Riding the Storm - Brenda Jackson [7]
Jayla lifted a brow. “What?”
“Gambling. You’d be surprised how many people have money they figure is worth losing if there’s a chance that they might win more.”
Jayla could believe that. A couple of years ago, she and Lisa had taken a trip to Vegas and had seen first hand just how hungry to win some people were.
When there was another lull in the conversation, she turned away from him to look out over the river once more. It was peaceful, nothing like the tempest that was raging through her at the moment. Storm had kept his word. She’d had more fun today with him than she’d had in a long time. He possessed a fun-loving attitude that had spilled over to her. There were times when he had shared a joke with her that had her laughing so hard she actually thought something inside her body would break. It had felt good to laugh, and she was glad she’d been able to laugh with him.
She tried to think of the last time she had laughed with a man and recalled that it had been with her father. Even during his final days, when she’d known that pain had racked his body, he’d been able to tell a good joke every now and then. She heaved a small sigh. She missed her father so much. Because he had kept such a tight rein on her, she had been a rebellious teen while growing up. It was only when she’d returned from college that she had allowed herself to form that special father-daughter relationship with him.
After his death, at the encouragement of the officials at the hospice facility, she had gone through grief counseling and was glad she had. It had helped to let go and move on. One of the biggest decisions she’d been forced to make was whether to sell her parents’ home and move into a smaller place. After much soul-searching, she had made a decision to move. She loved her new home and knew once she had her baby, it wouldn’t be as lonely as it was now. She was getting excited again just thinking about it.
“So what are your plans for later?”
Storm’s question invaded her thoughts and she tipped her head to look over at him. “My plans for later?”
“Yes. Yesterday, I invited you to join me for dinner and you turned me down, saying you’d already made plans. Today, I’m hoping to ask early enough so that I’ll catch you before you make other arrangements.”
Jayla sighed. She knew her mind needed a reality check, but she wasn’t ready to give it one. Spending the day with Storm had been nice; it had been fun and definitely what she’d needed. But she didn’t need to spend her evening with him as well. The only thing the two of them had in common was the fact they both loved and respected her father. That would be the common link they would always share. But spending more time with Storm would only reawaken all those old feelings of attraction she had always had for him.
She took off her sunglasses, met his gaze directly and immediately wished she hadn’t. His eyes were dark, so dark you could barely see the pupils. The jolt that passed through her was so startling she had to remind herself to breathe.
“I was wondering when you were going to stop hiding behind these,” he said, taking the sunglasses out of her hand when she was about to put them back on. He gave her a cocky smile. “But I didn’t mind you checking me out.”
Jayla couldn’t hide the blush that darkened her cheeks. Nor could she resist easing her lips into a smile. So he’d known she had been looking him over. “I guess it probably gets rather annoying to you after a while, doesn’t it?”
He arched a brow. “What?”
“Women constantly checking you out.”
He smiled again. “Not really. Usually I beat them to the punch and check them out, so by the time they decide they’re interested, I know whether or not I am.”
A grin tilted the corners of Jayla’s lips. “Umm, such arrogance.” She took her sunglasses from him and put them back on, preferring her shield.
“Instead of arrogance, I see it as not wasting time,” he said simply. “I guess you can say I weed out those who won’t make the cut.”
Jayla sighed deeply and struggled