Chapter Two
Marietta fought the disappointment threatening to choke her since Luke Jewel had pulled his gaze from her and focused on the wedding vows, then succeeded in avoiding her even after the ceremony was over. What did she care? He was just another man. She had plenty of those to go around. Men fell at her high-heeled feet daily and begged her for dates and kisses. She was kind, she never stomped on their outstretched fingers with her spike heels, but she’d tried relationships, lots of them, and failed spectacularly at each and every one. Recently, she’d vowed to never let a man have more than a dinner date. Why should Luke Jewel get any special privileges? Just because his blue eyes had lit her up from the inside out …
“Mar,” a little voice said from down below. Mar looked down, which was an odd thing for her, as she was almost always looking up at other people. Paisley stared up at her, her bright blue eyes reminding Mar of the little girl’s incredible uncle. Dang him.
“Yes, sweetheart?” She bent down so she was on the little girl’s level. Nobody should have to crane their neck all the time, as she was sure this darling child did in a tall, stately family of mostly handsome uncles.
“I think you’re the most beautiful lady in the whole wide world.”
Mar put a hand to her heart. This little doll was surrounded by beautiful ladies from her aunt and mom to Jade Jardine, who was dating her uncle Joshua, to her new aunt Cosette, Mar’s bestest friend. “Oh, my goodness, you’re darling. I think you’re the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world.”
Paisley extended her hand and gave her a dimpled grin. Her cheeks were the perfect roundness, all squishy and kissable. Mar had never spent time around children, but this one was highly adorable. Straightening, she took the hand Paisley offered and let her lead her toward the dessert table. Mar was definitely getting better at plowing through this sand in her heels, though she longed to take them off like she’d noticed other women doing. She kept up with Paisley, thinking that the impish child simply wanted another bit of chocolate, but the little girl bypassed the variety of delectable-looking treats and pulled her right up to her grandfather and her … uncle Luke.
Marietta pulled in a quick breath as the two men cut off what looked like an intense conversation and turned to focus on them. Luke and his father both grinned widely at the little girl and opened their arms. She ran to Luke first and gave him a tight squeeze around the neck. Mar’s heart squeezed too. He was great with children.
“Aunt Rach told me to bring her to you.” She smiled impishly back at Mar.
Mar’s eyes widened and her stomach fluttered as Luke gave her a significant look. Mar wasn’t surprised that Rachel was matchmaking. She liked Luke’s feisty younger sister.
“Oh, she did?” he asked Paisley.
“Yes, sir.” Paisley then leaned out of her uncle’s arms, and her grandfather easily caught her and held her. “Papa,” she said, all innocent sweetness. “Mama said I could put my toes in the ocean, but only if you come with me.”
“Well we’d better go put our toes in the ocean, then.” Peter Jewel, internationally acclaimed billionaire, looked like a much younger man as he set his granddaughter on the sand and took her hand. “Excuse us, please.” He nodded to Luke and Marietta, a knowing look in his eyes as he glanced between them.
“Of course,” Marietta murmured, but she had no clue what she was going to do when left alone with the intriguing and too-handsome Luke.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other. Marietta couldn’t pull her gaze from his blue eyes. He looked interested in her, but there was also a wariness behind his gaze that surprised her. His reputation was that of a playboy, but he didn’t give off that aura. He seemed as driven to be successful as she was and she didn’t imagine he wasted much time on meaningless relationships.
When he still didn’t say anything, she murmured cordially, “Good to see you.” Then she turned and tried to stride through the blasted sand with her head and shoulders straight and proud. That was one thing foster care had taught her well: never show weakness.
She heard him coming behind her and looked over her shoulder right as Luke wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her out of the sand. She looked up into his handsome face and asked, “What are you doing?”
He grinned. The beauty of it stole the oxygen from her lungs. The skin around his eyes and mouth crinkled, and he looked irresistible but also approachable. Maybe hewasonly human, not descended directly from Mt. Olympus. “You looked like you were struggling,” he said.
Mar sputtered for an answer. “Struggling … I’m not …”
Luke simply grinned and easily carried her to the section of temporary flooring set up for the food tables and the dancing. They got a few interested glances, but everyone was busy with their own conversations and celebrations. “Why do you wear those things?” he asked, tilting his chin down toward her heels.
Mar folded her arms across her small bosom and gave him an imperious glare. “Because they make my legs looks fabulous.” She dared him to contradict her, hoping it wasn’t obvious to the world why she wore them. Some of her ex-boyfriends claimed she had an inferiority complex. Whatever.
Luke’s blue eyes swept her up and down. She twisted one leg and flexed her calf, just to illustrate her point. A smile played on his lips, and he nodded. “Yes, those legs are definitely fabulous, but I don’t know that the heels should get all the credit.”
Wise man. Very wise. “My house has five flights of stairs, and we do have a lot of hills in San Francisco. They can take some credit too.”
His smile grew. “Please tell me you don’t wear heels like that traversing the hills of San Francisco.”
“Of course I do.” She gave him a sassy wink. “You should come watch sometime. It’s pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.”
“I bet it is.” His gaze trailed over her again, and she felt a little hotter than the sunny day could account for. “So the heels are only for fashion and to make your legs look even better?” He arched an imperious eyebrow.
The heat he’d infused into her fled, replaced by an icy chill. Her height was a sensitive subject. End of story. “What else would I wear them for?” She gave him a pointed look and dared him to say it.
But as she’d surmised earlier, Luke Jewel was a wise man. “I’m sure they’re extremely comfortable.”
“Yes, sir, they are.”
He smiled as if they were sharing a secret. “Do you want to sit?” he asked, gesturing to a nearby table and chairs that were empty. “Take some pressure off those feet?”