Trouble (B-Squad 2.75)

She was half turned toward the camera, the sun behind her left shoulder and giving her dark hair an angelic cast as it tangled around her head in a breeze he could almost feel. With the ocean at her back and the half smile on her face, she looked…happy. She’d been hotter than hell as a blond. With her natural dark hair, she was downright stunning.

He spent one useless minute wondering if a boyfriend had taken the picture before Jake made himself set it aside. He should reject her request. She obviously didn’t know that he owned Diamond Dates or she wouldn’t have tried to use it to book a date. If she realized, she’d be humiliated, even if he was the only person who knew it happened.

While he considered his options, he scanned the info the search had brought up. A few unpaid parking tickets, an address that was right on the beach, and a job she’d worked at for five years. An insurance company. He pulled up a new tab and Googled the name, and then huffed out a laugh. He hadn’t realized that a person could insure their individual body parts. “Only in LA.”

What the fuck was he going to do about this?

Even as the thought crossed his mind, a plan formed. Jake shook his head, a rueful grin taking root. Apparently he wasn’t as above petty revenge as he’d thought. He wouldn’t reject Jessica’s bid. He wouldn’t be sending one of his guys to meet her, either. Even after all this time, Jake couldn’t stand the thought of seeing her with someone else, even knowing it’d be fake.

No, he’d be the one waiting for Jessica when she got off that plane.

And then?

Well, then they’d see how things fell out.