“My wardrobe is one of the few things I’ve done right with my life. I have just the thing, waiting for exactly an event like this. It still has the tags on it.”
He pulled out of the parking lot, leaving the TCC behind. “What does it look like?”
Lexi drew a finger up the length of his forearm. “It’s red. Silk crepe to make it cling in all the right places. And it’s so low cut, I can’t really wear a bra.”
Jack felt a noticeable tightening in his pants. Waiting an entire week to be with her was going to be sheer torture. But he had a feeling the reward was going to be so worth it. “I can’t wait to see you in it.” He glanced over at her. “And then I look forward to seeing you out of it.”
Five
Jack was set to pick up Lexi for the trip to Houston in two hours, and he was nervous. So much so that he wasn’t doing a great job staying focused on work, which was a real problem because he, Rich and Jack’s sister Angie were having their first in-person meeting in weeks. The Soiree on the Bay schedule was so crazy, they rarely had the time to sit down and hash things out.
If anyone would sense his distracted state, it was these two. Rich had been Jack’s best friend since fifth grade. He’d taken a real chance on Jack by agreeing to move to Royal with him to start Bowden Construction eleven years ago. Jack had needed a fresh start in a new city after his fiancée, Marcella, had dumped him, and he’d been smart enough to know that he couldn’t get a new business off the ground on his own. Thankfully, that chance had more than paid off for both Rich and Jack.
“Let’s take a look at the numbers for the Soiree project.” Rich hit a few keys on his laptop, and the master spreadsheet was projected on the screen at one end of the small conference room.
“We’re showing a slight overage right now of about two percent,” Angie said. She’d only been working for Jack for a few months, ever since he brought her to Royal after she separated from her husband, who had a volatile temper. Jack had wanted to give his sister that same fresh start he’d given himself, but he also needed to keep her safe. Angie hadn’t wanted to come to Royal.Too many rich people, she’d said.They make me uncomfortable. I feel like they’re all looking down on me.
Jack had swiftly reminded her that he was quite wealthy now, with a sprawling home and a fast-growing business, and that people with money were just like anyone else—some were wonderful and others were not. Luckily, Angie had acquiesced to the move to Royal, and since then, she’d not only learned the ropes of managing construction, she was a whiz with the figures.
“Do you think we’ll be able to hit our numbers?” Rich asked.
“If we do, it’s going to be super close,” Angie said. “The cost of moving supplies over to the island has been much higher than the budget allowed. That’s the big reason for the difference. Jack, it might be a good idea for you to have a conversation with Rusty Edmond and let him know.”
Jack heard his name. He just hadn’t heard the other words that had come before or after it. Or they’d gone in one ear and out the other. “I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?”
“Angie said you need to talk to Rusty about the overage,” Rich said.
“Oh, right.” Jack scribbled a note to himself. “I’ll call him on the way to Houston.”
“No, you won’t,” Angie said. “You’re going to be with Lexi Alderidge, and you won’t be able to focus on anything. Just like in this meeting.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’ve lost your mind for this woman, Jack. And I don’t like it.” She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, shooting him a piercing glare. Angie had never been one for beating around the bush. She had zero filter. “We all know where this is going. It’s not only going too fast, it’s going to a very scary place.”
Rich closed his laptop, which made the spreadsheet disappear from the wall. “Wow, Ang. You’re going to bring this up now? I thought we agreed that we wouldn’t say anything until after he got back from Houston.”
“Hold on a minute,” Jack said. “You two have talked about this?”
“Well, yeah,” Angie answered with a shrug, as if it was completely obvious that they would discuss Jack’s personal life behind his back. “When a guy who once got dumped by his fiancée two weeks before his wedding gets involved with a woman who apparently doesn’t know how to do anythingbutget married, it makes me worry.”
Jack drew a deep breath through his nose. “My situation with Marcella was a long time ago. It’s water under the bridge. I’m fine.”
“You haven’t had a single serious girlfriend since then,” Rich said. “That doesn’t seem to me like you’ve gotten over it.”
“I’ve been busy.” He couldn’t help but notice the defensiveness in his own voice. “Getting Bowden Construction to where it is has been a monumental task. I haven’t had time to get serious.”
“And now youdohave time?” Angie asked. “Your number one complaint since I moved here is that the Soiree on the Bay project is the biggest one you’ve ever taken on, and that the timeline is impossible. So that argument doesn’t really add up. You’re barely sleeping, Jack. So I don’t see how you have time to date right now.”
Angie and Rich had made a few halfway decent points, but that didn’t stop Jack from wanting to fight back. “Lexi and I are having fun. Am I not entitled to that? This isn’t serious. It’s a casual thing.”
Angie rolled her eyes, which Jack did not appreciate. “I’ve heard the things people say about Lexi around town,” she said.
“You can stop right there. I don’t care about gossip.”
“This isn’t that. Her sister Bianca goes to the same yoga studio I go to. From everything she said, her sister hasn’t been single since she was seventeen, and every guy she’s been with she either married or tried to marry. That doesn’t seem like the track record of someone who is capable of keeping things casual.”
Jack didn’t want to listen to any more of this nonsense. “You’re being ridiculous. Both of you. Lexi and I are not getting married. We hardly know each other.” He got up from the table. “Plus, her dad doesn’t like me, and I’m guessing her mom doesn’t either after what happened at the TCC last week, so it doesn’t even matter. It’s a nonstarter. I’m not about to get serious with a woman whose family doesn’t approve of me. You both know that’s way too important to me.”
