Free Mistress Minded by Katherine Garbera Page A

cigar from his mouth.
    â€œHere we are,” Adam said.
    Angelini must have been standing on the large veranda at the back of the hotel for some time. Jayne tried to determine if Adam had noticed Ray standing there before or after he’d kissed her.
    One glance at Adam’s face revealed nothing. It was the second time she’d realized that he had an innate ability to hide what he was feeling. She tried not to let the knowledge get to her, like some kind of warning.
    â€œOur jazz band is going to be starting their second set in a minute. I was hoping to catch you on your way back from the walk and change your mind. Want come see them, compare? ”
    â€œSure. I want to make some notes on the entertainment. And Jayne likes to dance.”
    I do? “Not tonight. I’ve got a headache.”
    â€œAre you okay?” Adam asked.
    â€œYes. I think it was the traveling and the long day at work.”
    â€œWell, starting tomorrow you won’t have anything to do but relax,” Ray said.
    â€œGo ahead, Adam. I’ll see you later.”
    The band started playing and Angelini stood in thedoorway of the hotel. Adam was at a crossroads, one path leading toward the man who held the keys to a deal he wanted to close, and the other leading to Jayne. She tried not to place too much importance on that fact. She also told herself it didn’t hurt when he walked away.
    Â 
    Adam was uncomfortable the moment Jayne left. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the evening in a bar with Angelini. The lobby decor hadn’t changed in the last twenty years. There was that sixties-style furniture and large paddle fans that kept the air circulating.
    Was Jayne okay? She’d seemed fine on the beach a few minutes ago. He would stay for one drink and then make an excuse and leave. The ceiling fan teased his memory and he knew he’d seen it or one like it before.
    Ray seemed annoyed when they entered the smoke-filled lounge. The act on the stage was a jazz trio and their music was good, but all Adam saw was Jayne’s wide blue eyes filled with a kind of hurt that he hadn’t realized he could inflict on another person.
    Angelini signaled the waitress when Didi joined them. His wife didn’t have much fashion sense. She wore a long skirt in some shade of olive-green. Adam was pained to see a woman dressed so…shabbily. He made a mental note to have the boutique send Didi some new clothes.
    â€œWhere’s Jayne?”
    â€œHey, babe. She couldn’t join us. Something about a headache.”
    Didi didn’t say anything, but glared at Ray. Those two had the strangest relationship. Adam didn’t sense true love between them at all. So he wasn’t sure why they were insisting on it from their potential buyers.
    â€œI’ll leave you two to discuss business,” Didi said with a pointed look at Ray.
    â€œBabe, you’re cramping my style,” Ray said.
    But Didi just walked away. Adam didn’t want to sit here and schmooze with Ray for the next thirty minutes. The band slid into an old Miles Davis tune. Adam wished Jayne were here. She’d like this band, and he knew he could coax her onto the small dance floor.
    â€œThat one is always sticking her nose in my business. She gives me agita. Is Jayne like that?”
    â€œNo. Well, sometimes. If I ask her to do something she thinks is ridiculous or not good for business.” Adam didn’t mind her interference, because nine times out of ten she was right on the money. Jayne had a way of looking at life and situations with clear eyes, and sometimes she saw things that he didn’t with his single-minded focus on getting the job done.
    â€œHow long you two been together?” Ray asked, taking a sip of his drink.
    Adam knocked back his single malt. Not longenough, he thought. “She started working for me eight months ago.”
    Ray gave him a man-to-man look. “But you knew you wanted