by Amy Gamet
But while he’d once considered her the perfect partner, he now considered her a very poor substitute for someone else.
He glanced across the limo at Tori, who seemed to have fallen asleep on Gabe’s shoulder, and his stomach wrenched with jealousy. It had been all he could do to stay away from her this evening, no less watch her reunite with his brother. The whole time he’d been listening to Evelyn prattle on, his eyes had followed Tori.
In the morning, he’d be gone.
He just had to make it through tonight without her.
The car pulled up in front of the bed and breakfast. Jed watched as Gabe woke Tori and said his goodbyes, kissing her gently on the cheek.
Jed clenched his fists. Evelyn touched his shoulder. “Would you like to come in?”
He could feel Tori’s eyes upon him. Here was his opportunity to push her away. By simply saying yes, he would show Tori that nothing could ever happen between them. A quick break, like ripping a bandage off. He wouldn’t stay here with Evelyn, but he could walk back to his cabin in less than an hour.
It was the right thing to do.
It was the reason he’d spent the entire reception chatting with Evelyn. It was the chance he’d been waiting for. He looked at Tori and opened his mouth to tell her goodnight, but something in her eyes made him close it again.
Something true, and beautiful.
He turned to Evelyn. “No. I’m glad we talked. It was good to see you.”
“But that’s all.”
“Yes.”
She nodded her head and climbed out of the limo. The door closed, leaving him alone with Tori for the first time all day. He stared at her until the driver spoke up. “Where to?”
There were so many questions wrapped up in that one. When Tori didn’t answer, Jed said to her, “I’ll go wherever you want.”
She scowled. “And just what makes you think you’re welcome with me?”
“Tori, we need to talk.”
“You could have talked to me anytime. I was there all night, but you didn’t say a word to me.”
“You were pretty busy talking to Gabe.”
“Don’t put this on me. You were the one reuniting with an old flame, ignoring me for hours on end.” She shook her head and looked at the ceiling. “Hawthorn Point,” she said to the driver. “The log cabins on the water.” The car began to move. “I was talking to Gabe because I couldn’t get a word in edgewise with Miss Chatty Kathy and her walk down memory lane.”
“She wanted me back.”
“Ya think?”
“But I’m not interested in her, Tori. I’m only interested in you.”
“Well, you’ve got a real funny way of showing it.”
“And what about you, dancing with my brother for hours on end? He wants you as much as Evelyn wants me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It doesn’t matter. You didn’t deserve the way I treated you today.”
“Then why’d you do it?”
He closed his eyes, opened them again. “I wanted to push you away. I wanted you to hate me. I was afraid of my feelings for you.”
They stared at each other as the limousine turned down Jed’s street. He knew he should let her go, that she deserved a man who was prepared to give her everything he could never provide, a man who would love her and stand by her, stay with her through it all.
While he would be leaving in the morning.
But he couldn’t let her go, anymore than the earth could let go of the moon. Jed needed her, wanted as much of her as she would give him, desperate for her touch and her surrender.
His voice was hoarse. “Come home with me, Tori.”
She said nothing.
“Please. Not because it’s a good idea, but because you want to. Because you want to be as close to me as I want to be to you. Because I need to be with you, more than I’ve ever needed to be with anyone.”
He heard the crunch of gravel under the tires of the car as it made its way down the hill, his stomach sinking with every moment she didn’t answer him.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she asked.
He stared at her through the dimly lit car. “In the morning.”
She nodded, the slightest movement of her head. The car stopped and he held his breath.
Tori reached out her hand. He grabbed it, and she slid across the seat toward the door, making his body and his heart begin to sing.
She was coming with him.
She was giving herself to him.
She was going to be his.
The car pulled away, leaving them standing beside the dark road. He wound his fingers with hers, and he kissed her.
Chapter 10
Their kisses escalated quickly, chests rising and falling in anticipation of what was to come. Tori let her head fall back and opened her eyes, a million stars shining brightly overhead as Jed nuzzled her neck.
“Come inside,” he whispered. “I need to make love to you.”
Oh, those words!
Tori was falling for him, hard, caring more this man than any before him. If only he meant those words, if only he truly did love her. But he was leaving and she knew better than to think they would have a relationship beyond the daylight. Sadness welled up inside her, tears blurring her view of the Milky Way as she felt the pain of losing him already in her mind.
Stop it. You’re here with him now, don’t ruin this night by borrowing trouble from tomorrow.
She brought her mouth back to his, opening to him tenderly. “I need you, too.”
He took her hand and pulled her through the moonlight to the door of the cabin, and an unexpected shyness slipped through her when he turned to work the lock. She pushed her hair back with a shaking hand. This was it. She was going to make love with Jed Trainor. In hindsight it seemed inevitable, as if the two of them had been on some cosmic collision course since he first set foot in Moon Lake.
They stepped inside and she was back in his arms, the kitchen counter pressed against her back. She slipped her hands into his jacket and pushed it off his shoulders, needing to get closer to him, working to expose his skin.
She’d waited too long for this man to waste a single moment now. For all the times she spent thinking she would never find love, and here he was, alive and real and wanting her as much as she wanted him.
He picked her up and put her on the counter, her face now even with his. She stared into his eyes as she wrapped her legs around him, then leaned in to kiss him once more. He tasted like wine and something wonderful, a heady mix of man and spicy cologne filling her nostrils.
I love you.
Tori knew instinctively the words would rip him apart, so she kept them safely in her heart. Instead, she showed him with every stroke of her fingertips, with every movement of her body against his, with every sigh and tender moan she breathed into his ear.
I love you.
Jed picked her up and carried her to the bedroom with a throaty roar. The weight of him chased her down and pinned her to the mattress, the tender willing captive of a madman. His hands raced over every part of her, exposing skin and warming it with his fervent touch until she was as desperate for him as he was for her.
“I can’t wait anymore, Tori. I have to be inside you.”
Never had she felt so desirable, so feminine, so sexual. She nodded her head and watched as he threw off the last of his clothing, coming back to settle between her legs, flesh on flesh.
They came together in a rush of excitement and she grabbed at him, pulling him to her. This was the man she had waited for, the man she had almost believed did not exist. As their bodies reached that frenzied peak, she held onto him tightly and opened her heart to him completely, knowing one night in paradise was better than no time at all.
* * *
Diamonds are dazzling
Throwing out rays of light
That scatter like sea gulls
When given a fright
Water laps softly
; On shores made of stone
Where sailors were often
Seen standing alone
Now jewels you can hold
In your palm for all time
But lovers have wills
Of their own, their own minds
The treasures that matter
The most are not rendered
But given in trust
For as long as they’re tended
* * *
Jed woke before dawn, Tori snuggled against his side. He pressed his face to her hair and inhaled the scent of her, feminine and musky from their night of greedy lovemaking.
His mind drifted over his memories of her, the feel of her beneath him and the sensation of exploding into a million, shattered pieces. The experience had been like nothing he’d ever known, and knew he wasn’t likely to be granted again anytime soon.
Especially since he was leaving in a matter of hours. His eyes went to the clock.
His conscience nagged at him but he tramped it back down. He had no place in Tori’s life, no right to lead her on with promises he knew full well he couldn’t keep. The idea made his hands clammy with sweat.
No, some people were broken beyond repair, and he was one of them.
He tightened his grip on Tori’s shoulder and she mumbled in her sleep. He hoped she would find someone worthy of her love, someone who could love her back and give her all the things she deserved. And if the mere idea of her taking another lover drove him crazy with jealousy, then it was just as well he wouldn’t be around to see it.
The room was brighter now, the first streaks of sunshine painting the sky, and he considered slipping out of bed to shower and dress, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he ran his hand down her shoulder, lightly caressing, intending to wake her up for one more round of loving before nighttime officially gave way to day.
A phone rang in the other room, and Tori stirred in his arms, her eyes opening with a confused stare.
“Your phone’s ringing,” he said.
She hopped out of bed and ran to the kitchen, treating him to a view of her backside as she went. He could hear her talking.
“Wait, what? Slow down… Oh, no.” She ran back in the room. “Jed, turn on channel ten, now.”
He reached for the clicker. A news anchor appeared. “…found last night. A road crew, working through the night to fix a water main break, found the chest, filled with $10,000 worth of jewelry, just north of Main Street between Trevor and Vine, at the sight of the old glass factory.”
Tori sank down on the bed. “What am I going to do now? This ruins everything!”
Jed watched the images on the screen, a backhoe and several workmen visible in the background. They were interviewing another worker. “It wouldn’t be right to keep it, of course. The town will return it to Tori’s Treasures. I know they’ve been trying to reach Miss Henderson—Tori—since we found it around three this morning.”
Tori picked up her dress, throwing it over her head. “Can you give me a ride home?”
“Sure.” He stood and moved for his own clothes.
This is it then.
She probably wasn’t thinking about the two of them right now, but he sure was. He’d wanted to make love to her again before giving her a proper goodbye, not rush out the door like this.
Maybe he’d stick around and see how it all played out. Maybe he could help with the treasure hunt.
No way.
He rubbed at the first scruff of a beard as he climbed in the car beside her. “What are you going to do?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Her voice cracked, and he realized she was about to cry.
“It’s okay, I’m sure there’s a way to fix it.”
“Fix it? It took me six months to plan the treasure hunt. Every clue is a piece of the final puzzle. They all play in together and point to the final location of the chest. You can’t just wave your corporate wand and fix that.”
He took a deep breath. “Tori, I’m not the bad guy here. I’m trying to help you.”
She turned to face him. “Don’t you have to get going?”
Ah, so that’s what this is about.
“I mean, I wouldn’t want to keep you,” she said.
“You knew last night I was leaving. Don’t be upset with me now for following through with it.”
She turned back and stared out her window. “Do you have any idea how much this means to me? How hard I’ve worked?” She sniffed. “And now it’s over. I’ve completely screwed up everything. The treasure hunt didn’t even work. I still don’t have enough money to save my shop.”
“My offer to help you still stands.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Stubborn, aren’t you?”
“So, what?”
“I’ll take that as a yes. There has to be a way to fix this.”
Tori looked up and glared at him.
“Don’t bite my head off again. Let’s think. How many clues are left in the treasure hunt?”
“One.”
“And you’re triangulating the points, right? So if you move that one, it affects the location of the treasure. You can rebury it somewhere else.”
“It’s not that simple. I have to make the area in the middle of the points small enough that the winner doesn’t have to dig up half the town to find it.”
“Still, it could be done,” he said.
“Maybe. As long as that point’s not in the middle of the lake!”
“Think of it this way. You’re getting more news coverage than you were before, and probably from a farther distance away. More people are learning about the treasure hunt. You could capitalize on that, maybe do an interview for the TV stations. Tell people they can find the first clues on your website.”
“You’re right. I can turn this around and make it work to my advantage.”
“Absolutely.”
“I have to look at a map.” She spent the rest of the drive on her smartphone, not looking up until he pulled into the parking lot for Tori’s Treasures.
“Thanks for your help, Jed. And thank you for last night, too. I had a really good time.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She lifted her chin. “I’m a big girl. You don’t need to worry about me. What time are you leaving?”
“I figured I’d go pack up now and head out. Shouldn’t take me too long to get on the road.”
“Then I guess this is goodbye.”
His arms ached to pull her to him, his mouth to kiss her one last time, but he didn’t move.
She stared at him, and he thought he could see the slightest shimmer in her eyes. “Have a good trip.” She opened her door, a crisp morning breeze blowing inside.
Stop her.
Stay with her.
Ask if you can see her again.
But all he could say was goodbye.
* * *
Melanie’s eyes took in Tori’s attire from head to toe. “Ah, the walk of shame.” She chuckled. “Evening attire first thing in the morning.”
Tori covered her eyes. “I was with Jed.”
“I know. I heard you tell him to turn on the TV. The water authority called, they want you to call them back so you can pickup the chest.”
Tori moved to the phone. “I’ll do it now. The sooner we get that chest back in the ground, the better I’ll feel.”
“Sweetheart, you better take a spin in front of the mirror before you go anywhere.”
Tori looked down at her dress. “That bad?”
“Oh, yeah,” Melanie snickered.
Tori cursed and hung up the phone. “Will you call for me? Tell them I’ll be there in an hour?”
“As long as you promise to spill all the dirty details about your date in the car.”
“What about the shop?”
“It’s Sunday. We don’t open until noon, remember? I just came in when I saw the news report.”
“That’s right. Okay, sure.”
Tor
i climbed the stairs to her apartment, stripping as she went. Her mind replayed the last time she took this dress off, or rather Jed took it off for her, and she frowned.
She wasn’t sorry she slept with him, but she was really sorry he was leaving.
Stepping into the shower, she let the hot water seep through her thick hair. She imagined she was washing him off of her, his scent, his fingerprints, and the thought made her sad. No doubt, he was on his way to shower, too, and she let her head fall forward into the spray.
I’m a big girl, Jed.
What a liar she was!
Every word out of her mouth this morning had been designed to make him think she was okay with him leaving, when really she loved him more now than she did last night. It was like a piece of herself would be gone forever, a loss like nothing she’d ever experienced.
She shook her head.
Her mind flashed back to her lovemaking with Jed, so fierce and satisfying and true. She’d felt complete when he was inside her, like she was home, a feeling she never expected to find outside of the building where she now stood.
Which she now realized was just a building. A real home was something else entirely. She couldn’t save her shop, her studio or her apartment, and she just couldn’t keep Jed in her life.
Jed.
With his big hands and his big heart that he tried so hard to protect. It wasn’t hard to see the little boy he had been, the wounds cutting so deeply they still affected him some thirty years later.
The way he had held her and made love to her last night left no doubt in her mind that he was capable of sincere, tender love. He just didn’t believe he could do it, and she knew better than to think she could convince him.
Turning off the water, she dried off her body and wiped at her eyes. If she could go back and do it all over again, knowing what she knew now, she would make the same decision in a heartbeat.
She stared at her eyes in the mirror and took a deep breath. It was time to grow up. Time to focus on her own life, her shop, the things she could control.
Time to let go of Jed.
“I can do this. I am a grown up.” She pointed at her reflection. “No matter what you may think.”
