She hesitated. Why couldn’t she be as unaffected as he was? Because he was happy.And I’m... not.
* * *
Seb watched Jade hurry to her rental, convincing himself that he was just making sure she made it safely to her car, even though it was parked only two spots away. He certainly wasn’t staring at her because he thoroughly enjoyed looking at every single inch of her. No, sir, and no way.
He finally shifted his eyes when she pulled out of the parking space, and once he knew she was out of sight, he slumped in his seat. What did he just do? And not just agreeing to discuss Harrington. His mind wouldn’t be changed by Tuesday. He told her that to hold her off for a little while, because even though she seemed better after the car wash than when she came to his office earlier, there was still something wrong, and he suspected it had to do with Logan.
He thrust his hand through his hair. Once again he was getting involved, at least mentally. Possibly somewhat more, since his sudden idea to take her to the Cherry Hill Car Wash had been helpful. For her anyway. Not him. All he could think about was their make-out session the last time they were in a car wash together, in his sameAltima. Almost every detail, despite it happening ten years ago, filled his mind, affecting him in ways he did not need with her inches away from him. It had been near torture fighting to keep the past back where it belonged. But he did it and had even managed to coolly send her on her way when they got back toThe Timesoffice.
Which was good. That can of worms, to use one of his favorite clichés, had to stay sealed shut. Their relationship was over, and they both admitted it was for the best. He now had the closure he didn’t realize he needed—or he would once they talked on Tuesday. By then, hopefully whatever was going on with her brother would be resolved and she would return to Atlanta to give Miles Harrington Seb’s final verdict. Then they would both leave him alone.
He should be glad. Happy. Ecstatic.
Why wasn’t he?
Chapter 12
On Saturday afternoon Jade pulled onto a grassy parking space at Wilson farm and turned off the Nissan’s engine. The Memorial Day Hoedown was in full swing, and it looked bigger and grander than she thought it would be. Mabel explained that it wasn’t just the hoedown that attracted visitors to the area on Memorial Day weekend. There were plenty of other things to do in the Ozarks on the first official weekend of summer—hiking, camping, canoeing and kayaking, antique shopping, fishing... The list was endless. From the size of the crowd, it seemed like this year’s hoedown was the main attraction.
After leaving Sebastian yesterday, she went back to her room at the Clementine Inn to look for her briefcase, which was still missing, and she was starting to lose hope, although she wasn’t going to give up her search. Mabel had promised to keep an eye out for it.
For the rest of that afternoon, she did something she’d never done before. She walked the hiking trail behind the inn. Her preferred form of exercise—when she had time to exercise—was aerobics, along with taking an occasional spinning class at her local gym. Walking had always been a boring activity, especially if there wasn’ta specific destination in mind. Meandering through a neighborhood or in the woods seemed pointless.
But she couldn’t just fritter time away in her room, and while she had her laptop with her, she wasn’t in the mood to go over Harrington Media spreadsheets and financial statements. So she took a walk. A long one, making two circuits of the hiking trail, breathing in the mountain air, working up a decent sweat, and managing to set aside her problems enough that she could experience the sights, scents, and woodland activity surrounding her. It didn’t give her the same type of peace she had in a car wash, but it was soothing enough that when she returned to Atlanta, she was going to search for a nearby hiking trail.
When she returned to her room, she took a shower and ordered a small mushroom pizza from the pizzeria up the street Mabel had recommended. Then she tackled what she’d put off all afternoon— calling Miles to give him an update. When she told him Sebastian wouldn’t discuss the deal until Tuesday, he exploded.
“Seriously?”
“He’s busy—”
“How busy can he be? It’s just a simple conversation.”
Nothing was simple when it came to Sebastian, despite him being a straightforward, unpretentious man. “It’s also a holiday weekend. There’s lots of activity in Clementine.”
“Oh yeah,” he sneered. “It’s a regular boom town.”
Jade frowned. She didn’t like Miles’s tone or how he kept putting down Clementine. He was turning into an exceedingly unpleasant man. “What do you want me to do?”
“Stay until Tuesday,” he grumbled. “But I expect you to work on him in the meantime. Go where he goes. Hang where he hangs. Be a thorn—or a rose—in his side. Whatever you have to do so he talks to me.”
His metaphor was weak, but she understood the mission. That was why she was here.The Clementine Timeswould have someone reporting on the hoedown, and chances were high that Sebastian would be here. Even if he wasn’t in an official capacity, Mabel said almost the entire town attended the event every year.
She flipped down the car visor and looked at the small mirror. Nose—empty. Teeth—clean. Hair... She draped a lock over her ear, then brushed down some flyways. Maybe she should have put on a little lipstick...
She snapped up the visor. She wasn’t trying to impress Sebastian or anyone else. Besides, he wouldn’t notice if she wore lipstick. She doubted he paid attention to her physical appearance at all. She grabbed her crossbody bag, got out of the car, and headed to the hoedown.
Country music blared through the speakers, and the smell of carnival food hung in the air. The farm was huge, the crowd even bigger. She wasn’t sure where to start.
Then she saw a group of teenagers with foot-long hot dogs on sticks. Those looked kind of good actually. She started for the food stalls when Sebastian’s sister appeared in front of her, decked out in hoedown-appropriate attire—a knee-length blue jean skirt, black cowboy boots, and a white collared shirt tied at the waist.
“Hello,” she said, her high ponytail swinging as she smiled and held out her hand. “We haven’t been formally introduced yet. I’m Evelyn Margot, Seb’s sister.”
“Ah,” Jade said, pretending she didn’t already know that bit of info. If Evelyn Margot found out that Jade had been in Sebastian’s office while she’d been taking his computer, she would be sunk. “We met the other day, right?”
“Sure. He mentioned that you two used toworktogether.”
Jade stilled. He’d been talking about her? How much had hesaid? And exactly what did he say? This could be good, bad, or both.
