by Ann Evans
Several things happened at once. Kari made a move for the door, only to find her ankle suddenly snagged in the drunk’s hand. He roared his anger, trying to rise. The bartender was cursing now, and Kari struggled to hang on to her balance while twisting out of Bobby’s grip. Something moved in the corner of Kari’s vision, but her hair had fallen into her eyes during the scuffle, so she couldn’t see much.
Then suddenly, Nick was there.
He brought one booted foot to the drunk’s chest, then planted it across his neck. The look in his eyes was full of nonnegotiable intent, as though he’d found a particularly obnoxious bug he’d enjoy swatting. He looked so annoyed, Kari was warmly reminded of the first day she’d met him.
“If you’re smart, you’ll stay down,” Nick told Bobby grimly. “And let the lady go.”
Bobby might have just been looking for a sympathetic ear, but he clearly knew he hadn’t found one in Nick. He released his hold on Kari immediately and settled back on the floor like a whipped dog offering submission to the leader of the pack.
Then Nick had hold of her and was dragging her out of the bar. Kari was getting tired of being latched on to, but she could tell by the tight line of Nick’s compressed lips that he wouldn’t be willing to hear any complaints. They burst out into the bright sunlight as though they’d just traversed the darkest tunnel.
“Where’s Tessa?” Kari asked.
“With Addy and Mom.”
“I can explain—”
“Be quiet.”
He yanked her along the sidewalk, then down the side of the building, where a small alley made a quiet, private alcove. He pressed her against the brick wall, then held her there by placing a hand on the wall on either side of her. His face was so close that her vision blurred, but she could tell he was annoyed. No, make that furious.
Slightly out of breath, Kari tilted her chin up. “This was not my fault—”
“Do you know what I want to do to you right now?”
“Something horrible?”
“Yes.”
So she was going to get the blame for this little fiasco. He probably thought she’d taken Tessa into the bar. “Look, if you’re going to chew me out, don’t both—”
She gave a tiny, startled gasp as Nick’s lips connected with hers.
His mouth moved over hers with hot, hard intent, but surprisingly little of the anger she expected. He tugged at her lips, opening them with his tongue, only enough to provoke her. She moaned against that delicious assault, and to say she was shocked would have put too mild a spin on it. If Nick hadn’t pressed her against the wall, she would probably have slid down it in a mindless heap.
Lost in pleasure, Kari could barely think. She supposed she should have stopped him. Maybe even her hand came up to push against his chest. Then the fight drained out of her. She couldn’t have walked away from him if the alley had been on fire.
Just when she started to return his kiss, he dragged his mouth from hers. He stepped back so abruptly that she nearly lost her footing. She stared up at him, but could see no apology in his eyes. She wasn’t sure she wanted any.
“Well…” She cleared her throat, nervous as a racehorse at the starting gate. Just where did they go from here? “I, uh, I was expecting a lecture, but if that’s your idea of a tongue-lashing…”
Without a word, he swung away from her abruptly and headed back down the alley.
“Nick, wait—”
By the time she reached the sidewalk, Nick had blended into the crowd and was heading toward the van.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AT FIVE O’CLOCK they headed home, glad to see the end of a long, tiring day that felt as though it had lasted a decade. The drive back to the lodge would pass quickly, but not fast enough to suit Nick.
Addy occupied the passenger seat up front, and kept turning around to carry on a conversation with Rose in the back seat. They sounded as excited as school children and considered the day a success. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to need him to hold up his side of the conversation, so he could pretend to be absorbed in maneuvering the heavy traffic along Interstate 70.
He stole a glance in the rearview mirror to the third seat. Tessa had fallen asleep almost immediately, and her head now lay on Kari Churchill’s shoulder. After that scare in the bar, she’d stayed glued to Kari like a puppy for the rest of the day. Right now she looked so sweet and trusting in the innocence of dreams that Nick could almost forget he was still mad as hell at her.
As for Kari—all quiet in that corner of the van. He didn’t dare find her eyes in the mirror. He didn’t want to face what he suspected he’d find in her features. The questions. The confusion. Maybe even a little hope.
Women were like that. They couldn’t just live in the moment. Show them a little attention and they inevitably had to pull out the label-maker and start classifying things, sorting them into tidy little piles. She’d want answers. And he didn’t have them.
He took a deep, troubled breath, then exhaled. How could he explain that kiss, when he couldn’t begin to understand it himself?
You blew it, D’Angelo. What in hell were you thinking?
Maybe that was the problem. He hadn’t been thinking at all. He’d just been reacting. All those years of practicing iron control. A lifetime of calm, rational behavior. Gone. Out the window.
It hadn’t started out that way. He’d been heading up the street to find Tessa and Kari when his daughter had run up to him, white-faced and breathless, jabbering something about Kari having saved her from being attacked and now needing help herself.
He hadn’t known what to expect when he’d hit the front door of the bar, squinting through the dark, the fine edge of fear and rage flooding his veins. He just knew that years of pure, protective male instinct kicked in about the time he saw Kari give the drunken cowboy a shove. Then he’d stalked across the bar to finish the job.
It had been appallingly easy. The guy had been all bluster and show, but not completely stupid. He knew enough to stay put on the floor. The moment it was over Nick’s blood should have settled, his vision should have cleared, but it hadn’t. He’d just grabbed Kari’s wrist and pulled her outside, feeling her pulse thrumming under the pad of his thumb in perfect rhythm with his own.
That kiss sure hadn’t been planned, either. Heat lay against her cheeks. Her hair, free from the punishing ponytail she usually wore, was a silky, disheveled cascade around her shoulders. She’d looked annoyed and beautiful, the temptress from last night’s dreams who just wouldn’t disappear, damn it.
It had been so long, so long since he’d wanted to kiss a woman as badly as he’d wanted to kiss Kari Churchill. So it had just…happened.
Yesterday by the lake he’d accepted that he was attracted to her and that maybe she’d been on that same path of discovery, too. He’d had a feeling all along that things were going to explode in some unpredictable way between the two of them, and today he’d wanted her hot, erotic taste in his mouth. He relished the near pain of sudden and very real desire, and when she’d started to respond, he’d been delighted.
Wanting, needing—those were the kinds of things that could cause a man to make mistakes. Big ones. He still wasn’t sure where he had found the strength to pull back, because that kiss had threatened to get away from him in the end. But he’d come to his senses, thank God.
After they’d rejoined the others at the van, Kari hadn’t said two words to him. By unspoken agreement, for everyone’s sake, they passed off the incident in the bar as a harmless annoyance. They ate lunch at one of the outdoor cafés in Vail Village—Addy already plotting her next mission—and in very little time the episode seemed forgotten.
But he knew Kari hadn’t forgotten a thing.
Under the guise of checking traffic, Nick glanced in the rearview mirror. She didn’t meet his eyes, but the pensive line between her brows and the fierce tightening of her mouth left him certain she was replaying that kiss in her mind.
His grip tighte
ned on the steering wheel. He’d have to think of some excuse. Something besides the truth—that every time he looked at her lately he found himself feeling hot, aroused and confused. That he hadn’t been able to resist kissing her any more than he could stop breathing.
Luckily she’d be gone soon enough. Looking for the next great adventure, if what Addy said about her work was true.
Good. That was fine with him. He didn’t want her at the lodge. Or on their mountain. Or even in Colorado.
And especially not in his thoughts.
“WHEN I GET MARRIED, I’m going to elope,” Addy said. “No way am I going to go through all this expense and work.”
It was Sunday morning in the lodge’s kitchen. The breakfast crowd had left, and now most of the family, with the exception of Nick and Tessa, were seated around the center table, creating small candy baskets for the big Graybeal wedding next week. Even Sam was there, scooping half a dozen sugar-coated almonds into the baskets while Addy struggled to hold the netting together with her fingertips as Kari tied them up with tiny satin bows.
“You will not elope,” Sam decreed. “You will be marched down the aisle like a proper bride with your mother and me on either side. You are our only daughter, and we won’t be denied that pleasure, will we, Rosa?”
Rose’s expertly fashioned bows made Kari’s look like the work of a deranged seamstress. Without even glancing her daughter’s way she said, “Stop tormenting your father, Adriana. You know you’ll have the biggest wedding this area has ever seen.” Then she looked up and frowned at her husband. “Samuel, I told you to stop eating those almonds. They’re for the wedding guests.”
“I was only checking to be sure they are good quality,” Sam complained.
Renata, seated at one end of the table cutting lengths of satiny ribbon, gave an unladylike snort. “A liar should have a good memory. A moment ago you said you were counting them.”
Sam gave his sister-in-law a mock-evil look and everyone laughed. Nick came into the kitchen about that time, heading right for the coffeepot. Kari noticed he had on his bomber jacket, the one he usually wore if he was going to work at Angel Air. She hadn’t spoken to him since they’d returned from Vail. Just as well. What could she have said, anyway?
Uh, you want to explain that kiss, buddy? ’Cause darned if I have a clue.
Maybe some things were better left unexplored.
He stood watching all the activity for a moment, sipping his coffee slowly. Wordlessly his mother scooped up a Danish from a nearby plate of pastries and handed it to him. From the corner of her eye, Kari watched him eat it slowly. He didn’t say anything to anyone, least of all, her.
“How’s Tessa this morning?” his mother asked him at last.
“Quiet. I let her sleep in late. I’m going to call Denise tonight to see if we can’t arrange a visit for the Christmas holidays.”
“That should give her something to look forward to,” Addy remarked. Taking note of his appearance, she added, “Are you going down to the hangar this morning?”
“Uh-huh. Seems like one of your flyers did the trick. There was a message on the recorder this morning. Honeymooners staying in Vail are coming up to take an all-day tour, and since Pete is already scheduled to handle the two or three we have booked today, it looks like I’m going to be playing tour guide, too.”
Addy’s excitement was impossible to stem. “I knew it! I just knew it! You see? If you’d just listen, I’ve got a million great ideas for business.”
Nick came up behind her, grabbed her neck in a loose vise, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Yeah, and occasionally one of them makes it all the way through that thick, stubborn skull of yours and actually comes out making sense.”
The teasing was part of the sibling camaraderie they shared, and Addy obviously took no offense. For just a moment Kari wondered what her own childhood might have been like if she’d had a devilish older brother to share it with. Someone to deflect some of her mother’s bitterness over their father’s neglect. Someone to share dreams with. But most of all, someone who might make you feel less alone. Addy was really very lucky.
Nick frowned at the center of the table, where a small mountain of pale blue-netted clusters lay stacked. “Making confetti baskets, huh?”
Like the rest of his family, he was evidently no stranger to the Italian custom of giving candy to each guest as a token from the bride and groom. Rose had told her that they were supposed to represent a mix of the bitter and sweet things in life, but Kari would have bet money Nick didn’t buy such sentimental nonsense.
“Six hundred of them,” Addy complained. “Thank goodness Kari’s here to help out.” She lifted one of her bandaged arms. “With this boat anchor, I’m hopeless at making little bows.”
Nick didn’t say anything. Kari felt sure he was resisting the temptation to state the obvious—that Addy would have managed the bows just fine if Kari hadn’t come into their lives in the first place.
No one in the family seemed to hold grudges, but Kari was reminded of the consequences of the accident often. Every time she helped Addy button her blouse, unscrew a bottle cap or complete one of Renata’s more intricate napkin folds, Kari felt the guilt over Addy’s injuries strike her anew.
Nick reached down to run a hand through the blue netting.
He shook his head. “Eloping would be a lot cheaper.”
“That’s what I think!” Addy said, clearly glad to have found an ally.
Sam made a displeased sound and settled back in his chair. “What is wrong with my children? Next to the birth of your child, the marriage ceremony is the happiest moment of your life. It’s meant to be savored. There should be tears and joy and wine and…and good food. You don’t treat it like you are going to get a fishing license.”
Both Renata and Sophia nodded in agreement. Kari kept her head down, focusing on knotting a particularly stubborn ribbon around a tiny basket.
“Easy, Pop,” Nick said with a light laugh. “I don’t know about Addy, but for me, getting married again is the furthest thing from my mind. In fact, I think it might be off my radar screen completely.”
There was a small sound of annoyance and Kari was aware that Rose had turned toward her son. “What?” she asked him in surprise. “What does that mean? You don’t intend to remarry?”
“Probably not,” Nick said. “Sorry.”
“And why not?” His father jumped in, obvious irritation making the older man’s voice sound slightly hoarse.
“Tread lightly, Nick,” Addy advised, clearly aware that their parents were likely to object to his answer.
Nick took his time responding. He sipped more coffee, finished the final bite of his Danish and wiped his hands on a napkin.
Kari felt a tightening in her stomach. What did she care if Nick had decided to choose the single life forever? She reached for more ribbons.
“I guess…” Nick said slowly, as though still thinking it over. “I guess I just haven’t found the right person. Maybe she’s not even out there.”
There was a long moment of silence. Then Sam snorted. “Ridiculous! Marriage is not about finding the right person. It’s about being the right person. If you—”
“Whoa,” Nick said, holding up his hands. “You asked, I answered. End of discussion.” He placed one hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Pick on Addy. She’s the one still carrying the torch for some guy from high school.”
“I am not!” Addy protested, but the sudden color that bloomed in her cheeks told a different story. She gave her brother a hot, angry look. “At least I’m not so emotionally scarred by my first marriage that I won’t even consider the possibility of a second.”
“Nothing wrong with being cautious,” Nick said, and this time his tone was low and serious.
“‘Chi non fa, non falla,’” Rose quoted solemnly. Then for Kari’s benefit, she translated, “‘Those who do nothing make no mistakes.’”
Nick placed his coffee cup in the big sink,
then turned back to everyone. “Gotta run,” he said. “Don’t count on me for lunch. It’ll be dark by the time I finish up.”
There were several good-natured sounds of disappointment from the D’Angelo clan. Kari had learned that there was nothing they liked better than to debate and hypothesize and generally put each other’s lives under the microscope. Nick wouldn’t give them any further openings. With a friendly wave, he disappeared out the double doors.
Kari sat there, staring at the candy basket in front of her. Ever since Nick had kissed her, her thoughts had been in chaos. She’d spent a sleepless night trying to figure it all out, what to do, if anything. Nothing on Nick’s face this morning had given her the slightest clue. In fact, had he avoided looking at her entirely?
She felt suddenly annoyed and frustrated. Were those comments he’d made about never finding the right woman meant for her benefit? Did he think she needed to be warned off, in case she was the type of woman to get…ideas? The man was impossible! What right did he have to be kissing her, anyway?
It wasn’t as though she’d enjoyed it. Well, all right, that wasn’t true. But it wasn’t as though she’d asked for it.
So why had he kissed her?
Making the sudden decision to find out, Kari slid her chair back. Several pairs of dark D’Angelo eyes turned her way. She made a lame excuse about needing to make a phone call and disappeared out the same double doors Nick had exited.
She hurried past the lobby and down the front flagstone steps. Nick was heading in the direction of his Jeep. When Kari called his name, he swung around. The tiniest of frowns crossed his brow, then vanished as if on command.
“Could I speak to you a moment?” she asked as she reached his side.
“I need to get down to the hangar.”
“This won’t take long. Now that she was face-to-face, she suddenly felt hesitant and wondered how to begin. “I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about what happened in that bar?”
He straightened imperceptively. “What about it?”
Ease into this slowly, Kari. Don’t get him riled right off the bat.