A little pulse throbbed madly at the base of her throat. There was a slight tremor of her hands as she adjusted an earring. He rejoiced that she was on the verge of losing control.
Sexual attraction wasn’t something a person could hide, though she was trying valiantly not to let it show. You want me as much as I want you, Annabelle. You love me. The vibes were so strong, they were almost tangible.
He followed her to the dining room and helped her to the table. She would never know the moral fortitude it took to remove his hand from her elbow when he wanted to explore every inch of her face and body.
“How is Bryan Ludlow these days? Did he repair all the damage?” she asked after he’d brought the food from the kitchen and they’d started to eat.
Her nearness made concentration almost impossible. “Yes. In fact he worked harder at making amends than I would have guessed. Because of his new attitude and appreciation for his parents, he now has a permanent job with us.”
She swallowed a little of the wine he’d poured. “That’s quite a turnaround for him and kind of you. Did you ever find out where the barking dog came from?”
“As a matter of fact I did.” Rand smiled. “It belonged to the neighbor family down the street who had originally been asked to look after the mail and water the plants while the Owens were gone. Apparently Bryan worked out an arrangement with them and even offered to watch their dog. Sometimes Paul went over to help tend it with him.”
“Partners in crime,” she murmured. “I’m glad Barrett Iverson wasn’t implicated.”
“So am I. Paul made a clean confession. He watched his brother when he worked on the computer at home and discovered the password on his own. After what happened, I doubt he’ll do anything like that again.”
“Let’s hope not.” She wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
There was a tension-filled pause. He wondered what was coming next. “Rand—Have you been in touch with Roman since you came to town?”
“As a matter of fact I have. He tried to give me the disks you left him, but I told him to give them back to you.”
Her eyes widened. “Why? Have you found a better security system?”
“No, but since you’re the creator, you’re the only person who should install it. Roman told me you weren’t interested in coming to Phoenix for any reason, so I couldn’t accept your gift.”
“But—”
“Did I misunderstand him, Annabelle?” he inquired with deceiving mildness. “Or have you changed your mind?”
She was looking down at her plate where she’d barely made inroads on her food. Apparently her appetite had deserted her, another good sign that his unexpected appearance had thrown her off balance.
“No. My life is here in Salt Lake.” Her voice shook.
“It’s a great place to live. You have the four seasons, the mountains and a career you love. What more do you need?” he baited her, impatient for her surrender.
She suddenly pushed herself away from the table and stood up.
“Thank you for the delicious meal, Rand.”
“You’re entirely welcome.”
“I’m sorry I can’t eat the rest, but it’s g-getting late,” she stammered. “I’m going to have to leave here in a minute.”
“I’ll do the dishes and clean up. Annabelle—would you mind if I stayed here for a little while before I call for a taxi? To be truthful, I’m tired. Maybe its the change in altitude, but I’m suddenly craving sleep.”
She darted him what he hoped was an anxious glance. “I thought you looked a little less rested than usual.”
So she had noticed.
He raked a hand through his hair. “I guess I’ve been working too many hours since we last saw each other and it has finally caught up with me. If I could just lie down on your living room couch for an hour, then I’ll be on my way.”
Her intense gaze seemed to be looking for something elusive. “Whenever my father felt ill, he would say he was tired because he didn’t want me to worry. I have a feeling you’re hiding something more serious from me. If you’re sick, then you should be in bed.”
“I’m not sure what I am, but I don’t want to take advantage.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You can sleep in Dad’s room. It’s only a double bed because he wasn’t a big man. I’m afraid I don’t have any pajamas that would fit.”
“It doesn’t matter. Right now, any bed sounds divine.”
“Come with me.”
Forced once more to tamp down his delight, he followed her beautiful body through the house, not feeling the slightest degree of guilt over the turn of events he had purposely orchestrated.
His plan to arouse her compassion had proved successful. Would her concern for his welfare extend to staying home and not going out after all?
Rand knew she’d made up the business about the ballet on the spur of the moment so she wouldn’t have to deal with him.
I have news for you, my love.
Rand stripped down to his boxers, then got in bed and closed his eyes.
Annabelle tapped on the door minutes later. “If there’s anything you need, just call out.”
He pretended to be asleep. Soon enough he would know if she was too anxious about him to leave the house.
“Rand?” came a whisper.
She sounded worried. Still he ignored her.
The bedroom had two windows facing the driveway. If she were to go anywhere in her Jeep, he would hear the motor.
For a long time he listened, but there was no sound. She’d opted to stay home with him.
Just knowing they were under the same roof brought him a sense of peace which had been missing for the past month. When he’d first suggested that she work out of the hotel while he stayed at her house, he’d purposely offered to sleep in her basement because he hadn’t wanted to seem presumptuous. He hadn’t dared make a mistake.
But things were different now.
He turned over on his stomach and buried his face in the pillow, imagining her in the bed with him.
Soon the real thing would replace his dreams.
To his shock, Rand came awake much later in a room filled with sunlight. He sat straight up, glancing at the bedside clock. It was 10:20 a.m.
He bit out an epithet. The plan had been to stay in bed an hour, then get up for a drink and run into Annabelle, showing surprise that she hadn’t gone to the ballet after all. They would talk a little until he’d broken her down enough to start making love to her. Then he would ask her to marry him.
That was almost twelve hours ago. He’d been so emotionally exhausted from their separation, the relief at being united again had made him pass out cold.
But he was wide awake now. What an irony when he knew she could still be asleep in the next room. Much as he would love to climb under her covers and kiss her awake, he couldn’t do that.
A cold shower was in order.
He jackknifed out of bed and slipped on his suit trousers, then headed for the bathroom at the other end of the hall.
“Rand?”
He turned around, barely able to distinguish her silhouette in the semidarkness of the hall.
“Are you still sick?”
“Not at all,” he assured her. “The sleep did me wonders. I was just going to get some water.”
“I made you some iced tea with lemons and oranges. Dad said it always helped settle a sick stomach. Would you like a glass now?”
“I’d love it.”
“Come in the kitchen then.”
“I can get it. You go ahead and do whatever you need to do.”
“I’ve been awake for hours reading and could use some, too.”
She had stayed up through the night watching over him.
About now his guilt kicked in, but he kept telling himself that all was fair in love and war. The situation with Annabelle constituted both.
His gaze sought her out as she opened the refrigerator. If she’d thought that her night apparel camouflaged her excepti
onal feminine attributes, she was mistaken.
The hunter green, long-sleeved, knee-length robe cinched at the waist by the belt revealed the womanly shape beneath, exposing her shapely bare legs for his perusal.
He didn’t look away when she shut the refrigerator door and turned around. Her attractively disheveled curls glistened like rich chestnuts in the light. The eyes beneath the dark fringe of her lashes gave off a golden glow.
Heat filled her cheeks before she hurriedly looked away from his shoulders and chest with its mat of black hair. He had a feeling she liked what she saw. But he knew this kind of intimacy was foreign to her. Her modesty and virtue were just some of the traits he loved about her.
“How was the ballet?” he asked after she’d handed him a glass. They both stood against the counter facing each other.
She took a long swallow of her drink before answering. “I-it was wonderful.”
You still can’t admit what you’re feeling, but I’m making headway because you didn’t throw me out last night.
“Odile is one of the darker love stories I believe. Mind if I take a look at the program?”
“I’m afraid I got there a little too late to get one. How does the iced tea taste to you?”
“It’s delicious.” He meant it. “You’ve added mint.”
She nodded. “I keep fresh leaves on hand.”
“I could get addicted to this. Is there any more?”
“Of course.” She reached for the pitcher in the fridge and topped his glass again. “You seem to be feeling much better.”
“I am. Forgive me for crashing on you like that.”
Their eyes held. “Obviously you needed the sleep. If you’d like to take a shower, go ahead. I’ve put fresh towels on the rack and there’s a new toothbrush on the sink.”
He drained his glass in one go. “Thank you. I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Today of all days he needed to feel and look his best.
“I was going to say that after my shower I’d clean up the mess I made in here last night, but I can see you’ve already done it.”
“After the marvelous dinner you cooked, it was the least I could do.” Her hands plunged into her robe pockets. “Rand—are you really all right?”
“If I weren’t, you would know about it. Believe me. I’m ready to tackle the world today.”
His comment brought the first hint of a smile to her enchanting face. That picture accompanied him to the shower.
As he stood beneath the spray, the ramifications of the lie he’d told last night sobered him when he realized how much trust she’d placed in him. Annabelle wasn’t the kind of woman to let just any man invade her space like this. It touched him deeply that she’d left out her father’s electric shaver for his use. As far as Rand was concerned, this was the moment he’d been waiting for...
Annabelle’s heart was in her throat as she prepared eggs and toast for both of them. She had this premonition he was going to leave this morning and she’d never see him again.
Whatever had caused him to collapse like that last night had brought home the fact that he was her life, her entire world! Too many times last night she’d peeked in his room to see if he was all right. Each time she went in, she lingered a little longer. The wicked part of her had hoped he would be too ill to get up this morning. Then she could insist that he stay in bed all day while she pampered him.
Her fantasies had gone so far as to imagine him begging her to lie down next to him and somehow they would get in each other’s arms and he would tell her he couldn’t live without her.
I want to be his wife.
She smothered a little sob and dashed in her bedroom to get dressed. Her father’s words played over and over in her mind. “When you meet the right one, you’ll just know. It’ll seem natural and right.”
Annabelle did know. Everything seemed perfectly natural and perfectly right.
But if I’m the only one who feels this way....
With trembling hands she pulled a new silky pantsuit in a café-au-lait color from the closet. Toned with a blouse in an eggshell hue, it looked feminine and smart.
If this was the last time they would ever be together, she wanted him to leave with the best memory of her.
As she slipped into another pair of dark-brown sandals with wedges, a picture of Caroline dressed in some heavenly peach creation tore at her self-confidence. Annabelle could never look like the kind of woman Rand normally associated with. He needed someone tall and willowy. Just remembering what he looked like without a shirt reduced her limbs to water.
Not only was he a gorgeous male, he was a brilliant, sophisticated man so far beyond her reach, she wondered at her temerity in even entertaining dreams about him.
You’re such a little fool, Annabelle. A few stolen kisses doesn’t constitute undying love or anything close to it. Rand wants a stay-at-home wife. Whatever made you think he had changed his mind?
A few minutes later Rand met her in the kitchen. By tacit agreement they stood around to eat the way a married couple might do who were comfortable with each other.
Her pain intensified because she knew he was on the verge of leaving. “More eggs?”
The desire for food had left her. She couldn’t even finish a piece of toast. Rand, on the other hand, appeared to have a healthy appetite and finished hers off as well the rest of the iced tea.
“I feel like a new man this morning,” he announced after putting his dishes in the sink. “It’s all because of you, Annabelle,” he said with his back to her. “Now I’ll get out of your hair and call for a taxi.”
Her heart thudded sickeningly. “There’s no need for that. I—I’ll drive you back to your hotel. I’m leaving here anyway to run by the office. Roman will be assigning me a new case this morning and I have a ton of paperwork to do before our meeting. Shall we go?” That was coming back to earth with a vengeance.
As they started out the door, Rand reached for the key he’d left on the counter and handed it to her. “I promise I didn’t have another one made, so you don’t need to fear that I’ll break in again, unannounced.”
Another mortal wound. “I wasn’t worried,” she managed to say in a level tone though it was killing her, and put it in her purse.
“If the rest of the world were half as trusting as you,” he murmured on their way out.
Annabelle almost missed a step because his comment was so ludicrous. She was probably the most paranoid person she knew, but Rand had changed her world for all time. He’d taken her heart by storm. By last night’s actions, she’d practically told him she was his for the taking.
He’s not interested, Annabelle, and you’re never going to recover.
Once he’d helped her into the Jeep and had gone around to the passenger side, she turned on the ignition and backed out of the driveway.
Rand chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded as they drove down the street to circle around and eventually enter the freeway headed north.
“You drive this thing like your motorcycle. I’ve decided you should have been a Formula I race car driver.”
“Maybe you should have taken a taxi after all.”
“I meant it as a compliment, Annabelle,” he inserted suavely.
“Your talent behind the wheel shows the expertise of a professional driver.”
Her nails dug into her palms around the steering wheel. The more she could feel him slipping away from her, the touchier she was growing.
The morning commute was over, but the traffic was still awful, adding frustration to unbearable pain.
“This city is impossible to navigate with all the construction going on. I’m going to get off at the next exit and drive in on Fifth East. In the long run it will be quicker.”
“I’m in no hurry.”
Dear God. I feel like it’s the end of my life.
She turned on the radio to a talk-radio show and left it there because she needed noise, anything to dis
tract her until she was alone and could give way to her agony.
To her surprise, he turned it off after they’d gone a couple of blocks. “When you reach State Street, turn right and follow it all the way up.”
Annabelle’s delicately arched brows formed a frown. “What do you mean? Your hotel is on Sixth South and Main.”
“I’m not staying at the Temple View this trip.”
She took a fortifying breath. “I’m sorry. I just assumed.”
“I notice you do a lot of that,” he murmured.
Embarrassed because what he’d said was the truth she asked, “Then where are you staying?”
“It’s no secret that I dislike living out of a dismal hotel room, so I made other arrangements.”
She lurched forward. Whose house would that be?
Did he have a girlfriend here in Salt Lake? If he’d needed a ride, surely the other woman could have provided him transportation!
An attack of jealousy seized her until she almost lost control of the Jeep. “Where exactly does she live?”
“She?”
Scorching heat filled her cheeks. “The person you’re staying with.”
“I’m not staying with anyone. In fact I’m quite alone. Keep following State Street to the capitol, then wind up behind it.”
When they came to a red light she practically stood on her brakes. “You mean the house you’re staying at is in the same area where I was working yesterday?”
“That’s right. I hope you don’t mind. If I’m going to make you late for work, you can let me out at the capitol and I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
“As if I would do such a thing!” she snapped. Did he honestly believe she was that inconsiderate? Didn’t he know better after the way she’d opened up her home and her heart to him last night?
By the time they drove past the prominent city landmark and proceeded up the steep hill behind it, she was consumed by curiosity.
“Are you renting?”
“No. I’ve bought myself a home.”
What?
A rush of adrenaline quickened her body. “Why would you do that when you’re hardly ever in Salt Lake?”
“That may have been true once, but certain things have changed. From now on, I’ll be spending the bulk of my time here.”
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