“You have a fascinating job. You get to meet rich and famous people,” Aegina said, sipping her wine and taking in the party.
“She craves that. Don’t get too close to Eliza. She’ll leave you in the dust without a backward glance in her pursuit of good times and lots of money.”
“You’re not exactly slumming it,” Eliza’s mother interrupted. He was being unfairly harsh.
“In Vengeance, Texas.”
Aegina drank some more, but Eliza caught the hurt in her eyes.
“You have a wife and family here.”
Ryker drained his whiskey and placed it on the table next to Aegina’s empty champagne glass. “I’m going to go mingle. It’s my birthday party after all.” He zeroed in on Eliza. “Or is that what this is all about?”
“Of course it is. What else would it be?”
“Another way for you to be the life of the party.” With that, he walked off.
“If he’s so damn unhappy, why the hell doesn’t he divorce me and move to the East Coast like he’s always complaining he would have done?”
“Because he loves you,” Eliza said.
“He loves his kids, too,” her mother added.
“He loves you, too, Mom.”
“Oh, I know that.” Her mother swatted the air with her hand.
Aegina grunted contemptuously. “He accuses you of being selfish. What does that make him?”
Eliza had never thought of it that way. Her brother always made her feel guilty for leaving him here. And he was doing the same to his own wife. She tied him to Vengeance the same as his mother. Or at least that’s how he’d calculated it in his mind. “Selfish.”
Aegina shook off the slight sheen in her eyes. “You aren’t selfish, Eliza. You went after your dream and got it. That’s admirable. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”
“Hear, hear.” Her mother lifted her wine and then sipped.
Eliza’s first impulse was to agree. Something kept her from letting it carry her away. Why had she gone to Hollywood, and why had she worked so hard to be among the best event planners in the country? Moreover, why hadn’t she spent more time here in Vengeance, with her mother and her brother?
The answer was standing across the room, a woman jabbering away while all he did was stare at her. For a moment, she slipped into that gaze, so full of impossible fantasies. If only...
The woman followed his gaze, and Eliza recognized Jillian. Her face tightened with jealous intimidation. Covering it before saying something to Brandon, she managed to capture his attention. He said something back that made her smile. And then he took two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and handed her one. She beamed even more. The woman had it bad for him. The poor thing.
As she sidled closer to him, she looked across the room at Eliza, pure triumph and a dash of warning. If that wasn’t a hands-off sign, Eliza didn’t know what was. Brandon better be careful. If he kept leading Jillian on like that, she might do more than pound on his door and yell.
Chapter 3
The party was a hit. The whole town would be talking about it tomorrow. Eliza would probably be in the local paper. The Vengeance High School bad girl was back with a bang. Good thing his stupidity wouldn’t be printed. How could he have allowed that kiss to happen? Brandon was still cursing himself, and guilt came at him in waves. How could he do that to his own brother? A brother who was missing and could be in trouble while they enjoyed a party.
Watching her direct the cleanup, Brandon knew deep down why he’d kissed her. He’d watched her all night—to make sure Jillian didn’t try anything. But as the night had gone on, something else entirely drove him. The Eliza he remembered thrived on being the center of attention, and tonight she’d done it without stealing her best friend’s boyfriend or dancing on the bar with a beer in her hand. She’d changed. Matured. Brandon had to commend her for turning her bad habits into a lucrative career.
Her brother had left hours ago, when people had first begun to leave around ten. He’d practically had to drag his wife with him. She’d wanted to stay with the rest of the diehards who hadn’t left until midnight. This wasn’t a nightclub. It was a birthday party for a thirty-seven-year-old. One David hadn’t shown up for.
Something had to be driving him away from Eliza. After witnessing her hosting this event, he wasn’t as convinced she was the main cause. David hadn’t come to Brandon for help, and that could only mean bad news. What kind of trouble had he gotten himself into this time? And did the note Eliza had received have something to do with it? Brandon didn’t think so. Jillian might have sent it. He couldn’t be sure, though. He’d been busy all day around the ranch and hadn’t seen anyone drive up. It could have been anyone.
But Jillian was his first bet. She’d shown up here tonight as though nothing had happened. He’d been civil with her because they were in public. He was afraid that had encouraged her. She’d left happy, sending him bedroom eyes as she waved goodbye around eleven. Crazy woman. If he hadn’t been there, would she have gone after Eliza? He wouldn’t take the chance.
Checking his watch, Brandon had an idea of where he’d find David. Unless something had happened to him. Hopefully, he was all right and only drinking his troubles away for the day. Or gambling again.
When all that was left was the hotel staff, Eliza finally noticed him. Or maybe she had noticed him and hidden it by pretending to be busy until now. That kiss had to be weighing on her, too.
She approached him and stopped a few feet away, keeping her distance. “What are you still doing here?”
He’d have to make extra sure he never touched her again. “I think I know where David is.” He pushed off the bar and started for the door.
“Where?”
“The Cork. We have about an hour before they close.”
“How do you know he’s there?” She walked with him toward the exit.
“I don’t. It’s worth a try, though. He goes there every time he comes to town.”
“He spends all afternoon and night there?”
“It’s a favorite nightspot. I’m hoping he’s there.”
Outside, she walked beside him. “I’m not so sure I want to find him.”
Because he’d kissed her or because David hadn’t shown up tonight?
“We need to make sure he’s all right.” He opened his big diesel truck’s door. “We’ll get your car later.”
Reluctantly, she climbed up into the cab and he shut the door, annoyed that he was aware of every curve in that dress of hers.
He drove away from the hotel. The tension was palpable between them. He could almost feel her thinking about that kiss, just like him, and at the same time wondering why David had disappeared all day. If something had happened to him, Brandon wasn’t going to like the guilt trip that would surely follow. While he and Eliza had been groping and hot for each other, David could have been running from gangsters, gambling debt collectors.
He had to get his mind off that. “I noticed you didn’t drink at all tonight. Did you quit or something?”
“I never drink when I work.”
“It was your brother’s birthday party.”
She shrugged. “I don’t drink much anymore.”
That was new. She hadn’t drunk much the night before, so she must be telling the truth.
“What made you come to the party?” she asked.
He’d rather not tell her he came to protect her from Jillian. Even when she was in grade school he’d had the instinct to do that. Apparently that had never gone away. He was glad she was staying at his ranch so that he could keep an eye on her.
“Curiosity.” What he’d intended to be a lie turned out to be partly true. That was the other reason he’d come here tonight. To see if she’d changed at all. She had, and he worried he liked it too much.
She smiled. “Did you think I’d still be dancing on bar tops?”
He chuckled, that old attraction coming back. Only now it was a lot stronger. He fought the
building desire that threatened to set aside reason. Eliza may have grown up, but she was still a party girl.
Parking in front of the brick-and-white-trimmed bar, Brandon saw his work truck the same time Eliza did.
All her animation fled. “There’s your truck.”
She both looked and sounded so deflated, and it seemed as though more than catching David drinking had triggered it. Why was she upset? Because their moment of reuniting would come to an end? Or did finding David here instead of with her hurt her that much?
Why? She didn’t actually love him, did she?
“Why did you marry him?” he asked out of annoyance.
After shooting a look at him, she didn’t respond. She didn’t have to. They both knew she’d married him to spite Brandon. Now David was out of control and she and Brandon were fighting this damn attraction that he had thought they were both over. Why couldn’t she have married someone else? Someone who wasn’t from Vengeance. An actor or something. Then she’d have her limelight that she craved so much and she wouldn’t have to come for family visits.
He stepped out of the truck. When she didn’t do the same, he came around to her side and opened the door. She kept staring at the front entrance to the Cork, as though dreading what she’d find inside.
He couldn’t resist her. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you. We’ll get him and bring him home.”
“It isn’t that.” She lowered her head and then lifted it to meet his gaze, her eyes full of sorrow.
“What’s wrong, Eliza?” he asked softly.
After a brief hesitation, she began, “He’s been acting strange lately.”
“Drinking too much?”
Again she hesitated. Whatever troubled her, she didn’t want to say. She was humiliated and would rather not go into the bar. Did she know about David’s gambling problem? It didn’t seem so. And there was no gambling at the Cork.
“He’s probably with another woman,” she said at last.
David? He’d never known his brother to be unfaithful to any woman. Was it only her insecurity, or had he really gone off the deep end?
Cheat on Eliza? She was stunning and beautiful. Who could David prefer over her?
“David wouldn’t cheat on you,” he said.
Her eyes disagreed with him and made his brow crease in question.
“It’s not just that,” she said self-consciously, not wanting to talk about it. “H-he...keeps looking over his shoulder...taking his cell phone outside to talk. Like he’s afraid of something.”
While that wasn’t the real reason she’d rather not go into the bar, it was another thing that troubled her about David. Alarm somersaulted through Brandon. David’s gambling debts had mushroomed in the past few months, ever since he had married Eliza. Except she didn’t seem to know about that.
“What’s he afraid of?”
“He won’t talk to me about it. I try, but...”
He was too busy screwing other women. He could swear that’s what she was thinking. It was so unlike his brother, the Casanova who lured women by charming them into believing he was a gentleman. Was it all a facade? He was a little conceited....
“Do you want to wait out here?” It might be better for her.
“No. I have to face this.”
When she started to step out of the truck, he helped her with his hands on her hips and she put hers on his shoulders. He lowered her, and she stood right there for a second too long. A second was all it took to feel enough of her to want more. He moved back, and Eliza marched to the entrance.
She opened the door before he could do it for her. And then she stopped short when she saw David sitting at a booth—right beside Jillian.
Brandon did the same. This he hadn’t anticipated. Catching him with a woman was one thing, but Jillian...
What was she doing here with his brother? She wouldn’t try to sleep with David, would she? Would David sleep with her?
There were a few other patrons in the bar. An old man who paid his tab to the bartender, talking to the young man as if he was a regular. A handful of tables were occupied. Laughter and an Elton John song playing from the jukebox filled the air. Willa Merris and another grade-school teacher sat at the booth beside David and Jillian, deep into some discussion. Willa’s long strawberry-blond hair gleamed under the dim bar lights. Her father kept her in upper-class social circles and it was odd seeing her here. At this low-end bar.
Not as odd as finding his brother with Jillian. Had she deliberately arranged this? Why?
Jillian lifted her dark drink and sipped. As she lowered her glass, she caught sight of Brandon and her eyes popped open wide.
He stopped with Eliza at the booth.
“Well, look who’s here,” David slurred.
Eliza folded her arms indignantly, but the sexy cock of her hips in that slinky dress diffused her seriousness. “Is this why you didn’t show up at my brother’s party?”
“I thought you’d prefer it that way.” Scorn dripped off him like the alcohol swimming in his blood. “Did you two have a good time?”
What did he mean by that? “Why haven’t you been back at the ranch?” Brandon asked.
“Three’s a crowd, brother.”
As in him, Eliza and David? Did he actually believe...?
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but there is nothing going on between me and Eliza.” He had to know Brandon had no intention of pursuing her. He couldn’t call her wild anymore, but she still craved the spotlight. His mind hadn’t changed about her.
“I saw the way you looked at her last night.” He drained his drink.
Seeing Eliza had taken him aback. He’d forgotten just how striking her beauty was. He’d rather not think about kissing her. Not knowing how to respond, he decided it was better not to.
Instead, he met Jillian’s discontented eyes and wondered how long it would be before the she-snake in her struck.
“What are you doing here?” he asked her.
She passed David an uncertain glance. “I ran into him when I left the party. David was just arriving.”
“She told me you were there.” David’s drunken reproach landed on Brandon.
“He drew his own conclusions,” Jillian quickly added. “And then invited me to accompany him here. I agreed, but only to make sure he made it all right. He’d already had something to drink, so I drove his truck. My car is still at the hotel.”
That was more explanation than he needed. She was covering her tracks. She hadn’t intended for Brandon to find out she was here...with his brother. Her uncertain look earlier had him suspicious. What had they been discussing when he and Eliza had arrived?
The news relaxed Eliza. She lowered her arms. David wasn’t with Jillian to sleep with her.
“Jillian’s been quite a chaperone,” David said. “I’ve been sitting here with her trying to figure out why you broke up with her. I mean, I could understand if you knew she—”
“Maybe I should drive you back to Brandon’s ranch now,” Jillian interrupted, turning from David to Brandon. “Then maybe you and I can talk.”
They had nothing to talk about. Or did they? What had David been about to say? She was obviously hiding something. And he didn’t believe she was here by coincidence.
“I’ll drive him home.” Brandon would like to question her, but his drunk brother was his first priority. “You take his truck, and I’ll arrange to pick it up tomorrow.” Eliza moved forward and extended her hand to David. “Come on, David. You and I can talk about this tomorrow...when you’re sober.”
“I don’t need to be sober.” He waved her hand away. “And I’m not going back to the ranch.”
“David...” Eliza was clearly mystified. “Why?”
“I’m doing you a favor, Eliza.” Pain and resentment laced his tone. “Go home with Brandon. That’s what you wish for.” He turned to Brandon. “It’s what you both wish for.” And then more somberly, “You belong together anyway.”
“That�
��s enough, little brother,” Brandon said. He’d had enough of this nonsense. “Let’s go.”
He took hold of his brother’s arm to help him up from the booth.
David yanked free. “If I go anywhere, it’ll be with Jillian.” He turned to her. “Right, sweetheart?”
Jillian turned a narrow-eyed, warning look to David. Was David threatening her? Why had he called a woman he barely knew sweetheart? Had he discovered something about her? Once he had David alone and sober, he’d be sure and ask.
“Brandon, come back to the ranch with us,” Eliza said.
Brandon shot a look at her. David went utterly still.
“I—I mean...David,” she corrected.
David smiled without humor, calculating and cruel. “You see? You’re even saying his name instead of mine now.”
“You drank too much,” Brandon said. “You’re overreacting.”
“It was an accident. It doesn’t mean—”
“Come on, Eliza, let’s not pretend what this marriage is all about,” David cut her off. “We both know it’s him you’ve always wanted. I only married you so I could see what all the fuss was about.”
Eliza drew in a sharp breath just as the jukebox went silent with the last notes of piano music. She gripped Brandon’s jacket sleeve. David’s insensitivity was hurting her. Why was he acting this way? It couldn’t be that he truly believed his own brother fancied his wife.
“Brandon doesn’t want Eliza,” Jillian said to David. “She’s married to you. Besides, Brandon and I are seeing each other.”
The woman really grated his nerves when she did that, talking as though he hadn’t broken up with her and she hadn’t gone crazy on his front doorstep.
“He doesn’t care about you,” David said and sneered. “He doesn’t care about any woman. Except maybe Eliza here. Other than her, all he cares about is himself and that ranch of his.”
Eliza’s face had gone pale. “That isn’t true.”
David got up from the booth and staggered to her, making a show of running his gaze down to her hand still gripping Brandon’s sleeve and back up again. “Yes, it is.”
A Rancher's Dangerous Affair Page 4