9781618857958KissMeLikeYouMeanItLeveyNC (8 page)

“My
date is vegetarian. Make sure there are enough options available for her to
choose from. What I don’t want is to hear we’re out of that dish, and also
fetch one of my grandfather’s bottles of wine from my personal wine cellar.”

“Yes,
sir. We look forward to pleasing you.”

I’m sure you do.
He’d
fended off her advances for the past few years as he grew into the position to
run the place. The last thing he needed was a sexual harassment charge. Finding
companionship with any female attached to the restaurants was a headache he’d rather
avoid. “Thanks, Chantal, see you soon.” He ended the call and shoved his phone
into his pocket.

“Okay,
mister fancy pants. I have to dive into some luggage to find the perfect dress
to wear. See you in a few hours.” Carlie threw her arms around his neck and
kissed him on the cheek. Pleasantly surprised, he watched her walk past him
toward the house.

“Hey,
what was that for?”

“Sometimes
you can be real sweet. I like that nice side of you.” She flashed him a
megawatt grin that left him reeling for more of the sunshine dancing behind her
eyes.

Nice,
if only she knew the thoughts racing in his head. Thoughts of taking her on his
desk, or in every room of his house, in every orifice. Shoving his dick in her
mouth to silence the bitchy nature inside her, or a ball gag, although he’d
rather shoot a load in her mouth and watch her swallow. Yeah, she may have been
drunk when she was coerced into posing for that magazine, but they always say a
drunk mind is an honest one. Therein lies the distinct possibility that she was
hiding a sexy naughty side underneath that conservative appearance. The idea of
exploring that side of her made his dick hard. For now he’d settle for dinner and
taking her out on the town.

Bowling,
he hadn’t been to the local place for years. Normally everyone bowled at
Garrick’s. He pulled out his phone and searched for the local bowling alley, then
tapped the numbers to place the call.

“I’d
like to reserve a lane for cosmic bowling from ten
til
close. Is there open Karaoke on the bar and grill side?”

“Yes,
sir. We do have both. I’ll need a credit card to reserve the lane.”

Jackson
rattled his information. The young girl squealed in excitement. “Jessie, let’s
not tell the whole world I’m coming okay. I’m bringing a date. For your silence
I’ll take down your information and get you two front row tickets and a
backstage pass to our next show.”

“Okay.
Um. So I’ll just write down Jack Stone. You can pay cash when you get here. I
won’t use your credit card because everyone who works with me will know.” He
noticed her hushed tone.

“Thank
you for your discretion.”

A
sound on the stairs grabbed his attention. He pocketed his phone and took in
the worried expression on Carlie’s face. He wanted the sunshine back. “What’s
wrong?”

“I
don’t have anything to wear out to dinner. I thought I had at least one dress that
surv
—I mean packed. But I don’t.”

Jackson
quirked a brow. “I know you and your sister shop like there’s no tomorrow and
always have. I also know you packed everything but I didn’t see much here, so
where are all your belongings?”

Carlie
opened her mouth and slammed her lips shut. “It’s embarrassing really.”

“Princess,
I’m not going to ask again. I’ll call the school.”

“It’s
really no big deal.” She looked to the ground. “Just take me shopping before
our dinner date. I can bring a T-shirt and some jeans or something to bowl in. I
get the inquisition enough from my father and brother, and you’re not either so
quit.”

“Then
answer the fucking question. Where are all of your clothes?”

“I
don’t want to talk about it.” She stalled to see if he’d drop it.

He
crossed his arms and waited.

“Ruined.
The bitches in my sorority tossed my room and poured bleach and other nasty
things over everything. They even ruined my favorite poster.” Her demeanor
changed, talking about leaving her school visibly upset her. Jackson felt like
an unconscionable bastard once again. The last thing he expected to hear was
she’d been vandalized by her so-called friends.

“I’m
sorry, princess. I hope you reported them.” He added that to his mental list of
things to take care of regarding Carlie.

“I
don’t know who all was in on it. I just want to forget about what happened,
okay?”

“Okay,
let me grab my sunglasses and change clothes.”

“All
right, I’ll grab my purse. Jackson?”

“Yeah.”

“Please
don’t tell anyone in my family what happened. It’s really embarrassing and
having them upset about the magazine is enough.”

“I
will handle the problem with your school.”

“Okay.”

“Princess,
one more thing. After today I can’t promise the world won’t know you’re here
with me. If that’s a problem, I can have sales associates bring the store to
us.”

“No.
That’s all right. I can’t hide forever and I’m feeling a bit cooped up.”

“Figured
as much. I’ll be right back.” He headed upstairs to his now shared room, picked
a long sleeve shirt, hat and pair of sunglasses, sprayed on his signature
cologne, grabbed his wallet and shoved it into his back pocket, then linked the
chain to his jeans. After picking up the phone near his bed and calling for his
car service, he headed back downstairs.

Carlie
waited for him in a Crimson Rage T-shirt, the band name stretched across her
breasts. He whistled low, loving her toned body.

“I
figured I’ll bowl in this and can just change for dinner while we’re out.”

“Sounds
good to me.” The blush spreading across her face pleased him. “The driver will
be here in a few minutes.” He slipped his hand into hers and led them out,
stopping briefly to engage the alarm system.

“What?
We’re not driving?” She tucked her face into the crook of his neck.

“Nah.
I was going to take the bike but I’ll probably send whatever you buy back here
with the driver and we’ll stay in Manhattan.”

“I’m
not getting much though, I can get a few things but mainly want a new dress. I
can’t afford a whole new wardrobe.”

“Princess,
when I said I’d take you shopping, I didn’t expect for you to pay for anything.
You don’t have a job, babe. Besides what happened to your things wasn’t your
fault, you were victimized a second time when you were shamed and bullied at a
place you should’ve been safe at.”

“Jackson,
you can’t just buy me a whole new wardrobe. That’s not proper. We’re not dating
or engaged or anything. We’re friends—well, I mean I don’t know what we are
since we fight so much,” she stammered on.

“I
have more money than I know what to do with. Replacing what was destroyed isn’t
a big deal. No strings attached. Got it? I’m not nice to everyone. Let me do
something nice for you.”

“Still
feels wrong.” The town car pulled up to them. He never waited for the driver to
open his door. Instead, he opened the backseat door and ushered her in and slid
into the seat next to her.

“Raul,
downtown Manhattan, please. We’ll be stopping by
Sacs, Bergdorf’s
and
Armani
Fifth Avenue
.” He buckled up and
motioned for Carlie to follow suit.

Carlie
turned to him after clicking her buckle with a gaping wide open mouth, looking
like a fish gasping for air. “I meant take me to like a local mall, not to
Fifth Avenue
.”

“Gorgeous,
as much as I like malls, it’s easier for me to shop at the boutiques. People,
if they recognize me, will take pictures, but there is less of an opportunity
to mass rush me there. I’ve already called the stores we’re going to stop into and
advised them we’re heading in. The perk of being my father’s son gives me more
leeway than just being a rock star.”

“Oh?
Who’s your father? I sort of remember him but he wasn’t around much, not that
you ever talked back then. You just played music with my brother and kept to
yourself at school. Girls used to say you were so quiet they thought you were a
hot sociopath and talked about ways you’d fuck them, then kill them off.”

“
Haha
, funny.”

“Okay,
so I made all that up. But really rumor mills had you pegged as the bad boy
who’d end up getting some cheerleader pregnant or end up in jail for dealing
drugs or something.”

“I’ve
never been a big talker, princess. What you see is what you get. Like it or
leave it. You crazy ladies have insane imaginations.”

“Crazy?”

“All
women are crazy, babe, like all men are assholes, comes with the territory.”

“Not
all men are assholes.”

“Trust
me, we all have the asshole tendency, even if you don’t see it, it’s there,
lurking just under the surface.”

“Whatever,
aren’t you breaking some guy code telling me this?”

“Nah.
I mean ya’ll do call us assholes on the regular even when we haven’t done
anything.”

Carlie
laughed. “Because we know what you’re gonna do ahead of time.”

“Smart
ass. Let’s enjoy the ride.” He turned on radio and slid his hand around her
shoulders.

“Thanks,
Jackson.” She leaned into him as the driver merged onto 95 S.

Chapter Four

Who
knew Jackson could be a really nice guy. For the first time in a week, Carlie
felt like her old self—her new old self. She’d never go back to being naïve.
Now here she was with her rock star walking hand in hand with the one person
she normally wanted to bash in the head with something hard, like a book.

“What
has you thinking so hard?” Jackson asked her while tickling her palm with his
thumb.

“You.”
Carlie didn’t elaborate as he led them into another store.

“That
explains a lot.”

“I
was just thinking, why did you get your tattoos and if they have significant
meaning? I wonder what your favorite color is, favorite song, favorite food?”

“I
got my first tattoo to be defiant. The tribal art spoke to me. I added the rose
for my grandma and mother. The ram is for my zodiac sign. I’m an Aries. My
mother’s maiden name spans across my upper back to remind me of my roots and
her morals and ethics. I keep adding to my arms on tour. I guess I’ll stop when
I’ve run out of canvas. Black is my favorite color, it’s not very imaginative.
My favorite song depends on what I’m listening to. I have a favorite song for
every genre in music probably.” He shrugged.

“That’s
cheating. You have to pick just one. I bet you don’t have a favorite movie.”

“That
is easy,
Scarface
.”

“Really?
How thuggish of you.”

“C’mon
it’s a great movie. How about you?”

“
Star Trek
.”

Jackson
dropped her hand, clutched his heart and staggered backward. “You slay me,
another Chris Pine fan?”

Carlie
let her face get the dreamy eyed look. “I mean he has perfect lips, and those mesmerizing
ice blue eyes. He’s so sexy.”

“So
you’re into womanizing assholes who fuck anything that walks and loves to
fight.”

“Oh,
getting jealous?” She separated them, stepping behind racks.

“Jackson
doesn’t get jealous.”

“Dear
Lord in Heaven, are you really referring to yourself in third person?” She
giggled and checked out the racks.

“No,
Jackson is gonna take a seat and let the princess shop.”

“Say
that louder, I don’t think anyone heard you.” He was certifiable.

“May
I be of assistance?” A saleswoman with a nametag reading Justine approached
them with perfectly stiff hair and five layers of makeup on her face. Carlie
had to wonder how long it took her to get ready and how many cans of spray she
used.

To
her left, Jackson was falling out of his seat rolling with laughter. Thankfully
the silent kind. “Oh, I need a little bit of everything, casual, business
casual, business, intimate apparel, sportswear. On his tab.” She pointed over
to Jackson.

“I’ll
be glad to assist you in whatever your needs are. We’ll start with casual. Come
along.”

“Yes,
ma’am. Jackson, you coming?”

“Nah,
I’m good here. You go have fun.”

“Aww,
but what if I need your opinion on something?”

“Text
me.”

Carlie
rolled her eyes at him and followed the sales lady. In the past four stores
he’d abandoned her to the help and sat on his fine ass, playing with his phone.
“Fine.”

That
made his head snap up and darkness shimmered in his eyes. He delivered the
heated look well, making her shiver. Then his face softened as he ran a hand
through his unruly hair and stood. “No need to get all worked up, princess.”