Moon over the Bay (Moonlit Nights) (5 page)

She slid off the counter and
straightened her clothes as she wiped her mouth. Would she really ever be able
to wipe away his kisses? She doubted it. Jess started to walk over to her purse
but Nathan stopped her.

“Hey, you can’t drive yet.” He
held his hand out to block her from leaving, but kept from touching her.

“I know. I’m going to call a
ride. It’ll be here in a few minutes. I’m going to use the rest room first if
that’s okay?” she asked. She quickly sent out a text and received a response in
seconds.

“Of course, you own it don’t
you?” Nathan swept his arm out toward the living room and hall. Was that
condescension she heard?

“Well yes, but not for long. I’m
selling to Kyle. Then you can live here for free too,” she stated
matter-of-factly as she grabbed her bag and walked away.

After shutting the bathroom door,
she took a few deep breaths and freshened up her make-up. No need for a report
that she looked sexed up to get back to her dad. Then there would be a
fifteen-point background check on Nathan. Those never ended well and she didn’t
need another lecture on attracting yet another gold digger, which she suspected
Nathan to be.

With a final glance in the
mirror, she walked back into the lounge room and found the front door open.
Nathan was sitting out by the fountain. He looked lost in thought, and by the
way his brow was furrowed it wasn’t good. He glanced up when she moved toward
the gate.

“Kyle told me about the plan. I’m
surprised you decided to sell. Wasn’t this a family thing?” He asked as he
opened the gate for her.

“It was, but honestly it’s been
more of hassle for me within the family than it’s been worth. I’d never sell it
normally, but it’s for Sadie. And there is a clause that if Kyle decides to
sell, I get first shot and below market. So I’m okay with it.” Jess threw on
her jacket as they waited for the car.

“You don’t have to take a cab. I
could drive you home in Sadie’s car,” Nathan said as he looked around the near
empty streets.

“It’s okay. I’m not taking a cab.
I called one of my dad’s drivers. See, there he is now.” Jess pointed at the
oncoming car.

Crap.
Please don’t be the
Bentley; please don’t be the Bentley
, she silently pleaded. Of course it
was the Bentley. Nathan whistled low as it came to a stop in front of them. The
driver hopped out as Nathan continued to drool.

She quickly climbed in and waved
before sitting back in the seat and closing her eyes. How was she going to face
him again in Chicago?

The last
couple of months had flown by for Jess, but they were finally in Chicago for
Sadie’s show. She tried to push a certain hunky actor out her mind while she organized,
planned, and navigated the largest opening of her and Sadie’s careers. It was a
bit daunting, but luckily she’d made some good contacts over the years and was
able to seek advice from seasoned agents.

She tried to ignore how much she
thought about him, but it was hard. Kyle was here every weekend now, and
somehow his name always came up. When she was settling all the travel
arrangements, she’d seen his name more often than she cared to. She also tried
to ignore the little flutter she felt when he’d first texted her about the
engagement surprise.

Jess and Kyle had finished all
the paperwork for the sale of her apartment building, and she’d arranged for
everything at the gallery to complete his plans for proposing to Sadie. It was
ridiculously romantic and she was deeply envious. Right now her job was to
distract Sadie and help her get ready before they left for the show earlier
than planned. Jess was slipping into her new stilettos when Sadie walked out of
the closet fully dressed.

“Holy hotness, Jess! You look
amazing!” Jess blushed at the compliment. It was a sleeveless silk dress in
gray with a plunging neckline, and it fit her perfectly. She hadn’t picked this
dress with anyone in mind. Nope. Not at all. Maybe the shoes.

“Thank you. You look stunning,
Sadie. I adore the blue silk on you. It matches your eyes perfectly,” Jess awed
and then sent a quick text to Mr. Hottie that they were leaving in ten minutes.

“Hey, do you think we could leave
a few minutes early? I want to do a run through at the gallery and make sure
everything is perfect. I’ve had a few messages about things I need to fix.”
Jess hoped the lie worked.

“Sure, let me grab my purse. What
about the guys?” Sadie asked, fixing her lipstick before packing it away.

“I’ll text Nathan and tell him
we’re leaving a few minutes early. We’ll send the limo back to get them.” Jess
was texting they were leaving to Nathan.

“So you and Nathan, huh? Is that
who the dress is for?” Sadie wiggled her eyebrows like she was a cartoon
character. Jess couldn’t help but giggle as they made their way outside.

“Please! While I admit he is the
hottest man I’ve ever seen in person, he’s not my type. I don’t go for the
one-nighters, and I most definitely don’t go for the playboys looking for a
free ride. Been there, done that,” Jess said as they climbed into the limo that
was parked at the front of the hotel.

“I think you’d be really
surprised if you got to know Nathan better. I know him well enough to know he
had a rough time starting out but turned his life around. And, if it weren’t
for Nathan, Kyle would’ve never found me or even survived college. That says a
lot about the man.” Sadie patted Jess’s leg then smiled.

“Plus, other than Kyle, he is
most definitely the second-hottest man ever. The commercial he was in a few
years ago, the shirtless one?” Sadie started fanning herself.

“Don’t I know it,” Jess murmured
as memories of touching those abs flooded her senses again. Her poor BOB was on
its last limb.

When the limo started to slow as
it reached the gallery, Jess took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.
Hopefully she could spend the next twenty minutes with Nathan while Kyle
proposed in the gallery and not make a fool of herself.

That was of course until the limo
door opened and there was the sex god himself in a tuxedo. Trying not to
swallow her own tongue, she climbed out and watched as Nathan’s gaze raked over
her. She felt her skin tingle as his eyes devoured her. Recovering her
composure, she winked at Kyle before walking over to Nathan, and they watched as
Kyle led Sadie by the hand into the gallery. Sadie was looking around with a
puzzled look on her face, probably wondering why Kyle and Nathan would already
be there. Nathan held out his arm for her to take, and they walked down the
street to the closest coffee shop.

_____

Holy hell, he was going to die.
Nathan was a man of many words, yet he couldn’t think of any at the moment.
He’d never seen anyone look as gorgeous as Jess did all dressed up.

As they walked down the street,
Nathan glanced at Jess. Her silvery-gray dress with purple accessories made her
eyes stand out even more than usual. The deep neckline had him fighting to keep
his eyes forward. If he hadn’t known better, he might have thought she chose
the same color palette as the one she wore that night they kissed as a reminder
to him.

Not that he needed a reminder of
that night. He’d never forget her dejected look as he pulled away. Or the sad
wave she gave before she left him on the street. Jess was all wrong for him,
but he couldn’t help but want her.
He didn’t want to want her so badly, but it was now to
the point of distraction.

He hadn’t been to a casting call
since he came back from that weekend in San Francisco. Luckily, his graphics
clients had sent several large accounts his direction, which keep him busy
enough to not care so much about the fact that he had no acting jobs. But as
busy as he was, he’d randomly catch a scent that would remind him of her. The
warm and irresistible vanilla and brown sugar smell that would take him back to
that night and remind him of her breathy sounds. Nathan had even gone as far as
to go on a date with another redhead, in hopes of washing away her lingering
presence. His attempt was in vain, as he spent the whole night comparing the
new girl with Jess and was left let down.

They stepped into the coffee shop
at the corner of the block and took a seat at a table. Nathan ordered an
espresso, and Jess ordered tea. Her foot twitched, and she wrung her hands; he
could tell she was nervous about the show.

“So, how have you been, Jess?”
Nathan asked as he sipped his coffee. They had a few minutes to kill before
they needed to walk back for the opening. Kyle promised there would be no hanky
panky in the gallery.

“Thankfully, incredibly busy.
This show is a very big deal, so I’ve been trying to make sure everything is
perfect,” Jess said as she cupped her tea and blew the steam.

“I’m sure it’s going to be
fantastic. You did everything on your list, right?” Nathan said playfully as he
smirked at her.

“Yes, I did. I might be anal
about my lists, but they are helpful and I rarely forget things,” she huffed
back at him.

“So you’re saying you haven’t
forgotten our dinner in the courtyard? Or that you’re wearing the same color
gray I complimented you about?” He smiled at her from behind his cup. He
enjoyed watching her fidget in her seat.

“It’s purely coincidental. I have
a lot of gray items in my closet. I like the way it looks on me.” Jess flushed
an adorable pink color.

“I don’t believe it was
happenstance you wore those same shades, but I really love the way it looks on
you too,” he commented, looking at her admiringly.

“Th-thank you,” she stammered and
to hide from his gaze, glanced down at her watch. “We should head back now, the
show will be starting soon.” Jess gulped down her tea and started to reach into
her purse. Nathan grabbed her hand and tossed down enough money for both of
their beverages. Her brow furrowed before she stood, and they headed back.

Back at the gallery, Jess quickly
found Sadie. They squealed as they hugged each other tightly before Jess oohed
and ahhed over Sadie’s engagement ring. Envy sliced through Jess, but she
shoved it down. It was her best friend’s night, and she couldn’t be more
ecstatic that Sadie was getting her happily ever after.

Jess engrossed herself with work
as the evening progressed, but she couldn’t help but notice Nathan never
strayed too far from her. It was impossible for her not to notice him and the
way he looked in his tux, or how every woman in the gallery eyed him like a piece
of meat. It should be illegal to look that good in a tuxedo. The black was a
stark contrast to his sun-streaked hair and sky-blue eyes. He was simply
stunning and everyone in the room knew it, including him.

Yet he didn’t wear the sentiment
as arrogance but more like a subtle confidence. This, of course, made the
overall effect more devastating to a pathetic lovelorn woman like herself. Jess
sighed heavily as she noticed yet another super-model type check out Nathan. He
laughed at something the woman said in conversation. He had an ease about him
that made it possible for him to talk to anyone about anything. She assumed
being an actor, and so outgoing, gave him the ability to slip into different
personas effortlessly.

Nathan chose that moment to look
up and caught Jess watching him. He flashed her a smile that sent shivers up
her spine and made her nipples tighten. His eyes dropped to her chest and his
smile changed from sweet and open, to sexy and smoldering in an instant. He
turned back to his conversation for a moment before walking away.
Please
don’t come over here
, she thought. Her nerves were on edge, and she didn’t
want to deal with Nathan the predator.

Her chant fell on deaf ears
though; he walked up to her. But instead of crowding her from the front like
she expected, he stepped right behind her. Since he towered over her, she
wasn’t impeding his view of the room or the artwork.

“Gorgeous, you keep eating me up
with your eyes like that and we are going to have to make an early exit,” he
murmured just loud enough for Jess to hear. She gasped, and to her dismay the
bastard walked away.

Jess moved around the room, and
wherever she was, Nathan was close by. He’d sometimes join her conversations,
or stay close enough to be included in introductions. But the worst thing was
how he touched her. He’d place his hand on the small of her back or graze her
hand as he handed her a drink. His touch was like electricity pulsating through
her body.
Her nerves felt as if they were on fire, and she was incredibly
aroused. It made concentrating damn near impossible.

_____

Nathan was dying in this monkey
suit. He usually didn’t mind wearing a tux, but right now his skin felt
stretched, and he was being choked by his bow tie. All he wanted to do was peel
the dress off Jess and lick her from head to toe. Thoughts like that did not
help as he willed away yet another erection. Whenever he glanced at Jess, all
he saw was her flushed face and her constant stares in his direction. He’d
purposely made an effort to put his hands on her whenever possible. Jess’s
delightfully naughty comments at the coffee shop all those months ago had
piqued Nathan’s interest in her. Each time they met he was more drawn to her.
Shit, he really needed to get over her. Maybe getting her under him was what
Nathan really needed.

The problems with scratching this
particular itch were still the same as they were in San Francisco, the night
he’d come to his senses and stopped things from going too far. He looked over
at Kyle and Sadie and watched as they gazed into each other’s eyes and laughed.
Jess was Sadie’s best friend, agent, and previous landlord. Their lives
couldn’t be more entwined. Upsetting Sadie by using Jess, whether intentional
or not, could result in Nathan losing his own best friend.

But now, watching Jess at work,
there was something about her—maybe her confident attitude—that led
him to believe she could handle a brief fling.
If they were both open and
honest about what they wanted from each other and weren’t looking for anything
serious, maybe they could work out this attraction they shared. From the looks
of it, she had the same itch Nathan had, and hopefully she was up for the idea
of scratching it together.

As the show started to wind down,
Nathan’s brain was formulating a plan.

“Hey, man, thanks for the help
earlier,” Kyle slapped him on the back. Nathan looked away from a large
photograph of a man’s naked back with a woman dragging her clawed fingers
downward. It was a gorgeous display of raw passion that few knew was of Kyle
and Sadie.

“No problem, buddy. I’m damn
happy for you, and from the looks of all those sold signs, there is a lot more
to celebrate isn’t there?” Nathan smirked. Almost every piece hanging on the
walls had a big red “Sold” sign on it. Seemed that Chicago loved Sadie.

“It appears that way. Sadie is
over the moon,” Kyle snorted at the reference.

“Why don’t you guys take the limo
back to the hotel? Jess and I can catch our own ride. You guys should be
alone,” Nathan offered. They turned to admire the women as they talked with a
couple about one of the photographs on display.

“All right, that works. By the
way, I saw the way you two have been looking at each other all night.” Kyle
smirked before glancing back at Jess.

“Well, you know I was never one
to resist a pretty face. But don’t worry; Jess and I are cool. You guys head
out. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“Better make it afternoon.” Kyle
laughed as he walked off toward his fiancé.

Nathan headed toward the back of
the gallery where Jess was now busy tapping away on her phone as she spoke to
the person he assumed was the gallery manager. He leaned against the closest
pillar to wait for her.