The Birthday Fantasy (2 page)

That sounded as lame to her
ears, as she was sure it sounded to his.

“Trust me
. It can be a lot worse.” He chuckled, and she would have smacked him if he’d been in the same room.

“
Oh, yeah, I forgot you had a birthday about three months ago.” She still had his card and gift tucked away in her closet. “You’re definitely ancient.”

“
Laugh it up, sweetheart, because when I get there you won’t be.” The phone went dead.

Staring at the cell phone,
Jamie sat on the edge of her bed. What the heck had he meant by
that
?

****

Twenty minutes later, Maria knocked on the door to let her know Tate Dawson waited in the front room. She thanked the housekeeper and hated the way her heart raced as she hurried down the stairs. If he thought he was going to come here and provoke her, she’d give him a piece of her mind.

Tate
leaned against the frame of the living room door in a much too relaxed pose with his arms folded over a dark green western shirt nearly matching his eyes. He looked her up and down with a smugness irritating her further.

“
What are you doing here?”

Removing his hat, h
e grinned and pushed away from the doorframe. “It’s nice to see you too, princess. I’ve been fine. Thanks for asking.”

“
I’m in no mood for your sarcasm.” Glaring at him, she entered the living room and headed for the cabinet in the corner where her father kept a bottle of good Kentucky bourbon. After pouring two shot glasses, she handed one to him.

He raised a dark brow. “It’s a little early, isn’t it?”

She lifted the glass and smiled. “I’m celebrating. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

He shrugged and tapped the edge
his glass to hers. “Sure.” He glanced around and sat on the rawhide couch. “I’m here to lighten your mood.”

Jamie
tossed back her drink and set the glass on the end table. Crossing her arms in front of her, she leaned against the liquor cabinet. “I haven’t seen or heard from you in nearly four months and now you show up and act like we talk every day. And you’re avoiding my question. What do you really want?”

“Well, you haven’t actually been around much.”

Which was true. Lately she’d been spending a lot of time in Dallas. She tapped her foot and narrowed her eyes on him. God, why was he so damned handsome? His black hair curled around the collar of his shirt. Green eyes danced with mischievousness reminding her of Rhett Butler when he saw Scarlett after she tossed the vase over his head in the drawing room of Tara. He’d set his hat next to him on the seat, and her breath caught. It was the tan Bailey she’d bought him for his birthday the wonderful summer they’d been together.

T
ate looked into his glass of whiskey before drinking it in a single swallow. He winced and set the glass next to hers on the table. “I have a gift for you.”

“
You didn’t have to get me anything. I got you a gift for your birthday, but it’s upstairs.”

Why did her heart always race like a horse out of the gate when he smiled at her like he was now?

“Really? You thought of me on my birthday?”

“I’ve always gotten you something for you birthday.”
Shrugging, she glanced down at her crossed arms and shifted her feet. “I just never got a chance to get this year’s present to you.”

“Tell you what. You can give it to me
later, but you’ll have to come with me to get yours.”q

She thought that was odd, but smiled anyway. “
Okay.”

“After you.”
Standing, he set his hat on his head and gestured through the door.

The last thing she remembered was him putting something over her face
and the devil’s voice in her ear.

“Sorry, princess. I’m hoping someday you’ll thank me for this.”

Jamie awoke with a splitting headache and opened her eyes to slits. Her mouth felt like she’d eaten cotton for breakfast. A pillow supported her head on the tilted back seat. From the gentle vibration, she was flying.

“Welcome back to the land of the living.”

She groaned as the familiar deep voice hammered into her brain. She blinked against the glaring overhead lights and rubbed her head. The thought of speaking was excruciating, but she had to try. “What the hell did you do to me?”

From his seat beside her,
Tate glanced at her. He held a bottle of water toward her. “Sorry. Here sip on this. It’ll help.”

She stared at the bottle, but didn’t take it. “Why would I even trust you? What did you do? Use chloroform?”

He set the bottle back into the cooler next to him and picked up a magazine from his lap. “That and Doc gave you something.”

“Doc?” She rubbed her forehead
. Why would Tom do that? He could have his veterinary technician license pulled if anyone ever turned him in. “What the hell did he give me? A horse tranq?”

He didn’t answer.

She recognized the interior of John Winston’s Cessna. Her father’s best friend. Looking out of the window, she sucked in a breath when all she saw were mountains, which she was fairly damned certain were the Rockies. “How long have I been out?”

“About four hours.” He risked his life by looking at her
. Did he know how close he was to death right now? “Sorry, Jamie. I don’t know what he had Doc give you, but he assured me it would knock you out until we got close enough to where we’re going so you wouldn’t cause me any problems.”

She sat
on the edge of the seat and instantly regretted the sudden movement, but she stayed upright and glared at him? “You
kidnapped
me? And just
who
put you up to this?”

He adjusted her seat
and fluffed the pillow behind her. “Who do you think? I sure as hell wouldn’t have done this on my own.”

She blinked
as the realization hit her with a force that had her groaning again. Laying her head back into the soft pillow, she closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. “Dear God, he’s lost his mind.”

“Yep.”

“Where are we going?”

A
slight fluttering weight landed in her lap. She peeked between her fingers to find a deep rose envelope. She looked over at Tate’s profile as he peered at his hunting magazine.

“Your father asked me to take you on a vacation for a few days.”

She picked up the envelope and read the fancy gold writing. “The Fantasy Lake Resort?”

“Yeah.”
He cleared his throat. “I called ahead and had them change the reservation, though.”

“Why?”
Did she honestly want to know?

“Your dad only…
eh…booked a single room. I changed it to a suite. I figured you’d want your own room.”

Horror filled her.
Her father wanted her to sleep with Tate?
“I’m engaged to another man.”q

He looked down at his hands. “I know. That’s why I changed the room.”

“Please prepare for landing, Tate.” The pilot’s voice sounded over the intercom. “How’s the birthday girl?”

Tate met her gaze and hit the button near his seat. “Thanks, John. She’s awake.”

“I’m going to kill both of you. You know that, don’t you?” she called loud enough for her father’s friend to hear.

Her answer was a rough chuckle.

The plane banked right around the peek and descended. The lake appeared a brilliant blue in the basin and the landing strip came into view. The resort buildings clustered out from the water’s edge. Something about being here with Tate made her belly flop and her heart race.

At least he’d had the good sense to book them separate rooms.
Damn it, why did that disappoint her so much?

“Happy birthday, princess.”

****

Tate helped Jamie out of the plane and prayed he hadn’t completely miscalculated this harebrained idea. The moment she set her feet on the pavement, she let go of Tate. A strong, warm breeze blew her auburn hair into her face. As she pushed it back, the late afternoon sun captured the silky strands, catching them on fire. Tate could well imagine by the flashing of her blue eyes and the hard tilt of her clenched jaw as she looked around, he was in for a tongue lashing later. Too bad she’d be firing off words and not using that velvety appendage on his body.

He glan
ced away as the knot of lust hit his groin. He wanted her and this weekend would be a test on his control. It was the reason he’d changed Hank’s reservation and had gotten a suite. He hoped they’d end up in bed together, but he wanted it to happen on her terms.

“Happy Birthday, Jamie.”
John set their bags on the ground by Tate’s feet and slapped him on the back. “Good luck. I have a feeling you’re gonna need it.”

Jamie folded her arms in front of her. “Damn right he’ll need luck.”

“Just get back here to pick us up Monday.” Tate picked up Jamie’s suitcase and his old duffel bag.

The pilot snickered and nodded as he ambled toward the hangar.

Jamie narrowed her eyes on the suitcase and snapped those brilliant blues on him. “What the hell? You packed my clothes?”

“
Take it easy, princess.” Tate shrugged and hoped to avoid a confirmation on the landing strip. “While your father and Doc got you into the truck, Maria and I packed what we thought you would like to have with you.”

“
And what would that be, Dawson?” She shoved her fisted hands on her perfectly rounded hips. The tight jeans fit her like a second skin and all he wanted to do was peel them off her.

Tate
dragged his gaze up her body. Her breasts heaved under the tank top she wore. The vision of him packing her lacy bras and panties had his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. He had to swallow to get it unstuck. “Your personal stuff. I didn’t think you’d want to go without underwear or your hairbrush.”

Jamie
blushed a deep shade of red and dropped her arms to her sides, but her hands stayed rolled into tight fists. “You went through my personal stuff. My underwear!”

Tate
looked straight ahead and took a deep breath. He didn’t have the mindset to argue with her right now. Not enough blood circulating around his brain cells since most of it was pounding though his growing hard-on.

He gritted teeth
and gripped the handles of the bags. “I was only doing you a favor.” But how else had he expected her to react? He thought of the puffy white dress hanging on the back of her closet door. Was he really this desperate? Taking a deep breath, he let it out and more calmly said, “They have a nice boutique area near the main resort building. I figured you could get whatever else you needed here.”

“That would be good. I d
idn’t really have much at the ranch except jeans and t-shirts.” Jamie glanced around. “This is quite swanky. I can’t believe my family runs a place like this.”

Swallowing hard, h
e didn’t want to think about where her other clothes were. She’d practically moved in with her fiancé about two months ago. “Let’s go. There’s the car.”

A uniformed
chauffeur got out of the limo as Tate and Jamie approached the car parked at the edge of the runway. He rushed forward and took their bags from Tate. After putting them in the trunk, the man smiled and opened the back door. “Mr. Dawson. Miss Raines. Welcome to Fantasy Lake where we help to make all of your fantasies to come true.”

Jamie sharpened her gaze on
Tate and pointed into the luxury interior. “After you. There’s no way I’ll ever let you follow me again.”

He was
such a dead man.

D
espite her irritation, Jamie enjoyed the shopping spree. At first she hesitated at spending Tate’s money, but after his continued insistence and the fact she needed clothes for four days, she relented and had fun. Besides, Daddy could always pay him back. This little
vakay
was his idea after all.

After lunch at one of the bistros, they headed for the first boutique—a
swimwear shop. Both she and Tate found bathing suits and all the other stuff they’d need for the beach. Tate carried her bags, making sure he never fell behind her, which brought a smile to her lips. She refused to dwell on the obvious question—why would he go through all this trouble? Sure, her father loved him like a son, and she knew Tate considered him like a dad, but to go through all this, knowing she’d not make things easy on him, didn’t make sense.

The shopping center at the main resort
proved to be as swanky as she expected it to be. The layout was like something she’d always imagined a French shopping district in Cannes on the Riviera would be like. Shops and open-air bistros and cafés lined one side of a red brick walkway, with the spectacular view of the lake and the surrounding mountains on the other side. Large glazed pottery pots overflowed with an abundance of bright colored flowers, some of which she’d never seen before.