Tall, Dark_.Westmoreland! - Brenda Jackson [3]
“You’re amused,” she said, taking a sip of her punch but wishing she had something a little stronger.
Whoever he was, he was certainly someone worth getting to know, even if she was returning to Paris in a few months. That made it all the more plausible. It had taken her two years to get on full-time at the Louvre, and the hard work was just beginning. Once she returned, she would be working long hours, with little time to get her painting done. That was why she had brought her paints to Atlanta with her. She was determined to capture something worthwhile on canvas while she was here. The man sitting beside her would be the perfect subject.
“Flattered more than amused,” he said, his voice reaching out and actually touching her, although she barely registered his words in her mind, because she was too busy watching the way his mouth moved. Sensuously slow.
She couldn’t help wondering who he was. She had been gone from Atlanta a long time. After high school she had attended Pratt Institute in New York before doing her graduate work at the Art Institute of Boston. From there she had made the move to Paris, after landing a job as a tour professional, a glorified name for a tour guide.
He had to be around her brother Terrence’s age, or maybe a year or so younger. She wondered if he would give her his real name, or if he would stick to the rules and play this silly little game the coordinators of the ball had come up with. His name badge said Jack Sprat. No wonder he was in such fine shape, she thought. Even in the tuxedo he was wearing, she saw broad, muscular shoulders and a nice solid chest. All muscles. Definitely no fat.
“So, Jack,” she said, smiling at him the same way he was smiling at her. “What is such a nice guy like you doing at a boring party like this?”
He chuckled, and the sound sent goose bumps over her body. “Waiting to meet you so we can start having some fun.” He glanced at her name badge. “Wonder Woman.”
The smile that touched the corners of her mouth widened. She liked him already. “Well, trust me when I say, it’s a wonder that I’m here at all. I really want to be someplace else, but I promised the person who paid for this ticket that I’d come in his place. And since it’s all for charity, and for such a good cause, I decided to at least make an appearance.”
“I’m glad you did.”
And Reggie meant it. He’d thought she had a beautiful pair of lips from afar, but now he had a chance to really study them up close. They were a pair he would never forget. They were full, shapely, and had luscious-looking dips at the corners. She had them covered in light lip gloss, which was perfect; any color would detract from their modish structure.
“We’ve exchanged names, and I’m glad to make your acquaintance, Jack,” she said, presenting her hand to him.
He grinned. “Likewise, Wonder.”
The moment their hands touched, he felt it and knew that she did, too. Her fingers quivered on his, and for some reason, he could not release her hand. That realization unnerved him. No woman had ever had this kind of effect on him before, not in all his thirty-two years.
“Are you from Atlanta?”
Her voice, soft and filled with Southern charm, reclaimed his attention.
“Yes, born and raised right here,” he said, reluctantly releasing her hand. “What about you?”
“Same here,” she said, looking at him as if she could see through his mask. “Why haven’t we met before?”
He smiled. “How do you know that we haven’t?”
Her chuckle came easily. “Trust me. I would remember if we had. You’re the type of man a woman couldn’t easily forget.”
“Hey, that’s my line. You stole it,” he said jokingly.
“I’ll give it back to you if you take me away from here.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute but just sat there studying her face. And then he asked, “Are you sure you want to go off with me?”
She managed another smile.