Three Dates (Paths To Love Book 2)

by Grahame Claire

  “The lunch kind of stop?” I avoided the D word like a hornet’s nest.

  “Did you know about this?” She turned her attention to Vivian, who lifted and lowered a shoulder.

  “Maybe…” she said guiltily.

  “Then I guess you should ask Stone if we can make it back for Thanksgiving.” Chippy. My girl was chippy this morning.

  “I’d planned on it,” I said, “but if you’ve got somewhere else to be…”

  Her jaw worked. “We’ll be here.” She softened, pulling Vivian in for a hug. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Elliott.”

  Vivian beamed. “Has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it?”

  Daniel cautiously approached. Muriella released Vivian and pivoted toward him. She touched his cheek, silently communicating, but what exactly, I didn’t know. Her eyes glistened. “Took you long enough.”

  “Eventually I learn,” he said with a stiff smile.

  She dropped her hand and rolled onto her tip-toes, stretching to kiss his cheek. “I love you.” She turned back to Vivian and kissed her cheek. “Love you too.”

  “Muriella,” Daniel said when we’d almost reached the door. Her posture went rigid before she looked at him over her shoulder. “You don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. This business about the deal between you two has run its course.”

  I balled my fist at my side and strongly fought the urge to throttle Daniel. Did he honestly think I would ever force her to do this against her will?

  I shot him a what the hell look, which he met without an ounce of remorse. Reminded me a lot of one he’d given me all those years ago on our trip to Mammoth when he’d issued his first warning about Muriella.

  “That’s between Stone and me,” Muriella informed him, lifting her chin.

  So maybe she had this. He winked—winked—at me as she strode out the front door. I shot him the bird and flashed a grin at Vivian. She gave me a thumb’s up. That bastard knew Muriella was so pissed at him, she’d do the opposite of what he said just to defy him.

  I needed all the help I could get, but I didn’t want her to date me just to spite Daniel.

  I cranked the Land Rover and headed down the wooded drive. When we pulled out onto the road, I glanced over at her. Damn, she was beautiful. I never got used to it. Every time I laid eyes on her, she stole my breath.

  “Daniel’s right,” I said.

  Her shoulders jerked. “You want to call off the deal?”

  I let out a long breath and stared at the road ahead. “I’d much rather ask you to lunch and get an enthusiastic yes.” I pumped my fist for emphasis and made a crazy face. “If I let you out of it, you’ll say no. And I’m afraid your reasons for that no have more to do with me than you.”

  “They wouldn’t.” She fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater. “I can’t be in a relationship.”

  I tapped the steering wheel. “‘Won’t’ would be a better choice of words.”

  “One and the same.” She looked out the window.

  I pulled the car over, thrust it in park. I climbed out, rounded to her side, and opened her door. She started, but didn’t back away from me.

  “I’d like to take you out today. It’ll last until tomorrow. But I can’t do it if it’s not what you want.” I clutched the top of the doorframe as I put everything on the line. “Forget the deal. Would you have lunch with me? Because you want to.”

  “I can’t.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m so tired of saying that.”

  Displeasure crashed over me, but I tried to hide it. “Then don’t. Unless you mean it.”

  She refused to look at me, no matter how long I waited her out. Eventually, I shut her door. I kicked at a rock as I went back to the driver’s side and cursed under my breath. Impatience was going to cost me.

  For the thirty-seven-minute drive into Wanaka, neither of us spoke. I used the time to regroup. I’d approached this all wrong. Still put too much emphasis on the date part of everything. But she made me lose my mind. I wanted her so badly it was impossible to stay cool.

  I scanned for the entrance to the airport as we traveled down the main road. Disappointment clouded my vision. In my head, I’d seen this day going much differently.

  Once I located the sign with an airplane, I pulled into the rental car return parking lot.

  “Ready to go?”

  She never lifted her gaze from her lap.

  I yanked on the door handle and had one foot on the ground when she touched my arm. Her delicate fingers were soft, yet they had the power to bring me to my knees. I could count on one hand how many times she’d touched me.

  I stared at where our flesh melded together. Longed for the day when she would do this very thing without thought or hesitation, and I could do the same in return. Because this? This simple connection was more potent than any I’d ever experienced. She couldn’t have been immune to it.

  “I’d like to have lunch.”

  I blinked at her a few times before a slow grin spread across my face. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Muriella

  “Are you sure we’ll be back by Thanksgiving?”

  This was the second helicopter we’d been on, not to mention the jet. If this pattern continued, we’d be all the way home by nightfall.

  “We’ll make it.” He pointed out the window to the reef below. “Check it out.”

  I peered down to the turquoise water. “It’s a heart,” I said with wonder.

  “Pretty cool, right?” He stretched so he could see over my shoulder. Heat radiated from his body, temporarily dragging my attention from the sight below.

  It was more than cool. I pressed my nose to the window for a better look. “How did you find it?”

  “Research,” he answered mysteriously.

  I took out my phone and snapped a few pictures. “When you do lunch, you really pull out all the stops.” His thoughtfulness stripped another layer of my defenses.

  “And that smile. The one right there,”—he traced the air around my mouth—“is exactly why it’s worth it.”

  An unfamiliar excitement swirled around my soul. He wanted to make me happy. I knew that, yet seeing this heart reef was undeniable proof. Something inside me let go a little bit more. Usually I could control a reaction like that, but I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to anymore.

  “You’ve never been to the Great Barrier Reef, have you?” he asked, settling back in his seat.

  I stared down at the last glimpse of the heart. “No. It’s breathtaking.” A white yacht dotted the deep blue sea. “Is that where we’re going?”

  He tugged on the brim of his ball cap. “I thought you might like the quiet.”

  “Instead of isolating me in Texas, you’re doing it in the middle of the ocean.” There was no bite to my words, though the realization I was going to be stuck alone with him gave me a tiny jolt of unease.

  Did he expect…I shook my head. Stone wasn’t just any man. He wouldn’t take advantage of me, of that I was sure.

  I folded my hands in my lap and attempted to get my breathing under control as we descended. We were here, not out of obligation to a deal, but because I wanted to try. I could handle one night, maybe even have fun. Or you could freak out and ruin the whole thing.

  He stared at me with ever-patient eyes as if he could read my thoughts. “Any time you’ve had enough, say the word.”

  “Want to go for a swim? I think there’s a pool somewhere on this thing.” Stone handed me a pink drink with a white flower adorning it.

  I took a sip of the frozen concoction. “I’m not sure if I have a swimsuit,” I said wryly.

  “I’ve gotcha covered.” A beer bottled dangled from his fingers over the railing.

  “It’s quiet out here.” The sound of the waves lapping against the boat and an occasional bird were the only noises I’d noticed since we’d come on board. Stone had requested minimal crew, aware of my aversion to strangers.
They kept out of sight like shadows.

  “You miss all that racket of the city?”

  I leaned my forearms on the smooth railing. “I do. It’s peaceful in a different way.”

  “I believe you’re the first and only person to describe New York City as peaceful.”

  I canted my head toward him. “You really hate it there.”

  “Hate’s a strong word, but you know where I’d choose to land.”

  I fiddled with the bracelet dangling from my wrist. “So there won’t ever be the phrase ‘New York Resident’ behind your name?”

  “Only one reason that would ever happen.” He took a swig of his beer.

  I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would be.

  Ringing sounded from over near the outdoor bar.

  “Sat phone.” Stone’s tone held a note of worry, and his brow creased when the person on the other end spoke. “Hey, Granddaddy.”

  He set his beer down on the deck and began to pace in a circle. His knuckles were white where he gripped the phone. He yanked his hat off his head and then tugged it back on.

  “Eminent domain? There’s land a mile down the road that nobody uses for anything,” he said, voice rising.

  My mind whirred, attempting to make sense of one side of the conversation. Eminent domain and the ranch couldn’t be good.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about the offer?”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “Thank God you checked the mail today. I want to see the letter,” he said after a beat. “This has Randall’s fingerprints all over it.”

  He nodded a few times, and my apprehension built. “If you can’t reach me, keep trying. I’m in the middle of nowhere.”

  Stone came dangerously close to his beer. I picked up the bottle so he didn’t knock it over.

  “I’ll head that way tomorrow. I’ve got a few days left before I need to be back in New York.”

  He clicked off and tossed the phone on a nearby deck chair. I offered him his beer, and he downed the rest in one long swallow.

  “Do you need to leave now?” I touched the base of my throat.

  He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “No. I won’t be able to take you back to New Zealand, though.”

  Worry wound its way from my head to my feet. “What’s happened?”

  He sank down on the end of a lounger and propped his arms on his knees. I took the one opposite and fidgeted with the edge of the cushion.

  “Some bullshit power line project they want to run right through the ranch.” He winced. “Pardon my language.”

  “Is that possible?”

  “The people in power can do anything they want,” he said bitterly. “This goes way back, though.”

  My brows pinched together. “This isn’t the first time they’ve attempted to do this?”

  “Randall Hedley is the third in his family to try to get the ranch.” He tugged on the brim of his ball cap. “They’ve had some sort of vendetta against us that goes back to my great-great-grandfather.”

  I understood long and bitter feuds better than I wanted to, and I prayed this one wouldn’t escalate to the point of the last one I’d borne witness to. “That’s quite some time to hold a grudge. Do you have any idea what it’s about?”

  “Everybody who knew anything about it is long gone. Supposedly Mr. Hedley fronted my great-great-grandfather a hundred head of cattle. My granddaddy was trying to expand operations. Diversify from horses.” He folded his hands together. “At least that much is true. About getting into the cattle business, I mean.”

  “How long ago was this?”

  “Nearly a hundred years,” he said unimpressed. “The Hedleys claim the two of them had a gentleman’s agreement written on a napkin. If my grandfather couldn’t pay for all the cattle within a certain time frame, Hedley would get the ranch.”

  I leaned forward in my seat. “Do you think that’s true?”

  “Honestly, no.” He reached for my abandoned tropical drink, took a sip, and made a sour face. “I didn’t know my great-great-granddaddy, but his blood runs through my veins. He wouldn’t risk the ranch for something like that, and certainly not with a contract on a napkin. No Jacobs man would.”

  “Unless he had no choice,” I said quietly.

  Stone’s jaw worked. “I don’t think that was the case. It’s good grazing land, and the mineral rights are valuable. The only thing that makes sense is they wanted the property because it’s some of the best in the county. They knew we wouldn’t just sell.”

  “I don’t understand how they would get the ranch if these power lines go up, though. The government would get it, right?”

  He lifted his hands, at a loss. “Guess if they can’t have it, nobody can? Hell, if I know.” He pressed his lips together. “Granddaddy didn’t tell anybody the power company made an offer on the ranch. He rejected the first one outright. Then they had thirty days to make a final one. He turned that one down too.”

  Unease at how far this situation had progressed filled me. I had no doubt Mr. Jacobs believed he was doing the right thing by attempting to defuse the situation on his own, but based on what Stone said, this was serious. “What happens now?”

  “He got a letter that a petition in condemnation has been filed.” The strain in his voice set me on edge.

  “What does that mean?”

  “That it goes before a special commission.” He kicked at a plank on the deck. “Damn it. If he’d said something sooner, we could have fought it getting this far.”

  “How much time before the commission meets?” I clutched the edge of the cushion.

  “There’s a hearing in three weeks. I’ve got to find a good lawyer in Texas before then.” He stood. “You deserve a better lunch than this. Let’s at least get some sun.”

  I didn’t move. “You should talk to Daniel.”

  “It’s his wedding night.” Stone offered me a hand, but I refused, standing on my own.

  “Tomorrow then. He’ll want to help.” Even after all that had happened, my confidence in Daniel’s ability to repair this situation was solid. If anyone could get the Jacobs family out of this mess, it was him.

  Stone squinted out at the horizon. “Mulaney is in cahoots with some high-powered attorneys in Houston, but Granddaddy doesn’t want the rest of the family to know about this. Not until they have to.”

  My initial reaction rebelled against his logic. I’d seen first-hand what secrets could do. “If you don’t fight together, you could lose the ranch.”

  “We may lose it no matter what.”

  The ranch meant more to him than anything. On a shaky breath, I covered his hand with mine. Stone stared at where I touched him, then looked at me in disbelief before turning his palm up.

  One finger at a time, I wrapped my hand around his. My breathing grew louder, more erratic. I’m okay. I’m okay.

  “I got you, Muriella. I’ve always got you.” He clasped my hand.

  I exhaled on a whoosh. Counted to ten in my head. Waited for the memories—for something—to put me back in the moments of horror.

  When they didn’t come, I was just confused. The memories I knew how to handle. This? I was in uncharted territory without a map.

  Stone steadied my trembling hand with his strong one. Once the initial panic cleared, I found I liked his touch. It was different than when Vivian and I held hands. She calmed me; he made me buzz.

  I couldn’t stop looking at my small hand in his large one. I clutched it tightly. Every second it became easier, until I leaned back in my chair and the tension melted from my body.

  “I did it,” I whispered. I could comfort him, be there in another way he needed me. Putting him first eased my fears, made me brave.

  He gave me a gentle squeeze. “I think you just showed ‘I can’t’ where it can stick it.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Stone

  The water bottle slipped from my fingers, but I caught it just before it hit the floor.

  Thank th
e Lord above for sunglasses.

  If Muriella could have seen the way I was looking at her in a swimsuit, she’d have dived right off the boat and never come up for air.

  It was a purplish one-piece. Strapless, revealing the smooth skin of her shoulders. I slid up my lounge chair and rested my drink on my crotch to hide my reaction.

  She flopped down on the lounger beside me and stretched those slender legs. Her cinnamon skin shimmered in the sun. I followed the line of her leg all the way to her pointed toes. They starred in my fantasies every night, but in the flesh? I was about to lose my mind.

  “You okay?” Her nose scrunched up. “You’re sweating, and it’s not even that hot out.”

  If I was sweating, it had nothing to do with the outside temperature and everything to do with the woman who was trying to kill me with that swimsuit. My imagination ran wild with what was underneath. A mistake I paid for dearly as I tried to adjust for the bulge in my shorts.

  “Do you want to go for a swim? The water looks nice.” She gazed out over the deck, finally relaxing a little.

  What was it about her that flipped this switch in me? For six years, I’d only had eyes for her. No one else had held a candle. She gave me peace and kept me stirred up at the same time. It was a hell of a turn-on.

  She threw a piece of ice at me to snap me out of my daydreaming. “Are you there?”

  “Yeah. A swim sounds good.”

  I followed her, praying she wouldn’t turn around and see how the way her ass swayed as she walked intensified my not so little problem.

  “Um, you passed the pool,” I said as she continued to the swim platform.

  “I meant that water looks nice.” She pointed toward the ocean where the blue met turquoise. “Do we have any snorkel gear?”

  “We’re supposed to. Let me go hunt for it,” I said over my shoulder. Hopefully, I could deflate a little by then. “Don’t get in before I get back.”

  A splash was the only response I got. She surfaced and slicked her hair back from her face. A perfect vision. What the hell had I been thinking to bring her somewhere like this? Guess I was a glutton for punishment.