by Tessa Radley
She inhaled a deep, steadying breath, and his heady male scent filled her senses.
How could one man have such an impact on her?
Only him.
Ever.
She feared it would only be Guy for her, all her life. And now she was pregnant with the baby he didn’t want. It was over. He’d made it crystal clear he didn’t want a wife…children…a family.
On Monday she was returning to El Dorado, to her family. Undoubtedly Guy would be amiable, offer support; Christian would be asked to negotiate the terms of any agreement, which she would insist on being kept confidential. Perhaps Guy would even offer to do his duty and see the child on the odd occasion. But Avery fostered no illusions that Guy would want to be actively involved with his child…or with her. She’d likely have more contact with Christian than with Guy.
At least she would have his baby….
She glanced up into his eyes. And stilled. There was an emotion she’d never seen exposed. A mix of tenderness and desire. Or something else?
Slowly he removed his hand from her leg. “I better get going. Otherwise I might not get to work today—and with the charity auction fundraiser tomorrow night, there’s a lot to do.”
Avery’s heart skipped a beat.
For what seemed like a lifetime their eyes held. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t like any of the kisses they’d shared before. It was gentle, tender, with the promise of passion in the way his lips moved on hers. And it left her yearning for more.
Then he pulled away and rose to his feet. “I’ll be back later. Take care of yourself.”
It was only as he walked away that Avery realized that despite his concern for her, he’d never once mentioned their baby….
After Guy had left, Erica dropped off a pile of magazines, and Avery discovered that they both shared a passion for collecting recipes and baking.
“Christian has a meeting in town tonight, so I’ll come by with some ingredients to bake an apple pie,” Erica promised.
Avery agreed in a rush. Guy had said he would return. The more people around to act as a buffer, the better. Guy clearly had no intention of talking about the baby, and nor did she. It would only cause tension and misery between them.
Erica had only just departed when Gavin and Trevor trooped in to see how Avery was getting along.
She was rather touched by the concern the Jarrods were showing her.
Late that afternoon Guy returned with food he’d had Louis rustle up in the kitchens at Chagall’s. So by the time Melissa came home from the spa, the table was laid and candles lit, giving the honey tones of the lodge a cozy warmth.
“I seem to have taken over your home,” Avery told Melissa apologetically.
“I don’t mind.” Melissa smiled at her. “It’s nice to have company.”
“But you’ve always said you wanted peace,” Guy protested. “If you’re lonely, you should come and stay in one of the family suites at Manor Lodge. In fact, there are two spare ones right now.”
“I’m not lonely—and having Avery as company is different from living with you guys.” Rolling her eyes, Melissa said to Avery, “Believe me, sometimes a girl needs a break from her brothers. It was a pleasant surprise to discover I had a sister when Christian revealed Erica to us.”
Avery slid her gaze to Guy to see how he was reacting to Melissa’s revelation. But she detected none of the resentment she’d half expected.
“So that’s a roundabout way of saying you’re welcome to stay for as long as you like,” Melissa smiled at Avery, “but my brothers are not.”
Guy howled in protest.
Avery started to giggle. “Hey, I know exactly what Melissa means.”
More laughter bubbled up in her throat as Guy glared at her.
“Traitor!”
“I was two when my parents died. I was lucky enough to be taken in by my aunt and uncle and I grew up with my cousins—four boys. Believe me, I always wanted a sister, too.”
“Hey, now you’re both ganging up on me.”
“Wait until Erica arrives, you’ll be outnumbered three to one,” said Melissa with sisterly satisfaction.
Guy gave her an evil grin. “I’ll have to call in reinforcements.”
“No!” Avery and Melissa chorused. They glanced at each other and started to laugh.
When Erica walked in, she paused in the doorway. “Sounds like a festive dinner.”
“Avery mentioned you were coming to bake a pie. There’s more than enough food, so join us for dinner.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
But Avery wondered if she was the only one to detect Erica’s hesitation. Her hand touched her tummy. These people were her baby’s family…she would’ve loved her baby to have grown up among them.
If only things could’ve been different. Not going to happen. Even though she’d needed Erica and Melissa present to stop the awkwardness between her and Guy, she was a little irritated that he’d made no attempt to corner her and discuss the baby.
It only underlined the fact that this was no romantic daydream; this was real life and sometimes it didn’t work out quite as planned.
Guy had hoped for time alone with Avery.
The shock and terror that had followed her announcement that they were expecting a baby had started to wear off. Perhaps it was for the best that their talk didn’t happen tonight. Avery deserved time to recover from the accident, and he could do with more time to get his head around the idea of the baby so that he could decide how he was going to handle the problem.
After they’d finished dinner, Guy found himself slouching on a barstool in the kitchen watching as the three women worked around the preparation island in perfect harmony. His sister, the half sister whom he’d treated with extreme wariness until very recently…and Avery.
Guy couldn’t quite decide how best to describe his relationship with Avery.
He frowned as he watched her kneading the dough for the apple pie, her small hands moving with sensuous grace. Melissa had cut the apples into elegant slices and at Avery’s insistence she settled down on the kitchen stool beside Guy and started to rub the small of her back.
“Did you hurt your back at work?” he asked.
“I’m not sure what I’ve done. It’s aching a little.”
For a split second the image of his mother rubbing her back in a similar fashion flashed through his mind.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” Then Guy shook his head to clear the image, and said more truthfully. “Actually, for a moment you reminded me of Mom doing that. I think she used to rub her back as well.”
“How old were you when your mom died?” asked Erica from the other side of the kitchen island. “Six.”
Guy hadn't been there when she'd died. He'd been sleeping over at a friend's home. For years he'd been convinced if he'd been home she might not have died. It was his fault.
Blake had gotten to say goodbye. So had Gavin and Trevor and his father. Even Melissa, though she was only two at the time.
Guy had pretended he was fine, and retreated behind a happy-go-lucky facade that everyone except him accepted as the real Guy. He’d resolved never to give another human that much power over his life.
The only sound that broke the silence was the slap of the rolling pin on dough as Avery rolled it out.
Erica was sprinkling cinnamon over the apple slices. “I’ve heard plenty about your dad but not that much about your mom.” Giving him and Melissa a swift glance, she added, “I don’t mean to be nosy, but I’ve wondered, and you are my family now.”
Melissa gave a sigh. “Dad changed after Mom died. He was very upset by her death, so we avoided talking about Mom at all.”
“How sad!” Avery stopped rolling. “I never realized how lucky I was. My uncle told me all about what my mom had been like growing up. And both my aunt and uncle regularly pulled out the photo album and showed me photos of my parents’ wedding, of my first birthday pa
rty. I always knew who they were.”
“Guy used to stare at Mom’s paintings.”
Melissa clambered off the seat and started to cut the left over pastry into strips, while Avery pressed the dough into a baking tin. Erica carefully arranged the apple slices on top of the dough.
“He used to say they made him remember Mom, what colors she liked and how she smelled,” Melissa continued after putting the pie in the pre-heated oven, “but Dad sold all the pictures—he didn’t want anything to remind him of Mom. We’ve since managed to buy some back.”
“Dad also got rid of the camera he and Mom had given me for my sixth birthday.”
Melissa looked horrified. “I never knew that.”
He didn’t look at Erica…or Avery. “I used to say I wanted to take photos like Mom’s paintings when I grew up. I suppose it was too painful for him to contemplate. Later I bought my own camera and joined the school’s camera club.”
“I remember that,” said Melissa. “You wanted to be a photographer.”
“But Dad wanted me to do a business degree. Like Blake.” Guy shrugged. “Eventually we compromised. I did the business degree, but only after he agreed to let me go to culinary school.”
“How could he do that?” Erica protested.
“Easily. He was Don Jarrod, he was used to imposing his will on everyone around him.”
All three women had fallen silent, their eyes focused on him with varying degrees of…pity.
Guy forced an easy smile. “It was a long time ago. At least I got to do something that I loved. Something creative and satisfying, yet still lucrative.”
“But you never forgot your mom,” said Erica.
“No, I didn’t, but it took a long time for me to stop resenting her for leaving us,” he admitted in a rush of honesty. “Losing her wrecked Dad’s life. I didn’t like the kind of man Dad became after Mom died.”
“How did he change?” Avery asked in a tentative voice. She’d propped her elbows on the island and her chin on her hands.
Guy shrugged. “None of us could do anything right.”
“He had huge expectations of us all and wanted us to stay in the business doing what we were told,” added Melissa, shaking out her blond hair. “Just like Guy said.”
“And he let you go to France?” Avery’s voice was filled with disbelief.
“He tried to stop me. He’d planned for me to stay closer. I won that battle.” Even all these years later Guy could remember the satisfaction he’d gained in that moment.
“Guy wasn’t the only one who left. Blake went to New York and I escaped to Los Angeles where I ran an ultra fashionable spa,” Melissa added from where she’d perched herself back on the stool beside him. “And once Gavin finished university, he worked all over the globe, as far from home as possible. Only Trevor stayed in Aspen—yet even he wouldn’t work for Dad at Jarrod Ridge.”
“So Don Jarrod’s empire was in danger of crumbling.” Erica said, her hands busy as she wiped the surface of the island clean. “But he had the last say from beyond the grave, and forced you all to come back and work together if you wanted anything of the estate—”
“Don’t forget his will also introduced you into the family,” interjected Melissa. “You also stand to inherit a share of his empire.”
Erica put the cloth in the sink and pulled a face. “Much to everyone’s dismay.”
“Not mine,” said Melissa quickly. “I told you I always wanted a sister. You’re part of the family now.”
There was a silence.
Avery was looking at Guy expectantly. What did she expect him to say? That he wanted another sister? That he was glad to discover Erica’s existence?
Hell, no. It only proved that his father had not been as inconsolable as Guy had foolishly believed all his life. So much for his resolve never to love a woman as faithfully as his father had loved his mother because he didn’t want to risk the same heartbreak. He’d never been the kind of man who dug too deep into feelings, and he wasn’t about to start now. It hurt too dammed much, revealed too much of what was missing in his life.
Except he couldn’t for the life of him think of a flippant comment to make.
He turned away only to have Erica raise a questioning eyebrow at him from the other side of the kitchen, then glance meaningfully toward Avery. She was matchmaking! Erica had suspected his interest in Avery on the night of the oyster-and-champagne cocktail party, and it had become a certainty, he could read it on her face. Yet instead of irritation, Guy experienced a sudden unexpected bond with his half sister. And couldn’t stop himself from winking at her.
Instantly Erica winked back.
“Okay, maybe it won’t be so bad having another female in the family,” said Guy with feigned reluctance.
“Good to know you feel that way.” The sparkle in Erica’s eyes outshone the radiance of the diamond solitaire on her ring finger.
Without intending to, Guy found himself seeking out Avery, and the approval in her sweet smile caused warmth to pool deep in his chest. For the first time since he’d come back to Jarrod Ridge he felt some degree of peace.
He had to remind himself that he wasn’t the kind of man who indulged in emotion and soul-searching.
“The timer just went off,” he said. “Which one of you three is going to cut me the first slice?”
Wearing her dressiest outfit the following night, a gold satin Versace dress that had been a gift from her aunt and uncle for her twenty-fifth birthday, Avery arrived early at the ballroom—more out of habit than anything else. She’d taken care with her makeup, and barely limped in the gold ballet flats she wore.
Camera crews were setting up for a segment that was to be filmed for a television show.
Guy was nowhere to be seen, and Avery rather suspected he was caught up in the kitchens overseeing the chefs, making sure that every detail was perfect. She was learning that the laid-back, carefree persona he cultivated concealed a far more complex, intense man. A perfectionist.
The wine selections had already been made—a collaboration between herself, Guy and Louis—and Avery was pleased with how well they complemented the dishes. Guy had been pleased, too.
She had done the job Uncle Art had wanted her to do. She would be leaving with her pride intact. Her heart was a different matter. There would be a large chunk left behind at Jarrod Ridge.
But she’d have Guy’s baby to fill the hole.
Erica and a woman Avery had never seen before were fiddling with the flower arrangements.
“The flowers look beautiful,” Avery told Guy’s half sister. She smiled, and for the first time Avery saw a hint of Guy in her features. Her heart tugged. Would their baby have that look, too?
“Don’t they?” Erica introduced Avery to the woman standing beside her, a local florist, who was overjoyed to have been given the job for the fundraiser.
“I only opened my shop three months ago, this is an amazing break for my business.”
“Avery is right, the arrangements do look beautiful. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of business.” Undetected, Guy had come up behind them. “Erica said from the start that you are very artistic.”
“Christian and I will be among those customers—for our wedding. And heaven knows I’m not easily impressed.” But Erica looked delighted with Guy’s praise. “I’m so glad we’re supporting local businesses.”
“It was a great initiative.”
Avery saw the glances Guy and Erica exchanged. There was understanding…and fondness. She couldn’t help feeling pleased for Guy. The discovery of Erica’s existence had been a shock—but both of them had gained so much.
The ballroom started to fill.
By the silver flashes of light Avery gathered that the beautiful group moving to one of the tables at the foot of the stage must be movie stars.
Gavin and Trevor came over to join them, both tanned and athletically built, with an appealing surf-and-sun openness that made them look so similar. Avery looked
from one to the other, then to Blake and Guy. All four brothers were clad in tuxedos and looked devastatingly handsome. But only one held her heart….
“You know,” she announced, “Gavin and Trevor should be twins. They look far more alike.”
Erica was the first to agree. “Funny, I had a similar thought when I first arrived in Aspen.”
“Let’s go settle down at our table,” Guy murmured to Avery.
The siblings had divided themselves among different tables, to spread the effect of having hosts throughout the ballroom. Avery hadn’t inspected the final table lists, but it made sense for her to sit with Guy. After all, they were working together, and it would be downright weird if she objected.
And her only reason to object was one she didn’t want made public: she loved a man who didn’t love her, and she was expecting his baby.
He rested his hand under her elbow, and the contact sent a shiver of awareness through Avery. Oh, heavens, would this wretched wanting ever stop?
It grew worse when she discovered that she had been seated beside him. His thigh brushed hers as he sat down, and she was conscious of his dinner-jacketed arm beside her bare arm. She shifted a little away—the seat on her other side was the only one at the table not yet occupied. To her surprise she found a familiar face on the other side of the empty seat.
It broke the ice.
“Nancy!” She turned her head. “Guy, this is Nancy who rescued me…and called you.” When the excitement settled, Nancy introduced the older couple beside her as her parents.
“We’ve been coming to this event for years,” said Nancy’s mother. “But this is only the second time Nancy’s been with us.”
“I’ve been working in Boston.” Nancy rested her fingers on her mother’s arm. “But I decided I missed home. So I came back to Aspen.”
“I’m back after years, too—” At the arrival of the white-jacketed waiter, Guy broke off.
Avery chose a spinach-and-bacon salad as a starter, while Guy had wild mushrooms. The wines she’d selected worked well as an accompaniment and she couldn’t stop herself from giving Guy a triumphant smile as he kissed his fingertips in appreciation.