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When he raised his head, she struggled to open her eyes. Amusement reflected in his, and desire too. She felt the extent of it in the movement of his hands over her hips and his unyielding hard body.
“I’ll give you what you want,” he said. “But it won’t be all sex.”
She looked at him in surprise.
“You say you don’t want to date, but a woman needs more than just the physical.”
Her mouth dropped open. Gently, he shut it with a finger to her chin. She could have told him a thing or two about his arrogance. He released her and guided the cart outside himself. She had no choice but to stumble behind him, completely unnerved.
Chapter 7
Jasmeka handed Laredo a mixed drink and turned away. She hadn’t gone more than three steps before he caught up to her and grasped her hand.
“Laredo, I’m working. Let me go.” She tugged to no avail. Half his guests must be looking their way by now, but she didn’t want to scan the crowd to see.
“Eres tan hermosa. You’ve made my party a success, Jas.” He deepened his voice as he spoke. She assumed it was to sound sexier.
The problem with Laredo was that while he wasn’t a bad-looking man, he wasn’t all that hot either. His belly was round like he was nine months pregnant, his hips were narrow, and his legs were skinny. He had chosen to tame his hair with gel or mouse and slick it sideways across his forehead. Maybe he thought he was cool, but she disagreed. It looked ridiculous.
“I want to reward you for taking care of me.” He made it sound like he’d been laid up in bed, and she was his nurse. That wasn’t happening.
“You are rewarding me—with my catering fee.”
He poked his lips out. Who told him men could pout? “That’s not enough. Let me take you to dinner, just you and me.”
“Weren’t you hitting on my sister earlier?” She was letting Katrenda’s bluntness influence her.
“Me and Katrenda aren’t a good fit. I realized I was letting her fill in for you.”
Wrong answer.
“Come on. We’ve been sending each other signals for a long time. Let’s quit playing these games with each other.”
She twisted out of his hold. “I don’t know what kind of signals you think you’ve been getting, but let me assure you I have only been professional when it comes to business and friendly when it comes to being neighbors. If you have a complaint about my services—”
He raised his hands in defense and widened his eyes. “No, no. Everything is great. I thought… Well…”
“Good, then we’re done here.” She spun on her heel and walked away.
Katrenda met her on the way to the house, and Jasmeka snatched the empty serving tray out of her sister’s hands just to have something to do with her own.
“Yikes, you look intense. What’s that for?”
Jasmeka rolled her eyes and hurried inside the house. A cool blast of A/C hit her, making her realize just how hot under the collar she was feeling. Her anger died as quickly as it rose. She didn’t like to hold on to a negative mood for long.
“Nothing, just Laredo coming on to me. What else is new? He was trying to get you earlier, wasn’t he?”
Katrenda snorted. “Until I cut him down to an inch tall. If he’s messing my little ray of sunshine Jasmeka me and him is going to have a problem.”
Jasmeka laughed. “Leave it alone. He got the message.”
“No man ever gets the message with you.” Her sister frowned. “I’m the one searching high and low for a husband. Meanwhile, they’re clamoring over you, and you won’t give them the time of day.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
Katrenda penned her with a look of disbelief. “You think I didn’t notice how long you were inside with Miguel?”
“He was helping with the tray. I told him he didn’t need to, but I think he needed to stay busy. Probably why he came to the barbecue.”
