Jack felt like he was letting everyone down. “I’m sorry. That was the whole reason I came over in the first place.”
“Last night was great, Jack. You talked things out with my dad. We got to have some superhot sex. Try to look on the bright side. The boxes can wait.”
She was right. Of course. “Thank you for being so amazing.”
“Anytime. Now get going.” She shooed him toward the door. “Call me if you have a spare minute over the next few days?”
“I’ll make time.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, knowing this blip of time with Lexi would have to fuel him for the next few days. “Talk to you soon.”
Jack walked double-time to his car, being very careful to close his door quietly. Moments later, he zipped out the security gate and through Pine Valley, racing home to grab his bags, then turning around to get to the airstrip. Rich and the pilot were waiting for him, but he was only about fifteen minutes late. It could’ve been worse.
“You okay?” Rich asked as they both buckled in.
“Yeah. Fine. Just preoccupied with the job.” In truth, it was more than that. There was this emptiness inside him that refused to go away. He felt unsettled. Off his game. The two things he wanted most felt just out of reach—finishing this job and getting Lexi to take the idea of them as a couple more seriously. All he could do was forge ahead. Do his best. Let things play out as they would.
“You and me both,” Rich said. “You and me both.”
As per usual, construction wrapped up with zero time to spare, and it wasn’t 100 percent done. There were still a few tiny details to finish, but Rusty had been insistent that they proclaim the project complete. He’d invited a heap of people to the Edmond estate for the celebratory cocktail party, and he said it would’ve been an embarrassment to postpone. And, despite his trepidation, Jack saw where the old man was coming from. Delaying the shindig would most assuredly cast a pall over the excitement surrounding the Soiree on the Bay project. But the worst part about being late was that he’d had to ask Lexi to meet him at the party. Once again, he felt like he was falling short.
Jack called her as he approached the security gate on the perimeter of the Edmond estate. Ahead, a long line of cars trailed up the driveway, brake lights glowing red against a darkening night sky. Surrounded by miles of pristine ranch land, the property featured a pool, stables and several guesthouses. It was notorious in Royal, one of the largest private tracts within the county limits. Currently a bachelor, Rusty lived here with his daughter, Gina, and stepson Asher. Soiree on the Bay mastermind Billy Holmes also resided on the grounds, currently occupying one of the guest cottages.
“Are you stuck in this traffic jam outside the house?” Jack asked.
“I just parked,” Lexi answered. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Perfect. Thanks.” Jack drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel, feeling impatient. All he wanted was to see Lexi, have a drink and find somewhere to sit down. Attending a cocktail party was quite literally the last thing he wanted to do right now, but he’d make the best of it.
“It just occurred to me—I don’t think I’ve been to Rusty’s since I was a teenager,” Lexi said.
“It’s been a few months for me. Rusty sometimes invites me to his poker parties.”
“I’m surprised you never ran into my dad here,” she remarked. “He’s not much of a card player, but he loves to smoke cigars with Rusty so he’ll sometimes come for one for those games.”
“I don’t always accept the invitation. Mostly because I don’t enjoy losing thousands of dollars in one night the way Rusty does. I’d rather hold on to my money. I guess you could say that old habits die hard.” As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he realized that he had one old habit he was eager to cast aside—his penchant for keeping things casual with a woman forever. He’d spent a lot of time thinking over the last three days, imagining what came next for Lexi and him—months of casual dating, long, passionate nights, and a lot of back and forth between their two houses, no matter where she ended up living. He loved what they had together, but there was a voice in his head saying it wasn’t enough.
“These cars are not moving fast,” Lexi lamented.
“Rusty told me the guest list is huge.”
“Are you nervous?” she asked as he got closer to the massive house, which was all lit up in dramatic fashion.
It wasn’t nerves he was feeling. “No. I need a nap though. I’m definitely sleeping in this weekend.”
“I know you’re exhausted. It was so adorable the way you fell asleep the other night at my place.”
“Don’t remind me,” he grumbled. “I’m still unhappy about that.”
“Pretty soon, we won’t have to worry about it at all. I’ll be at my new place.”
It made Jack feel a bit better to hear her say “we” along with mention of future plans, but as he got closer to the house and he saw the news van parked out front, his stomach sank. “Oh, crap. TheRoyal Tonight!van is here. That means Mandee Meriweather is going to be there. She’s so nosy.”
“Seriously. I spoke with her a week or so ago, to tell her about the bank’s involvement with Soiree on the Bay, but all she wanted to focus on was you and me.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“I guess I forgot.”
Finally, the cars were moving ahead. Jack was directed into a parking space in the expansive stone driveway in front of the house. “I’m going to do my best to avoid her. She’s given me a hard time in the past, and has this deluded idea that I’m a playboy. Which is utterly ridiculous.”
