Juicy. Noelle Mack

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СКАЧАТЬ and found a message from Vi.

      Did you nail him? I know Jaz Claybourn is a dish.

      Bliss frowned and rested her fingers on the edge of the keyboard. How did Vi know that? The answer drifted to the surface of her preoccupied mind. Her boss had probably leafed through the extra copy of the press kit on Bliss’s desk. Viola Lentone didn’t miss a thing.

      I think I got the account, Vi, if that’s what you mean.

      She could just see her boss’s long red fingernails poised to reply. In less than half a minute, Vi did.

      Good work, Bliss. Take a day off tomorrow. Enjoy Pennsylvania. I understand that some people do.

      Bliss replied with a smiley face and signed off. At least Vi valued her employees. She wasn’t easy to work for, but Bliss knew how to get on her good side after seven years at Lentone Fitch & Garibaldi. Bliss had signed on when it was still a boutique firm with a reputation for original work and bare-knuckles aggression.

      Bliss didn’t know what had happened to Fitch or Garibaldi. Vi had always run the company pretty much by herself. But she was billing millions of dollars a year now and proud of her take-no-prisoners nickname: The Violent One. Of course, a lot of the money went back into the business, especially their office space, which took up an entire floor in a posh building. In advertising, image was all.

      She sighed and closed her laptop as Jaz came back through the office door.

      “You’re all set. Your overnight stay is on HT, by the way. Sorry you didn’t make your flight. I should have paid more attention to the time. We can get great burgers or a decent steak at the restaurant in town. What do you say?”

      The big, bold, mighty CEO actually looked eager to take her out. Bliss could not think of a single reason to say no. “Okay,” she said at last.

      She gathered up her things and let Jaz lead her out of the building through a maze of corridors that he seemed to know by heart. The factory never shut down and she could hear the machinery humming in the quiet evening air. They walked past the security guard glued to a small TV, who gave Jaz a wave without looking up from World Wide Wrestling.

      “Female division,” Jaz whispered to her. “He loves a good cat fight.”

      “Sweet. So I guess he’s not going to tattle about you and me, huh?”

      Jaz grinned broadly. “Guess not. We haven’t been doing anything to tattle about.” He used the key remote to pop the trunk and stow her carry-on bag and laptop before he opened her door for her.

      She settled in, providing him with a peek at her upper thighs as she shifted in the seat. Might as well make the most of the magic. It wasn’t likely to last. “Thanks. You’re a gentleman.”

      “My mama raised me right.”

      Even though she was teasing him, she still loved the attention and his old-fashioned courtesy. Bliss had dated one too many loudmouthed rejects from the Planet of the Frat Boys not to appreciate it.

      The restaurant in town served exactly what she expected: plain but tasty home cooking. On Jaz’s recommendation, she ordered steak, like him, but the side dishes came first. She put a pat of butter at the top of her mashed-potato volcano and watched it melt and trickle down the sides, then ate the whole damn thing in big bites, which made him smile.

      “Good, huh?”

      “Mashed potatoes are the best.”

      “How about a bottle of wine?”

      “Sure.”

      He ordered one for them to share and there was a rosy glow on her face by the end of the excellent meal.

      “So where are you from?” he asked, not looking at the check the waitress brought. “You never did say.”

      Evidently he didn’t want their time together to end. Bliss was pleased.

      “I grew up in a small town in upstate New York. Thurbeck. You probably never heard of it.”

      “Is it famous for anything?”

      She thought for a few seconds. “Strawberry pie, come to think of it. Mary Donovan ran the diner and made them every summer but only when strawberries were in season. Three dollars a slice, which was big money in Thurbeck. But people were happy to pay it. It was amazing pie.”

      Jaz nodded thoughtfully and folded his arms on the cleared table. “What was the secret?”

      “Really good strawberries. She grew her own.”

      He shrugged. “Lots of people do. She had to have a secret ingredient. Maybe something we could add to HT pies.”

      Bliss only laughed. “Love. Those strawberries knew they were special.”

      “I’m not following you.”

      “Mary’s husband fenced in the patch and slept on the porch with a shotgun to keep the raccoons away. He fired it off into the sky a few times a night.”

      “Hmm. Maybe the strawberries were just afraid. But love is good. And the FDA doesn’t make you add it to the nutrition breakdown on the package.”

      The waitress came over with a coffeepot and two mugs in the other hand, and gave Jaz an inquiring look. He shook his head and pulled out his wallet, leaving two twenties and rising when Bliss did. He gestured for her to go ahead of him. “After you, Miss Bliss.”

      “Thanks for dinner.” She picked up a mint from the bowl by the cash register and tucked it into her cheek. “That was fun.”

      “I enjoyed myself too. And oh—one more question. How did you get that name, if you don’t mind my asking?”

      “My real name is Melissa. My baby brother couldn’t pronounce it and so after a while everybody called me Bliss, just like he did.”

      She sauntered ahead, going out the double doors and savoring the last blast of air-conditioning. Rural Pennsylvania was cooler than New York but it was still muggy outside.

      Jaz handled everything involved with checking in at the B&B, while Bliss did a little exploring. She would be staying in a tiny cottage apart from the main house but identical to it in every architectural detail. She stepped carefully on the mossy bricks of the path that led to the front door, under an arbor draped in June roses in full bloom, and heard Jaz’s quick footsteps behind her.

      “Hey, this is great.”

      “Told you.” He handed her the key. Bliss slid it in the lock and swung the door open, instantly charmed by the simplicity of the décor and its airy color scheme.

      Jaz set her carry-on bag and laptop on an armchair and put his hands on his hips, looking a little awkward.

      Make that big and strong and sexy and a little awkward, she thought happily. He looked like he was waiting for her to make the next move. His gaze was fixed on her as she drifted around the room, making small talk, fiddling with the drapes, knowing that she had changed her mind about fooling around with him. Might be the wine. Maybe it was him. But she could. СКАЧАТЬ