What Janie Wants (11 page)

Lovely. A picture she couldn’t imagine ever forgetting. And Zade had given it to her. She nudged her plate away and leaned back in her chair. “I’m stuffed.”

“
Don’t forget the sopaipillas.”

She rubbed her stomach like that might somehow make more room. “Oh, no. I need about four hours on the treadmill to offset the chips and guacamole alone. And you knew better than to get me the big margarita. I haven’t finished any of the jumbo sized ones yet.”

“
We’ll tackle calorie burn later.” He tore the corner off one of the four cinnamon pastries he’d ordered despite that she’d told him not to, and dragged it through a pile of honey. “Right now we’ve got dessert to enjoy and tacky souvenirs to buy.”

The guy had endless energy. For three days in a row, he’d taken her one simple desire to explore new places to heart and surprised her every morning with a new tour. Swimming with dolphins, manatees, and sea lions, a tour of Mayan ruins, and a frigid float down an underground river.

He wiped his fingers and planted his elbows on the table, studying her with a crooked grin. The same amused, yet content expression he’d watched her with since that first day on the beach.

“
What?” She straightened and tidied the table. Anything to distract herself from trying to read too much into what his look meant.

“
Trying to figure out if I want to give you something or not.”

She barked out a laugh loud enough to make the bartender’s head whip in their direction. Covering her mouth and waving an apology toward the bar, she said in a lower voice, “You’ve carted me all over Riviera Maya for the last three days and curled my toes until I slept like the dead for three nights. What else could you want to give me?”

His gaze skimmed down to her breasts, then back up to her eyes. “Curled your toes, huh?”

Okay, maybe the industrial grade ceiling fan wasn’t enough for August in Mexico. She fanned herself and shifted in her chair. “Like you don’t already know that. If I pump your confidence any higher, half the women at the resort will instantaneously combust.”

He ducked his head.

Good grief, was he blushing?

Yep. He looked back up, and a hint of pink dotted his sharp cheekbones. He pursed his lips a minute, thoughtful, and then pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “You know that idea you had? About my business and talking to a lawyer?” He unfolded the papers, and held them so she couldn’t see the print. “Well, I called a guy Arlo recommended the next morning while you were still asleep and sent him a copy of the contract. While I was up there I did a little surfing on Arlo’s computer for you, too.”

“
For me?”

The papers bobbed from the steady swirl of the wind above. “So, don’t take this as a push, all right? I just thought I’d show you there are a lot of options out there.”

He cleared a space between them and smoothed the sheets out so they faced her.

Business Administration. Business Management. Business Technology.

She thumbed through the pages. “These are degree programs.”

“
Did you know there are fifty colleges offering programs within fifteen miles of Dallas?”

“
No.” She probably should, with one kid already burning through tuition and another about to start, but McKenna and Thomas had picked their ideal locations long before she’d ever thought to research.

“
Yeah, blew my mind, too. But there are a ton of options out there. And if the classroom thing bugs you out, you can always do an online program. At least to start.”

College. At her age. That hadn’t been just lip service he’d given her when he’d first mentioned it. “You really think I can do this.”

“
Uh, yeah.” He sat back in his chair, knees wide and hands loose in his lap. “You’re a smart woman, Janie. Practically every place we’ve gone you’ve jumped in to help people when they needed it. You fix things that need fixing before people even realize something’s wrong.”

“
Pfft. Name one.”

“
The new hostess when she got the parties waiting for a table confused.”

“
Well, her trainer shouldn’t have left her alone with so many people waiting.” She smoothed her napkin out on her lap. “That was just common decency.”

He rested his chin on his hand. “What about the couple with the mixed up itinerary at the resort?”

“
What about them?”

“
You could’ve waited until Arlo made it up from his office, but you jumped on the business center computer and helped them track down what was wrong.”

Hmmm. She had jumped in pretty easily.

“
I see you’re getting it.” He leaned in, pulled one of her hands from the stack of papers, and clasped it. “What I don’t think you realize is you do it all the time. Quickly. Without thinking. And always with a smile.”

But those were small things. Surely nothing that would translate into a career.

Business Administration: Majors in business administration should expect to focus on learning and developing the skills necessary to plan, organize and manage the many aspects involved in running a business, including business processes and financial analysis. Students will be prepared to excel in a variety of business opportunities in different industries. Potential job titles a graduate of this program might expect to fill: Human resources manager, business analyst, or operations analyst.

Wow. Janie McAlister. In an office. A professional. “But the things I do can’t be equated to real world office-type things.”

He shuttled his thumb back and forth against the pulse at her wrist. “My attorney called while I was getting ready for dinner. That clause you mentioned, the one that requires the seller to maintain the integrity of the company? Mine has something like that. The attorney thinks I have grounds to get my business back. I don’t call that small. And you gave me the direction I needed.”

“
Oh.” Her stomach flipped on his behalf and her heart jolted. She’d really helped him. “I guess that one’s a little bigger.”

He smiled big enough to flash his perfect white teeth, eyes sparkling. “That one made my fucking day.”

The waiter bustled to the table with two young helpers and cleared the dishes. “All finished,
señor
?”

Zade handled the check, taking time to chat with the man, as he did with everyone. No one was a stranger. Everyone was equal. He’d alluded to visually appreciating women and certain aspects of the world when he’d described his business, but he’d sold himself short. Watching Zade watch the world was a beautiful thing in itself. The sharpness in his eyes. The way his gaze scanned the entire picture, capturing every detail. The way his mouth softened and parted when something powerful struck his interest.

“
You okay?”

People strolled on either side of them, and a cluster of kids giggled near a storefront where a man made a flamenco string puppet dance to a song on the radio. Talk about inattentive. She’d made it down a flight of stairs and past a thick crowd of diners without realizing where she was. “Sorry. Was off in my head, thinking about your idea.”

“
Don’t follow it if it doesn’t feel right. It’s what you want that’s important. Sounds like you’ve helped everyone else in your life. Now’s a chance for you to figure out what you want.”

What she wanted. Three little words that seemed to broaden the universe in one dramatic swoop. Liberating. Powerful. Scary as hell. “Thank you.”

His eyebrows dipped in the center. “For what?”

God, she’d misjudged him with the age thing. She’d never met a man so honest. Genuine and giving. Emotionally open and mature. “For helping me with ideas. Seeing me in a different light.” More words snagged on the back of her throat. Raw words that would expose more than she should.

Ah, to heck with it. After what he’d given her, a little honesty would be good. “For helping me see I’m still beautiful. That I’m not washed up. That wrinkles and gravity aren’t the end of me, just a different part of my story.”

He stopped in the middle of the street, pulling her to a stop beside him. Cupping her face on either side, he brushed his thumbs along her cheekbones. “You’re not the kind of woman who’ll ever be washed up. There’s too much light in you. Any man who doesn’t want to drown himself in that brightness doesn’t deserve the good that comes with it.”

Flutters danced in her stomach and her breaths turned shallow. So perfect. A man she could trust and rebuild her world with. To look at the world with a fresh set of eyes.

Except he lived over fifteen hundred miles away.

From behind them, a booming, masculine voice rang out. “Hey, Zade.”

Janie spun with Zade.

The man who’d been with Zade the day they met ambled from one of the beach-party dive bars. At his side was a beautiful girl with perfect blond highlights, too much makeup for her naturally pretty face, and not nearly enough clothes. God, help her if McKenna came home from her first year of college the same way.

Zade offered his hand as the couple strolled up. “Hey, Devin.” He wrapped an arm around her. “You remember Janie.”

“
Hard not to remember the ball buster.” He tipped his head toward Janie, an awkward attempt to be polite and still appear cool in front of his girlfriend, as if he’d hadn’t already blown it with the ball buster comment. “How ya doin’?”

“
I’m great, thank you.” Janie held out her hand to the girl. “I’m Janie McAlister.”

The girl gnashed her gum, zigzagged her gaze between Janie and Zade, and shook the hand offered. “Hey. I’m Nelly.”

With a beer fisted in his free hand, Devin motioned toward the beach. “We’re headin’ back to the resort for a poolside party. You guys wanna come?”

Zade glanced at Janie and rubbed his chin. “Um.”

Like she’d be any help on this one. Her experience with pool parties usually involved wine and business deals. This one was probably more along the line of beer, loud music, and lots and lots of splashing, with or without the bathing suit. She rolled her lips inward to stifle a grin, and shrugged.

“
Yeah, sure,” Zade said. “We’ll stop by when we get back.”

“
Cool.” Devin chin-lifted at Janie and tugged Nelly closer as they strolled away. “See y’all back at the cove.”

They’d barely made it out of earshot before Zade’s laughter rumbled around Janie. “You know we don’t actually have to go. I doubt they’ll even remember it if we do.”

“
I don’t mind. I’ll chalk it up to getting an inside track on what my kids are up to at college.”

His thumb idly stroked the top of her hand as they strolled toward the taxi line at the end of the street. “You know, not all people his age are like that.”

Well, heck. She’d kind of earned that comment, along with the zap to her conscience. She cleared her throat. “It’s been brought to my attention by an increasingly reliable source, I might have been guilty of lumping all individuals of a certain age bracket into one bucket.” She peeked up at him. “I’m working to readjust my perceptions.”

He lifted her hand and nipped her knuckles. “I’ll volunteer for any personal assistance you might need on that score.”

“
Ha.” She snatched her hand free and playfully swatted his arm. “Any more personal assistance and—”

“
Katie!” A woman’s frantic voice rang out behind them.

A little girl with tiny pigtails and pale pink bows darted beside Zade, headed straight for the busy line of taxis.

Zade spun, caught her at the waist, and swept her high in the air before her white-sandaled foot could step from the curb.

Her giggled shriek echoed in all directions.

“
Oh, God. Thank you.” The mother yanked the child from Zade’s easy hold and clutched her tight. “Baby, I told you, you have to stay close to mommy. You could’ve been hurt.”

Undaunted by her mother’s lectures, the little girl beamed up at Zade, who fussed over and ogled her just as brightly. The father hustled up with a little boy in tow, and offered his thanks as well.

He’d want kids.
Even if by some miracle they could make a long distance relationship work, kids were something she couldn’t give him. Not this late in life. Technically, she could make it happen, but realistically, she’d barely made it through the two she’d already raised. He deserved to know that joy, and he’d make an amazing father.

He cupped the back of her neck. “Hey, it’s okay. She’s fine.”

Damn. She’d never had a decent poker face, even with her kids. At least he’d thought she was worried over the averted tragedy instead of mooning over something she couldn’t have. She forced a chuckle and adjusted her purse. “The kid is fine. I assure you, the mother’s heart won’t beat normally for another hour.”

“
Fair enough.” He waved down a taxi and guided her from the curb with his hand on the small of her back. “Ready for a pool party?”

Not really. What she really wanted was to steal him away and keep him all to herself until he left the day after tomorrow. But if she had to share him, she’d make the most of it. Honor what he’d given her by sucking every minute out of the hours they had left like they were her last. “Bring it.”