The Billionaire Playboy (6 page)

She knew it was
rude to stare, but that didn't stop her from following Jake with her eyes as he
walked across the room. His dark blond hair was still damp from his shower and
tiny droplets of water trickled down his neck. Her fingers itched to walk up
behind him and wipe the water away. Balling her hands into tight fists, Charlie
waited for the irrational thought to disappear.

After he poured
himself some coffee and picked out a muffin Jake took the seat across from her.
“I'm glad you're here. After I meet with the engineers working on the dam
problem, I'm heading over to visit Mr. Quinn. I thought you might like to join
me”

As feared Mr.
Quinn broke both his hip and left arm in the fall. On the bright side however,
he hadn't done any damage to his back or neck.

“When I stopped
in to see him yesterday he asked about you, Doc.”

Charlie knew
Jake had stopped in to see Mr. Quinn every day since the accident. Jessica had
told her when she called the day before. But she hadn't visited him yet
herself.

“I'll be down at
the high school. Pick me up before you head over.” She'd volunteered to help
keep an eye on the town's children so that their parents could start salvaging
what they could from their homes and take stock of the damage, two tasks that
would be nearly impossible with children in tow.

Jake stood and
grabbed another muffin from the basket. “Your mom should open her own bakery. Her
baking is incredible.”

“I've told her
that, but she doesn't believe me. Maybe you should tell her.”

“Next time I see
her I will.” Jake put his empty coffee cup down on the table. “I'm heading out
now, but I will see you this afternoon probably sometime after lunch.” Without
waiting for a response, he disappeared out the door.

Charlie sat
staring at the door long after it closed. Images of him standing there in his
well-worn jeans and dark blue polo shirt filled her mind. No matter what the
guy wore he seemed to look incredible. He was the kind of person who could
throw on a potato sack and still look ridiculously sexy. Without intending to
she started to imagine just what he looked like without his clothes on. His
shoulders were broad and his arms well-defined and tanned. Though she didn't
have any proof, she envisioned him with powerful pecs and a sculpted six-pack. Propping
her head up against her hand she mentally sighed at the vision in her head.

“Thought you
were heading over to the school for nine?” Her mom's voice cut through
Charlie's daydream and her vision of Jake naked evaporated. “What?” she asked
whipping her head around.

“A little
distracted this morning? Everything okay?” Concern laced her mother's voice.

“Just zoned out
for a minute. I have a lot on my mind. Yeah, I am going to the high school. I
want to grab some coffee first.”

Her mom pointed
to the freshly baked muffins. “Take one with you. Who knows when you'll get
lunch.”

Charlie didn't
argue. Her mom was right and besides her mom's banana nut muffins were to die
for. The only person who made muffins nearly as good was her friend and
roommate Beth. Jake hadn't lied. Her mom should open her own bakery. “I'll see
you later.” Charlie started towards the door, but then stopped. “Call me if you
need anything.”

“Don't worry. Your
brother is here.”

The comment was
innocent enough but it still felt like a tiny knife to her heart. Her mom never
needed her. As long as she had Sean around, her mom was fine. How different
things might have been if her father hadn't walked out on them and forced Sean
to become the man of the house. Would this invisible gap exist between them? There
was no way to know for certain but Charlie didn't think so. After all it had
only developed after her father left and her mom started to depend more and
more on Sean.

“Love you, Ma.” The
words flew out of her mouth before her brain realized it. She didn't say it
often but it was true.

“I know. I love
you too Charlie.” Maureen put down the dirty dishes she held and wrapped her
arms around her daughter. “I'm glad you’re home.”

***

Jake entered the
high school just before one o'clock. The meeting with his engineers had gone
well. The river's water level was receding; and the engineers had completed
their assessment and were developing a plan for rebuilding the dam. The head of
the highway department had also called him to set up a meeting about repairing
the parts of the roads that had buckled from the onslaught of water.

Yet his good
mood wasn't purely due to the progress that was being made. A big part of it
was due to the unusual sense of anticipation that coursed through his body.
It'd been with him since his run-in with the good doctor that morning. Most
people, especially women, jumped at the chance to be with him in the hopes of
gaining some of his fame or fortune. Captain Charlotte O’Brien was not one of
these women. She was making him work for her respect. While she'd thawed toward
him, she hadn't tried to get to know him. And for reasons that were not
entirely clear to him, he wanted to get to know her better. True friends were
hard to come by and he got the impression that with some work she could be one.

Or maybe
something more, his body suggested when he walked into the school's auditorium.
About ten children of various ages were running around playing an indoor
version of tag while another ten or so were listening to a story on the stage. Charlie
sat in the middle, dressed in a pair of loose-fitting well-worn jeans and a
tank top. Typically he didn't find anything attractive about the tomboy look. He'd
always preferred a more sophisticated look on women. Yet on the good doctor it
looked natural and he found it to be a real turn-on.

When no one
noticed his entrance, Jake leaned against the wall and watched Charlie as she
interacted with the children gathered around her. Her voice was strong and
confident as she read from the picture book she held. The children around her
hung on her every word, captivated as much by the story as by her voice. Jake
found himself content to just stand there and listen.

It wasn't until
she read the last page and closed the book that she noticed him. A small
tentative smile spread across her face as she waved in his direction and
immediately Jake felt his body respond.

What the hell? She smiled at you. She didn't get
naked
.
Jake mentally shook his head in amazement. Since when did a simple smile turn
him on? Maybe it was true what they said about there being a first time for everything.

“All set to go,
Doc?” Jake kept his gaze focused on Charlie, determined to ignore the glances
the other two women in the room were throwing his way.

Charlie nodded
as she stood. “Just let me tell Lizzie I'm going.”

Jake couldn't
tear his eyes away from Charlie's long legs eating up the stage as she crossed
it and headed down the stairs. After a few words with a petite woman with jet
black hair who he guessed was Lizzie, she joined him.

She leaned close
to him and her arm brushed against his. “I owe you one for rescuing me,” she
said, her voice a whisper.

Unable to stop
himself he laughed at the sincerity in her voice. “Daycare not your thing, Doc?”
He pushed open an auditorium door that led into the parking lot.

“Call me Charlie.
Everyone does. No it's not my thing. One or two at a time is fine but that was
worse than Officer Development School.”

He'd been
calling her Doc for the past four days. Not once during that time had she
corrected him till today, and damn if he wasn't pleased because of it. After
opening the passenger door, he waited for her to climb in. “You looked pretty
comfortable up there. The kids couldn't take their eyes off you.”
Not that I blame them.
He closed the
door and walked around to the driver's side of the SUV.

Taking a water
bottle out of her backpack, she took a drink before answering. “I read four or
five books today. Before that we did arts and crafts. Even when I was a kid, I
hated that stuff.”

Jake smiled at
the exasperation in her voice. “Guess it's a good thing you didn't go into
teaching like my sister Callie. She spends every day surrounded by twenty or so
kids. Honestly, I don't know how she does it, but she insists that she loves
it.”

“She's the one
marrying Dylan Talbot, right?”

He didn't know
if she was asking to make polite conversation or because she really didn't know
which sister he was talking about. Jake didn't think that was possible, not
after last year when everyone including Callie learned that Warren Sherbrooke
was her father.

“Yes. Their
wedding is in a couple weeks.”

Charlie looked
as if she was putting together the pieces of a puzzle in her head. “And Dylan's
your half-brother?”

Jake nodded
prepared to give the explanation to yet another person. “Dylan and I have the
same mom, but different fathers. Callie and I have the same dad and different
mothers so, yes, I am related to both of them but Callie and Dylan are not
related.” He couldn't understand why people found the whole thing so confusing.

“You have to
admit it's a little odd. It's not something that happens every day.”

He agreed with
her on that point. Still it wasn't that difficult to understand.

“She's not still
teaching though, is she?”

He noticed how
the tone of Charlie's voice changed from inquiry to amazement.

Pulling into a
parking space in the hospital lot, Jake turned off the ignition. “Why wouldn't
she be? She's been doing it since college.”

Charlie's
eyebrows shot up. “Her father is the President of the United States, and her
soon-to-be-husband is a billionaire. It's not like she has to. She could spend
her day doing anything she wants.”

It wasn't the
first time the news that his half-sister continued to teach shocked someone,
and he knew that Charlie wouldn't be the last.

Jake got out of
the truck and walked around so he could open her door, but he wasn't quick
enough. So instead he held out a hand to help her down. Surprise crossed her
face again, but she accepted his hand and stepped down.

“Would you stop
being a doctor if you didn't have to work?” he asked without releasing her hand.
While he waited for her answer his eyes zeroed in on her pale pink lips. His
mind suddenly wouldn't let him think about anything but how they would feel
against his. As if drawn by an invisible cord he took a step closer.

Charlie ran her
tongue over her lips and Jake followed its path with his eyes, his desire to
kiss her growing like a wild fire out of control.

“No, of course
not. I guess I can't imagine enjoying being surrounded by that many children
every day,” she answered, her voice not sounding as confident as usual to him.

Without stopping
to think, Jake began to lower his head toward her. “I agree with you there,” he
whispered inches from her lips.

Charlie didn't
stop to think about what was happening or where she was as she felt Jake's lips
come down on hers. One of his hands still held hers while the other settled on
the curve of her shoulder. The skin on his hand was rough and callused, more
proof that he was more than just the face of the foundation. His lips were firm
as he slowly kissed her. Unable to stop herself, Charlie took a step closer
eliminating the space between them. Then she wrapped her free arm around his
lean waist. The additional contact of their bodies seemed to throw a switch in
both of them. Jake moved them backward until Charlie leaned back against the
SUV. At the same time she teased his lips open with her tongue. Freeing her
hand from his, she buried her fingers in his short thick blond hair. Incredible
warmth raced through her body as the kiss continued and everything but the man
next to her faded from reality.

Only when
Charlie heard the sirens of an approaching ambulance did the haze of desire
start to clear from her brain and she pulled away. Oh, god! They were in a
parking lot making out like a couple of teenagers, in front of a hospital of
all places.

Though they
stopped kissing, Jake's hand remained on her shoulder and Charlie found herself
trapped between wanting to run from him as fast as she could and wanting to
pull his head back down toward hers for another kiss.

“We should go
inside.” She didn't recognize her own breathless voice as she let her hands
fall back to her sides.

Jake trailed a
finger down her cheek. “Yeah,” he drawled, not moving away.

Charlie's eyes
fluttered closed at his gentle caress and in a heartbeat she knew that if she
wasn't careful she could fall for this man in a way she'd never fallen before. When
it came to the opposite sex she picked only those men she knew she wouldn't get
emotionally attached to. There was no way she was going to let a man hurt her
the way her dad had hurt her mom when he walked out. To this day she could
remember how depressed and withdrawn her mom had become after her dad left. It’d
been as if her mom had been replaced by a different person. Her mom hadn't been
the only one to change. Sean matured virtually overnight, going from regular
high school football player to the man of the house. She'd changed too.