Jealous in July (Spring River Valley Book 7) (5 page)

“Too bad. You could stay in a hotel for the weekend.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

He pulled away from the curb, a half smile curving his upper lip. “That’s my whole plan for tonight, tempting you.”

“I thought this was a strategy meeting.”

“That
, too, but why can’t it be a luxurious evening also?”

Brenda considered the question. For some reason, riding off with Chase made her feel like she was cheating on Riley. The illicit nature of it made her pulse race a little faster
, and that disturbed her. There was nothing wrong with going out for dinner with Chase. Going out with Chase to plot how to lure Riley into her feminine clutches was another story, but she told herself all was fair in love and war, and she planned to come out the victor in this battle to get the aspiring lawyer’s attention.

The ride across town in the
air-conditioned car was heaven. She almost didn’t want to get out when he pulled into the parking lot of Taverna Fiora, but the place looked so magical she couldn’t resist. The Italianate building had been liberally strung with white lights, and small fountains on either side of the entrance gurgled happily, making it seem at least ten degrees cooler than the rest of the world.

Chase offered his hand as they reached the marble steps leading to the portico
, and this time she accepted. She told herself it was only because the sleek stone looked slippery, and she’d worn her highest heels.

A uniformed waiter met them inside and welcomed them to what he called their Festival Evening. Brenda gave Chase a curious glance.

“They have a new garden patio out back, and they’re holding theme nights,” he explained. “I hear it’s gorgeous.”

The waiter led them through the building, past the banquet halls Brenda was familiar with from weddings and dances she’d attended. Through an
ivy-coated archway, he took them to a shimmering garden surrounding a rock waterfall. Small tables sat in secluded nooks and grottos around the space which glowed with white candles in hurricane glasses, bouquets of brilliant seasonal flowers, and thousands of pinpoint lights. The strains of Italian music floated on the breeze, which seemed so much more temperate under the potted olive trees that made up the faux orchard.

Brenda sighed. “It’s amazing. I had no idea this was back here.”

“It’s new. The new manager, Mr. Addison, designed it,” the waiter said as he pulled out a cushioned chair for Brenda. Their table was partially hidden behind an avalanche of bougainvillea, obscuring it from most of the other tables. Brenda wondered just who Chase had thought would see them together and talk about it to Riley if they weren’t even visible to anyone else having dinner at the same time they were.

What did it matter, after all? This whole jealousy idea wasn’t going to work. She should just enjoy the evening for what it was and go back to Plan A, buck up her courage
, and ask Riley out point-blank the next time she had a moment alone with him.

In the meantime, though, what would it hurt to enjoy the ambiance of the enchanted garden?

“All right, you wanted to talk strategy?” Brenda said after the waiter left them with a bottle of chilled wine and their menus. Every dish looked amazing, but she tried not to get too caught up in the panache of the place and concentrate instead on Chase’s plans.

“Well, I figure our work for the evening is already don
e. All we have to do is have a nice time, and Monday I’ll come by your desk and ask you if you enjoyed dinner. I’ll make sure Riley’s nearby when I do.”

“That’s it? That’s your plan?”

He shrugged. “I admit it’s subtle, but guaranteed effective.”

“We could have just pretended we’d gone out.”

“But that’s dishonest. You don’t want to be dishonest, do you?”

“Isn’t making Riley think we’re interested in each other dishonest?”

Chase sipped his wine. He didn’t meet her gaze when he replied. “There’s nothing dishonest about tonight. Here comes the waiter. I hear the salmon is fantastic.”

Brenda wasn’t sure what to make of her
“date,” but she decided to put her suspicions aside for a while and just soak up the atmosphere. The food was excellent, and once they agreed not to mention Riley anymore, the conversation turned lively and interesting.

Chase had her laughing with stories from his adventures in plumbing as a teenager and dutifully listened to her talk about herself
. She wondered if Riley would be so attentive. Maybe when he didn’t have to worry about the bar— She stopped herself. This evening wasn’t about Riley anymore; it was just about having a nice time with a charming guy.

“So, what else do you have planned for the rest of the weekend?” he asked her over coffee and blueberry cheesecake. The candle between them had burned low, making the shadows long. Crickets sang somewhere outside the garden walls, competing with the lilting strains of the music floating from hidden speakers.

“Besides staying cool, not much. I thought I’d catch up on my reading and stroll around the mall.”

“My A/C works. If you wanted to come over and hang out.”

“Thanks, but…as you may have guessed, I’m not all that exciting. A tall glass of iced tea and a good book and I’m happy.”

“How about a m
ovie? The theater will be cool.”

“Are you asking me on another date?” She raised a brow. Why did the idea of spending more time with Chase excite her?

“It can’t hurt the cause. Then we’d have two things to talk about on Monday.”

She laughed. “It depends on how hot it gets. Maybe I’ll take you up on it, just to get out of the heat.”

His eyes sparkled mischievously in the candlelight, and he raised his wine glass and clinked it against hers. “Here’s to the heat wave.”

After dinner, Chase brought Brenda back to her apartment. He walked her to her front door, wondering if it was the heat or his own nervous energy that had him sweating and wishing for a cool breeze or a cold shower. The night had been amazing, and Brenda looked like a dream in a gray silk camisole and slim black skirt. She’d pulled her hair up off her neck, and he’d spent much of the evening imaging his lips caressing the curve of her shoulder. He’d have given anything to kiss her goodnight, but the timing wasn’t right. He couldn’t move in yet, while she was still hung up on Riley.

“I had a very nice time, thank you,” she said as she searched for her keys in her tiny purse. Next came the awkward moment where her posture tightened up and her smile became a question. What now?

He stuck out his hand
, and when she took it uncertainly, he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed the back of her hand.

She giggled. “So chivalry isn’t dead after all.”

“No, ma’am. I had a very nice time, too. And… the offer is still open for the movie. Just call me anytime.”

“Thanks…I…um…I’ll think about it.”

He hesitated for a second, lingering while the wicked side of his brain tried to convince him to just go for it and kiss her. His more pragmatic side won out, and with a half smile, he turned and made his way down the steps.

She remained on the stoop until he pulled away, and he had to wonder if he’d disappointed her. Had his plan worked better than he imagined? Had she forgotten about Riley long enough to give him a chance?

Time would tell. It was going to be a long weekend, waiting for her call.

*

Even after Chase’s car disappeared around the corner, Brenda remained standing on her front step, wondering what she was doing still thinking about him. He’d been a charming date, attentive and funny and completely
there
. She hated to compare him to Riley, but she’d never had a conversation with her dream man in which he’d actually asked her a personal question or made eye contact for more than a few seconds. She’d convinced herself this was because he had no idea she was in love with him and because he was a busy man who wasn’t thinking about romance while he was working.

Maybe it was really because he wasn’t capable of being interested…maybe not in her, maybe not in anyone at this point in his life.

For the first time in two years, she considered what it might be like to give up the fantasy that one day she would lock eyes with Riley and he’d realize he loved her, too.

Sighing, she opened her door and let herself into her apartment. Even with the windows open, the place was stifling. Briefly, she considered calling Chase back, but how would that look, using him
just for his air conditioning?

She pictured herself sitting in front of him, running a melting ice cube over her sweating skin, down the curve of her throat
, and between her breasts, then bringing the ice cube to her lips to suck on it and watching his eyes pop out of his head.

“No, we’re not going there.”
Annoyed by her thoughts, she hastily ran a cool shower and stripped off her clothes, throwing each garment into her hamper with enough force to make the wicker basket nearly topple over. Maybe a friends-with-benefits relationship had worked for Samantha and Aiden, but she refused to substitute Chase for Riley. It wasn’t right.

She stepped into the shower and let the tepid water banish the heated thoughts from her mind.
If she had to sleep in the bathtub to stay cool this weekend, she would, but she couldn’t allow her sudden desperation for some male attention to lead her into a phony relationship. Chase was a nice guy, but her heart still belonged to Riley, and she hadn’t given up on him just yet.

* * * *

Brenda let out a long, appreciative moan as the first breath of cool air hit her at the threshold of EBD’s lobby on Monday morning. With the super of her building working on the A/C, she could hope to have cool air by the time she got home, but at the moment, she’d never been so happy to get to work.

Geraldo, the daytime security guard
, gave her an odd look as she passed his station, and she thought about explaining that she’d spent the last two days lying in a half-melted heap on her couch while a rotary fan pumped lukewarm air over her nearly naked body.

She decided against it and simply waved to him and headed for the elevator.
A stab of guilt hit her when she realized that sometime today she’d run into Chase. Through sheer force of will, she hadn’t called him, though some wicked part of her still wished she had. It had been a monumental struggle to avoid letting herself think about what she might have allowed to happen if she’d seen him again.

“Hold the elevator, please!” A familiar voice echoed across the building’s cavernous lobby
, and Brenda instinctively stepped forward to hit the door control.

Riley jogged into view a second later in a crisp white shirt and tan pants, his matching jacket thrown over his shoulder.

“Thanks! I normally take the stairs, but the walk from my car to the lobby nearly killed me. It must be a hundred and ten out there with the humidity.”

Brenda managed to nod, a half smile frozen on her face. Why did she feel guilty all of a sudden? As though thinking about Chase—all right, thinking about the remote possibility of having some kind of sexual encounter with Chase—somehow meant she was cheating on Riley
?

“So, how was your weekend?” he asked, though he was studying the folded newspaper he carried. She wondered if he would even hear the answer.

“I…uh…hot. My weekend was hot.”

He laughed. “And not in the good way, right?”

Damn, she was hoping he’d have thought she meant the opposite. She grinned, ignoring the brief lightheadedness the elevator ride always caused. How many times had she fantasized about getting stuck in this elevator with Riley, having to spend hours with each other, nothing to do but talk until they realized how much they had in common and how wonderful their union would be?

Thinking of those daydreams now caused self-conscious heat to rise from her collar. She glanced sidelong at Riley, hoping he was still engrossed in his newspaper. He was, and that allowed her to take a long look at him. There was no denying he was handsome with his dark blond hair styled in professionally mussy waves. At
eight forty-five a.m. there wasn’t a hint of stubble on his jaw, but his skin was so pale, even after a day spent mostly in the sun for the company picnic, he looked like he’d been indoors for a decade. Half-moon shadows darkened the area beneath his eyes, and more than once during the brief ride to the tenth floor, he sighed heavily as if he was exhausted.

“So, how did your studying go?” She blurted out the question just as the elevator doors opened.

“What? Oh…ah, pretty good, I guess. I took your advice and I went for a walk.”

“And you didn’t end up a puddle on the sidewalk? I give you credit.”

“Well, it was five a.m. when I took my walk. I’d been up all night and I needed to clear my head. Sleep might have been a better idea.”

Brenda wanted to offer him comfort and sympathy, but the words just wouldn’t come. How could she entice a man when she had no idea what to say to him most of the time?
“Well, maybe you can catch up on your sleep today. I mean, tonight. Um…when would you like me to start working on your files?”