by Beth Ciotta
Chloe smiled.
“What?”
“It makes you feel good, watching out for your little brother’s best interests.”
“If only Rocky would let me do the same.” Just then his phone rang. After glancing at the screen, he excused himself to take the call. “Sorry I hurried you off before, Jayce.”
Not wanting to eavesdrop, Chloe focused on the passing scenery—a mixture of colonial and saltbox homes, their manicured lawns augmented with picket fences and various hardwood trees. Day by day the leaves turned more vibrant, various shades of red, orange, and yellow. According to Daisy, within two weeks Chloe would be privy to the full autumn spectacle. She could scarcely wait. But even as she tried to imagine the beauty, her brain fixated on the one-sided conversation between Devlin and the man who’d broken Rocky’s heart.
“Banged up but in good care,” Devlin said. “Absolutely. I know Gram would appreciate hearing from you, but hold off until tomorrow.… What?… When?… Well, hell. No, I … Sure. Talk to you then.”
“Everything okay?” Chloe couldn’t help asking.
“Jayce is flying back to New York. Said something came up with an old case and he has to get on it today.”
For real? Chloe wondered. Or was he getting the hell out of Dodge, hoping to retain “the secret” for another ten years? “Wasn’t he in the middle of doing something with his house?”
“Consulting with a contractor about renovations. Said he still hasn’t decided whether to sell or lease.”
“Would it bother you if he sold?” It would probably make Rocky delirious. Jayce Bello—out of her life for good.
Devlin considered Chloe’s question, nodded. “It would. Jayce and I go way back,” he said as his own house came into view. “We’re still tight except…”
Normally Chloe would’ve prompted him to continue with his thought, but she was pretty certain that would be inviting trouble.
He swung into his driveway, cut the engine, then shifted to face her.
She braced for … something.
“You spent a lot of time at Rocky’s this weekend. How were things between her and Jayce?”
Oh no. “I couldn’t really say.” How’s that for a spin? “I mean there were a lot of people around and mostly the men were immersed in cleaning up the crushed shed and erecting a new one. I don’t think I ever saw her alone with Jayce.” True. “Come to think of it, I didn’t share more than five minutes with him myself.” Also true. Knowing what she did about him and Rocky, she’d steered clear.
Instead of pushing the topic, thankfully, Devlin backed off. “Why am I burdening you with this? Enough drama for the day, right?” He squeezed her hand and swung out of the car. “If I learned anything this weekend, it’s that there are some problems I just can’t fix.”
That made Chloe smile. “Oh, but you’d like to try.”
“We all have our flaws.”
Ain’t that the truth? Chloe thought as Devlin nabbed their bags, then ushered her toward his front porch. Like falling for controlling men.
As she crossed the threshold, she bolstered her senses against a tide of emotions. She’d only been in this cozy colonial one time, but if she closed her eyes she could envision the kitchen, dining room, and living room in detail. She even knew where he kept his favorite coffee mug and the television’s remote control. When he set aside the luggage and placed his hand at the small of her back, she felt like he was welcoming her, into not only his home but also his life.
For the second time in a week she experienced the sensation of floating, only this time her head was in the clouds. She was high on this man’s essential goodness and sexy charisma. Breathing was a chore and the warmth emanating from her heart and spreading throughout her body was so comforting yet exhilarating, she felt giddy with wonder.
Monica’s voice trilled in her ear. Are you in love?
Blown away by the realization, she scrambled to pinpoint the when and why.
Maybe she’d fallen when he’d absolved her of blame regarding Daisy’s accident. Or maybe when he’d offered to bend rules to make Chloe feel better or when he’d eased the minds of Daisy’s friends and sisters. Or maybe Monica had nailed it and it had been love at first sight, only Chloe had been oblivious until now. All she knew for certain was that her heart had taken a serious tumble.
Which added a whole new frightening dimension to jumping his bones.
“Make yourself at home,” Devlin said. “I’ll take up our bags and be right back.”
She grabbed his shirt before he turned. “I just want you to know…” She looked into his bluer than blue eyes and revealed her biggest immediate fear. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been with anyone other than … well, you know. And we weren’t that … It wasn’t … spectacular.” What if I’m a dud in bed? hung unspoken in the air. Voicing that insecurity would be lame. Especially when statistics suggested most men found confident women a turn-on. Not to mention she’d just brought up a past lover. Way to go, Madison.
But instead of backing away, Devlin pulled her into arms and claimed her mouth. Bliss. He kissed her long and deep, until her heart pounded in her ears and her legs went all noodly. Heat pooled to intimate places, and erotic images of them in bed together, naked, conjured a groan of pure ecstasy. When he finally broke off, her thoughts were dazed and her balance iffy.
Smiling, he palmed her butt and pressed his rock-hard erection against her lower belly, evidence of his desire, proof of her potency.
She smiled back up at him, senses zinging. “Or maybe I’ll rock your world.”
“I vote for the latter.”
* * *
Rocky pulled into Jayce’s driveway just as he was backing out. Like Dev, he was driving a rental car. Since she’d just blocked him in, he had no choice but to kill the engine. She walked to his car just as he was climbing out. Her gaze skimmed over his cargo pants, torso-hugging T-shirt, and the layered poplin shirt, unbuttoned and with the tails hanging out. Sexy casual. His longish blond hair was tousled and his killer eyes hidden behind aviator sunglasses. Regardless, she blushed under his scrutiny. Between Gram’s accident and this impending showdown, Rocky felt somewhere between frazzled and sick.
“You all right?” he asked.
She started to get flip—Do I look all right?—but instead stated the truth. “No.”
“Is it Daisy? Did she take a bad turn?”
“Gram’s fine. Well … recovering. No, this is about this past weekend.”
He glanced at his watch. “If you’re going to give me hell about something, make it quick. I’ve got a plane to catch.”
Her pulse tripped. “You were leaving without saying good-bye?”
He slowly pulled off his glasses, narrowed his eyes. “You kicked me off your property and now you’re pissed because I didn’t check in with you before getting back to my life?” He dragged a hand down his whiskered chin. “You’re a piece of work, Dash.”
She shored up against the emotions that nickname inspired. “It’s just … we have unfinished business.”
“How so?”
The nerve she’d worked up on the drive over started to fade. She nodded toward his parents’ house. Funny, how he never referred to it as his house even thought he grew up there. Even though he owned it. She remembered sneaking into his room that night and …
“Can we take this inside?” It’s not that she wanted to tempt memories, but she really didn’t want to discuss something this private out in the open where anyone could drive by.
He worked his jaw, then made a call. “Yeah, Nash?… Jayce.… No, I’m not canceling, but I am running late.” He shot Rocky an annoyed look. “Ten, fifteen minutes.… Right.”
“Nash is flying you out?”
“Got a problem with that, too?”
She bit her tongue, channeled her energy. But by the time they crossed the yard and breached his front door, she’d moved on from nervous to angry. She’d come here to make peace and he was picking a fight. They squar
ed off in the living room, the totally empty, devoid of everything including carpet and baseboards, living room. She knew his tenants had moved out. She knew he’d initiated renovations, but it still surprised her how the house lacked any semblance whatsoever to the powerful, charismatic man looming in front of her.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You wanted to talk. Talk.”
She swallowed the urge to sock him and clung to Luke’s advice: Acknowledge his good intentions and move on. “I forgive you.”
At first he said nothing. Just shifted his weight, angled his head. “What the hell for?”
“For ruining everything by doing the right thing.” Okay. That hadn’t come out like she’d rehearsed it. But, dammit, that’s how she felt.
He bit back a laugh, shook his head. “Is this your way of putting the past behind us?”
Her back went up. “At least I’m trying.”
“Let me ask you something, Dash. How do you feel about Adam?”
The question caught her off guard and caused her skin to burn because, just now, she felt awful about Adam. Or, rather, how she’d hurt him. “I like Adam. He’s a good man. Certainly someone who deserves better than me, so … I broke off with him. I’ve got a lot going on. Issues I need to work through. Problems I need to tackle. The Red Clover—”
“How do you feel about me?”
“I … I…”
“Let me put it another way.”
The next thing she knew she was in his arms, under his spell, being deeply, thoroughly kissed. She burned. And just like that she was a seventeen-year-old virgin, melting under the practiced touch of the man she’d pined for since she was thirteen.
Heady, heady stuff.
When he broke off, she nearly lost her balance, her thoughts and feelings a tangled, jumbled mess.
“Good-bye, Dash.” He strode out the front door without a second look. “For now.”
* * *
Devlin couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this content. Yes, he was sexually frustrated, but even that was sweet misery. The kiss they’d shared earlier had promised fireworks in bed, whenever they made it that far. He could’ve pushed it then, but even after he assured her she had no worries about fizzling in the sack, he’d still sensed apprehension. He didn’t think it was because of her ex-boyfriend but couldn’t be sure. So he’d backed off, allowing Chloe to adjust to his home and the thought of them together. When the time was right to seduce her, he’d know. Yes, he was rusty in the romance department but far from inept. It might not happen tonight, but it would happen, and when it did …
Devlin shifted and angled his laptop to hide a die-hard boner. Frustrated, but content.
He glanced at Chloe, sitting at the other end of the leather love seat, a mountain of research materials between them. His. Hers. After pigging out on “a little bit of everything” from Chang Li’s, the only Chinese restaurant in Sugar Creek, they had changed into sweats and tees and settled in with their projects. They’d been working in companionable silence for over an hour, although once in a while she asked him a question about one of the members of Cupcake Lovers or for clarification on a charity event. Just now she surprised him with an enraged outburst.
“She has got to be kidding!”
“Anyone I know?”
“Tasha.”
“Ah.” Unfortunately, he knew Mrs. Burke better than he wanted to. “What did she do now?”
“I sent her an e-mail, asking if she’d heard about Daisy’s accident and inquiring about the possibility of postponing the photo shoot until the end of the week at least. I worded the e-mail in a pleasant way and was mindful to stroke her ego, closing with: I’m sure the editor won’t mind a slight delay, since it involves a senior member. And what response do I get to my thoughtfully worded half-page note? Three words: No can do. No salutation. No signature. Did she even think about it? Did she even try? How rude is that?”
“She has an agenda.”
“Well, screw that.”
“You’re cute when you’re riled.” Devlin quirked a half smile. “Especially on behalf of my family.”
“It’s just so wrong. Daisy’s in the hospital, for God’s sake. What’s a few more days? So what if she has a cast on her leg and a bandage on her forehead? There’s such a thing as creative posing and airbrushing. Daisy’s been a member of Cupcake Lovers longer than anyone else, even Ethel.”
“I know.”
“She deserves to be pictured in the recipe book.”
“I agree. But remember,” he said, seeking to lower her blood pressure, “this is just a proposal. A sampling.” He flashed back on all the info Tasha had shared that night. “There’ll be an additional shoot should the book go to contract.”
“It doesn’t matter. Daisy will be crushed. A major disappointment like that is the last thing she needs right now.”
He couldn’t argue with that. “Want me to call Tasha?”
“Yes. No. What did you ever see in her anyway?”
He raised a brow.
“Sorry. None of my business.”
“It’s okay. Well-known fact Tasha and I dated for a couple of months about a year ago. I was coming out of a bad relationship and she … made me feel good. For a while.”
“The sex got boring, huh?” Chloe asked with a teasing smile.
“Let’s just say, she was more interested in my money than me.”
She studied him for a moment, then sighed. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Tasha’s a shallow pinhead.”
He laughed at that, charmed that Chloe made light of a past affair, flattered that she didn’t ask about his bank account. “Regardless, she still thinks she can weasel her way back into my bed.”
“Even though she’s married?”
“Annoying. But it does give me a modicum of control. If I asked her to call off the shoot—”
“So that she can expect something from you in return? Uh, no. Besides, I don’t want you to fight my battles for me.”
“Like you didn’t want me to take on Deputy Burke in your defense.”
She frowned. “I sort of forgot about that incident.”
“I didn’t.” But he did keep his promise not to seek out Billy. That’s not to say he wouldn’t have a word in the future should the situation warrant. Devlin crossed his arms over his chest and studied the pretty woman sitting so close yet so far, her attention now riveted on her computer screen. “So why is that anyway?”
“Why is what?”
“Why don’t you want my help?”
“Because I need to do things for myself, on my own. First Dad managed my life, then Ryan. Not that I really fought them. Okay. I didn’t fight them at all,” she continued, eyes averted. “Thinking back, I guess I considered them my safety net while I blazed through life taking risks and chances and bouncing wherever my passion sent me.”
Because of Jayce he knew how many times she’d changed schools and careers. He’d attributed it to laziness or fickleness. The inability to finish what she started. Now he didn’t know what to think. He remembered something she’d said at the hospital. “Taking advantage of every opportunity because you never know when your number’s up.”
“Exactly.”
“Want to tell me why you relate to Daisy’s fear of death? Is it the water incident in Florida when you were a kid?”
“Daisy told you about that, huh?” She shook her head, then looked his way. “That only pertains specifically to the fear of drowning. My overall need to cram in as much life as possible is connected to my mom. She died when I was fourteen. She was only thirty-five. Hit by a drunken driver. She was shopping in town, standing at the curb, waiting to cross the street. The driver lost control and … One minute she was there, the next gone.”
“I’m sorry, hon.”
“Every time I think of her, I remember her dreams and interests, big and small, most of them unfulfilled. She put everything on the back burner, devoted her life to Dad and me. She’d alway
s say, ‘I have plenty of time.’” Chloe frowned. “Only she didn’t.”
She turned back to her work, and Devlin assumed she’d shared all she wanted just now regarding her chosen lifestyle. Not that he needed her to elaborate. Coupled with the information supplied by Jayce, he now had a pretty clear take on Chloe Madison. The question was, would she finally settle down and commit to one passion? One career? One man?
That he was thinking in terms of long-term commitment was troubling. He’d known her less than a month, not that he’d fared well with women he’d known a long time. Still, unless Chloe licked her fear of death, along with Gram, he stood the chance of losing them both, albeit in different ways. A sobering thought.
“What are you up to?” he asked, intrigued by Chloe’s intense expression and flying fingers.
“Sending an e-mail to every member of the club, well, at least the ones with e-mails. Since it’s so late, I’ll have to call Ethel, Judy, and Helen in the morning.”
“About?”
“I’m rallying the troops. I figure if everyone bands together and refuses to participate in tomorrow’s photo shoot, Tasha will have to postpone.”
Devlin powered down his laptop. “Don’t underestimate Tasha’s influence.”
“They won’t abandon Daisy.” She glanced up as he set aside his laptop. “Are you finished?”
He was, in fact, as prepared for tomorrow’s meeting as he would ever be. He’d also checked over his investments and juggled a few finances while she’d been organizing and formatting the proposal. “It’s been a long day. Time to unwind. How about a bottle of wine and a movie?”
She looked up, smiled. “That sounds great. Just let me hit ‘send.’”
After the drama-filled day and the somber talk of her mom, he figured Chloe would welcome a chance to lighten the mood. He needed a breather himself. His head was jammed with family crises—Gram, his dad, Rocky—the employee meeting, and erotic thoughts about Chloe. “I don’t have much of a DVD collection, but check out that guide. Maybe there’s something of interest on cable or pay-per-view.”
“You should get Netflix.”
“I don’t watch a lot of movies.” Winding down was almost a foreign concept. By the time he returned from the kitchen with a bottle of red and two glasses, Chloe had packed up her work and was skimming the movie guide. He lowered the lights, then sat next to her and poured. “Find anything?”