lied to me.”

  “You can’t let that one guy have that much influence,” Sam said.

  “He was only the first. I compounded that bad experience a couple years later by marrying a very handsome, former football player who after two years cheated on me with several women who looked like Jasper’s ex. Aaron made no secret that he thought I weighed too much. The last decade of bad experiences beat the first decade or so of good ones right out of me. Somewhere in all that I just accepted the death of my sexiness.”

  “Well, I think it was waiting in California for you,” Sam said with a shrug, liking her answering laugh far more than he should have. “I heard about your collection of business cards, but I think you owe Jasper and me a shot at you first.”

  Chloe laughed uproariously then, throwing back her head. “Right. The men are lined up and waiting to date me. Get real, Sam.”

  “I can see you need convincing. How about I say that I would bet a thousand dollars that some size fourteen tops don’t fit you?” Sam teased, raising a wicked eyebrow at the deepening color in Chloe’s face.

  Sam’s intimate and accurate assessment stopped Chloe’s laughter cold.

  “I’m not going to ask how you know my size,” she said quietly. “I’m just going to pretend the information is still private. Most men have no idea about what size clothing a woman wears.”

  “Jasper and I used to make bets on finding out sizes in college. My guess is he knows too, just hasn’t said anything to you,” Sam teased, laughing and completely charmed as Chloe put her blushing face in her hands and groaned.

  “Lady, you have been fed a bunch of bullshit by the men in your life. Get over it,” Sam ordered. “This is the one and only time I’m ever going to get to flirt with you, so I’m laying it all out. You have the body, the looks, and a voice that makes angels weep and men want to take you to bed. Don’t waste those attributes on stupid men from your past.”

  “You’re almost as charming as Jasper. I bet you get a lot of action,” Chloe told him, grinning.

  Sam just smiled. “Yes, I do. But I’m tired of that and would gladly trade the action for one smiling, beautiful woman who would welcome me home every night. That’s why I’m leaving my offer to you open. If Jasper screws up, you know where to find me.”

  Chloe laughed again. “Well, thank you, Sam Hanson. I’ve collected enough offers this weekend to last me for another decade. Yours is the second best one.”

  “Story of my life,” Sam told her, not having to ask whose offer was at the top of the list. Jasper was really, really, really going to owe him. “You want another drink? You may need it before the night’s over. Max said Rayonna was inviting one of her friends to have dinner with them. She’s trying to hook Jasper up with someone she can control.”

  Chloe swallowed, sighed, and pushed her empty glass back for a refill. “Shit. And you’re telling me this because you hope it makes me think poorly of Jasper and better of you?”

  Sam shook his head. “Oh hell no, I like Jasper. I want you to put on your sexy clothes and save my friend. Max wants the same thing. I just think you should know that Jasper’s ex-wife is a strange woman. Rayonna apparently thinks her right to control him was part of their divorce agreement.”

  “Damn it, Sam,” Chloe said, putting her head down on the bar counter. “My divorce was just final a week ago. I certainly don’t need ex-wife drama in a new relationship that I’m still not even sure is wise. I just let Jasper set me up in his hotel like I was already his freaking mistress or something. This is so not like me.”

  “I believe that. It’s not like Jasper either,” Sam assured her on
a laugh. “I’m betting it’s all going to work out right though. He looks at you with more pride than he does the hotel.”

  Chloe shook her head, trying to take it all in.

  Sam held up a finger to her. Leaving Chloe alone for a minute, he walked to the phone and ordered some appetizers sent over. If she kept drinking double-shots of rum, the woman was going to need some food in her. Besides, Sam didn’t need any more temptation. A drunk, insecure Chloe would definitely be more temptation than he could handle resisting in his current celibate condition.

  “Come on. Grab your drink and let’s find a table. I want to tell you about Jasper in college. He was a scoundrel, but charming. You would have loved him then. He was always the serious one, but he had a wild side too. I was always the party guy,” Sam said, leading her over to a table against the wall.

  “Jasper’s not always serious,” Chloe said, sliding into a chair. “He laughs and jokes with me.”

  “Yet another miracle—trust me,” Sam told her.

  Chloe laughed and listened. They ploughed through some bar food, sharing stories and jokes. After her third drink, she switched to regular coke so her head would stop spinning.

  A shadow fell over the table after a couple hours had passed and she looked up into Jasper’s frowning face.

  “Why are you here having a cozy dinner and drinking with my best friend?” he demanded.

  “Well, it was something to do while you entertained your ex and the woman she’s trying to hook you up with, Jasper. Now pull up a chair and don’t be so stuffy over a situation you caused,” she ordered. “Sam was keeping me company so I wouldn’t take a taxi to Taylor’s. I’m still thinking about leaving.”

  Sam had to look down at the table to keep from laughing at the sudden meekness Jasper showed in sliding a chair to their table for two, and he definitely didn’t miss how close Jasper pulled his seat to Chloe’s.

  Then to Sam’s amazement, the very proper Jasper Wade plucked a piece of food off Chloe’s plate to eat and made her laugh at him. She picked up another fried zucchini and fed it to him while Sam shook his head. Lucky bastard, he thought, sneering at his friend.

  Chloe leaned closer to Jasper and sniffed.

  “You smell like expensive perfume,” she told him, leaning back and shaking her head. “It’s nice, but I prefer you to smell like a man.”

  Sam grinned at Chloe’s comment because he knew Jasper way too well, and he knew that Rayonna would not have left without hugging him. Jasper would have been too polite to refuse an innocent embrace in public.

  Jasper took a couple breaths and swore softly, listening to Sam laugh. “I didn’t touch either of them. I swear,” he said sincerely, glaring at Sam when his friend laughed harder at his quick defense.

  “Did I ask you for an explanation? I don’t remember even inquiring,” Chloe protested, eyes wide in feigned innocence and voice deadly serious. “How could I possibly have any sort of expectations about a man I only met two days ago?”

  “Three days ago. This is Sunday. We met at lunch on Friday,” Jasper argued, leaning over to her and gripping her chin in his hand. He put his mouth on Chloe’s, both a sign of ownership in front of Sam and just because it made her real to him again after the interminable two hours he’d spent having dinner with Rayonna and her friend.

  Chloe didn’t move or pull away, so he kissed her a second time, discreetly tracing her upper lip with the tip of his tongue.

  “Rum and coke,” Jasper said. “Now that’s a real drink. Are you ready yet, Chloe?”

  “Getting a bit closer I think, though I backslide a bit every time I sniff you,” Chloe informed him, and then she smiled brilliantly at Sam. “Thanks for keeping me company, Sam. I hope I didn’t take up too much of your time on your day off.”

  “My pleasure, Chloe. I’d be happy to keep you company any time,” Sam said, meaning it.

  “Yes, thanks, Sam, for being a gentlemen. Now go away,” Jasper told him, wincing when Sam laughed evilly and slapped him hard on the back as he left. He waited until Sam disappeared behind the bar and into his office. “Did Sam hit on you?”

  “Hit on me? No—of course not. He only gave me his business card to put with the others I collected yesterday just in case you end up disappointing me,” Chloe said, enjoying Jasper’s glare way, way too much. “He did call second dibbs if I decided I didn’t like you.”

  “Are you drunk again?” Jasper asked. “If so, let’s take a walk and find someplace more private where I can convince you not to be interested in anyone else.”

  Chloe starting melting with laughter at Jasper’s fierce offer, which she could see he meant. She shouldn’t be teasing him so much.

  “Jasper, I don’t even know why I agreed to stay here. I’m scared about performing, and this is the craziest thing I’ve ever done. Tonight I sat in a bar with your best friend talking about your college days while you had dinner—for God knows what reason—with the woman who was sharing your bed before I got here Friday. Now how sane does all that sound to you? Cut me a break here,” Chloe told him, glaring back.

  Jasper sighed, stood, and put the extra chair back at the other table. When he came back, he sat across from Chloe in the chair that Sam had vacated. He needed distance to keep his hands off her.

  “Since I noticed you at lunch on Friday, I haven’t had two thoughts in a row where one didn’t feature you. That’s not normal behavior for me either, Chloe. Do we have to be logical about this? I’ve been logical most of my life. It never brought anyone like you into my arms before.”

  Chloe leaned her chin on her hand. Maybe she should have switched to straight coke sooner. She was dizzy again. “You are absolutely the most charming man I have ever met. You seduce me every time you open your mouth, even with that aloof tone of yours.”

  “I really need to kiss you properly before I implode. Is there a chance in hell you’re going to let me do that tonight?” Jasper asked, glaring at her because his need for her was nothing less than the stark truth. He couldn’t imagine that she wasn’t aware of it.

  Chloe stood and reached out a hand to him. “Come take a walk with me. Show me around the hotel. I can’t kiss you while you reek of another woman’s perfume, Jasper. Been there—done that—don’t want to do that with a man ever again, no matter how much I might want him.”

  Jasper stood and took her hand in his. “Fair enough. I’m sorry I reek. That damn scent Rayonna wears costs a fortune, and it seems to travel by air. I meant what I said, Chloe. Neither of those women touched me in any significant way.”

  Chloe laughed at his explanation, not wanting to think about even the insignificant touching that might have occurred.

  “I believe you,” she told him on sigh. “That’s probably the rum and coke talking, but I’ll try to believe you tomorrow as well. All we can do is see how it goes.”

  Jasper linked his fingers with Chloe’s and kept her locked to his side. Everywhere they walked in the hotel, Jasper noticed the staff discreetly watching him leading a woman around by the hand. He wondered what they thought, even though he wasn’t completely sure what he thought. Seeing himself through their eyes made him shake his head.

  Yet every time he turned to Chloe, it was in wonder of how sexy and unpretentious she looked in black cropped leggings and a top in colors of the sea. To him, Chloe seemed oblivious to the stares and whispers. She was caught up in exploring the hotel instead, truly listening to his explanations and stories.

  In the end, despite the fact he reeked of other women, Chloe let him kiss her anyway. Outside the door of her suite, Jasper leaned into Chloe and kissed her until his head spun wildly and his body turned into a rock against hers. He pulled away once, looked both ways in the hall, and then cupped Chloe’s breasts in his hands before diving into her mouth again with more enthusiasm than he’d known he’d even felt until he let it own him.

  Chloe could only be grateful she was leaning against the door when Jasper put exploring hands on her, otherwise they�
��d have gone right to the floor. All she wanted was him on top of her.

  When Jasper stepped away from her finally, Chloe thought his grey eyes were the color of the stone cliffs on the beach.

  “Since you own the hotel,” Chloe began, her voice breathless and hoarse. “I don’t suppose I could stop you if you insisted on coming into my room to make sure everything was okay.”

  “Don’t even joke about that,” Jasper said harshly, kissing Chloe hard once more and then striding away to the elevator. “I don’t want to just seduce you. I’ll wait for an invitation to everything. Good-night, Chloe.”

  “Good-night,” she said, swiping her key card and opening the door.

  Chapter 13

  On Monday, Chloe borrowed a car and went shopping, picking out several outfits that she told herself would be performance clothes. All of them sparkled, glittered, and would reflect the lights in the lounge.

  She also bought a red two-piece bathing suit, which to her amazement just happened to be a perfectly sized bandeau top paired with a nice coverage bottom that fit well. Serendipity, Chloe decided as she added the bathing suit to her growing pile. She needed to work on her tan so she wouldn’t be so pale in the California sun.

  Chloe also chose several other outfits to wear in her off time, none of which were suitable in any way for job interviews. At the moment, she didn’t care. If she ever got a serious job interview, she’d wear the black dress with a sweater over it.

  But she knew she was in denial of her true motivations when she wiggled into a pair of skinny white jeans that showed off her curves. Paired with v-neck T-shirt, she almost looked like a model, only three times as large, she thought, laughing as she checked herself out in the mirror just outside the dressing room.

  Still, she was showing some improvement. Instead of thinking about how big she was, all that was on her mind was what Jasper would think of how she looked.

  “Honey, you have to buy those,” the older sales clerk manning the counter said. “Mostly I don’t say anything to customers about their choices, but you look great. If those jeans are comfortable on you, you have to have them. In Cali terms, they make you look like you’ve had a butt-lift.”