A_Little_Harmless_Fascination (20 page)

“How come a pretty lady like you is sitting all by her
lonesome?”

Jillian set down her glass and looked up to find a
deliciously cute Hawaiian man smiling down at her. It was genuine, as was the
interest in his eyes. It was impossible not to return it with a smile of her
own. His dark black hair was short, cut in a buzz with a bit of a flattop.
Golden skin accentuated his blue eyes that tipped up a bit at the corners. She
would gauge his age around twenty-one, and he had the body of a Greek god. Or,
she thought with silent laughter, a Hawaiian god.

"I'm not by myself, but thanks for asking."

Without invitation, he slipped into the chair beside her.

"I don't think we've been introduced. My name is Danny
Aiona."

“Of course we haven’t been introduced. If we had, you would
know I am here with a date.”

His smile widened. “My name is Danny Aiona.”

For a second, she said nothing, then the name clicked. She
had met Evan Chambers beautiful wife just a few moments earlier, and her
brother Kai.

"Oh, so you're the little brother?"

He laughed. "I'm not so sure you could call me that. I
thought I saw you the other night at the club."

For a second, she couldn't think. She wasn't a woman who
went for men a whole decade younger than she or were what she thought of as a
pretty boy. But it was hard to resist his teasing smile and jovial manner.

"Club?” She couldn’t think of the last time she had
gone clubbing, then she remembered she had been at one club in the past week.
“Oh, Rough ‘n Ready? I was there for research."

He inched closer. In another man, she might have seen it as
a threat, but with Danny, Jillian had an idea that it was all about seduction.
A man his age knowing how to seduce a woman—and she was pretty sure he did—was
a dangerous thing. "Do you need a subject for your research? I’d be
willing to help."

Before she could say anything, a shadow loomed over them.

"Settle it down, son," Conner said from behind
him. She peeked around Danny. Conner's voice might have been mild, but he
didn't look very happy. And she knew from experience that Conner's easygoing voice
was more dangerous than any man's yelling.

"Hey, old man. I was just having a conversation with
this gorgeous woman."

She glanced at the younger man and realized he wasn't
stupid. He winked at her, telling her he knew Conner was her date.

"That woman would be mine, and if you don't get up, I
will gladly teach you how to behave when you are at a wedding."

Danny sighed and shook his head. "Change your mind,
just let me know. May can give you my number or just come over to Paradise
Cover Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays. I work there part time."

He stood and brushed by Conner without a comment. When
Conner sat, she leaned over and gave him a kiss. "You know, he's just a
kid."

Conner shook his head. "That was no kid. He's over the
age of consent. And, as I heard him say, he saw you out the other night at the
club. Means he has a membership."

"Probably free because he's Evan's
brother-in-law."

He glanced at Danny with narrowed eyes then back at her.
"You shouldn't have been leading him on."

She wanted to blast him and opened her mouth to do it, but
it was then that she realized his behavior went beyond being irritated with
her. He was jealous.

She had never been a woman who liked that emotion, from
herself or others. But there was a kernel of truth to the feelings when you
felt insecure about the one you were with. If he was worried about that, she
knew he had more than just lustful feelings for her.

"I wasn't leading him on. He asked me what I was doing
alone. I said I wasn't."

He looked away from her, but he leaned so close to her she
could feel his breath feather over her ear. She shivered.

"You know damn well you're the most beautiful woman
here. You dress up like that, well, guys just can't help hitting on you."

"Are you telling me I can't be dressed like this? What
should I wear?"

He apparently heard the warning in her voice. He looked at
her.

"No, dammit, you look too pretty, and I like seeing you
in a dress."

But he didn't sound too happy about it.

“You look cute too, Conner.”

He grumbled something under his breath.

She couldn’t stop the smile from curving her lips or leaning
forward to brush her mouth against his cheek.

“How about we get some cake?”

He nodded but said nothing else as they walked to the table.
A lot of the cake had been eaten, but of course that was to be expected since
Cynthia’s Bakery had done the work. A very pregnant woman with curly blonde
hair was attending the table, and a very grumpy—not to mention sexy—black man
stood beside her. She recognized Chris and Cynthia Dupree on sight. Both had
added to what she referred to as her “hip” problem.

As Jillian and Conner approached the table, a toddler let
out a screech and came running forward.

“You better come back here, you little rascal,” a woman
said, giggling as she ran after the little boy. When she grabbed him, the boy
giggled himself as she hoisted him in the air and blew on his belly. The woman
then settled him on her hip and walked to the table.

“Cynthia, I think Chris is right. Max and I came here for a
reason—so you could rest.”

“I have to hand out the cake. Then I am done.”

The woman rolled her eyes and smiled over at them. Jillian
was stunned. The woman was amazing, so small she was probably undervalued until
you saw her face. She was gorgeous and the smile packed a punch.

“Max, go get your father. He needs to stop talking business
with Evan and get over here.” She set the little boy down who charged off to do
her bidding. She noticed them and smiled. “Hi, my name is Anna. Want some
cake?”

“Yes, I would love some cake.”

She brushed back her long, curly brown hair and went to the
table. She handed Jillian a plate that already had a fork on it. “Oh, look
Cynthia, I handled that just fine.”

Cynthia gave her a look filled with venom, but in the next
instant, Jillian noticed something akin to pain in the woman’s expression.

“You did a fantastic job, Anna, but I think you might want
to go to the hospital,” Jillian said.

“Really?” She smiled. “Why?”

“Cynthia’s in labor.”

For a second, no one reacted other than the mother to be.
She gave Jillian a nasty look.

“What?” Anna asked.

“I was trying to make it through the reception,” Cynthia
said, her voice filled with pain.

“Lord, love a duck, Cynthia, we can’t be having that,” Anna
said. “Maxwell, your ex-fiancée is having her baby. Help Chris because I am
sure he’s about to faint.”

“Really, Anna, do you constantly have to remind me that I
was once engaged to Max,” Cynthia said as she waddled around the table. Her
face was flush with excitement. Jillian noticed a man the size of a University
of Georgia linebacker, with dark blond hair and a grim expression, make his way
to the table and steady the dad to be.

“Whoa, son,” Max said as he grabbed Chris, who almost
pitched forward into the cake table in a dead faint. The southern she’d heard
in Anna’s voice was thicker in Max’s. He easily steadied his friend, and then
ordered, “Let’s go.”

Everyone apparently didn’t have an issue listening to
Maxwell. May Aiona came forward to take the little boy from Anna. Anna, for her
part, was chattering nonstop as she helped Cynthia through the crowd.

“You know, you’re allowed to say anything you want while
you’re in labor. I think I called Max an ass at least three times.”

“Love, that was five times, along with referring to me as
the sperm factory you were going to divorce when you were done with labor,” Max
commented good naturedly.

Cynthia laughed and Anna smiled. “It’s all going to be
okay.”

A tall, athletic black woman who had the look of Chris
Dupree rushed up behind them with a diaper bag. She was followed up by an older
version of Danny Aiona.

“Well, hot damn, our first real Rough ‘n Ready baby,” Micah
said as he walked up to them.

“It can’t be the first one,” Conner said as he slipped his
arm around her waist.

“Not for the patrons, no, or even the employees. But we do
have sort of a family we’ve gathered of friends. Dee and I will be the second
in that group.”

Jillian felt the unfamiliar feeling of envy at the pride she
heard in Micah’s voice. She might write erotic romance, but she had never
planned on love or marriage. With her weird situation, she had thought it too
hard to even attempt to find a man who understood. And she had been happy with
that situation. Until now. Now, she had a feeling that until Conner left, and
for many months after that, she would constantly wonder what it would be like
to raise a rowdy bunch of kids with them.

Dee slipped into the circle, forcing Jillian to stop
worrying about things that wouldn’t happen. She smiled. “I cannot wait to get
fat. I’m doing my best right now to gain weight.”

She was shoveling cake into her mouth, and it was then that
Jillian realized she never got a piece of cake.

“Oh, cake.”

She walked around Micah and made a beeline for the table.
Grabbing two plates, she turned and almost ran into Conner.

“Oh,” she said as she handed him a plate.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

She frowned up at him. “Nothing. I have cake, a good-looking
man, and a pretty fantastic band to dance to.”

“You looked kind of sad there for a moment.”

“Oh.” She took a bite of the cake and hummed at the taste of
it. Pure, sugary decadence.

“Jillian?”

She glanced at Conner, saw the worry on his face and wanted
to soothe it. Never in her life had she wanted to make someone she cared about
so happy. What did that say about her?

“Nothing, I just get a little weepy at weddings. They’re
sweet.”

He looked like he didn’t believe her. “Really?”

“Yes.” That much was true. “Starting a new life, all that
crap. Makes me kind of happy and sad at the same time.”

He snorted, but said nothing else as he ate his cake. Before
she could finish hers, a hand wrapped around her wrist. She looked up and
noticed it was Micah. “Come on, princess.”

“What?” she asked.

“Bouquet time.”

“Oh, God, no.”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“I have to eat my cake.” But even as she said it, Conner was
taking it away from her and smiling evilly. “You suck.”

He shrugged as he dumped the rest of her cake on his plate
and commenced eating it.

“I do not want to do this.”

“Sucks to be you,” as Micah pushed her forward into the
fray.

She hated this. No matter what she did, she always ended up
with the flowers. It sucked.

The band started playing a song, and she saw that Maria had
picked her out of the crowd. She turned her back to the audience then tossed it
directly in Jillian’s area. Jillian tried to sidestep it, but the woman next to
her dove for it, missing it. Instead, it bounced on the tips of her fingers and
it hit Jillian in the chest. Instinctively, she grabbed for them.

Dammit
.

She frowned down at them but didn’t have a chance to do
anything with them as she heard her name called out. Pictures. Great. She
sighed as she walked to the stage. Better to get it over with quickly, just
like ripping off a bandage.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

Conner watched Jillian, trying not to laugh. “Looks like
she’s going to her execution.”

Micah smiled. “Beware of the woman who doesn’t want to get
married.”

Conner slanted him a look. “Yeah? Why’s that?”

“You sometimes find yourself wanting to convince her
otherwise.”

Conner shook his head. “You really are getting to be like an
old woman.”

“You’ve been warned. I just wanted to let you know that
Devon is still working on the list, but he’s had a few hits that he’s looking
into.”

Conner sobered. “Good. Anything promising?”

Micah shook his head. “In fact, he said most were
nonviolent, so it isn’t probably going to pan out.”

The same familiar irritation he had been dealing with
crawled down his spine. He knew that there was something they had to be
missing. The fact that there seemed to be no lead was beyond troubling.

“I doubt we find anything, but I would feel better if all
avenues were looked at,” Conner said.

“Nothing from the police I take it?”

Conner shook his head as he watched Jillian walk back to
him. “I’m hoping it was some freak but who knows. Even if it was random, I
would rather find out and soon. These things rarely just go away.”

Micah nodded. Both of them knew that more often than not,
the problem would escalate. The fact that the bastard had been quiet for a few
days meant nothing. Neither of them said anything to Jillian.

She shook the bouquet in disgust. “I cannot believe I caught
another one. You saw that I didn’t try to get it, right?”

He smiled. “How many have you caught?”

“Five.”

“Five?”

She sighed. “Yeah. Every wedding I’ve been to since I turned
eighteen. It’s disturbing.”

“I’m off to the hospital,” Micah said as he leaned in for a
kiss on her cheek. “You two have fun.”

And with that, he left them alone. Conner looked at Jillian,
who was still frowning down at the flowers.

“They’re pretty.”

She shrugged. “I’d rather not have them.”

He laughed and grabbed her hand. For tonight, he would try
to put everything else out of his mind and enjoy it. They had little time left
together, and even though he knew they had to figure out what was going on,
they needed tonight to be fun.