I eyed her face, her approval telling me we also had that in common.
“My clients have acquisitions all over the world. They need me on the ground, assessing the land, helping with the construction, endlessly negotiating every contract. It works perfectly for me. I don’t spend that much time behind my desk; therefore, I don’t have time to get restless.”
“What’s your endgame?” She twirled a long piece of hair between her fingers. “I mean, will you be going at a hundred miles per hour forever?”
I shrugged. “Until I get bored. Then, I’m sure I’ll find something else to occupy me. Maybe that will be travel.”
“You say that … because you haven’t fallen in love yet.”
There was so much seriousness in her eyes.
In her lips.
I couldn’t hide the laugh; it took over my face, my chest.
Dominick had lived the same life as me until he met Kendall.
He fell in love, and everything changed.
He’d become the person he’d sworn he’d never be.
Will that happen to me?
Even though I considered spending more time with Jo and I’d thought about her nonstop since meeting her in Vegas—more than any other woman—I couldn’t see it.
I didn’t care how enticing she was.
“How do you know I’ve never been in love?”
She chewed that lip, the bottom one that I loved to suck. “I can tell.”
As she was about to elaborate, the waitress came to our table and asked what we wanted to drink.
“Does red work for you?” I asked Jo.
She nodded. “Sounds delicious.”
I ordered one of their highest-priced cabernets and handed the waitress the wine menu.
As soon as we were alone again, Jo said, “Listen, I consider myself a pretty observant person, but you don’t have to be into detail to see how independent you are. That tells me you were either in the wrong relationship that kept you tied down and prevented you from exploring, and that’s why you can’t stop now, or you haven’t found a bird to be caged with.” She tilted her head while she stared at me. “I suspect it’s the latter.”
Air came huffing out of my lungs. “Jesus …” There was something so fucking sexy to be under her microscope. “You’re not wrong.”
“I know.” She winked. “I was just trying to be nice with my first guess.”
I chuckled.
She had an adorable sense of humor.
Kind but honest.
I liked that.
Nah, I fucking loved that.
“You know what’s interesting, Jenner?” She took a drink of her water. “You’re not looking for a relationship, you don’t want to be tied down, yet you’re here, with me, just a day after returning from Vegas.” She moved all her hair to one side, the locks hanging well past her tit. “I must be one lucky girl. Not only did I get you for a week in Vegas while you were with your friends and brothers, but now, I also have you for three nights while you’re in Florida.”
I thought about every word she’d said.
I processed each one.
And as they resonated, I learned something.
Jo was right.
I didn’t need three nights with my client. I extended the trip to give me more time with her. And as soon as I’d found out about Miami, I’d called her—the hesitation hadn’t lasted for more than a few seconds.
“Jo …”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I brought Bordeaux glasses,” the waitress said, her approach cutting me off, placing the long-stemmed glasses in front of us.
“Not at all,” I voiced. “It’s what I prefer.”
She showed me the bottle, earning herself a nod, and then she began the process of opening the top and pouring a sample.
But the entire time, my eyes were on Jo.
And as soon as the waitress filled our glasses and left, I held mine toward the center of the table. “To more time together.”
Jo smiled. “Interesting … I’ll cheers to that.”
We both took a drink, and she placed her wine on the table, holding the stem between her fingers, twirling the thick rod so the dark liquid sloshed against the sides.
“I want to know what you like to do, Jo. Where you want to visit. The things you dream of when you close your eyes.”
“Hmm. Good questions.” She paused, her face a mix of thoughts. “I like to see things I’ve never witnessed before. Things that take me by surprise. That make me smile. That make me cry.”
“You want to cry? I don’t think I’ve ever heard a woman say that before.”
She leaned in closer. “I want to be rendered so speechless that I only have tears to shed.”
“Has that happened?”