Thank God she hadn’t.
“Sydney. Wait.”
She stopped at the sound of Cara’s voice, closed her eyes on a sigh, then opened them again as she turned.
“Come have a cup of herbal tea with me. After all this excitement, my child and I need a little something to calm us down.” Cara smiled and pressed a hand to the slight bulge on her stomach. When Sydney hesitated, Cara took her arm. “Please.”
They walked to the hospital cafeteria and sat down with two steaming cups of hot water and tea bags. Cara stared at hers while it steeped, then said, “You know he loves you, don’t you?”
Sydney glanced up sharply. “What?”
Cara raised her cup, blew on the hot liquid. “Men can be such…well, men. They want to believe that they’re the dominant creature and no one can ever control them, so they beat their chests and jump around like a bunch of monkeys. But when they’re all done acting ridiculous, they come around and roll over like puppies.”
Somehow Sydney didn’t quite see Reese as a monkey or a puppy. When she’d been furious with him, though, she had thought of him as a donkey’s behind. “You’re wrong, Cara. He doesn’t love me. What we had was—” she hesitated, felt the tears at the back of her throat “—was about sex,” she whispered. “That’s all.”
“Don’t kid yourself, Syd. I’ve never seen him look at a woman the way he looks at you. And believe me—” she smiled “—I’ve seen him look at a lot of women.”
Sydney raised a brow. “I suppose that’s intended to make me feel better?”
Cara laughed. “It’s no secret that Reese has dated a lot of women. But it was always casual, never serious. And never, ever was he jealous. According to Lucian, Reese nearly took his head off when he saw you two alone in your restaurant. And these past two weeks, Lord help us, sweet, never-let-anything-or-anybody-get-to-him Reese Sinclair has been a bear. A big, grumpy bear. And that, my dear, is not just about sex.
“There is something else,” Cara said and leaned closer. “But he’d kill me if he knew I told you this. The night of the café’s opening, the burners weren’t down at the tavern. He sent everybody over from his place to yours, told them that their meals were on the house next time they came in, then he closed down. Believe me, there isn’t another woman alive Reese would do that for.”
“He did what?” Wide-eyed, Sydney stared at Cara.
“He doesn’t think anyone knows,” Cara said, sipping her tea. “But I suspected, so I ran a stealth operation and checked out his story. Every single burner was in perfect working order.”
He’d done that? Lied about his burners being out and offered incentives to anyone who came over to her place? There had been an odd assortment of customers that night, she remembered, but she’d been too excited to consider that they hadn’t come in on their own.
She pressed a shaky hand to her temple. She didn’t know what to think, what to believe. It was possible that the burners had simply started working again. Maybe Corky or someone had fixed them. Cara could be wrong about everything.
Sydney couldn’t believe any of it: the burners being out, that Reese was in love with her. She wanted to, but she couldn’t. Couldn’t risk the pain of letting herself believe that Reese loved her, only to learn the truth.
“Cara.” Sydney sighed, shook her head. “Thank you. I know you’re just trying to help, but it won’t work between Reese and me. We had a…nice time together, but we’re completely different people.”
“You really believe that?” Cara asked.
“Absolutely.” She would, Sydney told herself. She would believe it. “He’ll go his way and I’ll go mine. It’s better that way for both of us.”
“Okay, Syd.” Cara shrugged, tucked a loose strand of blond hair back behind her ear. “Well, I’d better get back to check on Lucian. Thank the good Lord hard heads run in this family,” she said as she stood. “It’s the only thing that saved that boy.”
Sydney stared at her tea long after Cara had left, long after the steam ceased to rise. She no longer felt like baking cookies or muffins, but she had pastries to make for tonight’s desserts at the café, plus tables to set up, bread dough to prepare and an herb dressing for one of tonight’s special salads.
She rose slowly, hugged her jacket tightly to her as she stepped out into the cold and headed back home.
“Tonight we have a pan-roasted white fish with garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans, a grilled filet mignon with Yukon Gold potatoes…”
Sydney recited the evening’s specials to Max and Eileen Brenner, who had already been to the café three times since the opening. In only two weeks, Sydney already had several repeat customers for dinner, plus several regulars at her lunch dining: ladies out for a social afternoon and businessmen and women who wanted to impress their clients with something a little nicer than a sandwich or hamburger from a coffee shop or Squire’s Tavern.
Even her grandfather had conceded to her that she’d done a good job, though Sydney had nearly fallen over at his praise. Tonight he was at the café with a group of lawyers and their wives from Ridgeway, and she could hear him bragging about his granddaughter’s cooking while Nell opened a bottle of wine for the table.
And all she wanted to do was sit down on the floor and cry.
She was thankful that the café was unusually busy this evening. Work was the only thing that kept her mind off Reese and what Cara had told her this morning at the hospital.
He loves you.
He didn’t. She’d had all day to think about it, reason it out in a logical manner. In spite of what Cara said, Sydney was certain that the physical aspect of their relationship had been what attracted him to her, that’s all. And she wanted more than that. A happy-go-lucky bachelor like Reese Sinclair didn’t settle down and have kids with the uptight, snooty granddaughter of the Honorable Judge Randolph Howland. She would like to think that she’d relaxed a little, and that she didn’t take life quite as seriously as she had, but she was basically the same person she’d always been. Whoever she did marry would have to love her exactly the way she was, with all her flaws and faults.
“I made an artichoke ravioli today with you both especially in mind,” Sydney told Max and Eileen when she noticed Cara and Abby come into the café. “I’ll have some sent over, on the house, while you decide what you’d like for dinner.”
Sydney excused herself and made her way toward Cara and Abby, who waved at her, then seated themselves at a table that Sydney called her “last chance” table. It not only had a direct view of the main kitchen door, it was in the path of the servers coming in and out of the kitchen. She offered to move the women, but they just smiled and insisted they were fine.
“How’s Lucian?” Sydney asked.
“They sent him home at noon,” Cara said with a smile. “Probably to stop him from coming on to the nurses. Based on one cute little brunette he’d been flirting with, I have the feeling that he’ll be receiving some at-home nursing care.”
“Ian and Callan will be along shortly.” Abby smoothed her napkin on her lap. “Before they get here, we were hoping we could talk to you about something.”
“Well—” She glanced around the restaurant. Becky was at the front, and Nell and her new waitress, Susan, seemed to have everything under control. For the past twenty minutes, Sydney had been busy talking to customers and serving drinks, but Nell had reassured her—several times, in fact—that everything was fine in the kitchen and she wasn’t needed there.
“I have a couple of minutes.” She sat at their table, suddenly nervous what they might want to talk to her about. “But I’ve got to help serve as the orders come up.”
“This won’t take long,” Cara said. “We need to talk to you about Reese.”
Sydney felt her insides twist. “Cara, Abby, this really isn’t—”
“It’s serious,” Abby whispered. “He’s gone crazy.”
“Crazy?” Sydney blinked. “What do you mean?”
; “Right over the edge.” Cara made a diving gesture with her hand. “We think he needs to be committed before he hurts himself.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Sydney laughed, then frowned when both women stared at her, their expressions sober.
This was absurd. Ludicrous. She shook her head, then went still when Reese opened the front door of the café and stepped in. He was wearing a tux, not the one from last night, but a clean, fresh one.
“Sorry I’m late, Syd,” he said, moving toward her.
“Late?” She had no idea what he was talking about, or why he was wearing a tuxedo.
He turned away from her then and looked at Cara and Abby. “Good evening, ladies. Is there anything I can get for you this evening? A glass of wine, sparkling cider?”
What in the world?… Dumbstruck, all Sydney could do was stare.
“I’ll have the cider, Abby will have the wine,” Cara said smoothly.
He pulled an order form and pen out of his pocket and wrote it down. “Anything else? I made a lovely quiche tonight, with goat cheese and just a kiss of basil.”
“Just the drinks for now.” Cara casually picked up her menu and stared at it.
“Very good, then,” he said in a most proper, stuffy waiter manner.
He turned away, headed for another table, when Sydney jumped up and tugged on his arm. “What do you think you’re doing?” she growled between her teeth, though she had a smile frozen on her lips. He had gone crazy, she thought. Cara and Abby were right.
“Wasn’t that the bet?” He looked at her with a puzzled expression in his green eyes. “I’m supposed to wear a tux, wait on tables and make quiche if I lost?”
The bet. He was owning up to losing. And now, of all times. “Reese, this isn’t funny.”
“We think it’s hilarious,” Cara muttered from behind them, but Reese merely lifted a bored brow at her comment.
“I’m not trying to be funny,” he said quietly, and gazed at her so intently she felt her chest tighten. “You should have won that game, Syd. I did cheat to teach you a lesson, and it got out of hand. I’m sorry. And now I’m holding up my end of the deal. What’s right is right.”
The determined look in his eyes told her that he wasn’t going anywhere, and she hardly wanted to make a scene now. When he turned away from her again and moved to another table to take their order, she could only stare in disbelief.
Callan and Ian came in through the front door then and glanced at Reese. She noticed one corner of Ian’s mouth twitch, but the men turned their attention to their wives, then joined them at their table.
This had to be one of those weird, doesn’t-make-any-sense dreams, she decided. Nothing else could possibly explain the bizarre behavior going on around her. Certainly she’d wake up any minute, her heart racing, her palms sweating, gasping for breath.
Except she was awake, and her heart was racing, her palms sweating, her breathing labored.
She realized that everyone was looking at her, as if waiting for something to happen.
Well, she had a restaurant to run, she thought as she glanced at the kitchen and realized that it had been a long while since the door had opened and any orders had been brought out. Quite a long while, as a matter of fact. The last thing she needed was a problem in the kitchen. At the moment, she had more than she could handle out here.
She certainly didn’t have time to stand around and play this game with Reese, she fumed as she started toward the kitchen. If he wanted to wait on tables, fine. Let him wait on tables. But it wasn’t going to change anything between them, not one thing at—
She stopped, then frowned when she pushed on the kitchen door and it didn’t give. Wondering what else could go wrong tonight, she yanked the door open instead.
Roses.
Dozens and hundreds and thousands of roses of every color poured out from the kitchen. Startled, she stepped back, but lost her footing and went down on her bottom onto a soft blanket of petals and thornless stems.
When the river of roses stopped, she stared up at Reese, who stood over her, looking down.
Her eyes narrowed slowly. “You—you—” She grabbed a handful of roses and threw them at him. “You are crazy!”
“Certifiable.” He knelt beside her, an amused grin on his face.
“Cara is right,” she sputtered and threw another handful of flowers. “You should be committed.”
“Okay.” His grin faded. “I will if you will.”
“Will what?” She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, knew that everyone was looking at her.
“Be committed,” he repeated. “To you, Syd. Only to you.”
She stilled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. His hand was as steady as his gaze as he handed it to her.
Her heart, which had stopped only a second before, now pounded furiously as she took the box. Her hands shook as she opened it.
A beautiful diamond solitaire sparkled on a shiny gold band. The swelling in her chest made it impossible to speak.
“Will you marry me?” he asked in front of everyone there, including her staff, who’d all stopped in their work to come over and watch the show. Even Latona stood by, her chef’s hat on, a spatula in her hand and her big brown eyes all dewy.
When Sydney didn’t answer him, Reese felt his throat turn to dust. The thought that he might have lost her forever ripped at his insides. He was on shaky, unfamiliar ground here, and he could only let instinct and his heart guide him.
“I love everything about you, Syd,” he said quietly. “The way your eyes light up when you smile, the sound of your laugh, your enthusiasm for life and for—” he paused, glanced around the room and thought he really shouldn’t mention their lovemaking in front of all these people, especially her grandfather, who was staring very hard at him at the moment.
He swallowed hard and turned back to Sydney. “I even love that snobby little way you lift your nose at me when you think you know more than me.”
“I do know more than you,” she said, but there was no challenge in her words. She was still staring at the ring, her lips softly parted.
“Then you know I love you, that I need you more than my next breath,” he said and took her hand in his, slipped the ring out of the box onto her finger. “Please marry me, Syd. Please.”
The scent of roses filled the silent café. Reese held his breath; it seemed as if the entire room held its breath. She glanced up at him, stared with wide, tear-filled eyes.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, yes.”
Her arms came around him as a cheer went up with the room. Whistling and clapping, silverware clinking against glasses. He scooped her up off the floor into his arms, kissed her deeply.
“Tell me you love me, too,” he said against her lips. “I need to hear it.”
Her arms tightened around his neck. “Of course I love you, you idiot.”
He grinned at her. “Ah, the words every man longs to hear, other than, ‘dinner’s ready.”’
Smiling, she brought her lips to his. “I love you,” she whispered. “It frightens me, I admit it, but I do love you. With all my heart.”
Her words were like bubbles of champagne bursting in his chest. He’d never felt anything like this before, this elated. He wanted to laugh, go outside and dance in the snow, make love to her all night.
He kissed her again, thinking that a lifetime with this woman wouldn’t be enough. He’d fought against his feelings for her from the first night she’d walked into the tavern, covered with mud, holding Boomer in her arms. He now realized he hadn’t lost the battle, he’d won.
“We’ve got it covered here,” Nell said, and the rest of Sydney’s staff all nodded. “Why don’t you two go celebrate?”
Applause went up from the room again. Reese looked at Sydney, who smiled, then nodded. Amidst more cheers and applause, Reese carried her outside, then up the back stairway that led to her apartment.
When he had her inside, alone, he set her d
own and drew her into a kiss. Long and slow, he tasted the sweetness of her, knew that she was what he wanted. What he would always want.
“You know that by tomorrow, the whole town will be talking about you and me,” he murmured between kisses.
“Let them talk.” She eased back, looked up into his eyes. The love he saw in her steady gaze took his breath away. “As long as you love me, nothing can ever hurt me again.”
When she touched his cheek, he turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand, smiled when he felt her shiver.
“So tell me how you got all those roses in there without me knowing?” she whispered, her voice breathless.
“It’s a secret.” He pulled her closer, loved the feel of her heart against his. “Maybe in fifty or sixty years, I’ll tell you.”
Smiling, she stepped out of his arms and backed toward the bedroom. “I’ll bet I could get you to tell me now.”
“Sweetheart,” he said with a grin and followed, knowing that life with Sydney would never be dull, “that’s definitely a bet I’d lose.”
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0649-6
REESE’S WILD WAGER
Copyright © 2001 by Barbara Joel
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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