Cade stared at the woman seated behind the reception desk.
“You’re not Emily,” he said.
She smiled politely. “Emily’s not here anymore.”
“She isn’t?”
“No, sir. She took a position at another firm. May I help you?”
Cade looked at the closed door to Angelica’s office. “Yes,” he said, “yes, you may. My name is Cade Landon, and—”
“From Landon Enterprises?” The woman rose to her feet. “What a coincidence, sir. I was just about to post this letter to your Denver office, and—”
“Is—is Ms. Gordon in?” he said. He took a step toward Angelica’s door and then he stopped. “Not that I wish to see her,” he said, frowning, “but—”
“No, sir. She’s not.”
Cade cleared his throat. “Yes, well, that’s all right. I’m sure you can help me with—”
“I’m afraid Ms. Gordon doesn’t work here anymore.”
Cade swung toward the woman. “What?”
“It’s all in this letter, Mr. Landon. Ms. Gordon resigned. She told me to post this first thing this morning, and-”
“That’s impossible,” Cade said sharply. “She couldn’t have resigned.”
“Well, she did. She hired a replacement, of course, if you wish to meet him…”
“Let me see that letter,” Cade said, and grabbed it from her.
He read it through, but it said nothing; it might as well have been a form resignation copied straight from a business manual.
“When did she leave?” he snapped, and tossed the letter on the desk.
“Well, on Friday, sir. I mean, that was when she left the office. But I don’t think she left Dallas until Saturday, or perhaps—”
The woman gasped as Cade caught her by the arms. “She left Dallas?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where did she go? Dammit, woman…”
“My name is Carlisle, sir. Alice Carlisle.”
“Ms. Carlisle,” Cade said. “Alice.” He took a deep breath, lifted his hands from her and stepped back. “This is very important, Alice. I must find Ms. Gordon. I have to find her, and tell her—and tell her…” He smiled, or hoped he did. God only knew if he were smiling or grimacing in pain. “Do you know where she’s gone?”
“Why, she went home, of course. Some town in Connecticut, Mr. Landon. I have it right here—”
Cade snatched the slip of paper from Alice Carlisle’s hand. His eyes skimmed the address, and then he turned and hurried from the office.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE LITTLE town of Eastgate, Connecticut, was picturepostcard beautiful, a traditional bit of New England that might have been created by an artist—or an overly zealous Chamber of Commerce.
Clapboard saltboxes with dark slate roofs stood sentinel around the village square. In summer, the square was a verdant green; now, in late autumn, the maples and oaks that lined it had shed their leaves, covering the grass with a carpet of crimson and gold. A church flanked the square, its spare lines an acknowledgment of its Puritan ancestry, its white steeple reaching toward the sky, the golden spire catching the last, sharp light of the late afternoon sun.
A block north of the square, a column of stately elms lined the cobbled driveway that led to the handsome Gothic structure that was Miss Palmer’s Academy. The original stone building had been extended over the years so that now it was a large and imposing edifice. Beyond its west wing, a breeze delicately ruffled the waters of Eastgate Pond, where the young ladies of the academy swam in the languid heat of summer and ice skated in the brisk chill of the New England winter.
Angelica sighed as she gazed down on the scene from the gentle rise on which she stood.
It was a perfect picture, she thought, just as she’d thought so many times before—and she waited for the rush of pleasure that should have accompanied the knowledge that she was back where she belonged.
But the feeling wouldn’t come.
She had arrived yesterday, spent the night at the Eastgate Inn and met with the academy’s headmistress this afternoon. Miss James had been gracious. The school would be delighted to have Angelica back, she’d said; her old position would be waiting for her at the start of the next semester.
Her friends on the academy staff had greeted her warmly. No one had questioned her return; everyone simply hugged her and said how wonderful it was to have her back.
“You’re home again,” Jack Brenner had said, whirling her around in a circle.
Then, why was there this awful heaviness in her heart?
This place, this familiar part of the States, was home. And Jack and Miss James and the others were not just friends, they were her kind of people. They spoke the same language, had the same expectations…
And yet, every time Angelica smiled, she felt as if she were forcing her face to assume an alien mask. Every time she said yes, she was very happy to be back, she felt as if she were speaking a lie.
And it was all Cade’s fault, damn him! It was all because he’d ended up being the contemptible, insensitive, chauvinistic bastard she’d pegged him for from the beginning.
At least she wasn’t still in love with him, she thought, lifting her chin—if, indeed, she ever had been. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that she, of all people, had ended up believing the hoary old wive’s tale that said a woman always fell in love with the man to whom she gave her virginity.
Yes, she thought, that had to be it. She’d fed herself romantic propaganda rather than accept the truth, which was that what had happened between her and Cade was nothing but meaningless sex…
“Angelica?”
Angelica frowned. Jack, she thought, with a twinge of guilt. He’d gone walking with her, and somehow she’d forgotten all about him.
She moistened her lips, fixed them in a smile and turned to him.
“Jack, I’m terribly sorry.” She put her hand on his arm. “I must have been daydreaming.”
“There’s no need to apologize.” Jack took her hand in his. “I understand how you must feel, Angelica. It must be wonderful, being back home again.”
Angelica nodded. “It is,” she said quickly. “It’s—it’s wonderful.”
Jack laced his fingers through hers and they began walking slowly along the crest of the hill.
“I like what you’ve done with your hair,” he said, smiling at her.
She laughed and put her hand to the long, loose curls the breeze was gently tossing against her shoulders.
“I guess I finally figured out that there’s no point trying to disguise myself, Jack. I am who I am, and that’s that.”
He grinned. “Sounds good to me.” His hand tightened on hers. “I just can’t tell you how glad I am to see you again.”
“And I’m glad to see you, too.” Angelica sighed. “It’s just that—I don’t know, it seems impossible that I’m back here in Eastgate.”
“Yes. It seems that way to me, too. I’d really begun to think we’d lost you forever.”
Angelica’s smile tilted. “Nothing is forever, Jack,” she said. “That’s one thing I’ve learned these past months.”
“I’ll bet your exile in Siberia must have seemed like forever,” Jack said, and grinned.
Angelica grinned back at him. “That’s another thing I learned. Believe it or not, Texas is part of the United States.”
“Maybe—and then again, maybe not.’’ Jack made a sweeping gesture that took in the town nestled below them. “But it can’t compare to this.”
“Well, it’s entirely different than this. New England is beautiful. But Texas—Texas is beautiful, too.”
“I suppose.” They strolled along in companionable silence, and then Jack glanced at her. “So,” he said quietly, “I take it that the Dallas thing didn’t work out?”
Angelica shook her head. “No. No, it didn’t.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sure it wasn’t anything you did—”
“I mad
e a lot of mistakes, Jack. I realize that now.”
Jack put his hands lightly on Angelica’s shoulders and turned her toward him.
“But it’s over with, right? You sold your dad’s company?”
“Oh, it wasn’t mine to sell. It turned out he’d sold it himself, before he died. I just—I ran it for a while, and then—and then the conglomerate that had bought it from my father sent somebody down to check things out, and—and…”
“And what?” Jack frowned. “Don’t tell me he fired you?”
“No. Well, he was going to, but…but he ended up offering to let me stay on.”
“For how long?”
Angelica took a deep breath. “For—for as long as I wanted.”
Jack gave an uncertain laugh. “I’m lost here, Angelica. This corporate pencil pusher came down to give you the once-over, and—”
“He wasn’t a pencil pusher,” she said quickly.
“Whatever. He looked things over, liked what you were doing—so why’d you quit?”
“He didn’t. Like what I was doing, I mean. He—he said I didn’t know anything about the oil business.”
Jack grimaced. “Sounds like a typical chauvinist to me.”
“No!” Angelica shook her head. “No, he was right. I didn’t know anything about the business. That’s why I was screwing up.”
Jack gave a puzzled laugh. “So he offered to keep you on as director for as long as you wanted?” He grinned and chucked her under the chin. “I must be missing something here.”
Angelica stared at him. Yes, she thought, oh, yes, he was definitely missing something. He was missing the part that mattered, where Cade had demanded she make a cold-blooded choice between his selfish idea of love and her need to feel whole.
But she would never feel whole again. Never, because without Cade—without his love…
A choked sound burst from her throat. Jack stared at her.
“Angelica?” he said.
He reached toward her but she shook her head fiercely and swung away from him. Tears rose in her eyes as she stared blindly out over the village.
She loved Cade. Lord, how she loved him! And she always would, no matter how many long, empty years went by.
How could Cade have been such a fool? How could he have imagined she’d choose the directorship of Gordon Oil over a life at his side?
Would he ever suspect that leaving Gordon Oil had been the easiest thing she’d ever done in her life?
It was living without Cade that was going to be hard. Impossible, maybe, if the last week was any indication. She’d spent it in such misery, lying awake at night and aching for the feel of his strong, comforting arms, waking in the morning and not opening her eyes so she could pretend that loving him and losing him had all been a bad dream…
“Angelica?” Jack’s hands clasped her shoulders and he turned her toward him. “What’s wrong? Please, tell me.”
She tried to smile her reassurance, but it didn’t work. The tears only came faster. Jack put his arms around her. She let him draw her close and bring her head against his chest.
Please, she thought, please let me feel safe, and secure, and happy.
But she felt none of those things. Jack was a good man, a kind man, and though she’d never admitted it to herself before, she knew that he was close to falling in love with her.
They were a perfect match. They held the same convictions. He respected her as an equal; he would never dream of doing anything without seeking her opinion first—and she would need that from a man before she could make a life with him, she knew that.
The trouble was that she’d have to have other things, too. He’d have to make her blood sing just by touching her, his kisses would have to turn her to flame, and just the sight of him or the sound of his voice would have to fill her with a joy so fierce it was almost painful.
“Angelica?”
She went rigid in Jack’s arms. Was she so unhappy, so lost without Cade, that she’d taken to imagining the sound of his voice?
“Angelica.”
Time seemed to stop. She pulled a deep, shuddering breath into her lungs and put her hands against Jack’s chest. Slowly, his embrace loosened and she turned in his arms.
A tremor went through her.
“Cade,” she whispered.
He looked much as he had that day at the Odessa wells, standing tall and handsome in a leather jacket, jeans and boots…
Her heart felt as if it might burst.
“Cade? What—what are you doing here?”
He moved slowly toward her, his eyes never leaving her face.
“I came to see you,” he said softly. “And to tell you—to tell you…” He looked away from her then, at Jack.
Angelica looked at Jack, too. He was staring at Cade as if he’d seen an apparition, and just for an instant Angelica smiled as she thought how each must be sizing up the other and trying to make sense out of what he saw.
“Jack,” she said, “this is—this is Cade Landon. Hehe…” He’s the man I love, the man I’ll always love, she almost said, but she had at least some pride left. “He—he’s the man I was telling you about, the one who—who offered to let me stay on at my father’s oil company.”
“But you didn’t,” Cade said, his eyes meeting hers again.
Angelica sighed. “No.”
Cade took another step forward. “Why?” he said softly. “It was what you wanted, Angel, what you wanted more than anything else in the world.”
“Did I ever say that?”
Cade’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t have to. You made it clear enough.”
Her chin trembled. “Cade Landon,” she said, “you are the biggest damned fool…”
Tears rose in her eyes again and she spun away from him.
“Angelica?” Jack cleared his throat. “Angelica, what’s going on here?”
She rubbed her hand across her eyes, hating herself for breaking down, hating Cade for whatever pound of flesh he’d come to collect—and feeling nothing but compassion for Jack, who looked like a man who’d found himself trapped inside a maze without a clue as to how he’d got there.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Jack, I’m so sorry, but—but…”
Jack looked from Angelica to Cade. “I understand,” he said, and he smiled a little sadly. “At least stop by and say goodbye before you leave, Angelica. Will you do that?”
Angelica looked at him as if he were crazy. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Jack nodded. “Right,” he said. He put his hand against her cheek in a last, gentle caress. Then he nodded at Cade, brushed past him and strode down the hill.
Cade waited until the other man was barely a pinpoint in the distance. Then he frowned and turned to Angelica.
“An old flame?”
“A good friend.”
“For somebody who’s just a friend, he was holding you pretty damn close.”
Angelica’s chin lifted. “He’s a very good friend. Besides, it’s none of your business.”
“All right, then, let’s try something that is my business. Why did you give up your job at Gordon Oil?”
She stared at him, and then she turned away, tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket and started walking. He fell in beside her.
“An employee only has to give notice, not a reason for resigning a position.”
Cade’s lips twitched. “What textbook is that from?”
“I don’t owe you any explanations, Cade. I’m not asking for severance pay or even a reference.”
“And a good thing,” he growled, “considering that you don’t know a damned thing about running an oil company.”
Angelica spun toward him, her eyes flashing. “Are we back to that? Anyway, I never said I did!”
Cade smiled. “No. You didn’t.” He looked at her. “But you do know something about finance and debt structure.”
“You’re damned right I do! I…” She frowned. “Who says so?”
Cade�
��s lips twitched again. “You did, if I’m remenv bering right. Well, and my brother says so, too.”
“Your brother!” Angelica tossed her head. “Another Landon genius, no doubt.”
“I wouldn’t call Zach a genius—not to his face, anyway.” Cade grinned. “But he’s got a pretty fair reputation as a guy who knows how to take a little bit of money and coax it into a lot.”
“And he said that I…” Angelica smiled sweetly. “Are you sure he knows I’m a woman? That might change his attitude considerably.”
Cade took a deep breath. “I’m the one who needs the change of attitude,” he said, “the one who needs to remember that you can be my woman and still be your own person.”
Angelica stared at him. “What?”
He smiled. “I think you might find that you and my sister, Kyra, have a great deal in common.”
“I don’t—I don’t understand. What does your sister have to do with me?”
“Nothing.” He moved closer to her, and the way he looked into her eyes made it almost impossible for her to breathe. “Nothing—and everything. She’s a very wise young woman, that sister of mine. It turns out she knows things about me that I…” Cade took a deep breath. “Angel,” he said softly. He reached out, framed Angelica’s face in his hands. “Angel, I love you. I love you with all my heart.’’
Angelica’s lips trembled. What was the sense in denying the truth?
“Oh, Cade,” she whispered, “I love you, too. I always will—but it won’t work.”
“It will,” he said, with that wonderful strength and determination she knew so well. “I’ve learned a lot in the past week, Angel. For instance, I know now that the only way to keep you is to let you have your freedom.”
Hope blossomed in Angelica’s heart. “Not too much freedom,” she said, her eyes on his. “I’ve learned some things too, Cade, that—that love can make you stronger, not weaker, that I’ve never been happier than when you’re holding me in your arms.”
Cade smiled and gathered her to him. “I’ll make you an offer, Angel.”
“What offer?” she whispered.
He brushed his mouth gently over hers. “I’m flying to London in a couple of days. Come with me.”
“Come with—”
An Indecent Proposal Page 17
