“Leon is a very thoughtful man.”
“Yes, he is,” Kacey agreed.
“But he’s not perfect, you know?” Nona abruptly countered.
Kacey leveled a puzzled look on Nona, and then shrugged, returning her attention to a petite Hispanic girl on a huge sable-brown horse who was revving up the crowd as she raced around the barrels.
“No one is,” Kacey commented, almost to herself.
“That’s true, and Leon’s had his share of troubles,” Nona continued, measuring her words, as if trying to gauge Kacey’s reaction.
“Really? Well, I wouldn’t know, or care, about his problems from the past,” Kacey snapped, irritated that Nona would dare bring up Leon’s personal life with her.
“Well, most people around here know all about what happened. In Rockport, nothing is secret for long,” Nona said, adopting a cool tone. “I’ve known Leon forever, and there’s nothing I don’t know about him.”
“Nothing?” Kacey’s head whipped around in disgust, exhausted by Nona’s obvious prodding. “I doubt that. There are a lot of things I could tell you about your boss that I’m sure you don’t know.” She was tempted to ask Nona if she knew that Leon had made love to Kacey in the fitting room at Archer. If she knew that he and Kacey had lain, naked, on his private beach while cool water swept over them. That she’d sucked his cock like a hungry person devouring a lollipop. No…. she couldn’t, but she wasn’t going to tiptoe around Nona any longer, either. It was time for Kacey to show Nona her Harlem-street-tough side and set this woman straight.
“Is there a point to this conversation?” Kacey snapped, letting her frustration fly. “I don’t have time for your stupid little games, Nona. If there’s something you want me to know, spill it or shut up.”
A beat. “You don’t have to get snippy.”
“I’m not being snippy, just real. If you’re so tight with Leon, why aren’t you here with him, and not me? As you can see, we’re together and you’re intruding!”
“Well,” Nona began as she sidled up to Kacey. “I only came over because I wanted to warn you.”
“About what?” Kacey shot back.
“It’s Leon. You seem to be getting pretty close to him, but he’s much more complicated than you think.”
“Most men are,” Kacey deadpanned with a roll of her eyes.
“Did he tell you he has a criminal record?”
Kacey did not reply.
“Leon did time in prison.”
Kacey squinted in disgust. “If he did time, then I guess he paid for his mistake, whatever it was.”
“Ask him about it,” Nona urged.
“If he wants me to know, he’ll tell me.”
“Bet he didn’t tell you he’s been engaged four times.”
Kacey tensed, but pressed her lips together, not wanting to get into a discussion about Leon’s love life with Nona.
“He’s the local playboy,” Nona continued. “Everybody knows he can’t stick with one woman for more than a few weeks. I’ll bet he’s told you all kinds of things to make you think he cares for you, but, trust me, he’s not really interested. Not romantically, that is.”
“And how would you know?”
“Because I know him too well. You’re not his type.”
“And I guess you are?” Kacey sneered, outraged by this woman’s impertinent, know-it-all attitude.
“As a matter of fact, yes, I am. He’s only spending time with you because you’re the new girl in town. He’s curious, but your novelty will wear off soon enough. He’ll dump you, just as he’s dumped all his women when he’s through with them. So why don’t you back off before you get hurt? My friendship with Leon is a whole lot stronger than anything he’ll ever feel for you.”
Kacey looked at Nona as if the woman had lost her mind. “Ha! And you call yourself his friend? Does he know that you go behind his back to spread gossip to hurt him?”
“I’m not hurting him. I’m helping him.”
“Obviously you don’t care that much about his feelings. If you did, you’d respect him, and his privacy, don’t you think?” Kacey inclined her head toward the end of the bleachers as Leon approached. “Here he comes now. Why don’t you tell him to his face what you just told me?”
“I’ll leave that for you to do,” Nona challenged in a taunt.
“I plan to,” Kacey promised, shocked by the odd conversation she’d just had with Nona. But then, most of her conversations with Nona had been rather odd, now that she thought about it.
“Hey, Nona. How’s it going?” Leon asked as he stepped onto the riser. “You’re looking real Western. I like your boots,” he remarked, reaching past her as he handed Kacey a frosty orange bottle.
Nona smiled cattily at Leon and scooted past him, deliberately brushing her mountainous breast against his arm. “It’s all good, Leon. Talk to you later.” She wiggled her fingers at Kacey. “See you at work. Have fun you guys.”
“What were you two talking about?” Leon asked.
“Nothing important,” Kacey replied, turning her attention back to the camera.
Though it was hard to do, Kacey held back from discussing Nona’s revelations with Leon, deciding not to ruin their outing. Shoving aside the questions that roamed her mind, Kacey concentrated on the stream of rodeo clowns spilling out of a tiny wreck of a car, determined to have a good time.
When the last event wound down, Leon nudged Kacey and cocked his head toward the exit. They both agreed it was time to leave, but Linette wanted to hang around and take more photos of the rodeo riders. When Freddy volunteered to drive her back to Rockport, Kacey was relieved that she and Leon would be alone in the car, where she planned to grill him until she got to the truth about his and Nona’s relationship, and a few other troubling matters.
Thankfully, bidding Linette good-bye helped Kacey disguise her rising anxiety. She hugged her friend hard, wishing Linette could stick around a while longer.
“Sure you don’t want to meet for breakfast?” Kacey asked her friend.
“No way,” Linette answered with a smile. “I’ll be long gone before you even wake up. Got an early flight out of Corpus in the morning. The next assignment calls.”
“Well, good luck in Chicago. And don’t let all those crying babies get to you.”
“I won’t,” Linette promised with a laugh.
“Gee, I’m so glad you were able to come and help me out,” Kacey added as she gave Linette a final hug. “We’ll talk…soon.”
Once Kacey and Leon were on the road back to Rockport, Leon turned to her. “So what do you think about rodeos now?” he asked.
“It was great. Very entertaining. However, I can’t say the same about Nona’s performance,” Kacey quipped.
Leon grimaced, cut his eyes at Kacey and cocked his head to one side. “Performance? What’d she do?”
“It’s not what she did, it’s what she said,” Kacey tossed out, ending her sentence with a loud huff of disgust that told Leon something was definitely wrong.
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and listened while Kacey recounted everything that Nona had said, his temper rising to the boiling point as she registered her complaints. “I don’t know Nona well enough to gauge her motivation, but you do. What’s going on with her? “
Leon stared out the windshield, furious with Nona, yet somewhat relieved that she’d provided the opening he needed to talk about a painful period in his past, of which he was very ashamed. Sooner or later he would have had to tell Kacey about the youthful mistake that had been a source of town gossip for years. It had also been a turning point in his life, forcing him to make big changes and grow up.
“First,” he began, “don’t believe any of Nona’s stupid talk. I wasn’t engaged four times only once. And it ended when my fiancée left me for another man. Sure, I’ve dated around and had some fun. But I’m not a serial heartbreaker.”
“What about Nona? Why does she act like you two have something going on?�
��
“Me and Nona?” He sputtered in laughter. “Absolutely nothing. Other than a longtime friendship. She has a way of exaggerating things. Always has. Yes, it’s true that Nona and I dated in high school, but I already told you that.”
“She must be stuck in high school then, because she seems determined to try to make me believe that nothing has changed since then.”
“Doesn’t surprise me that she’d tell you I have romantic feelings for her, which I certainly do not.”
“Why is she doing that?”
“Jealous, I guess. You see, she’s never really had a serious relationship or dated anyone special. She’s a loner. Guess I’ve always felt kinda sorry for her, and I know I go out of my way to pay attention to her.”
“Like how?”
“Oh, sometimes I’ll ask her to go to a movie or out to eat, just to cheer her up. Kind of like a big brother would do, you know?”
“But don’t you realize how seriously she takes your brotherly acts of kindness? She’s in love with you!”
“I dunno about that. She’s just lonely,” Leon defended.
“No, she’s just crazy!” Kacey decided. “And dangerous, too. She told me you did time in prison. Did you?”
“Oh, well, about that. Yeah, but it was county jail, not prison. See how she exaggerates?”
“Why were you arrested?” Kacey wanted to know.
Leon quickly struck back with the truth. “I was young. Running with the wrong crowd. I went to the police to turn my friends in when they held up a store, but I got rounded up with the other guys who were involved in the robbery and spent six weeks in county jail.” He paused. “That was so long ago. I can’t believe Nona would drag that mess out of the closet. I’m gonna have a serious talk with her.”
“A talk? I think you ought to fire her!” Kacey threw out. “I don’t understand why you put up with her nonsense, let alone keep her on your payroll.”
Leon sighed, feeling Kacey’s frustration. He was used to Nona and her quirky ways, but not everyone could tolerate her, as he’d learned to do. “It’s not that easy to fire her, or any employee at Archer. Nona has worked for my family’s company forever. Only job she’s ever had. Where would she go if I fired her? How would she support herself? She’d have to leave Rockport to find a new job.”
“And maybe find a new life,” Kacey mumbled.
“I can’t do that to her. She’ll be okay.”
“Think so?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then you’re dreaming, Leon. You’re way too trusting of her.”
“Maybe you’re too suspicious. Living in a crime-filled city’s made you too paranoid. You’re always looking for the worst in a person, instead of the best.”
“I’m simply being realistic. You’re too damn laid-back.”
“You’re too tense!” Leon threw back, raising one hand from the steering wheel to slap it back down for emphasis.
“That woman is dead set on causing trouble. And when everything blows apart, I don’t plan to be around,” Kacey vowed.
Leon bit his lip in concern. Kacey was putting him in a difficult spot. How could he choose between alienating a longtime friend and keeping the woman he had grown to love? How had his life gotten so damn complicated, so quickly?
Kacey sat in silence during the remainder of the drive back to the motel. The tension in the car was depressing. Their argument over Nona had spoiled what had been a perfect outing at the rodeo, and Kacey silently fumed. The fact that Leon seemed to accept Nona’s rude behavior was disturbing. What was it going to take for him to see how dangerous she was?
When they arrived at the Seaside Suites, Kacey turned and looked at Leon, knowing her feelings for him had been put to the test. Should she disregard the unsettling tales that Nona was determined to tell? Close her eyes to Nona’s attempts to live in the past? Trust Leon to handle things? Or should she get out of Rockport and return to New York, leaving this mess behind?
As much as she wanted to untangle herself from this small town muddle, she knew she had to stay until Archer completed the full production of SunKissed by Kacey. Tomorrow, and during the days that followed, she would work with Leon and finish the job she’d come to Rockport to do because she had plans that depended on successfully bringing her designs to market. She couldn’t afford to stumble. What about the apartment in midtown Manhattan that she wanted to lease? Her financial freedom? The sense of professional accomplishment she craved? She’d stick it out with Leon because they made a good team and she needed a successful launch of her designs.
Kacey bit her lip. In business, and in bed, they certainly clicked. The sexual chemistry between them was hotter than any Kacey had never known, but was that enough to counter Nona’s dogged interference? Would Leon’s odd determination to maintain his friendship with her eventually take its toll on his relationship with Kacey? Did Kacey even want to stick with him long enough to find out? After all, she had a swimwear line to produce. A career to protect. Even though she may have found the man of her dreams, she might have to let him go.
After dropping Kacey at the Seaside, Leon drove along the beach road, his spirits sagging as low as the palm fronds swaying on the dark horizon. He knew he was head over heels in love with Kacey, but worried about what she must think of him now. Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten so emotionally involved with this city girl. Nona was right about one thing: Kacey would only be around for a few more days. By next week she might be gone. Falling for a sophisticated woman like Kacey could only lead to a broken heart, anyway. Could Nona be right? Was he fooling himself to think that a woman like Kacey could ever fully understand him or his loyalty to his longtime friends, many of whom were his employees? How much would he have to give up if he wanted to keep Kacey Parker in his life?
Chapter 19
On Monday morning, Kacey went straight into her cubicle without stopping by Leon’s office to say good morning. She got busy on her computer, desperate to forget about her testy exchange with Nona and the pain of her argument with Leon. Her impulsive affair with Leon had evolved much too quickly, and she’d allowed herself to tumble into an intimate relationship without considering the consequences. There could be no more daydreams about making love with Leon. No more fantasies about escaping the city to live with him in his paradise on the beach. Instead of allowing herself to be consumed by romantic plans that had no future, she was going to focus on the present. And that required a total break with Leon.
Gulping back her disappointment at the way things had turned out on the personal side of her Rockport adventure, Kacey began to read her emails. The first was a message from Steve Hadley. He’d reviewed the photos that Linette shot on the beach and had approved the samples, giving Kacey the go-ahead she needed to finalize production. He’d copied Leon as well, advising him to institute overtime at the plant if he had to, but to proceed quickly with the SunKissed line. Hadley expected to have finished products shipped by the end of the following week.
That means I don’t have much time left in Rock port, she calculated, relieved that Hadley’s time frame would help her accept the fact that her stay in Rockport was rapidly coming to an end. Kacey had to make sure that nothing interfered with the scheduled delivery of her swimsuits to Leeman’s warehouse in New York.
The remainder of the morning was consumed by a phone conversation with Adriana as Kacey went over their marketing plan. And when Leon buzzed Kacey to invite her to lunch so they could talk, she turned him down, desperate for space and time to cool things down between them.
Leon pulled out of the Archer parking lot and headed to Buddy’s for lunch. He’d hoped Kacey might join him so they could begin to patch up whatever had gone wrong. Dammit! He’d instituted mandatory overtime for all his key staff members to push the swimsuit project into its final stage. However, instead of feeling elated, Leon was depressed. At least his father would be pleased to know that the plant was running full tilt and smoothly…even though his attempt to woo Kacey
Parker had gone terribly off track.
Kacey was barely speaking to him. Nona was acting very agitated and remote. And even Bob Truett was unhappy with Leon’s push to get the SunKissed line finished ahead of all their other projects. Leon was worried about Bob, who had been acting very nervous and edgy lately. When he stormed into Leon’s office to complain about his decision to fast-track Kacey’s project over other pending jobs, Leon had been surprised by how upset Truett had been. He’d told Leon that Mr. Archer had never called for mandatory overtime for the entire staff, and that he didn’t like pushing those who worked under him so hard. Besides, the decision to let pending contracts languish was going to upset valuable longtime clients and hurt business. He told Leon that by creating such an intense atmosphere in the plant that morale would surely fall and accidents were likely to happen. “Leon Sr. would never have treated his employees this way,” Truett boldly admonished.
“Well, Truett, you’ll just have to get used to my way of doing things,” Leon grumbled to himself as he pulled into the parking lot at the busy barbecue joint.
Sitting in his car, he watched people he’d known all his life come and go, his thoughts centered on the first time he’d brought Kacey to the restaurant. It had been a clear, sunny day like this. They’d had an unforgettable time together. But then, they’d had many unforgettable times, hadn’t they? He smiled to recall the night at Archer when they were fitting samples in the dressing room and he wound up pleasuring her on the worktable. He could still feel the rush of desire that gripped him during her erotic photo shoot on the beach. And how could he forget the excitement on Kacey’s face as she’d watched her first rodeo? During those moments, he had been absolutely certain that his happiness was grounded in a future with Kacey. But now, he wasn’t so sure.
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