Now he went around the house to go through the doors closest to the stairs so he wouldn’t track in dirt and dust. And so he could stop by Edie’s office. But before he got there, out of the corner of his eye he saw movement that caught his attention.
Beyond the bank of oleanders growing partway down the lawn, someone was in the pool.
Before his brain made a conscious decision, his feet were already heading across the lawn toward where Edie’s lithe form cut through the water as she did laps. Her stroke was smooth and even, but it wasn’t her stroke Nick was focused on. It was her body, her mile-long legs, her tanned back—all that lovely golden skin he remembered so well.
If he’d needed a shower before, he needed one worse now. A long icy cold one.
Or, he thought, he could dive into the pool, take Edie into his arms and solve all his problems at once.
Not a difficult choice.
He had unbuttoned his shirt by the time he reached the terrazzo-tiled patio where the pool was. He opened the gate, tossed the shirt onto a chaise longue and was toeing off his shoes and tugging his undershirt over his head at the same time.
“You’re back.” Edie’s voice startled him.
Nick jerked the T-shirt the rest of the way off to see her, out of the pool now, coming toward him. She had a towel wrapped around her waist and she was rubbing her hair dry with another. He couldn’t see her legs anymore, but her bare midriff was enticement enough. As Nick watched, half a dozen droplets of water slid down her abdomen from beneath the top of her bathing suit.
He swallowed, staring as the drops disappeared into the towel knotted at her waist.
“So what do you think?”
“Think?” He wasn’t thinking. Not with his brain anyway.
“About what?” he asked dazedly. She had to have seen him coming. Why the hell hadn’t she stayed in the pool? Was she trying to avoid him? he wondered, nettled.
“About the house.” She lowered the towel from her hair and peered at him over the top of it “Time to raze it? Cut our losses?” She sounded almost hopeful.
Was she hoping? Surely not. He’d seen the wistful look on her face this afternoon. He’d watched her move from room to room, running her hands over the woodwork and the cabinets, touching those little pencil marks by the back door.
“No,” he said sharply, with more force than he intended. He moderated his tone. “No. It’s quite salvageable.”
“Really? And it should be?” Now she sounded surprised.
“It’s an interesting piece of vernacular architecture,” he said firmly. “Not all of a piece, of course. And not of huge historical significance,” he added honestly. “But the fact that it’s not a mansion, but a surviving example of small ranch architecture makes it worth restoring.”
Also true. To a point. From a purely historical significance standpoint, the old adobe ranch house was such a pastiche of different styles, periods, restorations, disastrous additions and bad workmanship that, as a bonafide professional historical restoration expert called on to choose which buildings were worth preserving and restoring, he ought to have been running in the other direction.
But he wasn’t.
He was standing here saying, “It can be salvaged,” with an absolutely straight face.
And he was rewarded by seeing her face light up. “I thought you’d say it wasn’t worth the trouble.”
It wasn’t. At least not solely on an architectural basis. But there were other reasons to restore things.
“It’s worth it,” he said.
She gave him an instant brilliant smile. But it faded quickly. “So what does that mean?” she asked, sounding almost wary now.
We make love right here on the chaise. Of course he didn’t say that. He cleared his throat. “I put together a plan, talk it over with Mona, then get to work.”
“So, you’re … going to be staying a while?” She didn’t sound thrilled.
“Yes,” he said firmly.
Now she smiled again, but it still didn’t seem to reach her eyes. “Well, um, great. That’s just great.”
“You don’t want the house salvaged?”
Something flickered in her eyes. “No, I do. It’s—” she hesitated, then the smile appeared again “—it’s lovely.”
“Then why don’t I take you to dinner and we can celebrate?”
Edie blinked. She opened her mouth. But then she just stood there looking at him. No sound came out.
“Edie?” he prompted when seconds went by and she didn’t speak.
“Celebrate?” she echoed at last.
“Sure. We have a lot to celebrate. That the house is worth fixing. That I’m going to be here a while. That we’re both here,” he added pointedly and turned the full heat of his gaze on her. “I think that’s worth celebrating, don’t you?”
He saw her swallow. Then she bobbed her head a little jerkily and took a breath. “Yes. Of course.” Another breath, a brittle smile. “That would be nice.”
“Nice?” He cocked his head, regarding her from beneath hooded lids. “Nice?” he repeated, teasingly.
Edie shrugged awkwardly. Her smile stayed in place but it looked even more superficial. Nick was reminded of the smile she’d worn when she’d reappeared at his side at the reception, when she had taken him up on his offer of a tour of his renovations. There had been a tense edginess about her then, too.
Then she’d been avoiding the hundred-dollar-haircut man and her mother’s expectations. Was she nervous now? Uncertain? Wishing she could avoid him?
Nick scowled. Why would she feel that way? Didn’t she remember how good it had been between them? If she didn’t, he’d be happy to remind her.
“I need to get dressed,” she said now, and she began edging toward the gate.
“Not on my account.” He grinned.
A blush suffused every bit of Edie’s visible skin, telling him that she certainly hadn’t forgotten.
Even so, the look she gave him was pained. “If we’re going out to dinner, I need to shower and wash my hair.”
“We could get take-out, stay in, celebrate here.” He could think of excellent ways to celebrate that wouldn’t require her dressing at all.
Edie shook her head. “No. If we’re going to stay here,” she said, “I have work to do.”
“Then we’re going out.”
“But—”
“Go take your shower and wash your hair, Edie Daley. Get dressed if you must,” he said. “I’ll swim and change and be at your place in an hour.”
All evening long it felt like a date.
Edie knew better, of course. Her mother had engineered the whole thing. But, knowing it didn’t entirely save her. The minute she had opened the door to Nick standing on her small front porch, it felt as if he were courting her.
Wishful thinking, she’d chastised herself even as she let him open the door of his car for her and, for a moment, brush his fingers over hers as she got in.
Though her fingers tingled with awareness, Edie tried to keep things pleasant and businesslike. That’s what it was, after all.
Business. It was like a mantra. She needed to keep the word going over and over in her head all the time—because the way he smiled at her, the way his eyes seemed to heat when his gaze met hers, the way, every time he refilled her glass of wine and handed it back to her, their fingers touched—all of it made her want more than she knew was really there.
It was a beautiful, cloudless California evening with the lightest of breezes, perfect for sitting at a table outside. The ambiance was casual, the food was fantastic and Nick was charming and flirtatious. She was sure he was like that with every woman he ever met, but telling herself that didn’t make her any less susceptible to him.
He was too easy to talk to, too gorgeous to look at. He answered her questions about the stave church in Norway and another project he was working on at a Scottish castle.
“And yet you came here?” she said. Mona’s powers of persuasion were
legendary, but Edie was still surprised Nick had agreed, especially since he had to know she’d be here—and he didn’t “do” relationships.
Or did he? The thought was tantalizing.
He had awakened her, after all. Perhaps she had done the same for him.
Edie leaned in to study him more closely, as if an intent examination of his features would give her the answer to the question.
“I came here,” Nick agreed. He lounged back in his chair and regarded her from beneath hooded lids.
“Why?”
He blinked, as if her blunt question surprised him. But then he shrugged easily. “It’s what I do. And,” he added, one corner of his mouth quirking, “I like a challenge.”
And there it was again—the hum of awareness that seemed to arc between them.
Physical attraction? Oh, yes. Anything more? Edie couldn’t tell.
The noise of the dinner hour had abated and, as other diners left, their table, which was at the far end of the patio of the downtown Santa Barbara restaurant, became more isolated and intimate.
“Cup of coffee?” Nick murmured. He was watching her from beneath slightly lowered lids. A smile played at the corners of his mouth. Edie had no trouble remembering the taste of that mouth and the way his lips had felt pressed against hers.
It was time to go. Edie knew it. But going meant confronting the awareness sooner rather than later. And she wasn’t ready yet. She needed fortification. So she said yes to the cup of coffee. It was strong, black, a full-bodied Colombian roast. Meant to be savored. Meant, she suspected, to give her the stamina—and the caffeine—to stay up all night making love with him.
Which she would dearly love to do. Except …
She clutched the cup like a lifeline, stared into it, trying to find the words to say what she needed to say. Finally she lifted her gaze and met his. “We need to get something straight.”
At her tone one of Nick’s brows lifted. “Oh?”
She gave a jerky little dip of her head. Her fingers strangled the coffee mug as she plunged straight to the heart of the matter. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
Now both of Nick’s brows shot up. He sat up straighter, looking first surprised, then almost bemused. After a moment, he settled back in his chair and picked up his own cup, holding it easily. “Aren’t you?” His tone betrayed only mild interest, making Edie feel like an idiot. But she’d already begun, so she forged ahead.
“No. And yes, I know, you haven’t asked.” There, she’d pointed out the obvious, too. “But since we did once—” she took a quick breath “—I thought the issue could come up again.”
“It could,” Nick agreed. His tone was still mild, but there was a hint of something else, something deeper, yet definitely suggestive that told her she hadn’t entirely misread the situation.
She met his gaze head-on. “So I thought I should make it clear up-front that it’s not going to happen.”
For a long moment Nick didn’t say anything, but his gaze never wavered. Then finally, after what seemed like an eon, but was probably less than half a minute, he asked, “Why not?”
Edie swallowed. Her mouth was dry and her palms were damp, and she was already regretting having opened her mouth. She didn’t do confrontation. Ever. She was a negotiator, not a battler.
Now she said, “It isn’t that I didn’t enjoy it.” Her gaze dropped. She couldn’t look at him squarely now. “I did,” she admitted. Her cheeks were on fire.
“I’m glad.” Nick’s tone was grave, but when she dared look up, Edie thought she saw his lips twitch.
“You’re laughing at me.”
He shook his head. “I’m not. I’m … baffled.” He set down his cup and seemed to draw himself together. “I was under the impression that we had both enjoyed it.”
“Yes, well, um,” Edie said. “I’m glad you did, too. But that was it.”
“It?”
“A one-off. You said so yourself.”
She thought his jaw tightened fractionally, but in the shadows she couldn’t be sure.
“It wasn’t a hard and fast rule.” His tone was gruff. “I don’t turn into a pumpkin if I make love to a woman two times.”
Edie’s mouth curved into a reluctant smile. “I’m glad.”
“Do you?” he challenged her.
Slowly she shook her head. “Not a pumpkin, no.”
“Well, then?” he demanded. Their eyes met again. She didn’t see anger in his, thank heavens. It was more curiosity.
“I could fall in love with you.”
“What?” His cup hit the table with a decided thump. Then he went absolutely still. “In love with me?” He sounded at worst appalled, at best disbelieving.
Edie shrugged. Too late to turn back now. “After … after Ben died,” she explained, “I felt like I’d died, too.”
Nick nodded almost impatiently. “Yeah.”
“Months passed. I wasn’t interested in going out. I didn’t care about dating again. I … wasn’t interested in any man.” She hesitated, then spelled it out. “Until you.”
“You don’t love me,” he protested.
“I know that!” Edie said fiercely. “But I like you.”
“Yeah, well, I like you, too,” he said, frowning. “But I’m not falling in love with you!”
“Exactly,” Edie said. “And if I am starting to feel things again, I don’t want to fall for someone who isn’t interested. I’ve already done that,” she told him.
He scowled. “When?”
“I was eighteen. Young, foolish. I should have known better. You remember the actor with my mother at Mont Chamion?”
“Him?” Nick looked appalled.
“He was charming. We dated. It meant more to me than it did to him.” She refused to go into all the bloody details. “It wasn’t like that with Ben,” she said. “So I know how it’s supposed to be.”
“You do, do you?” His dark eyes glittered with challenge.
But Edie had no doubts about that. She wrapped her fingers around the coffee mug and met his gaze squarely. “Yes.”
Nick’s mouth twisted. His fingers drummed lightly on the tabletop. With his other hand he carried his coffee cup to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. He still didn’t speak.
Neither did she. Just as well. She’d probably already said far too much.
The waiter came and refilled Nick’s cup, but Edie put a hand over hers and shook her head with a smile. “I’ve had enough,” she said. “I won’t sleep if I drink anymore.”
The waiter shot a conspiratorial male look in Nick’s direction. “Sleep is overrated.”
Nick made an inarticulate sound, then said harshly, “Could you bring the check, please.”
Edie reached for her purse. “I’ll get it.”
Dark eyes flashed. “The hell you will.”
“It’s business,” Edie protested. “My mother—”
“Your mother has nothing to do with this!” Nick pulled out his credit card and thrust it at the returning waiter before he could even reach the table.
“Really, Nick—”
“Stop arguing, Edie.” His tone was flat and uncompromising. “And put your wallet away.”
Reluctantly Edie put it away. “I don’t expect—”
“You’ve already made what you expect and don’t expect quite clear. Let me make something clear, too—when I invite a woman out to dinner, I expect to pay. Got it?”
“Got it,” Edie muttered.
The waiter came back with the tab, which Nick scanned quickly, nodded and signed, then tucked his card and the receipt back in his wallet.
“You can tax deduct it,” Edie suggested.
Nick glared at her. Then he stood and came around the table to pull out her chair for her before she could push the chair back and get up herself. All very gentlemanly and polite. Just as if she couldn’t hear him grinding his teeth.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as she stood. “And thank you for dinner.”
&nb
sp; “My pleasure,” he lied. It had to be a lie. The hum of awareness was still there, but so was a sizzle of annoyance.
Edie quickened her steps as they headed for the exit. But the toe of her sandal caught on a protruding chair leg. She stumbled. Nick’s hand shot out to catch her arm and keep her from falling.
“Thank you,” she said, breathless.
“No problem,” he said, tersely.
The problem was that he didn’t let go. He walked beside her as they headed toward the lot where he’d parked the car, his fingers stayed on her arm. Through the thin cotton of her dress, she could feel them as if there was no barrier at all between them.
Once in the car, she gave him directions on how to get out of Santa Barbara and back up into the hills to Mona’s house. He’d found it himself during the day. She knew it wasn’t as easy at night. He didn’t argue. He didn’t discuss. He didn’t talk at all. He followed her instructions without comment.
He didn’t speak again until he’d parked the car and they were climbing the steps to her apartment.
She would have protested that she didn’t need to be escorted to the door, but there was an implacability about him now that made her hold her tongue. If he wanted to walk all the way up, so be it. He wasn’t coming in.
The porch wasn’t big. As she got out her key, he was close enough that she could smell the woodsy scent of his aftershave. He was close enough that if she turned, she could go up on her tiptoes and kiss his lips.
She didn’t turn. In fact she was glad she managed to stick the key in the lock without fumbling as her hands were trembling slightly. Only when she had the key in the lock, did she look around. “Thank you for dinner,” she said politely.
Nick grunted, his lips pressed in a thin line. So much for all that Savas charm.
She gave him a quick smile, pushed open the door and went in. Roy came bounding to meet her.
“Edie.”
She caught Roy by the collar and looked back at Nick. “Yes?”
His dark eyes bored into hers. “It’s not a given, you know.”
It? “What’s not?”
“That you’ll fall in love. People choose whether or not to fall in love. It’s always a choice.”
“It’s—”
“Always a choice,” he repeated firmly, cutting her off. “You just need to choose not to.”
The Night that Changed Everything Page 10