Page 10 of Blue Collar Billionaire
Bianca cast her a dismissive look. “Lexi, sweetheart. You were making out with a construction worker on your front porch last night. I’d say you’re failing at staying away from men.”
“Don’t you have a yoga class to get to?”
She grinned, then leaned down to kiss the top of Lexi’s head. “Nice job deflecting. Let me know if you decide to bring Jack Friday night. But just for the record, I will be deeply disappointed and never forgive you if you don’t.”
Lexi blew out a long sigh as she watched her sister let herself out. Bianca had a real talent for backing her into a corner. She not only had to ask Jack, she had to hope he’d say yes. Because if Lexi showed up on Friday night without him, Bianca would give her a hard time about it forever.
Unfortunately, it was too early to call Jack to extend the invitation. But maybe that was a good thing—it gave her a bit of time to formulate her plan and figure out what to say. In the meantime, she threw in a load of laundry, changed into leggings and a tank top, then went for a run through Pine Valley. As her legs began to warm up and she hit her stride, she wound her way down the wide tree-lined streets, past the mansions and picture-perfect custom homes with their well-tended landscaping and manicured lawns. This idyllic neighborhood had brought her so much comfort as a kid. It was a safe place to grow up where nothing ever went wrong. She knew now how poorly it had prepared her for real life. It certainly hadn’t equipped her to deal with the fallout of her divorce, everything that had happened with Brett, or her still-healing broken heart. Things did go wrong in real life. She wished she hadn’t been so sheltered from it.Time, she told herself. All she needed was time...to figure out who she was, who she wanted to be and where she was going.
As to how a man fit into that equation, Lexi was still firmly in the camp of thinking that romance was not a good choice for her right now. But even so, Jack still had her second-guessing that. Perhaps some male companionship could be good for her, as long as there were no strings attached. She could focus on having fun and building a friendship with him, things she’d never managed to accomplish before. Now might be a good time to start.
She arrived back at the cottage an hour later and decided to try Jack a little after nine. His phone rang and rang, and Lexi paced, wondering if he was the sort of guy who might opt to not take her call. She was just about to hang up, when he finally answered.
“Lexi? This is a surprise.” His voice was breathless, but warm. It did something to her, overwhelming her with a feeling that was equal parts excitement and anticipation.
“Are you okay? You sound out of breath,” she said.
“I was in the pool. Doing some laps. I needed some time to think.” He cleared his throat. “About last night.”
Her immediate reaction was to grin like a fool. The vision of Jack in a swimsuit had her imagination running wild. And his words had her heart doing somersaults. “What exactly about last night?”
He unleashed his hearty laugh, which sent a thrill down her spine. “Are you really going to make me say it out loud?”
Lexi loved the playful tone of his voice. She loved that they could flirt, and it could be nothing more than a bit of sexy fun. “Too embarrassing?”
“I’m not shy, Lexi. You must have figured that out by now.”
“What is it then?” Deep down, she knew exactly where he was going with this, but there was still an uncertain part of her that wanted him to say it first.
“Fine. Elephant in the room. That was a pretty amazing kiss last night.”
Heat rose in her like steam off the asphalt after a hot summer rain. “It was, wasn’t it?”
“To be honest, I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Lexi gnawed on her thumbnail. She felt like she was playing with fire, but Jack was too damn tempting to pass up. “I thought about it all night too.”
Jack groaned quietly over the line. “I don’t want to let our chemistry go to waste by not seeing each other.”
“Me neither.”
“What do you say to lunch?”
“Yes,” she blurted, then took a deep breath to slow herself down. She’d been worried about asking to see him in six days. And he wanted to see hertoday? She’d be stupid to say no. “I mean, a girl’s gotta eat, right?”
Jack worried he was barreling for a heap of trouble by seeing Lexi again so soon. She was coming off two epic cases of a broken heart. While he was trying to keep his life uncomplicated, not make it messier. However, their kiss last night had changed the game. He’d told himself it would merely be fun, but it had been a lot more than that. Lexi had sent him a clear-cut message—she had something fiery pent up inside her—and he’d have to be a dead man to not be intrigued by that. In fact, he’d have to suppress every primal urge in his body to deny himself the chance to see what might transpire between the two of them.
Still, Lexi was not simply a woman to be seduced. There were roadblocks and hazards ahead. It wasn’t that Jack wasn’t equipped to deal with a woman who had problems. His youngest sister had them in spades, and he took pride in trying to make her struggle easier. But she was family. Those ties were the strongest. And in Lexi’s case, they led straight to her father, who thought very little of Jack. He knew that because Winston Alderidge had told him as much. Their run-in might have happened several years ago, but he was certain that a man like Winston didn’t go around changing his mind about people. Jack could deal with any insults that might be lobbed at him, but he didn’t want to cause a rift in Lexi’s world. She had more than enough to worry about.
Jack also hadn’t counted on a call the day after their date. He’d thought it would be at least next week until he heard from her. But just as he’d surprised her last night, she’d turned the tables on him. And she was right. A girldidhave to eat, as did he. In fact, he was starving. Just the thought of a hearty meal from the Royal Diner, capped off with a slice of pie, had his stomach rumbling loudly.
They’d opted to meet at the restaurant. He took a different car this time, his black BMW M3. Although it was sleek and sporty on the outside, it had so much headroom that it was one of the preferred sports cars of professional basketball players. Jack was a big guy and he needed the space, but he also loved the lion of an engine under the hood, and the way it took tight corners with ease. He zipped up in front of the diner just as Lexi was walking up to the door. Unable to help himself, he stole an eyeful of her as he killed the engine then climbed out.
Holy smokes.
“Jack!” Lexi spotted him, smiled and approached, carefully removing her oversize black sunglasses. Everything about her was perfect—her lush red hair tumbled over her shoulders as the Texas sun caught the highlights. Her deep blue dress skimmed the sumptuous curve of her hips, with a low scoop neck showing off her mind-boggling décolletage, and her perfume trailed its way to his nose with that beguiling mix of flowers and summer rain.
“Hello there.” He gripped her elbow and kissed her on the cheek, her skin soft and supple. “You look so pretty today.”
