“You already have.”
“I wish I hadn’t. That wasn’t my intent. When I take you on, Shane, I’ll do it straight up. I’m not hiding behind a woman.”
“Again, you already have.”
“I was trying to figure out how to tell her.”
“That you were plotting against her family? Yeah, I can see how that’s a hard subject to bring up.”
Riley had been trying to figure out how to tell Kalissa that Shane was his brother. There was a root cause to this bad blood. Could they not at least be upfront about that when they were alone?
What exactly was Shane’s problem? Was he afraid he was being quoted or recorded, that Riley would defame their father’s name or go after the inheritance? Did he resent Riley so much that he couldn’t even bring himself to say the words?
Riley knew it was probably all of that.
“This conversation is pointless,” he said. He turned to walk away.
He made it only a few steps.
“Was it working?” Shane asked from behind.
Riley stopped. “Was what working?”
“Were you getting to her?”
Riley considered his answer. He turned back. “She likes me.”
Shane scowled at him, jaw set. “You hurt her, and I’ll annihilate you.”
“You’re already trying to annihilate me. But my beef is with you. I won’t use her as a pawn.”
This time, Riley did walk away, out of the yard and around the big house.
He slammed the door of his car and peeled away from the curb, bringing up the revs and increasing his speed until a traffic light forced him to brake. Then he smacked his hand down on the steering wheel.
He didn’t doubt for a second that Shane would protect Kalissa. He had the resources to put an impenetrable wall around her.
Riley had to talk to her. He had to convince her that what they’d shared was real. Yes, he’d stayed silent about Shane. But it wasn’t so he could use her. It was so she’d give them a chance to get to know each other.
A chance was all he’d wanted, all he still wanted. A chance to hear the sound of her voice, feel the silk of her skin, and taste the sweetness of her lips all over again.
The driver behind him honked his horn, and Riley hit the gas.
* * *
Kalissa was not going to dissolve into a puddle of emotion.
“It’s no big deal,” she said to Darci across the table in the garden tearoom.
Barely five blocks from the Oak Park house, her sister had directed her into a restaurant parking lot. The place was unnaturally serene, with piped flute music, a burbling fountain, white wrought iron furniture and dozens if not hundreds of potted plants decorating the terra cotta brick floor.
“We only met a couple of weeks ago,” she said.
Darci waited, and Kalissa recognized the technique.
It was one she used herself when one of her friends was upset. Let them talk their way through it and get it straight in their own head before you offered any advice.
“I know what you’re doing,” she said to Darci.
Darci smiled. “What am I doing?”
“You’re letting me think this through.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, it’s a strange thing. It’s what I usually do with other people.”
“Are you getting anywhere?” asked Darci.
“Not really. I wish I was. I mean, he seemed so great. Yeah, it was weird when we first met. He actually thought I was you. And he accused me of spying on him. I guess I pushed the significance of that to the side when I started to like him. I told myself he must have seen your picture in the media, because he said he’d never met you.”
“He hasn’t.”
“But he knows Shane.”
“Not really. He’s Shane’s competition, but I don’t think they’d met in person.”
Kalissa digested the information. “At least he wasn’t lying. Well, about that much, anyway.”
The waitress brought them hot tea and scones. Kalissa would have preferred something stronger than Earl Gray, but she didn’t want to seem crass.
“Did he lie about other things?” asked Darci, spooning sugar into her tea.
“There’s no way to know. Man, it felt like such a whirlwind. I thought...I mean...Okay, this is so embarrassing.”
Darci reached out and touched her hand. “We’re sisters.”
Some of the tension eased in Kalissa. “We are. Not that I know how to be a sister.”
“We’ll make it up as we go along.”
“We can, can’t we? It’s not like you’ll be able to call me on doing it wrong.”
Darci smiled into her cup.
Kalissa braced herself, rotating her own cup in its delicate saucer. “I thought I finally knew what it was like to be falling in love. There. I said it. I feel like an idiot.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Darci.
“It’s not your fault.”
“For any part Shane’s relationship with Riley might have played in messing this up.”
“It was messed up to start with. Shane was the only reason Riley gave me a second look.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.” Darci gave a small laugh. “It’s weird, trying to compliment someone who looks exactly like you. I was about to tell you, you were beautiful. But that’s like complimenting myself.”
“You are beautiful,” said Kalissa.
“Shane thinks so. So, we’ve got him on our side.”
“I read that he was named the most eligible bachelor in Chicago.”
“And he picked us.”
“He picked you.” Kalissa sobered. “You don’t suppose the two of them are fighting back there?”
“Maybe,” said Darci.
“I meant a fistfight. They both seemed really upset. Maybe we shouldn’t have left.”
“Quick, gut reaction, don’t think about it, who do you want to win?”
Riley.
Kalissa closed her eyes and a sense of longing overwhelmed her. She missed him. She’d started missing him the minute he dropped her off on Monday night.
She’d been so ridiculously happy to see him today. In the split second before Shane had spoken, she’d already imagined Riley’s arms around her, holding her tight against his strong body. It had felt so, so good.
“I slept with him,” she blurted out.
Darci’s brow went up.
“In Lake Forest. We had dinner at this cute little inn. Then we got a room. It was fantastic. Best sex I’ve ever had.”
Darci’s mouth twitched in a smile. “Wow. I like being sisters.” Then, she grew serious. “I mean, oh, I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t usually do it that fast. That is...” Kalissa groaned. “I feel like I should defend my morals. I don’t sleep around.”
“Good to know. Not that I care. I slept with Shane while I was spying on him. That’s not exactly admirable.”
“You spied on Shane?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Darci tore off a bite of her scone.
“Thank you,” Kalissa said softly. “For being here and listening.”
“I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“I’ll get over it.” Kalissa hoped this annoying, empty ache would disappear soon. “Darci, he was so good at seduction. I bought into everything he said.”
“You weren’t expecting him to lie.”
“No, I guess not. Did he think I’d have insider information on Colborn Aerospace?”
“You might. You could have. You probably will someday.”
“No.” Kalissa held up her palm. “You are never, ever to tell me anything about Shane’s company. Cl
early, I’m the weak link.”
Darci gave what looked like an amused smile. “We’ll see.”
“What do you mean, we’ll see. Just agree to keep quiet.”
“You might need to know someday. And what are the odds someone else will target you to get to Colborn?”
“Small, I suppose.” Kalissa’s thoughts returned to Riley.
“Zero,” said Darci.
“Do you suppose he wanted something specific?”
“He’s been undercutting Shane on international contracts. And he tried to hire away some of the Colborn staff.”
“He didn’t seem underhanded.” She sipped her tea and discovered it was now lukewarm. “Then again, I guess he showed me what he wanted me to see.”
“A harmless, trustworthy guy.”
Memories were coming back to Kalissa. “It took him the longest time to give me his last name. For a while there, I thought he was in the witness protection program, because something seemed off. He told me he was a conspiracy theorist, but it didn’t ring true. Then again, I suppose he was the one plotting the conspiracy. And he really downplayed his business. Though, I guess telling me the details would give away his secret. He made it sound small, nothing like Colborn.”
“It’s a lot smaller than Colborn,” said Darci.
“He’s ambitious,” said Kalissa, guessing he must be jealous of Shane’s success.
“He’s ruthless and scheming.”
Kalissa agreed.
He was also sexy and witty, astute and charming. But she had to forget those qualities. If she didn’t, it would be impossible to forget him.
* * *
Riley hated approaching Kalissa out on the street, but he couldn’t take the chance of waiting until tomorrow. Shane was sure to put some kind of protection around her. He might even move her behind the walls of his mansion.
Riley was certain she’d never show up at his house to work again. He expected Mosaic to simply walk away from the job, leaving his yard half done.
So he was waiting in the alcove next to the Mosaic shop, under an awning to keep out of the drizzling rain. Megan had gone inside about an hour ago. But she’d been walking, and their pickup wasn’t parked out front, so Riley had hope that he hadn’t missed Kalissa.
He still wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Apologize, sure. But he also had to convince her to give him another chance. He knew it was a long shot, but he had to take it.
A pair of headlights rounded the corner, the beams flashing off the dim building of the narrow street. Water splashed beneath the tires. It was a pickup, and it was the right color.
It pulled into a vacant spot. The driver’s door opened, and he tensed as he recognized her, auburn hair cascading forward as she climbed out. He gazed at her slim shoulders and long legs, that pretty profile he’d watched so many times.
She slung a big purse over her shoulder. Then she locked the door and scooted across the street, avoiding puddles along the way.
“Kalissa?” He wanted her to hear his voice and know it was him before she saw a man lurking in the shadows.
She stopped five feet from the curb.
“It’s Riley,” he said.
She glanced up and down the darkened street. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Please just listen.”
She walked determinedly forward. “No.”
“Kalissa.”
She halted beside him. “What? You’re going to tell me some more lies?”
“I want to explain.”
“That’s pointless. I don’t trust you.”
“I understand.”
Her tone dripped with sarcasm. “How magnanimous of you, to understand why I might not trust a lying jerk who lured me into his bed.”
“I didn’t—”
“Come on, Riley. You’re going to tell me you didn’t have sex with me?”
“I meant I didn’t lure you.”
She lifted her chin. “You’re right. I came willingly. What’s your point?”
“My point is I’m sorry.”
Her voice was brittle. “For having sex with me?”
“No. No. Never. I’d have sex with you a thousand times more.” He knew the words were wrong, but he couldn’t seem to stop them. “I wanted to tell you about Ellis Aviation, about Shane, about everything.”
“What stopped you?”
“I knew you’d walk away.”
“I would have walked away.”
“And I didn’t want that. You meant too much to me. You mean too much to me.”
“I meant nothing to you.”
The light rain was dampening her hair, glistening when it misted her cheeks.
He reached for her hand, but she jerked it away, hiding it behind her back.
“If you meant nothing to me,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here.”
Instead of responding, she clamped her jaw shut.
“Think about it, Kalissa. My cover’s blown. From a business perspective, I’m sunk. There’s only one reason for me to be here.”
She seemed to ponder his words for a few moments. Then she spoke. “Just because I can’t see the scheme, doesn’t mean you’re not hatching one.”
“Sometimes it does.”
“You’re too smart for me, Riley. You know things I don’t know. You want things I can’t understand.”
“I want you.”
She shook her head. “You already played that card.”
“It wasn’t a game. Everything between us was true.”
“You mean there were no other lies? Only the ones I caught you in? Do I look stupid? Do I act stupid?”
He battled an urge to reach for her. “I was going to tell you. I was trying to figure out the right time and the right way.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.”
“I thought if you got to know me, if I could make you like me, if I had a chance before Shane turned you against me, you might listen to my side of the story.”
“You can’t make me trust you by lying to me.”
Ashton’s words echoed inside Riley’s head.
“I know that. If I could go back, I’d have told you that first day.” He hesitated. “Maybe.”
She folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips with obvious impatience.
“I’m trying to be honest here,” he said. “If I could go back, it would be hard. If I told you up front, you’d have never agreed to go out with me.”
She gave a sharp nod of agreement.
“And we wouldn’t have had that night on the pier, or that drive up the coast, or the night in—”
“Stop it, Riley.”
“I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“You have to stop thinking about it.”
“Can you?”
Her slight hesitation told him there was a chance. A very, very small chance he could get through to her.
“Yes,” she said in a small voice.
“Now who’s lying?”
She opened her mouth.
He reached out and put his finger across it. “Don’t lie to me, Kalissa. I’ve done enough of that for the both of us.”
He couldn’t stop himself. He stepped forward.
“I can’t,” she said, a catch in her voice.
“I’m not asking you to trust me.”
Her eyes were wide and luminous in the pale streetlights. She looked frightened and uncertain. He hated himself for doing that to her.
“All I ask is a chance,” he said, struggling to control his own emotions. “Don’t walk away.”
She blinked rapidly, and he
drew her into his arms.
“I’m so sorry, Kalissa. I’d give anything to start over, to make circumstances different.”
Her voice was muffled against him. “We can’t.”
“I want to figure this out.”
“She’s my sister, Riley.” But her body had molded against his.
“I know.”
“I’ve only just found her.”
“I know that too.” He tightened his hold.
“You’re trying to harm them.”
He wasn’t. Then again, he was. He was trying to harm Colborn Aerospace. “That has nothing to do with you.”
She drew back to look up at him. “You can’t put me in the middle.”
“I won’t,” he pledged.
“You are.”
“Kalissa.” He brought his palm to her cheek.
Her skin was so smooth, so soft, warming beneath his touch.
His gaze moved to her lips.
It might be the last time. He couldn’t let it be the last time. He simply couldn’t let this be the last time he kissed her.
He brought his mouth to hers, and he pulled her tight. Her lips were hot and soft and sweet. They parted beneath his, and he kissed her deeply, arousal coming to life within him. He longed to be back in Lake Forest. He wished they’d never come home.
“Ms. Smith?” came a deep officious male voice.
Footsteps beat toward them.
Kalissa jerked back, obviously alarmed.
“Don’t worry,” said Riley, knowing exactly what was going on. “He’ll be from Shane.”
Riley straightened to glare at the man, keeping one arm around Kalissa. “Are you trying to scare her to death?”
“I’m paid to protect her.”
Kalissa turned to the tall, angular man. “Protect me from what? Who are you?”
“Your brother-in-law Shane Colborn asked me to make sure you’re safe at all times.” The man eyed Riley up and down.
“No way,” said Kalissa.
“She doesn’t want you around,” said Riley.
“My name is Patrick Garrison, ma’am. I’m with West Shore Security Services.”
Kalissa retrieved her phone. “Please tell me you’re not armed.”
“You don’t need to worry about that, ma’am.”
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