Chapter 2 #2
Damn him. He forced the oddest reaction from her. She’d never met a man who made her so nervous. One sun-bleached brow arched at her response, and color flooded her cheeks. She forced herself past the embarrassment and met his gaze.
“Sorry.” His badass grin said he was nothing of the sort. “Was just going to throw myself on your mercy for some water.”
“You didn’t bring any?”
His lip twitched from her outright rudeness. “Drank it all.”
Julianna glanced at her watch. “I have some bottled water inside. I’ll get you some.” She turned and opened the door. He followed her.
“Gonna be a hot one,” he said.
“Summer usually is.” She retrieved two bottles and handed them to him.
He thanked her, but didn’t budge from the foyer.
He motioned toward the high vaulted ceilings elaborately painted and the spiral staircase that echoed images of Gone with the Wind.
The open rooms boasted formal antiques, rich mahogany wood, and polished marble. “Nice place.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wolfe. Now unless you need anything else—”
“Jack.”
“Right. Jack. I must be going.”
“Looking mighty pretty and bright as the sun. Lunch date?”
He was quite the charmer. Evidently, Jack Wolfe was used to getting any woman he wanted when he wanted her.
Probably with a pretty please from the female recipient, if that body was any indication of his stamina.
She fought a smile, knowing her sex factor was pretty low on the Richter scale.
Men didn’t bother with plain women like her.
Unless they were bored. Julianna crossed her arms in front of her chest and narrowed her gaze.
“Yes, that’s correct. I have a lunch date. Will you be finished by the end of the week?”
He lifted his battered navy cap and scratched his head. “Should be, as long as the retaining wall holds. It’s pretty weak so it might need replacing. Will let you know later this afternoon.”
“I’ll want an estimate if that’s the case.”
“Of course. What do you teach?”
“Excuse me?”
“You teach, right?”
“How did you know that?” Julianna tried not to sound accusatory but the idea of this man knowing anything about her personal life seemed…disturbing.
“Your neighbor. Mrs. Cutter. She said you teach classes and took care of your parents.”
Her tone reflected pure ice. “I don’t approve of gossip.”
White teeth flashed as he grinned. “Not gossip if it’s the truth. Something tells me you teach…English.”
She pursed her lips. “Poetry. I have to go.” She walked straight through the door and assumed he’d follow. Thank God he did. She locked the door and jingled her keys in her hand. “Let me know about the wall.”
“Sure. Have fun with the ladies.”
Julianna hated his correct assumption. So, she lied. “I’ll have fun on my date.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Hmm. Mrs. Cutter said you always have lunch with the girls on Tuesday afternoon. 1:00 p.m. At The Black Pearl.”
Temper made her turn on her heel. She glared at him behind tinted lenses. “Well, she’s wrong. What else did Mrs. Cutter tell you about me?”
He obviously enjoyed her annoyance. He took his time and uncapped the bottle of water. Removed his ball cap. Then dumped the water over his head.
Julianna’s breath caught. Her body slammed into overdrive at the raw sexual scene before her. Water dripped from his thick blond hair and ran down his face. Over a carved jaw. Slid and dampened perfectly cut lips.
His T-shirt soaked up the liquid and clung to his chest like a women’s night gone wild.
Hunger hit hard and deep as she followed the trail down to his belt buckle, where droplets slid under the denim and hid beyond.
Her pussy grew tight and uncomfortable. And as wet as that bottle of water.
Her mouth fell open like a guppy. She snapped it shut and struggled to look unaffected.
His outright laugh called her an outright liar. He shook out his hair like a dog in heat, then slid the baseball cap back on his head.
“She said you haven’t been on a date in months.
Said you like to go to lunch, attend the historical meetings, teach your classes, and stay boarded up in the Cliff House.
” He paused and his gaze raked over her, probed under her clothes, and noted her body that refused to be ignored.
“A shame, really. Something tells me you play as hard as you work. If you’d give someone the chance, that is. ”
Their gazes met and locked. Seconds ticked by and neither of them wanted to lose. Julianna told herself time was the only factor that made her finally turn away. “I don’t have time to play games, Mr. Wolfe. I’m sure you’re a man who’s a master, and you wouldn’t have much fun with an amateur.”
“Jack,” he said softly. “And you’re wrong.”
She ignored him and hurried down the pathway. Absolutely ridiculous. She was living a D. H. Lawrence novel and she’d always been an Austen sort of girl. Her frikkin gardener, for God’s sake. It didn’t get any more cliché than that. And there was one thing she hated more than anything.
Being a cliché.
She pushed away the thought and drove away.