The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion (Entangled Indulgence)

by Christine Glover

  A knock sounded. “Who could that be?” she asked as she slipped her pearl earring into her lobe.

  “Most likely it’s one of Michael’s snoopy Sullivan siblings.” Zach shrugged on his suit jacket. “I’ll get the door, and tell whoever it is that we’ll be down in ten minutes.”

  “Good idea.”

  He left the bathroom. She heard the door open and Zach’s greeting. “Yvonne. Ken. This is quite a surprise. I thought you were living it up in Florida.”

  “We were until we got the texts from Shannon and Hannah. It’s a good thing we were within cellular range. Ken about had a fit,” her mother said. “Naturally we’re thrilled, but you could have tried to tell us yourselves.”

  “Kennedy wanted to tell you in person.”

  “Where is she?” her father asked. “I assume she’s staying with you. Y’all aren’t saints, after all.”

  Kennedy’s pulse zipped into the fast lane. Oh no. No way. This can’t be happening. Quickly, she stepped into her high heels and gave her hair a final spritz of hairspray. She forced a fake smile, frowned at the result in the mirror, then practiced her smile again.

  Deeming it better than the first one, she hurried to the main room, the clanging of her heart thumping against her sternum and echoing in her ears. What if her mother told Zach what Kennedy had learned five years ago? She couldn’t let that happen. Not when Zach was in Mr. Fix-it mode. Kennedy increased her pace, stumbled over the toe of her shoe, then righted herself by gripping the bedroom door’s brass knob.

  Her mind raced. Adrenaline rushed to her extremities. Her fingers pricked with anxious tingles. She had to stop the flow of the conversation, but that meant she’d have to come clean. No way could she lie to her parents about this engagement. Unsure of where to start, she opened the bedroom door and stepped into the living area.

  Her stomach bottomed out when she first set eyes on her mom and dad. Joy radiated in their faces. Relief mingled with happiness in her mother’s blue eyes. And her father’s green gaze held a staunch supply of paternal affection.

  Kennedy read them easily and with an innate sensitivity born out of being the center of their world, she did the only thing she could under the circumstances. Because as much as she hated lying to her parents, disappointing them would have upset them even more.

  “Momma.” She rushed into her mother’s arms. Welcomed the comfort of her soothing embrace and the familiar scent of her floral fragrance. “I’m so glad you’re here. I desperately need your help with my wedding plans.” And she desperately needed help with hiding her secret from Zach.

  Zach’s mouth popped open. She shot him an apologetic look, lifting her shoulders. He closed his lips and nodded.

  “And Dad,” she continued, “I know your golf clubs don’t ever leave your trunk so I’ll have Zach schedule a future father-in-law golf round with you tomorrow while Mom and I shop.” If she talked fast enough, she’d stop her mother from spilling her secret.

  “Sounds great to me.” Ken clapped Zach on the shoulders. “You still shoot under par?”

  “Damn straight.”

  “Perfect.” Her mother tucked her arm into the crook of Kennedy’s elbow. “There’s a lovely wedding boutique in historic Asheville. We’ll head over there tomorrow while the guys play. But first we have to see Michael and catch up with the Sullivans over dinner.”

  Kennedy nodded. Bad enough she’d one day let Michael down, but she’d never intended for her parents to get caught in the crosshairs of this masquerade. Even worse, she would have to fight more tenaciously to avoid revealing her deepest secret to Zach. Though a part of her wanted to confess the truth, she feared his reaction. Five years ago he’d bulldozed over her pain, refusing to listen to her objections about trying again. Could he ever accept the reality of her difficulties in carrying a baby to term?

  They’d already agreed to a temporary affair, a friendship. There was no reason to come forth with her secret and risk losing what little she had gained.

  “God, an entire day shopping for wedding dresses. I say no. No to the dress,” Kennedy griped when she returned to the hotel suite the following day. “Thank goodness we’re leaving Wednesday. I don’t know how much longer I can keep up this charade.” After all the happy chattering the night before between her mother and Shannon, and everyone toasting the engagement again, Kennedy couldn’t derail the Fake Wedding Train. Not when the joy blanketed the pain of Michael’s illness.

  Still, all the hope and expectation in her mother’s enthusiastic shopping spree after they’d said good-bye to Michael and his family had drained Kennedy emotionally.

  Zach handed her a glass of wine. “News flash. It’s not over yet.”

  “I know, but we can give them the same explanation we give Michael after you return to New York.” She sipped the crisp chardonnay.

  A tic jumped in Zach’s jaw and he pursed his lips. A sudden foreboding skittered along her spine. Anxiety fired across her nerves. “What’s wrong?”

  “They’ve punted their next trip to come home to Sweetbriar Springs.” Zach swigged a healthy swallow of scotch. “Despite insisting that we have everything under control, your dad still wants to check on the renovation.”

  “Oh God.” Kennedy inhaled deeply to stop her heart from exploding through her chest wall. “He’s not going to leave either of us alone. How are we supposed to survive with them in the picture?”

  “They’re staying in their own place,” Zach said. “Your dad said he wants to check out the new mountain golf course in the next county, maybe incorporate it into improving the lodge’s course next year. Plus your mom wants to look at wedding venues.”

  “I bet my mom drags me to every chapel in the county,” she whimpered, kicking off her heels. “Couldn’t we just make them go on another cruise?”

  “Your parents want to come home because they’re happy for you.” He caressed her cheek. “They can’t cruise fifty-two weeks of the year.”

  “But everything is spiraling out of control.”

  “Relax.” Zach said. “Why burst their bubble?”

  She crossed the room and plopped onto the sofa. “We’ll have to poke a pin into their happiness balloon sooner or later.” Though her heart wanted to rebel, she pushed down her longing with the reality of her infertility.

  Zach sat next to her and pointed to his lap. “You look like you could use a foot rub.”

  “I never knew shopping could be so exhausting,” she said as she surrendered her swollen feet to Zach’s powerful hands. “Mom’s relentless. I can’t wait to wear jeans and construction boots again.”

  “Getting the smackdown from your dad wasn’t a picnic either. He told me if I ever hurt his baby girl again, he’d find me and kill me.”

  “Fabulous,” she said glumly. “Chances are he means it.” Her father knew the truth about her difficulty carrying babies to full-term.

  He squeezed her soles and massaged her instep. “Wear flats tomorrow. Your mom wants to visit Sweetbriar’s historic downtown after we get home. She’s thinking about opening a knitting boutique.”

  A warmth spread through her limbs that had more to do with Zach calling Sweetbriar Springs home than the pleasure of his touch. His easy reconnection with all they had once shared invoked thoughts she had no right to indulge in.

  Kennedy sighed and wiggled her toes. “Mom’s already planning the shower and the bachelor parties with Michael’s parents,” she said. “She’s gone wild on Instagram, already sent tons of pictures to Shannon. She’s thrilled to see me in dresses that are formfitting and white.” And not in a dress cut for a woman eight months pregnant.

  “Yeah, your dad said he’s glad that this time it’s not a shotgun wedding.” Zach caressed her ankle. “I told him we’re going to do it right. Wedding first, babies later.”

  She tensed. Zach longed for a big family much like the Sullivans, had thrived after he’d been unofficially adopted as their second son all those years ago. “How did Dad take to that idea?
” she asked.

  “He just nodded and reached for his nine iron.”

  Thanking the heavens for her father’s taciturn nature, Kennedy relaxed. “Good,” she said. “You touch base with your father today?”

  “Yeah. He’s still cool with our plan.”

  Somehow, miraculously, Zach had forged a bond with his recalcitrant father to the point where he supported their fake engagement. Just as long as Zach remembered where he belonged. At the helm of Tanner Enterprises in New York. Not in the sleepy small town she called home.

  Her heart was on a rack and being pulled in four different directions. Fear that her parents would never forgive her for her current lie. Fear for her friend’s reaction when he was told the truth. Fear for the pain she’d endure when Zach ultimately returned to his world.

  And fear for her soul never recovering once she was alone again.

  Her mother had wondered if Kennedy had finally come clean with Zach about her infertility issues, how difficult it would be for her to carry a child to term. But Kennedy had vehemently insisted that the past was where it belonged.

  They had a new future. A future without each other, but Kennedy hadn’t shared that tidbit while standing on a pedestal in her fourteenth wedding gown.

  “I wish we’d never lied.”

  Zach swallowed hard. “I’m sorry I forced you to wear the engagement ring.”

  “The damage is done.” As well as some damage control, but she kept that information to herself. Earlier in the day, she’d told her mother not to bring up the reason Kennedy was afraid to get pregnant. That conversation hadn’t been easy. After all, her mother had persevered and several years later Kennedy had arrived.

  But Kennedy wasn’t about to test her mother’s theory.

  “I don’t want to hurt my parents, but I can’t plan a fake wedding and renovate Sweetbriar Springs at the same time.”

  “We’ll muddle through this nightmare and stall them,” Zach said. “It’ll all work out. Trust me.”

  “I do.” She trusted Zach’s ability to manipulate the situation so that everyone would accept their next breakup without question. And she trusted him to help her cope with losing Michael when that time came—as her friend. She almost trusted him enough to tell him her secret, but he still guarded his own. Unless that changed, she feared sharing hers.

  “I already told Mom that we’re waiting until the benefit is held at Sweetbriar Springs in December before we finalize any wedding plans.” Desperate to change the subject to one that they both had a genuine stake in, unlike planning their fake marriage, Kennedy asked, “Did Michael make it to the hospital okay?” Though Michael’s parting hug was weak, his positive attitude exuded power.

  “Yes. He called when your dad and I were having a beer after he kicked my butt on the greens.” Zach rubbed her calf. “I promised him I wouldn’t hurt you again.”

  “At least that’s true.” She settled against the cushions. Zach’s touch, the pressure of his strong fingers squeezing the tension out of her muscles, contributed to another yearning. Oh, how she’d missed him and moments like this one. “I private messaged him on Facebook with the same promise.”

  If he’d never gotten ill, she and Zach would still be worlds apart and nursing their gaping wounds. Michael’s misguided interference had given them a chance to heal, even if the end result wouldn’t be a June wedding.

  “He told me he’s worn out but ready to fight.” Zach stopped massaging her leg. “He wants to be in top form as my best man.”

  The heat in the room dropped to subzero. Kennedy folded her arms across her chest. “We have to figure out a solution to this nightmare without hurting the people we love.”

  “Short of having a June wedding, I have no idea what to do.” He leaned over her body and pressed his forehead against hers. “Whatever happens, I won’t let you get burned by my mistakes.”

  “I made them, too.” And every emotion she’d hoped to shake off this casual friends-with-benefits agreement had backfired. Despite her determination to indulge in enjoying the perks of Zach’s incredible skill in the bedroom without losing her heart, she’d failed. Epically. She’d foolishly fallen in love with him all over again.

  She inhaled and bottled the air in her chest for a beat. Maybe there was a way to tell him and keep him. If he could be less demanding and listen, really hear what she yearned to reveal without attempting to control the outcome.

  “Zach, I…”

  “No more talking.” He stopped her with his mouth.

  Though she craved this physical distraction, the release it would bring, deep down she knew more than ever that they would have to face the past. If only to bring the closure they needed to move on if they truly were to remain friends.

  But for now, she curled her arms around his neck and surrendered to him with a sigh, relieved that Zach had prevented her from unveiling the secret she’d buried long ago. She yielded to the instant way her body reacted to his gentle assault. Wanting to forget. Wanting to lose herself to the passion stirring low in her belly. Because indulging in fantasies about a genuine reunion with Zach could only lead to greater heartache.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Two weeks after they returned to the lodge, Kennedy and Zach had eased into a natural rhythm. They spent their days working side by side on the construction site and their nights entwined in each other’s arms.

  At the end of another long afternoon of work, Kennedy glanced around the construction site next to the hot springs. The autumnal leaves had lost their brilliant blaze of color. They had first browned and withered on the branches, and then had been hurled to the ground during a cold storm’s wild winter winds. Now leftover flakes of the early snowstorm dressed the ground with a lacy coverlet of white.

  “Looks like we’ll have to call it a day,” she said to her lead crewman. “We’ll wait until the ground dries before we move into the final phase.”

  “Sure thing,” he said, waving to the crew. “Everyone, time to pack it in. We’re off to the tavern early this weekend.”

  And she had an early start on another night of passion with Zach. A thrill raced through her. Though she continued acting as if their relationship would one day transform into a long-distance friendship, the steady rebuilding of trust between her and Zach had caused her heart to hope for more. And every conversation they’d had during the past few days had included a future that involved him staying indefinitely in Sweetbriar.

  Though she tried, how could she suppress the unfulfilled wishes and dreams spinning in her mind when Zach acted as if he’d never leave? Maybe they had a chance after all.

  She crunched across the snow covered winter-dead twigs toward her pickup truck. Zach had changed from the controlling younger man she’d fought with five years ago. Could he accept the truth about her fertility issues without trying to force her to see things his way? Because she couldn’t bear the idea of losing another child, no matter how often her mother continually hammered into her the joy of bringing life into the world, despite all the pain and disappointment.

  Kennedy swung open the cab door, climbed inside, and slammed it. Losing Brianna had mutilated her emotionally. The wound had never fully healed. And she doubted she could survive another loss without losing herself completely.

  And she couldn’t bear the idea of the disappointment she’d surely see in Zach’s eyes if she told him the truth. He’d always wanted a big family, one like Michael Sullivan’s. How could she ask him to give up what he deserved even if he didn’t push her to risk another pregnancy?

  Her cell phone buzzed, and she quickly checked her text message. Zach texting sexy promises she had no doubt he’d fulfill. She replied with a few promises of her own.

  When she arrived at the lodge, all the outdoor lights blazed a welcoming home—with an even better welcome standing on the front porch. Zach leaned against one of the pillars, two mugs of steaming coffee in his hands. His chestnut hair curled over his winter coat’s collar and the freezing
December wind had colored his face crimson.

  She parked, then exited her truck. “How long have you been out here? It’s colder than a snake sliding down a ski slope.” Kennedy skipped up the steps to stand beside him.

  “Only a few minutes. Here.” He gave her a cup. “Thought you could use some heating up.”

  “I thought that was your job, Tanner.” The briefest contact of his fingers on her skin sent a current straight to her center. The only heat she craved was his.

  “It will be.” He wrapped his free arm around her shoulder and tugged her close. “After we go over the specs of the fundraising gala.”

  Her pulse jumped. The warmth of Zach’s embrace and the promise of the power awaiting her later tonight shot through her with the intensity of a lightning bolt. “Michael like our plans?” she asked.

  Zach kissed her temple. “Loves them. You ready for the big day?”

  Another current traveled low. Wanting and yearning melded with wishing and hoping. “Of course I am.” Kennedy rested her head on his broad shoulder.

  If she wasn’t on the site supervising the overall construction and renovation changes, she was interfacing with Michael’s sister Hannah about the ALS benefit. She’d enjoyed their conversations on the phone about the benefit and Hannah’s plans to run the resort’s wellness spa, but pretending to be thrilled about her future she-didn’t-know-she-was-fake maid of honor’s upcoming bridal shower plans for Kennedy had been excruciating.

  “I can’t believe it’s December already,” he said as they walked side by side through the lodge’s double doors.

  And she couldn’t wrap her brain around the fact that January would herald the end of their reunion. The days had passed so quickly, and now the week had arrived when they’d open the lodge for the first time. “This place has been like a nuthouse with all the extra people and party planners running around,” Kennedy said, pressing the memories of their reunion into a mental bottle, keeping everything contained in the here and now. But wanting so much more.