The Billionaire Playboy (10 page)

“She didn't say
much. Only asked to speak with you. Maybe she's doing a piece on your sister's
wedding next week,” Cindy said sounding optimistic.

If it was any
other reporter he would have agreed with his assistant's assumption, but not
Marcy Blake. She was notorious for getting scandals out to her readers first,
regardless of how accurate her facts were. She didn't care how her reporting
the facts wrong affected people as long as the stories she wrote sold magazines
and made her editors happy.

Unease settled
in his gut, killing his appetite. He’d kept a low profile as of late so he
couldn't think of any scandal she could link to him. Still if she called
looking for him it wasn't a good sign. “Thanks for the heads up, Cindy. I'm
sure she'll call my cell. It won't take that woman long to get her hands on my
new number.” He didn't know how she did it, but somehow she always managed to
get her hands on his number. He'd changed it twice in the past two years for
that very reason.

He was ending
his conversation when Charlie walked in. “Cindy, I'll call you if I hear from
Marcy. Let me know if anything comes up down there.” Pushing the end button on
the phone, he shoved it in his pocket and gave Charlie a smile. Though she
smiled in return, it wasn't the same open inviting one she'd greeted him with
earlier. This one was forced and her eyes reflected suspicion. He could tell
she wanted to ask who he'd been talking to. For a moment he considered waiting
to see if she would say anything, but in the end he decided to just come right
out and tell her.

“That was my
executive assistant Cindy. I don't know what I would do without her.” Jake
stood and moved toward her as he spoke. “Guess some reporter called looking for
me today.” Although it wasn't any of her business he didn't want to keep things
from her. In his experience when you did that it often came back to bite you in
the ass.

Some of the
suspicion faded from her eyes, and she accepted his outstretched hand. “Maybe
she heard about your work here and had a few questions.”

Holding her
hand, Jake led her toward the kitchen door. “She's not that kind of reporter. If
it's not guaranteed to sell papers, she's not writing about it.” Damn. He hated
the Marcy Blake's of the world. “I'll find out what she wants soon enough, I'm
sure,” he said with resignation.

Jake didn't
mention the reporter again though he couldn't shake the feeling that a scandal
involving him or his family must be taking shape. Rather he focused his
attention on Charlie and the Quinns. Once again when they arrived at the
hospital they found Jessica with her grandparents. Much like his previous
visits he talked to the family about everyday things and Mr. Quinn grilled him
about the town's progress.

While Mr. Quinn
shot questions at him, Charlie and Jessica used the time to catch up. He still
found it odd that the two of them had been such good friends. They struck him
as complete opposites especially considering their reaction the day of the
accident. Charlie had remained calm and cool while Jessica had been almost
hysterical. Yet he could see the close bond between the women as they talked. As
he half-listened to Mr. Quinn explain his upcoming surgery, he listened to the
conversation between the two old friends.

“You, Kate and I
need to go out together the next time you come home. I don't think we have all
hung out together since the summer after graduation,” Jessica said.

“We've gone out
since then.” Jake noticed that when Charlie answered she looked everywhere but
at her friend. “The summer I came home after freshman year.”

Jessica shook
her head. “You and I went out. Kate didn't come. And we have not been out since.
The day grandpa fell was the first time I'd seen you in years. I didn't even
know you were home. You should visit Kate before you leave. Did you know she
has two kids now?”

Once again he
wondered how long it'd been since Charlie's last visit home. From the previous
conversations he'd overheard and what they were saying now, it seemed as if
it'd been awhile. Why was that? True, being a doctor in the Navy wasn't a
nine-to-five job with vacation time you could take without advance planning,
but that didn't mean she didn't have some leave every year. She seemed to get
along with her family so why not come home more often?

Whether or not she sees her family isn't any of my
business.
He often went long stretches between seeing his parents too.

“Doc says I'll
need a chair for a while. Physical therapy too,” Mr. Quinn grumbled
interrupting Jake's thoughts. “Who has time for that? Who's going to run the
store?”

Jake tried to
hide his smile as he watched Mrs. Quinn pat her husband's hand.

“Jess
practically runs the place now and you know it. You just don't want to do the
therapy.”

Mr. Quinn
snatched his hand away from his wife, his bright red face giving away his
embarrassment. The way Jake figured it, the guy had nothing to be embarrassed
about. The woman clearly loved him and didn't have any qualms about giving him
a hard time. It was just what he wanted someday. The right woman just hadn't
come along yet.

Thinking back
over the relationships he'd been in, his eyes moved to where Charlie sat. She
was explaining the importance of physical therapy to the Quinns, but it wasn't
her words that drew Jake's attention. Rather it was her tone. Though she was
straightforward and blunt, her voice was compassionate. Her hazel eyes were
warm and caring. There didn't seem to be anything fake or contrived about her. With
Charlie what you saw was what you got. It was such a change from the women he
normally found himself attracted to. And he suspected it was that very quality
about her that had him wanting to get to know her better. Something he hoped
would happen next weekend, if she agreed to accompany him.

He'd been
mulling over the idea since last night. One minute inviting her seemed like a
fabulous idea; the next it struck him as a disaster waiting to happen. Most of
the time he wasn't so indecisive, he didn't know why he was this time. It
wasn't like another guest would be a big deal. After all more than three
hundred people were already expected. Still Jake straddled the fence tipping
back and forth like a see-saw.

About an hour
later he walked with Charlie out to the parking lot. Like they always did when
he left, the Quinns had thanked him for everything and had extended an
invitation for dinner at their house once Mr. Quinn left the hospital.

“I think you've
got some new admirers.” Laughing Charlie reached for the SUV's door handle.

Darting his hand
out before she could grip the handle, Jake pulled the door open for her with
one hand while he wrapped his other around her forearm anchoring her next to
him. If she really wanted to she could move, but the slight touch kept her
beside the SUV.

“I can see
myself being a bit like Mr. Quinn someday.”

The corners of
Charlie's mouth curved upward. “You're going to be a hardware store owner with
a broken hip when you grow up?” she asked with a gleam in her eye.

Jake tugged on
her arm until she was standing close enough for him to see the flecks of green
in her hazel eyes. Focusing on her lips he lowered his head toward her,
stopping when they were mere inches apart. Finally, he could do what he'd
wanted to do since they exited the hospital.

“I meant a
stubborn old man who doesn't like sitting around on his ass.” He didn't give
her a chance to comment. Instead he took her lips in a slow tender kiss, one
that he intended to tease her with. They'd shared several passionate kisses,
but he was always the aggressor. This time he wanted her to control things. Well
at least as far as this kiss was concerned. He wanted to see how heated their
kiss would be if he didn't keep kicking it up a notch.

Charlie didn't
keep him waiting long. She ran her tongue along the seam of his lips enticing
him to open for her. When he didn't comply she pressed her body against his,
crushing her breasts against his chest and tugging on his bottom lip with her
mouth.

Unable to help
himself, Jake succumbed to her tactics. Like always she tasted like mint. Whether
it was her toothpaste or some candy she favored, he didn't know. But he knew
that he was never going to be able to taste mint again without thinking of
Charlotte O'Brien.

Jake looped his
arms around Charlie's waist and lost himself in their kiss. All thoughts of Mr.
Quinn and their visit evaporated as did any thoughts of where they were. His
first pull back to reality came in the form of a car's horn. It blared as it
passed down the side street near the parking lot. A wolf whistle followed the
offensive sound and caused Jake to pull back just in time to see a car pass by.

“I think that's
our cue to leave.” He pulled back enough to look Charlie in the face and he
felt Charlie's hands leave his shoulders.

“We seem to be
making a habit out of this. Maybe we should find a better place next time,” she
said before climbing into the passenger seat

I couldn't agree more.
In that moment he
made up his mind about asking her to accompany him that weekend.

Chapter
5

“You want me to
what?” Charlie knew she sounded like an idiot, yet she couldn't help it. Maybe
she needed to have her hearing checked. Jake couldn't have just asked what she
thought he did.

Jake leaned his
shoulder against the door frame near the stairs heading up to the attic, his
arms crossed over his chest. Everyone at the bed and breakfast was gathered
downstairs waiting to eat. Everyone except them. She'd gone upstairs to check
her cell phone messages and when she came down Jake stood leaning against the
wall waiting for her.

“Come with me to
Newport this weekend. I'm the best man. It wouldn't be right for me to show up
without a date.”

Okay, maybe she
hadn't misunderstood. “Isn't that what the single bridesmaids are for?” Charlie
walked down the last few steps stopping in front of him. Sure they'd shared
some amazing kisses but going to his sister's wedding was out there. Especially
this wedding. The media was calling it
the
wedding of the year.

Shrugging Jake
gave her a lazy smile. “One's my sister, Sara, and the others just don't do it
for me.”

She wanted to
ask him what he meant by 'do it' but if the way he looked at her was any
indication, she didn't have to. A heady combination of desire and curiosity
sprang to life. The men she came in contact with on a daily basis never looked
at her the way Jake was. Most viewed her as nothing more than a doctor and
Naval officer, they seemed to overlook the fact that she was also a woman. Jake's
red-hot gaze told her that he not only noticed that she was a woman, but that
he wanted her. And the attraction wasn't one-sided. She wanted him with a
ferocity that she'd never experienced before.

“We'll only be
gone a few days.” As he spoke, Jake straightened and closed the gap between
them. “You can meet my family. I think you'll like them.”

Afraid he'd see
the uncertainty she felt, Charlie looked at everything but Jake. She wasn't
worried about how long they'd be gone. Nobody really needed her here. Every day
the town recovered a little more and, as always, her mom had her brother
Sean;
 
she didn't need anyone else. That
was part of the reason she came home so infrequently. Rather she worried Jake
might get the wrong idea if she accepted the invitation. He may begin to think
she wanted a long-term relationship, and she didn't. Relationships that had the
possibility of a future were not in the cards for her. She decided that a long
time ago.

Get over yourself Charlie; this is Jake Sherbrooke
world-renowned playboy. He's not interested in a relationship.
 
Charlie's inner thoughts helped bring her back
to reality. Although he'd shown that he wasn't just another rich son living off
the family's money, he did still have a reputation for leaving behind many
broken hearts.

This is the
wedding of the year, she reminded herself. The media had been talking about it
for months. Attending it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She could
picture the expressions on her friends' faces if she told them she went. Not to
mention Newport was beautiful this time of year. Somehow the hurricane that
devastated North Salem by destroying the Stonefield Dam had left the town of
Newport and most of Rhode Island unscathed.

“You're tempted,”
Jake said. “I promise no one there will bite.” Dropping his head he nibbled on
her ear lobe. “It'll give us some time alone together.”

Before she could
stop herself, Charlie sighed in pleasure. His teasing only increased the
throbbing sensation in her body. Much more of it and she might ask him upstairs
for a bit to pick up where they'd left off the previous weekend.

“Okay. But only
because this is
the
wedding of the
year. It has nothing to do with you.” Somehow she managed to tease him while
maintaining a straight face.