Sweet Nothings: A Karma Café Novella (2 page)

Face hot, ears ringing with embarrassment, Bianca settled into her seat and stared at her fingers.

Maybe she’d introduce herself later.

Had he ever wanted a woman more?

Jacob Carlisle stared at the black haired beauty, pretty sure the answer to that was a big fat no. He’d certainly never crossed the country for one. Nor had he haunted a café for five days straight in hopes of catching sight of one.

A woman who, according to all government records didn’t exist anymore. Bianca White had never applied for a driver’s license. She hadn’t used her social security number since she’d run from home at sixteen. She had, as far as the law firm of White, Hunt and Carlisle was concerned, disappeared.

But three weeks ago, Jacob’s sister had shown him a blog post she’d found on one of her home decorating sites. The article featured an all-female contracting firm out of San Francisco that specialized in amazing wall painting techniques. He had no interest in having his walls painted. But he was fascinated, as his sister had figured he’d be, that one of the women was an old schoolmate of hers, and another looked just like Bianca White.

A little poking around had netted him the info that Grace Stone had moved to San Francisco a year after Bianca White had disappeared. There was no other connection between the two women, though. Different backgrounds, different schools, and the idea of a White, of the Boston Whites, running off with the daughter of a plumber to live in San Francisco and paint walls and hang drywall was pretty wild.

Still... Jacob’s gut told him it was worth checking out.

If he’d been able to get ahold of her home address, he was pretty sure he’d be renting a car and sitting, slumped down in the driver’s seat, watching her front door. All he had was her work address, though.
Cottage Caretakers
. He’d waited out front a few times, hoping to see her arrive or leave so he could follow, but she always seemed to be in the field. He’d followed one of the women to this café last week and noted that the group of them often met here for lunch. Finally, today, a woman who looked like his quarry had joined them.

Score
! If his career as an attorney didn’t work out, he had a fledgling future as a stalker.

His altruistic motives had to offset the skeeziness, didn’t they? As long as he ignored the conflict-of-interest face-slam of instant lust he’d felt at the first sight of her, he was still doing the right thing. Because if the woman across the room was the daughter of his good friend and late client, she was also the heiress to a vast amount of money. But Bianca White had ignored the first trust she’d come into at twenty-one, as well as the second at twenty-three. Now, a few months past Bianca’s twenty-fourth birthday and tired of waiting to get her hands on all that lovely money, Lynn White was having her stepdaughter declared legally dead.

Jacob considered the widow a vindictive, nasty bitch and would do anything—including stalking on his own dime—to make sure she didn’t get her hands on that money.

It wasn’t a quest to bring money to runaways that had him crossing the country with just a photo and a random comment as a clue. Nope. Lynn White was a malicious mercenary who’d shown her true colors as soon as her husband died. She spent half her time spending his money, the other half hounding his attorneys and trust administrators to get her hands on more to spend.

As one of said attorney and administrators, Jacob had endured threats, rants, and one time a vase aimed at his head. To be the one to tell Lynn that she’d just lost her claim on all the money left was a bright and shiny dream.

With that in mind, Jacob gulped down the last of his coffee, determined to confirm that the pretty little thing across the room was Robert’s daughter, then convince her to step up and accept her inheritance. All he had to do was ignore the fact that she was the sexiest, most appealing woman he’d ever seen.

“Finished with your soup?” a friendly voice asked.

Jacob reluctantly tore his gaze away from the woman he was obsessing over.

“Hi, Natalia,” he greeted with a friendly,
if I’m charming you’ll tell me everything I need to know
, smile. “Best potato leek soup I’ve ever had. Actually, everything you serve here is magnificent. What’s your secret?”

“Magic,” she said with a wink just as saucy as the soup he’d almost licked from his bowl.

Maybe it was a California thing, but all the women he’d seen since getting off the plane last week were gorgeous. Including the owner of Karma Café. Tall, willowy and exotic, she had a bone structure that defied age and black hair that fell in a thick wave down her back.

“You bottle it and you’ll make a fortune,” he assured her, even as his gaze shifted back to the rowdy group in the corner. Eight women cozied up to the tables, all gorgeous, all petite, all carried an air of tough independence. But it was the quietest one, the stunner with black hair, who held his attention.

“Looks like you’re in the market for something other than magical treats.” Natalia sounded more amused than insulted.

“Well, you have to admit, they are a distracting view.” He gave a what’s-a-guy-to-do shrug toward the table.

Natalia’s gaze followed, then she nodded.

“Ahh, yes, the girls from Cottage Caretakers. They do work for us from time to time. My Anja went to school with a few of them. Serenity, Joy and Bianca, I think.”

Bianca.
Bingo
.

Bells rang a triumphant little jingle in his head. It looked like his search had come to an end. The girl in the corner looked enough like the photos he’d unearthed that he’d been pretty sure she was the woman he was looking for, but hearing her name clinched it.

Then Natalia’s words sank in.

“Went to school with them?” He looked at the owner again, noting her flawless complexion, solid black hair and slender figure.
Hell
. “So, they’re what? Still in high school?”

Natalia’s laugh was rich and sexy, ringing through the café like a hug, making the rest of the diners smile in reaction.

“Oh, you are a dear boy.” She reached out one smooth hand and patted his cheek. “Anja is six years out of high school, sweetie.”

He couldn’t hide his shock, prompting her to add, “Don’t bother to do the math. I stopped counting birthdays when I hit thirty-five.”

“I’m having trouble believing the thirty-five, let alone anything higher,” Jacob said honestly. Again, his gaze shifted to the women in the corner. “But I am glad to know none of the lovely ladies are underage.”

“Now don’t tell me you’re single, handsome and looking for a date?” Natalia teased.

“Looking for a special someone, actually,” he admitted.

Natalia’s eyes gleamed with a calculating spark that made Jacob’s shoulders twitch.

“I’m guessing you’re a Sagittarius, but what’s your exact birthday?”

Brow furrowed, Jacob tried to remember when he’d told her he was born in December. Since offering up his astrological sign was something he did, like, never, he had no clue how she’d figured it out.

“Um, December seventh,” he said slowly, wondering what her sage nod meant.

She looked across the room again and gave a small hum.

“Interesting. Fire and water can generate a lot of steam. Still, a Sagittarius-Scorpio combination is a tough.”

“Beg pardon?”

She flashed him an
oh-nothing
smile and offered, “Could I bring you anything else?”

Still stuck on fire, water and steam, it took his brain a few seconds to process that question.

“Could I get a sandwich? That roast beef I had yesterday was great.”

With a nod, Natalia said she’d be right back.

While he waited, Jacob did what he did best. He strategized. His ability to pull together random pieces of information and manipulate them into a cohesive plan of attack was one of the reasons he was the youngest law partner at White, Hunt and Carlisle.

He knew he wouldn’t get anywhere if he approached the table. He’d hired people who’d tried. They all said the same thing—she was impossible to get to, always surrounded by her flank of female bodyguards. If she was hiding, using a different name, she had a reason. He’d tried calling Cottage Caretakers. Even the sorriest stalker could hear the nerves on the other end of the line when he’d asked for Bianca White—who, according to the woman on the phone—didn’t exist so don’t ever call again.

Chalk up a big fat fail on the direct approach. He was going to have to be sneaky. Thankfully, he’d spent the week eavesdropping. Here, around their job sites, at the deli next to their building. But it hadn’t been until this morning that he’d heard the news that he’d been waiting for. Now he just had to put it to good use.

Ten minutes and a delicious roast beef Panini later, and he was ready. When Natalia came back, he offered an exaggerated sigh of satisfaction.

“That was great. Now I’d love dessert. And maybe a little advice. I’m looking for a different place to stay while I’m in town. Maybe there’s a Bed and Breakfast you can recommend? I hate hotels, but I need a place for a week or two.”

Natalia’s expression turned crafty. She cleared his empty plate, handed him a dessert menu and suggested, “You should try the chocolate cake. It’s delicious today. Very rich.”

There was some significance in her words, but it floated right over Jacob’s head. Instead, he waved away the menu. “Sure. Cake sounds good.”

When she returned with a slice big enough to put a diabetic into a coma, instead of leaving she settled into the chair opposite him.

“I have a room upstairs that we rent from time to time. It’s cozy. Comfortable. It comes with breakfast and lunch. It’s in need of a few repairs, though, so there might be a worker or two needing in while you were there.”

Yes
. Jacob kept his courtroom face on, not letting the triumph he was feeling show.

“Sounds good to me.”

“I don’t rent to strangers, though.” Natalia’s cheerful friendliness faded. Her eyes seemed to glow as she looked at him. So deep into his eyes that he was pretty sure she could see everything from his childhood fears to his penchant for blue boxers. “You’ll have to let me cast your chart.”

“My... Huh?”

“Your astrological chart.”

“You have a room, but won’t rent it to me unless I let you do my astrological chart?” he repeated slowly, sure he misunderstood. Who rented a room in the midst of repairs, based on bullshit like that?

“Exactly.” She glanced at the clock, then gestured to the gorgeous younger replica of herself who was working behind the counter. “Anja, cover for me. Our newest tenant needs a reading.”

First stalking, now an astrological reading?

Jacob sighed.

The things he was willing to do to win, it boggled the mind.

Chapter Two

Natalia eyed the handsome young man as he wandered through the vacant upstairs apartment. He was handsome, no doubt about that. Despite his casual appearance and desperate need for a haircut, he had the look of someone used to money, but not used to being a snob.

His enjoyment of food spoke to a sensual nature, and his vocabulary and diction indicated an extensive education. Financial well-being, a good nature, sensual awareness and intelligence. All vital.

What he did with them, she had yet to find out.

She could ask, of course.

But she’d prefer to find out for herself.

“This is great. Love the view.” Hands in his pockets, he nodded out the window toward the Golden Gate. “You must be fighting off the tenants.”

“We only began renting it last month.” When money issues had mandated some creative thinking, Natalia had decided the apartment she’d previously used to offer clients astrological and palm readings could serve a new purpose. Two new purposes, actually. First off, it could be rented occasionally for additional income. Second, and more important, it be could used to lure in potential sons-in-law.

Like the one standing in front of her.

“Look around, see if you’ll be comfortable while I prepare for the reading,” she suggested.

Settling into her favorite ladder-back chair with its velvet tasseled cushion, Natalia sighed. A son-in-law, a wealthy suitable one, would take the financial pressure off the café. A son-in-law, a handsome one, would make her sweet Anja’s life much more interesting. And, again more importantly, a son-in-law would offer the necessary means to provide Natalia a grandbaby. Her heart demanded one, as did the Karmanski tradition.