“What do you think so far?” Dex’s voice cut into Caitlin’s close study of his home. She turned to him. He was holding a sleeping Jordan in his arms.
“I think if I’m not too careful, I could really fall in love with this place. It’s beautiful, Dex.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Where will Jordan be sleeping?” Caitlin asked. “It’ll be a lot easier on you to lay her down.”
Dex laughed. “You may be right. She’s carrying all that pizza weight. Come upstairs with me.”
“What about our luggage?”
“I’ll bring it in later.”
Caitlin followed Dex up a long, winding staircase to the second floor and into a room obviously decorated for a teenager rather than a little girl. The colors in the room were so vivid Caitlin had to blink twice. There were numerous framed photos and posters of various R & B groups dominating the walls.
“We’ll use this bedroom for now. There’s a couple of empty rooms up here, and I’m sure one will be fine for Jordan,” Dex said. “You can redecorate it any way you like.”
He smiled. “I let Christy talk me into doing her own thing in this room. I agreed since this is where she sleeps whenever she comes to spend the night.”
Caitlin smiled as she watched Dex place Jordan on the bed. Christy was Dex’s baby sister. She had been only thirteen when Dex had brought Caitlin to meet his family four years ago. By the look of the room, Christy was now an older teenager who was very much into music and bright colors.
Dex took Caitlin’s hand in his. “Come on, let me show you the rest of the house.” He strode out of the bedroom and led her to another one across the hall. “This is the guest bedroom.” Jacquard-woven drapes and valances of floral design graced the windows. A matching quilted comforter covered the queen-size bed.
“Oh, Dex. It’s lovely.”
After showing her two more bedrooms, each with their own private bath, he led her to another bedroom at the far end of the hall, isolated from the others. Double doors led to a huge room that housed a massive four-poster bed and a fireplace. Long ceiling-to-floor windows completely covered the facing wall, while French doors opened onto a balcony overlooking a courtyard and swimming pool.
“And this is our room.”
Caitlin didn’t miss the emphasis Dex placed on the word “our.”
“Now for the downstairs,” he said, leading her back toward the stairs.
A huge living room, a formal dining room, a family room with another fireplace, a library, a study and two bathrooms made up the house’s downstairs. While Dex was giving Caitlin a tour of the immaculate country kitchen, the phone rang.
“Hey, Trevor. Yeah, man, we just got here. When did you get back?” Dex rubbed the top of his head. “I see.” There was a pause. “All right. I’m on my way.”
He hung up the phone. “This is a lousy way to start things off, but something urgent has come up at the office,” he said apologetically.
Caitlin smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I know you have a business to run. I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon unpacking.”
Dex nodded. “I’ll call Gwen. She can come over and fix you and Jordan some dinner.”
Caitlin’s brow lifted. “Gwen?”
“My housekeeper and cook.”
“That’s not necessary, Dex. I can fix us something.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
“Okay then, I’ll bring in the luggage.”
A few minutes later he was back. “When Jordan wakes up, tell her that I’ll be home as soon as I can. If I get detained, I’ll call.”
“All right.”
“The two of you may want to try out the swimming pool while I’m gone.”
“That sounds like a great idea. I think we will.”
Dex started for the door. He stopped, turned around and walked back over to Caitlin. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against hers. “See ya, baby.”
Caitlin watched as he walked out of the door. She knew that wherever he went, he was taking her heart with him.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m looking for the lady who lives next door.”
Ms. Logan turned to the nicely dressed handsome gentleman. “You mean, Caitlin?” At the man’s nod she said, “She’s moved.”
Surprised flickered in the man’s eyes. “Moved?”
“Yes, son. She moved this morning. Is she a friend of yours?”
The man smiled. “Yes, ma’am, she is. I heard about her father and wanted to stop by to offer my condolences. I’ve been out of town. Do you have any idea how I can reach her? Do you happen to have her address?”
“No, I don’t have her address. She’s going to write me and give it to me soon, though.”
“Do you have any idea where she moved?”
“Yes, she moved to Houston. That’s her husband’s home.”
“Do you know his name?”
“Yes,” Ms. Logan replied, continuing to pull weeds from her flower bed. “Her husband’s name is Dexter Madaris.”
Walker Duncan’s smile widened. “Thanks, ma’am. You’ve been a big help.”
Miles away in Ennis, Texas
Justin Madaris lay propped up in the king-size bed listening to the sound of the thunderstorm that had hit the area that afternoon. He smiled, remembering a similar night nearly two years ago when Lorren had run to him in a storm with bad memories chasing her. By the next morning, her bad memories associated with thunderstorms had been replaced with good memories to last a lifetime.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
He glanced in the direction of the familiar voice. Lorren his beautiful wife, stood leaning next to the bedroom door. She was wearing the most seductive gown he had ever seen. To anyone else the gown would probably be considered plain and simple. But to him, on Lorren, it was utterly seductive. His breath caught in his throat. He’d been blessed with finding true love twice in his life. Some people never found it once. He frowned when his thoughts shifted to his brother Dex.
“Sorry I asked about your thoughts,” Lorren said, coming over to stand next to the bed.
Justin raised a brow, knowing she had seen his frown and had mistaken its meaning. “Come here. I missed you.” He pushed the covers aside. “The frown wasn’t for you, although it should be. That stallion I bought the other day is a mean one, and I don’t want you around him again until after Grady breaks him in.”
Lorren slipped in bed beside Justin, going straight into his arms. “All right, I admit it was foolish of me to think that he would accept my kindness. I won’t do it again.”
“Good.”
She snuggled closer to him. “Well, if the frown wasn’t for me, who was it for?”
Justin kissed the tip of her nose and gave her playful nips around her mouth. “I was thinking about Dex. He and Caitlin should be in Houston by now. I hope everything’s all right.”
“Why don’t you call?”
“According to Clayton, Dex doesn’t want the family to call or come by for a couple of weeks. He feels he and Caitlin need an adjustment period without visits from anyone. He wants time to bond with his new family.”
Lorren nodded. “I bet it was hard finding out that not only did he still have a wife, but also a child he hadn’t known about. Can you imagine not knowing about Justina or Vincent?”
Justin smiled at the mention of his daughter who had turned four months old that day. He also thought of Vincent, the son they had adopted. He loved them both deeply. “No. I can’t imagine something like that. And that’s one of the reasons I’m worried about Dex.”
Lorren’s brow furrowed. “I think Caitlin is the one we should be worried about.”
“Why?”
“Because Dex is a Scorpio.”
Justin’s eyebrows raised inquiringly. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning Caitlin has her work cut out for her. Scorpios are unforgiving. They can hold a grudge forever. They only see things as black or whi
te. There’s never room for gray.”
Justin chuckled. “That sounds like Dex, all right.”
Lorren shifted in her husband’s arms and looked up at him. “Justin, how do you feel about Caitlin?”
Justin shrugged. “I only met her that once, right after they married. I thought she was kind of young at the time. All of us did.”
“All of you except for Dex?”
Justin nodded. “He was too deeply in love. To him that was all that mattered. When we heard about the divorce, none of us was really surprised. She hurt him deeply and I guess a part of me resents that. But I keep thinking of Christy. You know how overly protective we are of our baby sister. What if that had been her instead of Caitlin? There’s no way we would have accepted her marriage to an older man, especially one eleven years older. And for that reason, I don’t hold anything against Caitlin. None of us in the family do.”
“Did you try explaining the analogy about Christy to Dex?”
“Yeah, but he wouldn’t listen. He couldn’t see beyond the pain.”
Lorren gazed deeply into Justin’s eyes. “Do you think they’ll be able to work things out between them?”
“I don’t know, baby. I hope so.”
“Me, too. It’s hard being part of a loveless marriage.”
Justin knew Lorren was thinking about her first marriage and the pain it had caused her. “I don’t want to talk anymore,” he said.
She smiled. “Oh? What do you want to do?”
His arms slid around her waist and lifted her atop him. “This,” he whispered before giving her a very heated kiss.
It was well past midnight before Dex returned home. He found Caitlin sitting in the middle of the living room floor sorting through several small boxes. She glanced up and smiled, then moved the boxes out of her way before standing. “Hi.”
He returned her smile, letting his gaze roam up and down her small, shapely figure that was covered by a white, ballerina-length nightgown. “Why are you still up?”
Caitlin met his gaze. She thought she saw annoyance in their dark depths. She’d tried convincing herself she should be in the guest room asleep when Dex came home, but for some unexplainable reason, she had waited up for him.
Tearing her gaze away, she looked down at the boxes sprawled by her bare feet. “I was trying to organize some of your papers that I found tossed on the desk in your study. I hope you don’t mind.”
Dex shrugged. “Why should I mind? I’ve been meaning to take care of them and kept putting it off. Thanks for doing it, but you really didn’t have to.”
Caitlin smiled. “I didn’t have anything to do after Jordan went to bed. Have you ever thought about putting this stuff on computer? It would save you a lot of time and space.”
Dex’s eyes reflected amusement. “Probably would, but if you’re suggesting I do it tonight, forget it.”
Caitlin laughed, then her expression became serious. “You look tired.”
Her whispered evaluation of his physical state brought a wry smile to Dex’s lips. “Yeah, I am. The meeting lasted longer than I expected,” he said, taking her hand and leading her toward the sofa.
Dex thought about his meeting with Trevor. They had made a conference call to Adam and Corinthians. As best as Dex could, he had explained the situation to them. Everyone was totally surprised Caitlin was Halston Parker’s daughter and didn’t want to sell Shadowland. Adam had been extremely upset with Malone Land Developers’s handling of things, and had indicated that he would be speaking directly to S. T. Remington about it. He was more than sure that Remington Oil would sever all ties with Malone Land Developers.
When they sat down on the sofa, Caitlin relaxed against Dex, letting her head rest on his chest. “How did Trevor’s meeting go with Remington Oil yesterday?”
“Remington Oil changed their mind.”
Caitlin lifted her head to meet his gaze. A look of confusion covered her face. “What do you mean?”
“They’ve changed their mind about the entire project. And without the project, there’s no need for Madaris Explorations’ services.” He decided not to tell her everything.
“Oh, Dex. I’m sorry. I know how much getting that project meant to you.”
“Don’t worry about it. There’ll be other projects.” He stood. “If you don’t mind, I prefer not discussing this anymore.”
“All right, I understand.”
“I take it Jordan went to bed long ago.”
Caitlin smiled. “Yes. Your phone call earlier this afternoon pleased her immensely. When she first woke up from her nap, she thought you had gone back to Australia. She tried waiting up for you tonight, but couldn’t. She had a lot to tell you.”
“Oh? Such as…?”
Caitlin’s smile widened. “For starters, she just loves our new home and has found the perfect tree out back for you to build her a tree house. She wants it to be a smaller version of this house.”
Dex laughed.
“That’s not all, Dex. She thinks the backyard is plenty big enough for her horse.”
Dex raised a brow. “What horse?”
“The one she’s going to try to convince you she needs.”
Dex roared in laughter. “Is there anything else?”
A resigned smile curved Caitlin’s lips. At first she had decided against telling Dex about Jordan’s third request, in hopes that Jordan would forget it. But Caitlin knew just how persistent Jordan could be and felt at least he should be prepared when he saw Jordan in the morning.
Dex noted Caitlin’s hesitancy. “What else does she want?”
Caitlin took a deep breath. “She wants a baby sister or a baby brother.”
Dex’s dark-eyed gaze pierced her intently. “You may have a problem with that, Caitlin, but I don’t,” he said more harshly than he intended. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I didn’t mean to snap at you, but I have a lot on my mind right now. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a shower and then go to bed. Good night.” He left the room and headed up the stairs.
Caitlin straightened her spine as she watched his departure. Standing, she walked over to the window and stared out into the darkness as she thought about her relationship with Dex.
Suddenly, Bev’s words came back to her in a rush…Don’t be afraid to follow your heart, listen to your mind, stand behind your convictions, and don’t be afraid to take risks. The only failure lies in not trying…
She released a heavy sigh, knowing what had to be done before she and Dex could rebuild their marriage. He needed a lesson in forgiveness, and the way she saw it, the best person to give it to him was the one he couldn’t forgive.
“I love you so much, Dex,” she whispered, inhaling slowly. “And I will use my love to fight you and to break down your defenses. I have to believe that love draws love.”
Dex’s exhaustion vanished under the hard, steamy spray of water that ran through his lathered hair and soaked into his skin. He turned his face into the nozzle as the hot water rushed down the curve of his back, then trickled down his legs.
Minutes later he stepped out of the shower and dried off with a thick velour towel. Leaving the bathroom, he entered his semidarkened bedroom. A faint movement near the vicinity of the bed caught his attention. Caitlin stood there looking innocently seductive. The vision before him was like something out of a dream. It beckoned him to come closer.
But he didn’t.
“Caitlin?” Dex asked in a whisper.
Caitlin found her gaze locked with Dex’s. He stood in the middle of the room wearing a towel wrapped around his waist and another draped around his neck. He studied her with dark, compelling eyes, making her pulse race.
Her breath caught in her throat. Deep within her a spark of desire was ignited by the look in his eyes. His gaze was reaching out and touching her. A ripple of excitement surged throughout her body. Silence between them was so thick in the room it could have been cut with a knife.
“It’s my time to serve th
e tea. I think you’re the one who needs relaxing tonight,” she finally said, indicating the serving tray holding the cup of tea she’d placed on the nightstand. “I may as well warn you, it’s not Whispering Pines’s finest, but it was the best I could do.”
“Thanks, it smells good.” He walked over and picked up the cup. “Where’s yours?”
Caitlin sat on the edge of Dex’s bed. “I thought we would share.”
Dex turned and fixed a surprised gaze on her face. “All right.” He picked up the cup. “Here, you can take a sip first.”
Caitlin shook her head. “No, I made it for you. You can go first.”
Dex nodded and took a sip. He smiled. “Not bad.” Being careful of the hot liquid, he held the cup while Caitlin took a sip. His stomach clenched deep inside when she deliberately found the place where his mouth had touched on the cup, placed her mouth there and took a sip.
“You’re right, it’s not bad. But I can think of something better,” she whispered, holding his steady gaze. “To relax you.”
“Something like what?” Dex asked, his voice husky. He placed the cup back on the tray.
“Mmm,” she said as her gaze scanned him from head to toe, letting him know she was very aware of the fact that he was standing before her seminude. She looked up and met his gaze once again. “Me. Tonight I’m serving tea and…me.”
Dex stared down at her, hoping he had heard her correctly. “Tea and you? That’s a mighty hot combination, Caitlin. Are you sure?” he asked, his voice raspy, husky.
A smile tilted Caitlin’s mouth. “Yes, I’m sure. I’m ready for a real marriage, Dex. I know what my feelings are for you. I’ve been dealing with them since the day you returned. I love you. I always have, and I always will.”
Dex stood very still, stunned by her words. Her voice was soft and breathless, and her eyes were filled with the love she’d just proclaimed. Reluctantly he pulled his gaze from hers. He wanted her, but a part of him couldn’t place his heart in her hands again. And it was only fair that he let her know up front just how he felt. He met her gaze again.
“I care for you, Caitlin, but—”
Whispered Promises Page 18
