“She’s nice,” Brant commented, but immediately thought about Gianna’s dark curls and voluptuous body. Unfortunately, Cynthia just didn’t do anything for him.
So much for an uncomplicated life.
“He’s thinking about Gianna again, isn’t he?” Reid asked.
Mack grunted, punching Brant’s arm lightly. “You’ll see her tomorrow. Snap out of it.”
Brant glared at his brothers. “I think you are full of it about the snow. There’s no reason…”
Mack lifted his eyebrows and Brant paused, then shut up as the three of them turned to look through the big window.
“Damn snow!” someone grumbled as a new customer stepped into the bar, brushing the first flakes of snow off his shoulders.
Brant and Reid turned to look outside. They could just make out the snow filtering out of the sky from the lone street light.
When they turned to face Mack again, they both had stunned expressions on their faces. “How do you do that?!” they both asked almost simultaneously.
“It’s a gift,” he teased, adding an “aw shucks” shrug.
A moment later, Mack groaned as the door opened. Reid and Brant immediately shifted to see what the new threat was. But the familiar face didn’t give them any new information. The tall, sandy blond haired man standing in the doorway wasn’t a threat.
“Isn’t that Ryan, your friend?” Brant asked.
Reid was confused as well. “And a ranger? I thought you law enforcement types stuck together and were all buddies?”
“I am friends with Ryan,” Mack answered, watching the man who looked around the bar, his eyes landing on the man who had tried to cop a feel on the pretty waitress.
“Ryan!” Mack called out.
It took a long moment for the ranger’s intense glare to pull away from the idiot. A moment later, Ryan nodded in acknowledgement of his friend, but still hesitated to come over.
Mack stood up and walked over to the bar, grabbed another glass before walking back to their corner table. He poured some beer into it before lifting it invitingly towards Ryan, an obvious invitation to his friend.
Brant watched as the tall man walked over to their table. Ryan Dalton wasn’t a man to mess with. He was as big and powerful as any of his brothers, but with a look about him that said, “Don’t piss me off.” Few ever dared. Any that did paid the price. A former Navy SEAL, Ryan was just as protective of the mountains as Mack was about his town and everyone who came for a visit. Was there a territorial gene embedded in the DNA of all law enforcement officers? Or was it learned?
Mack and Ryan muttered some greeting and the four of them started talking, but Brant wondered if there was something going on between Ryan and the pretty waitress. When he and his brothers had walked into the bar, she’d come right over with a smile and a pitcher of beer. Her friendly, open attitude seemed natural and the rest of the customers received the same friendly, efficient service.
But as soon as Ryan had walked in, Cynthia had taken one look at him and stalked into the kitchen. She hadn’t appeared back in the main area of the bar again.
Their beer ran out and Reid looked around for Cynthia.
“She won’t come back out,” Ryan explained.
Mack laughed, slapping his friend on the back. “Did you piss her off again?”
Ryan grinned. “Eh, she loves me,” he shrugged dismissively.
“Yeah, that’s why we’re not getting any more beer,” Reid laughed.
Ryan chuckled, but he took out a ten dollar bill and grabbed the empty pitcher. “I know how to get her back out here,” he said and walked over to the bar, serving himself. He slapped the money onto the cash register and carried the pitcher of beer back to their table.
Sure enough, Cynthia immediately stepped out of the kitchen, glaring daggers at the man. But she took the money and made change. But did she bring the change back to their table? Not a chance! Instead, she slapped the money onto the cash register, exactly where Ryan had left the ten dollar bill. The message was clear. Cynthia didn’t want the man’s change for a tip, and there was no way in hell she was going to bring the man his change either.
Ryan got the message and smiled tauntingly over the rim of his glass, clearly issuing a challenge to the pretty blond.
“Would you two get a room already?” Mack grumbled.
Reid and Brant chuckled as well, while Ryan just sat back, stretching his long legs out and pretending to relax. But Brant knew that the man wasn’t relaxed. Just like Mack, he was fully alert and barely sipping his beer, ready to spring into action for any reason.
Brant shook his head slightly. He’d played poker with Ryan before and knew the man to be smart and quick. Both Mack and Ryan had several awards and both had been offered positions with other law enforcement agencies. But they loved this mountain and the people who came to enjoy it. They felt a deep sense of duty and protectiveness. They’d never leave. Besides, Brant preferred knowing that Ryan had Mack’s back when trouble came up. They worked together whenever something went wrong, the two in sync with each other. And they knew these mountains better than anyone in the area. When trouble arrived, Mack and Ryan would fix it.
They stayed another hour, but by then, the bar was starting to slow down, the tourists heading back to their cabins so they could get an early start the next morning.
On the walk back to Mack’s place, Brant thought about seeing Gianna tomorrow. He’d been wrong. So damn wrong, but she didn’t know what he’d thought. He could fix this, he told himself. He’d abandoned her and hadn’t responded to her texts. But somehow, he’d convince her to give him another chance. The idea of her staying in Denver and not being able to see her, to talk to her and laugh with her, hold her in his arms every night for the rest of his life, was too desolate to think about. He just…he couldn’t think that.
And there was no way he would let her fly back to Italy. She might be homesick, but he’d help her build a home here. He knew that she loved the United States, had tried to learn about the American culture. Perhaps he could tempt her with other lessons, or just…hell, he had no idea.
All he knew was he couldn’t lose her!
Chapter 14
Gianna stared blankly at the screen without seeing the numbers. At the moment, her heart was in shreds and all she wanted to do was run back to Italy and be surrounded by the warmth of her family. Her mother would make fresh bread while her father made pasta with sauce and whatever else he’d found at the market that morning. Her brothers and sisters would rush over and tease her until she smiled and started laughing.
But Gianna couldn’t imagine ever laughing again. She wanted to curl up into a ball and ignore the world.
What had she done wrong? Everything had seemed so blissfully wonderful only four short days ago. Had she said or done something? Had he seen the bridal magazines?
That was probably it, she thought.
Well, if that’s the case, then she didn’t need him! If he was afraid of a relationship, especially a permanent one, then he needed to tell her that he wasn’t looking for long term. He should be honest with her and not just…disappear!
A tingling sensation suddenly crept up her arms. Turning, she found Brant standing in her office doorway looking…rough. He’d lost weight and seemed to have forgotten to shave in the past few days.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he stepped into the room.
An apology? She stood up and grabbed some file folders. “Sorry for what?”
Holding the folders like a shield, she forced herself to look up at him. Her heart pounded in her chest and she could feel words trying to crawl up her throat, she wanted to say she didn’t need forever or marriage or any of it.
But that would be dishonest.
“I’m sorry for leaving.”
Gianna shrugged. “No problem. It’s nothing,” she flicked her fingers in a very Italian way as if dismissing the issue completely. “I have a meeting,
” she told him.
He stepped closer to her, still blocking the doorway. “Can we talk about it tonight? Over dinner?” He smiled. “I promise not to make any messy American foods.”
Gianna pressed her lips together, not allowing herself to laugh or even feel the warmth of his body so close. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and feel his strength surround her, but she backed up, not giving in to that temptation.
“I’m sorry. I have plans tonight.”
She didn’t, but there was no way she was going to admit it.
“What are you doing? I could…”
“No,” she asserted. “I have plans tonight and they won’t end until late.” She shifted the files in her arms. “And right now, I am going to be late for my meeting.” She frowned up at him, daring him to continue to stand in her way.
Thankfully, he stepped back, giving her room to leave.
She hurried down the hallway to the conference room. Everyone was already seated, but thankfully, the meeting hadn’t started. She took a seat at the end of the table and pulled out her notes. But as the group started talking, she struggled to concentrate.
She should have asked. Gianna’s pen was poised over a fresh sheet of paper, prepared to take notes, but nothing was registering to her brain. In the back of her mind, she heard the other meeting participants conversing, but she couldn’t add anything to the topic.
Shaking her head, she tried to push Brant’s apology out of her mind. She didn’t want to think about him. Gianna had been worrying about him constantly for the past several days, and wracking her brain, trying to figure out what she’d done to push him away.
Now he comes back to town, apologizes and expects everything to be just wonderful? No way! She wasn’t that kind of a woman!
“Are you okay, Gianna?” someone asked.
Gianna looked up at the others at the conference room table, startled to see every eye pointed at her. “Mi dispiace,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
A few people smiled, seeming to understand that she was upset about something. Thankfully, the others turned and continued the meeting. When it was over, Gianna grabbed up her papers and hurried out the door, her head bowed as she made her way back to her desk.
Closing her office door, she sank down into her chair and tried to pull herself together. “This isn’t going to work! You have got to snap out of this!” she whispered fiercely to herself.
But by the end of the day, her supervisor had returned three reports with errors, asking her to re-do them and turn them in tomorrow. Plus, she’d been so distracted that she hadn’t even gotten through her e-mail messages, she still had several issues to fix in the data she’d inputted yesterday and the marketing department needed the latest sales data for the north-east retail sites, a report she should have sent to them three days ago.
Instead of handling the issues, which she’d probably mess up anyway, she gathered up her belongings, stuffed everything into her tote bag and…her fingers touched the box that was still at the bottom of her purse. Over the past few days, she’d told herself to return it but…she hadn’t.
“Accidenti!” she muttered and angrily swiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks. Why hadn’t she returned the contents of that stupid box! Stupid! She paused and took several deep breaths. When she felt as if she could walk out of the building without stumbling, she nodded her head and tossed her bag over her shoulder.
Once again, she bowed her head as she headed to the elevators. But once there, she discovered too many others waiting for the elevator so she forced a smile for her co-workers and headed directly for the stairs.
Brant watched Gianna walk down the hallway, cursing himself for what he’d done to her. His stupidity had turned a vibrant, beautiful woman into a shadow of herself. She used to walk down the hallway with a bounce to her step, smiling and greeting everyone she ran into. There wasn’t a person on this floor who she hadn’t befriended. And now she couldn’t even ride the elevators with them. She hid herself away, bowing her head as if she needed to become smaller than she was.
“She’s hurting,” Reid sighed, stopping right next to him. “You haven’t fixed this yet.”
Brant turned away from his brother, blurting out a few choice expletives. “Go away,” he growled when Reid followed him into his office.
“When are you going to fix this?” Reid demanded, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at his brother.
“I tried!” Brant yelled. “First thing this morning, I went to her office and apologized.”
“And?” he asked.
He rubbed a hand over his face. “She accepted my apology, then told me that she needed to get to a meeting.”
“Do it again.”
Brant leaned back in his leather chair, glaring right back at his brother. “I asked her if I could take her out to dinner tonight and explain. She said no, she had plans.”
Reid’s eyes widened. “You’re letting her go out with another man?”
Absolute silence followed that question. Brant stared at his brother, his muscles tightening as he considered that possibility. “No.” The word was spoken softly, but with absolute authority. “No way!”
And with that, he exploded out of his chair, grabbed his car keys, and stalked out of his office with a determination he hadn’t felt in a long time.
The possibility that Gianna was dating someone else hadn’t occurred to him, but just the thought made his blood boil. Yeah, he’d messed up. But no way was he letting Gianna be with another man.
Unless…was she not in love with him? Had she moved on?
Brant thought about the way she’d touched him, the look of bliss in her eyes whenever he made love to her. No, he thought with certainty. Gianna had fallen for him just as hard as he’d fallen for her.
So, why the hell had he believed her capable of stealing?
He’d been a complete and utter idiot, he thought.
“Damn it!” and he sped through the evening traffic, heading to her building.
Once there, he took the stairs two at a time, furious with her for moving on to date another man! How could she? Why would she? Had her feelings been that shallow? That superficial?!
“Gianna? Open the damn door!” he bellowed, pounding on her door.
Gianna jumped at the sudden commotion. Fury, rich and powerful, surged through her at his insistence.
Ignoring her flour covered hands, she marched to the door and threw it open, relieved to be angry instead of the soul-deep depression she’d fallen into.
As soon as she saw him, her fury erupted. “Non attaccare la mia porta in quel modo! Hai idea di cosa potrebbero pensare i vicini? Questo è un quartiere tranquillo e sei una persona orribile e horribile! Ti odio più di quanto abbia mai pensato di poter odiare qualcuno! Se non ti rivedrò mai, sarà troppo presto!”
Brant smiled, relieved to see her here alone, looking so painfully beautiful that he ached to pull her into his arms. “I have no idea what you just said, but I don’t care. I love you, Gianna! I love you and I’m sorry that I was such an idiot.”
She stared up at him for a long moment, not moving. Not even her flour dusted curls moved. For once, her entire being was still with shock.
When he stepped into her apartment, she jerked out of her trance, backing up quickly. “I call you an idiot and that I don’t want to ever see you again, and you tell me you love me?”
Brant laughed, relief surging through him. She was cooking, which he knew she did in order to relax. Or to feel better. Or to get herself out of a funk. Gianna cooked all the time, actually, so perhaps her cooking wasn’t indicative of anything, but he attributed her cooking to her wanting him close by. And missing him.
“I had no idea what you just said, so yeah. I guess I told you that I loved you when you were cussing me out.”
She lifted a flour-covered hand. “Uno momento!” She moved to the stove, stirring something in a big pot. But she wasn�
�t really stirring. She was thinking. And because she wasn’t kicking him out, he walked over to stand close to her. From a few inches away, he could smell the sweet scent of her perfume. Or maybe it was her shampoo, he wasn’t sure. But she smelled good. Like vanilla and basil. Not something he would ever have thought to combine before, but on Gianna, it was perfect.
She realized how close he was and peered over her shoulder. “Say what you want to say and get out,” she snapped at him.
“I want you,” he told her.
He heard the sharp intake of her breath, but she didn’t respond. For several seconds, she stirred the contents of the pot. Finally, she shook her head. “You had me. You left me. You rejected me, and now you can’t have me. Never again.”
He trailed a long finger down her spine and watched her shiver. Not just that, the spoon jerked, splattering red sauce all over the white kitchen cabinets.
She spun around, pointing the red-sauced spoon at him like a sword, her eyes burning with fury and pain. “Don’t you dare!” she snapped. “You cannot kiss me! You no canna touch me! You left me and you…” the tears sprang to her eyes again. “You hurt me! I no give you another chance to hurt me more!”
He leaned a hand on either side of the countertop, imprisoning her in his arms, but he didn’t touch her. He could see in her eyes that she didn’t want him to touch her.
“I’m sorry that I hurt you, Gianna. I wish I could say that it won’t ever happen again. But it will. I’m an ass. And I suspect that you’re going to hurt me too. After all, we are going to have years, hopefully decades, to fight with each other. And then we’ll kiss and make up, then talk about what we did to hurt each other until the hurting stops. In between all of those fights,” he paused, seeing the tears flow down her eyes, “I hope to make you laugh. I want to fill all of your days with happiness and wonder. I want to have kids with you and teach them how to play American football and soccer.” He smiled at the irritated compression of her lips, but focused on what he needed to say.
The Tycoon's Secretive Temptress Page 12
