Plain Jane's Prince Charming. Melissa Mcclone
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on the road. A white pickup pulled a horse-trailer ahead of them. “The race cars aren’t street legal.”
“So do you spin a wheel to see which one of the six cars you’ll drive each day?”
He couldn’t decide if she was being sarcastic or humorous. He would try funny. “No, I reach into a bag and pull out a key.”
Her grin reached her eyes, but no sparkle. Damn, he was hoping to get both with one shot.
“You could use a dartboard,” she said.
“My throwing precision would remove the element of Fate.”
“Not if you closed your eyes.”
There. Not quite a sparkle, but he glimpsed a twinkle in her eyes. Something stirred inside him. Something good, but unfamiliar. “Is that what you would do?”
She laughed, and the warm sound sunk into him. “If I thought I had six cars, my eyes would be closed because I would be dreaming.”
The more he learned about Jane, the more he wanted to know. He exited on Stafford Road and turned right. “What do you drive?”
“I take Metro, either the bus or the MAX train depending on where I am, where I need to go and when.” She touched the leather seat once again. “It’s not so bad.”
Not bad at all. Chase wondered what it would feel like if Jane stroked him like that with her fingertips and hand. The scene forming in his mind sent his temperature rising.
She glanced over at him. “Not as nice a ride as this, but it gets me there.”
“With the scrape of brakes and the crunch of bodies.”
“It’s not that crowded, but…” She pursed her lips. “How did you know?”
He hadn’t always driven a Cadillac. “In college, I didn’t have a car so I relied on public transportation.”
“Sure you did.”
“I’m serious.” Chase didn’t want her to think he was patronizing her. “On weekends, I would take get on the Red line at Kendall Square and ride the T, similar to a MAX train, to Park Street. I’d transfer to the Green line and get off at Kenmore Square.”
“Where was that?”
“Boston.”
“Harvard?” she asked.
“MIT.”
Her eyes widened. “MIT?”
“Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
“I know what MIT is. A top science and engineering school,” she explained. “I just forgot about you being hi-tech.”
“Hi-tech. Guess that’s better than geek,” he said. “Though it makes me sound like a robot or something.”
“You mean a robotic shark that’s not afraid to bite anything.”
“Now that would be intimidating.” He glanced her way. “Except you forgot one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t bite. I nibble.”
She looked out the window and adjusted her glasses.
Chase grinned, but said nothing, enjoying the graceful, yet nibble-worthy curve of her neck.
“What does Cyberworx do?” Jane asked.
“Lots of different things.” He loved talking about his company. “Our newest division has been working with quantum dots, photonic crystals and carbon nano tubes.”
Her eyes glossed over. “I’m not going to attempt a comment.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” she said. “It’s not your fault I’m about as non-technical as they come. Want to know a secret?”
“Sure.” Now they were getting somewhere, but he doubted she would share her favorite places to be kissed. “And I promise not to tell.”
“I don’t own a computer,” she said.
“Not everyone owns a computer.” Something wasn’t adding up about this conversation, and then Chase remembered. “Didn’t you offer to e-mail me information about the benefit this morning?”
“I use the computers at the library.”
This complicated matters. “Do you go there every day?”
“No.”
“I rely on e-mail to get things done,” he explained. “It’s the easiest way for me to keep in touch and contact you.”
“I’ll stop by the library every day and check my e-mail.”
Not good enough. “I have a better idea. You can borrow one of my laptops.”
“Thanks, but um…don’t you need some sort of Internet access or something?”
“Yes.” He recognized the flash of panic in her eyes. No car, no computer, no money. But that didn’t mean she had no pride, either. He understood that. And he was beginning to understand Jane a little better. “But I have a special wireless deal. It won’t cost you anything.”
He waited for her reply. A beat passed. And another. She was going to say no. Somehow he would have to convince her to change her mind. For both their sakes.
“Thanks,” she said instead. “That would make things easier.”
He hadn’t seen that one coming. She had pride, but practicality had won out. “Great.”
“As long as it’s no problem,” Jane added.
He turned left and drove past an alpaca farm. “It’s no problem.”
And it wasn’t. Chase got the feeling working with Jane was not going to be a problem at all especially if they could mix a little pleasure—not to mention nibbling—with business.
As Chase punched in a security code to open the double wrought-iron gates, Jane stared at the grapes growing over trellises in neatly spaced rows behind the stone wall paralleling the road. To the left sat a big building where Chase said the wine was produced. Up on the hillside, sunlight reflected off the copper roof of a grand-size house. At least she thought it must be copper. The structure looked old, built of some sort of stone or brick, like a castle or villa. She leaned forward for a better view.
The gates opened, and Chase drove inside.
Anticipation built. She felt as if she were Cinderella arriving at the castle on the night of the ball. Jane had no idea what to expect and couldn’t wait to see everything. Until she remembered. Once the clock struck midnight it would be all over. She settled back against the comfortable leather seat.
A paved driveway wound up the grape covered hillside. Antique-looking lights were strategically placed along the roadside to illuminate the way at night. As they gained elevation, the house—more like a mansion—came into clear view. Jane gasped. “It’s as if we’ve been transported from Oregon to Italy or France.”
“A château in Bordeaux inspired the estate.”
“The designer did his research.” She truly felt as if she were part of a fairy tale. She expected to see white horses gallop by. And a prince. She glanced at Chase. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” he said. “The first time I saw this place I had to have it. No matter what the cost.”
His world was a hundred and eighty degrees from hers. She couldn’t afford to rent an apartment by herself, buy a car or replace lost contact lenses. “Must be nice to be able to have whatever you want.”
His gaze met hers, and her heart skipped a beat. “It doesn’t suck.”