Chapter 2
Jonathan Hart stood with his back to the party and let his gaze linger over the lights beyond. It was a beautiful view, Los Angeles at night, and something he'd much prefer to the bustling room behind him. He didn't really want to be at this shindig, but Max had pointed out how important it was and Jonathan gave in.
He supported the cause wholeheartedly and made sure his company was at the forefront of offering support to those employees impacted by HIV and AIDS. That seemed more important to him than attending a big party, but he also knew making an appearance and being an open and proud support, was as crucial as all the dollars he could contribute.
His mind, however, was on the next morning and his pending flight up to Seattle. Jonathan knew Bill McDowell since they were green navy cadets. He hadn't seen Bill in at least four years, and the invitation had Jonathan's mind whirring. He had his guesses at what Bill might want, beyond a test pilot in a war games simulator. If he was correct, and McDowell Aviation was up for grabs, he was going to be very busy in short order.
Not that his schedule wasn't already full to bursting. Hart Industries kept him occupied every single day, although it was an absolute labor of love. Max stopped giving him hell years ago about staying single, admitting that JHI was the only true love of Jonathan's life.
Oh, he'd had a few girlfriends, off and on. He'd even been close a few times. There was that actress he'd met while at the Golden Goose. They'd dated for nearly a year. Then there was Nikki Stephanos who was probably the closest he'd come to a wife. He heard she married Alex Constantine, which had surprised him at the time. What hadn't been a shock was finding out that Nikki left Alex some time later. Apparently she ran away with a French man.
The other ladies in his life were…nice. Women he liked to take out and spend time with. Take to Baja or Hawaii. Show them a perfectly wonderful time and split on amicable terms. He remained friends with nearly all of them, often invited to their weddings. But there was yet to be a woman who could stand up to the rigors of a multi-million dollar company and hold her own against its demands.
And that was fine with Jonathan. He didn't want to be in a relationship he had to half-ass because he was busy running an empire. A wife deserved all of his attention, and he hadn't found anyone who could snag his focus away from work for very long.
Jonathan tugged at his tie, ready to be rid of his whole tuxedo.
Max promised to make himself scarce that evening, should Jonathan find a companion to bring home but Jonathan didn't think that would be necessary. It made him feel strange to think of picking up a woman at this particular event. Like thumbing his nose at something that deserved respect.
So he made his way around the room to chat with the various people he knew. Another actress he dated briefly, a few studio heads, more than a handful of the press, a couple of tech guys (one he was interested in poaching, if at all possible) and such. After what felt like hours of inane conversation, he found himself outside overlooking the city and breathing deeply for the first time.
He could leave, he thought, and go home to catch the tail end of the Clippers game. He'd call Max and let him know he'd be home within the had been a long week in an even more interminable month with no sign of slowing down. He needed a break and evening of basketball with Max was just the thing.
He was halfway to the door when he saw her. She was…stunning. Fiery hair and a long slender neck with shoulders pale and bare. He didn't even need to see her face to know she was gorgeous.
He was intent on watching her, tracing the line of her throat into toned shoulders, a trim waist and the longest legs he'd ever seen, that he almost knocked down a waiter and his tray of empty glasses.
With a self deprecating chuckle, Jonathan apologized and rerouted, heading back into the depths of the party.
The closer he got, the more his blood thickened. The lace at the top of her dress accentuated more than it hid offering tantalizing glimpses of sun burnished skin.
He bet there were freckles over those shoulders.
Once he was a few steps away he could make out her conversation over the hum of the room. He was surprised to catch his own name.
"I've softened on him over the years." She was saying. "I probably wouldn't call him half the things I've said. At least not to his face."
Interesting. He didn't think he knew this woman, believed for sure that he would remember such a vision. And yet.
"Easy money." She said and the chime of no their glasses had Jonathan speaking up.
"I'll take that bet." He was dead certain he didn't know her and had no guesses as to why she might hold a grudge against him, but he was willing to find out. "I'm Jonathan Hart. And you are?"
He thought he was prepared, thought he knew what to expect when she turned. But the reality of her was a punch to his solar plexus.
Her eyes, honey velvet and bright gold, were filled with humor. and a touch of something else. He felt a tug behind his navel, his abdomen clenching with desire. Her lips were quirked in a rye smile and she tilted her chin up just a fraction, expression flashing with something he couldn't quite define.
Was it challenge?
He imagined Everest. The grueling Los Angeles to Honolulu race. The black diamond slope in Vale.
A thrilling, wondrous, life-altering adrenaline rush.
"You mean you don't remember me?" She asked. "I remember you, Mr Hart."
Challenge accepted.
