“A slight bump in the road? Is that what you call it?” Blake stared at Jerome, not believing what he was saying. “I took you on as a business partner and you stole from me. You betrayed my trust. Did you honestly think I would go through with the wedding?”
“I didn’t steal the money. I just borrowed it. I would have told you.”
“Yeah, right. I may have been stupid enough to accept your marriage proposal but I’m not so stupid that I’d believe that or anything else you have to say.”
His blue eyes flashing with something akin to anger, Jerome dropped his feet to the floor and sat forward in his chair. “I told you I loved you, Blake, and I meant it. But what did you do? For no good reason at all you ditched me at the last minute and embarrassed me in front of my friends and my family. How do you think I felt when I was left to tell everybody that the wedding was off?”
“I don’t care how you felt. You should have thought of that when you embezzled my money.” Fighting hard to stay in control of her emotions, she folded her arms across her chest. It was either that or strangle him.
“Our money. The money I took was part mine.”
Blake drew in her breath then let it out and as she did she was shaking her head. “You don’t get it, do you? You took the money without permission. Without my knowledge. Do you know what that’s called?”
“All right, all right, so I took the money. So what? All we had to do was talk about it. I would have explained everything to you but you never gave me a chance. You hightailed it out of here so fast and you made sure I wouldn’t know where to find you. Your mother kept her mouth shut, tight as a trap.” Then he chuckled. “But I came up with the perfect plan. I got you to come back to Dallas, didn’t I?”
Blake sucked in her breath, her hands falling to her sides as she took an involuntary step forward. “You…you planned this? That news story was bait?”
“Ah, now you’re learning, my sweet. Old Jerome isn’t quite the fool you thought he was.” Then, before she’d recovered from the shock, he was up and out of his chair and walking toward her. His hands shot out and he gripped her upper arms. “I still want you, Blake.” His eyes intensely blue, his words came out in an urgent whisper. “This was the only way I could find you. I had to make you come back.”
“What the hell?” Recovering from her initial shock, Blake wrenched her arm from his grip. “Are you crazy? Do you really expect me to even consider coming back to you? Why in the name of all that’s holy would I ever do something like that?”
“Because I want you,” he said softly. “Because I still love you.” And then he gave her his classic Jerome Slater puppy dog look, the one that was supposed to melt her heart and make her collapse into his arms. Well, it wasn’t going to happen. Not today. Not ever.
She was just parting her lips to tell him that when he pounced. Before she could react he’d reached out and grabbed her again and dragged her into his arms. Although he was slightly shorter than she was, he was strong, and when he clamped her arms to her sides she could not move. Then he dipped his head and captured her lips in a kiss full of possession and control.
And it left her cold.
When Jerome lifted his head she was panting but passion had nothing to do with it. She was panting with rage.
“Let me go, you jerk.” She was clenching her teeth again, straining against him, trying to tear herself out of his arms.
He was laughing now, obviously amused by her struggles. “I’ll let you go,” he said with a chuckle, “just as long as you know that you’re mine and always will be. I’ll never let you escape me again.” With those words he loosened his arms, letting her stumble back and away from him.
“I’ll never come back to you.” She spat the words at him. “Not if you were the last man on earth.”
Looking confident, he shook his head. “Oh, you will,” he said, his lips twisting in an acidic smile. “By the time I’m done with your reputation, no man on earth will want you but me.”
***
Ryder was no great chef but he could find his way around the kitchen and he was determined that when his guests arrived he would have something reasonable to offer them. After all, this was Pequoia. You had to have a meal to offer when company came by.
Moonwalker had sent word that he and his wife would be stopping by that evening to check on him. More like checking on the place, Ryder was sure. He knew that Blake must have asked her friend to make sure he didn’t trash the place while she was gone, or at least hadn’t pocketed whatever was of value and disappeared. He wasn’t the least bit offended that she felt she had to do that. She was being sensible, that was all. He wouldn’t have expected otherwise.
And so, aiming to impress, he made sure the restaurant was spotless and every glass was gleaming. As it approached the hour for his visitors to arrive he set the table and even went as far as to take the vase of fabric flowers off the counter and place it in the middle of the table he'd prepared. When he looked at his handiwork he grinned. Mother Kent would be more than shocked to see her son so domesticated.
When the bell over the front door tinkled to signal the arrival of his guests Ryder was dressed and ready to meet and greet. He loped over and opened the door and found himself staring down at a diminutive woman with brown hair and soft brown eyes to match. She was smiling up at him and in her hands was a dish of some sort, covered with a red and white checkered cloth.
“Hello, Ryder,” she said in an easy tone as if she had known him all her life. “I thought you might like some apple pie.” She held the package out to him and when he took it her smile widened. “Walker told me you had a sweet tooth.”
Ryder raised his eyebrows. “He did?” Then he glanced over at Moonwalker who was standing just behind his wife, a protective hand on her shoulder.
He nodded. “Blake told me,” he said, his voice as solemn as the first time they'd met. “She said you had a weakness for sweet stuff. I heard you devoured more than half a pound cake in one sitting.”
Ryder grimaced. “She told you that?” News certainly got around in Pequoia. Then, more than ready to change the subject, he smiled down at his benefactor. “Thank you for your thoughtful gift, Mrs.-”
“Call me Carmela,” she said. “And you’re very welcome. Just don’t eat it all at once.”
He shook his head. “I most certainly won’t.” Stepping aside, he ushered the couple in and by their reaction he could see he’d achieved his goal. They were looking around the room and he could tell they were impressed.