Wine Country King: California Suits, Book Two by Claire Marti

Author:Claire Marti [Marti, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 13

“See you tomorrow, Austin. And yes, we’ll fit in some wine tasting. Never fear.” She ended the call and parked next to Jack’s Range Rover at Maison du Soleil.

Austin Michaels made her smile. The black sheep of the Michaels brothers, he was the only one of the Hotel Kings who hadn’t attended San Diego State University on a ROTC scholarship. Boot camp and rock n’ roll Austin would have clashed. Instead of attending college, Austin had pursued his rock star dreams. When he’d ended up spending more time bartending and working in restaurants than cutting Platinum records, he’d accrued enough experience to run the restaurant arm of Hotel Kings.

She stepped out of the car and ignored the tickle of anxiety dancing down her spine. Laidback Austin wasn’t planning on staying overnight, so there shouldn’t be a discussion of crashing at her or Jack’s place.

She hoped.

Time for a meeting with the architect and Jack about the restaurant’s progress. She hadn’t seen much of him this week. Every night she’d study late, and if Jack was awake when she returned, he’d be tucked up in bed with his nose in one of his gory paperbacks. He’d wave and she’d call out good night. All very nonchalant, like they were two polite strangers temporarily rooming together instead of…whatever they were.

The minute she closed the bedroom door behind her, her shoulders would sag. They couldn’t keep up the routine for much longer without one of them breaking. Or at least her. He was so casual that she almost questioned whether they’d really hooked up or she’d dreamed it.

“There you are. The architect is ready to roll.” Jack stood in front of her, looking sinfully handsome in a white polo-shirt and olive khakis.

She gulped. “Hey, you didn’t have to come out and greet me.” Because you are too dangerous to my equilibrium.

He flashed a playful grin. “Let’s rephrase that, shall we? Hi Jack, my favorite person in the world, I’m so happy you’re here.”

She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Oh, sorry. That’s what I meant to say.”

He nodded. “I thought so. Seriously though, I was over on this side of the property and saw you pull up. Let’s head back.”

She fell into step next to him. “I was on the phone with Austin, and he’ll meet you here around ten-thirty tomorrow. I’ll catch up with you to discuss some food and beverage specifics over lunch. I’ve also got a couple wine tastings set up over in Tin City in the afternoon. Sound good?”

He nodded. “Sure. Good, that’s good. I’ll be done with a video conference on some Beverly Hills negotiations by then.”

They crossed through the main outdoor courtyard space leading to where Chez Paul Marc, hopefully one day a Michelin Star restaurant, was under construction. “Do you get tired of swapping back and forth between lawyer and managing director?”

One of Jack’s most attractive traits was his razor-sharp mind and his approachability, which made him a smooth negotiator.

“No, it’s a pretty easy transition. Different aspects of the business, that’s all.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.