Riding the Storm (29 page)

Read Riding the Storm Online

Authors: Brenda Jackson

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Arts&Photography

gala
being
given
in
the
man’s
honor.
Ian
had
invited
Storm
as
his
guest
and
Storm
had
gotten
the
okay
to
bring
Jayla
as
his
date.
Instead
of
going
sightseeing
as
they
had

originally
planned,
Jayla
had
insisted
that
the
first
thing
she
needed
to
do
was
go
shopping
for
something
to
wear
that
night.

“All
right,
I
guess
I
can
find
something
to
kill
time
while
you
shop,”
he
said
releasing
her.
“But
I’ll
be
back
in
a
hour,

Jayla.”

She
grinned,
nodding.
“And
I’ll
have
everything
I
need
by
then.”

A
short
while
later,
Storm
took
his
time
as
he
strolled

around
Jackson
Square.
It
was
a
beautiful
day
and
a
lot
of
tourists
were
out
and
about.
He
smiled
when
he
thought
of
how
excited
Jayla
had
been
when
he’d
mentioned
tonight’s
affair.
He
had
enjoyed
seeing
her
happy.
He
was
also

enjoying
her
company…almost
a
little
too
much.
She
was
definitely
someone
he
liked
being
with,
both
in
and
out
of
bed.
More
than
once
he
had
to
remind
himself
not
to
make
more
of
what
they
were
sharing
than
there
was.

It
was
no
big
deal
that
over
the
past
few
days,
they’d

discovered
that
they
enjoyed
many
of
the
same
things.
She
liked
jazz,
and
so
did
he;
she
enjoyed
watching
bone-

chilling
thriller
movies
and
so
did
he.
She
was
one
of
the

few
people
who
lived
in
Atlanta
whose
favorite
football

team
wasn’t
the
Atlanta
Falcons.
His
favorite
team
was
the
Dallas
Cowboys
and
she
was
a
fan
of
the
Philadelphia

Eagles.

It
seemed
the
only
thing
they
didn’t
agree
on
was
his
belief
that
a
woman’s
place
was
at
home
raising
her
kids
and
not
in
an
office
all
day.
Jayla
insisted
that
a
man
who
held
such
traditional
views
would
be
too
controlling
in
a
marriage.
He
didn’t
see
himself
as
wanting
to
control,
but
rather
he
saw
himself
as
someone
who
wanted
to
be
the
sole
provider
for
his
family
in
the
purest
sense
of
the
word.

He
glanced
at
his
watch.
He
still
had
over
forty-five
minutes
to
go
before
he
went
back
to
that
dress
shop
for
Jayla.

Damn,
but
he
missed
her
already.
A
warning
bell
suddenly
went
off
in
his
head.
He’d
never
admitted
to
missing
a

woman
before,
so
why
was
he
doing
it
now?
He
sighed

deeply,
deciding
to
be
honest
with
himself.
The
honest
truth
was
he
liked
having
Jayla
around
and
for
him
that
didn’t

bode
well.

He
frowned
as
he
continued
to
walk
around
Jackson

Square,
wondering
what
was
there
about
her
that
was

getting
to
him
and
playing
games
with
his
mind?
They
were
games
he
had
no
desire
to
play.
She
knew
the
score
and
so
did
he.
Neither
of
them
wanted
anything
beyond
what

they
were
sharing
here
in
New
Orleans.
Getting
together

and
developing
some
sort
of
relationship
when
they

returned
to
Atlanta
was
unacceptable,
totally
out
of
the

question,
a
definite
bad
idea.

Then
why
was
he
allowing
such
thoughts
to
invade
his
mind?

“You’re
confused,
aren’t
you?”

Storm
turned
to
the
sound
of
the
craggy
voice
and
saw
an
old
woman
sitting
on
the
bench
less
than
five
feet
from

where
he
stood.
He
lifted
a
brow.
“Excuse
me.
Did
you
say
something?”

The
old
woman
smiled
serenely.
“Yes.
I
said
you’re
confused.
Nothing
like
this
has
ever
happened
to
you
before
has
it?”

Storm
tilted
his
head
to
the
side
as
he
studied
the
woman,
wondering
if
she
was
operating
with
a
full
deck.
She
was

talking
as
if
she
knew
him.
“I
think
you
might
have
me
mixed
up
with
someone
else.”

“No,
I
don’t,”
she
muttered
with
a
shake
of
her
head.
“And
I’m
not
crazy,”
she
said,
as
if
reading
his
mind.
“I’d
tell
you
more
if
you
let
me
look
into
your
future.”

Storm
nodded
as
understanding
dawned.
The
old
woman
was
a
fortune-teller.
New
Orleans
was
full
of
them.
He

crossed
his
arms
over
his
chest
amused.
“And
what
do
you
think
you
can
tell
me
that
I
don’t
already
know?”

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