Read Online Not Quite Dating by Catherine Bybee - Free Book Online Page B

surveyed his greasy hands.
    Jessie opened the back door and pulled out a package of wipes she kept there for her son. “Here,” she said, pulling a couple wipes free and handing them to him.
    Cleaning his hands, Jack thanked her. “Let’s get you home.”
    “I can call my sister.”
    “And wake up your son? Come on.” He grabbed her elbow and led her toward the front of the hotel. “A friend of mine borrowed my truck, so we’re going to have to use a different car to take you home.”
    “You have a second car?”
    “Not exactly.”
    Jessie walked faster to keep up with Jack’s steps.
    He stopped in front of the valet porter and smiled. “Hello, Wes.”
    Wes stood a little taller at the mention of his name. His eyes swept back and forth between her and Jack.
    “Hello, Mr.—”
    “Jack,” he interrupted. “ Mister is so formal.”
    “Jack,” Wes said, his eyes continuing to shift almost as if he was nervous or something.
    “Wes, it appears that one of the hotels guests is having a bit of difficulty with her car.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry, miss.”
    Jessie smiled and Jack continued to talk.
    “Is there a car available?”
    Wes took short steps as he walked up to his podium to check a book sitting on top of it. “There is, but Mr.…Jack, it seems we are short a driver tonight. The other two are takingother people home at this time. No telling when they’ll come back.”
    “That’s fine. I can drive the lady home. Can you have one of your runners bring the car around?”
    Wes’s head bobbed up and down, his cheeks rippling slightly as he did. “Right away, sir.”
    Jessie grabbed Jack’s arm and led him back a few feet. “What are you doing?”
    “Getting you home.”
    “In a hotel car?”
    “Relax, Jessie, we do this all the time.”
    First the dress, then the party, now this? Jack was sure to get canned, and it would all be her fault.
    A few seconds later, a limousine pulled up into the circular drive and a porter popped out of the driver’s seat. Wes opened the back door and extended his arm to Jessie.
    Her feet wouldn’t budge. This couldn’t be the car Jack spoke of.
    Jack pushed her forward. “Get in,” he whispered under his breath. “Act like you do this all the time.”
    Jessie plastered a forced smile on her lips and quickly slid into the backseat of the stretch limo.
    Bedded lighting roped around the doors and seats. Eight or nine people could easily fit into the space. A minibar sat below a flat-screen television; a moonroof displayed the stars twinkling above.
    When the front door closed and Jack pushed a button, lowering the glass separating her space from his, Jessie hopped into the seat closer to him. “You know, Jack, you’re crazy.”
    “Nice, isn’t it?”
    “Nice? It’s amazing.”
    Jack pulled out of the drive and into what traffic milled about this late on a Saturday night.
    “You were a guest at the hotel, and TheMorrison takes care of their guests.”
    “I was an impostor, and you know it,” she scolded as she ran her hand along the soft leather interior with a sigh.
    “Darlin’, there is nothing about you that’s fake. Nothing!”

Chapter Five

    Jack watchedher from the rearview mirror. Jessie was grinning from ear to ear, pressing buttons and checking out the luxuries a limo provided. Adorable, there was no other way to describe it.
    “Have you ever ridden in a limo before?” he asked, turning toward the airport.
    “No, can’t say as I have. I can’t believe people live this way all the time.”
    “Some do.”
    “Can you imagine being able to do this anytime you wanted a ride?”
    Jack swallowed and kept his eyes on the road. “I’ve met my share of silver-spooned kids…adults who have had access to limos all their lives. You’d be surprised how many of them are a lot like you and me.” He glanced in the rearview mirror to gauge Jessie’s reaction.
    She shrugged her shoulders and petted the leather as if it were fur.
    What would she think if