Page 6 of Lahaina Noon (Modern Legends of Dragons & Shadows #1)
Chapter 6
B ridget had a second bout of panic before Jack shoved her evening bag into her hand and nudged her towards the previously discussed sexy red shoes.
“Relax,” he cooed reassuringly. “He’s fine. It’s not like Vaughn’s going to bite the poor kid’s head off.”
“Besides,” Jorrie added, “It’s cute that he puffed up like that, going to protect his mama; it’s really sweet.”
Bridget knew they were right. She’d been fantasizing about this man for months while they worked together on that project. She knew him to be kind and laid back. She was just super nervous and needed something besides her own weirdness to focus on. As if she’d summoned it by thinking of it, the shadow on the wall behind Jack and Jorrie started to grow. It curled like a bony finger, pointing at her accusingly. It thinned further, reaching again as if trying to separate itself from the rest of the shadow cast by the floor lamp in the corner. She hated that lamp; it resembled some metal monstrosity from the Art Deco period that Brian had loved and she had merely tolerated. He’d kept the lamp from his bachelor days, and now she couldn’t bear to part with it. Although if it kept making creepy wall crawling shadows, that thing was going on the curb next bulk trash day.
“Bridge!” Fingers snapped in her face, and she saw a concerned look on Jack’s face.
“Earth to Bridget,” said Jorrie, “Where were you just now?”
Completely losing my mind . “Uh,” she stuttered. “Just trying not to throw up from being nervous I guess,” she finished weakly.
“Well, get out there before he thinks you’re standing him up in your own home!” Jack grabbed her and pushed her out of the room.
Bridget walked into the foyer and saw Vaughn in an immaculately tailored suit, having what seemed to be an animated conversation with Gabriel. He looked devastatingly handsome in a three-piece suit and tie. The soft waves of his raven-black hair blended into the collar of his jacket.
When her heels clicked on the tile, his eyes lifted to her, and she could swear she saw flames in them before he cleared his throat and straightened his tie. She saw his gaze roam over her figure from head to toe, lingering on the shoes before moving back up to her face. Jack had been right about them. They did wonders for her legs.
“Bridget.” He breathed in. His purely male voice made her already weak knees even weaker.
Gabriel turned to look at her with a face of sheer delight. “ Mom! ” he shouted, “You didn’t tell me you were going out with Vaughn Freaking Drake!”
Bridget had a moment of bemusement. “Well, I didn’t have a chance to and even if I did, I didn’t know you would know who Vaughn ‘Freaking’ Drake was.” She smiled at Vaughn and mouthed ‘Sorry’ before looking back at her spawn, which was currently jumping around like a puppy.
“Vaughn Drake!” he said again. “THE Vaughn Drake!” he laughed.
Bridget looked around the room, confused, before Jorrie finally came to her rescue.
“I think what the Rutabaga is trying to say—”
“Aunt Jorrie!” groaned Gabe, hearing her call him their private nickname in front of his apparent idol.
Jorrie grinned and continued, “Is that Vaughn Freaking Drake is not only the esteemed leader of Chesapeake Industries and Jack’s boss, but the brains behind the Cloud Warrior gaming franchise that Gabe is so addicted to.”
Gabriel nodded enthusiastically, “Mr. Drake was just telling me that the next part of the story is coming out in two months. All the forums have been speculating it would be another six months at least! Oh man, wait til the guys hear I just met Vaughn Freaking Drake! He’s standing here in my home .”
Bridget noted that Gabe was staring at her date with something akin to hero worship and lightly patted his arm. “Slow down, buddy. I’m sure Mr. Drake would like to keep the game information secret for trade purposes. He also probably doesn’t want a bunch of teenage heathens pouring out of the woodwork. We are just going to dinner.”
She heard Vaughn give a low chuckle, “On the contrary, Ms. Ridgeway, I’d be happy to meet Gabe’s friends. After all, they are my target audience. It’s always good to get a fresh perspective from end users, right? ”
He gave her an amused glance before turning back to Gabe. “Tell you what, if it’s okay with your mom, why don’t you and let’s say, five or six of your friends, join me on Saturday at headquarters, 1:30ish, and I’ll let you guys play the final version on our testing screen? You can meet some of my developers, and we can see what you think?”
Bridget stammered, “Oh no Mr. Drake, you don’t need to—”
Seriously ?” Gabriel shouted over her protest. “Dude!” he said in a quieter voice. He looked like he was about to pass out.
Jack walked over. “Wait, he gets to play Cloud Warrior-4, and I don’t? You wound me, man!”
Vaughn laughed. “Of course, Jack. You know you’re always welcome. You still owe me a beer after that last Ranger’s game, remember? You too, Jorrie, if you don’t have anything going on.”
“ In !” Jorrie replied, before he even finished.
Gabe glared at Jack, “Uncle Jack, we gotta talk. You didn’t tell me you worked for CW!”
Jack held up his hands, “Gabe, I don’t work for CW. I work at Chesapeake, two different companies. I didn’t know you knew who he was either!”
Gabe appeared slightly mollified.
Bridget looked around at her family. “I guess I’m the one in the dark here. I had no idea,” she confessed.
“Oh no,” Vaughn said smoothly, “You are the one in the amazing dress, looking incredibly beautiful, and I think it’s time we depart so we don’t miss our reservation.” He moved closer to her, and she could feel the heat from his stare on her skin .
Bridget’s knees gave a little wobble. “Reservation, huh? I guess that means we aren’t going to Chili’s?” She could feel Jorrie starting at her back, willing her to shut her mouth.
To her surprise, Vaughn threw his head back and laughed, “Chili’s? Not with you looking good enough to eat. I’m afraid we are going to have to go somewhere a little more upscale and dark so no one tries to steal you away from me.” He placed a warm hand lightly on the small of her back.
Jorrie waggled her eyebrows suggestively before Vaughn escorted her outside to the waiting car.
Bridget was still trying to process the compliments and the flurries of goodbyes, as well as the reassurances from Jorrie that she would look after Gabriel for her while she had a good time. Jorrie had even offered to stay overnight just in case they wanted to have a really good time. Bridget’s mind froze on that, and she could wring Jorrie’s neck now for insinuating such a thing. Warmth crept up her neck, and she wished she wasn’t so overwhelmed as she walked out the door.
Jack had whistled and blown kisses at her loud enough to draw attention from her neighbors. She’d thought of a dozen great witty comebacks for her friends, but now they were going to waste.
Vaughn helped her into the backseat before he walked around to get in next to her.
She gently stroked the soft leather of the seat and tried to discreetly brush her fingers across the beautifully worked metal insets on the door. ZAP! “Shit!” she yelped, shaking her fingers before realizing that was indeed out loud. “Sorry!” she called to the driver, meeting his eyes in the mirror. “I’m so sorry! ”
“It’s no trouble Miss,” he replied, “Are you alright, though?” His kind green eyes searched her face.
“I’m fine, really,” she said, “Just got a little static shock, and it caught me by surprise.” She looked over at Vaughn and saw a frown on his face. Great. She’d embarrassed herself enough to last a lifetime in front of him already today. She hoped he kept up his offer to Gabe even though Gabe’s mother was obviously a lunatic with a potty mouth. “I’m sorry,” she repeated quietly, looking at his very full, very sexy mouth, wishing it wasn’t set in that frown.
Vaughn glanced up, and his frown melted into a small smile. “Please don’t apologize. I’m just concerned that you’ve been hurt. I know it wasn’t your fault. Except, well, you did tell me you have; what did you call it? An electrifying personality?”
She groaned, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“Of course, I remember, it was funny, and it describes you very well. You have a wonderful personality, and it electrifies me when you walk into a room.”
Bridget stared at him, where was all of this when they were working on their proposal and testing the past six months? Had he been flirting with her the whole time, and she just never noticed? Or was this a new development now that the deal was over? She resolved she was going to pay close attention to everything he said going forward, so she didn’t miss a thing. Which was no hardship, of course. His voice was like a warm sip of whisky on a cold night. It reverberated deep in her bones. Wait , what did he just say? Crap, crap, crap, there goes paying attention.
“Sorry, what?” she said sheepishly as she realized he had said something else while she was fantasizing about his voice .
He gave that silky laugh again, which made her shiver deep inside. “I said, Ms. Ridgeway, that I was concerned about you shocking yourself again. That happened this morning in the conference room, didn’t it? Before that, in your office. And you said it had also happened earlier as well? Does this kind of thing occur to you frequently?”
Bridget thought about it. “No, not really. I mean, yeah, if I’m walking across the carpet in fuzzy socks and touch a switch, sometimes it happens, but not this hard and this often. It’s really weird, now that I think about it. Lots of weird things today, if I’m being honest.”
“Are you?” he said quietly. “Are you being honest? What other weird things are happening?” He was looking at her like he knew something she didn’t.
Does he know about the shadows? she wondered. He couldn’t possibly, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell him now. Not when he still considered her somewhat sane. “Oh, you know, getting fired and shouting obscenities at my former boss,” she joked, hoping he believed that.
He leaned back into the seat, smiling. “Indeed.” He turned towards the driver and said, “Liam, let’s get going! You can see the lady is unharmed; stow your fire, and let’s move on.”
Liam nodded and pulled away from the curb, heading off towards the highway.
“Stow your fire,” Bridget repeated.
“Hmm?”
“You told Liam to ‘stow your fire’. That’s an odd thing to say, just thinking out loud,” she admitted .
Vaughn seemed thoughtful, “Well, Liam is of Irish descent and has a bit of a fiery protective streak about him, especially towards women.”
Bridget thought about it, and it made a sort of sense. “So where are we going?” she asked.
“Oh, just a little place I know,” he replied easily.
Bridget studied him, sensing she wasn’t going to get anything else out of him on it. “Well, in that case, you can educate me about something. Tell me more about this Cloud Warrior thing that has my son so worked up.”
“Thing?” He arched his eyebrow at her. “Sure, I’ll tell you about my… thing.”