Taming the VIP Playboy / Promoted To Wife?: Taming the VIP Playboy
Katherine Garbera
Paula Roe
Taming the VIP PlayboyThe sultry heat. The pulsing music. How could millionaire club owner Nate Stern have resisted taking Jen Miller into his arms? Though everyone in Miami considered him a playboy, Nate never flirted with his employees. Yet something about Jen had him changing his mind. Sleeping with her VIP boss was risky, but when Nate held her close, Jen couldn’t resist the flames…no matter what.Promoted to Wife?Running a multi-billion-dollar company meant long hours for Zac Prescott and his efficient assistant. Theirs was a strictly professional relationship…until the night Emily Reynolds finally let her hair down. And the tycoon took full advantage… When after that Emily quit, Zac wanted to lure her back with better prospects and more pleasure… Or was Emily looking for the ultimate promotion?
Taming the Vip Playboy
Katherine Garbera
Promoted to Wife?
Paula Roe
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Taming the Vip Playboy
“I really do want to know the man behind the flash.”
“Good. I hope you find him to your liking,” Nate said.
“You’re impressing me so far.”
He took another sip of his drink. The February breeze blew around them, stirring a tendril at the side of Jen’s face. Each time the wind blew, the strand of hair brushed over her high cheekbones and caught on her lips.
He reached up and brushed it back, tucking it behind her ear.
“Thanks,” she said, but her voice was softer, huskier than it had been moments earlier.
He couldn’t stop touching her skin. He stroked his finger over her lower lip until she pulled back. Her lips were parted and her breath brushed across his finger.
“I can’t think when you do that,” she said. “Then don’t think,” he replied.
Dear Reader,
I’m addicted to the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars. I don’t know what it is I love about it, but I can’t resist watching it every week while it is on and using everyone’s phone to text in votes! That show is where the seeds of this story started.
I was thinking about the couples on the show and what if a romance developed between them. From there the story morphed and changed into what it is today. Nate Stern is a former baseball player who has returned to his home in Miami to help his brothers make their club in Little Havana, Luna Azul, the hottest, most desired ticket in town.
Nate has done his part. He loves the playboy lifestyle he has and the fact that he always has the most beautiful women on his arm. Life is good and a lot of fun for Nate, who hasn’t been serious about anything since he stopped playing ball. But then he meets Jen Miller, the dance instructor at Luna Azul, and everything changes.
He thinks she’s a lot of fun and that they will have a good time together, but things turn a bit more serious than either of them expected.
I hope you enjoy meeting Nate and the other Stern brothers.
Happy reading!
Katherine
About the Author
KATHERINE GARBERA is the USA TODAY bestselling author of more than forty books. She’s always believed in happy endings and lives in Southern California with her husband, children and their pampered pet, Godiva. Visit Katherine on the web at www.katherinegarbera.com, or catch up with her on Facebook and Twitter.
This book is dedicated to my wonderful daughter who has started her life as an adult. I’m so very proud of everything she’s accomplished and look forward to watching her continue to grow and make a good life for herself.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to my editor, Charles Griemsman, for
his insight in making this book really shine!
One
The rhythm of Little Havana pulsed through Jen Miller as she parked her car on one of the side streets of Calle Ocho and made her way to Luna Azul. Blue Moon … they were rare in real life, almost as rare as second chances, and she was glad for the one that the Stern brothers had offered her by hiring her to be the salsa teacher at their Miami-based nightclub.
The club itself was a rarity. The Stern brothers had created a scandal when they’d purchased the old cigar factory in the heart of Little Havana and turned it into one of Miami’s hottest clubs ten years ago. Something that still outraged certain members of the Cuban-American community today.
She pulled the strap of her large Coach bag higher on her shoulder as she walked through the grand entrance of Luna Azul. She stopped as she always did to catch her breath. Nothing said glamour the way the club’s Chihuly chandelier and ceiling installation did. It was a depiction of the night sky filled with a large blue moon. It was also the basis for the club’s logo and the colors of the uniform of the entire staff.
Walking through the door each night made her feel as if she was a part of something lasting, and she was very happy to be working here.
The fact that she got to dance again made her even happier. Three years earlier, when she’d made a bad decision based on her heart instead of her head, she’d been banned from competitive dancing.
But now she was back at the barre so to speak and teaching her favorite of all the dances she knew. The salsa.
The dance was created by Spanish-speaking people from the Caribbean and even though she was about as white-bread-American as one could be, the dance felt as if it had been created for her.
As she headed into the club, she saw that the main stage was being set up for tonight’s performance of XSU—the British rock band that had taken the American pop charts by storm the year before. Her sister and her best friend had both begged Jen to get them tickets for tonight’s event and she’d managed to.
She was hoping for a glimpse of the rockers as well but she’d be working during their first set.
The club was divided into several different areas. The main floor in front of the stage was a huge dance area surrounded by high-stooled tables and cozy booths set in darkened alcoves. On the second floor, where she spent most of her time, was a rehearsal room with a small bar and then a mezzanine that overlooked the main club. But the real gem of the second floor was the balcony that opened off to the left and the stage set in the back.
It was there that every night Luna Azul re-created the famous last Friday celebrations held on Calle Ocho. Up there every night was like a feast day for Latin music and dancing. The hottest Latin groups performed there. Regulars and celebrities mingled to the sexy salsa beats of the Latin music.
And she was at the heart of it, Jen thought. She taught the customers how to do the salsa, giving them a little knowledge to help them enjoy the music that much more.
As Jen walked into the rehearsal room, her assistant greeted her with, “You’re late.”
“I am not, Alison. I’m right on time.”
Alison lifted one eyebrow at her. She was funny most of the time but she had a thing for punctuality that Jen simply didn’t.
“You’re lucky no one has stopped by to check on the classroom.”
“Alison, chill. The classroom is ready and we are ready. I brought a new CD with me.” “Which one?”
“Just a compilation of some of my old favorites. I want to have something different for tonight’s class.”
“What’s special about tonight’s class?” Alison asked.
“We have T. J. Martinez signed up.”
“The third-base player for the Yankees?”
“Yes. And since he’s good friends with Nate Stern, I thought we needed to make a good impression.” Keeping the club owners and their friends happy was the name of the game.
“Maybe you should have arrived earlier.”
“Alison, I don’t mind a little ribbing, but you have to drop that. We have thirty minutes before class starts.”
“I know. Sorry, I’m bitchy today.” “Why?”
“Marc is leaving for Afghanistan for another deployment.”
“When?” Jen asked. Marc was Alison’s brother and they were very close. Alison often said that he was all she had.
“Three weeks. I …”
Jen went over and hugged her friend. “He’ll be fine. He always is. And I’ll help you through it.”
Alison hugged her back and then stepped away. “You’re right. Now tell me more about the songs we are using tonight.”
Jen knew that Alison needed to lose herself in the music so she could forget about her life for a while. Jen wasn’t sure she could be as brave as Alison. Having a brother who was a warrior and would always be called to a battle somewhere in the world was hard. She saw it on her friend’s face every time Marc got deployed.
The music soon echoed through the empty dance hall as Alison and Jen began their routine. Alison was an okay dancer, though she would never have made it in the competitive world of dance as Jen had. But for Luna Azul she was more than competent.
“I like this,” Alison said.
“Great. I want you to add a little more hip twist at the end of the sixth beat like this,” Jen said, showing her. “Very nice, Ms. Miller.”
Jen stumbled and glanced toward the door to see Nate Stern standing there.
He was tall—at least six feet in height—and had thick blond hair that he wore cut close to his head. He had the kind of deep and natural tan that everyone wanted and wore his clothes with a stylish panache that she honestly admitted she envied. He had a stubborn-looking jaw with a small scar on his chin from a baseball accident when he was ten.
Why did she know these things? She shook her head. One of the reasons she’d applied for this job was that she’d always been attracted to him. She’d seen his picture in the paper when he’d been a rookie for the Yankees and she’d been smitten.
“Thank you, Mr. Stern. Is there something I can do for you this evening?” she asked.
“I’d like a private word,” he said.
“Alison, will you leave us?”
“That’s not necessary,” he said. “Please join me on the balcony.”
She took a deep breath. She hated following orders or letting anyone else be in charge. “Keep practicing.”
Alison nodded as Jen led the way out of the rehearsal room and out to the balcony. She tried to be nonchalant but she couldn’t help her nerves. This job was literally her last chance in the dancing world. If this didn’t work out she was going to have to stop dancing and take Marcia, her sister, up on that secretarial job at her law office. And that was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, quite the contrary. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you and I wanted to come and see for myself.”
“So you’ll be attending my class tonight?” she asked.
“Yes, I will be.”
She almost scowled at him but years of performing for judges enabled her to keep her smile on her face. “That will be wonderful. I believe one of your former teammates is signed up for our class as well.”
“Yes, Martinez. I thought I’d tag along and see how you handle having a celebrity in your class.”
She almost rolled her eyes. Honestly, did he think she was going to treat T. J. Martinez any differently than she did her other students? “Do you think I can’t handle it?”
“I have no idea,” he said. “That’s why I’ll be dropping by.”
She was furious but kept calm. “I’m a pro, Mr. Stern. That’s why your brother hired me. You don’t need to attend a salsa class to ensure I do my job.”
He tipped his head to the side. “Did I offend you?”
“Yes, you did.”
He gave her a quick grin, which changed that arrogant-looking face of his into a very charming one. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intent. Celebrities are the key to our continued edge over the other clubs in Miami, and I don’t want to chance anything disrupting that.”
She nodded. “I understand your concern. I can promise you tonight’s class isn’t going to damage Luna Azul’s reputation one bit. And I will enjoy having you in my class.”
“You will?”
“Yes,” she said, turning on her heel and walking back toward the rehearsal room. “Because afterward you will owe me an apology for doubting my skills.”
His laughter followed her into the hallway and she smiled a bit to herself as she entered the classroom. She had to be in top form tonight and she had absolutely no doubt that Nate would be as challenging in the classroom as he’d been beforehand.
Nate watched her leave, wishing he’d come up here a long time ago. She was funny, spunky and very cute.
Her legs were long—so damned long—and her body was lithe. She was quite a dancer and that was apparent in the graceful way she moved.
He stayed where he was on the patio and stared out at the sky as it darkened into twilight. It was February, and there was a light chill to the night air. The scent of the Cuban food that the patio kitchen was preparing carried on the breeze.
He’d done what he needed to do to keep up the club’s image. After all, he was the face of Luna Azul. Funny that a non-Latino would be the face of the hottest club in Little Havana, but the Stern brothers had turned to what they knew best when they’d started their business nearly ten years ago.
Nate was the youngest of the three Stern brothers, Justin the middle one and Cam the oldest. It had been Cam’s idea to take the failing cigar factory and turn it into a club. Justin was a finance whiz kid and he’d looked at the numbers and decided if they invested their trust funds into the club, it could make them money.
At the time, Nate had been more interested in his budding baseball career and had merely signed a paper agreeing to the terms. But when a shoulder injury forced him out of the game two years later, he’d been very glad for Cam and Justin’s decision to buy this place and open a club. And Nate had quickly found that he had something to contribute to the business.
His A-list contacts from the celebrity world.
As much as he loved to play baseball, he was also a Stern through and through and he loved to socialize. Something that the society pages had noticed when he’d first gone to New York to start his career. And Nate had been careful to make sure he stayed in the news.
He used his celebrity to bring attention to the club and to stay current. Even though he hadn’t played in over six years he was still one of the top-ten most recognizable baseball players.
“What are you doing up here?” Justin asked as he came out of the kitchen area. He was two inches taller than Nate and had dark brown hair. They both had their mother’s eyes and their father’s strong jaw, a feature all the Stern men had.
“Talking to the salsa teacher. T.J. is going to be in her class tonight and I wanted to make sure she could handle it.”
“Jen must have loved that.”
“Do you know her?” he asked, feeling a twinge of jealousy at his brother’s familiarity with Jen.
“Not well. But I interviewed her for the job and she’s very confident of herself. She doesn’t like to be questioned.”
“Who does?” Nate asked.
“Not me. I have a meeting downtown with the community leaders tomorrow. They want to have their say about our tenth anniversary party.”
“How many times are we going to have to prove ourselves before they accept that we are a part of this community now and not going anywhere?” Nate asked.
“They’ll never be satisfied,” Cam said as he joined his brothers on the patio. “What are you two doing up here? I need you downstairs to talk to the band when they arrive.”
“I’m on it,” Nate said. “I’ve got the society reporter from the Herald coming. And I’m positive we are going to see Jennifer Lopez tonight. She’s in town and her people said she’d drop by. I’ve got calls in to the internet celeb-site stringers so we should get some good coverage.”
“Great. I like the sound of that,” Cam said. “I know you do, that’s why I spend all night partying.”
“Ha. You do it because you like it,” Justin said. “Indeed, I do. I guess the Stern genes run true in my case. I’m not meant to settle down.” “Like Papa?” Justin asked.
“Yes. I think that’s why he and Mom were so miserable,” Nate said.
“That and the fact that she was so … cold,” Cam added.
Nate turned away from his brothers. Their mother had never wanted children and had done her best to spend as little time with them as she could. It had affected them all in different ways. For Nate, it was that he didn’t trust women to really know their own emotions. He always knew that women were going to leave and they always did.
“I guess we all know what to do tonight,” Cam said. “How are your talks with the community leaders going?”
“Slow. I invited a few of them to join us for tonight’s show so they can see how much a part of Calle Ocho we are.”
“Good. Keep me posted,” Cam said.
“I will.”
Nate and his brothers went back downstairs. Standing in the nearly empty club, Nate glanced around at the decor. It was hard to tell from looking at the place that this had once been a cigar factory.
As a boy, he’d never thought about the future. Once he became a professional baseball player, he’d always just assumed that he’d continue playing until he was in his thirties and then transition to a sportscaster career. But when he’d been injured so young … his dreams had changed and morphed into this.
He wasn’t bitter about it. To be honest, he figured he’d ended up exactly where he needed to be and he was very happy about that.
“Nate?”
He turned to see T. J. Martinez standing in the foyer under the Chihuly glass ceiling. “T.J., my man. How was your flight down here?”
“Good. Very good. I’m ready for some action tonight. Ready to mix it up with you.”
“Me, too,” he said, shaking hands and giving the other man a one-armed hug. “I heard you signed up for dance lessons.”
“Mariah insisted that I take them. She said the teacher is the best and that I’d be an idiot to miss out on the classes. Of course, Paul said the teacher was hot.”
“You can see for yourself tonight. The first class starts in about thirty minutes. Do you want to have a beer?”
“Yes. I’ll catch you up on the team news. There’s a rumor that O’Neill is going to be traded.”
Nate led his friend to the bar and they chatted about baseball and the players they both knew. It was still early and the club wasn’t open to guests yet. But Nate wanted some private time with T.J.
Nate tried to concentrate on the conversation, but his mind kept drifting back to Jen. He didn’t attribute much to it, though. Sure she was sexy and spunky—two things he’d always been attracted to. And talking about baseball and his glory days always made him want to go on the prowl.
“Let’s go. Don’t want you to be late to your class.”
“Are you coming with me?”
“Yeah, why not? I haven’t been to a salsa class yet and as you mentioned, the teacher is … well-qualified.”
T.J. tipped his head back and laughed. Then they finished their beers and headed upstairs. There was no reason for Nate to be in this class except that he wanted to see Jen again. And that was all it took, he thought. That was a perk to being his own boss—he could do whatever the hell he wanted.
He walked in the door of the rehearsal room and Jen glanced up from a turn she was doing. Her hips were swaying and the pulsing sensual beat of the salsa music echoed in the background. He felt the rhythm of it down deep in his soul, and his shoulder started to throb the way it did when something big was about to happen. That old injury was like a dowsing rod for spotting trouble.
Two
The music swelled around her and for once a man distracted her. Well, that wasn’t true—she’d been distracted by men before but not like this. Nate Stern was making her conscious of each sway of her hips. She felt the material of her long skirt against her legs and when the side slit parted to reveal her thigh, she felt his gaze on her. His gaze.
Not another single person in the room was registering for her. Just him.
Why?
Why Nate Stern? This had disaster written all over it. She couldn’t be attracted to her boss. The last time she had been attracted to someone with authority over her it had ended badly.
Her sister Marcia would roll her eyes and say that Jen never learned. She had to learn, she thought. She couldn’t start over again.
To add to her troubles, Nate’s friend T.J. might be a rocking third-base player but he couldn’t find the rhythm of the songs she’d played to save his life. It shouldn’t be that hard. The strong Latin beat was easy to hear.
Alison was working with some students at the back of the classroom as Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” came on. She used her remote to pause the music. This was the song that the class danced to every evening to open the club. Then Alison and Jen would go into the back and come out twenty minutes later to do a flamenco routine.
“Okay. Is everyone ready to show us what you’ve learned?” Jen asked. “When you signed up for this lesson you probably didn’t realize it but you are going to be the stars of the opening number tonight.”
There were a few good-hearted groans from the men in the room and a smattering of applause.
“The important thing to remember about the music is that it is sensual. It reflects the rhythm of the night. You should feel it pulsing through you. And don’t worry about looking silly, you all look wonderful when you are dancing together.”
“I don’t think I can feel anything except when someone is going to try to steal third,” T.J. said.
“I have to agree, Mr. Martinez.”
“Call me T.J.,” he said with a charming grin that revealed his perfect white teeth.
“I will. Since you are our celebrity tonight we would like to invite you to lead the conga line into the room and then, of course, have the first dance.”
It was their standard procedure to ensure that the classes got the utmost attention. According to Nate Stern, it was a nice way to drive business to the lessons. Everyone wanted to be in a class with a celebrity.
“I don’t think I’m the right guy for that.”
Jen smiled at him. “I will make sure you are.”
She hit the button to turn the music back on and walked over to T.J. Nate was watching every move she made and she felt as if she had a spotlight on her body.
She gave him a pointed stare and he just grinned back at her. That was when she decided to show the annoyingly handsome man that she was made of tougher stuff than he thought she was.
She’d been dancing since she was thirteen. Let’s face it, she thought, there wasn’t a time in her life when men hadn’t been staring at her body. And tonight … well, tonight she wanted Nate to see her and to want her. She knew she was an okay-looking woman most of the time, but when she danced … she was beautiful.
“I’m not an athlete, T.J., so you will have to tell me, does baseball have its own cadence?”
He nodded. “It might, ma’am, but all I hear is the sound of the bat hitting the ball.”
She nodded, trying to think of another way to reach him. How was she going to make this work for him?
“Do you mind if I touch you? “
“Not at all,” he said with a grin.
She smiled back at him. Walking around behind him, she put her hands on his hips. “Just stay loose and let my hands move you.”
He nodded and she counted the beat of the music under her breath. And then she started to move his hips. He tried to move his feet but stumbled. “Just stay still and learn the beats.”
“I don’t think that method is working, Ms. Miller,” Nate said. “Let me show him how it’s done.”
She looked at her boss and then put her hands up and stepped back.
But instead of going to T.J., Nate came to her. He put his hands on her hips. “Move so I can feel the rhythm.”
His low tone was meant only for her ears and she responded to it. She counted the beat so he’d hear it as loudly as she did inside of her head and then she started to move.
Nate, unlike T.J., moved with an innate grace and natural ability that made dancing with him … well, not work. He put his hands in the proper position for the dance. One hand on her hips and the other holding her hand, his eyes met hers and the other people in the room faded away. In that one moment, Nate wasn’t her boss or some local celebrity.
He was her partner, her man, and she let the dance take over. Their gazes met and held as they danced. Nate understood sensuality, and in his arms she realized that she was more than the dance instructor.
The salsa was about heat and sex. It was a seduction, a promise of the evening to come. She felt the barriers she’d been trying to put into place to keep him back start to shake and then fall.
This man wasn’t going to let her keep him away if he wanted to be closer. And as the music faded and they stopped moving, she knew he did want to be near to her, or at least she knew that she wanted to be near to him. She wanted to feel his hands on her hips again. To feel his big hand holding hers and watch his dark obsidian eyes as they moved together to the music.
Nate didn’t know why he felt so possessive toward Jen. She was nothing more than a pretty face and an employee but when she’d touched T.J., he’d seen red. And he didn’t like that.
Once he held her in his arms, he knew what the problem was. He wanted her. And wanting her was complicating his rather simple plans for an enjoyable evening. But dancing together had also shown him that she was interested in him, too. She watched him, her gaze heated under his as they moved and when the music stopped, he started to pull her to a corner of the room.
But the applause stopped him and Jen bit her lower lip as she stepped back.
“That is what we need to see from everyone,” she said. “I’m going to observe you all dancing and then we will be ready for our big debut.”
“I don’t think I’m going to look like that,” T.J. said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nate said. “I’ll take your place. Unless you have an objection, Ms. Miller.”
Jen flushed and shook her head. “You are a very good partner, Mr. Stern.”
“Call me Nate,” he said.
She nodded. She turned her attention back to the class.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had something going with her?” T.J. asked.
“I don’t. That was just a dance.”
“That was sex on a cracker, man. That was so much more than a dance,” T.J. said. “I guess there is no chance for me.”
Nate shrugged. It was a connection, and one that he didn’t feel all the time, but he knew it wasn’t rare. It was just lust. Tonight he was on the prowl. Ms. Miller was attractive and there was something about her that made him curious. Maybe it was her mouth with the full lower lip that he knew would feel right under his. Or her nipped-in waist and long lean dancer’s body that he sensed would feel right in his arms.
Hell, he already knew that it felt right here. That she felt right when she moved with him. He wanted to explore it further but he was aware that he was her boss and long-term relationships weren’t his thing.
Which could make working together in the future a little uncomfortable.
“What are you thinking, man?”
“That women are complicated.”
T.J. laughed. “Understatement of the year. I don’t think I’m ever going to figure them out.”
“The dances?” Jen said coming over to the two of them. “You should probably stop chatting if you want to master them.”
“Sorry,” T.J. said. “I think I’m a lost cause.”
“I’m not ready to give up on you yet. Maybe Nate can help you with the footwork. He seems to know his way around the dance floor.”
“I think I’d rather practice with a beautiful woman than with this retired pitcher.”
“Ditto,” Nate said.
“Well, I have other students who need my attention as well. And I’m not getting through to you,” she said. “Nate, why do you think that is? “
He realized she was being sincere. She wanted to help T.J. and that was the first time he realized that the dance lessons were important to her. He’d been too busy looking at her body and watching her sensual moves to pay attention earlier.
“I’m not sure. T.J. is used to using his body as a blunt instrument and dancing is more subtle, isn’t it?” “Yes, I think you’re right. How about a line dance?”
T.J. groaned. “No. My sisters have tried rather unsuccessfully to get me to Electric Slide with them.”
She laughed. “Does liquor help? Some people can’t let go of their preconception that others are watching them dance until they have a few drinks.”
“Not even a keg of beer could relax me,” T.J. said. “But I appreciate your trying.”
“It’s my job.”
“And you are very good at it,” T.J. said. “I’d put a good word in with your boss but I think he already knows how good you are.”
Jen glanced over at him. “Does he?”
Nate nodded. “You are very good.”
He realized she was flirting with him just a little and he silenced the voice in the back of his head that had said she was off-limits. Her interest was all the permission he needed to pursue her.
She went back to the front of the classroom and told everyone to take a five-minute break. Then they’d practice the dance they were going to do to open the show one more time.
Nate followed Jen out of the room. She stopped in the hallway when she realized he was behind her.
“I’m sorry that T.J. isn’t getting the dance.”
“That’s fine. You’ve gone above and beyond trying to teach him.”
She nodded. “I’m not sure that you and I should dance together.”
“Why not?” he asked, stepping closer to her.
She wrapped one arm around her waist and tipped her head to the side. The high ponytail that held up her pretty brown hair brushed against her shoulder. He reached out to touch the end of it. Her hair was soft.
“That’s why,” she said. “I’m starting to forget you are my boss, Nate. And I like this job.”
“Dancing with me isn’t going to compromise your job,” he said. “Luna Azul doesn’t have a fraternization policy.”
She wrinkled her brow. “I know that. But if something …”
“What?”
“It would be awkward and I really like this job,” she said, then turned and walked away. And he let her leave realizing that she was concerned and that he had no idea who she was beyond a pretty girl that he was attracted to.
Jen wanted to just dance into the night with Nate. To pretend that her actions would have no consequences and that she could give in to the powerful attraction and that everything would be fine.
But she wasn’t the young girl she’d once been. And she’d paid the price for making a bad decision based on her desires before. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
It didn’t matter how nice he’d felt when he’d held her in his arms. Or how right they’d fit together as they danced. It didn’t matter.
But it did. She was always looking for a man who made her feel the way that Nate had when they’d danced together. It wasn’t just the dancing but how he’d kept her gaze and how they’d just instinctively found the rhythm of each other. That kind of dancing was rare and she wanted to do more than just salsa with him.
She wanted to pull him close while the soul-sex sounds of Santana played in the background. Stop it.
She needed this job. This was the new Jen Miller. No longer a creature who was ruled by what felt good or right, she now followed the rules. Put family first and was a good girl.
She had to remember that. Marcia had given her a place to stay when she’d needed it and she had promised her sister that she’d changed. That she’d embrace … well, being someone new.
Marcia had always thought that Jen was spoiled and to be honest, she was. She’d had talent from the age of eight. She’d been a dance prodigy and everyone had expected great things from her. And for Jen, those things had come easily.
Crashing at age twenty-six hadn’t been in her plans and leaving the competitive dance world behind hadn’t been, either. If she wanted to dance—and let’s face it, she didn’t know how to do anything else—then she needed to keep this job.
And that meant staying away from Nate Stern.
“You okay?” Alison asked, joining her in the hallway.
“Yes. I’m just trying to catch my breath before we go on.”
“You and Nate …”
“I know. We have dance chemistry.” “In spades. I think you should capitalize on it,” Alison said.
Sure, it was easy for her to say. She didn’t have to go out there and dance a sensual dance with a man who was all wrong for her.
“How?”
“Have him come back every night.”
“I doubt he has time for that. He’s a busy man,” Jen said. “Are you ready?”
“I am. Are you going to hang around and wait for XSU to perform?”
“Probably. You?”
“Yes. My boyfriend is meeting me here.”
“How’s it going with him—Richard, right?”
She nodded. “Pretty good. It’s not a forever thing, but we have fun together.”
Jen wanted that. Some guys she could have fun with and not lose her heart to. But she’d never been able to do it. Maybe it was simply the way she was wired but she didn’t do casual. That’s why Nate worried her.
If she could be like Alison and just have fun with him … why couldn’t she?
She was starting over—why not start over with her attitude toward men? Why not have some fun?
“How do you keep from caring too much?” Jen asked.
Alison shrugged. “He’s not the one so it’s just fun. I don’t think about anything except having a good time with him. If he’s too busy to make it to something I’m doing, I call someone else.”
Jen didn’t know if she could do that. She wanted to.
“Why?”
“I … I wish I could be like that.”
“You don’t even date,” Alison said. “We’ve known each other for eighteen months now and you haven’t met a guy for coffee.”
“I know. I’m just not into the casual scene but maybe I should be. I mean, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone.”
Alison smiled. “Want to come and hang with Richard and me tonight?”
Jen shook her head, then realized that she needed to do something different. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Good. Richard always has his posse with him and there are at least two guys I know who will be interested in you.”
She swallowed. “What if I can’t do it?”
“Then it’s no biggie. They aren’t exactly looking for a commitment.”
She reentered the rehearsal room. Nate was standing off to one side, talking on his cell phone and she stared at him. And it hit her.
She didn’t want to just learn how to lighten up and have fun with any friend of Richard’s. She wanted to do it with Nate. He was the only reason why she was even considering changing her ways.
She wanted to spend more time with him but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Nate wasn’t a long-term dating kind of guy. He always had a new woman on his arm and he was always in the papers. He was an arm-candy kind of guy and she’d never been an arm-candy kind of girl.
Wanting to be with him was understandable. He was hot and flirty. He made dancing feel the way she wanted it to. And he had the kind of dark eyes that she could lose herself in. But that didn’t mean that she should pursue this any further than on the dance floor.
Hell, for all she knew he didn’t want her for anything other than publicity for the club. Shaking her head, she put on “Mambo No. 5” and got the class ready to conga out into the crowd as she heard Manuel, the deejay for the open-air room, start warming them up.
“Everyone get ready.”
“I know I am,” Nate said. She felt his hands on her hips and she stumbled over her first step. She stumbled! That never happened.
But Nate caught her, and his hands on her hips as she led the way into the main room were all she thought of. She knew whether it was wise or not she wasn’t going to deny herself the chance to get to know Nate better.
Because he was exactly her kind of man.
Three
Nate glanced around the crowded balcony club area and spotted just enough A-listers to make the party interesting. Leaning forward, he whispered in Jen’s ear.
“That’s Hutch Damien over there. Let’s get him in this conga line.”
“I don’t know him.”
“I do. Head over that way,” Nate said.
He directed Jen as the line snaked through the tables. She had no microphone on, the deejay did all the talking in this club getting patrons on their feet. She left the conga line and approached the velvet ropes.
“Wanna dance?” she asked in that flirty way of hers.
“I never turn a pretty lady down,” Hutch said with a grin. He hopped up and Nate moved back in the conga line to make room for him. The music swelled and Jen snaked through the room gathering up many of the people who all wanted to say they danced with Hutch Damien.
Hutch was a bona fide Hollywood superstar who’d started his career as a teenage rapper, but not with that hard-edged gangster rap—more of a sophisticated and fun sound that had him climbing the pop charts. He had movie-star good looks that he capitalized on to make films that people loved. And he was a genial guy.
Nate and he went way back to before his playing days when they’d both been rich boys at prep school. Since that image didn’t jibe with Hutch’s public persona of a rapper who made good, they seldom mentioned that fact to anyone.
Jen led them into the middle of the dance floor and then moved off to the side as the music ended and the deejay played “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira.
Nate left T.J. and Hutch on the dance floor as a group of women came up to dance with them and probably grab a picture or two on their cell phones.
Jen was nowhere to be seen forty-five minutes later. He sent a message to Cam checking in to see if there was anything he needed from him. Then he tweeted about the club, talking up Hutch and T.J. on the dance floor.
He pocketed his phone and sought out his friends in the VIP section. He quickly found Hutch and T.J. and sat down with them. But Nate couldn’t stay up here all night; he needed to make sure that there were celebrities throughout the club.
Nighttime was his busiest time but he loved it.
“Where you going?” Hutch asked him when he got up.
“We have a band performing downstairs.”
“Not until ten,” Hutch said, glancing pointedly at his watch.
Nate grinned sheepishly at his friend.
“There’s a girl …” T.J. said.
“There’s always a girl for our Nate.”
“Yes, there is always a girl. I think you’ll like her.”
“So she’s for me?”
“No,” Nate said. “She’s mine.”
“Fair enough, who is she?” Hutch asked.
T.J. took a sip of his rum and Coke and leaned over the edge of the table, his eyes skimming the dance floor. Jen was in the middle doing a flamenco dance. “There she is. The dark-haired one dressed in red.”
“Nice,” Hutch said. “She works here?”
“Yes,” Nate said, leaning back against the padding of the banquette. “Dance teacher.”
“What’s her name?” Hutch asked.
“Jen,” Nate said.
The fact that he was going to bring her up here said more than he wanted it to. His friends understood that he rarely invited someone who wasn’t a part of their group to join them. They were the same way. But Jen was different.
“I like her,” T.J. said. “She’s funny and knows how to move her body. And this one got jealous when she touched me.”
“I am not jealous of you,” Nate said.
That was one thing he’d never been. Even when he had been injured and had to quit playing ball he’d never envied those who still played. He didn’t waste time dreaming about what might have been. He lived his life to the fullest and if that sometimes meant he had to course correct then he did it.
“I know, man, just joshing with you. Go get your girl before she disappears,” T.J. said.
Nate glanced back at the dance floor. Sure enough, Jen and her assistant Alison were taking bows and leaving the club. For the night, he knew.
Nate stood up and walked through throngs of people in the club. He stopped to sign autographs for Yankees fans and posed for pictures with scantily clad women. He kept his smile in place even though he was impatient and wanted to get to Jen.
Cam texted him that there was some kind of problem with the guest list and Nate knew he needed to get down and take care of it, but he was afraid to miss Jen.
Afraid?
He shook his head and began making his way to the front desk instead of waiting for her. He walked down the grand staircase and looked at all the people crowding the dance floor and tried to take some satisfaction from it. This was his life. Luna Azul—the blue moon. Which had been the name of their father’s boat when they’d been growing up.
They spent long lazy summer days on that yacht, just his dad and his brothers. Away from their shrew mother’s demanding voice. Away from the shore where everyone wanted a piece of Jackson Stern, the PGA golf phenom. Away from the real world on the ocean where they could just be themselves.
And Nate had thought naming the club after that childhood oasis had been a stroke of genius, but then Cam was good about doing those kinds of things. Finding a connection between the past and the present.
He got to the VIP desk just as he caught a whiff of a familiar flowery scent. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Jen standing there.
“Sorry about this. I was told my sister and her friend would be able to get in tonight if I left their names here.”
“Of course they can,” he said, realizing that this was fate. Jen and he were destined to spend this night together.
Jen had been trying to avoid Nate. Having his hands on her hips during the conga had made her too aware of him. And she knew that she was on the verge of doing something stupid once again so, of course, there’d be a problem with Marcia and her friend getting into the club tonight. And it seemed fitting that Nate would be the one man they’d call to fix it.
“I’m so sorry,” she said again.
“It’s not a problem,” Nate said. He turned to Marcia and smiled at her. “I’m Nate Stern.”
“Marcia Miller, and this is my friend Courtney.”
“Pleasure, ladies. Give me a few minutes and I will get this straightened out,” he said.
He walked back over to the VIP desk and Jen wanted to disappear now while she still could. This was embarrassing. She didn’t want to bother him.
“Is this okay?” Marcia asked.
“Yes, it’s fine. Nate will take care of it.”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Courtney said.
“I won’t,” Jen said. She hoped she was right. The club policy was that two comp tickets a month were issued to the employees and she hadn’t ever used hers. So she knew that she was technically in the right.
“It’s fine,” she said again.
Marcia reached over and rubbed her arm. “Nate Stern? Is he your boss?”
“Sort of. You know who Nate is, Marcia, don’t pretend you don’t.”
“I do. It’s odd that he seems to be handling operational things. I thought he was a playboy.”
Jen shrugged. “That’s his image and it works for the club but he’s doesn’t strike me as someone who’s just loafing around waiting for a free ride.”
“That’s reassuring,” Marcia said.
“I know it is.”
“How do you know him?” Courtney asked.
“He was in my dance class tonight … one of his friends had signed up and I guess he tagged along to make sure it went smoothly.”
“Has he done that before?” Marcia asked.
“No and I’ve had bigger celebs than T. J. Martinez in the class.”
“You had T.J.—”
“Yes, stop drooling, Courtney.”
“Ha. I’m not drooling, but he’s hot. You have the best job.”
“You’re just saying that because all you do is Excel spreadsheets all day.”
“Very true,” Courtney said. “He’s coming back.”
Jen glanced over her shoulder to see Nate walking toward them. He held up two tickets, which he handed to Courtney and Marcia. “Have fun, ladies.”
“We will. Thank you, Mr. Stern,” Marcia said.
“Call me Nate. And you should thank your sister. There was just a mix-up with the list you were on,” he said.
“Thanks, Jen,” Marcia said. “Are you coming with us?”
She nodded.
“Can I have a word before you go in?” Nate asked.
“I will meet you both inside in a few minutes,” she said to Marcia and Courtney.
As they left, she turned to Nate. “What’s up?”
“Do you have plans for this evening?”
She wrinkled her brow. “I’m meeting my sister and her friend.”
“I guess that sounded stupid,” he said.
“Just a little bit. Why did you ask?”
“I want you to join me.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I think you would be fun to hang with.”
She tipped her head to the side to study him. She wanted to say yes and thought about what Alison had said earlier about just having fun. She couldn’t ask for someone who knew how to party better than Nate.
“Okay.”
“Wow, did you really have to think on it?” “Yes,” she said. “I’m not … I don’t make snap decisions.”
“I’ll remember that. Do you need to check in with your sister?”
“Yes. Why don’t you come and hang with us for a little while?”
“That wasn’t what I had in mind.”
“What did you have in mind?” she asked. She had no idea why she’d agreed to this and she might be in over her head. She should have eased herself back into the dating scene with one of Courtney’s financial analyst friends or someone that worked at her sister’s law office instead of jumping straight from stay at home every night to Nate Stern.
“You and me burning up the dance floor.”
She looked up at him. “I’m not your kind of girl, you know that, right?”
“No, I don’t. I think you and I are going to get along very well.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said under her breath. But in for a penny in for a pound, she thought. She wanted this night and this man so she was going to go for it.
“Come on, Nate. See if you can keep up.”
He laughed a full robust laugh. It made her smile just to hear it. He was that kind of guy. The kind that knew how to enjoy life, and she realized she needed someone like that. She needed to learn how to go with the flow.
He took her hand in his big one and led the way into the club, over to where Marcia and Courtney waited. She tried to tell herself that she was in control of this but she had the feeling that Nate was and she wasn’t sure what the outcome would be.
Marcia and Courtney left at midnight but Nate wasn’t ready to let Jen go yet.
“Stay,” he said when they were in the lobby under the beautiful Chihuly glass sculpture depicting the night sky.
“I’m not sure that is wise,” she said. “I have to work tomorrow.”
“Not until the evening. Stay and play with me, Jen,” he said.
“I … okay, why not? What will we do now?”
“There’s an after-party for the band. It’s up in your court—the rooftop club.”
“Okay. But I can’t stay past two,” she said.
“I won’t hold it against you if you change your mind.”
“Are you really that confident of yourself?” she asked.
“Of course. I know that you are enjoying yourself and your sister told me that you don’t have enough fun.” “She said that?”
“Yes.”
“What else did she say?”
“That you were her little sister and she’d hurt me if I hurt you.”
Jen flushed. “She’s just overprotective. Our mom worked a lot when we were growing up and Marcia was the one who always had to watch me.”
“Some habits never die,” Nate said. “It’s the same with Cam and me.”
“I can see that about him. He’s like everyone’s older brother here.”
“He takes care of family. If you cross him … well, I wouldn’t.”
“Me, either,” Jen said.
“Do you know him well?” Nate asked. It seemed odd to him that he’d just met Jen today and that his brother might have known her longer.
“Not really. But he asked me to serve on the tenth anniversary celebration committee.”
“Yes, I am to be on that committee, too, so we will be seeing a lot more of each other.”
She glanced down and he wondered at her expression. But then T.J. came over and slung an arm around his shoulder. “Buddy, how’s it going?”
“Good,” he said, realizing T.J. was drunk. He was reluctant to stop talking to Jen, now that he was finally learning a little about her, but T.J. needed him.
“Let’s find a table to sit down and chat.”
“Nah, I’m making the rounds. Did I tell you that I’m a single guy again?”
Nate shook his head. “I heard it through the grapevine.”
“Everyone has,” T.J. said.
“I think I see a table in the back that will be nice. Why don’t you two go grab it and I’ll get us some drinks,” Jen said.
“Not a problem, Jen. As soon as we sit down, Steve will send my usual drink order over,” Nate said.
“I don’t think he’ll know what I want, so I will tell him and then join you both,” she said.
“Thanks,” Nate said, leading T.J. through the crowds to the table that Jen had spotted. T.J. was rambling a little about being single again.
“I hate it, man. I’m not like you. I don’t like the party life. I want to go home with the same woman every night. Have a nice little house in the suburbs, ya know?”
Nate patted him on the shoulder. “I do know. It will work out when you find the right girl.”
“The right girl? I doubt there is one out there. We don’t meet nice girls, ya know?”
Nate started to agree but then glanced up to see Jen walking toward them. He thought that they did meet nice girls in their lives but they never knew how to treat them. And he was torn for the first time in recent memory. He wanted to be more of a gentleman for Jen than he normally was but he had the feeling that it was too late for that. He scarcely remembered how to be a gentleman.
“I don’t think guys like you and me know what to do with a nice girl.”
“Could be,” T.J. said as he looked at Jen. “Did you tell the bartender to bring me another rum and Coke?”
“No, sorry. I told him Coke straight up.”
“I need the rum, Jen. I think I could samba better with rum.”
“I don’t know about that. And I was teaching you the salsa.”
“Damn. I guess I’m not impressing you,” T.J. said. “You already have when I watch you play,” she said.
“I am a hot third-base player.” “You are a stud on the baseball diamond,” Nate agreed.
“I am. I think I’m going to head over to the bar and see if I can get them to add a little rum to this Coke,” he said. “Not that I don’t appreciate the thought, Jen.”
“No problem,” she said.
T.J. got up and left the table. Nate watched his friend go and hoped that he’d find some kind of peace in the alcohol.
“Thanks for giving us a minute,” Nate said.
“It’s okay. I have friends, too. I know how it is when you need some privacy with them,” she said.
“Sit down,” he said, gesturing to the seat next to him.
“I was thinking I should head out,” she said.
“Why? What changed your mind?”
She sat down in the chair next to him perching on the edge of the seat. “This isn’t my scene.”
“Why not? It’s not different than being downstairs with your sister,” Nate said.
“Maybe not to you, but this isn’t my crowd of people. There are celebs everywhere and people are taking photos with them and I think there are only two groups here.”
“What are they?”
“Those who belong and those who are hanging on. And I don’t want to be that,” Jen said.
She reached over and took his hand in hers and he noticed how delicate her fingers looked with those long pink nails of hers. “I like you, Nate, but this is your world, and being here for just a short time has shown me that I don’t belong in it.”
“You could if I invited you in.”
“I could,” she said. “But for how long?”
Four
Nate shrugged. “Life can be pretty crazy.”
“I know it can,” she said.
“Sit down, Jen. Tell me what brought you here.”
She swallowed hard enough for him to see and shook her head. “That’s not a good topic of conversation.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s a samba playing and I’d rather dance.”
And just like that she changed the conversation. He was no longer thinking about who she was and where she’d come from but rather how nice it felt when they’d danced together earlier.
He stood and led her to the dance floor. As soon as they were there he turned and she started dancing. The samba was a very quick-moving dance but he followed her moves perfectly.
When he’d been old enough to notice girls, he’d realized that they liked to dance and if he knew how—no matter how much ribbing he had to take from his friends—he’d be very popular with the ladies. That had worked to his advantage and he’d liked it.
Jen was a great dancer, her lithe body moving in time with the music, but she also kept eye contact with him and soon the dance felt as if it was just between the two of them.
He found the rhythm and their hips swayed in the same motion. He drew her closer to him as they moved and felt the brush of her body against his. He kept his hand steady in the small of her back even when she would have stepped back.
She looked up at him, confusion and desire evident in her gaze, and he knew that something had just changed between them.
The lust that had been there from the first moment they met was now blossoming into something stronger, something more solid. And as the song built up to the ending, he drew her into his arms and kissed her.
She didn’t think of the past or the future. She just lived in the now.
Somehow the night slipped away from her and though she’d meant to leave after one dance, one dance turned into just one more and she spent the night on the floor with Nate. For the first time since she’d been forced to leave the competitive dance world she felt alive.
It bothered her that a man was the reason why. And she knew that this night was a one-off. There was no way she’d ever be with Nate for more than this night. His crowd of friends consisted of people that she read about in glamour magazines and on the internet gossip websites. And though they were unfailingly polite to her, she knew tomorrow they wouldn’t recognize her.
“I need a drink,” Nate said, drawing her off the dance floor. “You might be used to dancing that much but I am not.”
“I didn’t notice you falling behind,” she said.
“I’ve got the stamina,” he said with a wink. “Plus, I couldn’t let a girl out-dance me.”
“A girl? Women don’t like being called girls,” she said to him.
“Ah, I meant it in a nice way. My dad was real old-fashioned when it came to ladies and we were never allowed to call girls women. He thought it was too harsh.”
Jen shook her head and had to laugh at that. “I guess it’s okay then.”
He hugged her close with one arm. They were both sweaty from dancing so much and she liked Nate’s musky smell. She leaned in closer for just a second before she realized what she was doing.
“Don’t,” he said, stopping her by holding her tighter. “I like having you close.”
“I like it, too,” she said, softly. She looked up into those dark obsidian eyes of his.
“Good. Now how about another mojito?”
“I think water would be better,” she said. She was already buzzing a little from the drinks and the dancing. And from Nate, she thought. He went to her head faster than any other man she’d ever been with. Maybe that was because in the past, a man would have had to compete with her dancing career, but now she was simply a woman. And this man … well, he was addictive.
“Water first,” he said. “Then mojitos … I don’t like to drink alone.”
“I’m sure that’s not an issue. You always have someone on your arm.” “Not always,” he said.
And as he walked away, she realized there was more to the playboy that she’d first suspected.
When he returned to her side, he led her out of the crowded part of the club and behind the stage where there was a roped-off area. There were not a lot of people back here—in fact, it took her a few moments to notice it was just the two of them.
He handed her the water and she drank it down, grateful for it after all the dancing they’d done.
“I love this view,” he said, pulling her closer to the railing that ran around the edge of the roof.
She glanced out over Little Havana and toward the Miami skyline. She could make out the bright lights on the Four Seasons Hotel, which was the largest building in Florida. It was a breathtaking view.
“I can see why,” she said. “Tell me about this club and how you ended up here.”
He arched one eyebrow at her. “I would have thought that was all common knowledge.”
She shook her head. “Not really. I mean I know the headlines and the speculation, but I want to know the real story. Why did Nate Stern leave baseball to help run a club in South Florida with his brothers instead of pursuing a career in front of the camera?”
She finished her glass of water and set it down on the wrought-iron table. Nate took her arm and led her farther away from the club sounds as the deejay played Santana. There was a padded bench set amongst some tall trees. The night breeze surrounded them and she felt more comfortable in her own skin than she had in years.
“If I tell you my secrets will you tell me yours?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’m not nearly as interesting as you, but if you want to know about me, I will tell you if you get me a mojito.”
“Good.”
After a brief trip to the bar, he came back and he handed her the mojito, then gestured for her to sit down. He sat next to her, stretching his long arm behind her on the bench and drawing her closer to him.
Nate didn’t like to talk too much about the old days. He did it with guys like T.J. because they expected him to and frankly that was the only thing he and T.J. had in common. The old days.
But reminiscing about what was instead of focusing on what is had never seemed wise to him.
“I think you asked about why I’m here,” he said.
“I did. I’ve always thought … well, since I started working at the club you seem the least likely to actually be happy here in Miami. Why didn’t you stay in New York or head to L.A.?”
He shrugged. He’d thought about it. But to be honest, he had been injured and unsure and he’d needed the support of his brothers around him. And frankly, they weren’t going to give up their homes to move across the country.
“It just felt right,” he said.
She laughed as she turned to look up at him. “I can’t believe you made a decision based on your gut. I mean one that would change your life.”
“Why not? When I played baseball I made gut decisions all the time.” It was one of the things he thought had made him stand out.
“I never thought about it like that.”
“Most people don’t. So that’s it. My brothers were here. I’d invested in the club so I technically had a job, at least on paper, and my sports career was over so I came home.”
“You sum it up like you are stating facts,” she said, her voice soft and pensive. “Was it really that easy or did you struggle to give up your dream?”
“My dream?”
“Baseball,” she said.
He had had a rough patch but had worked through it. “The sad thing about me, Jen, is that I realized I didn’t want to be just a baseball player.”
“What did you want to be?” she asked, moving closer to him.
He knew he could talk about himself all night with her as an audience. Most people didn’t listen well and were just waiting for a chance to talk about themselves but Jen was engaged in what he was saying. He wasn’t sure why. Did she really want to know the man he was?
“Famous,” he said. “I know, shallow, right?”
“I wanted that, too,” she admitted.
He thought she was being kind and trying to make him feel better about his rather shallow goals. Cam always said that Nate was too pretty and that had made him believe he could skate through life. But Nate ignored what his brother said. He’d worked hard to be good at baseball and he’d done it because he thought it would pay off.
In a way, it had.
“Really?” he asked.
“You think I’m joking around?”
“Of course not. But I don’t know anything about you.
I know you weren’t a baseball player. Our paths would have crossed before tonight.”
“Indeed, they would have,” she said.
“So?”
She took a deep breath and then a sip of her drink. The mojito was smooth and minty and he saw her savor it as it went down. Since she hadn’t lingered over her drink like that before, he suspected she didn’t want to talk about herself now.
“Tell me, honey. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Honey? You don’t know me well enough to call me that.”
“Jen, I will before the night is over.” “Isn’t that a little presumptuous of you?” she asked.
“No. You are just as interested in me as I am in you.”
She nodded. “I am. I hate to say it but I really do want to know the man behind the flash.”
“Good. I hope you find him to your liking,” he said.
“You’re impressing me so far,” she said.
He took another sip of his drink. The February breeze blew around them stirring a tendril at the side of her face. Each time the wind blew, the strand of hair brushed over her high cheekbones and caught on her lips.
He reached up and brushed it back, tucking it behind her ear. “There you go.”
“Thanks,” she said, but her voice was softer, huskier than it had been moments earlier.
“What did you want to be famous for doing?” he asked.
He couldn’t stop touching her skin. It was soft, maybe the softest he’d felt in a long time. The women he usually kept company with were concerned about their looks and how they appeared to others—seldom did they let him touch them except in bed when they were making love. But Jen let him touch her face.
He stroked his finger over her lower lip until she pulled back. Her lips were parted and her breath brushed across his finger.
“I can’t think when you do that,” she said.
“Then don’t think,” he replied. He tightened his arm along her shoulders and drew her closer to him. Her mojito glass brushed against his chest wet and cold.
She licked her lips and her eyes started to close as he lowered his head. He wanted this night to go on forever but he knew he couldn’t sit here on the rooftop another minute without kissing her.
She tempted him on so many levels and he wasn’t sure how to deal with a woman who had that effect on him. He wanted to pretend that it was simply the unknown and the curiosity of being with someone who seemed so natural here with him. He didn’t have the feeling she was with him because she wanted to meet his famous friends or have her picture in the papers.
And that was a heady aphrodisiac.
Jen was surprised by her reaction to Nate—a non-dancer. She shook her head reminding herself dancing wasn’t her life anymore. It still was a shock to think of her world the way it was now.
“I’m sensing you aren’t thinking about kissing me anymore.”
She pulled back, nibbling on her lower lip. The smell of hibiscus filled the air from the potted plants that were stationed near the edge of the railing.
“No—I mean yes. I was thinking about you. How different you are than the other men I’ve dated.”
“I don’t want to hear about the other men in your life,” he said, his voice sounding tight.
“Why not? I’m just your one-night girl, right?” she asked. It was imperative to her that she keep her focus here. No matter that Nate was a life-changing man for her. The first guy she’d wanted to kiss since Carlos.
He tipped his head to the side, staring over at her. “Normally, I’d say yes, but I’m jealous, honey. I don’t want to hear you talk about other men when you’re with me. I want to be the only man on your mind.”
She understood that. She was finding herself struck with an uncharacteristic shyness as they sat here alone. It was because he was so different for her … no, he wasn’t, she thought. She was the one who was different. She wanted to own this change and not let it own her.
“You are staring very fiercely at me.”
“I’m sorry. I just had an epiphany.”
He leaned in. “That you should be kissing me?”
“Actually, yes,” she said. She should be kissing him. Like Alison had said, life was short and having fun wasn’t overrated.
She leaned over and let the shyness that really wasn’t a part of her drop away. She was a woman who had always been comfortable in her own skin. She hated that Carlos had stolen that from her.
And Nate was just the man to give it back. Nate Stern was the man she’d regain her womanhood with because she was tired of just existing. It was time to start living again. She glanced up at the full moon and made a promise to herself that starting this moment she would live with no regrets.
She leaned in close and Nate’s pupils dilated. “That’s more like it.”
Yes, it was. She brushed his lips with hers. His were firm and full and when he parted them the warmth of his breath brushed over her. He smelled like the minty mojito and she closed her eyes to just enjoy this moment.
To take from this night the gift it had given her in Nate.
He drew her closer to him. She felt the warmth of his body and slowed this moment down in her mind. The way she did when she was dancing. She wanted to capture every bit of this evening so that when she was old and gray and she told her grandkids about kissing the famous Yankees baseball player she’d be able to do it right.
Then his lips brushed over hers again and she stopped thinking about the future or capturing anything. She thought instead of the way his flesh felt against hers. She thought of the way his lips parted against hers and his tongue pushed past the barriers of her lips and teeth tasting her deep.
The way he took control of the entire embrace, the same way he’d taken control of her night. Control. It had always been something she prided herself on but now it hardly seemed worthwhile.
His arms were big and strong as he wrapped them around her and she felt the muscles of his upper arms, the strength in him. Though he was no longer a professional athlete, Nate Stern was still a very strong man.
She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed back to look at his face. The genial smile he’d worn all night was gone and in its place was a fierce expression.
“Too much?”
“Maybe,” she said. “Maybe. I came to work tonight expecting everything to be the same, Nate, and now it’s not.”
“Good. Life should never be predictable.”
She shook her head. “Yes, it should. How else do you find your balance if life is always throwing you off? “
He stood up and drew her up beside him. “You find it in the people.”
“Family?” she asked as he led the way to the railing.
“Or the city,” he said. “Miami never changes. Not really. Not at its heart. Sure there is a different political climate sometimes but for the most part, the beach and subtropical climate encourage a more laid-back approach to living.”
His arm around her waist was strong and guiding as he brought them to a stop at the far end of the railing. The sounds of Luna Azul’s rooftop club were even more muted here and she looked out over Calle Ocho and Little Havana.
“Did you grow up here in Little Havana?”
“No. I grew up on Fisher Island.”
“Oh,” she said. She’d known that from the reading she’d done on him and his brothers before she’d taken this job. But the way he spoke about Miami, well, it had sounded as if he knew the city. The city she’d grown up in. Being middle class—okay, lower-middle class—she’d grown up in a far different neighborhood than the affluent community of Fisher Island.
“You?”
“Here in the city.”
He tipped her head up. “Then you know what I mean.”
She closed her eyes and thought of the city and the rhythms of the Calle Ocho. She thought of the struggling lower-middle class who still knew how to have fun and remembered birthdays spent on the beach.
“Yes, I do.”
“Show me what you see,” Nate said. He moved around so that he stood behind her. His chest and front pressed along her back, his hands settling on her waist and his chin resting on her shoulder. “Show me your city.”
She started to point out the places she knew and what she heard when she was there. “Each part has a different rhythm, a different feel to it.”
“Like dancing?”
“Just like dancing. Some of it is hip and current, other parts sensual and emotional, some parts are the blues … the vibes all resonate around me.”
“Show me,” he said again, turning her in his arms and kissing her the way he had when they were sitting down. But this time he pulled from her so much more than a response to a kiss. He pulled out the song that she heard in her head. The song that was the very heart of who she was.
And she shared it with him with the sensual undulation of her hips. And the way she rested the curves of her breasts against the firmness of his chest.
Five
The sun was just coming up over the horizon when they arrived at his penthouse apartment in a skyscraper downtown. Nate had seldom enjoyed an evening as much as he had this one and he knew it was due to the fact that he was with Jen.
She stood in his foyer looking sleepy but happy and in this moment, Nate felt as if the night was a success. Somewhere between all the kisses and caresses he’d realized that despite the fact that she was a dancer and spent her life with people staring at her body, Jen was shy about letting anyone touch her too much.
He pulled her into his arms. He didn’t care about the city or what she thought of it, he wanted her. Had wanted her from the moment she’d sassed him in the club earlier. And the entire night had just reinforced that longing.
“I like this place,” she said as she walked across the Italian marble floor.
She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows in his living room. “This view …”
“Incredible, isn’t it?” he asked, coming to stand behind her. He put his arms around her and drew her back against him.
“I had fun tonight,” she said. “I didn’t expect to.”
“Why not?”
“This wasn’t my best day,” she said.
“I thought you enjoyed yourself,” he said, leading the way to his modern kitchen. He directed her toward one of the high-backed stools at the counter.
“Tonight has been fun. But it started out worse … I’m tired, so I’m not making sense. I meant to say you made a bad day better.”
“I’m glad. What was bad about it?”
“Just some news I was hoping would be different.”
“What news?” he asked as he started gathering the ingredients for omelets from the refrigerator.
“Remember earlier tonight when you asked me about my secrets?” she asked. She didn’t look up at him but instead traced a pattern on the Mexican tile countertop. Her finger just ran across the pattern over and over again. He was struck by how long her fingers were. He wondered what they’d feel like on his skin.
“I do, indeed. Does the bad news have to do with your secrets?” he asked. He really hadn’t thought she was hiding much. She was a dancer and a choreographer. What kind of secrets could she have?
“Yes, it does. I don’t know what you know about my past,” she said, glancing over at him.
“Not too much. If I had to guess I’d say you were a dancer.”
“You’d be right on the money. Dancing has been my life for as long as I can remember. And I made a mistake a few years ago and haven’t been able to compete since then,” she said.
“What kind of mistake?”
“One that involved a man,” she said. Her eyes were wide and weary as she watched him and he kept his face neutral.
“It’s funny, Jen, but a woman ultimately led to my change of profession.” “Really?”
“Yes. When I was injured I had been engaged and while I was recovering, she decided to move on to a different player.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. Obviously, we weren’t going to be happy together. I learned a very important lesson from her, one I haven’t forgotten,” he said.
“What was that?” she asked.
“That I’m not cut out for marriage,” he said.
“To her,” Jen said. “Why did you tell me?”
“So you wouldn’t feel like you were the only one to make a mistake because of love. What happened with your ‘mistake’?”
“I was forbidden from competing in the Latin dance competitions. I filed an appeal,” she said. “After a lengthy review, the verdict stands and I’m still not welcome to compete.” Her shoulders fell. “I’m never going to compete again.”
“That’s okay. You are going to do other things,” he said. “At the club every night you share your love for Latin music and dances with someone new. That has to count for something.”
She shook her head. “It’s not the same.”
“No, it’s not. But that is life, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. I am still struggling to figure out where I’m going to fit in without competition.”
“How long has it been since you competed?” he asked. He thought she’d been working at Luna Azul for at least a year.
“Three years. I filed a protest as soon as it happened. And I don’t want to sound like I’m full of myself but things usually work out for me. I just expected this to do the same.”
“My dad used to say that everything happens for a reason,” Nate said, hearing his father’s voice in his head. “We might not understand the reason but it’s there.”
She tipped her head to the side and studied him. “Do you believe that?”
“Yes, I do. I’m going to tell you something I don’t let most people know,” he said, leaning across the counter so that their faces were close.
“What is that?”
“I couldn’t have been as content playing baseball as I am with the life I’m living now.”
“Really?” she asked, sounding a bit skeptical.
“Truly. I get to see my brothers every day. I’m paid to entertain my friends and make sure that people have a good time. Is there a better job in the world?”
She nodded. “I see what you mean. I do love dancing and I’m able to do that every night.”
She got a far-off look in her eyes and he knew there was more to the story than she was letting on. “I guess I had gone as far as I could in that career. It was time for something new.”
“And you get to spend the morning with me,” he said.
“Wow, Nate, don’t sell yourself short,” she said with a laugh.
“I never do,” he said, kissing her.
Nate’s advice made sense and she liked the way he gave it out effortlessly and didn’t try to pretend that he had all the answers. He was more than she’d expected him to be, but then he’d been surprising her all night. She should be used to it.
“I’m not really hungry,” she said at last. She hadn’t come back to his place to eat and they both knew it.
“I’m not, either.”
He came around the counter and drew her to her feet. “Want to see the rest of this place?” “Yes, I do.”
He led the way down the hall to his bedroom. On the walls were exquisite pictures in bright colors that reminded her of Mexico City. His home was very modern and now. But it wasn’t a cold, modern decor, it was very warm and inviting and Jen was amazed that she felt so at home here.
She drew him to a stop under a portrait of him wearing a Yankees cap. “When did you take this?”
“Season opener. My dad wanted it … he was so proud of me for going pro. He came to every game if it didn’t interfere with his playing schedule. This hung in his bedroom at our home on Fisher Island.”
“When did he die?” she asked.
“Two weeks after I got injured. He didn’t know I’d never play again,” Nate said. “I’m glad.”
“I think he’d still be proud of you,” she said. She knew that her parents would have been proud of her no matter what she did. Marcia always said that parents just wanted their kids to be happy. Usually she was referring to her own seven-year-old son Riley.
“I’m not sure. Why am I telling you all this stuff?” he asked.
“People tell me things,” she said. “I think I look like the girl next door and people just feel comfortable with me. You probably do, too.”
“Girl next door? What do you mean by that?”
“Just someone comfortable. You know, the kind of girl you can tell your secrets to.”
“You called yourself a girl.”
She mock-punched his shoulder. “I do it all the time, but that doesn’t mean I like hearing a man call me a girl.”
He smiled. “Just when I think I have you figured out you do something else to surprise me.”
“I hope I’m not so easy to figure out,” she said. No matter that she told him about her dancing suspension. She usually played her cards closer to her chest. But to be honest, she had no idea how to deal with this life now that she had no direction. And opening up to Nate felt right somehow.
“You’re not. You are very complex,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “And very beautiful.”
He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, telling her how sexy he found her body and how much he wanted to touch her all night. His breath was warm and she liked hearing what he said.
He made her feel like she wasn’t incomplete. And that was it, she thought. Since she’d had her appeal denied, she realized that she’d felt broken, but here in Nate’s arms none of that mattered.
She twined her arms around his neck and lifted herself up to kiss him. His mouth moved hungrily over hers and she lost herself. His hands skimmed down her back and settled on her hips. He pulled her closer to him.
The feel of his strong, muscled arms around her made her feel very delicate and feminine. She had never been with a man who felt like Nate did. He was strong, muscled, his body still in shape from years of being an athlete. There was no way for her to pretend he was anyone other than Nate Stern.
Her blood flowed heavier in her veins as he moved his hands over her. She knew that Nate was in control of this embrace. She was letting him set the tempo and as much as she wanted him, she wasn’t ready to take the lead in anything between them. He lifted her off her feet.
“Wrap your arms and legs around me,” he said.
She held tight to him as he walked them into the bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the king-size bed. His hands roamed up and down her back as she looked down at him.
He tipped his head up and kissed her. There was passion in the kiss but also a note of tenderness and it was the tenderness that won her over. She held his face in both of her hands and plunged her tongue deep into his mouth. He reciprocated, tangling one of his hands deep in her thick hair.
He held her tight as passion overwhelmed her.
He leaned back and she straddled him on the bed. He palmed her breasts, cupping and fondling them gently. She undid the buttons of his shirt and he slowly drew her blouse up her torso. She liked the sensation of the cloth against her skin. She stopped what she was doing and tipped her head back, enjoying the moment.
His hands were warm against her flesh and he draped the fabric over the top of her breasts so that it hung there. His big hands encircled her waist and drew her down toward him.
She felt the warmth of his breath against her nipple a moment before his lips closed around it. She held his head again as he suckled her through the lace of her bra. Everything in her tightened as he caressed her.
She tried to reach behind her to unfasten the bra but he held her wrists. “Not yet. I want to do it this way.”
“You do?”
He nodded.
She reached between their bodies and found the hard ridge of his erection. She stroked her hand up and down over him through the fabric of his pants.
“Do you like that?” she asked as he arched his back and moved his hips against her stroking hand.
“Very much. Want to get naked?” he asked, with a grin.
“More than you can imagine, but I thought you wanted to wait.”
“Touché,” he said, snaking his hands around her back and undoing the clasp of her bra. He pushed the fabric up out of his way and then lifted her off his lap. “I can’t see you in this light.”
He rolled over and turned the bedside light on. “Take your blouse off.”
She removed it and her bra as he took off his shirt. The muscles she’d noted when he’d carried her were visible now. His pecs well-developed, his arms all sinew and strength.
He had a light dusting of hair on his chest and it tapered down to a thin line, which disappeared under his belt into his pants.
She stood up next to him. She caressed him from his neck down his chest. Swirled her fingers over his pecs and thumbed his flat nipples before letting her touch go lower.
He stood there and let her explore him. She liked the way the hair on his chest abraded her palm. She liked the warmth of his body and the strength in him.
She leaned down and let her lips follow the path that her hands had. She nibbled on his neck and felt his hands on her back, sliding up and down. Rubbing over her spine and then moving slowly back up.
She felt him lower the zipper at the side of her skirt and the fabric pooled around her feet. She stood there in her flesh-colored bikini panties. He took her hands in his and held her arms away from her body.
“Someday, I’m going to ask you to dance for me when we are alone,” he said.
“I might,” she said. “But only if you do something for me.”
He nodded and brought his hands to his belt. Slowly he undid it and drew it through the loops on his pants. He tossed it on the floor and then pushed his pants down. “Come here.”
“No, you come here,” she said.
He arched one eyebrow at her and came over to her. She pushed him down on the bed and gave him a minute to get situated before she came down on top of him. She put her hands on his shoulders as she straddled his hips. She rubbed her feminine center over his erection and felt his flesh flex under her.
“Like that?” she asked.
“Hell, yes.”
He gripped her hips and rubbed her over his penis. She tipped her head back as she enjoyed the sensation, which spread out all over her body. Gooseflesh spread down her arms and her nipples tightened.
Nate leaned up and ran his tongue over her nipple and her flesh tightened even more. She shifted her shoulders so that her nipple brushed over his lips before he closed them around it and suckled her deeply. “I want you,” Nate said.
“I know,” she whispered. She leaned down over him, rubbing her self against him.
“Why aren’t we completely naked?” he asked.
“I … I don’t know. I thought you’d like to do the honors.”
“Indeed, I would,” he said.
He pulled her flush against his body and rolled them to their sides. Then his hands swept down over the curve of her hips. He tugged on the waistband of her panties lowering them slowly. She lifted up to help him and he pulled them down her legs and tossed them on the floor.
“Lay on your back,” he said. “I want to remember how you look on my bed.”
She liked that idea, so she rolled over. “How do I look?”
“Like a siren beautiful enough to tempt a man from the sea. To tempt me into dangerous waters.”
She lifted her knee up and parted her legs. “Surely I’m not dangerous, Nate.”
He shook his head. “You are the kind of danger I love—highly addictive.”
He stripped his own underwear off and stood next to the bed completely naked. His erection was long and wide and she bit her lip at the thought of having him inside her.
She reached out and touched the tip of his shaft and it became even more engorged with blood. She ran her finger around the edge of it and then wrapped her hand around him.
His hips canted toward her. He had one knee on the bed and his hands on her thighs before he pulled back.
“Damn. Are you on the pill?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m a dancer … I can’t afford to get pregnant unless I am ready to retire.”
“Good. Then we don’t have to worry about a condom,” he said.
“Actually …” she said. “I want you to wear one. You are a bit of a player.”
She hated to say that especially since they were so intimate right now but she wasn’t going to be stupid about her own health.
“I guess you have a point. Give me a second,” he said. He left the bed and was back in less than a minute.
“Come to me.”
He nodded and came down on top of her. But he supported his weight with his elbows and his knees at first, hovering over her. He kissed a path from her neck down to her sternum and then nibbled at her belly button.
Everything inside of her clenched as moisture pooled between her thighs. She wanted him inside of her. She didn’t want to wait another minute but she also enjoyed what he was doing too much to ask him to stop.
He slid lower between her open thighs and she watched him as he looked down at her body. He parted her nether lips and leaned in to stroke his tongue over the bud at her center.
The touch of his tongue was electric and she jerked on the bed. No man had done this before. She wasn’t sure she liked it at first but Nate took his time lapping at her most sensitive flesh until she put her hands in his hair and held him to her. She was so close to an orgasm and she didn’t want him to move … not yet.
He slipped one finger into her and she moaned. Her legs moved on the bed, and around his head. It was too much as he added a second finger and continued to stroke inside of her.
“I’m going to come,” she said.
He lifted his head and looked up the expanse of her body at her. “Do it.”
He lowered his head once again and she felt the careful scrape of his teeth against her intimate flesh. Her muscles tightened and her climax roared through her. She clutched his head to her body as her hips jerked off the bed.
She kept spasming and he kept his hand between her legs as he slid up her body. He positioned himself between her thighs and waited poised at the portal of her body for a minute. The feel of the tip of his manhood there made her crave more of him.
She put her heels on the bed and lifted her hips trying to take him deeper but he shook his head. “I want this to go slowly.”
“I want you inside me, Nate. Now.”
Taking his time, he slid inside her body inch by inch and once he was fully seated he waited until she moved her hips and then he started thrusting slowly inside. He felt so damned good inside of her.
He thrust more quickly and his hands tightened on her hips. He brought his mouth to her neck and kissed her there whispering dark words of passion in her ear until she felt like she was going to come again. She reached down and clutched his buttocks, drawing him closer to her with each thrust. He moaned her name as she came again.
This time was so much more intense. She couldn’t stop her body from thrusting up against him. His hips began to pump frantically into her and then he called her name as he came.
He held her in his arms, rolling to his side when he was able to. The sweat dried on their bodies and Jen looked up at him in the light cast by the bedside lamp. That was the most intense experience in her life. And Nate Stern was not only essentially a stranger but he was also effectively her boss.
What had she done?
Six
The morning sunlight was muted through the roman shades on the windows. Nate normally didn’t like for a woman to stay too late in the morning but he was in no hurry for Jen to leave. She lay cuddled next to his side with her head resting on his shoulder and her arm wrapped around his waist.
The soft exhalation of her breathing stirred his chest hairs and he felt something close to contentment with her in his arms. She looked peaceful and ethereal in her sleep.
The sheets pooled low on her waist revealing the curves of her breasts and the slope of her hip. He reached out to trace the line of her body. She was a dancer, long and lithe yet still had a feminine curve to her.
What was he going to do with her?
He should be hustling her out of his bed and instead he wanted to draw her closer and lay here until she woke.
Then he wanted to make love to her and spend the day with her.
He stared down at her trying to figure out what it was about Jen that was different. Part of it was the obvious fact that she wasn’t in his crowd and seemed to have no desire to use his connections to get anywhere.
She was the first woman he met that needed nothing from him. To be fair, she worked for him at the club, but that had nothing to do with him personally.
“Why are you staring at me?” she asked, shifting on to her back.
“You are incredibly pretty,” he said.
She seemed to get more beautiful as he spent more time with her. He loved the fuller curve at the bottom of her lip and how she pursed her lips when she thought he was joking with her.
“I’m a real Mona Lisa,” she said.
“You are a very interesting woman, Jen,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. “I could look at you all day.”
“I’m not sure—”
“Don’t think about it,” he said, putting his finger over her lips. “Let’s spend the day together and enjoy the time we have.”
“What will we do?” she asked. “I have to be at work at five.”
“Me, too,” he said. He rolled over on his back and reached for his iPhone, which was on the nightstand. He pulled her into the curve of his body. She cuddled close to him the way she had when they’d been sleeping and he liked that.
He opened the weather application on his iPhone and saw that it was going to be a perfect day for sailing. “Want to go out on my yacht?”
She laughed. “Do you say that to all the women you date?”
“Yes. I don’t have etchings to show them so instead I invite them to go boating.”
“I’d love to go out on your yacht. But I don’t have a change of clothes to wear,” she said.
“There’s a boutique in the lobby of this building,” he said. “What size do you wear?”
“Um … six,” she said.
“I’ll order some clothing for you.”
“No, that’s okay. I think I’ll go home and shower and change. I can meet you at the marina later,” she said.
He shook his head. “That won’t do. I want to spend the entire day with you.”
“And you’re used to getting what you want?” she asked.
“I am,” he said. He didn’t always get what he wanted but she didn’t need to know that right now.
“Why should I stay?” she asked.
“I asked you to. I want to get to know you better,” he said.
“I guess I can’t argue with that,” she said. “I’m very glad to hear that. My housekeeper should be here now. What would you like for breakfast?” “I’m a light breakfast eater,” she said. “How about a croissant and fruit?” he suggested.
“That’s fine.”
“Good. You go shower and I’ll take care of every detail for our day. You can use my robe until your clothes arrive.”
“Thank you,” she said. He kissed her before she got up and watched her walk across his bedroom.
As soon as she was gone, he focused on organizing the day for the two of them. He kept himself busy so he wouldn’t think about making love to her again. He felt a bond growing between them. And that was dangerous for him. He should have hustled her out the door when he had the chance but he wasn’t really good with should-haves.
He dressed in a pair of casual pants and a T-shirt and walked out into the main living area of his apartment. The sun shone over Biscayne Bay and glistened on the lap pool on the terrace.
“Good morning, sir,” Mrs. Cushing said as he entered the room.
“Morning, Mrs. Cushing. I have a guest for breakfast and we’d like something light—fruit, croissants, coffee and juice. I think we’ll be ready to dine in about thirty minutes on the patio.”
“Certainly, sir.”
“I’m expecting some packages from the boutique downstairs. Will you check and make sure they are here before breakfast?”
“I will. Anything else, sir?”
“I won’t need you for the rest of the day once you serve breakfast. I hope you will enjoy a free Saturday.”
“I enjoy all the free days you give me,” she said.
“I’m glad. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” she said.
Nate went back into the bedroom and heard the shower running. He was tempted to join her in there but wanted her to have some time to herself. And if he joined her, it would be more than sleeping together. More than a one-night stand. Besides he wasn’t building a relationship with Jen no matter how much it might seem like he wanted to do just that.
While Nate showered, Jen sat on the rooftop patio of his home next to the lap pool looking out at the glittering Biscayne Bay. The view afforded by this condo was breathtaking but to be honest, it wasn’t the stunning vistas that were on her mind. It was Nate Stern.
She knew that yesterday had been tough—the International Ballroom Dancing Federation had denied her appeal. She’d never dance again. But to come home and spend the night with him … why had she done that?
She didn’t regret it. She tried not to have regret in her life because as Marcia said, regret was useless unless a lesson was learned from it.
Her BlackBerry pinged and she glanced down at the screen to see it was a text message from Marcia.
Are you okay?
She took a deep breath and thought about what she was going to say to her sister before she texted her back.
Fine. I’m at Nate’s. Sorry I didn’t call sooner.
There was no reply for what seemed like forever and then her phone rang.
“Hello, Marcia.”
“Jen, what are you thinking?”
Jen had asked herself the same thing more than once and she still had no idea. “I don’t know. I do know that my old life is completely gone and it’s time to try something new.”
Marcia sighed. “Sweetie, just be careful. Deciding to have a different attitude isn’t as painless as you might think.”
“Was it like that for you?” “When Riley was born?” “Yes,” Jen said.
“Sort of. I knew before he was born that I was going to be raising him alone and that wasn’t what you and I were taught was a good family for a child.”
“I know. But Riley has turned out great,” Jen reminded her sister.
“He has, but it was hard. And I had no choice with him. From the moment I learned I was pregnant I wanted him. This change for you is your doing.”
Jen didn’t point out that so was her sister’s pregnancy. Marcia was eighteen months older than her and thought she was always right.
“I am taking control of my life,” Jen said. “Yesterday when I got that letter continuing my suspension and realized that the old life I had was completely closed to me, I thought it’s time to figure out who I am.”
“And being with Nate is going to help?” Marcia asked.
“I have no idea, but I was impulsive for the first time in my life. You know I’ve never done anything that wasn’t to forward my dance career from the time I started dancing. Literally, Marcia, I can’t remember a time when dance wasn’t the focus of my life.”
“I know. I remember how dancing took up every second of our lives.”
“I’m sorry,” Jen said. “I know that wasn’t fair to you.”
“You’re talented, kiddo. I forgave you a long time ago for being so good at it.” Jen laughed. “Thank you.” “For forgiving you?”
“No, for being my big sister and loving me.” “Not a problem. Where is Nate?” Marcia asked. “Showering. I’m on his patio overlooking Biscayne Bay. The view is incredible.”
Jen stood up and walked around the pool and sat on one of the padded benches next to the water. “It’s like I’m not even in the city.”
“Enjoy being in that different world,” Marcia said. “But remember that being impulsive always has consequences. And eventually you are going to have to come back to earth.”
“I will. I’m working at five today but will be home by ten tonight.”
“I’ll see you then. Are you off tomorrow?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Riley wants to go to the park with his favorite auntie.”
“Tell him it’s a date,” Jen said and hung up.
“Who do you have a date with?” Nate asked, stepping out on to the patio.
She hung up the phone and then turned to look over her shoulder at Nate. “Riley … my nephew. We usually spend Sunday together at the park. I take him for the morning and let my sister sleep in. It’s the one day a week she can.”
“I want to hear more about your family,” he said.
The housekeeper brought out their breakfast and then left. Nate gestured for Jen to come sit down at the glass-topped table.
When she was seated next to him, he poured them both some coffee. “What does your sister do?” “She’s a lawyer,” Jen said.
“So she’s smart like you,” Nate said. “What kind of law does she practice? “
“Family law. She does divorces and custody hearings,” Jen said. “I don’t know how she does it, but she really likes it. Her job is really demanding and with Riley she has no free time.”
“Where is Riley’s dad?” Nate asked.
“He’s not in the picture. Having kids and a family wasn’t what he wanted. But Marcia did, so they went their separate ways.”
Nate put his fork down. “I don’t understand men like that. I know guys who make that same decision. But a child is a part of you … I couldn’t abandon a part of me,” he said.
Jen was surprised to hear him say that. Surprised that family meant as much to him as it obviously did. “Family is important to you.”
“Hell, yes. You know how you talked about not being a dancer anymore and not being sure who you were without that?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I was the same way with baseball and I saw a lot of ‘friends’ drop me when it was clear I wasn’t going to be able to play anymore. But my brothers—they just said come home and we will do something together. Something that will be an even bigger adventure than baseball was.”
“Did you regret it?” she asked.
“Not once. I wouldn’t be here with you now if not for that long-ago injury.”
She wanted to pretend that his words didn’t make her heart melt but they did. She knew then what Marcia had warned her about. The consequences of spending the night with Nate—and now this day with him—were that she’d forget he was an impulse. She’d forget they were just supposed to be having fun and maybe start caring for him more than she should.
The sea breeze blew across the deck of the boat, stirring Jen’s hair around her face. She wore a pair of dark cherry-red round-frame sunglasses, which went perfectly with the sundress he’d bought for her. It was a deep navy blue with a V-neck and a tie at the back. He’d gotten her a light sweater to wear over it since it was cool on the water.
She sat at the stern of the boat and he watched her from the flybridge. Ordinarily, he’d have a crew onboard but today he wanted to be alone with Jen. To have her completely to himself. He knew that this would be the only day they’d spend together like this for a while. He had a busy social calendar and it was important to the club that he always have his picture in the society pages.
And unfortunately, Jen didn’t have the kind of headline-grabbing presence he needed. But he couldn’t regret spending the day with her. She was what he needed and he was enjoying every minute of it.
When they were out to sea and out of the shipping lanes, he dropped anchor and joined her at the back of the boat.
“This is so nice. I haven’t been out on a yacht before.”
“Do you like the ocean?” he asked. “I do. But there never seems like enough time to just take a day and go out on the water like this. Thank you, Nate.”
He sat down next to her. “You are very welcome.”
“Why did you bring me out here?” she asked.
“I wanted you all to myself. Away from the distractions of the club and of our real lives.”
She nodded. And he wondered what she was thinking. He couldn’t see her eyes behind the lenses of her dark glasses. And when she got quiet, he felt as if she retreated to someplace he couldn’t follow.
“I saw a picture of you on this yacht … sitting right here. I think it was in Yachting Magazine.”
He nodded. “With the Countess De Moreny. She was thinking of buying one of these Sunseeker boats and I let her try mine out.”
“You looked quite friendly with her, intimate,” Jen said.
“I was. I like Daphne,” Nate said. “Is that a problem?”
Jen shrugged. “You seemed almost too perfect last night and today and I have to remember that you are a player. That I’m not some woman you are just going to fall for. Please don’t let me forget that.”
He knew that he was dealing with someone who wasn’t used to the world he traveled in. And he’d already decided that was part of the reason she was so appealing to him. But he didn’t want to have to remind her not to care about him.
He wanted her to care.
He wanted her to think about him all the time and when they were apart he wanted her to try to get back to him. And he knew that wasn’t fair.
“I’m not playing with you, Jen,” he said at last.
“I never thought you were. For me this was a crazy dare. Something that I probably wouldn’t have done at any other time, but for you, this is your life. A different woman every night and a lot of fun. I have to remember that we’re essentially two very different people,” she said, pushing her sunglasses up on her head.
He saw fear and caution in her gaze and he knew that she was being as honest with him as she could be. She wanted to be sure she didn’t get hurt, and he didn’t want her to be hurt.
“I would never do anything to hurt you,” he said.
“Not intentionally,” she said. She slid out of the padded bench until she stood on the deck. “Give me the tour of this floating luxury craft. I want to be able to tell my nephew all about it.”
He let her change the subject because there was nothing more he could say to change her mind. He knew he’d simply have to do whatever it took to make sure she knew how important she was to him. He wasn’t about to let her waltz out of his life easily.
“Does Riley like the water?”
“He loves it. He’s an avid deep-sea fisher … well, as avid as a seven-year-old can be. But he always talks about being out on the ocean. Marcia and I take him out on a fishing trip at least once a month,” she said.
“What has he caught?”
“He got an eighty-pound, yellow-fin tuna the last time we went out. It took both Riley and the captain to bring that thing in. Want to see a picture?”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
She pulled out her cell phone and hit a few buttons. A minute later she turned the screen of the phone toward Nate and showed him a little boy standing next to a fish that was almost taller than him. The boy had thick dark hair and, he noticed, Jen’s eyes.
“He looks so proud,” Nate said.
“He was. Marcia had the fish preserved and mounted and it’s hanging over his bed now,” she said. “I don’t think I have a picture of that in here.”
Nate put his arm around her and took the phone from her. “How about a picture of you and me on the yacht so you can show him when you get home.”
“That would be nice,” she said.
Nate wrapped his arm around her waist, and Jen put her head on his shoulder as he extended his arm out far enough to get both of them in the picture.
“Smile now,” he said, taking the picture. He looked at the screen and saw that the photo had turned out very nice.
He glanced down at her to make sure she was still smiling and she was looking up at him. “Things like this make me wish you were a different man.”
He had no reply to that. He knew what she wanted to hear from him—words of commitment or at least a promise to move in that direction. But they were words he couldn’t say. He’d made a promise to himself a long time ago that he’d never marry. That he’d never settle down because his father had said that Stern men weren’t the kind that took too well to marriage.
And Nate had believed that after his broken engagement. So he’d steered clear of women like Jen. Women who could make him feel more than just fleeting pleasure and a sense of fun.
But somehow she’d snuck in, he thought. Last night she’d been a pretty girl that he wanted. Today she was starting to grow on him. Starting to make him want to make promises he knew he’d never be able to keep.
“Um … why don’t you take some photos of the living quarters for Riley. I’m going to check the radar and get us ready to head back to shore.”
She didn’t say anything but turned and walked away. And he knew that was for the best. That the only way they were going to both be okay was if both of them walked away from each other now. He knew that a part of him would regret it but better to end things now before they had really even started than later when they’d both be hurt worse.
Seven
Nate drove her back to the club to get her car but she was reluctant to let the day end. He stood there in his chinos, deck shoes and T-shirt wearing a pair of Armani sunglasses and looking like temptation itself. Was it any wonder she didn’t want him to leave?
“Want to have lunch with me? I don’t have your stunning view at my place, but we do have a nice Florida room and I make the best grilled-cheese sandwiches in the world,” she said. Standing next to her car with him made her feel more vulnerable than she would have guessed. But in the bright light of day, back in her real world, she knew how fleeting her time with Nate really was.
“World’s best, eh? I can’t pass that up.” “I’m glad. Do you want to follow me?” “I have to stop at the office and check in with my brothers. Give me your address and I’ll meet you there in an hour.”
She gave him the address, which he entered into his iPhone, and then he gave her his cell phone number and took hers. “So we can get in touch with each other if we need to.”
He kissed her and then helped her into her car. She watched in the rearview mirror as she drove away. He stood there until she turned the corner.
She tried not to second-guess inviting him over. Marcia should be at the office and Riley usually had soccer in the afternoons.
But when she walked in the door, the first thing she heard was the sound of kids’ voices and she knew that Riley was home.
“Aunt Jen. We won our game!” he said, running into the foyer to see her. “Lori brought us back here to have cupcakes and Coke.”
“Great idea. Best way to celebrate,” Jen said, even though that much sugar would make her nephew bounce off the walls.
Jen followed Riley down the hall into the kitchen where his nanny Lori and her son Edward were both sitting at the table. “I didn’t know you were going to be home.”
“It’s okay. Do you need to head out? I can watch Riley until Marcia gets home.” “Actually, yes, I do.”
“Then you can go if you need to,” Jen said.
“Not yet, though,” Riley said. “Edward and I are going to trade Silly Bandz.”
“Go do that, but make it quick,” Lori said.
“I thought you’d be home when I stopped by,” Lori said once the boys were out of the room.
“I had a date,” Jen said.
“A date? Good for you, girl. You spend too much time working and staying home.”
Jen didn’t know about that but she nodded. Edward and Riley ran back into the room before she had a chance to comment. The boys were busy chatting about the Bandz they’d exchanged.
“Come on, Edward, let’s go.”
Riley was disappointed to see his friend leave but got over it quickly. He was talking a mile a minute about the game and his game-winning goal. She listened to him and reminded herself that having her nephew in her life was one of the best things she experienced.
“What did you do today?” he asked.
She waggled her eyebrows at him. “I went out on a yacht.”
“You did?”
“Yes. Want to see some pictures?” “You bet,” he said.
Jen showed him the photos she took and when she got to the one of her and Nate, Riley asked who he was.
“That’s Nate. He’s my friend that owns the yacht.”
“Do you think I can go out on his boat?”
“I don’t know, Riley, I will ask him.”
“Thanks, Aunt Jen. Do you want to play Mario Kart?”
“Not right now,” she said. “Why don’t you have a game while I make some lunch? Nate is going to come over and join us.”
Riley went into the living room and she soon heard the sounds of his Wii game powering up. She turned on the radio and looked around the kitchen. It was a nice area with a butcher-block island, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. She’d moved in here when she’d first come back to Miami after being kicked off the competitive dancing tour.
Marcia had invited her to make this her home and together they had shaped this house up nicely. There was a photo of the three of them in Little Italy eating at Ferrara’s bakery when they had visited New York last summer so Riley could see where his grandmother had grown up. The refrigerator was decorated with Riley’s latest art projects and in the corner was a glass door that led out into the Florida room.
Beyond that was the backyard with a soccer net and a water feature that Jen had done herself after taking a Saturday morning class at the local hardware store.
She liked this place, but she’d never really intended it to be her home. She’d always assumed she’d be going back on tour and this place would be a base of operations.
But now, this might be it. And if it wasn’t, she’d have to find her own place. Maybe something close by so she could still see Riley and her sister and help them out when they needed it.
She sat down at the breakfast bar realizing she had no idea what she wanted. This was a major crisis. The future was wide open and as of this moment, she had no idea what to fill it with.
She reached for the phone to call Nate and cancel, realizing that she didn’t want him to come to this home. She didn’t want to show him her life and see in his eyes that this wasn’t what he wanted. Did she really need further proof that they weren’t after the same things?
No, she knew she didn’t need more evidence of that, but what she did need was to figure out what she wanted. And in the meantime, Nate was fun and a distraction.
As long as she remembered that she’d be okay and they could enjoy each other.
The radio started playing Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine’s “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” and she stood up to dance to it.
“Auntie! It’s our song,” Riley said, running into the kitchen. She laughed as he danced around her just as she’d taught him. They raised their hands over their heads and clapped to the beat as they both swiveled their hips to the music. They were laughing and clapping and dancing when the doorbell rang and she realized that dancing was still her life, just in a different way now.
Riley greeted Nate when the door opened. The sound of music floated down the hall and Jen stood behind her nephew laughing and swaying to the music. Nate paused there for a minute, seeing something that contradicted his personal experience of how women and sons got along. He knew that Jen wasn’t the boy’s mother but they were enjoying each other. He could see that from the expression on both of their faces.
“Hello, Mr. Nate,” Riley said, holding out his hand for Nate to shake it.
Jen came up behind her nephew and put her arm around him as Nate shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Riley.”
“Auntie and I were just dancing to ‘our’ song.”
“What’s your song?” Nate asked.
“‘Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,’” Jen said. “Do you know it?”
“I do. It’s a fun song,” Nate said.
“Yes, it is. We danced all over the kitchen,” Riley said. “Do you want to play the Wii while Auntie Jen finishes making lunch?” He glanced up at Jen.
“I know I enticed you over with grilled cheese. Is that still okay?”
Nate nodded. “Do you need my help?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’ll be about fifteen minutes.”
She walked into the kitchen, which was off the main hall, as Riley led Nate into the living room. They had a plasma screen TV and a very comfy Italian leather sofa. Riley sat on the floor on a big pillow and offered Nate one that was tucked in the corner.
“I haven’t played video games in a long time.” This wasn’t what Nate had expected. It was a little too domesticated for his tastes, and his instincts were screaming for him to run. Leave this house and go back to his real life.
“It’s okay. I will go easy on you,” Riley said.
Nate took the controller and played with the boy but his attention wasn’t on the racetrack or the game. He glanced around the room.
This place was homier than his house. There were touches that showed a child lived there but you really got a sense of the women who called it home. On one wall were photos of Jen and her sister Marcia as girls and through their entire lives. He saw Jen in a skimpy Latin dancing costume holding a trophy. He saw Marcia standing on the steps of the courthouse holding her briefcase and grinning at the camera. And there was a photo of Jen holding her nephew in the hospital standing next to her sister’s bed.
The two women were all each other had and their bond was just as deep and strong as the one he had with his brothers.
He knew women were caring so that didn’t surprise him, it was just this was the first time he’d been involved with a woman who was like that. Even his own mother hadn’t been a nurturer.
He sank deeper into the comfy couch and realized he could let himself get comfortable here. Not just in the house but in this life. But it wasn’t his. He knew better than to try to pretend to be someone he wasn’t.
“You lost,” Riley said.
“I guess I did. Jen said you have a yellow-fin tuna in your room.”
“Yes, I do,” he said, hopping up. “We have to clean up before I show you. If I leave the controllers out I won’t be able to play again for a week.”
Nate nodded and helped Riley put the pillows back in a basket next to the entertainment center and the controllers away in the cabinet. Then Riley led the way to the stairs and up to his room.
The tuna was the dominant feature in the room. The bed was covered in a light blue comforter and there was a desk in one corner. Three toy boxes were lined up under the large plate-glass window. The walls were painted a sunny yellow color.
“I couldn’t believe it when I caught that fish. I wasn’t strong enough to land it by myself,” Riley said. “Do you like fishing?”
“I do. I don’t go often,” Nate said. The last time he’d been was more than three months ago when Cam had insisted they all take a trip to St. Lucia.
“Why not?”
“Busy working.”
Riley shook his head. “I don’t understand why grownups work all the time. You finally don’t have to go to school and instead of enjoying it … well, Mommy likes her job so that’s why she does it. Is that how it is for you?”
“I guess it is. Do you think you’d enjoy working?”
“I know I’m going to,” Riley said. “I’m going to be a fishing boat captain and spend all my time fishing.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Nate said. When he’d been Riley’s age he’d declared he was going to play baseball for a living so he knew that kids could make their dreams happen.
“Did you always want to be in business?” Riley asked.
“Nah, I used to play baseball.” “Really? I didn’t know that. How come you don’t play anymore?”
Nate wondered at kids and how they had no filter or fear. Riley wanted to know something so the kid just asked. “Let’s head back downstairs and I’ll tell you.”
“Okay. Do you still play sometimes?”
“I don’t play anymore, Riley. I got injured and had to change jobs.”
Riley stopped on the stairs and looked back at him. “I’m sorry. I know I’d hate it if I couldn’t fish.”
Nate reached out and ruffled the kid’s hair. “I can play now for fun, I just don’t have the time because I’m always working.”
“My best friend Edward’s dad is like that. That’s why he started coaching our soccer team. So he could play and relax … at least that’s what Lori says.”
“Who’s Lori?”
“Edward’s mom and my babysitter. Mommy and Auntie Jen can’t be here all the time.”
“Work?” Nate asked, getting the picture that the adults in Riley’s life spent too much time working as far as the kid was concerned. He didn’t want to care. This kid didn’t matter to him if he was going to part ways with Jen. And he was going to leave her alone after this. Their lives were different and he wasn’t willing to give up his lifestyle for her.
“Yes. But I know that they have to so I can have nice things and we can live in this house … don’t say I was complaining about it, okay?”
Nate nodded just as Jen entered the foyer to call them to lunch. Riley was an interesting little kid and Nate liked what he learned about Jen from watching her with her nephew.
Nate had insisted they go to the local sports store and get a baseball bat, ball and gloves and go to the park and throw the ball with Riley. Riley was ecstatic and kept saying that Nate was obviously a man who knew life was about more than work.
Jen felt bad for her nephew because she and Marcia were gone more than they were home. But today made up for that.
Nate was patient as he talked Riley through how to throw a ball. “You are doing good.” “Your turn, Auntie Jen.”
“I’m not as good at this as you are,” Jen said. And then proved it by tossing the ball and completely missing Nate who stood with his glove ready to catch it.
Riley shook his head. “That was pitiful. Show her like you did me.”
Nate walked over to her. “Get ready, Riley.”
Nate walked over to her and stood behind her so close that she felt his body through the fabric of her clothing. He leaned in low.
“Bend your knees a little,” he said.
She did what he instructed.
“Now, hold the ball like this,” he said, showing her the proper way to hold the baseball.
He spoke directly into her ear sending chills down her spine and making this into so much more than just a kid’s game in the park. He made her want to turn in his arms and kiss him. But Riley was waiting and hoping for some spectacular results.
“Next, bring your arm up like this. No, relax. Let me move your arm for you.”
She did and the ball fell out of her hand on the ground. “Sorry.”
“Its okay,” he said, bending down to pick up the fallen ball and letting his hand stray to her hip where he caressed her as he stood back up. “Okay, ready?”
“I hope so. I’m a dancer not a baseball player,” she said.
“I think today you will be both,” Riley said. “I will be,” she said.
“Remember how I showed you to move your arm. Get ready, Riley.”
“I’m ready, Nate. Come on, Auntie Jen, throw it to me.”
Jen wound up and threw the ball. This time it went all the way to Riley who caught it and then whooped with joy. Nate put his arm around her waist and pulled her back against him for a quick kiss. “Great throw. You have the makings of a real player.”
“I doubt that,” she said.
Riley tossed the ball back and he and Nate played while she watched. Jen didn’t want to risk messing up her record after that perfect throw. She had so much fun that she forgot that she was going to be cautious around Nate.
Her cell phone rang and she glanced at the ID to see that it was Marcia.
“Hey, there,” Jen said by way of greeting.
“Hello. Where are you guys? Your car is here but you aren’t.”
“We are at the park playing catch.”
“Catch? You stink at that.”
“Ha, that’s what you know. I’m much better today.”
“Is Nate with you?”
“Yes, he came for lunch and then took Riley here to play.”
“Really? That doesn’t seem like the man I met last night,” Marcia said.
“There’s more to him than meets the eye,” Jen said, watching Riley and Nate toss the ball back and forth. “We’ll be home in a little while.”
“Okay. Thanks for watching Riley this afternoon,” Marcia said.
“I enjoy it. I love him.”
“I know, but thanks all the same.”
“It’s no biggie,” Jen said, hanging up the phone.
Nate led the way back over to her. “Was that your sister?”
“Yes. Mommy’s home, Riley, you ready to go and see her?”
“Yes! I can’t wait to show her how I can throw.”
“I’m sure she will be very impressed,” Jen said.
“Will you stay and throw with me, Mr. Nate? I don’t think Auntie Jen will be a good partner for that,” Riley said looking up at Nate.
“I’d love to, bud. I can’t stay long, though. I’ve got a busy night ahead of me.”
Riley tipped his head to the side. “Do you work at night?”
“That’s when the club is open.” “You work with Auntie Jen?” he asked. “Are you a dancer?”
Nate laughed. “No. I own the club with my brothers.”
Riley nodded. “Sounds like a good job.”
Nate patted the little boy on the shoulder. “It’s pretty good but there isn’t enough time for baseball or fishing.”
“But you are the boss,” Riley said. “You should change the rules.”
Jen laughed at the way Riley said it. That made perfect sense to him, but she’d love to see Nate tell Justin and Cam that they needed more time for fun. She was pretty sure those two would think he’d gone off the deep end since Nate’s life was already one big party.
“I should do that,” Nate agreed. When they got back to the house Nate walked them to the door.
Jen watched her nephew go inside, then turned to Nate. She couldn’t read his expression but he’d kept his keys in his hand and had almost turned to walk back to his car. It was as if he couldn’t wait to get away from here.
“Nate?”
“Hmm?”
“Thanks for everything you did with Riley today.”
“No problem. I think he’s the first kid I’ve been around since I was a child.”
“My life is so different than yours,” she said. But hadn’t she truly known that from the beginning? They came from different worlds and that was part of why she liked him so much.
“Yes, it is. Well, I’ve got to go,” he said.
“Bye.”
She watched him walk away, realizing how good Nate was at making himself fit into whatever the situation was. Because it was only as he drove away that she realized he’d been the perfect uncle figure to Riley the way he’d been the perfect date to her last night.
She thought he was multifaceted but now she was afraid he was simply a chameleon used to changing his colors wherever he was. No matter how kind he was to Riley, Nate hadn’t really wanted to spend time with her nephew and that, more than anything else, should serve as a reminder that he wasn’t the settling-down kind.
Eight
“Hello, boys, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet with me,” Cam said as he joined Justin and Nate in the VIP lounge at the back of the club on the first floor.
The place was empty except for staff as they had an hour before it opened.
“Not a problem. What’s up?”
“We need to start working on the tenth anniversary celebration in May. Justin, I’d like you to reach out to the local community and try to get them involved in this. They are bringing in some big-shot lawyer from Manhattan to oppose overexpansion so if you can make sure they aren’t up to anything that’s going to cause us trouble, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’m on it, big bro. There is a community open house tonight and I’m going to attend to see what’s on everyone’s mind.”
“Good. Nate, I need you to pull out all the stops and get us some big-name A-listers for this thing. Not just people who will stop by, but celebs to headline the street party.”
“I will hit the phone and see who I can get. What do you want them to do? Hutch will come and do a rap show I’m sure, but what else do you want?”
“I’m going to have Jen Miller choreograph a dance show that will run on Saturday night. I want to showcase everything the club has to offer.”
“Okay, that’s not a problem,” Nate said. “I’ll let you know in a few days who can make it. Are we still talking about Memorial Day weekend? “
“Yes,” Cam said. “I am meeting with an event planner next week to approve invitations and coordinate our print media for the event. It’s important that the Latin community feels a part of this. When you are at that event tonight, Justin, will you see if you can get some volunteers to help with this? “
“I will do that. I talked to our merchandise department and they are going to go ahead with the commemorative cigars. I got the final legal wrangling taken care of so we can use the old labels from this place along with our logo.”
“That’s going to be great,” Cam said. “Boys, I can’t believe we’ve been doing this ten years.”
The rest of the meeting went by rather quickly and Nate found himself reluctant to leave. He wanted to talk to his brothers about their mom. For the first time in a long while he wanted to discuss her and figure out if his impressions and beliefs were the same as his brothers’.
Justin got up to go but Nate stopped him. “I … I went out on a date with Jen last night.”
“Our employee?” Cam asked, his eyebrows furrowing in a way that Nate knew from his youth meant trouble.
“Yes. I didn’t do anything inappropriate like threaten her job security, so chill out.”
Cam stood up and leaned over the table. “Did you sleep with her? “
Nate didn’t answer. Jen was private. What had happened with her wasn’t for public consumption. “That’s neither here nor there. I was letting you know because I might go out with her again.”
He wanted to say she was different and see if his brothers had any clue as to why she would be the woman to make him react like this. But he would never ask them about that. He would never really be able to talk about her because that wasn’t the kind of thing a man did.
“Good for you,” Justin said. “I don’t really know her, but if you are thinking of dating her, I say go for it.”
Nate glanced at his middle brother. Justin looked the most like their mom out of the three of them. “Legally that’s okay?”
“As long as you don’t put her job on the line I think you’re fine. I can draw up an agreement for you both to sign …”
Nate shook his head. “That doesn’t sound good to me. Jen’s different. She lives with her sister and her nephew.”
Cam came around the table and sat down in the chair that Justin had vacated. “Family is important to her. She’s not like the kind of girls you usually hang out with.”
“I know that,” Nate said. Cam was falling into big-brother mode. It didn’t matter that he and Justin were adults now; Cam still felt that he had to watch over them and give them advice. “I can handle this.”
Justin nodded. “He’s a big boy.”
Cam shook his head. “I don’t care too much about that. I’m more concerned with the fact that I don’t want to lose a valuable employee. She took my dream for the rooftop club and made it viable.”
“You did that,” Nate reminded his brother. “She’s just talented enough to know how to get people up on their feet.”
“Which is what makes this club so successful. Just play it cool, Nate. Don’t let this get to be more than she can handle. I don’t want to have to replace her.”
Cam walked away before Nate could say anything else and he just watched him leave. Justin stood there for a second but Nate got up and left as well. He walked out of the club and started down Calle Ocho. He stood on the corner and looked back at Luna Azul.
He wasn’t going to do anything to ruin the success he’d found here. He was too old to find another new career, especially since he really liked this one.
And he refused to be the man who stole this from Jen. She had a life here with Riley and her sister and he didn’t want her to have to move on. He saw how much not being a competitive dancer had affected her and he knew she was putting her life back together piece by piece. The very last thing she needed right now was a man who was just looking for fun.
No matter that he wanted to be more than just a casual guy in her life, he knew he couldn’t be. Because even though what he felt for her was intense, he knew it would burn out eventually and they’d both have to move on.
Jen woke Monday morning to the sounds of Riley and Marcia getting ready to leave. One of the nice things about her job was that she didn’t have to rush out of bed every morning. She got up and put on her robe before going downstairs.
She hadn’t heard from Nate yesterday but she knew that she wouldn’t. They were both feeling their way through this thing—she was reluctant to call it a relationship because she wasn’t sure she was ready for it yet.
“Morning, Auntie Jen,” Riley said, giving her a hug.
“Morning, Riley.” “Mommy, I’m ready.”
“Great. I need to talk to Auntie Jen. You head out to the car.”
Riley nodded and went out the front door. Marcia stood in the doorway so she could remotely unlock the car and keep an eye on Riley.
“I left the newspaper out for you.”
Jen glanced at her sister. “I don’t read it.”
“You’ll want to this morning. There’s a picture of Nate in it with some woman—a Spanish royal or something.”
Jen nodded. She’d just said they weren’t dating so why would this news hurt. “It’s fine. We’re just friends.”
Marcia reached out and hugged her. “I can come back after I drop Riley off if you want to talk. I’m not due in court today.”
“No, don’t do that. I have a meeting at eleven at the club to talk about the tenth anniversary celebration. Besides, it was just one date.”
Jen didn’t want to talk about this. She wanted to hide away until she figured out why she felt so hurt. She knew he wasn’t the kind of man who was going to give up his jet-set lifestyle for her after one date.
“I’ll be fine. Have a good day.”
Marcia pursed her lips. “I know you’ll be fine. But that doesn’t mean this won’t hurt. You didn’t need this now.”
“Marcia, stop. I’m trying to get it under control in my head. Don’t make me hash it out or I’ll start crying.”
Her sister hugged her again and then turned to leave. “Call me if you need me.”
“I will.”
Jen closed the door on her sister and nephew and leaned back against it. She didn’t want to go and look at a picture of Nate with another woman. Especially since she’d dreamed about his arms around her all night. She’d dreamed of them being on that yacht of his together and making love on the sundeck.
She put her hands in her hair and stood there for a minute trying to get her head around the idea. It didn’t matter that she’d already thought he might not be serious about her. She didn’t want to see the proof that the very next night he’d gone out with someone else.
But she wasn’t a coward and she never ran away from anything. She walked into the kitchen and saw the coffee mug her sister had left for her next to the paper. There was a Post-it note on it in Marcia’s handwriting warning her that there was a picture of Nate inside.
She poured herself a cup of coffee and then took the mug and the paper outside with her. She sat down on the bench next to the water feature and let the scents of the garden surround her. The sweet smell of jasmine mingled with the scent of hibiscus in the air. The sound of the water flowing in the fountain soothed her troubled nerves.
She took a sip of her coffee and then set it on the ground at her feet before she opened the paper. The Miami Herald didn’t have anything as lurid and gossipy as the New York papers but they did have a society page owing to how many celebrities made South Florida their home.
The picture was … she looked away and then made herself look back at it. Nate had his arm around the other woman and she was laughing and looking up at him. The same way that Jen had looked up at him. She’d been pressed to his side and she knew the weight of his arm on her shoulder … knew how it felt to be that close to him. And this hurt.
She tossed the paper aside and picked up her coffee mug. She walked around the garden wondering what to do. Alison had said that men who were fun liked to have fun. And that the only way to be successful in that kind of dating situation was to realize it was all about fun.
But to be honest, Jen had no idea how to do that. She wasn’t a fun girl. She wanted it to mean something that she’d had sex with him. And that they’d talked about their pasts. She needed it to mean more than just a bit of fun.
And that wasn’t Nate’s fault. It was her burden. She was the one who’d been impulsive and jumped before seeing where she’d fall.
This was what her sister had tried to warn her about. But there was no way that she could have heeded that advice. There was something seductive about Nate. It wasn’t just the sex, though, that had been earth-shattering. It was more the man behind the image.
If he’d just been the charming playboy then she’d have expected this, but he’d seemed to be more than that. Now she was going to have to deal with the fact that he’d moved on. That was what he did.
She took another sip of her coffee. She couldn’t hide away here or even quit and try to find another job. There weren’t that many high-level clubs that needed Latin dancers. She just wasn’t going to find another job like this and she didn’t want to leave her home again.
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