Deal of a Lifetime

by Rue Allyn

  Con watched her leave. Her walk was straight and steady. She talked briefly with acquaintances. All too soon she disappeared from sight.

  He tried. He really tried to set worry for Tam aside and enjoy the evening. Buddswell had arranged a silent auction—all monies to be donated to his favorite charities that raised environmental awareness and sponsored wilderness experiences for underprivileged children. Con wandered the aisles, but nothing appealed until he spotted a ruby-and-emerald-crusted pendant in the shape of a chili pepper, suspended from a platinum vine-and-leaf chain. He made a bid for three times what the pendant was worth, confident that few other bidders would be willing to top that number. Tam would love the pendant that was representative of her home state. She wouldn’t have to know that chili peppers would always bring that hallway kiss to his mind. Happy with his purchase but still discontent, Con left the conference area. He needed to see Tam. Telling himself he just wanted to make certain she was okay, he headed for their room.

  ****

  “I love you, Mommy. Here’s Aunt Sarah. Bye.”

  “Goodnight, fairy girl, you’re the best.”

  As Sarah came on the phone Tam dabbed at the tears that threatened. She missed her daughter.

  “How’s Susa doing?”

  “She misses you something fierce, but she’s getting along okay. We count the days together, and I try to give her something every day to distract her from your absence. Today we’re having her best buddy Nancy for a sleepover.”

  “I trust your judgment, but do you really think a sleepover on a school night is a good idea?”

  “Normally no, but tomorrow’s an in-service for the teachers. Susa will be out of school all day. Having Nancy here will keep both of them occupied. Her mom’s taking the girls roller skating around noon tomorrow. Then we only have to get through the weekend until you’re back home.”

  “Home sounds really good right now.”

  “Is everything okay? You sound a bit frazzled.”

  Count on her aunt to pick up on the smallest nuance of trouble. Tam’s emotions were frayed, but she didn’t think elder wisdom would help when the concerns shredding her peace were about one tall, dark, stubbornly territorial man. Tam had never confided the fears that kept her from informing Con about Susa, so her aunt blamed him, despite Tam’s protests. Sarah had been angry at Con for years for hurting her chick. What would she think if Tam told her that Con was back in her life, even for a short time? “I’m just tired. This conference is taking a lot out of me, so I decided to turn in early tonight.”

  “Very wise. My niece is a smart woman.”

  Despite her aunt’s worries, Tam smiled. She wished she were wise enough to know what to do about Con and the dangerous mix of feelings he roused.

  “I’d better go,” Sarah continued. “Before those two pint-sized tornadoes cause a disaster in the kitchen. I love you and miss you. Hurry home.”

  “I love you too. I miss you very much. I want to be home more than anything.” She shut her cell phone. As she stood, she noticed the door into the sitting room closing. That was odd. After the other night with Con, she’d been certain to shut the door whenever she came in. Had it unlatched itself? Maybe she hadn’t closed the door properly. Striding forward she gave the door a push. It thudded shut, but as she reached to turn the lock the door bounced backward. Con strode through.

  Hand to her chest to keep her racing heart in place, she stepped back.

  Concern flooded Con as he reached for Tam. “What? What is it? Are you all right?”

  “No, I’m not all right.” Her voice shook.

  She drew back, but he grasped her shoulders, then began to search her for injuries. “What is it? Tell me. Where are you hurt?”

  She batted his hands away and took two steps back. “It’s you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you. You scared the living daylights out of me.”

  “I frightened you? You’re just frightened? You’re not hurt?” He reached for her.

  She raised both arms to shoulder height, hands up, palms out, warding him off. “Yes, I’m fine, but I’m not just frightened, I’m furious. It pains me deeply that you would eavesdrop on a private conversation.”

  What could he say? As he’d walked into the sitting room, he’d seen the door to her room ajar and went to close it. He couldn’t avoid hearing her side of the emotion-clogged conversation’s end. She missed her lover and wanted to be home with him more than anything.

  “I did not eavesdrop,” he snarled. “I saw the open door and went to shut it. I was trying to give you the privacy you needed to talk to your lover.”

  As far as bare details were concerned, his statement was accurate. What Con didn’t say was that he’d seen red. He wanted to smash the unknown man’s face, then beat him to a bloody pulp. Getting angry wouldn’t help his cause with Tam, so Con, leaving the door untouched, had turned away. He intended to take a few moments to get a grip on his emotions, but he’d heard that thump against the inside of the door. Knowing how tired she’d been, he leapt to the worst possible conclusion and rushed inside. She stood there, her hand on her chest, eyes wide, and gasping for breath.

  Tam regained her breath along with a stiff-shouldered calm. “This is the second time you’ve intruded on a private conversation. I have doubts about your innocence. However, let me assure you that nothing is physically wrong with me.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I intend to take that hot bath and retire.”

  “Okay.” He stood there looking at her, feeling oddly awkward and uncertain. Tam was the only person in the world who kept him off kilter. Normally he loved the challenge of dueling with her, but tonight he just wanted to love her, hold her in his arms, melt into passion with her and keep the big bad world at bay.

  “Go away, Con. I need some privacy. I’ll be asleep in an hour or so. Come back then, but don’t you dare wake me up.”

  “Leave?” She wanted him to leave? How could he hold her, keep her with him? That was the problem. He couldn’t. “Right. I’m leaving.”

  He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Sleep well, Tam.”

  Then he was gone. Tam put her hand to her cheek and regretted that when she removed her make-up she’d have to wash away the kiss.

  Chapter Six

  Despite the long soak, Tam tossed and turned. Memories of other nights disturbed her rest. Con had often worked late, and she’d gone to bed tired, but missing him. When he would finally come in, moving carefully so as not to wake her, her heart had filled with emotion. Wanting the moment to last, she feigned sleep, watching through her lashes as he stripped to his boxers. Moonlight limned his shoulders and broad chest, silvering the arrow of hair that whorled downward. A familiar tightening in her breasts and low in her belly kept her gaze focused on his male beauty. There in the dark, admitting how much she wanted him was easy. She’d never been able to say the words. Finally he’d come to bed, easing his arm around her, his spice-and-citrus scent as much comfort as his sheltering heat.

  Now that same spicy citrus aroma curled under the door into her room, keeping her aroused, awake, and aware that sexual bliss rested a few steps away. Only her love for Susannah kept Tam from yielding to temptation.

  She remained tense all through breakfast. Tam toyed with her food unable to find any interest in the coddled eggs, ham, or fresh fruit. By the end of the meal she truly did have a headache that stuck with her through the two morning seminars and back into the suite when she retrieved her coat and sturdy shoes for the tramway tour. Con had taken his windbreaker with him before breakfast, so she had a few moments alone. She used the time to find and swallow some ibuprofen. When she joined Buddswell’s group at the tramway terminal, the headache was gone.

  “Ah, Tam, I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t join our little party.” Sheer enjoyment and Mike’s killer smile lit his eyes.

  “Oh no.” She wrapped a long narrow scarf around her neck,
then pulled on a knit cap and gloves. She glanced around, not seeing Con. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  Nearby, some of the other conference attendees huddled inside their suit coats and sweaters. Obviously they hadn’t read or believed the brochure in the pre-conference packet that explained how cold Montana could be in mid-April.

  “I see you came prepared.” Mike reached for her gloved hand, pulling her in his direction. “It may be April, but in the Montana mountains that doesn’t guarantee warmth.”

  Con stepped up on her other side. That grim smile had returned, baring his teeth and failing to meet his eyes.

  “The mountains in Arizona can be just as fickle.” She retrieved her hand from Mike’s grasp only to find Con held her elbow. Consternation balled in her stomach. When she was with the two men she felt like a piece of taffy, pulled in every direction and stretched thin.

  “Really?” Buddswell spared a glance for Con before blasting Tam with that stadium lights grin. “I’ll make a point of visiting. Perhaps you’ll be kind enough to be my guide.”

  “Given how hard Tamsin must work. I doubt she’d have time to play tour guide.”

  Tam frowned at Con. He was interfering again. This had to stop. For the moment she ignored him and addressed Mike. “We can discuss the options over lunch if you like.”

  “That would please me very much. Here comes our tram car.” The generator powered, pulley operated car came to a halt in front of them and the doors slid open. “Watch your step.”

  Con assisted Tam into the car, drawing her with him to the rear of the vehicle. “This end will provide the best view of the valley as we ascend.”

  “Thank you, but I prefer to watch the approach to the mountain.” Upset with his interference, Tam turned to thread her way through the crowd to the opposite end. A few seconds later Con stood beside her once more.

  Behind them, a resort employee began a spiel describing the features of the tramway, the scenery, trails, outlooks, and other amenities available to visitors at the mountain end of their short trip.

  The view was stunning. A thin blue stream wandered through a carpet of snow-dusted pines and shivering, leafless aspens. Rocky outcrops poked out from melting snow fields like groundhogs emerging from winter burrows to test the air for warmth. In the distance a large hawk sailed the sky looking for food, dipping every now and then to skim the treetops. Tam leaned against the side of the car. Her eyes ate up the scenery like a kid consuming ice cream.

  Con’s gaze devoured Tam. He remembered when her avid hungry stare focused on him and swore it would again.

  “Please folks,” the employee said as the car approached the mountainside terminal. “Don’t go wandering alone. This time of year, most hibernating animals are waking up hungry, so they aren’t too particular about what they eat. If you go beyond the paved pathways, watch your footing. Snow melt loosens everything. What looks like solid ground or rock may actually be very unstable.”

  The tram car jerked to a halt beneath the terminal roof.

  “We’re expecting three more cars full of folks, so we’ll hold lunch until they arrive,” announced Buddswell. “Feel free to explore the shops or admire the landscape around the terminal complex. You’ll hear a warning horn when the dining room is ready to serve. We’ve got a healthy meal of Montana delicacies for your enjoyment, so work up an appetite. I’ll be making some announcements during lunch and expect all of you to be present.”

  With that, he led the way off the tram.

  A row of icons and large print signs pointed the way to the overlook, the shops, and other terminal facilities. His megawatt smile gleaming, Buddswell stood at the end of the row glad-handing his guests. When Tam and Con approached, Mike pulled her from the stream of people. Con, who was holding her elbow, went with her.

  “I want to talk to Tam about her proposal. She’ll be perfectly safe in my hands.”

  Con bared his teeth. Since Mike was eyeing Tam’s chest, Con had little doubt what Buddswell wanted. Talking wasn’t on the agenda.

  Well Con wanted her too and wouldn’t let Buddswell, past misunderstandings, or Tam’s present reluctance stand in his way. From the day Con realized he had the skills to escape the projects and his disaster of a childhood, he had always won, always succeeded, always gotten what he wanted. Except where Tam was concerned, failure and losing weren’t in his vocabulary. He’d leapt hurdles at every step. That’s what he faced now, obstacles to be surmounted or eliminated. He’d spike Buddswell’s guns, learn to forgive and forget the past, and turn Tam’s reluctance into eagerness. The two of them belonged together. The alternative didn’t bear thinking. If he lost Tam again nothing else would have meaning.

  She opened her mouth to reply. Con forestalled her. “I’m afraid this isn’t a good time. Tam insisted I show her the lookout and trailheads before lunch.”

  She gave him a narrow-lidded glare. “I can give Mike five minutes. Then I’ll meet you at the overlook.”

  “But…” So much for spiking Mike’s guns. Con couldn’t just haul her away.

  “I’ll. Meet. You. In. A. Few. Minutes.” She gave his arm a far from gentle shove.

  He had no choice. Her message was clear, and he was forced to concede for the moment.

  “I’ll be waiting,” Con muttered. He wanted his message clear too. Go on, but you’ll always be mine. Then with ill grace he strode off to the overlook.

  Tam watched him go. She’d intended to put Buddswell off, but she was so tired of Con’s interference that she’d reacted less cautiously than she should. Now she was stuck fending off Mike’s advances for at least the next five minutes. She knew his reputation and prayed that five minutes would be too little time for him to attempt the seduction he clearly had in mind.

  “What is it you wanted to say?”

  “Let’s go someplace more comfortable.” Taking her arm, he led her along the side of the terminal complex to a private entrance.

  “I don’t think—” Before she could complete her protest, he had the door unlocked and ushered her inside.

  More like a lair than an office, the room had a floor-to-ceiling fireplace where a steady fire burned, a bearskin rug covered the hardwood between the hearth, and a genuine Hudson Bay blanket decorated the long wide sofa.

  “Have a seat.” Mike’s husky tones came from behind her. “I’ll take your coat and hat.”

  His hands settled on her shoulders. She shrugged them off, held on to her coat, and turned to face him. “I don’t intend to be here long enough to get comfortable. I told Con I’d meet him in a few minutes, and I always keep my word.”

  “I’m sure Con will understand.” Mike’s smile softened, and he leaned casually against the fireplace stones.

  Had she not been smitten with Con, that devastating smile might have blown her objections and good sense to flinders.

  “Perhaps, but I see no reason why he should have to understand. Please get to the point.”

  Mike gave her a liquid eyed, puppy dog stare. “The point is that you’re an intelligent woman. I find intelligent women very attractive.”

  “Thank you for the compliment, but I’m intelligent enough to recognize a come-on when I hear one. You said you wanted to discuss my proposal. If you want something else, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”

  He straightened and stepped closer, taking her hand to toy with her fingers.

  Con did the same thing at every opportunity, but he knew from personal experience that rubbing his thumb across her knuckles made her shiver. Mike was simply a master player and would probably try any number of tricks to undermine her defenses. Luckily his touch left her cold.

  “We’ll get to your proposal, eventually.” He leaned in for a kiss.

  Tam backed away, then skirted around him, headed for the door. “Just in case I didn’t make myself clear yesterday, I don’t trade sex for favors. If that’s what it takes to get a Buddswell contract, I don’t want one.”

  Mike refused to part
with her hand. “I respect your principles. What if I told you my attraction to you has nothing to do with business?”

  “I have a hard time believing that, given your reputation and the fact that my proposal is still on the table.”

  He tugged on her hand reeling her toward him. “Then we’ll take it off the table. I’ve got plenty of other ways to help your business.”

  Tam resisted, finally pulling her hand free when she was no more than two steps from him. “I don’t think you understand. I won’t trade sex for anything.”

  “So it’s Con you want. I have a lot more money than he does.”

  Finally Tam lost her patience. “If money motivated me, I would have married Con long ago.” The statement forced her to face the truth; she’d been so afraid Con didn’t really love her she had convinced herself it was true. If she believed him, and she had little reason not to, she had to admit fear of neglect had been the real reason she’d hesitated when he talked of marriage. Fear of losing Susa had kept her silent. Tam was still afraid, but not of Buddswell. “If you can’t respect me and treat me as you would any other business colleague, I’ve wasted my time and will be leaving this conference as quickly as I can.” She turned on her heel and stormed away.

  Outside, she followed the path back toward the terminal, then found the sign that pointed toward the lookout. She walked at a rapid clip until she rounded a curve and lost sight of the buildings. She slowed her steps so she could regain her composure.

  Men! They would say or do just about anything to get what they wanted. Not one of the manipulative bastards cared about the truly important things like ethical behavior and love of family. She wouldn’t be seduced by Buddswell, and she wouldn’t be manipulated by Con. He needed to learn that his interference was as unwelcome as Mike’s advances.

  By refusing those advances, she’d probably lost all chance of gaining the Buddswell account for the Four Corners area. She was about to cut ties with Con once and for all. At least she’d have righteous indignation to keep her warm at night, because once she told Con the truth, she’d kill any feelings he had for her and probably lose her daughter’s love in the bargain.