After Alan read him a story, Timothy threw his chubby arms around his neck. “I like you. You come back again.”
Lisa could see Alan was touched by the little boy’s invitation.
Once they were downstairs, Lisa adjusted the baby monitor in the living room. “There’s one in the kitchen, too. Would you like another piece of that lemon cake Carrie left for us?”
“Sounds good.”
As soon as they entered the kitchen, Lisa knew everything had changed between them, with Timothy in bed. The buzz was back. The sexual tension raised the temperature in the room. Her nerve endings vibrated with awareness.
“Coffee?” Alan asked, gesturing to the pot, which was still half-full.
Once she nodded, he took two clean mugs from the tree, never removing his gaze from hers. While he poured coffee, she cut the cake. She’d no sooner covered it with the glass holder than he was there beside her. She was still grasping the knife. He ran his finger along the edge, lifting off a fingerful of icing.
“This is the best part,” he said, offering it to her.
She opened her mouth, and his finger was on her lower lip, spreading the icing across it. When her tongue slid out to taste it, she found herself drawing his finger between her lips, sucking on it, looking at him with all the feelings that were growing inside of her.
“Lisa,” he groaned, not removing his finger, letting the tip of it play over her tongue.
“What?” She knew she was tempting them both.
“I didn’t come here tonight to get you into bed again.”
“There isn’t a bed in sight,” she murmured, waiting for his kiss.
He slipped his hands into her hair and tugged her toward him. The chemistry that had built between them since their first meeting seemed to burst around them. She could have sworn lightning flashed, thunder rolled and the earth shook. Their coming together was that momentous, that hungry, that preordained.
Her fingers went to the snaps on his shirt.
“Don’t bother with that,” he muttered. “Go for the belt buckle.”
She laughed, in as much of a hurry as he was. After all, if she kept her sweater on, he wouldn’t see her tattoos. Those tattoos could open the door to absolutely everything else. They’d get to that later.
Alan unsnapped her jeans and pushed them from her hips. With them hanging above her shoes, he pushed her panties down, then lifted her up onto the counter. In seconds, her shoes were on the floor next to her jeans and underwear. Somehow she’d managed to unfasten Alan’s belt buckle, but the zipper on his fly was being stubborn and she struggled with it.
Finally he stepped away from her, pulled off his boots, got rid of his jeans and briefs and stood before her, ready, willing and able to make her his. She wanted to be his in all senses of the word.
With his arms circling her, he pulled her to the edge of the counter. She wrapped her legs around him. Seconds later he was inside her, taking her breath away as she grabbed his shoulders and held on. The moment took them away to a place where there was only need and desire and hunger. As he thrust into her, she welcomed him again and again and again, urging him on, saying his name, returning his kisses as he snatched them between thrusts. His world became hers and hers his.
Apparently nearing the end of his control, Alan slid his hand between them and touched her swollen nub, sending her into a million pieces in his arms as he found his release. When she cried his name, he clasped her tightly, pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her so deeply she didn’t know where she began and he ended.
They held each other for so many beats of her heart that she knew they belonged together.
Then he suddenly leaned back…leaned away. He looked so serious, she knew she didn’t want to hear what he was going to say.
“We didn’t use protection. I can’t believe I didn’t remember.” His voice was raw with self-recrimination.
“I didn’t, either.”
He was studying her as if he didn’t quite believe her.
She did some quick calculations. “We should be okay. It’s my safe time.”
“There is no safe time,” Alan mumbled as he pulled away from her and took a towel from the counter. “I’ll be right back.” Snatching up his clothes, he disappeared down the hall to the bathroom.
When Alan returned, Lisa had dressed and freshened their coffee. She offered him a mug. “You drink it black, right?”
With a nod, he took it, stared at it and then set it down on the counter. “If you get pregnant—”
She held up her hand to stop him. “Let’s not ask for trouble.”
“I think we already have.”
“Are you saying what happened was a mistake?”
“The way it happened was a mistake. I’m old enough to know better.”
“So am I.”
The silence that filled the kitchen also weighed down Lisa’s heart. This atmosphere wasn’t conducive to telling secrets. She wasn’t sure what atmosphere was, but the regret in Alan’s eyes saddened her. She knew he was remembering another time…when a woman had maybe lied to him about being on the pill…when he’d let passion run away with his good sense. She was remembering, too—the night with Thad when Timothy had been conceived. Both situations seemed the same, yet weren’t. She loved Alan. She loved him with all her heart. The idea of being pregnant with his child filled her with joy. Everything for her was different now. She could make a life for herself and a child.
“I’d better be going,” Alan said.
“If you stay, we could talk.”
“If I stay, we won’t just talk. You know that as well as I do.”
She wasn’t so sure of that. If she told him about Timothy, they’d just be talking.
“I’m going out of town early tomorrow and I haven’t packed yet. I haven’t even gone through the specs I need to take along.”
“Are you flying to Texas?”
“No, Sacramento. When I get back, I’ll call you. If I’m tied up for more than a few days, use a pregnancy test. You have my cell phone number, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“If you use the test and it’s positive, I want to know. Tonight could change the rest of our lives, Lisa. I want you to be prepared for that.”
What could she say? That she already knew how life could change in one night? How she wished he’d stay. How she wished she could just ease into all of it. Maybe if she just blurted it out—
Suddenly, she heard the garage door go up. Brian and Carrie were home. She was going to have to wait to talk to Alan, wait to see if she was pregnant, wait for him to return from his business trip.
Life seemed to be just one big wait.
Alan pulled her to him, gave her a sweet, deep kiss and stepped away…just before Brian and Carrie walked in the door.
The following evening, Lisa had just stepped out of the shower when her phone rang. Wrapping herself in a towel, she took another along to dry her hair. When she picked up the phone, she expected to hear Carrie’s voice or Jillian’s or Ariel’s.
Instead, after her hello, a voice murmured, “I wish you were here with me.”
Alan. Tears came to her eyes. “I wish I was there with you, too.”
“Did Brian or Carrie say anything to you after I left last night?”
“Not about us. I think Brian was going to, but Carrie gave him a nudge. They’re really trying to stay out of it.”
“I imagine that’s hard for them.”
After a pause, Lisa asked, “What exactly are you doing in Sacramento?”
“Putting together a deal for a Texas client. He wants an orange grove.”
She laughed. “You make that sound as if it’s something unusual.”
He laughed, too. “I suppose it’s not. He’s always had this dream of someday owning a place in California where he could grow oranges. We all have dreams.”
“I dream of you,” she said boldly.
“I dream of you, too. That’s why I called. I wanted a li
ttle reality instead of just a dream.”
“I have to ask you something,” she ventured.
“Go ahead.”
After a pause, as she thought about whether she should ask or not, she decided she’d hesitated often enough with Alan. “Are you really serious about me? I mean, besides the chemistry and all, do you really see me as part of your life?”
When he was silent, she knew she’d put him on the spot. But she wasn’t going to turn herself inside out for him. She wasn’t going to take the risk of abandonment again unless she knew they had something to build on.
Finally he replied, “I’m serious, Lisa. How about you?”
“I’m serious, too.” She’d come to realize Alan was definitely her Prince Charming. She was going to give her heart to him along with her secrets as soon as he returned.
“Then we really have something to talk about when I get back. I should be able to wind this up by Wednesday or Thursday. I’m going to have trouble keeping my mind on work until then.”
“Me, too,” she agreed.
She wanted to tell him she loved him, but she couldn’t do that yet. She couldn’t do that until she told him the truth about her life. As soon as he got home, they’d have that talk. As soon as he got home, she’d find out just how unconditional love was…or if he loved her at all.
The smile Lisa carried around with her the next day caused a few raised brows, but she couldn’t forget Alan’s call or his words.
I’m serious, Lisa.
She knew they had a monumental hurdle to jump over when he got back, but for now she had hope.
She’d just returned from lunch when the receptionist buzzed her.
“A man on two,” she said in that polite voice she used when anybody called. “He won’t give his name.”
“He wouldn’t give his name?” If Lisa didn’t take the call, chances were whoever it was would simply phone back again.
She picked up the receiver, hoping that Alan just wanted to surprise her. “Hello? This is Lisa Sanders.”
“And this is Thad Preston. Remember me?”
For a moment, she froze. Recovering, she managed to reply, “I don’t have anything to say to you, Thad.”
“Oh, I think you do. After all, I’m the father of your baby.”
How much did he know about her life now? How much did he know about Timothy’s life? “I signed away my rights and so did you.”
“I was coerced.”
“That’s nonsense. You couldn’t wait to sign those papers. You couldn’t wait to get rid of me and the idea of a child.”
“You weren’t around when I signed those papers. You don’t know what happened.”
Lisa remembered that Jordan Hall had assured Marian Novak he had found a witness who would testify that Thad wasn’t coerced. She didn’t know if Thad knew that.
“What do you want, Thad?” she asked. “I can’t believe you’re really interested in—” She was about to say their child’s name, but didn’t.
“In Timothy? I know his name, Lisa. I know all about him and you and Brian and Carrie Summers. You stayed with them until Timothy was born. They probably even paid your way through college and are maybe even subsidizing you now.”
“I’m on my own.”
“On your own? I doubt that. Summers even gave you a job.”
“I’m earning my place here. I intend to make something of my life.”
“And I intend to make something of mine.”
“What happened to the NFL?”
“That just didn’t work out. Now I have to find something that does. I want fifty thousand dollars from you or I’ll go to the press. I’ll tell them how I was forced to sign those papers, how you became a slut on the streets begging for food, how you took advantage of a couple, how you’re still sponging off of them.”
“None of that is true!”
“Oh, it’s based on half-truths. That’s all I need to get the story published.”
“No one would publish—”
“Don’t be so sure. News now is different than it used to be. Editors just want to sell papers. I want fifty thousand dollars, Lisa. I’m sure Brian Summers has that in one of his many bank accounts. Just tell him to write out a check.”
Lisa’s hands were shaking and she knew what she had to do. She had to put a stop to this right now, no matter what happened to her because of her decision. “Thad, I don’t have fifty thousand dollars. And I won’t go to Brian for it. If you call me again, if you try to extort money again, I’ll go to the police.” She slammed down the phone.
She was more scared than she’d ever been in her life. She had to tell Brian and Carrie about Thad’s threat. She had a feeling he wouldn’t go to them. Brian had too much influence, and if Thad knew anything about Brian Summers, he probably knew that. No, he’d come after her, because he thought she was weak. She wasn’t weak anymore.
If she had to leave Portland to protect her family, that’s what she’d do. Brian and Carrie and Timothy were her family. She wouldn’t let the rocks Thad wanted to throw at her land anywhere near them.
And what about Alan? a sad little voice asked.
One way or another, she was going to lose him. He wouldn’t want to be involved in any of this. His family wouldn’t want him to be, either.
Her heart hurt so badly she wanted to sit down in her desk chair and cry. Instead, she squared her shoulders with resolve and headed for Brian’s office.
Jillian sat cross-legged on Lisa’s sofa the following evening, winding chicken lo mein from her carton onto her fork. She nodded toward the coffee table. “You’ve got possible job opportunities there from Los Angeles to Vancouver. Are you going to apply to all of them?”
When Lisa had confided everything in Jillian, her friend had offered to pick up takeout and come over to keep her company. Brian and Carrie were adamantly set against her moving away, but she didn’t know what else to do. “I’ve already sent some of them my résumé.”
“Do you really want to leave Timothy?”
“I don’t have any choice. I don’t want Thad’s bitterness to get anywhere near him. I don’t know what he’ll do next.”
“You should have called the police.”
“Brian took the letters and had a friend who works in an investigative lab dust them for prints. The outside of the envelope, of course, had way too many. But the inside sheet of paper had no unidentified prints on it. No saliva was used on the envelope, either. Thad is smart. I can’t prove he threatened me. I can’t prove he wants money. It’s my word against his.”
“So you’re going to run.”
“No. I’m going to do what I should have done when I graduated from college. I’m going to get a job somewhere on my own and let Brian, Carrie and Timothy be the family they’re supposed to be.”
“That’s not the way they want it.”
Lisa set her carton of beef and broccoli on the coffee table, not hungry at all. “Deep down, maybe they do. Carrie has never pushed me away, but maybe she’s wanted to. If I had adopted someone’s child, I wouldn’t want the mother around. It would be a constant fear and pressure.”
“I think you’re wrong. I think Brian and Carrie look at you as a little sister, and they want you to be in Timothy’s life, not out of it.”
Lisa knew talking wouldn’t change any of this. Tears welled up in her eyes and she held up her hand to her friend. “Enough. Can we talk about something else?”
Jillian gestured to Lisa’s food on the coffee table. “Yes, if you promise to eat.”
With a roll of her eyes, Lisa picked up the carton again. “Let’s talk about the Logans. Have you planned another get-together to reunite your father and his brother?”
“Oh, great. You want to talk about my family mess.”
Lisa managed a small smile. “It will distract me from what’s going on with me. Your potluck supper with your cousins went really well.” Last month Jillian had brought together most of the Logan cousins and a few friends to try to
mend a rift between two factions in the family.
“I’ve got to admit, it went better than I expected.”
“I still can’t believe you went up to a complete stranger at a conference, after figuring out he was your cousin, and invited him to move back to Portland to mend a rift in the family.”
“Jake’s father and my dad haven’t spoken for years. They’re brothers, for goodness sakes! They were always competitive, but then one thing stacked up on top of the other until there was no communication between them at all.”
“It’s a shame your dad and your uncle didn’t come to the supper, too.”
“We have a long way to go before that happens. But I think everyone who came understands that family needs to be united instead of divided. What I’m really glad about—besides the Logan family being on the mend—is that Jake reunited with his first love. Returning to Portland was really necessary for him to find happiness.”
“He’s lucky,” Lisa mused. “I hope he can hold on to it.”
They were both silent until Jillian advised her, “You can’t leave Portland, Lisa. You know you’ll be miserable if you do.”
Lisa’s doorbell rang and she jumped.
“Are you expecting anyone?” Jillian asked.
“No.” She lowered her voice. “You don’t think it could be Thad?”
Her friend sat up straight and put her food on the coffee table. “I’ve got pepper spray in my purse. If he makes one bad move…”
“It might be Craig or Ariel. We’ll know as soon as I look through the peephole.” Climbing off the sofa and hurrying to the door, she peered out.
It was Alan.
He looked so good, she wanted to cry. She opened the door wide, wanting to dive into his arms, but she knew they had to talk first. She knew tonight could end everything between them…or be the beginning she’d always dreamed of.
Chapter Twelve
Lisa could only gaze into Alan’s eyes. She could only wish that what she had to say had been already said. Tonight she couldn’t evade or elude or hide. It was time for her to tell Alan everything.
Falling for the Texas Tycoon Page 15
