Riding the Storm (38 page)

talking
he
wouldn’t
have
to
worry
about
visions
of
Jayla
intruding.
“The
main
reason
Ian’s
coming
is
because
you
asked
him
to,
but
there’s
another
reason.”

Tara
lifted
her
brow.
“And
what
reason
is
that?”

A
grin
appeared
on
Storm’s
face.
“He
figures
there
will
be
a
lot
of
pretty,
single
women
in
attendance.”

Tara
shook
her
head
smiling,
finally
getting
the
picture.

“Well,
I’m
sure
there
will
be
plenty
of
single
women
there

since
eleven
of
the
men
who
posed
for
the
calendar
are
still
single.
Thorn
is
the
only
one
who
has
gotten
married
since
those
photos
were
taken.”

Something
suddenly
pulled
at
Storm’s
memory.
He

remembered
Jayla
mentioning
that
she
would
be
meeting
Tara
for
lunch
the
Tuesday
after
returning
to
work.
Unless

those
plans
had
changed,
that
meant
the
two
of
them
would
be
meeting
tomorrow.
There
was
no
way
he
could
ask
Tara
about
it
without
her
wondering
how
he’d
known.
But
if
they
were
to
meet
tomorrow
for
lunch
and
if
he
knew
where,
he
could
unexpectedly
drop
by
and
pretend
that
he’d
been
in
the
area.
For
some
reason
he
wanted
to
see
Jayla
again
and
if
they
accidentally
ran
into
each
other,
she
wouldn’t

think
he
had
intentionally
sought
her
out…although
in

essence,
he
would
be
doing
just
that.

“So,
Tara,
how
about
if
I
took
you,
Madison
and
Shelly
to

lunch
tomorrow?”
he
suggested.
He
knew
Dare’s
wife

Shelly
hadn’t
returned
from
visiting
her
parents
in
Florida,
Stone’s
wife
Madison
would
be
leaving
with
Stone

tomorrow
on
a
book-signing
trip
to
Kansas
City,
and
if
Tara
had
made
other
plans
for
lunch
then
he
would
find
out
soon
enough.

“Thanks,
Storm,
that’s
really
sweet
of
you,
but
Shelly
and

Madison
will
be
out
of
town
and
besides
I
already
have
a
lunch
date.
I’m
meeting
with
a
woman
who’s
working
with
me
on
the
charity
benefit.
Her
company
has
agreed
to
pick
up
the
tab
for
all
the
food
and
drinks
that
night.”

Bingo.
He
was
suddenly
beginning
to
feel
pretty
good
now.
Confident.
Cocky.
Smug.
He
straightened
from
leaning

against
the
post.
“Oh,
that’s
too
bad.
Where
are
you

going?”

Tara
lifted
a
brow.
“Excuse
me?”

He
inhaled
slowly,
knowing
he
couldn’t
appear
too

inquisitive.
The
last
thing
he
needed
was
for
Tara
to
get

suspicious
of
anything.
“I
asked
where
are
you
going
for

lunch?
It
might
be
a
place
where
I’ve
eaten
before.
Perhaps
I
can
tell
you
whether
the
food
and
service
are
good.”

Tara
smiled.
“Trust
me,
I
know
you’ve
eaten
at
this
place
plenty
of
times
and
can
definitely
vouch
for
the
food
and
service
being
the
best.
My
lunch
date
left
it
up
to
me
to

select
a
place
and
although
I
haven’t
told
her
yet,
I’m
going
to
suggest
that
we
have
lunch
at
Chase’s
Place.”

His
heart
suddenly
did
a
back
flip
and
his
mouth
curved
into
a
huge
smile.
Things
couldn’t
have
worked
out
better
if
he
was
planning
things
himself.
Tara
was
taking
Jayla
to
his

brother’s
restaurant,
a
place
where
he
ate
lunch
on
a

regular
basis,
so
it
wouldn’t
seem
out
of
the
ordinary
if
he

showed
up
there
tomorrow.
“I
think
that’s
a
wonderful

choice.”

She
shook
her
head
smiling
and
before
she
could
say

anything,
Thorn’s
loud
voice
roared
through
the
air.
“Storm,
get
back
in
here
if
you’re
in
this
game,
and
you
better
not
be
out
there
kissing
my
wife.”

Storm
laughed.
“He’s
a
jealous
kind
of
fellow,
isn’t
he?”
he
asked,
taking
Tara’s
hand
as
they
walked
back
inside

She
grinned
and
he
could
see
her
entire
face
light
up
with
absolute
love
for
his
brother.
“Yes,
but
I
wouldn’t
have
him
any
other
way.”

“Chase’s
Place?”
Jayla
asked,
making
sure
she
had
heard
correctly.

“Yes,”
Tara
said
brightly
on
the
other
end
of
the
phone.
“It’s
a
soul-food
restaurant
that’s
owned
by
my
brother-in-law