Completing the first floor was a formal dining room that was closed off by double sliding doors that could clearly be mistaken for part of the kitchen wall. Nevealise smiled inwardly. Nice touch. That small detail maintained the old charm of the home.
She walked around a long dining table, cherrywood highlighted by ornate carvings. The elegant gold tipping and expensively upholstered chairs surrounding the table gave the room a regal look.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Jarred’s smooth voice teased from across the room.
She started. Her eyes darted to where he stood, and honed in on his broad chest with the words Howard University printed across the front of the fitted T-shirt. Her gaze shifted to the sweatpants he wore, to his slippers, and then traveled back up to his face, where he wore a mile-wide smile. Nevealise could feel the blush starting at her neck and creeping across her cheeks. She lowered her head.
“I take it you like what you see,” he said, and she couldn’t help but let her eyes meet his. Her face was now several shades of red, and she knew it.
“What?” she choked out.
“The house—you like what you’ve seen so far?” He smirked.
They both knew that he wasn’t talking about his house. Nevealise walked past him, or tried to, anyway. He blocked her exit.
“I like the house just fine from what I’ve seen of it,” she said haughtily. “Excuse me.”
“After you, milady.” He bowed and laughed. “Come on, I’ll give you a guided tour of the rest of the place.” He took her hand in his, pulling her alongside him.
“Why do you have such a huge home for one person?”
“I don’t know. At first it was for entertainment purposes, but I use my home in the Hamptons for the little entertaining that I do now. I put in so many hours at the office that I’m rarely here.” He looked around. “It’s a waste, really,” he said.
Nevealise heard pain in his voice. She wondered what wound she’d opened up, and then it hit her. Brice had mentioned that Jarred had been engaged to be married a few years ago, and that the wedding had been called off. He hadn’t given her any details. Now she wondered what really happened, and if this house was in some way a part of the pain that she’d heard in his voice.
“A rather expensive waste, wouldn’t you agree?” she teased, flashing him a smile.
“Very.” He grinned.
“I’m sure you had your reasons for purchasing it. In any event, it’s stunning and not overly stated. Very homey, with a warm and cozy feel. Guests are not made to feel afraid to sit or touch anything for fear of messing something up or breaking your valuables. Very comfy.”
“A house is made to be lived in, not looked at and admired from afar. I guess that’s why there’s a difference between a house and a home. A home is lived in. Welcome to my home, Nevea.”
“Thanks for having me, Jarred.”
“From your comments, I take it that you’ve broken a few pieces here and there at someone’s home?” he teased.
“Of course I have. Ballet and other dance classes have helped some with my clumsiness. However, when I’m into my work I have been known to walk into things and knock stuff over. If I’m not wearing my contacts or glasses, forget about it. I’m a total klutz.”
“Well, everything in here is replaceable, so no worries. As long as you don’t hurt yourself, have at it.” He chuckled. “Let’s get started with that tour. We’ll start with the lower level—the basement.” He opened the door and walked down the steps. Nevea followed.
“Wow, you’ve turned your basement into a basketball court. Nice. This must have been a big renovation project.” She looked around the spacious area at the wall-to-wall padding. Aside from the court there was a workout area, which included a weight bench, dumbbells and a boxing bag at the far end.
“You like basketball?”
“It’s okay. I used to watch my brothers and their friends play. I can live with or without it.” She shrugged.
“You know it’s funny. Your father and mine are close buddies, yet our families never interacted much. Actually, until you showed up to tutor my sister, I had forgotten Mr. Tempest even had children. Why’s that? I find it rather odd,” he said softly.
“Hmm, that is odd, isn’t it?” she said quietly, not offering up any additional information. “I believe we hung out more when we were all younger, and let’s face it. You’re older than I am, so you wouldn’t have noticed me too much, anyway. Or it could have just been that your father grew tired of Josiah Tempest.”
“You really don’t care for your father, do you?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.” She wouldn’t tell Jarred that the man who claimed to be good friends with his father was well and truly a pompous, male-chauvinist pig who treated Nevealise and her mother like the hired help rather than a daughter and a wife. The one time Nevealise had thought she’d earned her father’s respect, it had turned out to be a lie. He’d used her, too. Just like he’d used most people in his life.
Her father knew she’d wanted to be a part of the family business, but no, he wanted her brothers to join the company. To Josiah Tempest’s chagrin both her brothers had gone to medical school instead. Then here came poor little awkward, bookwormish Nevealise. Trying to please her daddy, she’d agreed to help him install special security software and several other high profile programs that she’d created herself for the mortgage company’s computers. She’d done so with the assurance that she would oversee not only the implementation of the programs, but also be given a managerial spot in the company alongside her father. Of course, that never happened. Just as soon as her programs were operational, her services were no longer needed, and at that very moment she’d realized that she didn’t need her father, nor did she want anything to do with him. So she stayed away.
“So-o-o, would you rather play some one-on-one?”
“What?” She arched a brow. Nevealise had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard a word Jarred said.
“Basketball. Would you like to play a game?”
“I haven’t played in a while. My brothers used to make me participate to even out the players when they had a few friends over. Frankly, I would have rather been reading a book.”
“Both your brothers are doctors, correct?”
“Yes, they are.” She smiled.
“I take it you’re on good terms with them?”
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No reason other than the fact that every time I mention anything about your family you clam up.”
“Not true. I just don’t talk about my father.”
“You never answered my question,” Jarred said. “Do you want to play a game of B-ball?”
He picked up the basketball. His muscles flexed, causing her mouth to practically drop open. Jarred was all man. A handsome man full of sex appeal. After all these years, he still had an effect on her hormones. Nevealise couldn’t deal with being up close and personal with him in a game of one-on-one. Not with the way her body was reacting to his mere presence. Instead of agreeing to the game, she took the cowardly way out.
“Maybe. I’d like to see the rest of the house first. If you don’t mind.”
“Sure. Come on.” He threw the ball down, took her hand and led her back up the stairs.
With her senses already heightened,