The Billionaire Playboy (7 page)

For months after
her dad left she'd cried herself to sleep. Once that phase passed she'd started
to shield herself emotionally by making sure she didn't let anyone get too
close; especially those of the opposite sex. She no longer thought about doing
it. It just came naturally. Yet, despite years of emotionally distancing
herself from people, somehow Charlie knew if she wasn't careful she could fall
for this man. Under no circumstance could she let that happen. So although it
went against her body's desires, she moved enough to the right so that she was
no longer trapped between Jake's SUV and his muscular body.

“Come on. Mr.
Quinn is waiting for you.” This time Charlie didn't wait for a response. She
started toward the hospital entrance. She heard him fall into step next to her,
but refused to look over at him as they entered the hospital's main lobby. She
remained silent, keeping as much space between them as possible without seeming
obvious, while they waited for the elevator.

When the
elevator doors opened, he allowed her to enter before him and she realized for
the first time what a gentleman he was. It hadn't struck her until then how
rare it was that he always opened doors for her or allowed her to precede him
into a room.

Hitting the
button for the fifth floor, he turned to her. “Mr. Quinn will be happy you’re
here. Yesterday he couldn't stop talking about you.”

Charlie breathed
a sigh of relief at Jake's choice of conversation. While waiting for the
elevator she feared he'd say something about their parking lot make out session.
Something she didn't want to discuss now or ever. However, a conversation about
Mr. Quinn she could handle.

“Jessica and I
were friends in school. I spent a lot of time at their house growing up.”

Jake's eyebrows
came together in confusion.

“What?” she
asked.

At first he just
shrugged as the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor. “After you.” He
gestured toward the door.

Bothered by the
look of confusion on his face, she couldn't let the matter go. “What was that
look for?” she asked inhaling the familiar scent of the hospital. Most people
found the smell unsettling but not her. It comforted her.

“She doesn't
seem anything like you. I just don't see you two as friends.”

Not about to go
into great detail, Charlie kept her answer short. “We're more alike than you
think. We used to have a lot of the same interests when we were younger, and
her parents divorced when she was young too.” She didn't give him a chance to
question her any further. Instead she pushed open the door to room 506.

Jessica and
Martha Quinn sat inside the hospital room with Mr. Quinn and when Charlie
walked in all three of their faces lit up. Jake knew inviting her along had
been a good idea. After a short conversation about the man’s health the three
of them began catching up.

“Do you remember
the Lindsey twins from high school -- the ones we went on that double date
with?” Jessica asked, her voice not much louder than a whisper.

Jake thought it
fit Jessica perfectly. It was a voice you could easily miss and overlook, much
like Jessica herself. That had been one reason he found it odd that she and
Charlie were friends. Charlie wasn't the type you could ever overlook.

“How could I
forget them?” Charlie rolled her eyes and Jake guessed their double date had
been less than ideal.

“Zack was in
town last month. You'd never recognize him. He looks like the Pillsbury Dough
Boy these days.” A deep contagious laugh escaped from Charlie and Jake
instantly smiled at the sound. Content to just sit and listen as the two women
reminisced about the double date they'd once shared, Jake leaned back in the
stiff plastic chair and watched. Away from recovery work and surrounded by
friends, Charlie underwent a total transformation. The commanding take-charge
air that seemed an integral part of who she was dulled, and her very kissable
lips were curved in a permanent smile.

Damn, her lips
had felt perfect against his. And right now as he sat here, their kiss
dominated his thoughts. When he woke up this morning making out with Charlie in
the hospital parking lot had not been on his to-do list. Yet when she stepped
down from his SUV, he hadn't been able to stop himself. Despite what the
tabloids said about him, he wasn't really a playboy. Yeah, he dated and had
been in several relationships but it wasn't like he slept with every other
woman in America like the media made it seem. Yet when she touched his hand an
invisible cord had pulled him towards her. Nothing could have stopped him from
kissing her at that moment.

“How'd your
meeting go?” Mr. Quinn asked, his surprisingly gruff voice interrupting Jake's
thoughts. “Those engineers of yours making any progress?”

For the next
several minutes, Jake explained the ongoing plans to rebuild the town. His
surprise that the older man understood even the most technical terms must have
shown on his face.

“I studied to be
an engineer before the war broke out. Decided to drop out and join the Marines,
and then got shipped off to Korea.”

He couldn't help
but respect the guy. Mr. Quinn had put his country and fellow man ahead of
himself. How much easier it would've been for him to stay in school and finish
his degree.

“My parents were
mighty disappointed too. They tried to talk me outta it but I wouldn't budge. I
was a stubborn SOB back then. Some would say I still am.” Mr. Quinn looked over
at his wife.

Jake could
relate to that. His parents had done the same thing when he'd shared his plans
to apply to the Naval Academy while still in prep school. Unlike Mr. Quinn
though, he'd let their opinion influence his decision.

Thinking about
how he'd failed to follow his dreams because of his parents’ wishes always put
him in a foul mood. Today was no different. Deciding that a few minutes alone
would be good, Jake stood. “I'm going to grab some coffee downstairs. Anyone
want anything?” After jotting down how everyone wanted their coffee, Jake
retreated from the room.

Neither Jake nor
Charlie said a word on the ride back to the Victorian Rose a few hours later. Though
his mood had improved, the sense of failure that always plagued him whenever he
thought about his past weighed heavily on him. If he could only go back in time
and redo things.

“You seemed to
hit it off with Mr. Quinn.” Charlie broke the silence in the SUV as they pulled
onto her street. It had been reduced to one lane as repair trucks worked to
restore electricity, and he had to wait for his turn. “He doesn't usually take
to outsiders.”

Jake navigated
his way around a utility truck. “Must be my charming personality. I knew it
worked well on the ladies, but it must work well on retired Marines as well.”

“Must be it,”
she agreed laughing.

Despite his best
effort Jake couldn't maintain his serious expression at the sound of her
laughter.

“Maybe you
should consider going into politics. With that charm of yours who knows how far
you'd go. You could end up in the White House, too.”

He knew Charlie
only meant to tease him, yet her words struck a sour chord in him. Politics
held no interest for him despite his parents' best efforts. Although it was a
big part of his family history, he had no intention of following that path.

The smile that
had tugged at his mouth died. “I'll stick with what I'm doing.” Jake stopped
the Escalade next to Charlie's Jeep in the parking lot. “Washington doesn't
interest me. Too much BS.” Jake opened his door before she could respond hoping
she'd take the hint. It didn't work though.

“Really?” Charlie
stepped down after he pulled open her door. “I figured your family had a gene
for politics.”

Her tone
remained light and jovial but he knew she was only half joking. Everyone in
America knew that the Sherbrookes had been involved in politics for years.

Jake crossed his
arms across his chest. “That gene must have skipped me. Maybe my sister Sara
got it.”

“Speaking of
politics I thought every member of the President’s family got Secret Service
protection. Where's yours?”

In the five
months since he told the Secret Service to take a hike, no one had commented on
their absence. Obviously, Charlie was more astute than most. “I refused their
protection about two weeks after my father took office. I couldn't stand having
them around.”

“You can do that?”
Charlie's voice echoed the surprise on her face.

Jake let his
arms relax and hang by his sides. “Nobody has before, but yeah.” He didn't
intend to say anything else on the matter.

***

The battery
powered alarm clock on her nightstand read midnight but Charlie stared at the
ceiling wide awake. Her body cried out for sleep but her brain hadn't gotten
the message yet. It knew Jake slept one floor below, and snapshots of their
kiss kept playing through her mind. The feel of his lips on hers and his hand
on her skin were forever burned into her memory. Yet that alone wasn't what
kept her awake. The pull she felt toward him was what kept her up. She didn't
need or want a man in her life. Letting someone in like that only made you
vulnerable. Just look what it had done to her mom. No matter what she wasn't
going to end up like that, and she knew she'd find herself in the exact same
spot if she wasn't careful around Jake. Granted some of her first impressions
of him seemed wrong, but that didn't mean he wasn't a heart breaker, especially
considering the different worlds they lived in. Though he seemed like a nice
guy, he didn't know what it was like to work for what you wanted. He'd always
had everything handed to him. She doubted there was single thing in his life
he'd ever wanted to do that he had not been able to do.

How much longer will he be here anyway? A few days?
Maybe a week tops? I can handle that
. Fed up with tossing and turning in
bed, Charlie tossed off the covers and headed downstairs for a snack. At this
time of night everyone would be in bed so she didn't bother with a robe,
besides it wasn't like her boxer shorts and tank top didn't cover everything.

A
battery-powered lantern on the kitchen table provided the only light in the
room. Though the generator gave the house power, they'd limited its use to the
appliances to conserve gas. If they ran out of gas and the generators died,
they'd lose her mom's cooking, something no one wanted to do without.

Charlie finished
making a sandwich and was about to cover the peanut butter jar when she heard
someone enter the kitchen.

“I'm not the
only one up.” Jake's voice sent a tingle down her spine. Dressed in a white
sleeveless t-shirt and sweatpants, he looked devilishly handsome.

At first she
stood there staring at him, her mouth dry and her pulse quickening. Finally
after what seemed like an eternity she pulled her eyes away from him. “Just
making a snack. Want one?”

“I'll never turn
down food.”

She could feel
his eyes on her as she started making another sandwich. Though she didn't
usually think much about her appearance and what men thought of her, she
couldn't help wonder how Jake saw her. If his kiss was anything to go by, he
liked what he saw. “Strawberry or grape jam?” she asked holding up the jars.

“Surprise me,”
he answered dropping into a spindle-backed chair.

Charlie spread a
thin layer of her mom's homemade strawberry jam on Jake's sandwich then added a
handful of chips to both plates before carrying them over to the table. “Enjoy.”
She placed one plate in front of Jake before sitting in the chair next to him.

For several
minutes they ate in silence, but she sensed every move he made. Her body seemed
to be on high alert just waiting for the moment when his arm would brush
against hers or his knee would bump against her leg.

“Couldn't sleep?”
Charlie asked, looking for a way to distract herself from the fact she wanted
to pull the sandwich from his hands and kiss him.

Jake shook his
head no. “Too much on my mind.”

Had he been
lying in bed thinking about their kiss too? Did he want to repeat it as much as
she did or had he already forgotten about it? Did recovery issues occupy his
thoughts instead?

“Same here,” she
said even though he hadn't asked why she was up.

Pushing back her
chair, she was about to ask him if he wanted anything to drink when he reached
for her hand. The slight touch sent her heart racing and she swallowed down the
nervous laugh she felt rising in her throat.

“About this
afternoon,” Jake said interlacing their fingers.

The simple action
had Charlie's insides quivering.
Please
don't apologize.
She'd be mortified if he did that.

 
Jake didn't say anything else however. Instead
his gaze traveled over her face and searched her eyes for a few heartbeats
before leaning toward her and picking up right where they'd left off at the
hospital.