Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Revenge (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (12 page)

Chapter 16

Tory woke the following morning thinking about Dave, not Matt. Her dealings with Matt were over, thank god, and she could devote all her thoughts and plans to Dave and their planned date tonight. She thought about how kind and generous he was, so unlike anyone else she’d dated. He was also very easygoing, enabling her to relax in his company and enjoy herself. It was an easy relationship.

She showered, hurried with her coffee, and planned to have a good day at work, leaving the past in the past.

The aroma of coffee greeted her as soon as she opened the office door. Trevor was helping himself to a cup.

“Good morning, Tory. Feeling better? How about a cup of coffee?”

Tory nodded at Trevor for the coffee and said, “Thanks for yesterday. I really needed the day off. Coffee smells great, by the way.” She accepted the cup of coffee from him and added cream and sugar. While she stirred her coffee she asked him, “How did yesterday go? Were there many calls?”

“The usual. Mr. Walker called. He’s interested in looking at one of the larger factory buildings with office space. I told him what we have available and he’ll call back in a day or so. Otherwise, it was quiet.”

“What do I need to do to get caught up?” Tory asked as she made her way to her desk.

Trevor went over some paperwork with her and disappeared to his office. The day progressed quickly.

Tory, anxious to leave to get ready for her date with Dave, wondered where he was taking her. “Out” could be anywhere. On her way home, she debated whether to dress casually or formally.

Shivers went through her as she thought about Dave. Her heart started to race and she felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. Her nipples became erect and showed through her T-shirt. She could hardly wait to see his handsome face again, feel his lips caressing hers, and smell his masculine scent that was only his. She wanted to feel his strong arms around her holding her tight and spend time with him making love.
Spending time with him doing anything would be wonderful. Spending time with him doing nothing would be wonderful, too.

She finally decided to wear dress slacks and a soft silk blouse with a scarf she could remove to be casual or fix to be more formal. She changed her purse to match her outfit and came down the stairs. She checked her watch. Dave was ten minutes late. He had been very prompt for their previous dates.
I hope nothing’s happened to him.

Twenty minutes later, after tidying the living and dining rooms and repeatedly looking out the front window and at her watch, Tory began to pace the floor. Annoyance turned to anger. Her heels pounded into the floor, her one hand fisted at her side while the other was in her mouth biting her fingernails. As more time passed, her footfalls increased and her sighs became louder and more frequent.

She thought about whoever was in her house last night. Could it have been Dave? After all he claimed to be a detective, could he be doing some illegal “detecting” on the side?

By ten o’clock, when he hadn’t arrived or called, she knew she had been stood up.

Chapter 17

“Hey, Tory, it’s Sue. Did you get everything put away and cleaned up before Dave showed up?”

“Sure, I had plenty of time to get everything done that needed doing.”

“How was your date with Dave? Where did he take you?”

“Nowhere.”

“What? You stayed home?”

“He never showed, never even had the nerve to call. I thought he was different from all the other men in this rotten town.” Tory paced again, her hand clenched the phone, her lips tight.

“Just because he didn’t show up is no reason to take it out on the town, for heaven’s sake. Maybe something came up with one of his parents and he hasn’t had time to call yet.”

“That’s very unlikely though, isn’t it?”

“I’m so sorry. I know how much you were counting on this date. So he’s a rat, now you have to move on to something else. What are your plans for today?”

“I’ve got to meet with the loan officer from the bank and sign the note paperwork so Mom can finish the house. And we want to try to get some volunteers to help with the finishing touches, things like that. What about you?”

“I may as well come with you. When were you leaving for the bank?”

“In about a half hour.”

“I’ll meet you there, and we can go to Lana’s and talk, okay?”

“Sure, we can talk about anything but men. I’ve had enough already.”

* * * *

Tory and Sue met at the bank, signed the loan papers, and began the short walk over to Lana’s. As they walked to the coffee house, Tory kept glancing over her shoulder.

“Who’re you looking for, Tory? You’ve been looking behind your back ever since we left the bank.”

“I don’t know. I have this feeling I’m being followed or watched. I’ve had it ever since I got to town, but when I look there’s never anybody there. I had the same feeling last night.”

“You’re just being paranoid now. You’re probably feeling insecure because it happened before. Where does it happen at and who do you think it could be? You maybe are just having aftereffects because of last night with Dave and your feelings for him,” Sue said as they entered the door to Lana’s. “Speaking of Dave, he’s here in the back corner booth reading the paper.”

“You’re kidding. Stop it, it’s not funny.”

“Look for yourself then,” Sue said as she moved toward a booth at the opposite end of the room.

Tory looked toward the booth that Sue had indicated, and there sat Dave, as handsome as you please, reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee. He looked up at her when she glanced his way. Their eyes met and locked. Neither could turn away from the other.

Finally Sue interrupted. “Tory, come and sit down. I don’t have all day,” Sue said with annoyance. “Do you want to leave or sit somewhere else?”

Tory made her way over to Sue and sat down in the booth facing her.

“I already ordered us each a coffee. It should be here any minute. Did you want anything else?” Sue asked.

Tory shook her head and moved farther into the booth so she couldn’t see Dave and he couldn’t see her.

“Do you suppose he saw me with Matt when we left town? Maybe someone else did and told him and that’s why he stood me up.”

“You can still talk to Dave and explain the break-in, your relationship, or lack of it, with Matt. It’s not too late. Maybe you can talk to Dave now and explain what you did and why—like you talked to me—open, honest, and sincere.”

“You’re right. But it’s so awkward.” Tory took a long gulp of her coffee.

“It has to be soon, Tory, or you
could
lose him. You don’t want to start a relationship based on secrets or lies. It won’t last. I have to leave soon anyway. Why don’t you take your coffee over and ask if you can join him. Then neither of you will be sitting by yourselves.”

“Okay, but if it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming it on you because it was your idea.” Tory picked up her purse and coffee cup and walked hesitantly toward the corner booth, her heart pounding and her palms sweaty.

She saw Dave look up at her as soon as she came closer.

“Hello, Dave. Do you mind if I join you?” she asked as he folded up the paper and put it aside.

“No, have a seat. We need to talk anyway,” he answered with a gentle smile.

“We do,” Tory said with a stiff upper lip, trying to keep her emotions under control. She didn’t know whether to scream and yell at him or be nice and apologize for going out with Matt.
Does he have a right to be mad at me? After all, we aren’t dating exclusively. I should be able to see whomever I want. It’s my life and I can do whatever I want to with it.

“I’m sorry about last night,” Dave said as she watched him run his fingers through his thick hair. “Something came up that I had to deal with right away, and I couldn’t make it.”

“Which are you sorry about, the ransacking of my place, or standing me up, or not bothering to call me?” Tory said.

“Whoa. Your placed was ransacked? Did you call Chief Carr?”

“Of course, who else would I call?”

“Did they take or steal anything?”

“Not that I could tell, but they had to be looking for something.”

“Do they know who did it or have any suspects?”

“No.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” he said, “but how can you think I would ransack your place?”

Her gut clenched when she thought about him, and she tapped her fingers on the table. She pursed her lips, frowned, trying to stay stern. Was he another smooth-talking liar, like Matt?

“This isn’t the time or place to talk about last night. How about if we take our time when we can discuss it to death if you’d like, but not right now,” Dave said while tapping his fingers on the table loudly.

They glared across the table for a few moments.

Tory broke the stare down. “Actually, I don’t have any plans, but I don’t want to go out. Would you like to come to my place?”

“How about seven?” he asked.

“Seven will be fine.” Tory stood. “My place at seven. If you don’t show up, then don’t expect another chance.”

* * * *

Dave sat for some time in the corner booth after Tory left, wondering about what to say later. He felt adrift after last night and still couldn’t believe he actually saw her with another man. He had only met Matt one time at the bank when they had run into each other. He wondered about her relationship with him. What about their relationship, or did they even have one? He really screwed her over bad last night, but it couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t able to tell her the entire truth, so what kind of relationship could they have? She wasn’t being honest with him, and in all fairness, he couldn’t tell her everything he was doing. Would their secrets drive them apart? Did he want a relationship with her? She was unlike any woman he’d been with before, in so many ways. They were good together—the easygoing way they fit was almost too simple, and he wanted that feeling back. Would talking to her fix their problems and get them back on track? But he couldn’t tell her about his mission. Could he make something up that was believable? Should he?

Chapter 18

Dave arrived at Tory’s at seven sharp. He was anxious and rang the bell with sweaty hands. He waited a few minutes for her to answer the door. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say to her. He would have to wing it.

When she opened the door, her wholesome beauty stunned him speechless. She was dressed in a short beige skirt, a light blush top, and barefoot. She looked very much at home.

Maybe it was because of this he wanted her so badly, and his feelings were mounting faster than he could manage. He looked at her flushed face and smiled.

“I’m glad you could make it tonight,” she said, talking faster than usual. “Have a seat.”

“Hi, Tory,” he leaned in to give her a kiss on her cheek, and when she moved away from him, he decided to sit down and take a chance. “I’m really sorry about last night, but as I said at Lana’s something came up that I couldn’t get out of and I couldn’t call.”

“Fine,” she said.

“What did you do Tuesday night?”

She stiffened. “Why do you ask?”

After a moment of quiet, he said, “On Tuesday I thought I saw you in a car heading out of town with Matt Wilson, that’s why.” He hadn’t intended to blurt that out, but with her he couldn’t seem to garner any self control.

“Is this an interrogation?”

“I guess it is. I want to know what you did Tuesday night and with whom.”

“Oh, really? What business is it of yours who I see? Are you jealous? Or is this professional curiosity?”

“Why don’t you answer me?” He stood before her, his hands on his hips.

She stood facing him, looking him in the eye, her hands on her hips. “So you saw me with someone else and got jealous. Is that why you stood me up?” Tory asked as she whisked her hands through her hair.

He thought a minute or more about his answer. If he claimed jealousy, he wouldn’t need any other explanations of his actions. “Hell, yeah I’m jealous. I care about you, and I don’t want to see you hurt again by that two-timing scumbag.”