Free Mischief 24/7 by Kasey Michaels Page B

Sam’s cousin, so that had been no help.
    The Internet, however, had filled in a lot of blanks.
    Court Becket was a man with his fingers deep in many profitable pies, not just the Becket Hotels. Age thirty-three, never married, graduated near the top of his class at one of Virginia’s best universities, where he’d also played first base on the baseball team. Served on the board of directors of a hospital, a bank and a historical preservation not-for-profit organization.
    Add a perfect example
of tall, dark and handsome
to that, along with those fantastic eyes, his sincere-looking smile and his expertise as a lover, and was it any wonder that Jade hadn’t called him? He was so far out of her league, they didn’t even exist in the same universe.
    For a moment, as Court disappeared around a bend in the trail, Jade considered stopping, turning around and heading back the way she’d come. But that was the coward’s way out. Besides, if he’d found her here, he could probably find her anywhere.
    So now she knew he was tenacious. And competitive. Traits she admired in herself, but sometimes not in others. Court Becket liked to win. He might even expect to win.
    “But not today, buddy,” she gritted out from between clenched teeth as she put everything she had into catching Court before they got to the
Rocky
statue.
    She would probably never know if she’d actually outrun him, or if he’d let her win, but she made it to the statue a good ten seconds before he did, to stand there, bent over, her palms on her knees, trying to regulate her breathing. “I’ll have… I’ll have orange juice and a… and a cinnamon raisin bagel from the cart at the other end of Boathouse Row. No cream cheese. Your treat.”
    The man didn’t look as if he’d even broken a sweat. “That’s not breakfast, Jade. That’s not anything even remotely
like
breakfast. We still have to get back to where we started. By then, I expect nothing less than eggs, bacon, potatoes and two pieces of toast.”
    Jade lifted her head, her ponytail slapping around her neck, and smiled at him. “You run, and then you stuff yourself with all of that saturated fat and cholesterol?”
    “I run so that I
can
stuff myself with all of that saturated fat and cholesterol,” he told her as they began to jog back the way they’d come. “Did I mention that I’d really like some pancakes to gowith the eggs and bacon and potatoes? I’ll get some blueberries on top. Blueberries, you know, are very good for you. So the one pretty much cancels out the other, or at least enough to fool my conscience.”
    “I hate to say this, but that all is beginning to sound pretty good. All right, you’ve convinced me. Now you pick the restaurant.”
    “Food quality and service are the hallmarks of Becket Philadelphia And I hear the room service is outstanding.”
    Jade shot him a quick look as they kept their pace measured, not too slow, but not fast enough to keep them from speaking to each other. “Nice try. No. Besides, I have to get to work.”
    “And I’m scheduled to fly out of here at three, so I’m not going to back off now, Jade. Besides, it’s New Year’s Eve. Nobody works on New Year’s Eve.”
    “The Sunshine Detective Agency does. I’m wrapping up a job today.”
    “Then I’ll help you. We need to talk, Jade. I could follow you home while you shower and change.”
    “Not really. Today, these are my working clothes. And thanks, but you wouldn’t like the job. Hey, would you like a short history lesson on Boathouse Row as we pass the boating clubs? All ten buildings are on the National Historical Preservation list, or whatever it’s called.”
    “Good for them. I want to kiss you.”
    She kept her eyes averted, concentrated onthe boathouses as they jogged past them, each with its own distinctive architecture. “Twenty-five years or so ago, the boathouses were getting pretty run-down, and there was talk that they should all be replaced.”
    “All over.