He nodded. “Well, this is a small town and you’re a pretty girl. I’m attracted to you. Is that a crime?” It wasn’t a lie. She was a beautiful woman he couldn’t help but desire. It was their circumstances that made this a fine line for him to walk. She was the daughter of a client who was paying him big money, and he couldn’t afford to screw up the job with his interest in her.
She blushed and shook her head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.” She bit down on her plump lower lip. “Dinner sounds good. But nothing fancy, okay? I’m exhausted and I really just want to get home and pass out before I have to start serving all over again tomorrow.”
He grinned. “Aah, the life of a working girl. It isn’t easy,” he said, joking.
“I’m finding that out. My feet are killing me. Is there a place to buy a good pair of sneakers around here?”
“There’s an athletic store at the edge of town.” He pointed in the opposite direction of the beach. “I think it’s open late if you want to hit it up now? There’s a pizza place across the way. And it’s within walking distance if you’re up to it.”
“I’d better be, because I need a pair for tomorrow. My feet can’t take another day in these flat shoes with no arch or cushioning.”
“Okay then. A walk it is.” He redirected them and they started toward the store he had in mind.
He knew he didn’t need to spend this kind of time with her in order to keep an eye on her as per her father’s instructions, but he needed to know her plans for the summer, and on that personal level he shouldn’t feel, he was curious about this woman who’d come to town alone. He’d already checked her social media accounts, discovered she only had Instagram and most of the photos were of newly decorated rooms with hashtags that explained they were her doing. He was impressed with her eye for color, he thought, interested in the many facets of this woman.
They walked to the store, Braden pointing out the important shops to know in town, giving her the background on the owners of each. As they reached the athletic shop, he held the door open for her. “This is a family business. The Reeds have owned it for over twenty years,” he said.
She stepped past him and he caught a whiff of her sensual scent, not dulled at all from her long day of work, and his cock stiffened in his jeans. He might have misjudged the simplicity of this assignment, because around her, he was hard all the damned time.
He waited while she chose a pair of durable sneakers and paid with an American Express Gold Card. She was an enigma, this woman, with her expensive clothes and her contradictory job at a coffee shop that she appeared to need.
A little while later, they were seated across from each other at the pizza place, which, for during the week, wasn’t all that crowded yet.
“What’s your favorite kind of pizza?” he asked, settling her at a table before he went to the counter to order.
“Plain’s fine for me,” she said.
“Soda?”
“Diet Coke, please.”
He placed the order with Lou, the owner, and headed back to the table to sit with Juliette, bringing their drinks with him.
“So tell me, city girl, what are you doing in Rosewood Bay?” he asked.
She rolled the paper down her straw and stuck it into the cup. “Are you sure you’re interested?”
“Very,” he said.
“Okay, remember you asked when you hear the drama-filled story.”
He pinned her with a patient stare, waiting for her to begin.
She blew out a deep breath before starting to explain. “A few days ago, I was looking through my father’s private papers so I could find his wine journal and buy him a favorite for his birthday. Instead I discovered a private investigator’s report about my mother, who I thought passed away when I was a baby, and sisters I didn’t know I had. Sisters who live here, in Rosewood Bay,” she said, her voice emotional and shaky.
He blinked in shock. He’d expected something frivolous, along the lines of her needing to get away for the summer, something that made it easy to consider her a spoiled princess from Manhattan that he couldn’t possibly have a personal interest in. Instead he discovered a vulnerable woman who’d been lied to and had a serious reason for coming here. He couldn’t help but feel for her… and, dammit, be drawn to her even more.
“What did your father say when you confronted him?” he asked.
“That he was protecting me from life’s harsher realities,” she said, using air quotes. She dropped her shoulders, the answer obviously saddening her. “Now I admit to being too sheltered for most of my life, but I thought I had the right to know about my own family. So I came here to get out from under his thumb and to meet my sisters. But before I do that, I wanted to be settled. I didn’t want to show up on their doorstep with nowhere to go.”
She had pride along with spirit, he thought, admiring her reaction. He’d had no idea her father was hiding such serious shit when he’d hired him. Not that the man’s motives were relevant, he reminded himself. He was being paid to do a job. The reasons behind it and the effect on the woman sitting in front of him shouldn’t matter.
“That’s some story.” He placed his hand on hers, intending to offer comfort, but the jolt of electricity between them was strong. He cleared his throat, doing his best to ignore the attraction. “It’s a small town. Mind if I ask who your sisters are?”
She glanced at their entwined hands, a flush on her pale cheeks. “Phoebe and Halley Ward.” She glanced at him expectantly. “Do you know them?”
He let out a low whistle at the names. “Not personally but…” How did he say this delicately? “Your family is pretty well known in town. The Ward estate is like a landmark.” Point in fact, they were wealthy as shit, something else that should be a strike against his growing attraction to her.
He was solidly middle class, the money her family had was out of his stratosphere, making her out of his league. Even without her newfound family, he’d gotten the impression her father had high standards for the daughter he’d hired Braden to keep an eye on.
“Really? What else can you tell me?” She leaned in closer, eager for more information.
“You have an aunt, who is something of a philanthropist in town, giving money to worthy causes. And I know she pulled her nieces from foster care a decade or so ago. It was all people talked about at the time. I’d already graduated high school and so I never met them. But they would be your sisters.”
Juliette nodded, her expression so full of interested longing it was almost painful to see how badly she wanted to know about and meet her siblings.
“I take it you thought you were an only child?” he asked gently.
“Yes. I spent my life catering to my father’s needs. More so when he had a heart attack about eight years ago. I’d just turned eighteen. I went to NYU, but instead of living in the dorms the way I’d always wanted to, I stayed home to keep an eye on him because the doctors said he had cardiomyopathy—a weak heart. And I didn’t mind, honestly.”
“Sounds like you love him a lot,” he said, knowing he could relate because he was doing the same for his dad now.
“I do but I also trusted him and he betrayed that trust. I think he kept me so isolated from everyone on purpose, so I’d be there for him. So I left… not without guilt, mind you, because I worry about his health. But I need to do this for myself. To meet my family and to see what it’s like to be out on my own.”
She cleared her throat.
He didn’t blame her for needing to find herself. While he’d been pulled back into his father’s life in a way that disrupted what he’d thought would be his future with a woman he’d loved, he couldn’t regret putting his father first. The man had earned his dedication while she had not.
“I know how ridiculous this all must sound,” she said, unaware of his train of thought. “I mean, I’m twenty-six years old and Grace’s is my first real job.” She suddenly blushed, tucking her hair behind her ear, obviously embarrassed. “But he kep
t me busy running his scheduling and joining him at dinner engagements with business associates. Occasionally I did some decorating jobs both at home and for family friends. Mostly my father was a full-time job, what with his medications, doctor appointments, and parties.”
“You don’t have to justify your life to anyone,” he assured her. “You sound like a good, devoted daughter.” And her father sounded like a selfish ass, manipulating her for his own needs.
Just then, Lou brought over the pizza, placing it on a stand on the table. He returned with paper plates, silverware, and extra napkins. “Enjoy,” he said before returning to his place behind the counter.
“Wow, I just unloaded a lot about myself,” she said as Braden served them each a slice. “What about you? What do you do for a living?” she asked.
He paused with the piece near his mouth, caught off guard by the simple question. “I’m a private investigator,” he said, having decided honesty about himself was his best option.
“A PI. That’s interesting. So do you track down cheating husbands? Keep tabs on people, that sort of thing?”
“Something like that,” he said, glancing away and taking another bite of his pizza.
He chewed on the delicious cheesy piece as he justified his actions to himself. He wasn’t lying to her, not really. He was just going to make sure she was safe while she explored her boundaries this summer. No big deal.
But it was. Because in the very short time he’d gotten to know her, there was a lot about her to like and admire. He wanted to watch her grow as she explored what it was like not to have any boundaries, and that was a dangerous thing given why he was sitting across from her now. And it wasn’t just because he was interested in her as a woman. Except he really, really was.
After they finished eating and he insisted on paying, they walked out into the warm summer air. “Where are you staying?” he asked.
“I’m renting an apartment not far from Grace’s. One of the units on top of the stores.”
“Sounds good.”
She nodded. “It’s small but perfect for what I need for the summer.”
“I’ll walk you. I’m parked nearby.”
They strode back the way they’d come, her arm brushing his. For someone he’d just met, he was extremely aware of her, the sway of her hair, her touch and fragrant scent. His body registered everything about her and he wondered if her skin was as soft as it looked, what that plump lower lip would taste like beneath his mouth, and what her sweet pussy would feel like clasped around his cock.
And he now found it difficult to walk beside her, he thought, trying to focus on his surroundings and not the female by his side, as he headed around to the back of the building and up the stairs to her apartment. His professional instincts being pushed aside for more dangerous, personal desires.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said, turning to face him, keys in hand.
“I enjoyed getting to know you.”
She smiled, one that lit him up inside. “I appreciate you listening.”
“Go on in,” he said gruffly, gesturing toward the door and waiting until she was safely behind the walls of her apartment.
Where he couldn’t reach for her. Kiss her. Back her up against the wall, slide his tongue into her mouth, and press his cock against her soft flesh.
She was that tempting.
* * *
Apparently Juliette passed Grace’s test, because the next day, the woman handed her an apron and gave her more reasonable hours for the week than almost eight hours a day on her feet. She bustled with the morning rush, met another waitress who hadn’t been on yesterday, and the morning passed quickly. Soon it was the lunch customers, and when that ended, so did her shift. She wasn’t the best waitress Grace had, something she figured out early on. She was slow with juggling dishes and she found the rushes overwhelming.
She stepped out into the sunshine to find Braden standing on the sidewalk. He wore a pair of snug-fitting jeans that hugged his thighs, another plain tee shirt, today’s a light blue in color, and a pair of aviator sunglasses covering his eyes. The man was model hot and sexy as sin.
She’d thought a lot about him as she’d tried to fall asleep last night, her head busy with everything that had happened on her first day in Rosewood Bay. He’d been the highlight, and considering she’d also gotten her first apartment and job, that was saying a lot.
“Hi.” She shaded her eyes from the glare of the sun as she glanced at him.
“Hi, yourself,” he said with a welcoming grin. “Shift over?”
She nodded. “How’d you know?” Because he’d obviously been waiting for her.
“I called and asked Grace.”
She blinked, startled. “You did? Why?”
His wide smile revealed a dimple in one cheek. “Because I like you, city girl.”
A warm, tingling awareness swept over her at his words. Because she liked him, too. Her romantic history consisted of one guy she’d snuck around with so as not to upset her father when she was sixteen and the guy she’d lost her virginity to at nineteen, a rush job between classes in his dorm room.
Since then she hadn’t met anyone who interested her, and she studiously avoided the men her father pushed on her because they were appropriate in his eyes, because they were stuffy and boring and didn’t make her heart race and her blood sing like Braden did.
“So what’s the rest of your day look like?” he asked.
“I thought I’d drive by the Ward estate, where my aunt lives. You know, take a practice run? According to the paperwork I saw, my sisters have homes of their own. I need to work up my courage to contact any of them.” She shrugged, knowing it wasn’t a well-thought-out plan.
He placed an understanding hand on her shoulder, and her body buzzed at the innocent touch.
“Want company?” he asked. “I know where the estate is. I can take you by?”
“That would be great.” She jumped at the chance to spend time with him, not to mention, she liked the idea of not having to figure her crazy life out on her own.
“Have you thought about how you’ll handle introducing yourself?” he asked.
She’d done nothing but think about how to approach them. “I definitely think in person is best.”
He nodded. “And you’re not ready today?”
She shook her head. “I want to feel like I know them a little first. See where they live, build up my confidence. I have no idea how they’re going to feel about a long-lost sister.” And she was worried they’d… she didn’t know, resent her for some reason while she couldn’t wait to have family.
“What do you say we go for a ride? I’ll show you around town, take you to your aunt’s estate, and ease your mind?” Braden offered.
“My car is parked in the lot where I live. Want to take it?”
“Sure thing.”
A short walk later and they were in her convertible, top down, and Braden was giving her instructions to her aunt’s.
The Ward estate was on the far side of town and sat alone on a large stretch of land, surrounded by green grass and manicured shrubbery. It was, she thought, a far cry from the crowded buildings in Manhattan, where she’d grown up. The mansion was huge, with pillars out front, a long distance from the drive with an open black wrought-iron gate surrounding the property.
She slowed the car and parked out front, wondering what it would have been like to grow up here, then quickly shut the thought down. Not even her sisters had been raised on the estate. Better she should wonder what their lives had been like in foster care. Because no matter how frustrated and hurt she was by her father’s lies, she’d had a parent who loved her – albeit in his own suffocating way – and she’d grown up in luxury. She doubted her sisters had been so lucky, not until they’d been brought here by their aunt.
“You’re quiet. What are you thinking?” Braden asked.
She rolled her shoulders, leaning one arm on the wheel. “I’m wondering about the kind of lives
my sisters lived. I know, despite everything, I had it good.”
Braden frowned. “That doesn’t mean it was perfect. You can be upset with events in your life even if your sisters had it rough. And for the record, you don’t know that they did.”
She blew out a long breath. “No, I don’t.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go in? Ring the bell?”
She gripped the wheel tighter. “Not today.”
She wanted to see her sisters or her aunt looking her best and being emotionally prepared. “Where to now?” she asked.
He shrugged. “You tell me.” He turned toward her. “When you thought about getting away for the summer, being on your own, what things did you want to do?”
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “I didn’t think about more than getting away, but what would I want to do?” She thought about all the things she’d never gotten to experience because her father needed her home, and about where she was now, what opportunities she had in this small town.
She opened her eyes and met his gaze. “I want to go to the ocean and put my feet in the water. I want to get drunk and dance at a bar.” A naughty thought took hold and she decided not to hold back. “And I want to go skinny-dipping at night.”
He let out a choked, startled sound and his eyes zeroed in on her body, as if cataloguing the individual parts, from her breasts down to her belly, her lower abdomen, legs, and toes, and imagining the sight of her naked.
“I think all of that can be arranged,” he said in a gruff voice.
Her cheeks flushed but she held his gaze because there was more going through her mind about what she wanted to do with her summer of freedom. Things that included exploring this man’s very fine body inch by inch and ending her dry spell with Braden Clark.
Chapter Three
Man, he was in trouble, Braden thought, glancing at the spitfire driving the expensive convertible. He’d shown up today to meet her after work, drawn by a pull he couldn’t deny, all the while convincing himself he was just doing his job. Making sure she was safe while she was in his small town.
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