Back at the bar, Jack thanked the bartender, tipped him and, as he was about to leave with drinks in hand, a sultry female voice whispered, “What a small world, Jack.”
Preoccupied with thoughts of Keely, he hadn’t noticed the sexy blonde slink up to him.
But he recognized the voice and turned to face its owner. “Is it now?” he asked, his gaze sweeping her from head to toe. Everything was still perfect, from her sculpted features to her long neck and playmate body. “Hello, Tayra. You’re looking great, as always. How are you?”
Her eyes glittered. “I’m much better after seeing you.”
“Really…?” Jack glanced in Keely’s direction. She saw them, knew exactly who Jack was talking to and, Jack guessed, didn’t know what to do.
Jack turned back to Tayra, aware of Keely’s shock, but proceeded anyway.
“Oh come on, Jack. I know you can do way better than that,” Tayra added with malice.
“I could,” was Jack’s lazy response, “but your husband might get mad.”
Tayra licked her lips. Jack sipped his drink. “Rupert’s not here tonight,” she told him, her
greedy eyes flicking across his face and body appreciatively, letting him know just what she wanted. “He had a previous engagement. Are you here alone?”
“No, he is not.”
Both he and Tayra looked up. It was Jack’s turn
to be surprised to find Keely standing in front of them.
“Jack came with me, Tayra, and he is leaving with me,” Keely ground out, giving Tayra the fierce look of a tribal princess staking claim on her prince. “So step off!”
Tayra arched a brow. “You came with him? Oh my. This is just too precious. Keely, Keely, Keely,” she tsked, and laughed. “We’ll see who leaves with whom. You see, sunshine, Jack and I go back a long way.”
Keely could not believe what she was hearing. Oh, she’d expected to see Tayra here tonight.
She’d even expected to be civil when she finally stood up for herself against the beautiful, powerful Tayra Lipscomb.
She hadn’t expected the possessiveness that gnawed through her stomach as Tayra talked to Jack—eyeing him like an éclair she couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into.
Jack having a history with Tayra was even worse.
Keely looked at them, unable to hide her hurt. She knew that their knowledge of each other included each other’s bodies.
Her pained gaze twisted to Jack’s calm face. “Is this true?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said.
Keely felt an invisible knife sink into her back. “After all that I told you,” she whispered, and
trembled, “you brought me here for this?”
He nodded and said, “This, and one other thing—”
Unable to bear another strike, Keely raised her hand in silent plea to stop him from saying more. Her moment of reckoning had arrived.
Boy, he was good, and she was the stupidest woman on the planet. “No. I don’t want to know. You
two are perfect for each other—”
“Keely Lei St. John,” Jack scolded gently, “is that any way to talk to the man who loves you—your future husband?”
Keely blinked. Oh God, she thought. I’ve not only created dual personalities, I’m hearing things, too.
“What?” she and Tayra asked at the same time. Jack took Keely’s cold hand, pulled her close,
and turned to Tayra, whose eyes sparked with outrage.
“Jack, you can’t be serious! You just don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!”
“I know, and I can’t wait, Tayra. I brought Keely here because I knew you’d be here. I knew you’d see me and, just like the last time, you’d hit on me. And,” he added coldly, “just like the last time, you’d be turned down flat.”
Keely’s thoughts spun, watching Tayra’s eyes widen at each word Jack uttered with calm, cruel precision.
“I also wanted the pleasure of telling you that if you ever fuck with Keely again, you and Rupert will both live to regret it.”
“R-Rupert?” Tayra parroted.
Jack’s teeth bared as he repeated the other man’s name. “Rupert. My former best friend. My best man. The world’s biggest ass.”
“What would you have to say to Rupert?” Tayra demanded, recovering quickly. “I haven’t done anything to you—”
“Biggest understatement of the year, sunshine,” Jack said.
Best friend? Best man? Keely wondered what Tayra had done to him, how they’d met, how long they’d known each other, how often they’d had sex, which just made her more mad.
“And make no mistake, Lipscomb Hotels can’t handle a stalking and harassment scandal that involves the wife of its CEO. Lipscomb money can’t buy you out of that jam, Tayra.” Jack squeezed Keely’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Neither looked back as they left the party.
Jack led Keely out to his car and held the door open for her. She got in, avoiding his eyes. He looked dark. Furious.
“Are you okay?” she asked when they were away from the Pandanus, gliding easily in the Jag on the upcountry roads away from Honolulu’s city lights.
“Just peachy.”
“I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me about you and Tayra,” she said, choking on the woman’s name.
“She’s my ex-fiancée.” “What happened?”
“Left me at the altar when she found someone who had more money than I did.”
“Rupert Lipscomb?” Jack nodded.
Keely rested her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. He’d been deceived before, and what she did to him was no better.
His past…it explained so much about him and his lack of interest in pursuing deeper relationships. “Do you still have feelings for her, Jack?”
“No.” The flat, immediate reply reflected his disinterest. At the house, he parked alongside the curb, turned the key, and shut the engine off. The action made her heart skip. Would he want to stay? She turned to him and felt his hunger for her ripple to her very soul.
She sighed, and knew she was going to have to
ask.
“Would you like to come up, Jack? I’ve got
nothing to offer-just moonlight and pearls…”
He answered by cupping her chin in his hand and placing a delicious, minty kiss on her lips. “I did promise you dinner, didn’t I?”
She smiled into his eyes. “We can start with dessert…”