Thoughts of Keith consumed her as she lathered up her body. Her nipples were taut, all from that kiss. Maybe it was being in Keith’s home, in his shower, but flashes of him naked behind her, his hands smoothing suds all over her, invaded her mind.
Maybe she’d need a cold shower after all...
Rita washed her hair, then exited the large glass stall. The bathroom mirror was steamed, and she wiped a portion of it with her towel so that she could see herself. Her reflection wasn’t fully visible through the smoky glass, but was that a satisfied smirk on her lips?
All because of a kiss? Wow, she was becoming a cliché. Angry woman cured by a man’s touch.
But still, as she dried off and then dressed herself, she couldn’t help feeling a little bit lighter. For that brief moment in time, she had been able to forget about the stress in her life.
She almost wished that Keith were here when she got out of the shower.
“Are you insane?” she asked herself. “The last thing you need to do is sleep with him.”
She exited the bathroom and went back upstairs, where she discovered that she was indeed alone. It was just as well.
She didn’t need to complicate her life during her stay here in Sheridan Falls.
Minutes later, Rita left the house. Obviously she would not be able to lock the door, but Keith had to have known that. Then again, he would probably give her a spiel about how people in small towns could be trusted not to rob houses.
Rita was making her way to her car when another vehicle pulled into the driveway. She halted. Behind the wheel of the sparkling white Nissan Maxima was a woman with a wild mane of curly hair and dark sunglasses.
The woman regarded her, then glanced around. She put down the window and asked, “Keith’s not here?”
Rita shook her head. “No.”
The woman smiled and waved, then backed out of the driveway. Just like that, she was leaving. What the heck?
The woman’s Maxima went to the right and disappeared down the street.
Chapter 6
Two days later, Keith was perplexed. If he couldn’t vividly remember every moment of the amazing kiss he and Rita had shared and the way she felt in his arms, he might start wondering if he’d dreamed the whole thing.
Their connection had been spontaneous and hot, and if not for the phone call interrupting them, he was certain that they would have ended up making love. And yet Rita hadn’t responded to any of his calls or texts. She hadn’t even responded to say whether or not the hot water was working.
He knew that it was, but given the situation, he thought she would have said something to him.
Once again, she was back to the hot-and-cold routine. She’d been hot in his basement—so very hot—but now she was being cold again.
“Let me get this straight,” his brother Aaron said. “A guy shares a hot kiss with a woman, there’s definitely attraction there, but then she doesn’t return his calls. And you’re asking why not?”
“Yep,” Keith said.
“Maybe you’re losing your touch,” Aaron joked.
Keith was reclining on a lounge chair beside his three brothers, Aaron, Carlton and Jonas. They were on the lower patio at their parents’ house, sitting and overlooking the lake.
“I didn’t say this was about me,” Keith said. “It’s...a friend of mine.”
“The proverbial friend,” Carlton teased. He was the oldest of the four of them, thirty-five. And after a failed marriage, he was the most serious.
“Why would she just go AWOL?” Keith asked. “A total one-eighty from her previous behavior?”
“Ever consider that she’s involved with someone else?” Aaron asked. “You ask me, that’s the most likely scenario.”
Keith frowned, then reached for his beer in the nook of the arm on his Adirondack chair. He took a swig. Before this moment, he would have sworn that Rita was single. But was his brother right? Was Rita’s hot-and-cold routine due to the fact that she had a boyfriend?
He took another pull of his beer, his mind playing out the possibility. His jaw clenched. If Rita was married...
“Dinner’s ready, boys.”
Boys... Keith glanced over his shoulder at his mother, Cynthia, who was approaching the outside dining table with a roasted ham. Would she ever refer to her grown sons as anything other than boys?
Probably not.
Aaron’s fiancée, Melissa, was carrying a pitcher of lemonade in one hand and holding a baby monitor in the other. It had been an eventful and happy year for the Burke family. Last summer, Aaron had reunited with Melissa at their cousin’s wedding. Aaron and Melissa had dated several years before when they’d both been camp counselors after their senior year of high school. But life had sent them in different directions. Until last June, when they’d reconnected and fallen in love.
Now they were the parents of a four-month-old baby girl, Kara. The pregnancy had been unexpected, and Melissa had wanted to wait until after she’d had the baby to tie the knot. She and Aaron were in the midst of finalizing the details for their destination wedding in St. Lucia over Christmas.
“Let’s say she isn’t married,” Keith said, as he and his brothers made their way to the dining table. “Why would she ghost a guy then?”
“She’s mentally unstable?” Jonas suggested. Aaron had earned the reputation of player among the brothers because he’d played professional soccer and traveled the world. But Jonas, the second oldest brother at thirty-three, was the actual player. He always had an excuse for not settling down, mostly that the women he got involved with were crazy.
“You think every woman’s unstable,” Keith said.
“Only the ones I seem to find,” Jonas clarified.
“You’ve got to start looking beyond all those pretty faces,” Aaron chimed in.
“Who is this guy and what did you do with my brother?” Jonas teased.
Aaron smiled. Then he looked toward Melissa as he took a seat at the table. “I’m a man in love.”
“Yeah, well you’re lucky,” Jonas said. “You found a great one.” He turned back to Keith as he slipped into his own seat. “My advice—don’t get emotionally invested. Because when it comes to women, they can change like that.” He snapped his fingers. “One minute they’re sweet and loving, the next minute you’re getting a restraining order against them.”
Keith frowned. Was Rita crazy? He didn’t think so.
“I’ve got to agree with Jonas,” Carlton said, making a face. “Women have mastered the art of how to keep our heads spinning.” After a tumultuous marriage that hadn’t lasted more than a few years, Carlton hadn’t dated and vowed to stay single forever. “You ask me, they live for it.”
There were some chuckles, and Aaron snaked an arm around Melissa’s waist and pulled her onto his lap. “I can’t say I agree. My lady plays no such games.”
“I bet that’s not what you said when we first started dating.” Melissa raised an eyebrow.
“My therapist said I handled the situation very well,” Aaron told her.
There was a raucous round of laughter. Melissa playfully swatted Aaron’s arm. Then she stroked his face. “To be fair, I didn’t make it easy for him.”
“You boys.” Cynthia shook her head. “You’re never going to settle down if you have such views of women.”
“You’re one of the few women I know isn’t crazy,” Jonas said to their mother. “But tell us the truth—did you give Dad a hard time when you started dating?”
“Of course not.” She fixed a napkin that was blowing in the breeze. “I was as sweet as apple pie.”
“Is that what Dad would say?” Carlton asked.
“Where is your father?” Cynthia glanced around, then called out, “Cyrus? Will one of you go and get him.”
“I’ll go,” Keith said. But no sooner than he was out o
f his chair his father appeared at the patio doors below the deck. He pulled them open and stepped outside.
“There you are,” Cynthia said. “Where have you been?”
“I was resting, that’s all.” Cyrus made his way to the table and took his place at the head.
“You okay, Dad?” Keith asked.
Cyrus frowned. “Of course I’m okay. Why do people keep asking me that?”
“Because you seem more tired than normal lately,” Cynthia replied. She took a seat beside Cyrus and squeezed his hand.
“I’m fine,” Cyrus reiterated. “Let me grace the food.” Cyrus said a brief prayer, then announced, “Let’s dig in.”
Cynthia reached for the carving knife. “Sweetheart, do you want to do the honors?”
“Carlton, why don’t you do it today?” Cyrus asked.
Keith noticed the frown that marred his mother’s beautiful face. His father always carved the roast.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Cynthia said softly.
“Son, will you pass me the lemonade?” Cyrus asked, looking at Jonas and ignoring his wife’s question.
Keith could tell that his mother was concerned, but worrying was a part of her nature. Especially after they’d lost his sister, Chantelle. For the longest time after Keith had left Sheridan Falls, his mother insisted on nightly calls from him, just to know that he was alive. She was definitely happier that he was living here again.
And with her new granddaughter, his mother was over the moon ecstatic. So it bothered Keith to see the worry on her face.
He met his mother’s gaze, giving her a questioning look, but she suddenly steeled her shoulders and forced a smile onto her face. “So, Keith, who was the woman seen coming out of your house?”
Keith’s eyes bulged. “Wh-what?”
“Ahhh, so that’s why you asked that question,” Aaron said.
“Hypothetical,” Carlton scoffed. “Yeah, right.”
“You’re seeing someone?” Cyrus asked, looking at him askance. “Why didn’t you bring her to dinner?”
Keith held up a hand, hoping to stop the questions being volleyed at him. As if he would invite Rita to his family’s weekly Sunday dinner. “I’m not seeing anyone,” he said to his father. Then, looking at his mother, he asked, “Who told you a woman was coming out of my house?”
“Deidre said she was pulling into your driveway when a woman was coming out of your place. Her hair was damp. She looked freshly showered. That sounds like you’re seeing someone to me.”
“Shower,” Aaron said, narrowing his eyes. “Just how serious did you two get before she ghosted you?”
“It was a hypothetical question,” Keith stressed, but he knew no one would believe him now. Of course, it hadn’t been, but he hadn’t wanted his brothers to know the truth. Although that was the least of his concerns at the moment. Because he finally understood why Rita was avoiding him.
If his cousin Deidre had seen her, she must have seen Deidre. And she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion.
“Spill the beans, bro,” Jonas said. “I thought you burned through all the women in this town.”
“No, Jonas,” Keith countered, “that was you. Starting with Nora Baxter in fourth grade. Remember her?”
Jonas groaned. “My first stalker.”
The brothers chuckled.
“Oh, yes, I remember her,” Cynthia said. “Didn’t you date her after Jonas, Aaron?”
“Aaron dated all of our girlfriends,” Carlton joked.
“Hey,” Aaron said. “Don’t give my fiancée any reason to doubt me. I assured her our reputations were greatly exaggerated.”
Keith shot a glance in Melissa’s direction. She turned to Aaron and gazed at him with unbridled love. “Oh, I’m not worried. I know I can trust Aaron completely.”
Aaron stretched his neck toward Melissa and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. Cynthia clamped her hands together. She made a cooing sound. “That’s what I want for all my boys. True love.”
“When did Deidre say she went to my house?” Keith asked.
“A couple of days ago,” his mother answered. “I’m surprised she didn’t call you about it already.”
“Why the secrecy?” Aaron asked. “Who’s the girl?”
“Sweetheart, maybe he’s not ready to talk about her,” Melissa said.
Yes, it totally made sense that Rita had seen Deidre and assumed that she was a woman he was involved with. She would have no reason to think Deidre was related to him.
“I’m not sure I’ve seen your brother so quiet,” Cynthia mused.
“She’s one of my tenants,” Keith said. “She’s visiting from St. Louis.”
“I like St. Louis,” his mother said.
As if by extension, that meant she would like Rita.
Keith shook his head, but he was smiling. He was grateful for his family. He loved them dearly, and didn’t know what he would do without them in his life. Every Sunday he had dinner with them, provided he was in town, and every Sunday he dealt with his mother’s commentary about how he was too busy to find love, and he needed to stop working so hard and concentrate as much on his personal life as he did on business. His single brothers also got the same questions from their mother.
This family meal was Keith’s favorite part of the week. He looked forward to the day when he could bring a woman here to join the family for dinner the way Aaron now had Melissa.
His mother could then concentrate her efforts on seeing Carlton and Jonas married off—though that was bound to be a huge task.
“Why don’t you bring her by for dinner one day?” Cynthia suggested. “How long is she in town?”
Keith looked at his mother. “Mom, it’s way too soon for that.”
“So there is something brewing between the two of you,” Cynthia deduced, her eyes dancing with delight.
“I didn’t say that.”
His mother gave him a knowing look.
“She’s just a friend,” Keith insisted.
His mother made a little sound of derision, but she was smiling. It was a smile that said, Are you sure about that?
* * *
Rita was on the balcony of her unit, her laptop open on her lap as she looked down at the people frolicking in the pool. Keith had sent her another text a little while ago, asking that she call him, but she hadn’t responded. Seeing that woman drive up to his place when she’d been leaving had been the wake-up call she’d needed.
Not that she was into Keith, or God forbid jealous, but the woman’s arrival reminded her that she wasn’t in town for a carefree vacation. She was here to deal with her mother and the wedding, not to get caught up in a summer fling.
Though, as Rita looked down at the people jumping around and swimming in the pool, she felt a little wistful. Her mother had invited her for dinner again, and again she had declined. She just wasn’t ready to see her mother, because she knew that would mean also seeing her father, or listening to her mother go on about her excitement over the wedding.
Not yet, Mom. I’m finishing some work.
That was becoming her mantra.
She’d heard the disappointment in her mother’s voice, but still Rita hadn’t acquiesced. Back in St. Louis, she had dinner with her mother once or twice a week. But the idea of breaking bread with her father was still overwhelming for her.
Rita reached for the vodka cooler on the small table beside her. She was looking out at this stunning scene and reading about heartbreak and betrayal. It didn’t seem right.
Was that a knock she’d heard at the door? Frowning, Rita threw a glance over her shoulder, as if she could see the front door through the walls.
She was contemplating whether or not to get up when her cell phone trilled. A text appeared on the screen.
It’s Keith. I’m at your door. Can you plea
se come talk to me? I have something to explain to you.
Darn it. He would know she was here because her car was parked outside.
Her brow puckered, Rita got up with the laptop, which she placed on her bed. Then she went to the door and opened it.
“Why haven’t you responded to any of my calls and texts?” Keith asked.
“I’ve been busy.”
Keith gave her a doubtful look. “I think it’s something else. Can I come in?”
“Why don’t you just say what you need to say?”
“You saw a woman when you were leaving my place, didn’t you? And you assumed the worst.”
Of course, this woman had talked to him. Grilled him, more likely. “She told you?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think.”
“It does. To me. If you thought that I brought you to my place and made moves on you while I have a girlfriend or something, you need to know that you’re wrong. That’s not how I operate.”
For some odd reason, Rita’s pulse was beating a little faster. She squared her shoulders. “Like I said, you don’t owe me any explanations.”
“Deidre is my cousin. She was dropping by to see me because she’d gone to the office and I wasn’t there. Sometimes I work from home. Anyway, that’s who it was.”
Despite herself, Rita felt relief. The idea that the woman was a love interest had troubled her.
More than troubled. Rita had been hurt.
And then she’d felt stupid for even caring. After what she’d been through with Rashad, didn’t she know better than to trust any guy?
“Okay,” she said, trying to inject a nonchalant tone into her voice. “I mean, it’s not like we should have been kissing, anyway. I’m not sure what came over me.”
One of Keith’s eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t want to kiss me?”
“We were acting irrationally—”
“Some would call it passionately.”
“You know what I’m saying,” Rita protested.
The CEO's Dilemma ; Undeniable Passion Page 22