Jill twirled her iced tea, listening to the tinkling of the ice in her glass. Not even the shade of the veranda or the cooling breeze from the ceiling fans overhead could dispel the sultry heat of a hot Alabama evening in July. Sweating in unladylike places, she sighed as she watched her friend, Charlotte, circulating through the guests scattered across the sloping, green lawn. There was only so much she would endure, even for her best friend.
When Charlotte had been a newly divorced single mother, Jill had been there for her as much as possible. But now that Charlotte was happily and radiantly married to Nate Haverton, despite her reservations about marrying such a wealthy man, Jill couldn’t understand why Charlotte had sent her an urgent plea for help.
When she’d gotten the text asking her if she would please fly back to Alabama, she’d tried to ask what was up, but Charlotte had just said, “Nate has something he wants to talk to you about, but mostly, I don’t want to host my first party since the wedding without my best friend to give me confidence.”
True, Jill’s parents were affluent and she often mixed with wealthy people because of her job, but Charlotte appeared perfectly at ease mingling with her guests. Something was definitely up.
Jill took a sip of her drink, hoping the caffeine might help with her jet lag. She’d flown here from Argentina, arriving this morning, and she’d had no time to take a nap. She was used to it for the most part, since she’d been living out of her suitcase for two years now. Most of the merger accounts her father assigned her to were foreign or required extensive traveling.
After the last three years, she was a master at packing. She only carried a precisely curated capsule wardrobe and minimum accessories but changed them out between trips so she never got bored with her choices. Today, she wore a royal blue skirt and a gauzy white blouse embroidered with blue flowers. She’d bought it recently while in Costa Rica, and like many of her favorite things, it reminded her of people she’d had to say goodbye to.
She loved living such a free life with few possessions to weigh her down, but sometimes she wished she could unpack somewhere and just stay.
Lost in her thoughts, she only noticed the man next to her when his deep voice, flavored with a slight southern accent, intruded on her thoughts.
“You’d think they could at least have their party inside where it’s air-conditioned.”
Jill turned sharply to see an attractive man walking up to her. As he sat in the seat next to her, she let her eyes sweep over his features. He had thick brown hair that was nearly black, tanned skin, and piercing blue eyes. Even though she judged him at just under six feet tall and built on lean lines, he gave an impression of being bigger than he was. Power and impatience emanated from him, so even his sharp, model-worthy features didn’t soften Jill’s reaction to his criticism of her friend’s party. Taking him down a peg or two would be a pleasure.
“This is a barbecue. Or maybe you didn’t know that when you decided to come?” Her words came out sharper than she’d intended, however, and from the way he turned to study her with lifted eyebrows, he didn’t appreciate her tone. She noticed that he took his time looking her over though, and it raised her hackles.
“I didn’t come for the barbecue. I’m here on business. My appointment with Mr. Haverton happened to coincide with his party, and he invited me to stay for dinner.”
Jill narrowed her eyes, looking him over as frankly as he had her. His words triggered a memory, and she realized how familiar he looked. Business with Nate? Like a well-oiled machine, her brain recalled seeing him on the news, featured in business journals, and…on the Forbes 400 list. “Oh. You’re Blake McDaniel. You own Square Enterprises. No wonder.”
The man tilted his head. The sharpness of his gaze made her skin prickle. “No wonder what?”
Jill took a deep breath, determined not to be unsettled by the strength of Blake’s personality. “No wonder you’re so condescending about a barbecue, even one hosted by a fellow billionaire.”
“I’m not condescending. I’m hot.”
Jill bit back an urge to agree with him. She would not turn juvenile just because this man had stirred her reluctant interest. Irritated though she was, she knew attraction when it coursed through her veins. Not that she would let him see it. “It is July.”
His deep voice held a stronger note of annoyance now. “I enjoy eating charred meat as much as anyone, but I hadn’t planned on sweltering in a suit all evening.”
Jill’s lips twitched. “You could take off your jacket, you know.”
Blake directed a level gaze at her, then gave a hint of a smile. “I suppose I could.”
He stood and Jill watched as he shrugged out of his suit coat. She swallowed hard when she saw the way his thin white dress shirt pulled over the hard, contoured muscles in his chest and shoulders. She hadn’t expected such definition from a rising star in the business world. His work entailed more emails and meetings than physical labor. He must work out. A lot.
After loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt, Blake unfastened his cuff links and dropped them in his pocket. He then rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing strong, corded forearms. Jill noticed a thick leather band with an engraved metal bar around his left wrist. She was trying to see what was engraved on it when he looked down and caught her at it.
Refusing to show her embarrassment by looking away, she smiled. “There. Isn’t that better?”
“Yes. I’m slightly less uncomfortable now.”
“You also look slightly less like there’s a stick up your backside.” She chuckled as his eyebrow lifted fractionally. This was a man she would enjoy crossing verbal swords with.
“I will do my best to match your charming personality for the remainder of the evening,” he said, sitting down again. “So, you know who I am and why I’m here. How about you?”
Still smarting from his comment on her personality, Jill considered walking away. But despite herself, she was intrigued by the man. “I’m Jill Harris, Charlotte’s best friend.”
“Jill,” he said as if he was trying out the way it felt on his tongue. “I don’t know Charlotte Haverton well but I wouldn’t have pegged you two as the sort to be best friends.”
“Against my better judgment, I’m going to ask why.”
“She strikes me as sweet and serious.”
Jill raised her eyebrows. “And you think I’m not?”
He smiled and tipped his head. “Not so far.”
Jill’s phone rang, and she sat her glass down on a nearby table to answer it. She glanced at the contact name and saw that it was the CEO of the food supplier company whose merger she had just seamlessly managed, bringing in higher than expected revenue. Normally, she might have taken the call elsewhere, but after Blake’s comment, it wouldn’t hurt him to see her more serious side. The sweet part didn’t bother her.
While training her to join the family business, her dad had taught her math, memory training, and multiple languages. He’d certainly never taught her to be sweet.
“Señor Patena. ¿Recibió el reporte que le mandé?”
She continued to speak with him for a few minutes, smiling and even laughing as she bantered back and forth with her client. She set up a time to meet with him online one last time before closing his account and hung up. Sure that Blake would now have a positive impression of her business skills, she sat back with a smile hovering on her lips.
“Your boyfriend?” Blake asked.
What?” How had he come to that conclusion? “Oh no. I don’t do relationships.”
Blake’s jaw hardened a bit. “I find it hard to believe that a woman like you doesn’t date.”
Jill gathered her long hair up and held it off her neck to cool off. “A woman like me? I don’t think I’ll ask you to clarify. But I do date. I just don’t get serious. If an attractive man wants to have dinner with me, I’m perfectly happy to go. I might even kiss him goodnight if he’s particularly charming, but that’s as far as it goes.”
Blake stood and walked over to lean against the railing. He folded his arms across his chest and bent his head toward her. “I wonder if the right man would change your mind.”
Jill’s heart tightened. This was getting personal. “The right man is the reason I don’t get serious. He moved on with his life seven years ago.” Darn it. She’d said more than she should have. Especially if the intrigued expression on Blake’s face was anything to go by.
“Why did you let him?”
Feeling at a disadvantage with him towering over her, Jill stood and faced him. With her five-foot, seven-inch frame boosted by three-inch heels, she was nearly as tall as him. The added height meant she could look straight into his eyes. “It seemed best at the time.” His reaction to her answer, a faintly contemptuous smirk, angered her. “Have you never regretted any decisions you’ve made?”
“Not many, no. But then, my goals have revolved around business, not my social life. My decisions affect a lot of people, so I don’t make them rashly.”
Jill crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I haven’t made rash decisions either. But even careful choices, right choices, can bring regret.”
Blake didn’t respond for a moment, and Jill waited patiently, not once letting her eyes flinch away from his sharp gaze.
His smile took her off guard. “You’re right. I’ve never had such a personal discussion with a stranger in all my life.”
“You got a few glimpses into my past, but no intimate details. You didn’t tell me anything.”
“Don’t take it personally. I never reveal anything I don’t have to.”
Jill stepped over to the railing. She leaned on it and scanned the party below. “You don’t have to talk to reveal yourself.”
Moving closer, Blake leaned against a pillar, facing her. “You intrigue me. What did I reveal?”
She laughed, though it was rough and harsh. “Oh no. I’ve said enough for one night.” Maybe she could leave him off-balance as well. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to go get something to eat.”
“Mind if I join you?”
With his quick, confident stride, he caught up to her quickly. Jill considered trying to shake the man, but only for a moment. This was, after all, the most stimulating conversation she’d had with a man for a long time. The mix of vexation and chemistry he aroused in her was exhilarating.
They stood next to each other in line at the buffet table and filled their plates without speaking much. Jill was too hot to eat anything heavy so she grabbed several slices of cold watermelon, some Caprese salad, and grilled shrimp. It surprised her, however, when Blake’s choices were as light as hers, mostly grilled chicken and vegetables.
He turned to her and nodded to his right. “Let’s snag that table in the shade before someone else sees it.”
The shade did look nice, and there weren’t many open seats, so she followed behind him, trying to keep her heels from sinking too far into the grass. “Well,” she said, almost stumbling when one sank several inches deep, “I think I’ll send Nate a bill for aerating his lawn for him.”
Blake laughed and pulled out a chair for her. “You could take off your shoes, you know.”
She peered up at him as she took her seat and found so much humor in his eyes that she had to chuckle. “Giving me my own advice back, are you? I think I will.” After kicking off her heels, she took a delicate bite of the watermelon, not wanting to smear juice all over her face in front of Blake.
Blake waved over one of the passing catering staff and asked, “What would you like to drink?”
“I’ll have another sweet iced tea,” she said, taking another bite.
Blake nodded to the waiter. “I’ll have the same.”
They ate in silence for a minute, but Jill was determined to get him to talk. “So where are you headed when you leave here?”
“Back home to Dallas. I have a lot going on right now. If it weren’t for Nate’s insistence, I wouldn’t have come at all. What about you? Do you live here or are you visiting?”
“I have an apartment in St. Louis, but I’m rarely there. I travel most of the time.”
“Oh yeah? What do you do?”
Jill sipped her tea and picked up her fork to try the salad. “Guess.”
“That never ends well,” he said, shaking his head.
“I promise I won’t get offended. Unless you say something offensive, of course.”
He smiled like he was tempted, but after thinking a moment, he asked, “Yoga instructor?”
“Not even close. Though I do love yoga.”
“Hand model? News anchor? Makeup artist?”
As he continued to guess, she shook her head, laughing at some of them, but eventually started to get frustrated at his lack of perception. “No. You are wrong, wrong, wrong.”
“Then tell me already.”
“You don’t deserve to know.”
Before Blake could argue, Jill heard footsteps rustling the grass behind her. She turned and saw Nate heading toward them with a smile on his face.
“I couldn’t have planned this better,” he said. “The two people I most want to talk to are eating at the same table. Do you know each other?”
“We were attempting to,” Blake answered, pressing his lips together.
“I’m glad to hear it because I have a business proposition for you two. Would you care to discuss it here or in the air-conditioned comfort of my office?”
“In the office,” Blake answered quickly. “But what possible business could you have that would involve me and a… what are you again, Jill?” he asked, trying to force an answer from her.
Jill looked up and flashed her most deadly smile. “I’m a Merger and Acquisitions Consultant at the Harris Consulting Firm. I specialize in post-merger integration.”
Blake’s mouth dropped open, and not because he was about to take a bite of his grilled asparagus. In fact, he was so frozen she wondered if he’d ever move again. She savored every second of his stupefaction.