Riding the Storm (41 page)

knees
weaken.
Everything
about
Storm
was
a
total
turn-on
—the
rippling
muscles
beneath
his
shirt,
his
extraordinary
butt,
long
legs,
his
too-hot
grin
and
eyes
so
dark
they

reminded
you
of
chocolate
chips….
Had
she
forgotten
that
she
had
a
weakness
for
chocolate
chips
just
as
bad
as
her
weakness
for
strawberry
cheesecake?

She
glanced
over
at
Tara
and
saw
that
she
was
still

watching
them
and
Jayla
decided
it
wouldn’t
be
a
bad
idea
to
go
ahead
and
place
her
order.
She
cleared
her
throat.
“I’ll
have
today’s
special
with
a
glass
of
iced
tea.”

“All
right.”
Storm
scribbled
down
Jayla’s
order,
not
knowing
and
not
really
caring
what
today’s
special
was.
The
only

thing
on
his
mind
was
that
he
was
getting
the
chance
to
see
her
again.

He
then
turned
his
attention
to
Tara
and
smiled.
“And
what
will
you
have
Mrs.
Westmoreland?”

Tara
lifted
a
brow.
“An
explanation
as
to
why
you’re
waiting
on
tables.”

Storm
chuckled.
He
was
busted.
Leave
it
to
Tara
to
ask
questions.
She’d
been
hanging
around
his
brother
Thorn
too
long.
“Chase
was
shorthanded
so
I
thought
I’d
pitch
in
and
help
him
out.”

Tara
nodded,
but
the
look
she
gave
let
him
indicated
that
she
knew
there
was
more
to
the
story
than
that.
He

wondered
if
parts
of
their
conversation
last
night
were

coming
back
to
her.
“That
was
kind
of
you,
Storm,
and
I’ll
have
today’s
special,
as
well,
with
a
glass
of
lemonade.”

Storm
wrote
down
her
order,
then
said,
“I’ll
go
ahead
and
bring
your
drinks.”
He
winked
at
them
and
then
walked
off.

Jayla
watched
him
walk
away.
When
she
returned
her

attention
back
to
Tara
she
knew
the
woman
had
been

watching
her
watch
Storm.
“Small
world,
isn’t
it?”
she
asked
trying
to
pull
herself
together
before
she
actually
started

drooling.

Tara
smiled.
“Yes,
it
is
a
small
world,”
she
agreed
as
she
studied
Jayla.
Storm
had
been
blatantly
flirting
with
the

woman,
which
was
nothing
surprising.
Tara
had
seen

Storm
in
action
many
times
before.
But
something
was

different
with
the
way
he
had
flirted
with
Jayla;
however,
at
the
moment
she
couldn’t
put
a
finger
on
just
what
that

difference
was.

“I’m
looking
forward
to
the
charity
benefit,”
Jayla
was

saying,
rousing
Tara
from
her
musings
and
reminding
her
of
the
reason
for
their
meeting.

“So
am
I,
and
the
committee
appreciates
Sala
Industries

agreeing
to
be
our
food
and
beverage
sponsor.
Kids’

World
will
benefit
greatly
from
their
contribution.
The
money
raised
from
the
calendar
will
be
more
than
enough
to
make

the
children’s
dreams
come
true.”

Jayla
smiled
in
agreement.
“Doesn’t
it
bother
you
that
your
husband
is
Mr.
July
on
that
calendar?”

Tara
laughed
as
she
remembered
how
she’d
maneuvered
Thorn
into
posing
for
the
calendar.
Actually,
they
had
come
to
an
agreement
only
after
Thorn
had
made
her
an
offer
she
couldn’t
refuse.
“No,
I’m
not
bothered
at
all.
It
will
be
nice

knowing
other
women
will
find
my
husband
as
sexy
as
I
do.”

Jayla
nodded.
She
had
seen
Thorn
Westmoreland
before
in
person
and
the
man
was
definitely
sexy.
But
she
didn’t

think
anyone
was
sexier
than
Storm.
She
couldn’t
help
but
glance
to
where
he
had
gone.
He
was
behind
the
counter

preparing
their
drinks
and,
as
if
he
knew
she
was
looking
at
him,
he
lifted
his
head,
met
her
gaze
and
smiled.

It
was
a
smile
that
sent
shivers
all
the
way
through
her
body.
It
was
also
a
smile
that
seemed
to
say,
I
remember

everything
about
those
days
in
New
Orleans.
She
couldn’t
help
returning
his
smile
as
she
also
remembered

everything
about
their
time
together.

When
she
turned
her
attention
back
to
Tara,
Jayla
realized
that
Tara
had
noticed
the
silent
exchange
between
her
and
Storm.
“Umm…I,
well—”
she
started
to
say,
feeling

somewhat
embarrassed
that
Tara
had
caught
her
ogling
Storm.