Caught off guard, Mark let out a surprised laugh. He knew she’d ask sooner or later. It’d probably been bugging the hell out of her. He liked that she wanted to know. And it irritated him that he liked her wanting to know.
She nudged his shoulder. “So, do you?”
He could tease her, string out the suspense, drive her nuts. He found himself answering instead, “Do you really think I’d try to get down your pants if I had a woman?”
She didn’t even hesitate. “Absolutely.”
Ouch. Though he supposed he deserved that, it still ticked him off that she believed those things. It just showed how little Lorelei knew him.
“You forget I’ve heard about your reputation, Mark. I know that fidelity is not your strong suit,” she said.
Bullshit. Irritation welled inside him and he shot out, “Did my ex-wife tell you that?” He swore when she nodded. “For your information, sweetheart, I wasn’t the one who had problems with monogamy.”
“She cheated on you?”
A tic started below his right eye. It always happened when he thought too much about his marriage to Dina.
That’s why he didn’t think about it.
Until Lorelei Littleton had crashed into his life, he’d managed to avoid thinking about the unfaithful, two-faced money-grubber altogether. Now even the presence of Lorelei was directly related to Dina, and so was his missing cross. It was a hard pill to swallow. He didn’t like that those two were connected, didn’t like the taint it put on things. The history he shared with his ex held lots of ugly emotions and was full of manipulation and greed. All on her part. He didn’t want that brushing up against Lorelei. Though he wasn’t sure why, he just knew it didn’t sit right and he wanted her untangled from Dina’s web soon.
A memory came to him suddenly of a fight they’d had shortly before their divorce. He’d been getting ready to head out for a game and was in the bedroom getting dressed. Just as he’d finished and was grabbing his bag, she’d strutted through the door, fresh from the spa. He could tell where she’d been by the makeup job and new blond hair color.
There’d been no greeting or affection. No kiss or hug hello. Just an accusatory “You didn’t put enough money in my account. You did that on purpose, didn’t you? I want to go shopping. Nordstrom’s is having a sale and I want new boots.”
He’d glanced at her across the room, noted that she looked one step away from eating-disorder thin again. It’d been a line she’d struggled not to cross ever since he’d known her. “I just put five grand in there two days ago, D.”
She’d turned to him, her hands bunched in fists at her side. “It wasn’t enough, okay? God, why do you always scrutinize me? Don’t you want me to look good? Be happy?” She’d crossed her arms and glared, her blue eyes frigid. “You always belittle me. You’re such an asshole.”
It was the same old mantra he’d been hearing for three years. He was mean. He was unfair. He treated her bad. He didn’t love her enough to buy her all the things that made her happy.
Truth was, the only bad thing he’d done was marry her. “If I’m such an asshole, then divorce me.” He was tired of being her whipping boy.
She hadn’t liked hearing that. In a fit of temper she’d grabbed a vase full of flowers off the dresser next to her and hurled it at him, screaming, “I hate you!”
He’d dodged the vase, and the brush, the picture frame, and the candle. It hadn’t been the first time she’d thrown shit at him. Over it, he’d grabbed his bag and strode toward the door, his face set in stone.
As he passed her on the way, she’d clamped a hand around his arm, her acrylic nails digging in like talons. He’d stared straight ahead as she’d hissed, “You stupid jock. One of these days you’re going to pay for the way you treat me. I know how to hurt you.”
He shook his head to clear the memory and felt his lips press in a tight line. She’d had a way all right.
A small, warm hand slid across his thigh and came to rest on his knee, leaving a tingling trail in its wake. His muscles jerked to attention and his hands gripped hard on the steering wheel of the Rover until the knuckles turned white.
“I didn’t know, Mark. I’m sorry. I hope you can understand why I believed her, though. You’ve got a pretty notorious reputation with the ladies.”
His gut felt sour all of a sudden. His reputation had never bothered him much before, but hearing Lorelei talk about him like that pissed him off. “I suppose you believe everything you’ve heard, too, don’t you? Did you ever stop to consider maybe it was all horse shit?”
Mark felt her eyes on him. “You’re denying it? That you’ve had sex in nearly every U.S. state, that you’re particularly fond of strippers?”
Oh, that just capped it. Frustration bit into him with vicious teeth. “Damn it, Lorelei. I’m a guy. I’ve had sex, all right? Lots of it. But I sure as hell don’t play baseball just so I can screw women in every major city. And if you believe that load of bull about me having a thing for strip joints and cheap women, then I’ve given you too much credit.”
All was quiet for a moment after his outburst, then she said, “How can you expect me to believe anything else, Mark, when you behaved exactly like your reputation said you would on the night we met?”
That deflated him. She was right. Absolutely, completely, one hundred percent right. And he didn’t like what that said about him one bit.
LORELEI STUDIED MARK as they drove up the interstate toward Loveland. She’d never seen him genuinely upset. But she was seeing it now. His brows were pulled together in a deep scowl, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his hands had a death grip on the wheel.
She had a feeling it wasn’t too often that he had to account for his actions. Gut checks were few and far between for men like him. Successful, self-absorbed, attractive men in the prime of their life who had just about everything given to them on a silver platter.
Normally she couldn’t stand people like that. And for good reason. While they were out in the world living only for themselves, people like her brother, Logan, were swimming in grief, working themselves to death just trying to take care of everyone around them. Trying to find a way to save the life of someone they loved more than themselves.
Heck, he wore her yearly salary on his wrist. No wonder she’d stolen from him.
The turnoff to her house came into view and Lorelei straightened in her seat. “You need to take this exit.”
“We’re not to town yet.”
A wave of irritation washed over her. “I don’t live in town, I live over there.” She shoved her arm in front of him and pointed out the driver side window. It would do him some good to see how real people lived.
Mark slowed and made the turn off the interstate onto the two-lane road. A smattering of snow covered the ditch on either side from a late season storm. It had melted off the road though, leaving the pavement clear and dry.
Ahead the Rocky Mountains rose, imposing and impossibly beautiful, their snowy peaks sparkling in the sun. Though they’d been driving parallel to them for almost an hour, the dramatic impact of them hadn’t been as strong. Not like it was now. Now they were simply magnificent.
The silence stretched between them as they passed small farms and ranches with pastures full of cattle and horses. Lorelei watched a man bundled in a thick flannel jacket toss hay to a line of waiting, mooing cattle from the back of his flatbed truck as it idled along. A young boy sat behind the wheel, his fresh face beaming beneath his cap as he enjoyed the thrill of driving the ranch truck for his dad. Both dad and son waved as they drove by, and her heart squeezed. With a smile she waved back.
They came to a cross in the road and Mark slowed to a stop. “Which way?”
She could see the elms that lined the long driveway just around the bend. “Take a left. You can see the driveway just past the hay field over there.”
“I see it.” He made the turn and steered the Range Rover to the driveway, slowing, and turned onto the gravel road. �
��I never would have guessed you grew up in the country.”
“That’s because you don’t know me.”
The old white farmhouse came into view as they meandered down the long drive, and joy leaped inside her at the sight. She glanced at Mark to gauge his reaction. How would he respond to the peeling paint on the house and barn? Would he turn up his nose at the rusted brown Dodge truck in the driveway? What about the old tire swing that hung from the towering oak over by the garden? His face didn’t reveal a thing.
As soon as he came to a stop behind her brother’s extended cab truck, Lorelei flung the door open, grabbed her laptop and duffel, and leaped from the SUV. Just as the front screen door slammed open and her brother stepped out onto the porch. Little Michelle was riding on his hip, her brown ringlets pulled into pigtails, a Dora the Explorer doll clutched to her chest. When she spotted Lorelei she smiled, let out a squeal, and kicked her legs wildly.
Logan tipped up his cowboy hat and scowled at the shiny Range Rover, his gaze traveling slowly over the luxury SUV until they settled on her. He cocked a Wrangler-clad hip and tapped his cowboy boot against the wood boards of the porch. “Where the hell have you been, Lorelei?”
Her heart soared and she felt a grin split her face.
It was good to be home.
Chapter 12
SOMETHING WAS VERY wrong with this picture. Mark blinked and looked again. Why was there a man standing on the porch of Lorelei’s house with a baby on his hip?
What was going on here?
He slowly opened the driver side door and stepped out of the SUV. Confusion clouded his mind as he shut the door firmly behind him. He turned to ask Lorelei for an explanation, but she was already jogging up the steps, her arms outstretched toward the little girl. As he watched the scene unfold before him a slow anger flared in his gut, glowing brighter with every passing second. The answer was obvious.
Lorelei was married.
In an instant Mark saw with crystal clarity. The cowboy was her husband and the little girl was hers.
She’d almost slept with him. Jesus.
He’d been wrong about her, so wrong. Lorelei wasn’t what he’d thought she was—she was worse.
A tangled, nasty mess of emotions assaulted Mark as he watched her take the girl in her arms and kiss her husband on the cheek. How could she have done what she did with him when she had a family?
An image flashed across his mind of Lorelei topless on his kitchen counters, his mouth feeding on her breasts. Of her moaning his name.
Whatever transgressions he’d made in his life were nothing compared to what she’d done. She’d drugged him and stolen from him, but this was her biggest crime by far.
Mark swiped the back of his hand across suddenly parched lips and swallowed hard. He should leave. Just get in the car and drive away. He should forget about his cross. If she wanted it so bad she’d betray her family, then she could have it. And he’d sure as hell find another lucky charm.
Yeah, he should just go.
He walked to the porch instead. Across the huge lawn he strode, his shoes crunching over the patches of snow until he reached the steps. He paused and looked up.
Something twisted painfully inside him when Lorelei grinned, her smile bright enough to light the night sky. “Mark, I’d like you to meet my family. This is Michelle, the sweetest little girl in the universe. And this cowboy here is Logan, my brother. Michelle’s his daughter.”
Her brother?
Mark stared unspeaking at Lorelei, his mind reeling from the new information. He was such an ass. His mind tried desperately to backtrack down the path it’d been traveling because like a complete dick he’d instantly jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Belatedly he realized they were all staring at him. He jerked and held out a hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mark.”
The tall, dark-haired cowboy took his hand in a solid grip and smiled, his dark eyes ripe with question. “Yeah, I know who you are. It’s nice to meet you, too. Care to tell me how you tangled with my little sister? I don’t reckon you two met at the local Tack ’n’ Feed store.”
Mark forced a smile in return. “No, we certainly didn’t. We actually met at a blues bar a few nights ago, didn’t we, Lorelei?”
A flush crept up her neck and flooded her cheeks. She turned quickly and strode for the door. Her voice sounded tight when she finally answered. “Why don’t we all go inside where it’s warm. Michelle doesn’t have a coat on and I don’t want her to catch a chill. Logan, why don’t you show Mark to the living room while I go make up something to drink?”
Still shaken by the force of his earlier reaction, he gratefully followed Lorelei’s brother through the door. The creak of rusty hinges and the sound of wood slapping against wood followed them as the screen door shut behind them. The click of Logan’s cowboy boots echoed in the entryway before becoming muffled on the braided oval runner.
Mark glanced around the roomy foyer while Lorelei’s brother removed his hat and hung it on a tree rack by the door. It was a big, comfortable house she had. Open and airy. Light filtered through huge windows and cast a warm glow across the scarred oak floorboards.
Beautiful oil paintings decorated the foyer walls, an almost opulent contrast to the faded floral wallpaper. One in particular caught Mark’s attention and he stepped over to get a better look. It was a painting of the farmhouse in summer with an older couple rocking together in a swing on the front porch. The man had his arm around the woman’s shoulder and she had her head rested on his.
It was happiness and contentment, peace and beauty captured exquisitely in one perfect painting.
“You like that?”
Mark started and straightened. He’d forgotten Lorelei’s brother was there. He regarded the painting one more time and turned to follow Logan through the open double doors into a living room. “I do. It’s a stunning piece of art.”
Logan motioned him to take a seat on a large, deep cushioned brown sofa. The lines softened briefly around his dark brown eyes and a small smile curved his lips. “My wife would have liked to hear that. I always told her she had a gift, but it’s good to hear from outsiders, not just those that love you.”
“Where is she now?”
“She passed away two years ago.”
Not sure what to say, Mark nodded and leaned back into the plush cushions. What was there to say?
Lorelei rescued him from having to answer when she strode in carrying a tray full of glasses and a pitcher of iced tea. The little girl toddled in behind her, the doll dragging on the floor.
“I assumed that iced tea would be acceptable for you to drink, Mark. I didn’t add any sugar.” She sent him a teasing smile.
The knot in his stomach uncoiled instantly under the warmth of her smile. It felt like being touched by the sun on a warm spring day. He felt himself respond with one of his own.
Twenty minutes ago he’d been absolutely furious with her. What was wrong with him? It wasn’t at all like him to be pulled in two completely different directions like that. He was afraid to examine too closely what it all meant.
Logan cleared his throat and gained Mark’s attention. With his hat off he looked a lot like his sister. Same straight nose, same stubborn chin. They both had the same strong, striking bone structure. But his eyes were a dark, intense brown and his short-cropped hair was nearly black. And he carried sadness like a heavy cloak, lacking any of the spark so visible in Lorelei. “You think the Rush has a chance at the World Series this year? I caught the game yesterday and the team looks good.”
More relieved than he wanted to admit, Mark took the offered glass from Lorelei and nodded his thanks. Baseball talk was good. It was safe. It was his life. “I think we’ve got a decent shot. If Kowalskin’s knee holds up and our new rookie shortstop stays healthy. That kid’s a real good player. And he’s quick on his feet. He’s been a real asset to the team this year.”
Out of the corner of his eye he watched the little girl crawl onto Lor
elei’s lap and felt his lungs constrict behind his rib cage. The child snuggled down and rested her head against Lorelei’s chest. When Lorelei kissed the toddler on the head tenderly, he felt it clear down in his toes.
He looked away, breathed deep, and took in the living room. Noticed the warmth and comfort of well-worn furniture and soft colors. Approved of it.
It was Lorelei’s home.
When Logan cleared his throat again, Mark knew what was coming. He could see it in the slight frown that marred the sober man’s brow. “So, are either of you going to tell me what’s going on? Why I’m sitting in my living room with one of the major league’s best players?” He nodded toward Mark. “Not that I’m not pleased to have you in my home, you understand. It’s just mighty odd that my sister up and disappears for a few days—no word, nothing—only to show back up again with you.”
Mark cleared his throat, was about to tell him, when Lorelei piped up. The look she sent him was full of warning. “Nothing’s going on, Logan. I swear. I had that meeting in Denver, Friday, remember? Well, I went out for a drink after and met Mark. We hit it off and I’ve been spending some time in the city with him.”
Logan’s gaze sharpened. He leveled it on Mark. “Exactly what kind of time have you two been having?”
Three things hit Mark at that moment. One: Logan didn’t give a shit who he was, he wasn’t impressed. Two: He loved his sister very much. And three: He had no idea what Lorelei was up to.
And that made him all right in Mark’s book.
So he answered with complete sincerity. “I took her to last night’s game and she met my sister. Lorelei is a very special woman. Full of charm, as I’m sure you are well aware. I’ve enjoyed spending time with her.”
He could almost feel the relief wash over Lorelei. For an instant she even closed her eyes. For the grief she’d caused him the past few days she deserved to be exposed. He had a feeling if he told the truth, Logan would demand Lorelei return Mark’s necklace. She’d do it, too. His new lucky charm would give back the old one. And that just wouldn’t do. He had to let her think that he still wanted the necklace back—which he did. For purely sentimental reasons. As a lucky charm it was worthless now. Somehow its mojo had been transferred to Lorelei when she’d snaked it from him. So now he needed to keep her around if he wanted the Rush to be successful.
Stealing Home: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel Page 10
