by Anna Jeffrey
As they returned to their hideaway, she couldn’t keep from thinking, Girl, you are definitely not in Kansas anymore.
Chapter 31
Saturday turned out to be a repeat of Friday. A long day of walking, drinks and dinner with Drake’s friends. Interesting and smart conversation about everything from sports to investments to politics. One golfer made a date with Drake to discuss investing in some building Drake was refurbishing in Dallas. Shannon was content to sit and listen and learn, but Drake constantly drew her into the conversation and asked for her opinions. He held her hand in her lap for the entire evening.
Back in the condo, after they had taken each other to soaring ecstasy in the king-size bed, they lolled in the jet tub, her neck propped against a bath pillow on the tub’s edge, her nostrils filled with lavender fragrance she had dumped into the roiling water.
He lay between her legs, his back against her torso, his head resting on her breasts. “So what do you think?” he asked. “Are we getting closer to your not being afraid of me?”
“What?” Frowning, she straightened and slid her hands down his chest. “What do you mean? I’m not afraid of you.”
“Maybe I should’ve said trust instead of fear.”
“Good grief, I’ve done things with you I’ve never done with anyone.” She caressed his chest, bent her head and placed her lips near his ear. “Like last night,” she whispered. “With that ice. Do you think I’d do that with someone I didn’t trust?”
Chuckling, he laid his hands on top of hers. “Seriously, trust is the issue hanging between us. I get that. I’ve had some problems in that area myself, so I’m trying to convince you that you can trust me.”
“You have trust issues?”
He hesitated long enough for her to think he wouldn’t answer. Then she sensed he might be having difficulty with what to say. She brushed his neck with her lips. “You can tell me,” she said softly. “We’re thousands of miles from home. I’ve got big ears. Also broad shoulders and tight lips. Anyone who knows me will say so.”
Finally, he said, “I was engaged once. A long time ago….Not that it makes any difference anymore, but she dumped me. For a pro golfer. And I haven’t put much trust in women since. I don’t even have a lot of faith in my mom, even though everyone says I’m her pet.”
“Why don’t you trust your mother?”
“I see how she works my dad and creates chaos in the family. And I wonder if she stops with Dad. Perhaps she manipulates all of us and we refuse to see it because she’s Mom.”
Shannon would love to know specifics. She grasped a thick sponge and squeezed a trail of water down his front “Are you saying you trust me more than your mother?”
“I don’t know. Maybe so.”
“Why would you?”
“Gut instinct. It’s never failed me. In the real estate business, you live and die on instinct and trust. You’re a good example. You rose to be a top producer in a highly competitive business. That’s not easy. It means a lot of people have put their faith in you to act in their best interests. So if that many trust you that much, my gut says I should be able to, too. And you’ve got values I like.”
Those words sent her heart soaring, not to mention her pride. “Like what?”
“You care about people. Your grandmother, for instance. You worry about her when you’re not there with her. That’s a selfless thing. I can tell from the way you talk about your employees that you care about them.”
“Hah. I haven’t cared about them much this month. I’ve left them with all the work while I’m playing around with you.”
“I’ll bet they don’t mind.”
“Maybe not. They’re more than just employees. We support each other. With such a small shop, we have to.”
“See? You’ve put together that small business with good loyal people and made it go, apparently all alone. I’m impressed. I’ve got an MBA, but with the tough housing market we’ve got today, I don’t know if I could make a residential sales office profitable.”
She squeezed more warm water over his chest. “It’s a total accident.”
“That kind of success is never an accident. It comes from hard work and discipline.”
He was right about that much. She had never worked so hard in her life as she had trying to make her business successful. And she had never given up so much. Her head swelled even more, hearing that he recognized who she really was. “So working hard and being disciplined are what make you trust me?”
“That’s not all.” He sat up and turned to face her. His hair was wet and spiked in all directions. She reveled in the intimacy of seeing him like this. Smiling, he drew her toward him. “And I like how you are in bed. You don’t back off and you don’t try to manipulate me.”
Manipulation. That word stuck in Shannon’s brain. Even in trying to sell property, she never tried to maneuver someone, believed the result was more positive if she let people come to their own decisions. She supposed manipulation was something a man with so much money and influence had to concern himself with, especially if he started out feeling his mother was manipulative. No doubt some of the other women he had slept with wanted something more from him than sex.
But this was no time to be thinking about other women he had slept with. He was with her and they were naked in a jet tub of fragrant warm water. In Hawaii. And who knew when or if she would ever be in this place again?
She floated onto his lap and twined her legs around his hips, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressed her body against his. She looked down into his beautiful caramel-colored eyes. “I can’t imagine that any woman dumped you. Was she out of her mind or something?”
“Not at all.” He repositioned her, then lifted one of her breasts with his palm and swirled his tongue around her nipple. The rosy bud became erect, he drew it into his mouth and gently sucked. A spray of tingles traveled all the way to her sex and she closed her eyes. “Hmmm.”
“I love your breasts. Have I told you I’m a breast man?”
“Several times. I love what you’re doing to them.”
As much as she relished his intimate words, what she really wanted, now that he was in a talking mood, was to hear about the woman he had planned on marrying. As his mouth moved over her breasts, she asked, “Was your fiancé from Fort Worth?”
“Drinkwell…Her folks own a ranch…Next to the Double Barrel…Common fence line…We grew up together.”
Just as I feared. Damn. A long-time relationship and a family connection. Bad news. But now he was stabbing at her firm nipple with the tip of his tongue and she was having a hard time keeping her mind on the question. She gave a soft moan.
“Good?”
“You know it is,” she said huskily. Even as she fought to keep her focus on her mission, she let her head tilt back and arched her back, lifting her breasts to him. “The prince and princess, huh? And then what happened?”
He moved to the other breast. “Usual stuff…Dating, planning…I graduated…went to SMU…She graduated the next year…went to TCU….”
Rich college. Rich fiancé. For someone like him, that might be the usual stuff, but not for Shannon and most of the people she knew.
His fingers slipped between her thighs and searched. “Let me see. I’m looking for—”
She pushed off his lap and scooted away from him before he found what would end this conversation. “Wait a minute. I want to hear this story and I can’t listen when you’re doing that.” She captured his hands and held them so they couldn’t roam and they sat there face-to-face with space between them, her thighs draped across his. “Now. She went to TCU and what?”
He grinned at her. “Think you’ve got me captured, huh?”
“And I’m not letting you go until you tell me what happened after TCU.”
His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “She took golf lessons. Got into it in a big way. You know, playing in tournaments, going to watch tournaments, hanging out around golf courses, et cetera.�
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“And that’s where she met a pro golfer.”
He freed his hands from hers, clasped her waist and pulled her onto his lap again. “I like you better here.”
She braced her elbows on his shoulders and combed her fingers through his wet hair, combing his spikes into waves. “Was it someone you knew?”
“I’d met him.”
“And she just ended it, just like that?”
“More or less. It was a big deal for both our families. The wedding was already put together. People had already brought a roomful of presents.”
“Oh, my God. Were you engaged a long time?”
“Two years. But we’d been a couple for six years. My mom and dad, hers, the whole county, really, had been expecting us to get married for as long as I could remember. I couldn’t imagine ever being with another woman. She was the first girl I’d had grown-up relationship with. Or at least I thought it was grown-up at the time.”
You mean sex, Shannon thought and wondered if he had been a virgin until his fiancé. “What did you do after she called it off?”
“What I had to. I graduated from college. Then I went on to business school like I’d planned.”
Shannon was dying to know all the details that led up to that unhappy ending, but she doubted she ever would. “You always do what you have to, don’t you?”
“Always,” he answered.
Struck by the irony of his story, Shannon scooted back again and looked into his eyes. “I guess you’ve got a right to hate golf, but you don’t. I mean, we’ve come all this distance to see a golf tournament.”
“I learned to play, too. Turned out I enjoy the game. It has nothing to do with her. Golf is a head game. And I like that. I’m pretty good at it.”
She couldn’t keep from grinning. “I’ll bet. Something tells me your whole life is just one big head contest.”
“I’m a competitive guy. Can’t help it.”
“So now you like golf, but you don’t trust women. Is your ex still married to this golfer?”
“Must be. I haven’t heard otherwise.”
“Are your families still friends?”
“Not anymore. Her parents quit ranching and leased out their place. Moved to Arizona.”
“Why? Texas wasn’t hot enough for them?”
“The guy she married lived in Arizona. She’s an only child. Her folks wanted to be near her, so they moved there, too. Pic says she hasn’t been back to Drinkwell since they left.”
“You still keep up with her?”
“No. It’s just local gossip you hear.”
But Shannon wondered. Being with someone six years was longer than she had ever been with anyone, including the guy she married. An unexpected emotion surged within her. Possessiveness. Dark and powerful. She wished she hadn’t questioned him about his ex-fiancé. Now he might be thinking of her. Shannon wanted all of his thoughts and desires focused on Shannon Piper. She clutched the sides of his head between her palms and kissed him fiercely. “Make love to me,” she whispered.
Perhaps she was manipulative after all.
****
The next day, the final round began. The golf course was a painting of brilliant green grass, turquoise ocean and blue sky. In a perfect balmy temperature, Shannon was in paradise with her prince. Life had never been better. They would fly home tomorrow and the fairy tale would end.
They followed the leaders quietly. He often reached for her hand, watched from behind her with his hands on her shoulders and her leaning back against him. Sometimes one of the golfers would stop, shake hands and exchange a greeting with Drake.
That evening, they had more conversation over exotic drinks with Drake’s sophisticated friends and acquaintances. Then they returned to the condo. The day, the entire trip had Shannon in a state of euphoria. Her chest almost wouldn’t hold all of the emotions swirling inside it. She couldn’t keep from thinking that this was probably as close to a honeymoon as she had ever known. Or would ever know.
They had already undressed when Drake said, “Want to walk on the beach before we go to bed?”
“How could I leave Hawaii without walking on a beach? Will anyone see us?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Good.” She picked up her thin lacy bathing suit cover-up and pulled it on. “I always wanted to walk on a beach naked.”
He grinned. “With that thing, you’re pretty close.”
In creamy moonlight, they strolled holding hands, the soft sand oozing between her toes. Covered only by her bathing suit cover-up, she felt wicked and free in a way she couldn’t recall ever feeling before. A naked native on a tropical island.
A gentle breeze touched her face and ruffled her hair, made her nipples peak. The lushness of their surroundings swallowed her up, as if she had entered another woman’s body or some other alternate reality. For a long while, they walked in silence.
This seemed like the perfect moment to tell him thank you, but that cranky alter ego spoke up. What are you thanking him for? He’s getting what he wants from you. Isn’t unlimited sex enough?
She shunned that cynical voice because her better angel believed he wanted more than that from her. He had told her so.
“Having a good time?” he asked at last.
“Me having a good time? You forget what a hick I am. This trip has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me.”
“You’ve made it special for me, too.”
Another statement that sent a thrill all the way to her toes. Why? she wanted to ask, but didn’t want to sound like a needy fool. “Remember what we talked about New Year’s Eve, about trying to make this work and being open and honest?”
“Hm.”
“Since you shared something honest with me about your engagement, I think I should tell you I’ve sort of dropped the ball about myself. I think I owe it to you to let you know something about me.”
“I’m all ears. I’ve been trying to find out about you since the first night we were together.”
She didn’t say anything right away, trying to sort through just how much she wanted to reveal about the person she had been. “I’m far from being a perfect person.”
“Then you’re just like me and everyone else I know. You said you used to be a free spirit. I’m guessing you still are.”
“Maybe a little.” On a phony laugh, she bumped his arm with her shoulder. “Like going to that Realtors’ Christmas party where I was way out of my league and going home with a man I didn’t know. That was the old Shannon Piper, for sure.”
“Hmm. And I thought it was Sharon Phillips. How would I have met you if you hadn’t done it? I don’t leave much to chance, but I do believe there’s a reason for everything that happens.”
“As in fate?”
He shrugged, then dropped her hand and looped an arm around her shoulder, pulled her close to his side.
“Anyway,” she said, “I hate having things hanging, so I’m just going to tell you. Mostly because I don’t ever want to face the day that someone else tells you.”
“I’m listening.”
She drew a deep breath. “I was married once. And I was pregnant.”
She glanced up at his profile, seeking a reaction, but she could see only his profile in the moonlight. He didn’t reply, as if he was waiting for her to tell the rest of the story, so she blundered on. “I got pregnant when I was seventeen. I got married and never finished high school.”
“You have a child?” Shock was not what she detected in his question. Curiosity was closer to what she heard.
“No. I had a miscarriage about a month after we got married. The whole thing was…stupid. Just stupid.”
They reached the condo’s wooden deck and stepped up onto it. She sank to a lounge chair, glad for the shadows while she dragged out her dirty laundry. He sat down in the chair beside her and picked up her hand.
“After all of the commotion my getting pregnant caused and the hurry-up wedding we had, we decided to stay
married. We didn’t have a plan for the future, but I did make sure I got to a doctor and got birth control pills. I sure didn’t want to find myself pregnant again.”
“You don’t like kids?”
“It wasn’t that. I wasn’t very bright back then, but I was smart enough to figure out that neither one of us had any business being a parent. We were kids ourselves.”
“Good instincts, huh? We have that in common, don’t you think?”
She glanced across her shoulder at him, still couldn’t clearly see his face in the shade of the deck. “Really? You think so?”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “We have more in common than you think. Finish your story.”
“It has a predictable ending. We stayed married a couple of years, then we gave up and got a divorce. It became final on my twenty-first birthday. There. End of story.”
And she intended for it to be the end. No way did she want to talk about her struggling single days in Fort Worth and her various affairs. The marriage and divorce were what, in the far reaches of her mind, she had worried about his discovering. There were public records of those events. They sat in more silence for a few beats.
“You left out the part between your twenty-first birthday and now,” he said.
“I’d have to be a little drunk and in a really bad mood to talk about that. I call those years the lost years.”
He interlaced their fingers. “Okay, skip that. So tell me about your husband. You didn’t love him?”
I’ve never loved anyone but you, she wanted to say, but feared where vocalizing that might take them.
“That’s as good an explanation as any,” she said instead. “He was two years older than me. Rode a motorcycle. Wore leather clothes and earrings. I thought he was too cool. We dated almost from the time he enrolled in school.
“When I got pregnant, he was already out of school, but he didn’t have a job. There weren’t any jobs in Camden, so we moved up to Fort Worth to set up our happy home. We bounced from one minimum wage gig to another. It took both of us to make enough to pay rent and eat. If I had actually had a baby, I don’t know what we would’ve done. After a few months, we started fighting. And then we started fighting a lot.”