Chapter Twelve
Jo’s rideshare pulled to the curb outside the first stop on the list of properties Avery had forwarded, along with the name of the Van Haven realtor who would show them around—Leighann Somebody.
For that reason, she was surprised to see Lincoln waiting on the sidewalk. Especially since he was one of the Van Havens. His family made their fortune in real estate. They owned half of Texas and a good part of the U.S.
He stepped forward to open her door and held out a hand. “Don’t you look lovely this morning.”
“Thank you.” She accepted his help exiting the car, her cheeks warming, but not at the compliment.
She’d gone all out for Avery’s seduction.
A butter-yellow wrap dress with spaghetti straps.
High heeled sandals to emphasize her legs since he seemed to like them so much.
And a white cropped cardigan to ward off the chill of early spring but easily removed when the moment got hot.
She’d left her hair down and falling in waves to frame her face.
Looping her purse over her shoulder, she gave Lincoln a smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Avery said one of your realtors would meet us.”
“I need to get away from the office now and then to see the listings for myself, and Avery is a good friend. Where is he, by the way?”
“Something came up. He’ll join us when he’s done.”
Avery had texted earlier about a last-minute meeting and that he’d be late picking her up, so she’d called a rideshare and told him she’d let him know where they were on the tour when he was free.
Lincoln tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow. “Shall we?”
“Actually, I can already tell you it’s not what I’m looking for.” The building was too big. The location was good, but the overhead alone would kill her profit margin, not to mention the cost to lease it. “But we can take a look. It might give me some ideas.”
As they walked the building, Jo shared her plans for the patisserie of her dreams to help him narrow down the list—small to begin her business, practical setup, and close to wedding themed shops but with other businesses to draw the general public.
Ten minutes later, they were back outside, Lincoln gesturing toward a sleek black BMW. “We’ll head on to the next site.”
As his hand fell away, she glanced sideways at him. Dark blond hair cut similar to Avery’s, blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, and a body reminiscent of his Viking ancestors. Yet her heart didn’t race, her palms were dry, and the butterflies in her stomach remained dormant.
Just thinking about Avery caused a riot of emotion swirling in her chest—excitement, lust, angst, fear, and something that skipped about so fast she couldn’t name it.
Something that scattered her butterflies into a chaotic storm that drowned out her grandma’s warnings.
Resisting him was like icing a cake in the middle of a hurricane. Futile.
“We’ll head deeper into Midtown.” Lincoln opened the car door. “There are several there that are closer to what you’re looking for.”
Once they were on the road, she opened her text thread from Avery to send him the address of the next showing. A message from him sat unread from around the time she’d climbed out of the rideshare.
Avery: Got out sooner than I thought. Leaving now. Wait for me.
Jo: The first site was a bust. We’re already on the move.
As she pressed the send button, another text popped up.
Avery: I’m here. Where are you?
She sent him the address as a flutter behind her ribs chased away the disappointment of just missing him and swarmed lower, stirring a kaleidoscope of sensation in her belly. Hopefully, he’d take care of those tonight. Assuming she could pull this off. She’d never tried to seduce a man before.
“How did you and Avery meet?”
Leaving her nervous jitters behind, she focused on Lincoln. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No, he didn’t actually tell us much.”
“Other than about our arrangement.” It still irritated her that Avery had spilled their secret to his alumni assholes.
“Interesting situation.”
“You can say that again.” But she didn’t want to talk about that. “What’s the state of the market, right now?”
An I-know-what-you’re-doing smirk gave way to an abridged version of his view of the market from the top of his real estate tower and filled the time it took to reach their destination.
The second site was a beautiful new build and the perfect size but basically a skeleton. She’d have to install all the electric, the plumbing, and rough in the walls. Her budget couldn’t sustain the hit and still have room for the everyday essential, like…oh, say, an oven.
With Lincoln behind her, Jo stepped outside. She hadn’t wanted this little tour, but it was fast becoming an eyeopener. If she was going to do this, she’d have to adjust quite a few expectations.
He stopped to lock up. “The next one’s just around the corner. Leighann thinks you’ll like it.”
She squinted into the sun “We should wait for Avery.”
“He’s here.”
Pulse quickening, she shaded her eyes and watched Avery climb out of his car and saunter toward her, all long, lean, and loose hipped in a navy suit that fit him to perfection, the wind ruffling his hair. She’d never envied the wind, but there was a first time for everything.
Smiling, she waved, her panties wet with the anticipation of a flirty grin and a handsy hello.
Instead, he spared a curt nod for Lincoln and grabbed her hand. “Ready to go?”
She turned to Lincoln. “You said it wasn’t far.”
“Text me the address. I’ll find it.” Avery started toward his car, and she had no choice but to follow if she wanted to keep her hand.
He swung the passenger door open and waited for her to get in, then shut it, hard, and rounded the hood, his strides aggressive.
She’d never seen him angry before. His meeting must not have gone well.
As soon as he was behind the wheel, he revved the engine to life and entered the address Lincoln sent him. The car purred out of the parking spot and fell in behind Lincoln.
A big red bow flopped onto the tiny console between the seats, startling her. She followed the trail of ribbon to a huge box filling the rear storage. “What’s this?”
The question was rhetorical since the box wasn’t wrapped and she stared at the king of countertop mixers far too extravagant for her budget. The damn thing cost three times the one she’d lost in the break-in.
“You needed it, so I bought it.”
She’d accepted the dress for the literacy benefit because he’d justified it as a tool, and as much as she hated to admit it, she’d likely accept another for Saturday’s gala for the museum.
But this gift had nothing to do with their arrangement.
It was personal, and though he didn’t know it yet, to her, it felt too much like payment for the sex she hoped to have tonight.
Though, hell, maybe she should be paying him. “Thank you, but I can’t accept.”
“Why the hell not?”
“It’s just…too much.”
He didn’t argue, but his fingers drummed a vengeful four-count beat on the steering wheel. That would have been fine if the radio was on, but his brows dove deeper, his lips a thin straight line.
Great. I’ve pissed him off even more. Now what?
Hmm. Maybe she could entice him out of the grumps and onto a much more pleasurable train of thought. Crossing her legs, she let the slit in her dress fall open to show off some thigh.
Take that.
As she’d hoped, his gaze skated over the exposed thigh, then back to the road, but his lips grew thinner, and his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel tightened.
Jo sighed. “Are you gonna sulk all day?”
“I’m not sulking.”
She rolled her eyes. “Your face would say otherwise.”
Tap, tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap, tap.
“Avery, it’s a very generous gift, but you can’t just throw money at a situation and expect everything to be okay. The flowers were enough, but not really necessary. I just needed a minute to be mad.” She glanced at the back seat. “That’s overkill, and a little offensive.”
“Fine. I’ll give it to my housekeeper if you don’t want it. But for your information, I bought it Saturday morning. Mom and Mary helped me decide which one to get.”
So, that was why he was showing them his phone. He’d planned another surprise for her, and shit, here she was being a bitch about it.
“I asked you to wait for me.” His tone, quiet but accusing, along with the abrupt change in subject, caught her off guard.
“I’m sorry. I knew right away the place was too big, so there was no point in staying. I didn’t see your text until after Lincoln offered to give me a ride.”
“I’ll bet he did,” he grumbled so low she almost missed it.
What the fuck? He almost sounds jealous.
But that was ridiculous.
“What’s going on with you and Lincoln?” He made air quotes around Lincoln’s name and scoffed, “No one calls him that.”
Okay, maybe not so ridiculous.
She’d chalked up his sour mood to a stressful meeting and then the refusal of his gift. The possibility that he might be jealous had never crossed her mind.
She snorted mentally. Now, who’s being ridiculous.
When it was more likely he thought Lincoln would sweep her off her feet and ruin all his scheming.
“It’s not that big of a deal, really. People always assume Jo is short for Josephine or Joleen.” Funny, Avery never had. “So when Linc asked me what my real name was, I asked him if his name was short for Lincoln. See, nothing to read into.”
Of course, Avery wasn’t good with names. Maybe she should feel special he remembered hers at all. Probably because she wasn’t Tits or Curves, ready to get on knees to worship his dick.
Okay maybe I’m ready now, but give a girl a break. He’s so hard to resist.
Even when he called her Legs.
Avery grunted, but the white of his knuckles faded to pink and his shoulders relaxed a bit.
“Did you know he’d be there—” His dark eyes sliced over her, lingering on her legs. “—’cause I sure as fuck didn’t.”