With This Ring

by Lee McKenzie

  “Brent? Um, I think he’s working.” Not that it hadn’t crossed her mind. Since he worked for her brother and she was now planning the fund-raiser, she could easily come up with a reason to drop by the house they were renovating to ask Nick for a favor.

  Come to think of it…

  No.

  First things first.

  This afternoon she needed to get her former fiancé out of her life, once and for all. Then she could think about moving on.

  She poured Hannah’s tea and set the pot back on the tray and the tray on the nightstand. “Have a good rest. I’ll check in on you later.”

  She went back down the hallway to the den, closed the door and dialed Gerald’s number. He answered and although he sounded surprised to hear from her, he agreed, somewhat reluctantly she thought, to come by and pick up his things.

  While she waited, she took the box out of the closet and put it by the front door, then she wandered restlessly through the house. What had possessed her to buy such a big place? A little house like Brent’s was all she needed. But she knew why she’d bought this one. It had several bedrooms, a family room and a den, and a nice little enclosed patio. She’d thought it would be a perfect place to raise a family. She and Gerald had never actually talked about a family—she’d just assumed he’d want one. Everyone did, right? And it had been the last thing she’d needed to cross off her stupid list.

  The doorbell finally rang, twenty minutes past the time he said he’d be there. So typical. For a few seconds, she stood with her hand on the doorknob. How would it feel to see him again?

  There was only one way to find out.

  She opened the door and felt…nothing. Not a damn thing. She tried to whip up some anger, but even that wouldn’t come. So she calmly stood there, waiting for him to say something. Her composure seemed to unravel his.

  He looked even paler than usual, as though he hadn’t been sleeping well. And was his hair already starting to thin? It was as if she was seeing him for the first time, and she had to wonder what the hell she’d been thinking. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, back and forth, and finally stammered out a greeting. “It’s good to see you, Leslie. I’ve been waiting for you to call. We need to talk.”

  You were waiting for me to call? Give me a break.

  He stepped forward and attempted to put his arms around her.

  She quickly moved out of range and, with one foot, slid the box toward him. “I don’t want to talk. I want you to get your things out of my house.”

  “Come on, Leslie. You’re not being reasonable.”

  Now she was angry. “I’m not the one who had my tongue in somebody else’s mouth on our wedding day.”

  “Candice was just—”

  “Horny?”

  He was plainly shocked. “That was tacky.”

  “And feeling up one of my bridesmaids wasn’t?”

  “It didn’t mean anything. You know what she’s like.”

  “I don’t care what she’s like. This isn’t about her, it’s about you. You’re the one who was getting married. I’m not upset with Candice.” Much. “You’re the one who was supposed to be committed to our relationship. Maybe I should be grateful that Candice showed me that’s not possible.”

  Instead of looking cowed, he tried a different approach. “So, where were you for the past couple of days?”

  How dare he ask a question like that? But at least she knew that information hadn’t spread around town. She certainly didn’t want Brent’s name to be dragged through the mud with hers. “I was staying with a friend.”

  “We checked with your friends. They were all looking for you.”

  Leslie smiled smugly. “Looks like you’re not the only one who has secrets.”

  “You’re telling me—”

  “I’m not telling you anything. Where and with whom I stayed is none of your damn business. I want you to take your things and get the hell out of my life.”

  “Come on, Leslie. This isn’t like you.”

  Oh my God, she thought. Did he really think she’d overlook his indiscretions and stay with him? Of course he did. Her mother did. All her life she’d done what everyone else expected of her, never what she wanted. Did she even know what she wanted?

  Yes, she did.

  “You know something, Gerald? This is exactly like me. I wanted a faithful husband and a perfect marriage and—” She paused and took a long breath to steady herself. Someone who actually loves me. “I thought you could give me those things. I was wrong. Now please leave.”

  That seemed to convince him. He picked up the box but gave her one last pleading look. “You’re sure there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”

  “I’m sure,” she said, firmly and with emphasis. “You won’t want to leave that box lying around. Your ring and the jewelry are in there.”

  His face fell. “You should keep them.”

  “I can’t.” She stepped back and closed the door.

  She went into the kitchen and looked around. For once, she wished she was the dramatic type who could smash plates against the wall, or scream at the top of her lungs or…

  Not only was she not the dramatic type, she couldn’t think of anything else outrageous to do. Pathetic. She needed to talk to someone, though.

  Her mother was out of the question. Nick? Her friends? No.

  Brent. That’s who she wanted to talk to. Because he wouldn’t just talk, he would put his arms around her and make her feel that everything was okay. And although that wouldn’t be altogether fair to him, she really needed to feel okay. Would he mind? She didn’t think he would.

  Without giving herself time to talk herself out of it, she left a note on the counter for Hannah, grabbed her handbag and keys and left.

  BRENT’S TRUCK was parked in the driveway, which meant he had to be home from work. She pulled in behind it and debated the wisdom of coming here. If she left now, Brent would be none the wiser and she wouldn’t be on the verge of doing something she’d regret.

  Max appeared in the living room window, front paws on the sill.

  So much for changing her mind.

  Brent and his dog met her at the front door. Max’s unabandoned exuberance offset Brent’s apparent lack of enthusiasm at seeing her there.

  “Hi,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.” His hair was still damp from the shower and he was barefoot, which meant he’d only been home long enough to shower and change into clean jeans and a white T-shirt. “Max, quiet!”

  The barking stopped but Brent held on to the dog’s collar to prevent him from lunging at Leslie.

  “I wasn’t sure if I should come here.”

  “You’re welcome here anytime, you know that. Come on in, before Max gives himself a coronary.”

  She stepped inside the now familiar little house and immediately felt that this was the right place to be. “Thanks,” she said, unable to keep the tremor out of her voice.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Gerald came to my place this afternoon.”

  “I see,” he said quietly. “I think you’d better sit down.” He led her to the sofa and waited till she was seated before he joined her.

  The dog ran into the kitchen and dashed back with his teddy bear in his mouth. “Not now, Max.”

  “He’s fine,” she said. “He puts things into perspective.”

  “What did Gerald want?” he asked.

  “Actually, I called him. I wanted him to get his things out of my town house. But you were right. He wanted to talk about getting back together.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “What do think I told him? No way. And then I told him to take his stuff and get the hell out of my life.”

  Brent’s eyebrows shot up.

  “You don’t have to look so surprised. I know how to tell somebody to go to hell.”

  “Yeah, you’re a total bad ass.”

  “Don’t make fun of me.”

  Brent took he
r hands in his. “Then don’t make it so easy.”

  She wanted to put her arms around him and thank him for being so understanding.

  He wanted details. “What did Gerald say when you told him to get lost?”

  “He blamed it all on Candice. Can you believe that? Like he had nothing to do with it.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “That’s not the worst of it. He tried to tell me that I was overreacting, and then he wanted to know where I’d been for two days. As if that was any of his business.”

  “Did you tell him?”

  “No, of course not.”

  He looked a little disappointed.

  “After he cleared out, I was so mad I wanted to smash something. Hannah was resting and I didn’t want her to see me like this. I didn’t know what else to do…”

  “So you came here.”

  “Do you mind? I can’t talk to my family or to Allison about this. Not yet.”

  “I don’t mind at all.”

  Max sat on the floor in front of her and dropped his teddy bear in her lap. She ran her shaky fingers through the dog’s shaggy fur. “I missed you.”

  “Just him?” Brent asked.

  Images from the two days she’d spent with him flashed through her mind. The way he’d carried her into the house, unzipped her wedding gown, retrieved her ring from the plumbing, kissed her. Especially the way he’d kissed her, and the way he’d backed off when she’d said she wasn’t ready to make love. A little voice in her head was telling her that she was ready now.

  “I missed you, too,” she said.

  “But we saw each other last night,” he reminded her.

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “This.” She ran her hands up his hard-muscled arms and along his shoulders.

  He didn’t pull away, and that gave her the courage to initiate a kiss. He backed off before her lips touched his.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Picking up where we left off last night.”

  “That was a good-night kiss. I’m not sure what this is.”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “What’s obvious is that you had a run-in with your ex. You’re upset, so you came here. Being here with me like this might seem like a good idea right now, but it might not seem that way afterward.”

  Was he turning her down? “I’ll bet I’m not the first woman to do this.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Did you turn down the others?”

  His head moved slowly from side to side.

  “Then why are you saying no to me?”

  “Because you’re different, Leslie. Don’t you get it? I’ve wanted to make love to you for as long as I can remember.”

  That’s why she was here. A moment ago she couldn’t have articulated it, but she wanted to be made love to by someone who loved her. “I know,” she said.

  He shook his head, firmly this time. “Don’t ask me to be your booty call.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t get all high and mighty with me. That’s exactly what you’re here for, and it’s not going to happen.”

  Oh. God. This would be a good time for the ground to open up and swallow her alive. She had never done anything like this, and the outcome was the exact opposite of what she’d expected it to be. They were sitting side by side on the sofa with his thigh pressed against hers, and her hands on his arms, and she had no idea how to gracefully extract herself from this ridiculous situation.

  Since when did men turn down women who offered to sleep with them? Gerald certainly hadn’t been capable of it.

  But she already knew that Brent wasn’t like most men.

  He must have sensed her discomfort. “I meant what I said the other night. When you’re ready for this, I’ll be waiting.”

  “My wanting to be with you isn’t enough?”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it won’t be enough for you.”

  She pulled her hands away and folded them in her lap. Did she dare tell him the truth? How could she not? “Gerald was…is…the only man I’ve ever been with. He didn’t care about me, not really. I need to know the difference.”

  She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, and he didn’t answer. He took her hand and silently led her into his bedroom.

  Chapter Twelve

  They stood next to his bed, and he kissed her. “You’re sure about this?” he asked.

  “Completely sure.”

  And apparently willing to let him take charge. Through the haze that was already clouding his mind, a vague thought crystallized. A man who cheated on his bride on the morning of the wedding was too selfish to be a good lover.

  Leslie might not know the difference between having sex and being made love to, yet. That was something he could show her, and he might never have another chance.

  He helped her onto the bed and crawled on next to her. She was so amazingly beautiful, he found it hard to believe that aside from her ex, no one had managed to seduce her, although he was sure others had tried.

  He kissed her and then lifted his head so he could look into her eyes while he touched her. When he kissed her again, he slipped his hand under her shirt. Her breathing was already quicker, pressing her hard nipple into his palm every time she inhaled.

  She tried to deepen the kiss but he held back. “Slow down,” he whispered against her lips. “There’s no hurry.”

  “What if I change my mind again?”

  If her reaction to him stroking a nipple through her bra was anything to go by, he wasn’t taking much of a gamble. She was already aroused, and he had barely started. “I’ll take my chances,” he said.

  Her clothes melted away, item by item, until every square inch of her body was exposed to him. Her hands roamed under his shirt and he finally stripped it away so she could touch him, too, but he stopped at that. For now this was about her, and he didn’t ask her what she wanted, he showed her.

  He let her reactions guide him and when he felt she was near the edge, he let her kiss him. It was a deep, passionate kiss that damn near sucked the old life out of him, until her little gasps of pleasure had him feeling like a completely new man.

  She moved closer and touched him through his jeans. “I think it’s your turn.”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m pretty sure it’s still yours.” But he moved off the bed, grabbed a condom from a drawer in the nightstand and had his jeans and underwear off and the condom on in record time.

  Leslie lay tangled in his sheets, her skin glowing with the pink flush of orgasm. Her eyes widened as her gaze took in his erection.

  It was the wrong time to be thinking that Gerald Bedford must not measure up, but he thought it just the same. Then he moved onto the bed and over her, and she opened her legs to let him in, and the two of them were the only people on his mind.

  He lowered himself into her, slowly, agonizingly slowly, giving her time to adjust to him being there, all the while thinking that the excruciating pleasure of being inside her might actually kill him. And then she gave herself to him, and he prayed for enough control to please her again. He wove his fingers between hers and raised her hands above her head, holding her there while she strained against him. He stayed with her, persuading one tremor after another from her, before he let himself go.

  When he finally managed to open his eyes, she was looking at him. And her eyes were telling him that she had the answer to her question.

  “I’ve wanted this forever,” he said.

  “I think maybe I have, too. It just took me longer to figure it out.”

  “Will you spend the night?”

  “I can’t. I left a note for Hannah, telling her I’d be back in a few hours. I don’t want her to worry.”

  “You could call her.”

  “I really need to go, Brent. But I’d like to see you again. Soon.”
/>   “Will tomorrow be too soon?”

  She laughed. “Maybe not soon enough.”

  “We could go out for dinner, or maybe see a movie.”

  She hesitated. “I don’t know….”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I can’t think of a better way than this to spend time with you. I just don’t want you to think this is the only thing I’m interested in.”

  He lay back against the pillows and drew her into the circle of his arms.

  He wanted to tell her he loved her. Then he wanted to track down Gerald Bedford and gloat.

  Under the circumstances, neither was appropriate. He ran a hand over the soft, smooth skin of her belly, thinking another orgasm might be. He congratulated himself on having such good instincts.

  “Brent, if you keep doing that, I won’t be able to leave.”

  “So my plan is working?”

  She didn’t say anything, which led him to believe it was the perfect plan.

  Oh, yes. There we go. Perfect.

  “I’ve never done this before,” she said breathlessly.

  “You’ve never used a man for sex?”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  He kissed her. “What haven’t you done before?” he asked.

  “Had three orgasms in—” She twisted to look at the clock on the nightstand. “An hour? Is that even possible?”

  “Apparently.” And all of a sudden it was okay that someone else had been her first because he intended to be her last.

  THE NEXT AFTERNOON Leslie drove past Donaldson’s Deli and found a parking spot at the end of the block. She’d called Allison to ask her about helping with the fund-raiser and they had agreed to meet at their favorite coffee spot. She checked her makeup in the rearview mirror, tucked her keys into her handbag and stepped out of her car.

  Four teenage boys in a convertible honked and waved as they cruised by. She smiled and thought, eat your hearts out, boys.

  A week ago, that thought would have surprised her. Today she felt undeniably sexy, and it was all thanks to Brent Borden. She walked down the block with more swing in her step than she’d felt in a long time.

  The sidewalk was crowded with shoppers and tourists, and she hoped Allison had already arrived and found a table. She was looking forward to getting her friend involved in the fund-raiser. Because there were two things about Allison that she knew for certain. She loved parties, and absolutely no one could say no to her—so she was counting on her best friend to take on the silent auction.