Riding the Storm (39 page)

Chase
Westmoreland,
and
the
food
there
is
wonderful.”

Jayla
rose
from
behind
her
desk,
no
longer
able
to
sit.
She
knew
the
food
there
was
wonderful
but
at
the
moment
that
wasn’t
what
was
bothering
her.
She
recalled
Storm
saying
that
he
routinely
ate
at
his
brother’s
restaurant.
She
was

tempted
to
suggest
they
go
someplace
else
but
quickly

remembered
that
she
had
been
the
one
to
suggest
that

Tara
select
the
place
for
lunch.
She
sighed
deeply.
“I’ve

eaten
there
before
and
you’re
right
the
food
is
wonderful.”

“And
he’s
promised
to
take
good
care
of
us.”

Jayla
raised
a
dark
brow.
“Who?”
She
heard
Tara
chuckle
on
the
other
end
before
answering.

“Chase.
He’s
good
at
taking
care
of
people.
“

“Oh.”
It
was
on
the
tip
of
Jayla’s
tongue
to
say
it
must
run
in
the
family
because
Chase
wasn’t
the
only
Westmoreland
who
was
good
at
taking
care
of
people.
She
vividly

remembered
the
way
Storm
had
taken
care
of
her,
fulfilling
and
satisfying
her
every
need.

She
tried
forcing
the
memories
to
the
back
of
her
mind.
“What
time
do
you
want
us
to
meet?”

“What
about
around
one-thirty?
That
way
the
noonday
lunch
crowd
won’t
bombard
us.
But
if
you
think
you’ll
be
hungry

before
then
we
can—”

“No,
one-thirty
is
fine
and
I’ll
meet
you
there.”
After
ending

the
call,
Jayla
sat
back
at
her
desk.
If
she
saw
Storm
again,
what
was
the
correct
protocol
to
handle
the
situation?

Women
and
men
had
affairs
all
the
time
and
she
was
sure
that
at
some
point
they
ran
into
each
other
again.
Did
they
act
casually
as
if
nothing
had
ever
happened
between
them
and
they
were
meeting
for
the
first
time?
Or
were
they
savvy
enough
to
accept
that
they
had
shared
something
intimate
with
no
regrets,
moved
on
and
didn’t
make
a
big
deal
about
it?
She
decided
the
latter
would
work.
It
wasn’t
as
if
they

had
been
total
strangers.

She
glanced
at
her
watch.
One-thirty
was
less
than
five

hours
away.
Although
Atlanta
was
a
big
town,
she
and

Storm
were
bound
to
run
into
each
other
soon
or
later,
but
part
of
her
had
been
hoping
it
was
later.
She
had
expected
to
see
him
at
the
charity
benefit,
but
had
figured
she
would
be
prepared
to
see
him
by
then.
It
was
more
than
a
week
since
they
had
been
together,
nine
days,
if
you
were

counting,
and
unfortunately,
she
was.

She
closed
her
eyes
and
exhaled
a
deep
breath.
If
she
saw
him,
she
would
play
it
cool,
take
the
savvy
approach
and

hope
and
pray
that
it
worked.

“Is
there
a
reason
why
you’re
hanging
around
here?”

Storm
shrugged
and
shot
his
twin
a
beguiling
smile.
“I
like
this
place.”

The
expression
he
read
on
Chase’s
face
said
he
knew

better,
since
he
only
dropped
by
to
eat
and
rarely
hung

around
to
socialize.
He
usually
was
too
busy
pursuing

women
to
visit
with
his
brother
for
very
long.
His
answering
machine
had
maxed
out
while
he’d
been
out
of
town
and

his
phone
hadn’t
stopped
ringing
since
he’d
been
back.
But
for
some
reason,
he
wasn’t
interested
in
returning
any
of

those
women’s
calls.

“Well,
if
you
don’t
have
anything
better
to
do
with
your
time,
how
about
waiting
tables?”
Chase
said,
interrupting
his

thoughts.
“One
of
my
waitresses
called
in
sick
and
we’re
shorthanded.”

Storm
glanced
at
his
watch
while
shaking
his
head.
“Sorry.
I
like
you,
Chase,
but
not
that
much.”
He
turned
and
glanced
at
the
entrance
to
his
brother’s
restaurant
and
wondered
if
perhaps
Tara
and
Jayla
had
changed
their
minds
and

decided
to
go
someplace
else
since
it
was
past
lunchtime.
No
sooner
had
that
possibility
crossed
his
mind,
than
the

door
swung
open
and
the
two
women
entered.

His
breath
caught
at
the
sight
of
Jayla.
Because
he
was

sitting
at
the
far
end
of
the
counter,
he
knew
she
wouldn’t
be
able
to
see
him
but
he
could
definitely
see
her.
She
was

dressed
differently
than
she’d
been
in
New
Orleans.
Today,