Riding the Storm (7 page)

Innocent
as
it
was,
he
wished
she
hadn’t
invited
him
to
join
her
sightseeing
expedition
in
precisely
those
words.
Do
it
together.
A
totally
different
scenario
than
what
she
was

proposing
popped
into
his
head
and
he
was
having
a
hard
time
getting
it
out
of
there.
“You
sure
you
don’t
mind
the

company?”
he
asked
searching
her
face.
Although
he
got
very
few,
he
recognized
a
brush-off
when
he
got
one
and
yesterday,
after
asking
her
to
dinner,
she
had
definitely

given
him
the
brush-off.

“No,
I’d
love
the
company.”

He
wondered
what
had
changed
her
mood.
Evidently
the
news
she’d
received
had
turned
the
snotty
Jayla
of
last
night
into
Miss
Congeniality
this
morning.

“So
what
do
you
say,
Mr.
Fireman?
Shall
we
hit
the
streets?”

Hitting
the
sheets
was
more
to
his
liking,
but
he

immediately
reminded
himself
just
who
she
was
and
that

she
was
still
off-limits.
“Sure.
I
think
it
would
be
fun.”
As
long
as
we
keep
things
simple,
he
wanted
to
add
but
didn’t.

She
chuckled,
a
low,
sexy
sound,
as
she
leaned
forward.
“And
that’s
what
I
need,
Storm,
some
honest-to-goodness
fun.”

He
looked
at
her
for
a
moment,
then
suddenly
understood.
The
past
six
months
had
to
have
been
hard.
She
and
her

father
had
been
extremely
close,
so
no
doubt
the
loneliness
was
finally
getting
to
her.

A
jolt
of
protectiveness
shot
through
him.
Hadn’t
he

promised
Adam
that
he
would
look
after
her?
Besides,
if
anyone
could
show
her
how
to
have
fun,
he
could.
Because
of
his
attraction
to
her,
over
the
years
he
had
basically
tried
to
avoid
her.
Now
it
seemed
that
doing
so
had
robbed
him
of
the
chance
to
get
to
know
her
better.
Maybe
it
was
time
that
he
took
the
first
step
to
rectify
the
situation
so
that
a

relationship,
one
of
friendship
only,
could
develop
between
them.

Having
fun
with
a
woman
without
the
involvement
of
sex

would
be
something
new
for
him,
but
he
was
willing
to
try
it.
Since
there
was
no
way
the
two
of
them
could
ever
be

serious,
he
saw
nothing
wrong
with
letting
his
guard
down
and
having
a
good
time.
“Then
I
will
give
you
a
day
of
fun,
Jayla
Cole,”
he
said
and
meaning
every
word.

A
smile
touched
the
corners
of
his
mouth.
“And
who

knows?
You
just
might
surprise
yourself
and
have
so
much
fun,
you
may
not
ever
want
to
get
serious
again.”

Two

A
rush
of
excitement
shot
through
Jayla’s
bloodstream
when
the
bus
made
another
stop
on
its
tour.
This
time
to
board
the
Steamboat
Natchez
for
a
cruise
along
the

Mississippi
River.
So
far,
she
and
Storm
had
taken
a

carriage
ride
through
the
French
Quarter,
a
tour
of
the

swamps
and
visited
a
number
of
magnificently
restored
mansions
and
courtyards.

The
Natchez
was
a
beautiful
replica
of
the
steamboats
that
once
cruised
the
Mississippi.
Jayla
stood
at
the
railing

appreciating
the
majestic
beauty
of
the
river
and
all
the

historical
landmarks
as
they
navigated
its
muddy
waters.
She
was
very
much
aware
of
the
man
standing
beside
her.
During
the
boat
ride,
Storm
had
kept
her
amused
by
telling
her
interesting
tidbits
of
information
about
riverboats.

As
he
talked,
she
tipped
her
head
and
studied
him,
letting
eyes
that
were
hidden
behind
the
dark
lenses
of
her

sunglasses
roam
over
him.
She
enjoyed
looking
at
him
as
much
as
she
enjoyed
listening
to
him.
Soft
jazz
was
flowing
through
several
speakers
that
were
located
on
the
lower

deck
and
the
sound
of
the
boat
gliding
through
the
water

had
a
relaxing
effect
on
Jayla.

When
Storm
fell
silent
for
a
few
moments,
Jayla
figured
she
needed
to
say
something
to
assure
him
that
he
had
her
full

attention,
which
he
definitely
did.
“How
do
you
know
so

much
about
riverboats?”
she
asked,
genuinely
curious.
She
watched
his
lips
curve
into
a
smile
and
a
flutter
went

through
her
stomach.

“Mainly
because
of
my
cousin
Ian,”
he
replied
as
he

absently
flicked
a
strand
of
hair
away
from
her
face.
“A
few
years
ago,
he
and
some
investor
friends
of
his
decided
to
buy
a
beauty
of
a
riverboat.
It’s
over
four
hundred
feet
long
and
ninety
feet
high,
and
equipped
with
enough
staterooms
to
hold
over
four
hundred
passengers.”

“Wow!
Where
does
it
go?”

Storm
leaned
back
against
the
rail
and
placed
his
hands
in
the
pockets
of
his
shorts.
“Ian’s
riverboat,
The
Delta

Princess,
departs
from
Memphis
on
ten-day
excursions

along
the
Mississippi
with
stops
in
New
Orleans,
Baton

Rouge,
Vicksburg
and
Natchez.
His
crew
provides
first-

class
service
and
the
food
he
serves
on
board
is
excellent.
In
the
beginning,
business
was
slow,
but
now
he
has

reservations
booked
well
over
a
year
in
advance.
It
didn’t
take
him
long
to
figure
out
what
would
be
a
drawing
card.”

Jayla
lifted
a
brow.
“What?”

“Gambling.
You’d
be
surprised
how
many
people
have
money
they
figure
is
worth
losing
if
there’s
a
chance
that
they
might
win
more.”