The Kincaids: New Money. Jennifer Lewis

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СКАЧАТЬ She turned and went to sit at her desk. She was always the first person in each morning. She liked to get her in-box dealt with before the phones started ringing.

      Brooke checked her email, then pulled the mail from her tray and started to sort through it. But her eyes kept straying to the closed door. Was he still upset about his mom being jailed? Who wouldn’t be? He could probably use a coffee and some breakfast.

      She rose from her chair and approached the door again. She inhaled deeply and raised her hand—and the door opened.

      The polite greeting she’d rehearsed fled her lips at the sight of RJ. She’d expected him to look rumpled and tired, but he didn’t. Well groomed and wearing a perfectly pressed suit, he looked every inch the business titan his rivals feared.

      “Morning, Brooke.” His eyes twinkled with amusement.

      “Morning.” The word burst out fast and loud. Somehow he seemed even more gorgeous than usual. Maybe because she knew just how his mouth tasted in a kiss. She struggled to drag her mind back to practical matters. “Did you sleep okay?”

      “I slept very well under the circumstances.” He leaned against the door frame, eyes resting on her face. “It wasn’t easy sleeping alone after that kiss.” His deep blue eyes smoldered and his hushed tones carried more than a hint of suggestion.

      Brooke bit her lip to stop a huge smile creeping across it. “For me either.” Her admission was a relief. He wasn’t trying to forget the kiss ever happened. “I’m glad you’re feeling better this morning.”

      “I took your advice to heart. No sense weakening under pressure when I need all my energy to fight. Onwards and upwards, Brooke.”

      “That’s the spirit.” She let the big goofy smile widen her mouth. This was the RJ she’d grown to know and love. “What’s first on the agenda this morning?”

      He tilted his head slightly and lowered his voice. “The first thing on my agenda is to secure a date for tonight.”

      Brooke’s heart almost stopped. Did he mean with her, or did he intend for her to call some strange woman and…

      “Are you free after work this evening?”

      “Yes,” she stammered. “Yes, I am.” How cool. Oh well, not like she had an image as a seductress to uphold.

      “I’ll make reservations and will pick you up at your place at seven-thirty.”

      “Great.” Already her mind spun with worries about what to wear. Her cherished collection of business suits would be too stuffy for dinner and she didn’t have that many—

      “I’m off to a meeting and I’ve left a pile of items in your inbox.”

      “Great.” Apparently that was the only word left in her vocabulary. “See you later,” she called, as he swept into the elevator.

      A date with RJ. Tonight. And she didn’t even have to make the reservation! But she did still have to go through his correspondence and coordinate his schedule, just like any other day.

      She felt as if she was stepping onto a board of chutes and ladders. Three steps forward and dinner with RJ leads up the tall ladder! What next? Would she roll a five and plunge to estrangement and unemployment at the bottom of a chute?

      With no idea what kind of restaurant RJ would choose, Brooke decided to go smart-casual. She donned a floral patterned dress she’d never worn to work and a cute cashmere shrug she’d found in a boutique walking home from work one day. Her hair was shiny, her complexion clear for once and except for the heightened redness in her cheeks she looked pretty darn good!

      Still, she jumped when the doorbell rang. She’d never given RJ her address, but no doubt he could just look in her personnel file. She drew in a breath as she walked across the living room to open the door.

      “Hi.” She felt yet another huge goofy grin spread across her face at the sight of RJ, several inches larger than life, as always, standing right there on her doorstep. “Won’t you come in?” She’d spent at least an hour cleaning the place to within an inch of its life.

      “Sure.” He smiled, and stepped inside.

      “Would you like a martini?” She knew he loved them.

      “Why not?” RJ managed to look both classic and hip in a jacket that hung elegantly from his broad shoulders, and loose khakis. He often had the air of an old-time matinee idol, which perfectly matched his bold, aristocratic features and easy confidence. Right now she felt like his leading lady, since her dress had a vintage flair to it.

      She mixed the martinis and poured them into long-stemmed glasses while RJ complimented her place.

      “Thanks, I like it here.” She’d lived in the two-bedroom condo near Colonial Lake for five years now and was proud of how she’d decorated it. A mix of timeless pieces and funky touches that reflected her personality. “I’m renting right now but I hope the owner will sell to me when the lease is up.” As long as I still have a job by then. She smiled and handed him the drink. “Bottoms up.”

      RJ raised his glass. “I never know which end will be up lately.” He took a sip, and nodded his head in approval. “You look gorgeous.” His gaze lingered on her face, then drifted to her neck, and she became agonizingly conscious of the hint of cleavage her dress revealed.

      “Thanks.” She tried not to blush. “You don’t look too bad, either.” He’d obviously taken the time to go home and change after work, which touched her. She knew how often he headed out to dinner straight from the office.

      “I clean up okay.” He shot her a sultry look. “I’m glad to do something fun for a change. Lately I feel like I’m running from crisis to crisis, either in the company or in the family.”

      “Crisis-free here.” She offered him a plate of tiny puff pastries she’d picked up on her way home. “Want something to nibble?”

      “Why, sure.” His eyes rested on her face for a second longer than was entirely polite. All the parts of her body that never knew how much they wanted to be nibbled by RJ started to hum and tingle. Then he took a pastry, put it in his mouth and chewed.

      Brooke quickly swallowed one herself. She could see his gleaming black Porsche parked outside. She’d never ridden in it before as he used a more practical Audi sedan for work. She could imagine the neighbors whispering and peering through their miniblinds. “Where are we going for dinner?”

      “A new place just off King Street. It’s a grill, of sorts, with a Low Country twist to it. A friend told me it’s the best food he’s eaten in ages.”

      “Sounds great, but isn’t that kind of central? What if people see us together?” It probably wasn’t the best idea for them to hang out right in the historic district. She’d assumed he’d pick somewhere discreet and out of the way.

      “People see us together every day. Let them assume what they like.”

      Was he implying that this evening meant nothing so there was no need to worry if anyone saw?

      The steady heat in his gaze suggested otherwise. If she didn’t know better she’d suspect he could see right through her dress.

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