Great or not, it didn’t change the cold, hard facts. He had admitted to coming here on a challenge. She didn’t know what kind of challenge and she didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that he had lied to her, led her to believe things about herself that were nowhere close to true, and exploited her trust. And worse, far worse, made her fall in love with him.
She would get over it. Just as soon as she put her final plan into action and got the hell out of here, she would. And that had to happen soon. As much as she now longed for it, there was no way could she afford to stick around and live out this morning’s dream.
Chapter Seven
Duane finished chewing the bite of pizza and gave his head a shake. “Oh, man, I can’t believe she actually left you like that. That’s too damned funny.”
“A regular riot,” Nate said dryly, cringing all over again at the memory of waking up naked to find an army of women glaring at him. It wasn’t bad enough to wake up in the buff in a place he clearly wasn’t wanted, but after hacking away at her tent until not much remained but the floor of it, Kelsey had spread pictures of him in his female form all around his nude body. Pictures and a note that had contained a three-word question that twisted his gut with guilt every time he thought about it. How’s it feel?
He had known that night something was off about her smile, the glint in her eyes when she told him she would be sure he got as good as he gave. He now understood the look completely. He also understood that he had been right in his assumption her feelings had been involved every bit as much as his own had.
He’d been shaken when he’d woken up to find that she was gone, that what they’d shared had all just been a part of her getting back at him. It had worked. He’d never felt worse over anything in his whole life. He also had never wanted to track someone down and grovel at their feet so damned bad. Not that he was admitting that to anyone. He’d already had to fess up to Joe that he hadn’t been able to handle a nonsexual relationship with an attractive woman. He didn’t dare mention that the moment he’d started opening himself up to someone and learning about them in return, he’d started caring.
Joe smirked from across the restaurant table. “So, did Kelsey at least appreciate that you took the time to get in touch with your feminine side?”
Not about to respond to the smart-aleck question because he knew he couldn’t do so with a level head, Nate stood. “I have to run. I have…things to do.”
“That reminds me,” Joe said, “I stopped by the Wharf on my way over. Jan said if I see you to tell you to come by after lunch.”
Great. That’s just what Nate needed to top off the week. He hadn’t been in the headquarters store since last Friday and as Jan had been on vacation until this morning, he could just imagine the problems that had occurred in their absences. If nothing else, taking care of business might get his mind off his other problems for a while. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll run by right now.”
Joe nodded. “You’re still planning on coming out to Grandma’s place tomorrow night for the party, right? It is being thrown in your honor, after all.”
Nate grimaced at the unwanted reminder. The papers had gotten wind of his trip to the woman’s weekend and had had a great time with it. He’d used the excuse he had planned before attending the woman’s weekend—that he’d been there in disguise for the sake of research—to get the press off his back. That excuse hadn’t worked for his grandmother. After reading about his weekend stunts, she was throwing a party in an attempt to find him a wife to tame his wild ways. She claimed that wasn’t her purpose, but Nate had gotten it straight from his mother that it was.
He would attend the gathering solely because he loved his grandmother, but there was no way in hell he was going to consider it a wife-finding party. Or even a girlfriend-finding party. After his experience with Kelsey and the lasting effects it had on his guts, he had serious doubts he would be ready for either for some time.
“I’ll be there,” he assured Joe, then walked out of the restaurant before another topic he didn’t feel like discussing could be brought up.
Duane waited until Nate was out of sight, then looked across the table at Joe who stared after his brother with a cocky smile. “Did you guys have some serious cash riding on this or what the hell’s got you so happy, man?”
“No money, this is much better.”
“What is?” Duane asked, not missing the satisfaction in his voice.
Joe looked at him. “My little brother’s in love.”
“You got that from the last half hour?” Duane asked skeptically, “because from where I’m sitting he sounded pretty damned miserable.”
“Misery. Heartache. Same thing. Just watch sometime, the minute he hears Kelsey’s name he gets this stupid look on his face.” Joe’s smile turned knowing. “It’s a lot like the one you get whenever Candace comes up in conversation.”
Duane’s gut tightened. He’d done his damnedest to keep his feelings for Candace hidden. Obviously, he’d done a shitty job of it. At the very least, no one knew the extent of those feelings or how abnormal his need to be with her, to have her as his mate, truly was. “You’re an evil man. And I’m not about to acknowledge the last half of that.”
“You know she doesn’t hate you. She just needs a little encouragement.”
Right she did. If Joe, or any of her family for that matter, knew the real reason Candace avoided him they wouldn’t be having this conversation at all. In fact, Duane would be lucky to still be associating with them. “About Nate. If he’s in love, how can you be so sure he’s gonna make a move and do something about it?”
“Let’s just say he might not have a choice. He might be put into a situation where he has to deal with his feelings whether he wants to or not.”
“You set him up?”
“I merely provided a little guidance.”
Duane smirked. “Have I mentioned what an evil man you are?”
“Have I mentioned about Candace and how she just needs a little encouragement?”
Duane grunted his response, already seeing the wheels spinning in Joe’s head. They could go right on spinning, because he didn’t need help with his women, human or otherwise, least of all with the last woman in the world who wanted anything to do with him and for completely understandable reasons. Understandable and yet ones he had no intention of letting remain forever. He needed Candace, needed her as his mate if he was ever to have a complete life again, and it if was the last thing he did, he would prove both that and his feelings to her.
* * * * *
Nate parked his truck in The Sports Wharf’s crowed lot, smiling automatically at the store’s success. His smile fell flat at the sight of a red Jeep parked a few spaces from the front door. The parking space was for employees and not one single employee he knew drove a red Jeep. In fact, only one person he knew drove a vehicle like that one.
His gut knotted as he pushed open the store’s front door and strode through the scattered customers in search of Jan. The odds the Jeep belonged to Kelsey were next to nil, but he still planned to speak with Jan and get out of here just as soon as possible. He wanted to talk to Kelsey. He wanted a chance to explain all the things he hadn’t been able to tell her before. He wanted to try to make sense of the way he felt about her. He didn’t want to do it in the Wharf on a crowded Saturday afternoon.
“Nate?”
He spun around at the familiar sound of Jan’s voice, and the tall redhead smiled at him. “Oh, good, you must have gotten Joe’s message.”
“I did. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” He frowned at the odd response and she added, “I mean nothing bad. I just knew you’d be around today and was hoping you would watch over things so I can take off early and spend some time with a visiting friend.”
Nate groaned. He should have known Jan wanting to see him would lead to something like this. She’d always been one of his most valuable employees, but the last month she was gone more than she wa
s here. “I wasn’t really planning on staying.”
Jan batted her lashes in a way that never worked on him and she knew it. “Please. I know I’ve only been back for a few hours, but she’s leaving tomorrow and since she lives over an hour away, we don’t get to see each other nearly enough. She’s also still ticked off at me about ditching her last weekend.”
“What was last weekend?” he asked, hoping to veer the subject away from her leaving long enough for him to get out of the store.
“The Wild Woman’s Weekend.”
The unexpected response had the hair on the back of Nate’s neck standing up. He half expected a laugh to follow Jan’s answer, but outside of a bright smile she was stoic. Obviously, she hadn’t had time to read the paper. “I didn’t realize you went to that.”
“Normally every year, but this year Rex sprung Cancun on me at the last minute and I ended up having to cancel. And honestly I didn’t have time to explain the reason to Kelsey before we had to leave and so I kinda lied and on top of the fact she had a crappy weekend—”
“Kelsey?” he repeated in shock.
“Did you want me?” The voice was Kelsey’s all right and like a bad dream she appeared beside Jan. Her mouth fell open the second her gaze landed on Nate. Her eyes went in the other direction completely, narrowing into slits that reflected dark fury. “Nate.” She made his name sound like a curse.
“Uh, hi.”
She puffed out a hot breath. “I have to go.”
Jan stared from Kelsey to Nate, her eyebrows drawn together in a way Nate guessed was supposed to convince him she was confused. The gleam in her eyes and the smile that tugged at her lips belied that fact. Remembering the way that Joe was grinning at him over lunch he had a good idea why. They had set him up.
“You two know each other?” Jan asked innocently.
Nate smirked at her. “What a coincidence, huh?”
Kelsey crossed her arms over her chest. The venom that continued to shoot from her eyes ensured she hadn’t played a part in arranging this meeting. “Remember I told you I met another lying jerk last weekend, Jan? Well, you’re looking at him.”
“Nate is your jerk?” she asked, sounding more amused than surprised. “But he doesn’t lie.”
Typically Jan was right. He didn’t lie. But he had this time and whether they’d been coerced into this reunion amidst a growing crowd of onlookers or not, it was time to set things right between Kelsey and him. “I did this time.”
The words appeared to be all the catalyst that Kelsey needed as she took off for the entrance. Nate shot Jan a “thanks for the help, but no thanks” look, then hurried after her. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm, forcing her to swing around to face him. “Kelsey, wait. Please.”
“So you can lie to me again? Or was it that you were hoping to make me feel like an idiot again? Maybe try and see if you could confuse me just a little bit more about my sexuality? On second thought, don’t bother. I am officially done with men. You opened my eyes to the beauty of dating other women. From here on out I’m a lesbian.” She glanced to a woman who stood in the aisle behind them. “Are you up for a date? If so, I’m single and obviously a sure thing that I’d sleep with someone as repulsive as this jerk.”
Nate chuckled at the absurdity of the words and the woman’s shocked expression. “You’re not a lesbian, Kelsey, and you’re also not easy. Now please do me a favor and quit scaring my customers.”
“Fine, I’m not a lesbian. But I wish to hell I was.”
“I’m glad you’re not.”
She wrenched the arm he still held free and fisted her hands at her hips. “Please don’t even try to sugarcoat this.”
His initial assessment of her had been that she was a pushover who would open her heart and home to anyone. How he could’ve made such a huge mistake was beyond him. She wasn’t a pushover. No, she was all passion. Her eyes danced with anger and her lips were pressed so firmly together they were blood red. They looked the way they did after he kissed them and Nate found he wanted to do that now. Only attempting to do so now, while she shot daggers of pure fire his way, was liable to be the equivalent of placing his neck on the chopping block and waiting for her to set it into action. “I’m not sugarcoating this, Kelsey. I am honestly glad you’re not a lesbian. I’m also sorry. I never wanted to lie to you and I sure as hell never wanted to hurt you.”
“Oh, God, you are so arrogant! You didn’t hurt me. I would have to care in order for you to hurt me and I don’t.”
She did. The tears that glistened at the back of her eyes guaranteed what he’d already known. Her wounded expression brought to the forefront the depths of his own feelings, making him realize while he might have failed at the challenge Joe had set before him, he wasn’t the sex-crazed maniac he’d come to believe. At least, not for any woman but this one. His heart swelled with emotions he’d always done his best to avoid. Though he’d spent the last week telling himself he wasn’t ready for a committed relationship, he knew now that he’d been wrong. He was ready for a commitment and for every one of the feelings that coursed through him, making him ache to reach out and grab hold of her. “What if I do?”
Her face registered shock, maybe even a trace of hope, while her words hung onto their cool veneer. “What if you care? I don’t think so.”
“Is that really such a hard to believe concept?”
“Yes. It is, Nate. I’ll admit that for a millisecond I had hoped you might care, but that was before I knew who you were. You’re exactly the guy that I guessed. You don’t care about women. At least, not beyond a few days. And I don’t do casual sex, so consider yourself lucky for that one time and move on.”
“I’m sorry.”
The torment in his voice, the regret in his expression, it all seemed authentic and Kelsey wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe that he cared about her the way he claimed, that the person she had come to know during their time in the woods was truly the person he was on the inside, if not the outside. She couldn’t because not only had he lied to her, betrayed her trust, and taken advantage of her feelings, but because he was Nathan Anderson, multimillionaire, a paparazzi favorite, and a man with a bed partner count that topped the double digits.
Damn it, she had questioned why he’d looked so familiar that night in her tent. She’d passed the question off at the time. She shouldn’t have. Just like she shouldn’t have given in and agreed to meet Jan at the store today. She’d purposefully avoided telling Jan the name of the man she’d spent the weekend with, but clearly Jan had found out anyway. Her so-called friend had also clearly taken Nate’s side on the whole thing and lured her into his store and his presence in the hopes of helping him out.
She should have ended their friendship last week when Jan had ditched her to spend time with Rex. Stupidly, she hadn’t and now thanks to Jan she had to stand here and listen to the idiot who she hadn’t stopped thinking about all week tell her more damned lies. Argghhh! What was it with her and lying jerks who disguised themselves as caring men just long enough to get into her pants? Only this jerk was going even farther than that. He wanted back into them. Well, it wasn’t happening!
Kelsey turned on her heels, intent on leaving and never looking back. “Apology accepted. Have a nice life.”
“You don’t even know what I’m sorry for.”
And I don’t care. At least, she shouldn’t. But still she stopped and turned back, cursing herself all the while. She was too damned nice of a person. It was the reason she had met Nate in the first place. She’d looked at him and seen a woman in need of a friend and she’d allowed herself to become that friend. Or sap in her case.
A pathetic sap who, even after hearing all his countless lies, had to give him a chance to speak his mind. “What are you sorry for?”
“For allowing you to think that what we shared was just casual sex. More importantly, that I didn’t let you see the real me enough to know when I’m speaking the truth. I am speaking the truth right
now, Kelsey. I do care about you. I won’t lie to you. Most of what you’ve read or heard about me is true. Was true. I am not that person any more. I don’t want to be. I just want to be with one woman.”
He was a terrible, awful man for standing there and looking at her that way, with what appeared to be both genuine affection and truth shining in his eyes. He was even worse for making her heart squeeze with hope she didn’t want to have. “And I suppose that woman is me?”
He nodded solemnly. “Yes.”
Her heart gave another squeeze and then felt as though it turned over completely. She couldn’t listen to it. Her heart had a track record of leading her down the wrong path and this path was the worst one she had ever come upon. This man had not only worked his way into her head and heart, but he’d made her want to open up and share her past. “No. I don’t think so, Nate. Even if we’d met under different circumstances it wouldn’t matter. We’re just too different.”
His eyes lightened a little, as if he thought her answer had somehow given him hope. He stepped toward her. “No, we aren’t, Kelsey. I thought the same thing at first, that we had nothing in common, that you weren’t even close to my type. You are my type, exactly my type. And we have a ton in common.”
They had a good deal in common, but not the things that mattered. “I don’t lie and I sure as hell do not dress up as a man for the sake of winning any stupid challenge.”
The regret that flashed through Nate’s gaze ensured the remark hit home. “You heard Jan. I don’t lie in general either, and for the record I lost the stupid challenge.”
So he wasn’t a pathological liar. So what? It still didn’t change the facts. “Sorry to hear that, but I’m sure there will be another one just around the corner.”
“You don’t even want to know what the challenge was?”
Wild Hearts: One Wild Weekend Page 10