The Billionaire Playboy (3 page)

Focused more on
what tomorrow might bring, Charlie wasn't paying attention as she rounded the
corner into the foyer and ran smack dab into a solid wall of muscle. Large male
hands instantly gripped her shoulders to steady her, and the scent of pricey
cologne mixed with sweat tickled her nose.

“Sorry about
that.” Charlie's face burned as she took a step back. Now that she was no
longer on top of the solid wall of muscle she'd almost run over, she found
herself standing in front of none other than Prince Charming himself, Jake
Sherbrooke. Despite what she thought of him and others like him, she had to
admit he'd done his fair share of physical labor today, much to her surprise.

“If you're here
about a room, we're all filled right now,” Charlie said unable to ignore the
heat spreading through her body. Even with a sweat-stained face and the large
scratch he'd gotten at some point during the day, he still caused her heart
rate to accelerate.

Although she
didn't think highly of billionaires who'd done nothing to earn their money but
be born to the right parents, she couldn't deny that he was devastatingly
handsome. No wonder supermodels and actresses dated the guy. He looked even
better in person than he did in photos.

Jake released
her shoulders and took a step back. “My assistant called earlier and reserved a
room for me.” His tone remained even and his words were spoken without any hint
of an accent.

Did he practice
speaking like that? She'd met people from all over the country and everyone
regardless of where they came from had some type of accent, but not him. If she
didn't know he'd grown up in New England she'd never be able to guess where
he'd spent his childhood from his voice alone.

“Mr. Sherbrooke
your room is all set,” Maureen O'Brien said joining them, her flowered apron
still tied around her waist. “We have you in the Hawthorne room. I'll show you
up.”

Charlie remained
silent as her mom and Jake Sherbrooke headed up the stairs. The Hawthorne room
had been her bedroom before her mom started taking in boarders to help pay the
bills. She'd been twelve when her father walked out and for a full year her mom
struggled to keep them afloat. Then a friend suggested Maureen take in some
college students from Salem State who didn't have a place on campus. Her mom
had continued to do that until a few years ago when she and Sean turned the old
Victorian into a bed and breakfast.

Using all the
determination she had, Charlie dragged her body up the two flights of stairs to
the attic. When the house had originally been built the bedrooms in the attic
had been for servants, but since her father left she called the smallest one
her bedroom.

The room looked
the same as it had the day she left for college. Her mom never changed anything.
Dark blue curtains still framed the one window and a light blue bedspread
covered the bed. No one used the room. Her mom insisted that it be kept ready
for Charlie's visits even though they were few and far between.

Stripping off
her dirty clothes, she stepped into the shower in the tiny bathroom that
separated her bedroom from what had been her brother's room. For a moment she
stood under the stream of lukewarm water. The water in that particular bathroom
never got hot but, with only a generator to power everything in the house, it
was colder than usual. Despite the temperature the water felt wonderful as it
cascaded over her tired body, and she took her time washing away the dirt and
sweat.

Warm humid air
greeted Charlie a few minutes later as she walked back into her room wrapped in
a large faded blue bath towel that had at one time matched the painted walls. Like
everything else in the room the towel had been there forever.

Man, were his eyes blue.
Charlie caught
a glimpse through the window of the Escalade parked outside as she pulled a
clean shirt out of the bureau. She'd never seen eyes quite that blue. They
reminded her of the sapphires in the heart-shaped pendant her mom owned. The
only good piece of jewelry her mom had, it had belonged to Charlie's
great-grandmother.

Thinking about
Jake Sherbrooke's eyes had her thinking about some of the other attributes
she'd noticed about him—the well-muscled chest that her hands had felt when
she'd run into him in the foyer and the well-defined biceps she'd seen when
he'd been working alongside the rest of the town boarding up windows and
clearing debris.

Of course he has
a great body; he probably has nothing else to do all day but workout. For a
minute Charlie envisioned some of the sailors on the base back in Virginia. Sure
some had great physiques but not all. Between their work obligations and
families many didn't have the time it required. It's not like he has to work
like the rest of us, Charlie thought, pulling her shirt over her head. Unlike
her, he'd always had everything at his fingertips:
 
the best clothes, the best cars, the best
schools. Though her clothes had been clean they'd always come from consignment
stores. She hadn't gotten her own car until after graduating from college,
which she'd only been able to afford thanks to the Navy. People like him didn't
know what the real world was like.

Charlie started
to move away from the window but stopped when she saw movement below. Was she
imagining things? After all, she had been standing there thinking about the man
and the way he'd looked working today. Taking a step closer to the window she
saw her brother and his Irish Wolfhound approaching Jake. After exchanging a
few words, the two men started to tackle the large tree limbs covering the
front walkway. Despite the fact that he'd already worked for several hours,
Jake carried away the limbs once Sean cut them into more manageable pieces with
his chainsaw.

Was he always
this hands-on? Although there were plenty of other things she could be doing,
Charlie stood at the window combing out her wet shoulder-length hair and
watching the two men below. Every once in a while the humming of the chainsaw
stopped and her brother moved to tackle another enormous limb or said something
to their billionaire guest. Although she couldn't hear anything, Charlie
guessed her brother was telling their guest some politically incorrect jokes,
the only kind Sean knew, because more than once she saw Jake laughing.

“Find something
useful to do with yourself.” Charlie tossed her hairbrush onto the bureau next
to the envelope containing her re-enlistment papers. Picking up the envelope
she pulled out the half-completed documents and glanced over them. She'd
started to fill them out before leaving Virginia but hadn't finished. At the
time uncertainty held her back. She'd hoped some time away from the base and
work would help her make a definitive decision. So far it hadn't happened. While
she was leaning toward staying with the Navy a tiny part of her wanted to move
on with her life.
 

As if her eyes
had a mind of their own, Charlie glanced out the window when she heard her
brother's chainsaw stop once again. “You’re pathetic.” Charlie tossed the
documents down and headed toward the bedroom door. Even if her mom put her to
work peeling onions it would be a more productive way to spend her time than
standing and watching Jake Sherbrooke work. Too bad it wouldn't be as
enjoyable.

A little later
Charlie was halfway out of the kitchen carrying a platter covered with homemade
biscuits, when Sean burst through the kitchen's side door. Jake followed right
behind him gripping his left arm.

“Need you over
here now, Charlie. Jake's bleeding.” Sean's usual confident tone contained a
note of concern.

“I told you. It
isn't that bad.”

For someone
injured, Jake didn't sound that concerned to Charlie. Putting the platter down
on the counter, she moved toward the kitchen table. “Have a seat and let me
take a look. Sean, get me the first aid kit.”

Without any
argument both men complied. And just like she would with any other patient,
Charlie moved closer to get a better look at the bloody open wound which ran
from just above his wrist to halfway up his outer forearm. Though the cut was
long it didn't appear too deep.

“What happened?”
She leaned down for a closer look.

“An old nail and
some shards of glass got me when we were trying to get into that old shed.”

“When was your
last tetanus shot?” Charlie reached for one of the clean wet towels Sean placed
on the table along with the first aid kit.

Damn it
. If he'd been paying attention to what
he'd been doing rather than thinking about the redhead that was now cleaning
the area around the wound, he wouldn't be sitting here now. He'd still be
outside doing something useful rather than thinking about all the things he'd
like to be doing with the good doctor, who didn't look all too happy at the
moment.

“Beginning of
the year.” The barest hint of vanilla teased him every time he inhaled and he
knew it wasn't coming from some food in the kitchen. It had to be her shampoo.

Charlie nodded,
her short ponytail swinging with the movement. “You can go to the ER if you
want but it's not necessary. The cut isn't too deep. I don't think it will even
leave a scar, but we'll have to watch for an infection.”

There was no way
in hell he was going to the ER for a scratch, especially not when the town's
residents were already facing some serious injuries. “Just clean and wrap it
for me. I'll be fine, Doctor.” It'd been on the tip of his tongue to call her
Charlotte, but he caught himself at the last second. She'd introduced herself
as Captain Charlotte O'Brien. That told him she didn't want to be on a
first-name basis with him, which irked him for some reason although he didn't
know why. Maybe because the rest of her family and the people he'd met today
had been friendly. Sure he'd gotten a few stares from people but for the most
part they'd accepted him into their fold as he worked alongside them. Not true
of the good doctor. Her manner had been reserved and aloof from the moment he
approached her. He tried to come up with reasons for her attitude, but none
came to him.

“You sure he
doesn't need stitches?” Sean asked. He remained next to the table as Charlotte
worked.

Sean didn't
strike him as a worrier by nature. Would Sean be this concerned if he was
someone other than Jake Sherbrooke? “I trust the good doctor's judgment. It'll
be fine.”

Charlie paused
in the wrapping of his arm and looked up at him, surprise evident in her
beautiful hazel eyes. This close he, could see the tiny flecks of green in them
as well as her incredibly long eyelashes. What would her eyes look like glazed
over with desire? Would the green flecks be more pronounced? Would the hazel
darken?

Focus Jake. You’re not here looking for a woman
. “It smells
delicious in here.” Jake hoped to distract himself from the woman in front of
him with some small talk.

Reaching for a
roll of tape, she tore off a long piece and placed it on his arm. Unable to
tear his eyes away, Jake watched her every movement. Her hands were slender
with long fingers and short neatly trimmed nails. She wore no rings or nail
polish, and with no warning the image of her hands on the rest of his body
entered his mind.

“Thanks to our
generator we'll all have a hot meal tonight. Ma made enough beef stew to feed a
carrier.”

Charlie's voice
drew him back to the kitchen. Disgusted with himself, he pulled his arm away. Most
of the time he had better control than this. Fantasizing about a beautiful
woman while sitting in her family’s kitchen wasn't something he normally did.

“Sounds good. Thanks
for taking care of my arm. I can finish up from here.”

Without
commenting she handed him the roll of tape and began to clean up the other
supplies on the table. She tackled the task just like she seemed to do
everything else, efficiently. He wondered if she was like that by nature or
because of her Naval training.

“Are you
stationed in Virginia?” Jake tore off one last strip of tape and placed the
roll back in the first aid kit. “I noticed a car in the parking lot with
Virginia plates,” he said when she threw him a questioning look.

“Norfolk. At
least for now.”

Jake leaned back
in his chair oddly pleased that the cold tone she'd used with him earlier in
the day seemed to be thawing out a little. “I'm in Alexandria. Are they
planning to transfer you to another base?”

Charlie studied
him without saying a word. For a moment it appeared as if she was going to tell
him it was none of his business.

“My time is up
soon. I don't know if I 'm going to re-up or not.”

“Tough one.”
Jake hoped he sounded sincere. If he was in her shoes he'd re-up in a heartbeat.

She didn't
answer but rather shrugged as she washed her hands in the kitchen sink. “Try to
keep that clean and dry. I'll check it tomorrow. Supper is being served in the
dining room whenever you're ready.” With her final statement she dried her
hands and disappeared through the swinging door.

Jake stayed
seated for several minutes. The picture of her tall lithe body was branded on
his mind. She didn't seem to know the kind of effect she had on men. Under
different circumstances he would pursue her with no questions asked, but now
wasn't the time or place. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to be
indifferent to him.