The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion (Entangled Indulgence) (5 page)

For a moment, as he held her, old emotions and feelings had spread like wildfire throughout his mind and body. His heart had opened for her—she’d cracked his tough shell. He’d wanted to let her inside.

Anger bubbled like the hot springs he wanted to bring back to life. He’d almost made the mistake of telling her he wanted so much more than her body. He clenched his fists and willed his pulse to fill with ice.

“You started this,” he said.

She closed her eyes and shuttered her emotions. “I should never have stepped into the kitchen,” she said quietly. “We can’t go back to what we had in the past. No amount of sex can change the fact that there’s no love between us.”

The atmosphere froze between them. “I don’t want love, Kennedy.” He leaned close. “I just want your body.”

Kennedy’s cheeks scorched red. “My body is off-limits.”

He looked her up and down, paused to take in her puckered nipples, the swell of her breasts, her kiss-swollen lips. “Your body disagrees with you.”

She knelt and snatched her robe from the tiled floor. “Too bad for my body.” She tied her robe around her waist. “I can’t give you what you want no matter how much you tempt me.”

“I know what I want. You. You know what you want. Me.” He widened his stance and put his hands on his hips. “Whatever we have burning between us isn’t over.”

“It is for me.” She dumped the rest of her sandwich into the trash. “No more games. Please.”

He ignored the beseeching tone in her voice. She’d crawled under his skin for the last time. “You’re a tease,” he said. “You run hot and cold. You’re
yes
and then you’re
no
.”

She walked to the door and looked at him over her shoulder. “Consider
no
my final answer.”

He fisted his hands. She’d had the final word five years ago. Now the rules had changed, and he was in charge of the outcome. He’d learned patience while working for his father. He’d wait for her to believe he’d backed off.

When Kennedy least expected it, he’d find a way to melt the ice in her heart and heat the blood flowing in her veins. He’d wanted her body. He’d wanted to reconnect physically. He hadn’t wanted to feel old emotions stirring when they’d kissed.

And revealing them had caused her to reject him with an outright lie.

Now he only wanted one thing. He wanted to bring her back to his bed and reignite the passion flaring between them until it burned out. He wanted to know the truth hiding behind her rejection. Only then could he move on with his life without regret and sorrow anchoring him to the past.

Chapter Five

As October waned, winds and storms brought cooler temperatures. Leaves swirled through the air and descended to the ground, covering it in a blanket of color. Pumpkins and Halloween costumes and the scent of hot apple cider nudged old memories out of the corners of Kennedy’s mind, memories of better times with Zach and Michael. Memories that she rammed back into coffins and nailed shut in her quest to rebuild Sweetbriar Springs.

She buried herself in proposals, plans, and projects. At least once a day, she exchanged texts or private messaged Michael on Facebook. Kennedy even Skyped once a week with Zach at her side, each of them always positive and supportive without revealing their tense truce. But the heat that had flashed between them when they’d kissed three weeks ago in the kitchen was never far from her mind.

For distraction, she threw herself into her work. She had found another investment firm who could take over for Michael, and she was grateful for her renewed sense of purpose. After Zach left North Carolina to manage his family’s vast conglomerate of worldwide, five-star resorts and Michelin-rated luxury hotels, she’d continue keeping her and Michael’s dreams for Sweetbriar’s economic recovery alive. There were dozens of old storefronts that needed new life, and new owners, and now she’d have the financial backing to make it happen.

She’d even bridged the communication gap with Hannah, finally learning that her friend was leaving Los Angeles to return to Sweetbriar. Though she’d offered no explanation for her absence, Hannah had emphatically declared that she’d never leave their hometown again.

The day after she’d handed out Halloween candy, Kennedy continued to tell herself her encounter with Zach in the kitchen had been a momentary lapse of judgment. Yes, he’d been angry at the time, but he had finally given up his pursuit. He treated her professionally when they worked together. Although her traitorous body still craved his touch, her practical mind sighed a breath of relief. After all, they had nothing left to bind them but Michael and the renovation.

“Did you hear from the mayor yet?” she asked Caleb. “He promised an answer by November and it’s the seventh.”

“Called this morning. The Sweetbriar League of Historic Preservation’s president approved our plans,” he said. “I’ve filed the documents and pulled the contract.”

“Great.” She held out her hand for the folder. “Once we complete the Sweetbriar Springs renovation, we’ll begin restoring the downtown storefronts.”

Kennedy sipped her tepid coffee, then checked her email. Junk mail. A political endorsement. A funny cartoon from her dad. One from Michael. Her heart lightened, looking forward to reading whatever joke he’d sent today along with his response to her announcement about her new investment company. ALS could etch away Michael’s ability to control his body, but it would never erase the clarity and kindness of his mind.

Kennedy opened the message and scanned the first lines. Her insides knotted and her heart rate accelerated. She didn’t find anything comical or friendly in this email. Instead she found bad news—bad in the worst way, and for all the wrong reasons.

She willed herself to breathe. “Caleb,” she said. “Call my dad. Get our lawyer on the line. My company is in trouble.”

“What do you mean?” Caleb snapped to attention. “We’ve got contracts in place until 2015. Investors lining up to support the region’s economic recovery.”

“Zach’s positioned his corporation to take over my company.”

His blue eyes widened. “Shit.”

“Shit is an understatement.”

“You want me to beat the crap out of him?” Caleb stood, his hands fisted. “Just give me the order and I will.”

“Oh, I’d like to sic you on him. But I never want to see you hauled off to jail again.” Caleb had been sixteen and stupid, but the ROTC and loads of community service hours had straightened him out. “Stand down, Caleb. I’ll take care of Zach.”

“He’d be better off tangling with me.”

“You got that right.” Kennedy printed the email, nabbed it from the tray, and pushed back from her desk. “This bullcrap ends today.” She stomped out of her office.

Kennedy’s heart pumped, pumped, pumped. Each beat raised her anger to a new level and pushed her to move faster. How dare Zach steal her business because of her rejection? She’d tried to spare him pain, and he’d gone out of his way to hurt her. Hurt her company. Hurt her people.

She’d emailed Michael about the investment opportunity, excited to share the good news. Though Kennedy had done her due diligence and vetted the options, Michael being Michael had taken another step and contacted one of the investors to congratulate him on his decision to back a winner, only to discover Zach’s takeover attempt. Considering that Kennedy hadn’t given him one hint about the strained relationship between her and Zach during any of their regular Skype sessions, Michael was confused and angry.

Now he wanted to come back to Sweetbriar and take on finding a different investor for the renovation to protect Kennedy from Zach. No way could Michael handle that kind of stress.

Kennedy scraped her hand across her brow. She had to convince Michael to focus on his health. And get his butt to the hospital for the clinical research trial. She read the last few lines of the email again. She had time. A scant amount of it, but enough to change Michael’s mind if Zach cooperated.

Michael was in Asheville to give a speech for an ALS benefit and raise donations for medical research. As soon as he’d learned about the diagnosis, he’d contacted the United States Olympic committee and the National ALS Association and offered to share his story whenever he could in the hope that the media attention would raise awareness about the disease.

Typical Michael.

And Kennedy and Zach had promised to halt the renovation long enough to support the ALS fundraising benefit weeks ago. Michael had been sure they’d moved past their anger and grief by working side by side. His words flashed like a neon sign in her mind. He’d come right out and admitted that he’d thrown them together, wanting something good to come out of this damned disease. Seeing the two of them reunited had been his hope all along.

Kennedy reached Zach’s office in minutes and opened the door without knocking. Two steps later, she slapped Michael’s email onto his desk. “You should know by now that there are no secrets in Sweetbriar Springs.” Except the one she held close to her heart. The one she wouldn’t reveal to Zach, knowing he couldn’t ever be able to accept her choice.

How could Zach, the very man she’d set free for his own good five years ago, light the dynamite poised to demolish her dreams?

Zach crossed his arms behind his head. “Who told you?”

His cool, detached manner made her want to belt him with the steel edge of her boot. “One of your mutual friends told Michael during a Skype call.” His jaw twitched, much to her satisfaction.

He leaned his elbows on the desk, steepled his fingers, and rested his chin on them. “Doesn’t change a thing.”

Again he used that same I-don’t-care-about-shit tone. It made the hairs on her skin stand up. Oh, how she wished she had on her tool belt. She’d whip out her hammer and bonk him on his self-satisfied face. She moved closer. “You arrogant, smug son-of-a…”

“Careful, Kennedy. Nice girls don’t curse,” he warned.

She inhaled his minty breath. She could see the gleam of his perfect white teeth. One punch. Oh. Just. One. That would put him in his place.

She rose to her full height and put her hands on her hips. “You know I don’t do
nice
, you bastard.”

He stood and moved with brisk confident strides to stand in front of her. “That’s what I always liked about you.”

They were eye-to-eye, nose-to-nose, chin-to-chin—in a mental cage, snarling, ready to spar. She refused to budge an inch. Refused to cave to his he-man bull. “If you destroy my company—my father’s legacy—you’ll destroy Sweetbriar Springs. I won’t let that happen.”

He curled a strand of her hair around his index finger. “I won’t either.”

Anger, white hot and blazing, coursed through her veins. She swatted his finger. “You’re taking the only thing I have because of one final, physical
no
?” she asked. Though in her heart she knew this had more to do with what they’d both lost years ago. He always wanted to control the outcome of every situation, but this time she refused to let him win.

“My company will fill the gap,” he said. “No one loses anything. Even your father’s retirement is safe.”

“What about Michael? What about his plans?”

“I’m fulfilling them,” he answered.

“You’re bulldozing them.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

She picked up the sheet of paper, pushed it into his hard-hearted chest. “Read the last two paragraphs.”

He pulled it from beneath her hand. As he scanned the words, she could see his jaw muscle working, the tic in his temple. His eyes shifted to her body, then back to the email.

“Hell,” he said very slowly.

“Hell and damnation, but once Michael’s got his brain wrapped around an idea, he hangs on with the tenacity of a crocodile,” Kennedy said. “He’s been trying for five years to figure out how to get us back together. Now he’s pissed off and gearing up to jettison the one thing that could help him buy more time.”

“If he punts the hospital’s research program to look for new investors, he’ll lose his spot.” Zach raked his hand through his hair. “How could he believe that throwing us together for the renovation would erase the hell you put me through after we lost our baby?”

A heavy feeling settled low. She’d grown weary of pretending the late-term miscarriage hadn’t carved a hole in her heart. After she learned why she’d lost their baby, and how it could happen again and again, she couldn’t go through another pregnancy. Plus, Zach had always wanted a big family. So she’d driven Zach away to protect herself from his arrogance and pride and inability to understand her inconsolable grief. The anguish that had ripped apart her soul had required a gentler, more compassionate, and patient man.

Zach hadn’t been that man five years ago. Clearly, he hadn’t changed. And she’d become exhausted by the false civility they’d worn like hideous Halloween masks ever since she’d halted their passionate reunion.

“You read the email,” she said. “Michael wants something decent to come out of the shit trip he’s on.”

“Nothing good can come out of his illness.” Zach slammed his fist on the desk. “When we get to Asheville, I’ll convince him to back off. He’ll take his spot in the research trials if I have to fly him there myself.”

Once again, the great and mighty Zach Tanner wanted to control every outcome, every situation with the force of his will. “I know Michael. He won’t back down—not when he’s sure you’re out to destroy me,” Kennedy said. “He expected us to get back together.”

“You may know him.” Zach gave her a piercing look. “But he’ll listen to me when he learns that you’re an emotional barracuda.”

A bolt of rage shot through her and belted her behind her sternum. The anger and grief and painful memories ricocheted through her heart, her mind, her soul.

Yes, she’d pushed him away. Yes, she’d deliberately hurt him. But she’d had no choice. Not when she’d lied to him five years ago. And not when she’d lied to him after she’d broken off their kiss in the kitchen.

Michael had always known the truth about her infertility issues. If Zach laid this barracuda shit on him, her best friend wouldn’t let it remain buried. But now, more than pride and ego and money had to be considered if she was going to get Michael to stick with the ALS clinical research trial.

She had to convince Zach to play it her way. “Do you want to destroy his faith in us, too? He’s already losing his speech, his legs, his arms.”

“I’ll do everything I can to buy him time,” he said. “Give him the tools to live with his disease, make sure he takes his research slot at the hospital. I’ll support his efforts to draw attention and research dollars to find a cure while we’re in Asheville. But I won’t let him continue to try to reunite us.”

Her throat tangled, capturing her grief in a sticky web, coating her fears in suffocating silk. Dangerous prickling sensations pressed behind her eyes. Everything she’d laid to rest five years ago resurrected and meshed with her despair. The raw pain bubbled and churned inside her.

Push down the pain. Push down the sorrow. Push down the memories.
She fought for control, wrestled the tears threatening to fall and forced them into submission. She swallowed the spidery mass of emotions.

Her breathing evened. The tension in her throat lessened. A calm resolve bathed her nerves and heart. She’d never let her best friend down. And she refused to let Zach take away her company.

“Michael is dying,” she said. “And he has this one crazy wish to bring us back together. Your money can’t save him or make him any less stubborn. Truth is, you could lose his friendship if you go through with this takeover. But we can give him hope—a reason to fight.”

Another muscle twitched in his jaw. “Keep talking,” he said.

“When we get to Asheville today, we’ll pretend that you positioned yourself to buy out Gibson and Company because we’re involved again. That investing in my company was your way of showing that you care about me.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You want me to fake a relationship with you to protect him?”

And me.
She crossed her fingers behind her back. “I’m asking you to consider it, yes.”

“What if he gets better? What if the treatments work?” He pursed his lips. “I won’t pretend to love you for an indefinite time.”

His declaration stung, but at least Zach was willing to listen. Which was better than she’d had from him five years ago. Not bothering to address his denial of the reality facing Michael, she closed the distance between them.