Riding the Storm (5 page)

The
chiming
of
the
elevator
interrupted
his
reverie.
The

elevator
opened
on
his
floor
and
Storm
stepped
out.
He

had
reached
the
conclusion
that,
incredible-looking
or
not,
the
last
woman
he
would
want
to
become
involved
with
was
Jayla
Cole.
But
once
again
he
thought
about
how
she

looked
downstairs
in
the
lobby.
Incredible.
Simply

incredible…

The
next
morning,
Jayla
leaned
back
in
her
chair
at
the

hotel
restaurant,
sipped
her
orange
juice
and
smiled

brightly.
The
call
she
had
received
before
leaving
her
hotel
room
had
made
her
very
happy.
Ecstatic
was
more
like
it.

The
fertility
clinic
had
called
to
let
her
know
that
everything
had
checked
out
and
they
had
found
a
sperm
donor
whose
profile
met
all
of
her
requirements.
There
was
a
possibility
they
could
schedule
the
procedure
in
less
than
a
month.

She
felt
downright
giddy
at
the
thought
of
having
a
child.

Her
mother
had
died
when
she
was
ten,
and
her
father’s
recent
death
had
left
her
suffering
with
occasional
bouts
of
loneliness.
She
had
been
an
only
child;
she
never
had
a

sibling
to
share
that
special
closeness
with
and
now
more
than
ever
she
wanted
a
child
to
love
and
to
add
special

meaning
to
her
life.

At
first,
she
had
looked
at
the
pool
of
guys
she
had
dated

over
the
past
couple
of
years,
but
for
the
most
part
they
left
a
lot
to
be
desired—they’d
been
either
too
overbearing
or
too
overboring.
So
she’d
decided
to
try
a
fertility
clinic.

After
doing
a
load
of
research
she
had
moved
ahead
with
the
preliminary
paper
work.
Now
in
less
than
two
months,
she
would
take
the
first
steps
in
becoming
a
new
mother.
A
huge
smile
touched
her
lips.
She
couldn’t
wait
to
hold
her
baby
in
her
arms.
Her
precious
little
one
would
have

chocolate-colored
skin,
dark
eyes,
curvy
full
lips,
cute

dimples
and…

“Good
morning,
Jayla.
You
seem
to
be
in
a
rather
good
mood
this
morning.”

Jayla
looked
up
and
met
Storm’s
gaze.
Although
she
had
decided
to
avoid
him
for
the
remainder
of
her
time
in
New
Orleans,
she
wasn’t
upset
that
they
had
run
into
each
other
again
so
soon.
She
was
too
elated
with
life
to
let
anything
or
anyone
dampen
her
spirits
today.

“I
am
in
a
good
mood,
Storm.
I
just
received
some

wonderful
news,”
she
said
smiling
brightly.
She
saw
the

curiosity
in
his
eyes,
but
knew
he
was
too
well-mannered
to
ask
her
for
any
details.
And
she
had
no
intention
of
sharing
her
plans
with
him.
Her
decision
to
venture
into
single

parenthood
was
personal
and
private.
She
hadn’t
shared
it
with
anyone,
not
even
Lisa,
her
best
friend
from
work.

“Mind
if
I
join
you?”

Her
smile
widened.
“Yes,
have
a
seat.”

She
watched
as
he
sat
down
and
noticed
his
outfit

complemented
his
physique
just
as
it
had
the
day
before.
He
definitely
looked
good
in
a
pair
of
cutoff
jeans
and
a
T-
shirt
that
said
Firefighters
Are
Hot.

“So
what
are
you
having
this
morning?”
he
asked,
glancing
over
at
her
plate.

“Buffet.
And
everything
is
delicious.”

He
nodded.
“Umm,
I
think
I’ll
try
it
myself.”

No
sooner
had
he
said
the
last
word,
a
waiter
appeared
and
Storm
informed
the
man
that
he
would
be
having
the
buffet.
“I’ll
be
back
in
a
minute,”
he
said
standing.

Jayla
watched
as
he
made
his
way
across
the
room
to

where
the
buffet
was
set
up.
She
couldn’t
help
but
watch

him.
She
knew
there
was
no
way
she
could
feel
guilty
about
being
drawn
to
him,
since
she
had
always
been
attracted
to
him.
And
at
least
she
wasn’t
the
only
one,
she
thought,

glancing
around
and
seeing
that
a
number
of
admiring

women
had
turned
to
check
him
out.
However,
it
appeared
he
was
more
interested
in
filling
his
plate
than
in
all
the

attention
he
was
getting.

Jayla
blinked
when
she
suddenly
realized
something.

Storm’s
features
were
identical
to
those
she
had
requested