“You’re right,” Trevor said as he came up to join them. “And whatever you heard before you came in, pay no attention. Everybody’s a little on edge, being back at the Ridge, and that’s bleeding over into everything else.”
“I appreciate that,” she told him.
Christian felt that stir of admiration for her again for how well she stood up to brothers who clearly weren’t eager to have her in the family. Whether she was wanted to be here or not, she had a place at the Ridge. Through birth. Through blood. Because Don Jarrod had wanted to bring all of his children home.
“Once you’re settled in, come and see me,” Trevor was saying. “We’ve got the food and wine gala right around the corner now. Most of the marketing and publicity is already lined up and in play. But there are a few things we can still do to give it that final push.”
Erica nodded. “I’ve heard about the gala for years, though I’ve never attended. I’m looking forward to being a part of it this year. Last night, Melissa showed me some of what you’d been doing and it’s really fabulous.”
He grinned, apparently satisfied.
“But,” she added, “I’ve got a few ideas we might want to try.”
His eyes narrowed on her thoughtfully, then after a moment, he gave her a grin. “I like confidence, so yeah, I’d like to hear your ideas. Tomorrow work for you?”
“Tomorrow’s great.”
Gavin interrupted them. “I know this isn’t easy on you, being here. Being thrown into the middle of something you didn’t even know existed a week ago.”
“No,” she said, “it’s not.”
He nodded. “I came in here prepared to not like you,” he admitted and smiled when she stiffened. “But I’ve got a lot of respect for anybody who’s not afraid to stand up for him—or herself.”
“And I respect anyone who’s trying to protect his family,” Erica told him. “As for standing up for myself, I’ve been doing that my whole life.”
“I’m getting that,” Gavin said with an approving nod. “I think you just might make a place for yourself here…little sister.”
Erica gave him a careful smile, pleased but clearly not willing to relax her guard just yet. Then the moment was over and the Jarrod brothers were excusing themselves.
Christian couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He hardly noticed when his friends left. All he saw were two amber-colored eyes watching him with a mixture of nervousness and satisfaction shining in their depths. She was pleased with the way she’d handled herself and damned if he wasn’t, as well.
He’d set this meeting up specifically so that he would be there when she met her brothers. So that she wouldn’t be alone. Not that he didn’t believe the Jarrod siblings, even if they were angry about the situation, would be anything but polite. It was only that Christian had wanted her to have his support and know that she had it. He didn’t ask himself why that was important to him, he only accepted that it was.
She was still nervous, but the others wouldn’t have been able to tell. Funny, but he’d once thought her features easy to read. Now he knew the truth. Though she might be quaking in her shoes, she’d never let anyone know it.
Their first meeting had been different. She’d been taken off guard and her shock and stunned surprise had been impossible to hide. But he’d learned since that the only real hint to what Erica Prentice was feeling lay in her eyes. There, her emotions shone out loud and clear.
Despite her lifted chin and firm voice, those eyes of hers showed him that she was silently battling her own fears. Yet despite everything, every time she went into battle, she came out victorious. He admired the hell out of that. Almost as much as he wanted her.
Desire was now a constant companion. Haunting him through his sleep, torturing him during the day. Thoughts of her were never far away and his body was in a constant state of arousal. He’d never before felt such a powerful pull toward any woman. And every moment he spent with her only intensified those feelings.
“Gee, that went well,” she said after a moment or two of silence that practically throbbed with unresolved tension.
“Believe it or not, it did,” Christian answered. “I think you impressed both of them.”
Her gaze fixed on his. “I wasn’t trying to impress.”
“Maybe that’s why you did. Just by being yourself. They respect strength.”
She smiled ruefully. “Good thing they couldn’t hear my knees knocking then, isn’t it?” She walked across his office and looked out the window behind his desk at the sweep of lawn that seemed to stretch all the way to the mountains. “You arranged that meeting specifically so I wouldn’t stumble across my…brothers on my own, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “I thought it would be easier if I were around.”
She turned her head to look directly at him. Her gaze slammed into his. “It was. Thank you.”
He stared into her eyes and it was all he could do to keep from going to her, sweeping her into his arms and kissing her until neither of them could breathe. But somehow he managed. “You’re welcome. You’ve still got Blake to meet and deal with, but he should be back in a couple of days.”
“From what everyone says, I’m not looking forward to meeting him.”
“Blake’s all right,” Christian told her, not wanting her to be anxious over the last Jarrod hurdle she had to face. “He’s not really happy with the situation, but he knows none of this is your fault.”
She blew out a breath. “What do you think, Christian? You’re the objective observer in all this. Do you think this is going to work out?”
“You being here, you mean?” When she nodded, he walked closer to her. “Yes, I do. You’re already making a place for yourself here. Your sister likes you. Your brothers will come around.”
Erica shook her head and her light brown hair lifted from her shoulders, then fell back again in soft waves. Christian curled his hands into fists to keep from reaching for it. To keep from threading his fingers through that mass and turning her head toward his—
“Why are you on my side in this?” Erica asked. “Melissa says you’ve known the family since you were a kid. And you were Don’s personal attorney. I’d think that would make you more prejudiced in their favor rather than mine.”
He backed up a step, leaned against the corner of his desk and said, “Don Jarrod was a hard man to know. He helped me when I was a teenager. Offered me a job here when I got out of law school. But,” he added, “that said, I don’t owe him or his memory my soul. Just the best job I can do. My allegiances are my own.”
She tipped her head to one side and looked up at him. “And you’ve decided to be my ally.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“Shouldn’t I?”
He shrugged, though it cost him. He wanted her to trust him, but couldn’t say that he trusted himself around her. He wanted more than friendship or an alliance with her. But if he took more, he’d risk everything he’d already built.
“Let’s just say that whatever I owe the Jarrods, I owe myself more. So I’m on your side because I’ve had a hand in throwing your life off kilter.”
“So you feel responsible? You don’t have to,” she told him. “Like I said earlier, I can take care of myself.”
“I’ve noticed,” he said, then forced a smile. “Let’s get out of here. How about a tour of the grounds?”
“I’d like that,” she said and took the arm he offered before walking with him out of the office and the hotel.
They walked for what felt like miles.
Erica was overwhelmed with everything. She was on sensory overload. Jarrod Ridge had to be the most beautiful place she’d ever been and it was staggering to realize that she was a part of the legacy that had built it.
The resort was like a small town in and of itself. Narrow walkways, cement pathways bordered by vibrant flower beds, wound past tiny bungalows and lavish cabins. Christian had stopped by his own home to give her a quick tour and Erica had loved everything about it. From the honey-colored log walls to the braided rugs on the polished wood floors to the overstuffed, brown leather furniture.
He had a river stone fireplace big enough to stand up in and the huge windows in his kitchen overlooked the forest and the mountain beyond. She could imagine stepping out onto the back porch, sitting in one of the rocking chairs there and sipping a morning cup of coffee as she watched the world wake up.
Seeing his home had given her more insights into Christian the man and she relished them. He was neat, but not to the point of craziness. He had actual pots and pans in his kitchen, which meant he at least tried to cook occasionally rather than subsisting on room service or takeout. He had framed family photos hanging on his wall and seeing him as a younger man with one arm thrown across his mother’s shoulders told her that he was someone to whom family meant a lot. All good things. And all of those things combined made him even more intriguing to Erica.
When they left his house, Erica was more captivated by him than she had been before. She took his arm as he led her on through the resort. He pointed out the cabins where Gavin and Melissa lived. He’d shown her the gift shops, the jewelers, the on-site bakery and the ice cream parlor. He’d taken her past the pools—both the indoor and outdoor, not to mention the pool built just for kids.
Guests in swimsuits, tennis gear and even riding outfits streamed over the property in a never-ending flood of humanity. Children raced each other across manicured lawns and a couple of elderly guests sat on a padded iron bench beneath a gorgeous cluster of aspen trees.
The sun was out, the sky was blue and she honestly felt as though she’d stepped into an alternate world. Everything was almost too perfect.
Including the man at her side. He wasn’t wearing a suit and tie, just black jeans, a white, long-sleeved shirt open at the throat and a pair of black boots that looked as though they had seen a lot of wear. He looked handsome in a well-cut suit, but Erica thought he looked even more so in casual clothes. It was then a person realized that his personal power wasn’t shaped by any outward appearance—not his clothing, his car or his job—but by his own innate strength.
And that, Erica thought, was about the sexiest thing in the world.
She loved how people knew him. Smiled, waved, stopped to speak to him as they walked. He introduced her to managers and housemaids, all with respect and deference. He treated everyone the same and she found that sexy as hell, too. She’d been raised by a man who believed in the perception of status. Walter would never have introduced a friend of his to a maid—but Christian was a different sort of man. The kind she’d been looking for before her life turned upside down.
Now, she had to wonder if part of her attraction for him wasn’t because he was the only familiar face around her. But no, even as she considered that, she put it aside. There was much more to what she was feeling for Christian Hanford.