A_Little_Harmless_Fascination (3 page)

“Have you talked to Maura today?”

He shook his head. “I have a feeling I will soon. She’s
being a little overprotective.”

She laughed as she rolled to a stop behind a tour van. “Yeah,
I have no idea where she got that from.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She snorted and put the jeep in gear as the light turned
green. “You were a bit...overbearing in college.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I was in my sophomore year, and Maura was my
third roommate. But you knew that, right?”

He nodded, wishing he could see her eyes, but she had
covered them with a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses. Normally, they would
make the woman wearing them look masculine, but on Jillian they just made her
sexier.

“You were the first of my roomates’ relatives to check me
out.”

For a second, he thought of the night before, the way she
had looked with those snug jeans, barely-there T-shirt, and the way she had
been dressed that morning. He was damned sure she hadn’t been wearing panties
under that shirt.

“What do you mean?”

“I know you did a background check on me.”

“Did you tell Maura?” he asked, feeling more than a little
embarrassed.
 

She laughed. “Do you think that Maura would have kept quiet
if I had?”

He had to smile at that and the sound of her laugh. She
rarely tried to hide her joy, and sometimes it was a bit contagious.

“No, I doubt that. There is one thing Maura has never been,
and that’s quiet.”

“Tell me about it. She’s a loud one. But then, I think that’s
why you complement each other. She lives life out loud, and you go about it
very quietly. Believe me, with my family, I know how bad it can be having too
much of one kind of personality.”

Jillian had been right. He did snoop, so he knew about her
family. Born to a white, upper-middle class mother and an African-American
superstar baseball player father, she had spent the first ten years of her life
away from the crazy Bentley family of Atlanta. When her parents had died in a
car crash, she’d had nowhere else to go except to that crazy Bentley family.
And even though she was no longer rooming with his sister, he had kept tabs on
her. He didn’t know why, but for some reason he felt a need to make sure she
was doing okay. Probably because she had taken care of Maura. Moving to Hawaii
had been exactly what he’d expected of her. From what Conner could tell, she’d
had little to no contact with her family since her grandmother had died three
years ago.

“You’re not mad?”

“That you snooped? Naw. I probably would have done the same
for a younger sibling. And, well, Maura was...kind of naive.”

“Kind of?” he asked.

“Really. I worried about her. But, she hasn’t changed much.”

She hadn’t. Maura and he were more than ten years apart in
age. It hadn’t been easy taking on the task of raising her while chasing an FBI
career. When she’d graduated from high school a year early, it had been a
blessing and a curse. A year younger and years behind her peers in social
development, she had been a lamb among wolves, but she’d had Jillian. Who,
despite what some people would think about her appearance, was dependable.

“She was lucky to have you as a roommate.”

She slid him a look out of the corner of her eye. He
couldn’t tell what she was thinking because of the glasses, but the side of her
mouth kicked up.

“That was sweet of you. Just for that, I’ll take you all the
way down into Pearl City for some Italian food.”

“Not Hawaiian?”

She shook her head. “We’ll do that later. Today, and always
when I finish a book, I head on down to Bravo’s. It is sort of a superstition
for me to follow.”

“Sounds good.”

“It sounds better than good; it sounds like a feast coming
on. I just realized I forgot to eat lunch and dinner yesterday. It will be nice
to linger around a restaurant and get the latest gossip on one of my best
friends.”

“There isn’t much to tell.”

She glanced at him. “Really? What’s going on with that Zeke
guy?”

“They don’t like each other.” He shrugged.

“Uh, you really have been working too much if you haven’t noticed
that they are either hooking up or preparing to.”

He had worried about that but thought it was only his
imagination. His best friend and his sister were opposites in every way. But
knowing Jillian had picked up on it meant that it was more than just a weird
feeling he had. He really didn’t want to contemplate it, but he didn’t have a
choice. Working with the two of them made it his business. If things went
badly, it could affect the company. Mainly because he would have to kill his
best friend and business partner for hurting his sister.

“Oh, no. Don’t get that look.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your ‘I am the big brother in charge’ look. Maura is an
adult and thankfully, no longer a virgin.”

He grimaced when she said it, and she laughed. “I would
rather not think about it.”

“Sorry, but true. I bet you’re thinking you shouldn’t be
here, that you should have stayed on the mainland to protect your sister from
Zeke.”

“No. Okay. Maybe. Part of the problem is that I work with
them.”

“I got a piece of information for you, Conner. I think you’d
have more work protecting Zeke. You know how Maura is when she wants something,
and I have a feeling she wants your best friend. Let it go, relax and enjoy
Hawaii.”

“I don’t do vacations.”

“You do now,” she said with a laugh as she eased onto an
elevated highway. “Now let me tell you about H-3, which is what we’re on right
now. Did you know that it’s the most expensive highway in the US?”

“No, really?” he asked with a sarcastic edge to his tone.

“If you’re going to be a jackass, I’m not telling you one of
the main reasons they built it.”

He glanced out the window at the tall mountains, the
seemingly endless green of the rain forests. Fog clung to the tops of the
mountains, so unlike what he’d expected of Hawaii. He had been here for a short
time when hunting for Dee a couple of years before, but he hadn’t done any
sightseeing. When he thought of Hawaii, the first things that came to mind were
beaches, Elvis, and Mai Tais.

This was different. Jillian had settled here, in the shadow
of the mountains and some of the most beautiful scenery he had ever seen.

He glanced at her and saw that she was no longer smiling. He
wanted her smiling, wanted her happy. So, he decided to give in.

“Tell me. I promise to behave.”

She gave him a dazzling smile. “It was built to move troops
from Kaneohe to Pearl Harbor. Before it, there wasn’t a road that led straight
there. Most of them went around the mountains, and all of them took the troops
well out of their way.”

And knowing she was on a roll, he sat back and listened to
the sweet sound of her southern accent telling him about the road and the
surrounding parts of the island. The cool moist air was brushing over his skin,
and he felt his body relax as he drifted off to sleep.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

Jillian smiled as she read over her email on her phone. Her
editor had the book and would look over it one more time, and then they could
send it off to be formatted.

Conner was snoring softly beside her in the passenger seat.
She was sure when he woke up, he would not be too happy about it. Somewhere
between the stadium and Bravo’s, he’d passed out. She was sure he was tired.
The trip, along with the months of hard work while opening his DC office, had
worn him out. It was one of the reasons he had ended up in the ER. The other
was that he was wound up so tight.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, and Maura’s picture came up.
Jillian slipped out of the car and answered.

“Hey, girl, what are you calling me for?” she asked.

“I wanted to check on my brother,” Maura said easily. “How’s
he doing?”

“Considering I was up until two working on edits and he woke
me up at nine, pretty good.”

Maura laughed. “I’m amazed his arms are still attached.”

“He didn’t change the time on his watch.”

There was a beat of silence.

“And he didn’t realize it was the morning and not the
afternoon?”

Jillian sighed. “Don’t use that tone, Maura. He’s fine. You
know how it is when you show up here jetlagged. Add in the fact he has yet to
catch up after the stint in the hospital, and he’s exhausted.”

“But Conner doesn’t do that. He can go days without sleep.”
Her voice was filled with concern. She knew Maura well enough to know that she
would worry herself sick for no reason.

“Maura, let it go. Remember, Conner’s edging his way up to
forty. He’s getting older, and running around on adrenaline takes a toll on an
older body. When guys get older, you have to let them have some down time.”

“So nice to hear you care, Jillian,” he said from behind
her.

She closed her eyes and realized that she had been so
concerned about soothing her friend's worries that she hadn't heard him get out
of the car.

"Was that Conner?" Maura asked.

"Yes." She opened her eyes and turned around. He
was leaning against the back of her jeep, watching her.
 
She couldn’t tell if he was mad or not.

"I take it that's Maura?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Let me talk to her."

Without thinking, she gave over the phone. And as soon as
she did, she was annoyed. He didn't ask, he commanded, and that irritated the
living hell out of her. But since he already had it and was soothing Maura's
worries now, Jillian figured the point was moot.

"I told you, I'll be fine."

He was quiet as he listened. "Zeke's friend is there
already?" He frowned. "That was fast."

He grew quiet again, but since he was concentrating on the
conversation, she was free to study him. She’d done so a lot when she was in
college. For a man who had a busy FBI career, he had always found the time to
visit his sister. And he had always included her when they went out. It was
hard for a twenty-something not to be impressed. He was quiet, dominating, and
gorgeous. Now, though, she was older. She should be able to appreciate how
attractive he was without drooling, but her brain was already refusing to work.

"According to Jillian, this is the best Italian on the
island." Quiet again. "Yes, Bravo's." He glanced at her and
smiled. "She didn't kill me even though I woke her up, and she's feeding
me, so I think I'm okay."

She could hear Maura’s voice babbling along and Conner
showing once again how patient he was with his sister.

"No. Leave us alone. You wanted me to come here, so let
it go, Maura. Love you. Behave."

He hung up even though Jillian was pretty sure Maura was
still talking. He held the phone out to her, and she took it.

"You had to tell her I lost track of the time?"

She grimaced as she grabbed her purse out of the back seat.
"Sorry about that. That's what you get when you wake me up in the morning.
I'm not good on only a few hours of sleep."

He rocked back on his heels as he watched her lock the door.
"She's convinced I need to see a doctor while I'm here."

"What did your doctor say?" she asked.

"Only if I get light-headed or feel any more chest
pains."

"Then tell your sister to get bent."

He snorted. "Like that would work."

She sighed. "You were always too easy when it came to
Maura."

"What does that mean?"

"She could get you to do anything, admit it. She still
can."

He shrugged.

"Your sister is the greatest. I love her like she is my
own flesh and blood. Actually, better than my own flesh and blood, considering
the Bentleys. But she was always bigger than life. If you don't take her down a
peg, she’ll roll right over you. She might be part of the reason you had the
pains to begin with."

She slipped her purse strap over her head to rest it on her
shoulder and started walking to Bravo's.

"Did you tell her that?" he asked, accusation easy
to hear in his voice.

"No. I didn't. But someone needs to. I'm not saying
that a lot of this isn't your fault. Hell, you're a workaholic. Add in the fact
you've decided to expand the business, then you have issues."

“You have a lot of opinions for someone who hasn’t seen me
for years.”

She saw the manager open the front door. “Come on. I need
some food if we’re going to argue.”

She started walking toward the door again.

“We’re not arguing.”

She threw her hands up in the air but did not stop walking.
She could already smell the garlic, and her mouth was watering. “Oh my God, you
are insane. Come on, the garlic bread is calling my name.”

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

Conner glanced around the restaurant and silently admitted
Jillian was right. The strange little spot did have some good food. Two
restaurants sat one on top of the other. The one upstairs seemed to be a diner
of some sort. Within moments of them being seated, the place was packed. The
bread was probably the most delicious thing he’d had in months.

"So, you opened an office in DC. I thought you hated
DC."

He studied her. "Are you trying to irritate me?"

She laughed. "No, but I figured that's all you've been
living and breathing for a few months. You probably have nothing else to talk
about."

He hated to admit it, but it was the truth. He hadn’t had a
social life, let alone a date, in months. He'd been so busy running back and
forth between DC and Miami, he couldn't take the time to deal with it.

"I know a lot of people there. So, it's easier to hire.
With the way the government is going with contracts, it will be easy to pick up
some more work."