“And I’ll feel the same way an hour from now, tomorrow, next week and next month. This isn’t a phase that’ll pass a year from now, Peyton. You’re the one who had the birthday, not me. But it doesn’t matter. I know what I feel.”
“Do you?” she asked, letting her gaze roam over his face.
“Yes.” He stepped closer to her and reached out and cupped her face in both hands. “I know. It’s you who doesn’t know, and I’m going to make it my job to see that you do. I’m going to make sure you know how things are when a man loves a woman.”
He leaned down and kissed her in a long, passionate and sensuous kiss, letting her feel just how much he desired her, wanted her and loved her. One day there would be no doubt in her mind, and it was only then that they could move forward and make plans for their future.
He released her mouth and whispered against her wet lips. “I need to get you out of here or you’ll miss your plane.” He chuckled. “But if you did miss the plane, it wouldn’t bother me at all.”
He was telling the truth about that. The past two weeks had been the best. He had enjoyed being with her…making love to her. He didn’t say anything for a minute and then reached out and caressed her cheek. “When I get back from Dubai I’m coming to Oklahoma to see you.”
When she parted her lips to say something, he placed a finger on her lips. “Shh. Don’t tell me not to, Peyton.”
She released a sigh before saying, “It’s your time you’ll be wasting.”
He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You’ve been friends with Sam long enough to know that when a Di Meglio sets their mind to doing something, nothing stands in their way. So get ready, baby. I’m coming.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again.
Chapter 21
“Well, you certainly look well-rested, Peyton.”
Peyton looked up from her desk at the two women standing in her doorway. She leaned back in her chair and narrowed her gaze. Of course it was Sam who’d given her assessment of Peyton’s well-being. “I haven’t decided if I’m still speaking to the two of you.”
“And why not?” Mackenzie asked, an innocent smile curving her lips.
Before she could answer, Sam said, “The way I see it, you owe us. You can’t convince me that you didn’t enjoy yourself and have fun.”
Sam was right. She did have a good time. But still…
“The two of you set me up.”
“We did not,” Sam said, dismissing Peyton’s objections as she braved the lion’s den by stepping into her office. Mac decided to hang back and stand in the doorway.
“What we did was make sure you went somewhere to relieve all that stress. There’s nothing like a good round of lovemaking to take the edge off.”
Peyton narrowed her gaze. “And what makes you think Angelo and I made love?”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Because I know my brother,” she said. “He’s had the hots for you for a while now, and it’s been driving everyone crazy. It was high time for him to find out exactly what all that meant.”
She dropped down in the chair across from Peyton’s desk. “And I know you. You might think you were fooling Mac, but you weren’t fooling me. You have a thing for Angelo, too.”
Peyton opened her mouth to rebut Sam’s assertion, but decided to keep quiet as Mac entered the room and took the other chair beside Sam. “Actually, she hasn’t been fooling me,” Mac said. “That’s the only reason I went along with Angelo’s plan to send her to Dunwoody Cove. Even though Angelo might have had the hots for Peyton, she’s always had the hots for him.”
“Excuse me,” Peyton said with an edge in her voice. “Why are the two of you discussing me like I’m not here?”
“Because until you own up to it, that’s how we’re going to deal with it. We are your two closest friends. Don’t you know we pick up on stuff?”
Peyton tensed as she arched her brow. “Stuff like what?”
“Like how your eyes would light up whenever Sam mentioned Angelo’s name, and how you liked talking about the time he stayed at your place when Sam was out of town,” Mac reminded her. “You kept telling me how hot he was.”
Peyton rolled her eyes. “He is hot.”
“Yes, but I thought there was more,” Mac said. “Only because in all the years we’ve been friends, you’ve never carried on about any other man like you did Angelo.”
Peyton didn’t say anything for a moment. She abruptly rose to her feet and leaned forward, placing her hands palms down on her desk, making sure she had Mac and Sam’s attention. “I want you two to listen to me and listen to me good,” she said in a steely tone. “I am not in love with Angelo.”
Neither Mac nor Sam were perturbed by her words. “I remember a time when I wasn’t in love with Blade either,” Sam said, grinning. “In fact, I seriously didn’t like him at first.”
“And I didn’t care one way or the other with Luke,” Mac added. “I thought he was eye candy in a pair of jeans, but that was about it.”
Peyton knew the history of how Mac and Sam first met their husbands. “So what are you two trying to say?” Peyton asked in a snappy voice, clearly annoyed.
Sam glanced over to Mac to let her do the honors. “All we’re saying, Peyton, is that Angelo has this thing for you. We knew it. Hell, everyone knew it but you. And Sam and I detected that you had this thing for him as well, although you’ve managed to hide your attraction better than he hid his. We never said you loved him or that he loved you. All we’re saying is that we thought there was enough there to explore and felt the two weeks at Dunwoody would do both of you some good.”
Peyton glared. “Who the hell died and made you two matchmakers?”
Mac and Sam exchanged glances, and then Sam looked over at Peyton. “We see you’re in one of those moods. Evidently Angelo failed to take care of business like we thought he would since you’re in the same mood that you were in before you left.”
Sam stood. “Good thing you’re only in the office one day before leaving for Chicago or else Mac and I would be tempted to take you somewhere and work you over. Knocking some sense into you isn’t such a bad idea.”
Peyton’s glare deepened. “You just try.”
“And we would succeed,” Sam threw back. “Come on, Mac, let’s leave Peyton to stew about what could have happened between her and Angelo, but didn’t.”
Mac stood, and she and Sam headed for the door when Peyton’s next words stopped them. “It did happen!”
Both Sam and Mac stopped and turned around slowly and stared at Peyton, who sat back down in her chair. It was Sam who asked, “So, what’s your problem if you got laid?”
Peyton rolled her eyes. Leave it to Sam to think a good roll in the hay was the cure for just about anything. “My problem is that your brother thinks he loves me,” she said in a frustrated voice.
Mac’s expression changed to complete surprise. “Angelo actually said that?”
“Yes.”
“And you have a problem with that—with a man loving you?” Sam asked, as if it was such a crazy idea.
“Yes, I have a problem with it,” Peyton replied.
Neither Sam nor Mac said anything as they returned to their respective chairs. “I knew Angelo had this thing for you, but I hadn’t expected him to confess anything about love so soon. Usually it takes men a long time to come to grips with their feelings for a woman,” Mac said. “You’ve scored big-time, so what kind of problem do you have with it?”
Peyton shook her head. “That’s just it. I don’t want to score. I don’t want Angelo to think he loves me, and I don’t want to start loving him.”
Mac and Sam exchanged glances again. “Is there a reason why you wouldn’t want such a fine-looking man, who’s also pretty damn successful, to love you?” Mac asked
.
Peyton nodded slowly. “Yes, there’s a reason. And his name is Matthew Elton.”
Mac raised a brow. “Who’s Matthew Elton?”
Peyton knew it was time to tell her two best friends everything, including the part of her life she hadn’t shared with anyone…except Angelo. She’d told Angelo to get him to understand why she could never have a serious relationship with him. But even now, she wasn’t sure she’d gotten through to him.
Drawing in a deep breath she began talking, sharing with Mac and Sam the period of time in her life that had caused her such heartbreak.
* * *
“I can’t believe you’ve been here for two weeks,” Lee Madaris said, glancing around and smiling back at the women who were openly flirting with him. “I bet you’ve been having a hell of a lot of fun.”
Angelo took another sip of his drink. He remembered how he felt the first time he’d come to Dunwoody Cove over five years ago as a guest. Upon seeing all the beautiful women, he’d thought he had died and gone to heaven. Evidently Lee was now feeling the same way.
“Yes, I had a lot of fun, all right, but not in the way you think. Peyton was here celebrating her thirtieth birthday,” he said.
Lee rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he gazed over at Angelo. “Oh, I see.”
There was no need to ask Lee what he meant by that. Angelo was well aware that Lee knew how he felt about Peyton, since Lee had been one of those who’d picked up on it at some of the family functions they’d attended together.
“So you finally decided to make your move?” Lee asked.
Angelo stared down into his drink. He had, for all the good it had done. “Yes, I finally decided to make my move.” There was no need to go into detail or explain that the woman he’d fallen in love with wasn’t receptive.
He didn’t say anything as he continued to sip his drink and watched as Lee checked out the ladies. Despite Lee’s interest, Angelo detected an edginess in the man he’d gotten to know pretty well over the past few years. At thirty-two, and a college graduate of Harvard, Lee had headed the Madaris Foundation up until a year ago, when he decided to step down to pursue his lifelong dream of owning a chain of international resort hotels.
“So what’s going on with you, Lee?”
Lee glanced over at him. “Nothing much. Nolan and I are working together to restore a 1985 ’Vette and it’s a beauty.”
Angelo nodded. “And how are the other cousins?” By “other cousins” Lee knew who he was referring to. The Madaris family was close, and the matriarch of the family, Felicia Laverne Madaris, and her husband, Milton, had given birth to seven sons. All were alive except for Robert Madaris, who had been killed in the Vietnam War.
Those seven sons had sons and grandsons and their grandsons were extremely close—especially Lee, Corbin, Nolan and Reese, who were close in age as well. Reese had gotten married last year to LaKenna, even though they’d been best friends for years. No one had been surprised when the relationship between the two had turned serious, just as Angelo knew no one would really be surprised if he and Peyton’s affair was out in the open.
“Everyone is doing fine. I can’t wait to tell them about this place. If we didn’t have to catch that plane to Dubai, I would extend my stay here.”
Angelo chuckled, watching the eye contact between Lee and the woman sitting at a table across the room. “Yes, I’m sure you would.”
An hour later, Angelo returned to his room and, as soon as he shut the door behind him, felt a surge of loneliness. He missed Peyton already. She had definitely left her mark, and already Dunwoody Cove provided memories that he couldn’t let go of. He knew he had his work cut out for him because even as he was driving her to the airport, she was trying her best to convince him that any affair between them wouldn’t work. He was determined to show her that it would.
He was about to strip down for a shower when his cell phone rang. His heart kicked up a beat, hoping it was Peyton, and he tried to downplay his disappointment when he checked caller ID and saw it was his father. “Yes, Dad?”
“When will you be back in the office?”
Angelo raised a brow, surprised by the question. His father was aware that he was on a well-deserved extended leave from the firm and hadn’t planned on returning to the office for another month or so. “Not for a while, Dad. Why?”
“A case has come up. It’s a new client who asked for you—specifically.”
“Who are they?”
“Gallant Mercantile.”
Angelo released a low whistle. No wonder his father was calling. Gallant Mercantile was a billion-dollar company, and it was the kind of account any legal firm would love to represent. He was well aware that his father and uncles had been courting them for years. It was also rumored that Gallant hadn’t been satisfied with how their current law firm had botched their last big deal with some manufacturing giant in China and was discreetly looking around for another firm to represent them.
Angelo rubbed his hand down his face. The last thing he was interested in was going back to work. Maybe it was something they could handle outside the courtroom. “What’s this about?”
“It’s regarding their plant in Chicago. Some of the residents in a nearby community are claiming their water is being contaminated by the company’s factory there.”
Angelo nodded. “Is it true?”
“Gallant spent money on several environmental studies and installed stringent safeguards a few years ago.”
Angelo rolled his eyes. That didn’t mean a thing to him. If he was going to take the case he had to be certain they were dealing with the facts. “I want to see those reports and would prefer having current tests done. That means they are going to need to do updates.”
He heard his father’s low whistle. “That’s going to cost money.”
“And it’s money I’m sure they have. If I take the case, I don’t want to go into it blindly.”
“So you will take the case?”
“Do I have a choice?” He knew his father knew the answer. Angelo was in a position to snag the one account the firm had been trying to nail for years. Turning down the case was not an option.
“I’m on my way to Dubai for a week, and when I return to the States I’m heading to Oklahoma for a few days. I should be back in New York in two weeks.”
“That long?”
Yes, that long. He had business that was more important to him than jumping through hoops for the people at Gallant. He’d heard about them and understood they were pushy. So it was better that they started out knowing he was nobody’s yes-man, and he didn’t jump through hoops very well.
“Yes, Dad—two weeks at the minimum. If they really want me to take on the case, they’ll sit tight. In the meantime, tell them I won’t touch it without updates on their contamination test results.”
Moments later he hung up the phone, satisfied that he was not changing his plans. He would go to Dubai and then take a trip to Oklahoma. There was a certain woman there that he couldn’t wait to see again.
Chapter 22
Peyton stared into her refrigerator. There were times that she wished Rachael Ray was her neighbor. There was never anything in her fridge that she could whip up in thirty minutes. She’d been back from Dunwoody for four days and in another two would be leaving for Chicago, where she would spend the next two weeks. So it didn’t make sense to go grocery shopping for food now.
She’d closed her refrigerator and decided she would do Chinese takeout when she heard the doorbell ring. It was Friday afternoon, and she was flying out first thing Monday morning. She looked forward to visiting with Ms. Lora, the woman who’d been her grandmother’s best friend for years.
She glanced out of the peephole of her door. Peyton’s heart nearly stopped when she saw it was Angelo. She knew he had planned t
o come to Oklahoma, but a part of her had hoped it would be after she’d left town and their paths wouldn’t cross. She wasn’t sure she was up to seeing him now. Especially since she’d been thinking about him so much over the past few days and couldn’t get their Bahamas affair out of her mind. And why did thoughts of those times make her smile even when she didn’t want to? Even when she tried to remember it had only been a brief affair?
“Pretending I’m not here is not going to make me go away, Peyton,” he said softly through the door.
She blinked, wondering how he’d known for certain she was home and how she could hear him when she was certain she hadn’t made a sound. As if he’d read her thoughts, he said, “I can pick up your scent even through the door.”
Her eyes widened. Could he really? Drawing in a deep breath she took the security chain off the door, opened it slightly and stepped back. He pushed the door open all the way and walked into her condo, seemingly bigger than life, and when his gaze latched onto her, heat immediately spread through her body.
He looked as handsome as ever, and for some reason even more so. In jeans and a pullover shirt that showed what a great body he had, it wouldn’t take much for her to start drooling. And she couldn’t help noticing his hair was longer. It hung way past the collar of his shirt.
He didn’t say anything. After closing the door behind him, he just stood there in the middle of her condo doing the one thing he liked doing, which was staring at her. She felt the intensity of his gaze touch her everywhere—her face, the tips of her breasts, the juncture of her legs and the soles of her feet.
Then he simply said, “Come here.”
And like a magnet, her body was drawn to him. He grabbed her when she came within arm’s length and slanted his mouth over hers. Her lips parted automatically and their tongues began mating in a desperate attempt to get reacquainted.
Electrified charges sizzled through her body, while pleasure, as ripe as the peach she’d eaten at lunch, had her moaning. Why? Why now and why him? She’d been absorbed in her work for years, and if she missed a date, so what? Male companionship was something she’d never had to have. It wasn’t at the top of her list. But all it had taken was two weeks spent with Angelo, and her body now seemed to have a mind of its own.
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