“How dare you make an accusation like that? I never said I didn’t like men. Even though I’ve yet to know one that is trustworthy.”
Betsy could’ve gone on if he wouldn’t have tilted his head toward her with fire in his eyes. “So that’s it then. You don’t trust me.”
“Well I--”
“Care to share what I’ve done to make you feel this way?”
Betsy’s pulse raced and her heart beat wildly as she listened to the sincerity in his soft spoken words as he moved toward her.
He stopped inches in front of her. When Betsy slowly peered up into the pair of hypnotizing blue eyes of the man towering over her, she wanted to lean against his firm frame for support. She wanted to tell him she couldn’t think of a single reason not to trust him completely.
“I can’t--”
Her words were cut off when Skylar cupped her chin in his fingertips, tilting it upward so when he leaned over his lips melted over hers. The gentle touch of him gave her a weightless feeling as she made a graceful leap off the edge of the earth. As Skylar eased his tongue over hers, sparks snapped and cracked life back into her, almost instantly igniting a fire deep within her. The flames shot her into oblivion when he unexpectedly slid his lips off the corner of her mouth.
Betsy opened her eyes in time to see his Adam’s apple move when he swallowed hard just before murmuring, “I should be going.”
“Yes,” was the only word Betsy could manage even though Miss Sensible had a mouthful of questions for the man before he walked out the door.
“I have a call to make and an early day ahead of me,” Skylar muttered as he hastened toward the front door.
When he suddenly stopped in the doorway, Betsy hoped he was having second thoughts about leaving. She longed for him to turn around and rush into her arms. To her lips that missed the tenderness of his.
Skylar did turn back to her, but didn’t make a mad dash for her arms-lips.
“I’m sorry about the kiss. I just-I had this impulse or something. It won’t happen again.”
Betsy watched him disappear into the night. Watch is all she could do. Each of his words had dropped a load of heavy bricks over her, crushing her where she stood.
She’d never been kissed like that before. The few boys she’d dated in school and even fewer men since then had never sent her on such a spectacular journey when they kissed her. Skylar Blakewood’s was the first. And the last, Miss Sensible returned to inform.
How had they ended up kissing anyway? Skylar seemed on the verge of exploding with anger as Betsy had a few seconds earlier. There she stood, more or less accusing him of being untrustworthy when-what? He kissed her. Had he done so to shut her up?
Confusion filled Betsy. Then the anger moved in. Not with him, but herself. Why had she allowed the kiss in the first place? She never should’ve permitted him inside her apartment. Never again. Life would be much simpler if she never saw the man again.
“That’s the answer,” she said to the empty space around her. “I won’t see him again.”
Betsy had agreed to take him on as a client. She would hold to that promise, provided she could talk Mary into dealing with the man.
Of course that wasn’t part of Mary’s job description, per the agreement they made the day they went into business together. Mary didn’t show homes or present sales agreements to sellers. That was Betsy’s responsibility. Mary took care of running the office.
But Betsy did handle the negotiations with the bank which should’ve been Mary’s job. Surely she’d reciprocate and do her this one little favor. On second thought the way she adored the man, Betsy thought it possible she’d think Betsy was the one doing the favor.
Mary didn’t see it that way the next morning when Betsy sat in front of her desk and made the request.
“I’m sorry, Betsy. There’s no way I can deal with that man.”
“But I thought you worshipped him?”
Mary blushed, her eyes getting that starry-eyed look. “I think he’s gorgeous. He’s every woman’s dream.” She quickly snapped out of her moment of fantasizing about the man and looked straight into Betsy’s eyes. “How do you expect me to talk business with the man when my mind stops functioning every time I see him? I mean, I feel like a teenager with a crush on my teacher.”
Mary was Betsy’s best friend. She was the only living soul she trusted explicitly. But she couldn’t tell her what she felt for Skylar Blakewood was much more than a passing crush. Besides, how could she tell her friend what she wasn’t ready to accept herself? Knowing she was falling in love with the man didn’t mean she had to accept it. And if she never saw him again she had a good chance of never having to.
“Come on, Mare. You know me and I just don’t have the patience to deal with the man.” Betsy’s plea sounded genuine.
“First Stephanie and now Skylar. You never had trouble controlling your temper with clients before. So what gives?”
“I never had clients like those two before. Steph only threw some business our way to flaunt her wealth like she’s been doing since high school when her mom married the rich doctor.”
“So what if the woman prides herself in reminding us working class stiffs she’s well off now. I thought you figured out she only acts that way around you because she knows it drives you crazy.”
“It shouldn’t make any difference if she’s the richest witch on the planet now. That doesn’t give her the right to act like she’s better than everyone else.”
“You’ll never convince her of that.”
“I don’t have to convince that woman of anything any more. And I refuse to stoop to her level and remind her she was poor like the rest of us before her mama snagged the good doctor.” Betsy stood to head for her office.
“So what’s the problem with Skylar? I know the man didn’t give you the impression he puts himself above the rest of the human race.”
Mary’s words stopped Betsy in her tracks. Now is your chance to tell her everything. Tell her about the kiss last night, the fear of falling in love with the man.
“I know you Betsy Alexander. You’re scared of this guy, aren’t you?”
Mary did know her better than anyone else, Betsy conceded. But how could she know the truth? Yet she did. Betsy couldn’t bring herself to tell her she was right, but hadn’t a clue why.
“Hate to disappoint you, but you don’t know me at all if you believe such nonsense.”
“If it’s nonsense then what’s the problem?”
“I’d love to give you a list of all the flaws in the man’s character, but I have calls to make.” Betsy told her in a rushed voice and quickly ran up the steps to her office before Mary could give a rebuttal.
Betsy did have important calls to make. Her voice mail loaded with calls during her morning bike ride. She had a client she needed to see about signing an extension on his listing agreement, due to expire today. But before she picked up the phone and attempted to be cheerful, she needed a few minutes to get a grip on her emotions.
She raised her window blind in hope of bringing a little sunshine inside. But the sky had become cluttered with thick dark clouds. The sight only added to the gloomy feeling that held Betsy prisoner. She closed the blind and made her way behind the mess of paperwork covering her desk.
It would take the entire morning just to clear away the clutter in front of her. With the phone calls, she’d be busy until early afternoon when she had appointments to show houses every hour until six o’clock.
Keeping busy, the medicine she needed to ward off thoughts of Skylar Blakewood. An excellent way to avoid Mary as well. Maybe tomorrow she could think of another way to convince her partner to take on Skylar as her very own client without a round of questions.
Chapter Five
Mary volunteered to take over as Skylar’s Realtor. No explanation as to why she was suddenly willing to take on the task. Betsy didn’t press her luck by tossing her questions.
The next few days whirled by le
aving Betsy feeling more comfortable. She’d been so busy showing houses she barely had time to give Skylar Blakewood more than a passing thought. She was surviving just fine without him. With a little luck, she might get used to the void deep within her.
“You’re not going to like this.” Mary caught Betsy late Friday afternoon when she came into the office after a full day of showing houses.
“Sounds like I better sit down.” Betsy dropped into a chair in front of Mary’s desk. Braced for Mary’s news, she proceeded. “Okay, give it to me.”
“Skylar Blakewood wants to see you.”
Betsy felt her throat closing, her body plopped into a pressure cooker. As if that wasn’t enough, her insides tingled with excitement. But she was determined to fight all the powerful sensations invading her body.
“Well I don’t want to see him.”
“He made it sound like it was urgent.”
Betsy sat tall in spite of her exhaustion. But not so tired she was ready to cave in to this request. “Why didn’t you tell him you’re representing him now?”
Mary sat back in her seat and crossed her thin arms over her chest. She almost looked like she was pouting for being scolded. “I tried. But the man insisted on seeing you. Six thirty tonight on the hill.”
Don’t panic, Miss Sensible ordered. You can handle him. Just remember to listen to your head instead of your heart and you’ll do just fine.
Betsy glanced at her watch. Five o’clock. She had a five fifteen appointment. If she finished by six, she’d have enough time to stop home, shower, and slip into something more suitable for climbing that hill.
The five fifteen appointment lasted longer than Betsy had planned; leaving no time for the shower she needed, more for revitalization than cleansing. She took time to change into a tee shirt, jeans, and sneakers.
It was already six-thirty by the time she fired up the engine on her sports car and was on her way. Why hadn’t she sent Mary to meet Skylar? How dare he insist she meet him at six-thirty? What if she had another appointment? She didn’t, but that didn’t mean she should be speeding toward that peak on the hill. The hill the man snatched right out from under her. Unfair. The man had no idea how desperately you wanted that land. If he knew, would it have made a difference?
As Betsy maneuvered the car around the last curve in the road, she expected to see old Betsy parked alongside the road.
“Five minutes late and the guy takes off,” Betsy said to herself after checking the digital clock on the console.
But as she eased her foot off the accelerator and coasted off the side of the road, she saw a dirt road had been cut through the weeds and trees. Her gaze followed its path up the side of the hill to the top where old Betsy was parked.
Betsy turned the steering wheel and gently tapped the accelerator to start the climb. The entire time the car crept upward, she had the air conditioner on high. A vent tilted toward her face, blasting it with cold air in an attempt to relieve the sudden heat wave bombarding her.
She pulled in alongside the pickup, shut down the engine and took a peak at herself in the rearview mirror. The almond colored lipstick was smeared from her nervously biting on the corner of her lip throughout the drive. She attempted to fix it with a trembling fingertip. Her mascara appeared okay but her hair had been blown every which way from the air conditioning. She fixed it the best she could with her fingers before a sweaty palm reached for the door handle just as the door opened.
When Betsy peered up, she was looking into his warm blue eyes.
Skylar’s smile appeared as if he were relieved to see her. “I was about to give up on you.”
“My last appointment ran late,” Betsy explained even though she felt she owed him none.
Skylar reached in and grasped her hand to help her out. The mere touch caused her internal organs to go haywire. As she stood, if it weren’t for his grip on her, Betsy knew she would’ve fallen since her legs had turned to jelly, again.
“Sorry for the short notice, but I couldn’t postpone seeing you any longer.”
The man stood so close that Betsy could feel his breath on her. The scent of his cologne floated all around her, intoxicating her to the point where she felt she might be considered drunk.
She felt hypnotized as she stared into those large pupils of his. She broke the trance by focusing further south on him.
He wore a button down shirt and a new looking pair of jeans. No, she ordered herself. She couldn’t focus on his beautifully proportioned body either. It would make her fantasize about what he’d look like naked.
A deep breath to put stamina back in her wilting body and she was able to step out around him and set her sights on empty space.
“What’s the big emergency to see me?”
“Not really an emergency. But I thought you’d want to hear about my changes to the house plans.”
Betsy turned back to him. “Changes?”
Stepping up alongside her, he used his hand to point directions. “I thought I’d add a solarium on the west end of the house here. What do you think?”
“You’re talking about a higher price tag.”
“Betsy--” He cut himself off and took her hand in his again, guiding her toward the rear end of old Betsy. “I hope you haven’t eaten.”
Of course she hadn’t. Not a thing all day, which made the smorgasbord he had laid out on the tailgate even more appealing.
“What is this?” she gasped.
“Looks like food to me.” Skylar gathered two lawn chairs from the bed of the truck and opened them near the tailgate. “I made most of it myself.”
“You cook?”
“When I have time.” Skylar filled a china plate with fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw and a biscuit.
“This must have taken you all day.”
“Not at all. The apple pie took the longest. I have yet to master getting the dough to stay in one piece long enough to get it in the pie pan.”
He handed her a plate and picked up another to fill for himself. As he did, Betsy sat down, too stunned to speak.
Skylar finished fixing his plate and sat on the chair next to her about to bite into a chicken leg when he looked over at her. “Go ahead and dig in. I promise it’s edible.”
Everything looked and smelled delicious, but Betsy couldn’t eat before posing the question that was on the tip of her tongue since she saw the display of food.
“Why did you do this?”
Skylar dropped his drumstick and stared at his plate instead of Betsy’s questioning eyes. “I thought a peace offering might rectify my rude behavior the other night.” His eyes met hers. “You were nice enough to bring me dinner and--”
“That was my own fault for not checking with you first.”
“Okay then, it’s for stealing that kiss. I really am sorry about that, Betsy. I’ve always made it a rule never to mix business and pleasure. It leads to problems.”
Betsy swallowed hard before braving a look his way. “I agree completely.”
“Good. We’ll consider this meal a business dinner. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” There, she said it. Now if her body would just cooperate and function normally around him, Betsy believed she might be able to work with the man after all.
She bit into a piece of the tender dark meat and chewed slowly to savor the taste. “This is delicious,” she told him before her next bite.
“Thank you.”
“Where did you learn to cook like this?”
Skylar had a mouthful of potato salad and held up his hand in a gesture for her to wait for him to empty his mouth. “I taught myself.”
Betsy wrinkled her brow, giving his answer a moment of thought before responding. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Mom worked long hours when I was growing up. Being the oldest of three brothers, who were always hungry, left me with the job of getting supper on the table.”
A powerful tugging sensation worked at the core of Betsy’s heart as she li
stened to the sadness in his tone. “It must have been hard having so much responsibility at such a young age.”
Skylar stood up and pulled the bottle of champagne he had chilling from the bucket of ice. He filled two long-stemmed glasses with the clear bubbly, handed Betsy one, then spoke. “It played havoc on my social life.” He smiled. But Betsy saw the underlying sadness he attempted to hide with the smile. “Seriously though, without those tough years, I probably never would’ve pushed so hard to get where I am today.”
“Would that be a terrific cook or successful businessman?”
He chuckled before his mouth narrowed with seriousness as did his eyes. “I’ve made it to the top of my profession. I could retire right now if I wanted to.”
“And do what?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know-travel. Maybe get married and have a few kids.” His eyes searched Betsy’s. “I haven’t figured out why I’ve been having thoughts about getting married lately.”
Betsy couldn’t breathe and quickly tipped the glass to her lips to divert her eyes away from the magnetizing glare of his. But when she swallowed, the fluid got stuck in her throat and she started coughing to keep from choking.
Skylar’s expression radiated panic. Betsy threw up her arm to let him know she was okay.
“You sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“I didn’t think my cooking was that bad,” came out in a joking manner. But Betsy saw genuine concern in his eyes.
“It was the champagne. Must have gone down the wrong pipe, I guess.”
She watched him relax a bit as he eased back down in his chair. She couldn’t help notice him glance at his watch. “Are you expecting someone to join us?”
“No.”
“I saw you checking your watch.”
He heaved a disgruntled sigh. “Yeah, well, I promised to meet Stephanie at the club for a drink later.”
Betsy’s heart plummeted to her feet. And as it slowly beat its way back to its proper location, she felt a surge of strength combined with anger and a whole lot of hurtful feelings stampeding through her all at once. Was it because of Stephanie he suddenly had thoughts of getting married?
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