Riding the Storm - Brenda Jackson [1]
He smiled and it was a smile that made her insides feel jittery. “I was here a couple of years ago and totally enjoyed myself,” he said.
She couldn’t help wondering if he’d come with a woman or if he’d made the trip with his brothers. Everyone who’d lived in the Atlanta area for an extended period of time was familiar with the Westmoreland brothers—Dare, Thorn, Stone, Chase and Storm. Their only sister, Delaney, who was the youngest of the siblings, had made news a couple years ago when she married a desert sheikh from the Middle East.
Dare Westmoreland was a sheriff in a suburb of Atlanta called College Park; Thorn was well-known nationally for the motorcycles he raced and built; Stone, who wrote under the pen name of Rock Mason, was a national bestselling author of action-thriller novels and Chase, Storm’s fraternal twin, owned a soul-food restaurant in downtown Atlanta.
“So how long do you plan on staying?” she asked.
“My meeting ended today. Like you, I plan on staying until Sunday to take in the sights and to eat my fill of Cajun food.”
His words had sounded so husky and sexy she could actually feel her throat tighten.
“How would you like to join me for dinner?”
Jayla blinked, not sure she had heard him correctly. “Excuse me?”
He gave her what had to be his Perfect Storm sexy smile. “I said how would you like to join me for dinner? I haven’t seen you since Adam’s funeral, and although we’ve talked briefly on the phone a couple of times since then, I’d love to sit and chat with you to see how you’ve been doing.”
A part of her flinched inside. His words reminded her of the promise he had made to her father before he’d died— that if she ever needed anything, he would be there for her. She didn’t relish the thought of another domineering man in her life, especially one who reminded her so much of her father. The reason Storm and Adam Cole had gotten along so well was because they’d thought a lot alike.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve already made plans for later,” she said, lying through her teeth.
It seemed that turning down his offer didn’t faze him one bit. He merely shrugged his shoulders before checking his watch. “All right, but if you change your mind give me a call. I’m in Room 536.”
“Thanks, I’ll do that.”
He looked at her and smiled. “It was good seeing you again, Jayla, and if you ever need anything don’t hesitate to call me.”
If he really believed she would call him, then he didn’t know her at all, Jayla quickly thought. Her father may have thought of Storm as a son, but she’d never considered him a brother. In her mind, he had been the guy who could make her all hot and bothered; the guy who was the perfect figment of a teenage girl’s imagination. He had been real, bigger than life and for two solid years before leaving Atlanta to attend college, he had been the one person who had consumed all of her thoughts.
When she returned home four years ago, she had still found him totally irresistible, but it didn’t take long to realize that he still wouldn’t give her the time of day.
“And it was good seeing you again, too, Storm. Just in case we don’t run into each other again while we’re here, I hope you have a safe trip back to Atlanta,” she said, hoping she sounded a lot more excited than she actually felt.
“And I ditto that for you,” he said. He surprised her when he grasped her fingers and held them firmly. She’d shivered for a second before she could stop herself. His touch had been like a shock. She couldn’t help noticing how strong his hand was, and his gaze was deep and intent.
She remembered another time their gazes had connected in such a way. It had been last year, when the men at the fire station had given her father a surprise birthday party. She distinctively remembered Storm standing across the room talking to someone and then suddenly turning, locking his gaze with hers as if he were actually seeing her for the first time. The episode had been brief, but