Dangerous Secrets (3 page)

“He did that?” Her heart beat erratically. Why hadn’t he ever said anything to her? These mixed signals were going to drive her crazy.

“Uh huh. So, enough with the games. I know you showed up with him today.” Carolyn placed a hand on her hip.

Izzy shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. He’s apparently leaving in two weeks.”

“Apparently? He didn’t tell you?”

She shook her head and fought the annoyance that threatened to bubble up. She had no claims on him so she shouldn’t have had an expectation that he’d tell her first. “Nope.”

“Well who cares? I know you want him. Why not indulge in a hot fling before he leaves? No complications if things go south. It’s not as if you’ll be working with him forever.”

Izzy bit her bottom lip. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Oh, speaking of…” Carolyn motioned with a nod of her head.

She followed her friend’s gaze. A few other servers streamed out into the parking lot, no doubt ready to get out of there since they weren’t working. Adam leaned against the brick wall, staring at her. When they made eye contact, he half smiled and her blood temperature spiked about a hundred degrees.

She looked back at Carolyn. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I am. You need to indulge yourself in something absolutely bad. And Adam is just the man for the job.” She fished out her car keys then dropped a quick kiss on Izzy’s cheek. “I’ll call you later, and I want juicy details so don’t disappoint me.”

Izzy made the short trek back down the sidewalk to where Adam stood. “Still feel like getting breakfast?”

The hooded look he gave her told her he’d like to get a lot more than breakfast. Which only confused her. Was that why he’d waited to make a move? Had he known he was leaving?

“Yes. Listen Izzy. I was planning to tell you I was leaving,” he said.

“Whatever. It’s no big deal.” She lifted her shoulders noncommittally as they walked to his truck.

He stopped her with a light touch on her lower arm, forcing her to look at him. “Seriously Izzy. I was going to tell you over breakfast today.”

The brief contact sent shockwaves straight to the growing ache between her legs. She was in trouble. Serious, serious trouble. Now that she knew he was leaving, she wanted him even more. Her lovers had been few and far between, and she wasn’t passing up a chance to experience a man like Adam Marcellus. She’d have to be certifiable to do that.

Adam stared at the sexiest woman he’d ever come in contact with and wished he knew what was running through that pretty head of hers. Mistrust was visible on her face, but she was softening up. After Toby had made that announcement about his move, Izzy had stiffened next to him. The movement had been slight, but he’d felt it, and the message in the set of her jaw had been clear. She was pissed. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, he could read her remarkably well. More than anything, it bugged the hell out of him that he’d unintentionally hurt her.

He hadn’t wanted Izzy to find out this way. He’d planned to tell her at breakfast. This might not be his real job, but he’d had to give Toby two weeks’ notice. His five week contract was almost up. He hadn’t convinced her to move back to Savannah but she was safe. That had been his main job, to look out for her and make sure she was okay living down here. He couldn’t predict the future, but she was as safe as anyone could be.

Now he really had his work cut out for him with Izzy. Convincing her to move back to Savannah within the next two weeks would use every ounce of his supposed southern charm. Technically if she didn’t move back, he’d still land the Forester deal, but some part of him didn’t want to go back to Savannah without her—deal or not. When he knew they’d be working the same shift, anticipation would build in him at the prospect of seeing her.

He glanced over at her since she still hadn’t responded. “Well?”

She stood next to the passenger door with narrowed eyes as she studied him. “Okay. I guess I believe you, but you’re buying breakfast.”

He couldn’t bite back a smile at the haughty way she said it. She might want to deny her heritage, but the woman definitely acted like a princess when she wanted. He moved to open the door for her, and leaned close to her ear in the process. “I planned on it, darlin’.”

As he shut the door to the passenger side, he inwardly smiled at how easy it was to draw a blush from her. Izzy’s cheeks turned pink every time he got close. He fought to get his body under control as he rounded the truck. He was the biggest chump in the world for thinking he could get close to Izzy and not get involved with her.

When Edward had shown him his daughter’s picture, he’d known she was beautiful. But beautiful women were a dime a dozen. Especially beautiful rich women. With enough money, anyone could buy beauty.

There was a lot more to Izzy than looks. Something he’d seen firsthand last night. Not all women would have run at a strange man in an attempt to help a woman they didn’t know. But she’d run headfirst into the situation.

Things could have turned dangerous and if he hadn’t been there, there was no telling what could have happened. Still, he had to admire her reaction.

As he pulled away from Mad Dog’s, Izzy crossed her legs and her colorful dress shifted upward, giving him a better view of her smooth skin. He forced his eyes forward.

Maybe in a different universe he and Izzy could have a normal relationship, but not in this one. She might be working at a bar, but she was out of his league and out of his tax bracket. He’d learned a long time ago how the wealthy thought. His childhood had been spent living with his grandmother right on the edge of the 8
^th
Ward, one of the worst neighborhoods in New Orleans. He’d bought his first gun when he was fifteen, purely for the protection of his household. Thankfully he’d never had to use it and it wasn’t something he was proud of, but that had been his life back then. Getting a weapon had been necessary because the violence had often spilled over into their neighborhood. He’d been the oldest and it’s not as if his grandmother would have been able to fend for them. She’d been a good woman and had provided a roof over their heads, but she’d been old and frail and stuck raising grandkids instead of enjoying any sort of retirement.

Izzy might be attracted to him, but he wasn’t the kind of man she’d settle for. Something he needed to keep reminding himself.

“Are we eating at the pier?” Her voice brought him back to the present.

“Yeah. Is that okay?” He steered into the parking lot. Aunt Sarah’s wasn’t upscale, but the southern-style food reminded him of home. And he hoped it did the same for her.

Coconut Bay wasn’t a big city compared to Jacksonville, the nearest big city, and there weren’t many places open this early in the sleepy beach town. Next month would be a different story, when the tourist season picked up.

“I love it here.” A faint smile touched her lips as she slid out of the seat.

He inhaled the salty air as they headed up the planked walkway toward the restaurant. When he left here, he’d miss the small town atmosphere, but there wasn’t much room for growth, unlike Savannah which was booming. Even though Savannah wasn’t his birthplace, it reminded him of New Orleans. The cemeteries, the architecture and the southern culture. It was just a lot cleaner and there was less crime. Something he’d adjusted to very quickly.

Next to him, Izzy’s stomach growled. She met his gaze and a delicious blush spread across her sharp cheekbones. She crinkled her nose in embarrassment and he wanted to do nothing more than lean over and kiss the adorable sprinkling of freckles across her nose.

“Looks like we got here right in time.” He held open the door for her. The place was already filling up, but there were still a few empty booths.

The hostess sat them in a booth next to one of the open windows overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The sparkling water was crystal clear and tranquil. Izzy didn’t take much time to start questioning him. “So, why are you leaving?”

“My brother’s security company is taking off and he needs me.” It was a lie, but he swallowed the guilt back down. He hadn’t been exactly truthful since they’d met so lying should be easier. Why did it get harder and harder the more he was around her? He needed to turn the focus back on her so she’d stop asking him personal questions.

They both paused as the server took their drink order. “Why are you living here if your family is in Savannah?” he asked as soon as they were alone.

Shrugging, she glanced down at her open menu. “For the same reason you are I suppose.”

That was doubtful.

“The grits here are to die for,” she said, effectively changing the subject.

Okay, she didn’t want to talk about her family. He could appreciate that. It also let him off the hook. If she didn’t want to get too personal, she’d steer clear of questioning him.

“Hey Adam, fancy seeing you here.” A female voice he vaguely recognized caused him to look over Izzy’s shoulder at the approaching woman.

Izzy shifted in her seat. When she turned back around to face him, her eyes were narrowed slightly.

The tanned, petite woman had short bleach-blond hair and wore a midriff halter-top over her bikini. She was cute, but her beach shorts were a little too snug around her waist. She placed a haughty hand on her hip. “You never called me last night when you got off work,” she pouted.

Ahh, he must have served her last night. Half a dozen women—all of whom looked pretty much the same as far as clothing and hair went—had given him their phone numbers the night before. After work, all those scraps of paper had been trashed. If he’d known any better, he’d have gotten a job bartending a decade ago when he was randy enough to be interested.

Now his tastes were a lot more discerning. Actually his current taste in the opposite sex seemed to consist of one woman in particular. The one woman he couldn’t have. The universe had a screwed up sense of humor. Before he could respond, Izzy did it for him.

“That’s because he was with me.” Her silky smooth voice had an icy edge to it.

The sharp bite to her words surprised him. She was always so easygoing.

The other woman jerked in surprise, as if seeing Izzy for the first time, though Adam knew the blonde was perfectly aware of Izzy’s presence. The woman had a certain amount of nerve to saunter up to their table when it was obvious he was with someone else.

After mumbling a quick goodbye, she hurried out the door.

“Friend of yours?” Avoiding his gaze, Izzy stirred creamer into one of the coffee mugs placed in front of them.

He grinned. “I don’t know her, but I think she was at the bar last night.”

She looked up and rolled her eyes. “I’m sure she wasn’t the only woman interested in you last night.”

“Jealous?” he asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Maybe I am.” A dark eyebrow lifted before she averted her gaze back to the menu.

Her response gave him pause. Flirting with Izzy was like playing with fire. A fire he couldn’t seem to resist. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to go up in flames. After a moment, she looked at him again and the electricity between them was almost tangible. A thick, sensual haze hovered around them. Why couldn’t he have met her under different circumstances?

The server returned to take their food order, breaking the intimate moment. After she left, he found his voice again. “Do you ever think about moving back to Savannah?”

“Sometimes I do. My family lives there, but I was tired of seeing the same people every day. I don’t plan to put down roots in Coconut Bay or anything, but who knows what the future holds?” She shrugged and continued. “And my father can be a little overbearing sometimes so I guess I needed a change of pace.”

Like hiring someone to watch out for her without her knowledge? That kind of overbearing? He cleared his throat and pushed down his personal loathing. “Overbearing?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat but answered. “He used to run background checks on all my dates and friends.”

If he had a daughter like Izzy he’d probably check out her dates too. “That doesn’t seem so bad.”

Her lips pulled into a thin line, making him imagine what it would be like to cover her mouth with his. When she started talking again, his gaze jerked back up to hers. “I was sixteen when he started with that crap. And I’m not talking basic checks. He did extensive background and credit checks on them, their families, and…Never mind. I don’t want to talk about my father.”

“Good, because I’d rather talk about you anyway.” Adam wasn’t lying either. He wanted to know everything about the woman.

The rest of breakfast flew by too quickly. He learned that her favorite color was purple, her mother died during childbirth and despite growing up in the South, she despised country music. Somehow, it wasn’t enough. He wanted to know what she looked like in the morning, how she liked her eggs cooked and more important, what she liked in bed. It was unprofessional to think of her in that capacity but when he was around her, it didn’t matter. He’d had so many fantasies about her it was embarrassing. The only thing he couldn’t picture were her nipples. What color would they be? What size? The need to know was driving him crazy.

After the meal was over and they were walking back to his truck, he fought the foreign feeling of disappointment that coursed through him. He didn’t want today to end. “Have you been to the Laroque Museum since you moved here?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

She turned to look at him as he held open the passenger door. “No, I’ve been dying to go, but I haven’t had a chance. Why? Do you want to go?” She snorted in a very un-Izzy-like manner as she slid into the front seat.

Spending a couple hours at a Victorian museum wasn’t exactly on his list of fun things to do, but he’d taken a guess it would be right up her alley. “What? You think because I’m a guy, I wouldn’t want to go?”

“That’s exactly what I think.” A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

He lifted an eyebrow. “That’s sexist.”

“And it’s also true.”

Instead of responding, he shut the door and walked around to the driver side. “So, you want to go now?” he asked as he started the engine.

Her confused expression was priceless. “Sure?”

“Is that a question or an answer?”

She shook her head and swatted his arm. “No, let’s go. Carolyn’s never going to believe you went with me.”

“I’ll deny it if you tell anyone.” He laughed under his breath as he kicked the truck into reverse.

Seconds after he pulled onto the main road she leaned over and switched the radio dial. “Changing a man’s radio station is just as bad as taking control of the television remote.” He couldn’t hold back a smile.

She grinned and simply pressed the scan button again. Seconds later, some God-awful pop music blared through the speakers.

And she turned the volume up.

“Come on, Izzy. Is this the best you can do?”

Instead of answering, she grabbed a pen from the center console and used it as a fake microphone. When she started lip-synching the words, he found himself fighting a smile. Something he seemed to be doing more of since meeting her.

The past four years had been stressful trying to get a new business off the ground. His brother and cousin depended on him to keep everything together. He’d brought them together to start Marcellus Security so it was up to him to make sure they succeeded. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a day off. Soon he’d be going back to his real life, but for now he might as well enjoy his limited time with Izzy.

The longer he was around her, the more he liked her. The attraction was almost a given, but that had nothing to do with actually liking her. Part of him wished she’d been a stuck up bitch. His life would be so much easier if she was.

A couple hours later as they pulled back into her parking lot he was already missing her.

She frowned when he shut off the ignition. “You don’t have to walk me to my door again. I don’t think that maniac is striking during the middle of the day.”

Ignoring her, he gritted his teeth and got out. Criminals didn’t act according to a clock. They took advantage of situations, regardless of time of day. Considering the previous crimes, it was doubtful the man the police were looking for would be out roaming the streets now, but Adam wasn’t taking any chances with Izzy’s well-being. Regardless of the deal he’d made with her father, her safety was his priority.

When they stood at her front door facing each other, he felt like a nervous kid on his first date.