Born Ready (21 page)

Scott.

An instant smile hit her lips before she could stop it and she turned toward the sound of his laugh like a sunflower soaking up sunbeams.

She spied him over by a jewelry kiosk flirting with a red-haired woman in a purple dress and wide-brimmed straw hat. The woman was gazing at him as if she’d just found a gold Krugerrand lying on the street. She chuckled silkily and leaned against him as if they were together.

Jackie gulped. Felt her pulse stutter, sputter, stumble.

Scott was with another woman. A younger, prettier woman.

Don’t tell me you’re jealous. Good grief, Jackie, you do not get jealous over guys. You don’t have a jealous bone in your body.

Except right now she was so jealous she was certain her eyes had turned green.

You’re the one who told him it was over. Well, looks like he took you at your word.

“What’ll you have?” the man behind the counter asked.

Jackie blinked. “Huh?”

“Turkey leg, chicken satay, steak on a stick?”

“Nothing,” she said, suddenly not the least bit hungry. She got out of line.

Heat from the cement radiated up through her thin flip-flops. She spun around quickly, praying that Scott hadn’t seen her, and she rushed back to her apartment as fast as she could push through the crowd.

“SO, WHAT DO YOU DO for a living?” Scott asked the redhead that Carl had busted with cocaine. He’d called the D.A. on Tuesday night and convinced him the woman was integral to getting a lead on DeCristo. A deal had been struck and the redhead released on bail this morning. Her name was Juliette Sterns. She was from Miami, a model, and apparently had developed quite a taste for the white powder.

Scott had been at the courthouse when they let her out that morning, pretending he’d just been released on bail, as well. He chatted her up, and asked her to the street festival. He’d flashed a big grin and she’d said yes without hesitation.

He was a flirt. Always had been, but he was finding it damn hard to be civil to DeCristo’s little drug mule. His father’s face kept flashing into his mind.

Steady. Keep up the charade. Finally you have a chance to avenge his death. Don’t blow it.

A smile tipped her lips. “Oh, this and that.”

“Doesn’t sound like it pays the bills.”

“Oh.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “You’d be surprised.”

He had to glance away to keep distaste from showing on his face. That was when he saw Jackie.

She was walking away from him as fast as her legs would carry her, but he’d know that sway, those cutoff blue jeans anywhere. Had she seen him flirting with the redhead? Was that why she was running away?

You wish she was jealous. Face it. Jackie is not as into you as you’re into her.

“Listen,” Scott said, giving his attention back to the redhead, even though his gut tugged at him to go check on Jackie. “I’d like to get to know you better. Can I take you to dinner tonight.”

“Nooo, not tonight,” she said. “I have to work.”

His ears pricked up. Could she possibly be picking up another shipment from DeCristo tonight? “Doing this and that?”

“You’ve got it.”

“That’s a shame. I really wanted to see you.”

“You can take me somewhere right now,” she enticed. “I’m hungry, you’re hungry. We’re here together.”

Dammit, if he was going to do this, he needed to fully have his head in the game, not pine over Jackie.

Do your job, Everly.

“Sure,” he said, “why not now. You like shrimp?”

“Love it.”

“I know the perfect place. Follow me.” Then with that, he let Jackie go and focused on his task, just as he always did.

Later. He would go to Jackie later.

JACKIE SHOULDN’T HAVE looked back, but she had to know. Was Scott really with that other woman or had he merely been talking to her?

Why do you care? Forget him.

But her body couldn’t forget. She yearned to be joined with him again.

And again and again and again.

All the more reason to forget him.

She dodged behind a family of tourists and peered around to see if she could spot Scott. Yes. There he was. With his hand to the redhead’s back, guiding her toward his rental car.

All the air leaked from her body. Well, that was that.

Let it go. Let him go.

Good advice. Could she heed it?

Determined, Jackie turned and ran smack-dab into Megan Everly. “Oh!” she exclaimed as Megan put up a hand.

“Whoa, Jackie, where’s the fire?”

Jackie plastered a smile on her face. “Hi.”

“I thought that was you, so I came over to say hello.”

“Yep, it’s me.”

Megan wore a tie-dyed sundress and espadrilles. “I didn’t get to tell you goodbye the other night.”

“I’m sorry for running out on your—”

“No need to explain.” Megan gave her a knowing wink. “I saw the way you and my brother were looking at each other and I just have to tell you how pleased I am that you two have found each other and—”

“I’m afraid you’ve gotten the wrong idea about Scott and me. We’re not a couple.”

“I get it.” Megan nodded. “It’s still too new and you don’t want to jinx things by talking about it. I completely understand. Dave and I went out for three months before I was brave enough to tell my mom that I’d found someone special. Love is scary stuff.”

Love? Megan was so off base. She wasn’t in love with Scott.

“Your brother and I are just…” What was she going to say? Sex buddies? Thank God, she’d held her tongue for once instead of blurting out the truth. “Having fun,” she finished.

“That’s what Dave and I told ourselves in the beginning and look at us now.” Megan flashed her two-karat diamond engagement ring. “Getting married on Saturday.”

“I know you two are going to be so happy.” Nervously, Jackie shifted her weight from foot to foot.

“Listen.” Megan rested a hand on Jackie’s shoulder. “I meant to ask you this the other night but things got really busy and we didn’t get a chance to talk again, but you are invited to the wedding. I told Scott to ask you, but I know he’s probably thinking your relationship is too new for a wedding, and if you feel the same way, I understand, but I would really love it if you could come. You mean a lot to Scott, and Scott means a lot to me.”

Jackie thought about the redhead. That showed how well Megan knew her brother. Not well at all. He’d already moved on. “I do appreciate the invitation, but I’ve got a lot of work to do on my dissertation—”

Megan’s smile faltered, but she quickly caught it and lifted her lips brightly. “Yes, well, I just wanted to put that out there. Just in case you were interested. I like you, Jackie.”

Jackie had very few female friends. Hell, who was she kidding? She had very few friends of either sex. She was so into her work that she rarely took time to develop relationships beyond acquaintances and she wasn’t going to do it now. “Um, I like you, too, Megan.”

And she did, but she doubted they had anything in common. Megan was one of those perky bright-eyed glass-half-full kind of girls. The kind who made great wives and mothers. The kind Jackie had never been nor understood.

A shadow of loneliness passed over her. What would it feel like to be normal? To love clothes and food and shopping? To put a high premium on female friendships?

“I hope to see you at the wedding.” She touched Jackie’s arm and then she gave her a little wave and headed off into the crowd.

Well, that served only to send her even further down into the dumps. First seeing Scott with another woman. Then bumping into sweet Megan, who reminded her of all the things she would never be. Jackie trudged back to her apartment, feeling lower than she’d felt in a very long time.

SCOTT’S LUNCH DATE with Juliette Sterns turned out to be a bust. She talked constantly of some reality television show about modeling and how she hoped to try out for it. That was until he finally asked her if she liked to party.

Her eyes glimmered. “What you do mean by party?”

“You know what I mean.” He reached across the table and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles when what he wanted to do was grab her, shake her silly and demand she tell him what the hell she was doing working for a scumbag like DeCristo.

“You mean more than alcohol, right?” Her eyes narrowed in a wicked expression.

He arched an eyebrow.

“Do you enjoy cola?”

He realized it was code for cocaine. “Yes. Do you know where I can get some?”

She nodded. “Premium product.”

Scott sat up straight. “I’m interested.”

“It doesn’t come cheap.”

“’Course not.”

She named a price that had him pressing his lips together to keep from whistling.

“It’s worth it,” she promised.

“When can I get some?” he asked, wondering how he was going to turn this conversation to her supplier.

“It’s not quite that simple,” she said. “Since I got pinched by the cops I’m not in a position to pick it up and because of that, there’s a freeze from the supply end.”

“When do you anticipate a thaw?”

“Maybe in a few days, but I can’t be the one to intercept, if you follow me.”

“You need someone to be your bag boy.”

She pointed a finger at him. “You’re sharp.”

He shook his head. “You know, I don’t do business with people I don’t know. If I’m going to help you out, I need to meet your supplier.”

“No, no.” She shook her head vigorously. “That’s not possible.”

Don’t press. Don’t scare her off.

He shrugged. “Too bad.”

She studied him a long moment. “I wish I could make introductions but the supplier never comes to the U.S. I’ve never dealt with him directly.”

“That’s fine. Say no more. You ready to go?” Scott pulled out his wallet, laid thirty dollars on the table to cover their lunch and the tip.

“I could maybe introduce you to one of his associates here in the Keys.”

It was a start. Should he take it?

“Sorry,” he said smoothly, even as he worried that he was making a grave mistake. “Got a pen?”

“Oh, sure.” She dug a pen from her purse and passed it to him.

He wrote his cell phone number down on a napkin. “Here’s my number. Call me if things change.”

“Thanks.” She folded the napkin, put it in her purse. “Um…I had a nice time.”

“Me, too,” he lied.

“Do you think we could see each other again?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Come through for me on the cola and we’ll see.”

Then with that, he turned and walked away. Hopefully, that would give the redhead something to think about.

JACKIE WASN’T SURE WHY she went to Megan’s wedding. Perhaps it was because the four walls of her apartment were closing in. Maybe it was because her search for the Key blenny had stalled, her theory going nowhere. Or maybe, just maybe, she missed Scott so much she had to see him again.

Plus, she was terrified he’d taken her advice and already moved on with the redhead.

He did what you told him to. You have no right to take him to task.

Jackie walked into the botanical garden where the ceremony was being held. She felt awkward and out of place in the same dress she’d worn to Megan’s party the previous weekend. It wasn’t right that she’d worn white today. Only the bride should wear white on her wedding day, right?

Oh, crap. This was embarrassing. She knew nothing about these social rules. Maybe she could just slip out before anyone saw her.