Captivated By The Millionaire. Nina Singh

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      * * *

      She certainly was leading a glamorous, adventurous life, Jess thought with sarcasm as she settled onto her couch and pulled her tablet out to find a movie to stream. Unlike her mother.

      Martha’s Vineyard had its fair share of pubs and restaurants. There was plenty to do to socialize, particularly in the summer. She’d been invited to head out to one of those spots with a couple of friends in her apartment building. She’d declined. This suited her just fine. Lately, she was getting tired of the weekend routine of staying up all night then missing half the next day sleeping in. Anyway, she needed some downtime. Her emotions had been on a proverbial roller-coaster ride since Jordan Paydan had stridden into town.

      Some strange sorcery must have come into play just then because her tablet lit up with a notification of an incoming call. To her surprise, it was Jordan. Probably calling to give her feedback on Sonya’s reaction to the completed diorama. Her mouth went dry and she took a quick sip of water before she could answer.

      “Hello,” she spoke into her phone.

      “I hope I’m not calling at an inconvenient time,” his smooth, baritone voice asked over the tiny speaker.

      Jess glanced down at the capri sweats she wore and her thinned-out ratty T-shirt. Then she glanced at the pint of mint chocolate chip she planned on as her dinner.

      “No. Not at all.”

      “We were wondering if you were busy later. If you had plans for this evening?”

      They were? It took effort to keep her voice from stammering when she answered. “Nothing terribly exciting or urgent,” she managed to say. Quite an understatement that was. Her date with the streaming service notwithstanding.

      There had to be some explanation for this phone call. Perhaps it wasn’t even happening. Maybe she was just dreaming it. It was the only theory that made sense.

      “Excellent. See, you and I were sort of wrong about Sonya’s reaction to your artwork.”

      Jess’s heart sank. That explained everything. He was calling because his sister was less thrilled, apparently wanted something changed.

      “Uh, we were?”

      “She wasn’t just happy with it. She was thrilled.”

      “Oh!” Relief surged through her chest. “I’m so happy to hear that.”

      His amusement at her reaction was clear in his voice when he spoke again. “She asked to thank you in person. Like immediately. Any chance you can join us for dinner?”

      The offer was so unexpected, Jess was glad she’d put her glass down on the coffee table. No doubt she would have dropped it. “Dinner?”

      He hesitated. “We’ll understand if you’d rather pass—”

      “No! I mean, I didn’t have any plans for dinner at all. Other than the ice cream. Mint chocolate chip. Which isn’t really a dinner, but sometimes a girl just needs to relax with a creamy frozen treat. Plus, it’s from Bimby’s down the street. Have you been there yet? The best ice cream this side of the Atlantic. And they have all sorts of fun activities. Mini-golf, bumper boats. You should really go. Even a petting zoo!” Oh, dear Lord, now she was rambling like a madwoman.

      Thank goodness he couldn’t see the redness that was sure to be coloring her cheeks. He’d just so completely thrown her off guard. Not that she ever felt fully calm or collected when it came to this man.

      He chuckled once more. “We’ll be sure to check it out. As for tonight, I’ve just fired up the grill, then Sonya’s going to help me throw together a salad. It should all be ready by the time you get here.”

      Jess knew she should decline, knew that graciously turning down his invite would be a good idea. An even better idea would be to resolve to try and avoid Jordan Paydan as much as humanly possible.

      And it wasn’t like she was in any state of dress to be seen out in public, in a ratty T-shirt with even rattier capri sweats and fuzzy socks. Why on earth couldn’t she be one of those women who stayed dressed and ready for anything? Rather than one who threw on any old top and a pair of sweats at the first opportunity? Again, so unlike her mom. Jacinda was always ready to go, no matter what the situation called for. Not this again. How many times a day did she have to remind herself not to compare herself to her mother? She’d learned long ago that no one really compared to the woman, least of all her only child. For one, Jacinda wouldn’t dream of living full-time on an island off the Massachusetts coast where most people only came on vacation.

      In the end, her self-will utterly failed her. “I’m looking forward to it,” she replied into the phone on a resigned sigh then made her way to the small bathroom of her apartment. “Thanks for the invite.”

      “Don’t mention it. It’s the least we can do. Especially considering you refused any sort of payment for all your hard work.”

      There it was. A reminder that she couldn’t read too much into this invite. Jordan was simply being polite and trying to find a way to thank her since she’d refused his offer of payment. Nothing more than that.

      “I can be there in about half an hour if that works.”

      “Great. I’ll let Sonya know. She’ll be happy to see you.”

      He’d just told her that Sonya would be happy to see her. Not Jordan. Again, it would be silly of her to think otherwise, even for a moment.

      “Oh, and Jess?” he asked before she’d disconnected.

      “Yes?”

      “Bring the ice cream. I’ve always loved mint chocolate chip.”