Shana’s exuberant laughter filled their section of the restaurant, and Jace suddenly realized it was the first time he’d heard it, and she was laughing at something Caden had said. His jaw muscles tensed as he thought that the two of them were apparently getting along great.
He hadn’t expected her to come, and she had surprised the hell out of him when she said she would. And she certainly seemed to be enjoying herself. Tonight, Caden was quite the character, and Jace realized at that moment that he hadn’t heard his brother laugh in a while. So maybe Shana’s joining them tonight was a good thing. Jace wasn’t sure what was going on with Caden but hoped if he ever needed an ear that he knew Jace was available.
Jace had a hunch that whatever was going on with Caden somehow involved Shiloh Timmons. He wasn’t sure how; he was just certain that it did. That was one of the reasons he had no problem with Caden going away to do those two concerts. His brother needed to get back into his music, and Jace knew how much music relaxed Caden and soothed his ruffled feathers.
He was not worried about Caden not returning, because he would. And when he got back, Caden would roll up his sleeves to do whatever he needed to do to fulfill their grandfather’s promise. If it were Dalton, Jace would probably worry. If Dalton ever got a chance to defect back to Europe, he would find any and every excuse to stay there, discovering a way to fulfill their grandfather’s wishes from another continent if he could. Even if he had to do so by hologram. Jace couldn’t help chuckling at the thought of that.
“What’s so funny, Jace? Share it so we can all laugh.”
Jace glanced over at Caden. He then looked past Caden to Shana. Before leaving the office, she had pulled her hair back in one of those fancy clips, and for some reason, the style brought more emphasis to her eyes and face. He thought this evening that she looked even more beautiful than usual.
“I’d rather not,” he heard himself say. “Besides, it wasn’t important.”
Caden nodded. “If you say so.” He then turned his attention to Shana. “What are your plans for the weekend? I bet you have a date.”
Shana wished Caden hadn’t put her on the spot. It wouldn’t be so bad if Jace wasn’t sitting across from her, leaning lazily back in his chair while nursing a glass of beer with those deep, brooding and intense eyes leveled on her. Even when the conversation had been between just her and Caden, she had been aware of Jace’s focused gaze.
“Yes, I do have a date. And it’s one I’m looking forward to.” So she decided to tell a little white lie for now. When Charles called, which she would bet he would, then it wouldn’t be a lie any longer. “My first two weeks at any corporation are usually the toughest and busiest,” she continued by saying, “Granger Aeronautics is no exception. I had a lot of things I had to familiarize myself with. Hundreds of reports I had to read.”
“And how are things going with that?” Jace decided to ask. He needed to wrap his mind around something other than the fact that she had a date this weekend. Was she seeing someone on a steady basis? Involved in a serious relationship? She didn’t have a ring on her finger—wedding or otherwise.
A muscle in his jaw twitched. Why did he give a damn about her date when it really wasn’t any of his business what she did this weekend or with whom? He was convinced that regardless of the man she might be spending time with this weekend, that strong attraction between them—the one he’d thought he could kiss out of their systems—was still there, well, alive and kicking...even if it wasn’t anything but a hefty amount of lust.
“It’s going great, and I think I covered a lot of ground. I should have my first report to you sometime next week,” she said, intruding on his thoughts.
“So you feel good about Granger making a turnaround?” Caden asked.
“Yes, I do, as long as the recommended changes are made.”
Jace noticed that an easy smile always played at the corners of her mouth while talking to Caden, but it was the opposite with him. Case in point, she glanced over at him, and he couldn’t help noticing how her smile faded somewhat. A part of him wanted to think that he was imagining things, but he knew he was not.
“I don’t see why the changes wouldn’t be made. In fact, I’m convinced they will be, right, Jace?” Caden asked.
When Jace didn’t say anything, Caden glanced over at his brother and repeated the latter part of his comment again. “Right, Jace?”
Jace shifted his gaze from Shana to Caden. “I don’t agree to anything blindly, so it depends what they are.” His gaze went back to Shana in time to see her flinch. She then stiffened her spine.
“I don’t expect you to jump at my every recommendation, Jace. But I’m hoping you keep an open mind to know whatever I propose is designed to propel your corporation’s long-term success. I don’t put a Band-Aid on the problem. I fix it.”
“I understand that.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” Their gazes locked, held, as if testing for strength of will. Then Jace added, “You will sacrifice anything to look good.”
Her mouth spread into a thin-lipped smile. “I am good.”
One corner of his mouth twisted upward. “Yes, you definitely are.”
When there was a moment of silence that had extended way too long, Caden cleared his throat. He had a feeling the conversation had somehow shifted from Granger Aeronautics to something he’d rather not know about. It was obvious they’d forgotten he was sitting there, and it wouldn’t be long before one of them said something they’d rather not expose.
When they looked over at him, Caden smiled and said, “Speaking of good, I noticed the dessert for today is lemon cake with ice cream. The slices are huge. Would anyone want to share one with me?”
* * *
Shana entered her condo, turned off the alarm and then set her briefcase and purse on the first table she came to. Why was she so upset with what Jace had said? She wouldn’t expect any CEO to go along with everything she recommended, but she expected him to have an open mind.
Who said he won’t? her inner mind countered. Why are you making it so freakin’ personal? Was she? Okay, maybe she was. And when he’d made that “good” statement, she had read between the lines and knew exactly what he’d been referring to. They’d ended up sharing ice cream and lemon cake with Caden while keeping up the pretense that all was well between them when she knew it wasn’t. And she blamed it on that damn kiss.
Knowing she needed to chill a minute before taking a shower and getting in bed, she moved toward the French doors that led to her patio. She loved it here and knew the moment she’d been given a tour of the condo that it was hers. The screened-in patio that overlooked rolling hills and a huge, man-made lake had been a plus.
Her community consisted of a lot of both married and single individuals. Some were parents, and most were pet owners. Gloria, a flight attendant and one of her best friends, lived on one side of her, and Lonnie, a veterinarian, lived on the other. A married couple, Connie and Bill, lived across the street and were excited about expecting their first child in five months. The other neighbors kept to themselves, and she didn’t know them by name, but she would throw up her hand in a wave whenever she saw them or vice versa.
Both she and Jules lived within ten miles of their father, although Jules traveled around from state to state most of the time. Still, it was convenient, and usually either of them would drop in and spend time with him. The three of them had always been close, and it seemed so strange that after all this time, he was hinting that he was interested in a woman. She, of all people, knew he deserved to be happy, but she and Jules couldn’t help but be concerned, even if they were a little bit possessive.
With the darkness settling over the street, there was enough light from the moon as well as various illuminations from the two wooden decks to see a number of couples who owned boats enjoying a night on the water. According to her father, there were fish aplenty in the lake, and he liked coming over with his rod and reel whenever he got bored. She especially liked it when he did, because that meant he would end up cooking what he caught. No one fried fish and cooked hush puppies like her father.
Thinking she had chilled long enough, she went back inside and was headed for her bedroom when her cell phone rang, and she quickly sifted through her purse hoping it was Charles. She let out a disappointed sigh when it wasn’t Charles but Jules. “And what do you want?”
There was a pause on the other end before Jules said, “Evidently, you’re in a bad mood for some reason tonight.”
Shana tapped her foot on the floor. “Yes, I am. I was hoping you were Charles.”
“Charles Kincaid?”
“Yes.”
She heard Jules snort. “Why him? I told you that you can do better.”
Yes, she could, but at the moment it didn’t matter. “The reason I was hoping it was Charles is because, although he might have his faults, he is a lot of fun, and I need fun this weekend.”
“Rough week?”
“Yes. This was my third week working with Granger Aeronautics.”
“That’s right, it was. And how is the hunky CEO?”
A frown settled between Shana’s brows. “Who said he was a hunk?”
“You did...in so many words. You said he was good-looking, which equates to a nice face and a fine-as-a-dime body. Did I assume wrong?”
All Shana had to do was remember how he had looked when she stepped on the elevator that morning. Like her, he had forgone “dress-down Friday” and had worn a business suit. He had looked damn good in it as usual. Her sister was right. Jace was definitely a hunk, eye candy of the sweetest kind.
“No, you didn’t assume wrong,” Shana admitted.
“You didn’t say if he was married.”
“He’s divorced.”
“Kids?”
“No. At least he never mentioned any.”
“Umm. Sounds like a nice guy.”
Shana wouldn’t say whether he was or not. Doing so might get her into more trouble with Jules. She knew how her sister’s mind worked. “So now that I’ve been interrogated, what’s going on with you and your case? Any new leads?”
“Yes, one came in this morning. Someone wanted me to meet him in an undisclosed location. I did. He was a cabdriver and was able to not only positively identify Marcos Rodrigo but confirm that he was traveling with a child. He gave me the address where Rodrigo was dropped off. I guess he figured he had covered his tracks well because he was still there, at one distant cousin’s house and living in the basement.”
“You got him?”
Shana heard the smile in her sister’s voice when she affirmed, “Yes, I got him and Little Marco. The first thing the kid did was ask for his mommy.”
“Has she been told yet?”
“Yeah, and it took her almost a full hour to stop crying.”
Shana could imagine. For a mother to be told that her child had died, burned to a crisp in an auto accident, only to find out that he was alive and had been kidnapped by his own father had to have been an ordeal from hell. And what was so sad was that the authorities had closed the case, convinced the ex-husband and child had indeed died in the fire. But Carla Rodrigo had come to Jules and had convinced her to take the case. Jules had done so because of gut feelings that had paid off.
“Congratulations, Jules. That’s another mystery solved. You’re getting a track record.”
“So are you, with the ability to save those companies. I’m sure Dad is proud of his girls.”
Shana smiled. “I’m sure of that, as well.”
“And speaking of Dad, are you ready to go grocery shopping with him tomorrow?” Jules asked.
“Yes, and when are you coming home?”
“Not for another couple of weeks. Ms. Rodrigo is on her way here, but there’s a lot of paperwork to get in. This is another country, so we had to get both the State Department and FBI involved since it was a kidnapping.”
“Well, you be safe.”
“I will.”
After Shana hung up the phone and placed it back in her purse, she tried not to think about Jace Granger and the effect he had on her, and especially not about the kiss they’d shared that morning. What she needed to think about was Mona Underwood, the woman her father was interested in, and find out everything she could about her.
The last thing Shana needed was for Jules to come back to town and start digging, whether it was warranted or not. When it came to Ben Bradford, Jules could go over the top and would be a force to reckon with.
Continuing her trek toward the bedroom, Shana figured that when Charles asked where she wanted to go, she would suggest dinner and a movie. And she would reiterate that he needed to keep his hands to himself. Charles liked to take liberties he shouldn’t at times, which is why she had to put the brakes on their relationship. He figured she was bedroom-ready after the first date, and she had to inform him she didn’t do casual affairs. So for the past three months, he had been trying to wear down her defenses and refused to let her be the one who got away.
But she would have to admit when he wasn’t focused on trying to get her into bed, he was a great conversationalist and an all-around nice guy. She needed to unwind this weekend, have a little fun. But more than anything, she needed to get Jace Granger off her mind.