“If you eat enough of these, there might not have to be a later.”
Her words reclaimed his attention. “Excuse me?”
She smiled. “I said if you eat enough of these you might be able to forgo dinner later. They’re so delicious.”
His first instinct was to tell her that to him, food was like sex—he rarely got enough of it. But he decided telling her that wasn’t a good idea. After they had both filled their plates, they walked up the steps to the upper deck where tables and chairs were located.
His attention shifted to claiming a table close to the rails so they could continue to enjoy the view of the river while they ate. When they were both seated, he turned his attention back to her. Her hair was blowing in the midday breeze and he stared at the magnitude of her beauty once again. While his attention was on her, her attention was on her food. Most people who came to New Orleans appreciated its culinary excellence and he could tell by the way she was enjoying her bowl of seafood gumbo that she was enjoying the cuisine, too.
Instead of concentrating on his food, Storm was becoming obsessed with a question. When he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to eat before he got an answer, he decided to come out and ask her the one question that was gnawing at him.
“So, are you seeing anyone seriously, Jayla?”
He watched her lift her head and met his gaze. She smiled. “No, I’ve given up on men.”
Storm frowned. Her answer was not what he had expected. “Why?”
She leaned back in her chair. “Because there’re too many out there like you.”
He leaned forward, lifting a dark brow. “And how am I?”
“The ‘love them and leave them’ type.”
He couldn’t dispute her words since he was definitely that. But still, there was something about hearing it from her that just didn’t sit well with him. “Not all men are like me. I’m sure there are some who’d love to get serious with one woman and make a commitment.”
She tipped her head back and grinned. “Really? Any recommendations?”
His frown deepened. There was no way he would ever introduce her to any of his friends. Most of them were players, just like him, and his only unmarried brother was too involved with his restaurant to indulge in a serious relationship. His thoughts then fell on his six male cousins, eight now if you counted the most recent additions to the Westmoreland family—the two sons his uncle Corey hadn’t known about until recently. But still, he wouldn’t dare introduce her to any of them either. If she was off-limits to him, then she was off-limits to them, as well.
“No,” he decided to answer. “There aren’t any I can recommend. Where have you been looking?”
She chuckled as she went back to her gumbo. “Nowhere lately, since I’m no longer interested. But when I was interested I tried everywhere—bars, clubs, blind dates and I even used the Internet.”
Storm’s mouth fell open. “The Internet?”
She smiled at the look of shock on his face. “Yes, the Internet and I have to admit that I thought I had gotten a very promising prospect…until I actually met him. He was at least fifteen years older than the picture he had on the Web site made him seem and instead of having two hands, it seemed he had a dozen. I had to almost deck him a few times for trying to touch me in places that he shouldn’t.”
Storm’s hands trembled in anger at the thought that she had done something so foolish as to place herself in that situation. No wonder Adam had asked him to look out for her. Now he regretted that he hadn’t done a better job at it. He could imagine any man wanting to touch her body, since it was so tempting, but wanting to touch her and actually doing it were two different things. “Don’t ever date anyone off the Internet again,” he all but snarled.
Jayla grinned. “Why, Storm, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous,” she said playfully.
Storm wasn’t in a playful mood. “Jealous, hell. I’m just trying to look out for you. What if that guy would have placed you in a situation you couldn’t get out of?”
Jayla raised her gaze upward. “Jeez, give me the benefit of having common sense, Storm. We met in a public place and—”
“He was groping you in a public place?”
She took a sip of her drink and then said, “We were dancing.”
Storm took a deep, calming breath as he tried reeling in his anger. “I hope you learned a lesson.”
“I did, and there’s another reason I’ve given up on men.”
He raised a brow. “Yeah, what’s that?”
Her eyes turned serious. “Most are too controlling, which is something I definitely don’t need after having Adam Cole for a father. I didn’t start dating until I was seventeen, and I wasn’t allowed to do sleepovers at my friends’ homes.”
Storm frowned. “There was nothing wrong with your father wanting to protect you, Jayla. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for a single man to raise a daughter, especially one as spirited and defiant as I’d heard you could be at times.”
Jayla shrugged. “Well, whatever. You wanted to know the reasons I’d given up on men and I’ve just told you why I don’t date anymore. I figured what the hell, why bother. Men are too much trouble.”
The eyes that were gazing up at him were big, round, sexy and serious. He shook his head. To tell the truth, he’d often thought women were too much trouble, too, but at no time had he considered giving them up. “I don’t think you should write men off completely.”
The jazz band that had taken a break earlier started back up again and conversation between him and Jayla ended. While she became absorbed in the musicians, he sat back and studied her for a long time. Being concerned about his late mentor’s bratty daughter meant he was a good friend and not a jealous suitor as she’d claimed. He never cared enough about a woman to become jealous and Jayla Cole was no exception…or was she?
Jayla sipped her drink and half listened to the musicians who were performing a very jazzy tune. Of course she had recognized Storm’s concern as a protective gesture but still, she couldn’t resist ribbing him about being jealous.
He was so easy to tease. Charming, gorgeous and sexy as sin. But what she’d told him had been the truth. She had basically written men off. That’s why she had decided to use the fertility clinic instead of a live donor.
She had made up in her mind that marriage wasn’t for her. She enjoyed her independence too much to have to answer to anyone, and men had a way looking at their wives as possessions instead of partners, a lover for life, his other half and his soul mate. Her time and concentration would be focused on having her baby and raising it. Then later, if she did meet someone who met her qualifications, he would have to take the total package—her and her child.
She glanced over at Storm and saw his full attention was focused on the musicians. There was a dark scowl on his face and she wondered if he was still thinking about her and the Internet man.
Running into him in New Orleans was definitely an unexpected treat. She decided to enjoy the opportunity while it lasted. So far, their day together had been so much fun…at least for half the time. The other half of their time together she’d been too busy fighting her attraction to him to really enjoy herself. He was no different from the other men she had dated—possibly even worse—but that didn’t stop that slow sizzle from moving through her body