“Angelique, I wasn’t expecting you.” Blake’s expression blanked.
“Obviously,” she whispered, still trying to process the scene. Hatred oozed off of everyone in the room, even her old buddy, Coop.
“You are a hypocrite.” Mr. O glared at her. “You come to my zhop and bake vhile you deceive us.”
One of the women hissed at her.
“Poser,” someone said just below a shout.
Out of breath from hustling up the stairs, Nadine appeared in the doorway. “Sorry, boss.” She panted, trying to catch her breath. “Ms. Marone slipped past me while I was helping a patient.” She gave Angelique a testy glance.
“It’s okay, Nadine. Go back to the front desk,” Blake said without taking his eyes off of Angelique.
Nadine grumbled and disappeared.
“Angelique, I was just trying to explain to everyone—”
She held up a hand to silence him, and her entire body started to tremble. “Yes, I heard you, Dr. Holloway. From the part where you used my breast cancer to manipulate me.”
A hush fell over the room, and all the air disappeared like it’d been sucked up by a vacuum. She gasped for breath.
Blake shook his head. “You don’t understand.” He ran a set of fingers through his hair.
“Oh, I think I understand perfectly.” How on earth could she have been so wrong about another man?
The onlookers stood in silence and watched the freak show, with her as the star.
Blake started toward her, but she took a step back, and he stopped.
“After what I’ve done for Red River. What I’ve been through.” She closed her eyes, giving her head a shake. No, this couldn’t be happening again. “After all I’ve given up for you, you had to lie to me again yesterday morning? You couldn’t just leave me be?”
“No! It wasn’t like that.” He held a hand out and took a step toward her, but she backed away. He stopped and calmed his voice. “I know it looks bad, but it’s not what you think.”
Angelique’s voice shook. “I get it.” Boy did she ever. “Me giving you the information you needed to win wasn’t enough. You kept me occupied with promises for the future and talk of love until the papers were safely filed.” A sob nearly escaped, but Angelique bit it back. She’d chosen the wrong man twice. For different reasons, she hadn’t been enough for either of them. “Your strategy was quite brilliant, Doctor.” She held up both hands in defeat. “You win.”
Blake turned to the openmouthed crowd. “Could you guys wait downstairs? Angelique and I need to talk.”
“No.” Angelique couldn’t hold back the tears much longer, and damned if she was going to let a single tear fall in front of them. Blake was no different than Gabriel or the other partners at her firm. They used her the way they needed, then moved on. “No, we don’t.” She set the bottle of champagne on the breakfast bar, blood rushing to her ears with a thundering, steady beat. “This is for all of you. Congratulations on your success.” She turned and headed for the door.
“Angelique, wait. Please.” Blake closed the space between them, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She pulled out of his grasp and whirled on him. “Don’t touch me.” Her voice was low. Dangerously low. She should’ve known better, but she’d damn sure never make the same mistake again. “I’m done here.”
“Let me explain, babe.”
She backed through the door. “I’m not your babe.” She swallowed, trying to keep it together for just another few seconds. “And as it turns out, I’m not the only bottom dweller in Red River.”
Angelique took the stairs two by two, hot tears starting to flow before she reached the bottom. Nadine called out, “Good riddance” as Angelique raced through the waiting room, through the glass door, and out of Dr. Tall, Dark, and Hot-some’s life forever.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Blake explained every detail to the crowd of angry business owners—even the part about how Angelique had ruined her career for their sake. He swore them to secrecy, kind of a joke in this town. But a reminder that his medical training had taught him how to stop a beating heart, in a way that even the best forensics experts would identify as natural causes, seemed to work. They listened, agreed that what happened in his apartment that day would stay in his apartment forever, and then they all went back to their work.
Blake had Nadine reschedule the rest of his patients so he could find Angelique.
He felt like such an ass.
He dialed her cell as he got into his truck and tore out of the parking lot, the off-road tires squalling against gravel. He got her voicemail without the phone ringing once, a sure sign that she’d declined his call. He hit Redial and got Angelique’s voicemail again. Then he dialed the landline. No answer there either. So he kept hitting Redial until he finally got to his driveway and pulled in without hardly slowing down.
The truck had barely stopped rolling when he threw it into park and jumped out. He flew across the footbridge and knocked on Angelique’s front door.
Mr. Barbetta answered, a pointed look on his face.
“I’d like to see Angelique, Mr. Barbetta.”
“She doesn’t want to see you, son.”
“I know she’s here, sir, her SUV is out front. Can you please tell her I’d like to speak with her?”
Her father’s scowl deepened. “I don’t know what happened between you two, but she’s pretty upset. I think it best you leave her be for a while.”
That was the problem. She might never want to see Blake again. He wanted to explain now.
Nona walked past the door and tried to put a hex on him. Thank God Kimberly wasn’t in town. He’d likely limp back home half the man he’d been when he arrived on Angelique’s doorstep.
Blake scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Could you give her a message for me?”
Mr. Barbetta gave a reluctant nod. “I’ll try.”
“Tell her I’d at least like to explain. I owe her that.”
He headed back over the bridge, the sky clouding over with the first storm of the year rolling in. How did he screw this up so bad? Losing Angelique wouldn’t just stun him. It would be a crushing blow that he wasn’t sure he could recover from.
His weight landed on the loose board that he still hadn’t fixed, and it gave way, making him stumble. He stopped and looked back at her cabin. Now he had all the time he needed to fix the bridge and every other item on his long repair list, thanks to Angelique. But time, this cabin, the practice, his volunteer work—none of it meant anything without her in his life.
He picked his way over the rotted spots and walked toward home.
He had to find a way to get through to her before she packed her bags and left.
Only the business owners of the historic district stopped to give Angelique an awkward stare when she walked into the Red River Community Center Tuesday night. No one else seemed to notice her. They probably hadn’t heard the gossip yet, but another twenty-four hours would remedy that. Her heart punched at the wall of her chest, but she lifted her chin.
Ella and Coop waved from the stands, their baby bundled into Ella’s arms. Coop climbed down and jogged over to Angelique.
“Thanks for coming, Ang.”
She stuffed both hands in her microfiber hoodie and scuffed at the gym floor with the toe of one running shoe. “I’m surprised you wanted me to, Coop. After what I heard yesterday, I didn’t think you and Ella would ever want to see me again.”
“We can talk about it later.” He squeezed Angelique’s shoulder. “Ready to play?”
Damn right she was. Pummeling a volleyball might relieve some stress. Especially if she pictured it as Dr. T, D, & H’s head. She zipped off her hoodie, tossed it in the corner, and set her keys and phone on top.
With a fist bump, she looked at Coop. “I’m ready to win.”
Coop blew out a laugh and led her onto the court.
It didn’t take long for Angelique and Coop to put away another win for Team RRC. She
played hard, trying not to think of the two dozen or so phone calls from Blake she’d deflected, the voicemails he’d left that she refused to listen to, or the message Blake had relayed through her father. Because every time she let her thoughts wander to Blake, his betrayal was like a kick in the gut. Worse actually. It was like he kicked her in the heart, ripped it from her body, then doused it with gasoline and set it on fire.
After she and Coop shook hands at the net with the losing team, she followed Coop off the court. Glancing at the far end of the bleachers where Blake sat amidst his family members and staff, Angelique beat back hot, angry tears and several unbecoming words.
She wiped the sweat from her face with a towel and took a seat with Coop and Ella in the stands.
“Drinks are on us at Joe’s after the last game, Angelique,” Ella said, handing the baby to Coop. He cooed at his infant daughter, and Angelique’s heart squeezed.
She shook her head. The situation was already awkward enough. “Can’t. I have to pack.” “I’m leaving early tomorrow morning.”
Ella and Coop exchanged a look.
“We were hoping you’d stay this week. I think we can win the league championship,” Coop said.
“We need you, Angelique. You guys kicked ass out there,” Ella said.
“Hey, you said I couldn’t cuss around the baby,” Coop scolded his wife while rocking the baby in his arms. “How is that fair?”
Ella raised an eyebrow at him. “When you go through twelve hours of hard labor, then you can cuss all you want around our kids.”
“Your hard labor lasted less than twenty minutes,” Coop deadpanned.
Ella shrugged. “It felt like twelve hours.” She waved a hand dismissively, before letting the baby grasp her finger. “Besides, it was like pushing a grand piano through a keyhole, so I still win.”
Angelique really liked Ella, but . . .
“Why would you guys want me to stay?” Angelique asked. Blake had exposed her. “Aren’t you angry?”
Coop held a finger to his lips. “Not here.” He leaned in to whisper. “But Doc told us what you did for us.”
And the hits just keep on coming. Blake didn’t just reveal her initial purpose here. He was broadcasting evidence that could destroy her completely. How could she ever practice law again if it was common knowledge that she’d helped her client lose?
Her chest squeezed, making her heart thump in a sickly rhythm.
Her phone dinged, and she pulled it from her pocket. She tapped the new text from Kimberly, and it popped onto the screen.
Spoke to lawyer I know in Albuq. There’s rumbling about your firm. Rumors of Gabriel having a meltdown. Lots of clients bailing.
Angelique thumbed a response into her phone.
What kind of meltdown?
Within five seconds Kimberly’s response dinged.
Dunno. Friend said partners at RC&M are scrambling for damage control.
Great. Whatever crisis Gabriel was having, he’d likely try to blame that on her, too. Angelique typed a quick message telling Kimberly to keep her posted and dropped her phone back into the pocket of her hoodie.
The ref blew the whistle for the next game, and Blake and his cousin, Perry, emerged from the crowded bleachers to stand on the sidelines. A hush settled over the stands as Blake and Perry pulled off their black sweatshirts to reveal . . .
Angelique stifled a gasp. They wore matching hot-pink athletic shirts with a breast cancer ribbon outlined on the left shoulder. Blake and Perry turned around so the crowd could read the backs.
Perry’s said “Fight Like a Girl” in big, bold letters. Emblazoned across the back of Blake’s shirt was the phrase “Someone I Love Is a Survivor.” The crowd roared. Several catcalls rang out from amidst the crowded stands.
Coop put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. “Hey, Doc! Love the new team shirts.”
Blake and Perry jogged over. Blake nodded to Coop, but then his eyes settled on Angelique. “It’s my new favorite color.” His gaze locked with hers. “From now on, I plan to wear pink every day in October so breast cancer survivors know how much I care.”
A wave of female “awws” rippled through the crowd.
Sitting a few seats over, Mrs. Ostergaard wiped at her eyes. “Zhat is a good young man.”
He’s a shit. Angelique bit back the words. She hated pink. Hated ribbons. And Blake knew it. At the moment, she especially hated him for putting her on the spot in front of all these people after what he’d done. When her hands started to tremble, she looked away.
The ref blew the whistle, and Blake walked backward onto the court until the ref bounced the ball to him. He waited for the opposing team to take the court, and the match started.
Coop leaned over to Angelique. “Nice shirts, huh?” He said it like he was talking about the weather. Angelique ignored him.
Perry sent the ball flying out of bounds and lost the serve. Blake gave him a brotherly slap on the back, and the other team took possession of the ball.
“You know, Doc must really care about the person he’s wearing it for.” Coop spoke in his best nonchalant tone. “Never seen him do anything like that before.”
Right. Good to know Dr. T, D, & H didn’t make a habit of seducing his rivals to get what he needed. Didn’t sink their careers and break their hearts when he was done with them. That made Angelique feel so much better.
In fact, being his only victim made her feel like a freaking princess.
She thought her heart might implode. With a rub of her chest, she willed the suffocating pain to go away. It didn’t.
Coop leveled a knowing stare at her. “He’s a good guy, Ang. That’s all I’m saying.”
Angelique drew in a breath and found Blake on the court again. As much as she wanted him to have a good excuse, a reasonable explanation, she heard what she heard in his apartment. So had Coop. There was no denying the evidence.
She stood. “I’ve got to go.”
Ella spoke up. “Angelique, please stay.”
“I’ve got a lot to do before I leave town tomorrow. I’ll see you guys around, okay?” Against Coop and Ella’s protests, Angelique jumped from the bleachers and hurried out of the gym.
As far as she was concerned the subject of her future with Blake and Red River was closed, and she was marking it off as a loss. And much to her horror, she was getting too good at losing.
“Mom! Will you let Sarge outside?” Angelique called downstairs early the next morning as she tried to finish packing the last of her things. She went into the bathroom and started to fill a large cosmetic bag with makeup and toiletries.
Her mom whistled for the dog from downstairs, and Sarge’s nails clipped against the stairs as he scampered down them.
Angelique looked around the expansive bathroom. She’d settled in here like it was her home. This cabin had become her home, and leaving it seemed . . . wrong. She’d come here to fill a void created by her illness. Instead of another win that would catapult her into a partnership at one of the most prestigious law firms in the Southwest, that emptiness had been filled by a charming little town full of neighborly and warm people who’d do anything for one another.
That vacancy in her soul had also been occupied by a man. A man who had turned her heart upside down by looking at her naked, surgically altered body with desire instead of distaste. A gentle man who had covered every inch of her body with sensual kisses, finding the spots where she still had feeling after the surgeries had damaged so many of her nerve endings. Zeroing in on them with his mouth and fingers so she enjoyed each sexual encounter as much as he did. More, actually. Every time they’d made love, he made sure she was satisfied many times over before he took his own pleasure.
How could all of that have been a lie?
Her lip trembled, and she bit at it, looking in the mirror. She couldn’t wrap her mind around Blake’s dishonesty. It simply rocked her world and tilted it off its axis.
Suck it up, Barbetta.
Sh
e squared her shoulders and tossed more makeup into the bag just before her lip started trembling again and tears slid down her cheeks. She sank onto the vanity stool and dropped her head into her hands.
Handing the victory over to Blake had made her so incredibly happy. She’d wanted him to be the hero. For the other business owners, for his dad’s clinic, for Red River. For her. It’d cost her a hefty price, but she’d been glad to pay it.
She had no idea what to do next. Now she had a whole new open, throbbing wound in her soul to fill up again. But how?
And that was just the problem, wasn’t it? She wasn’t sure she could move on without Blake.
She pushed herself out of the small vanity chair and headed downstairs to see how much progress her parents had made.
“Hello, sweetie.” Her dad gave her a peck on the cheek. “You almost packed up?”
Angelique nodded. “How’s it going down here?”
“We’ve packed everything that you designated as your belongings.” Her mom closed up a box. “It wasn’t much.” Mom glowered at Nona. “We should double-check every box and your grandmother’s suitcase before we leave. A few stray items made their way into the to-be-packed pile.”
“It was just a candy dish, and I thought it was Angelique’s.” Nona harrumphed, wheeling her small suitcase to the back door.
“It was an expensive piece of Nambé, and you knew perfectly well that it wasn’t Angelique’s.” Her mother rolled her eyes.
“I’ll lock the boxes in the car until we leave.” Her dad grabbed a box and headed for the door. “Just don’t give Granny Klepto the keys, or the state troopers might stop us before we leave the county and arrest us for theft.”
Nona plopped down in a dinette chair. “If they’re good-looking, I wouldn’t mind being frisked.”
Her dad groaned in disgust as he walked out the back door.
“Where’s Sarge?” Angelique asked.
Her mother frowned. “I was busy packing, so I opened the back door and let him wander out on his own. I guess he hasn’t come back yet. Why don’t you see if your father can go look for him?”
It's in His Touch Page 26
