“Down where?”
“Outside your place.At the Hotel Victoria.Could you please tell your security guy to let me up?”
His two-beat hesitation offered the only sign she’d shocked him. “I’ll be down in less than a minute.”
Sure enough, before she could step out of her car, Jordan pushed through the back entrance toward her. She tugged the picnic basket with her and slammed the car door.
His steps faltered briefly, his gaze hooking on her Little Red Riding Hood basket.
“I made dinner reservations for eight-thirty.”
“I can’t wait that long to eat. I’ll be starving way before then.” She stopped in front of him, the basket between them. “Would you be responsible for depriving your baby of food?”
He brushed his thumb over the dimple in her chin. “What game are you playing here?”
She didn’t want to be tempted by his touch, especially when they would be alone for the evening. But going out in public together? She wasn’t ready for that yet. “I don’t want to go out. I’m tired and my feet hurt. I want to enjoy my dinner and relax without a bunch of curious people watching us, or worse yet, asking questions.”
“Fair enough,” he conceded. “Let’s go inside.” He took the basket from her and guided her toward the hotel entrance.
Letting him steer her with the heat of his hand on her waist, she couldn’t deny the curiosity itching over her to check out the rival hotel of the Garrison Grand. Inside, she inhaled the scent of fresh paint, undoubtedly soon to be replaced with a more exotic aroma.
No question, this place targeted the same clientele as her family’sSouthBeachproperty, yet she couldn’t help but be struck by the décor contrast. The Garrison Grand stayed with a theme of mostly pristine white, with the richest of wood, marble and steel accents.
TheVictoriafired through her in a blast of bold reds and yellow, with brass accents.Cherrywood , marble and decadence were the only decorative themes in common.
Best not to think about marble, though, which could too easily lead her to memories of the marble spa tub they’d once enjoyed.
The brass doors to the elevator swooshed open, and she stepped inside with Jordan —and more memories. Had she made the right decision today? She tried to avoid looking at him, but the mirrored walls made that impossible. “Your hotel is beautiful.”
“You are beautiful.”
“And you are not going to get me against the elevator wall that easily again, Romeo.”
His low laugh followed her as she walked out of the elevator, then she realized she didn’t know where to turn. Jordan touched her elbow and guided her left toward the double doors at the end of the corridor. He swiped his key and she found—not what she’d expected.
Wait. “I was thinking we would eat in your office.”
Not in a sitting room that obviously connected to a bedroom.
Control slipped elusively away. She longed to call for a time-out and simply plop to rest on one of the comfybuttercream -yellow and burgundy sofas or seats stationed throughout the lobby. Or better yet, kick off her shoes and take to the beach beyond the glass wall, wade through the aquamarine waters.
“I’m living and working from here now, just until they finish up the last touches to the hotel.Saves time leaving my house for every call.” He tugged at the knot in his striped tie and slowly slid the length free from his collar.
At the deliberate, sensuous glide of the silk against his cotton shirt, her stomach flipped and it had nothing to do with an acrobatic baby. “Okay, can I get you something to drink? I brought water, and uh, water.Oh, and milk.”
Let him see what life with her would be like. No wild nights at a bar. Of course he could always go to his ownminibar and mix himself something to drink. She waited…
He extended a hand. “I’ll have the water.”
She reached into the basket and pulled free a bottle of sparkling water. She poured it into two crystal glasses with ice from theminibar , topped it off with a twist of lemon before flipping the lid closed on the basket again…To find him in the doorway with his cell phone in hand.
He covered the mouthpiece. “I’m canceling our reservations at Emilio’s restaurant.
It seems you have dinner well in hand.”
Emilio’s?Her mouth watered for the amazing Cuban cuisine offered at El Diablo.
Being a captive to her hormonal cravings really sucked sometimes. She chewed her bottom lip and stared at the basket of…She couldn’t even remember what was inside anymore.
Jordan covered the phone’s mouthpiece. “I had this assistant once who was pregnant. She ate cheeseburgers for lunch every day for a month. She vowed nothing else sounded good. You know, we can pitch the stuff in your basket and I can place a delivery order at El Diablo’s—for the baby.”
She released her lip from between her teeth, slowly.“For the baby?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay.” She rattled off her order before her pride could get the better of her, each delicacy filling her taste buds with anticipation.
“Got it.”His smile and wink took away some of the sting to her pride at losing a bit of control in her plan.
He relayed her order, doubled to includehimself . Finally he closed his phone and ditched his suit coat over the back of a wooden chair, the wide bed visible through the part in the slightly open connecting door.
She took in the framed prints on the walls, each photo portraying a stage of construction of the hotel. All but one small family photo resting by his computer…She started toward it, curious, but Jordan waylaid her.
He took his glass in one hand and her elbow in his other.“The balcony?”
Since she could swear he’d phrased it as a question rather than an order, she decided to go along.“The balcony, yes.”
Lord love him, after she sat, he even thought to swing another wrought-iron chair around to prop her tired feet while they enjoyed the final fading rays of the day.
He really was pulling out all the stops.
Sinking back into her seat, she sighed at the amazing view of the waves rolling against the private beach. “You’ve got a great piece of prime property here.”
“Thanks.”
She enjoyed the beauty of the sculptured landscaping, empty now, but soon undoubtedly to be flooded with people. “Who needs blood pressure medicine with a mood stabilizer like this?”
His eyebrows drew together.“A lot going on to stress you out lately?”