Added to that, he was heroic.
That was the word for it. Heroic. Had he not acted so quickly, she might be currently looking at life from a hospital bed, at least for the immediate future.
And yet it was that very act of heroism that disturbed her.
Yes, it was perfectly plausible that Josh had just reacted instinctively when that car came barreling straight at her—he did tell her that he’d taken lessons in defending himself and in being proactive when it came to his own protection.
There was no denying that she was lucky he’d been there that morning.
But there was just something about that whole thing that disturbed her.
She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it felt like he was behaving more like a bodyguard than a billionaire who knew how to defend himself. Thanks to the world her mother had created, she’d been around both bodyguards and rich people for most of her life, and she could distinguish between the two. Comparing them, she felt that Joshua behaved as if he belonged to the former category rather than the latter.
When she thought about it, there were certain things he did that reminded her of her older brother, Knox. Knox was a Texas Ranger, a man sworn to defend the defenseless. Or River, she thought suddenly. River was a Marine.
She was just being paranoid, Leonor upbraided herself, annoyed. Burned by David, there was no question that she was afraid that Josh was going to somehow turn out to be just like him in some way.
Maybe it was because she’d fallen so hard for Josh that she was really worried that the bottom was going to drop out and that this time she would wind up being hurt beyond repair.
She was overthinking this again, Leonor told herself.
What she needed was a distraction, some sort of project. She was due back at the museum in less than a week for the gala that was being thrown to highlight both the paintings from Josh’s collection as well as from several other collectors, but that did leave her with time on her hands until then. Josh had made some excuse about needing to “take care of some business,” which, at the moment, left her to her own devices.
She knew that she could go back to Jade and visit with her, but visiting was not doing and she really needed to be doing something, distracting herself before she possibly wound up blowing the best thing that had ever happened to her.
If it was the best thing that had ever happened to her, she qualified nervously.
Like an answer to a prayer, her sister Claudia picked that exact moment to call, telling Leonor that she’d breezed back into town from New York and subsequently into her sister’s life.
Her timing couldn’t have been more perfect—even though Leonor thought that there seemed to be something a little “off” about Claudia’s manner on the phone.
Claudia’s parentage was even more offbeat than the rest of the Colton siblings. Younger than Thorne and older than Jade, Claudia had supposedly been conceived while Livia was touring France. Livia claimed that while there, getting over her divorce from River’s father, she’d married a Frenchman named Claude after a wild, whirlwind courtship. That marriage ended in divorce just as her other marriages had, and Livia returned to the States with a new baby daughter she’d named Claudia.
Because this was Livia, no one around her even blinked an eye.
Different from the others in her own way, from the time she was a little girl, Claudia had always had a keen sense of fashion. There was no disputing that from a very young age, she was the personification of glamour down to her very toes.
Fresh from her success in the fashion industry in New York City, Claudia had declared that, ready or not, she intended to bring her designs to Shadow Creek.
“I want to open up a boutique right here,” Claudia told Leonor as they shared a lunch at one of the restaurants that Josh had taken her to. “A boutique that sells clothes to real women, not just the toothpicks you see in fashion magazines.”
“You mean in Shadow Creek?” Leonor questioned. She would have thought her sister would have wanted a more urban venue. Shadow Creek’s very name made it sound small-town and rural, as though it was struggling to make its way in the twenty-first century.
Claudia lifted her shoulders in a careless shrug. “Sure, why not? It’s called progress, Leonor. There’s no reason why Shadow Creek can’t become just as urban as Dallas and Houston. Or even New York City,” she concluded. “The transformation has to start somewhere, right?” she asked Leonor with a small, whimsical laugh that sounded strangely hollow to Leonor’s ear.
Leonor looked at her closely. “You’re serious?” she questioned because Claudia had been known to change her mind in the middle of a project and just turn her attention to something else entirely.
Of course, Claudia had been younger then, but still it didn’t hurt to be certain of her younger sister’s intentions before she gave Claudia her backing.
“Of course I’m serious,” Claudia told her with enthusiasm. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No reason.”
That wasn’t quite accurate because Leonor felt she was getting the same sort of subtle signals from Claudia that she’d sensed from Josh.
Maybe she was just overreacting. She needed to calm down, take a breath and just accept things at face value, she silently counseled. Especially when it came to helping her siblings.
“Okay,” she said after a beat, “if you’re really serious about this, then I think it’s wonderful.” Looking at Claudia for a long moment, she asked, “Would you like a partner?”
“Well, to be completely honest, I can’t do it alone,” Claudia admitted. “I just don’t have enough capital available for that.”
“I thought you were doing well in New York,” Leonor said.
“I was.”
Leonor didn’t understand. Had her sister gone through all that money? And if so, how? “Then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that I was under contract with Designs Original and I had to buy out my contract if I wanted to leave. So I did. But that left me short on working capital. So, to answer your question again, yes, I’d like a partner, but it depends on who that partner is,” she qualified.
Leonor waited a moment before saying, “Me.”
“You?” Claudia repeated, her eyes widening in disbelief. This was so out of Leonor’s field. “You want to be my partner in the fashion industry?”
“That’s what I’m suggesting,” Leonor told her. She waited for a formal answer from Claudia now that her sister knew that she would be the one who she would be going into partnership with.
“Yes!” Claudia cried excitedly, her eyes sparkling. “Hell, yes!” she added for good measure. Overjoyed and a little dazed—she hadn’t expected Leonor to make her this offer—she asked, “So when do we get started?”
“Well, I thought now would be a good time,” Leonor answered, watching her sister’s expression closely for any indication that she suddenly wanted to back out. “I saw this old building on Main Street the other day that might just be perfect for what you had in mind.”
It was Claudia’s turn to nervously ask, “Are you sure?”
Leonor never hesitated. “Very,” she responded.
Abandoning her chair, Claudia hurried around the small table for two and threw her arms around her older sister’s neck. “Oh, Leonor, you’re a godsend!”
“Well, that’s certainly better than some of the other things I’ve been called in the last month.”
Claudia looked at her quizzically as she loosened her arms from around her sister’s neck. And then it suddenly dawned on her what Leonor was referring to. Her mouth all but fell open.
“You’re talking about that awful blog, aren’t you?” Claudia guessed.
Leonor nodded. Though she hated the subject with a passion, she knew she might as well clear the air now, before
they went forward. She wanted Claudia to know the truth so she wouldn’t be swayed by any lies that she might hear later.
“I said some things to someone I trusted—someone I thought I loved, actually.” In hindsight, she realized that she really didn’t love David. She certainly didn’t feel about him the way she felt about Josh. “And it turned out that he was only with me to pump information out of me about Mother and the rest of us. He couldn’t wait to sell what I’d told him in confidence to that online rag.” She spat out that word, using an old-fashioned term that once described a publication that dealt in sensationalism and fabrication for its own sake.
“You don’t owe me any explanations, Leonor. We’ve all been there,” Claudia assured her sister, sounding like someone who had encountered her own set of betrayals in her time.
“Okay, now that we’ve cleared the air, let’s go and scout out that property on Main Street to see if it’s right for your purposes,” Leonor told her sister, although she was rather confident that Claudia would like it.
Getting up, Leonor took out a large bill that more than covered their lunches as well as a very generous tip and placed it over the check the server had left on the table.
She was glad to be able to focus on something outside of herself and the thoughts that kept insisting on plaguing her.
Excited and looking forward to opening her business in what had been her home town, Claudia enthused, “You’re the best!” as they headed toward the restaurant’s front door.
“At least I’ll do until ‘the best’ comes along,” Leonor told Claudia with a small laugh.
She was only half kidding.
Chapter 14
“So, what do you think?” Leonor asked two hours later as she, Claudia and Amanda Smith, the Realtor showing them the property, came out of the small, two-story abandoned building on Main Street. Although it had formerly been a warehouse, it seemed perfect for Claudia’s new boutique.
The real estate agent showing them the property paused to lock up before joining the two women.
Claudia had toured the building twice, just to be sure.
“Well, it needs some work,” Claudia speculated. “But I think we can put the creative offices upstairs and downstairs, we can have the showroom for the customers to see the finished designs.” Making up her mind, Claudia grinned at her big sister, her eyes sparkling. “I think this just might be happening.”
“Wonderful,” Amanda declared, pleased that the sale had been this easy. “I’ll get in contact with the owner and see if the three of you can come to terms about the sale price,” she told the two women. She walked across the street with them to where her vehicle and theirs were parked along the curb.
“I’ll get back to you within the hour,” the Realtor promised. She got into her car and waved at Claudia and Leonor.
“I really can’t thank you enough, Leonor,” Claudia said to her sister. Opening the door on the passenger side, she started to get into Leonor’s vehicle. She was already busy making plans for the ground floor layout in her head.
About to tell her that there was no need for thanks, Leonor’s voice was drowned out by the sound of an engine being gunned. The loud noise was accompanied by squealing tires. Without thinking, she instinctively turned toward the sound.
For the second time in as many days, Leonor was startled to see a vehicle flying toward her, going far faster than the speed limit.
Just as the sight registered, she felt her arm being grabbed from the side and the next moment, she was being unceremoniously yanked out of harm’s way.
Watching all this unfold, Claudia shrieked in fear for her sister’s safety.
The driver of the vehicle, a tan Nissan this time, sped away, leaving only a blur in his wake.
Stunned, her heart was hammering wildly in her throat where it had lodged when she’d been pulled out of harm’s way.
For the second time in as many days, she’d managed to cheat death.
It took Leonor a moment to realize that she’d been saved—again—by the man she had been spending most of her time with these last few of weeks.
It felt like déjà vu.
How was this possible? she silently demanded in confusion. Although she was exceedingly grateful, it seemed like too much of a coincidence.
“Josh?” she gasped in disbelief. “Where did you come from?”
“He just saved your life, Leonor,” Claudia cried, stumbling out of Leonor’s car. “The least you can do is thank the man.” It was obvious by her expression that she was wondering who the heroic man was.
Josh barely took notice of the other woman emerging out of Leonor’s car. His attention was focused exclusively on Leonor.
“Are you all right?” he wanted to know. Wanting to make sure himself, Josh held on to her shoulders as he looked her up and down, carefully assessing every inch of her for any damage.
It was a lucky thing he had decided to keep an eye on her, even when she went out with her sister. He’d had a feeling that Livia wasn’t the type to stop after only one attempt, which meant that Leonor’s life was still in danger.
“I don’t know,” Leonor answered honestly.
Shaken, she looked down at herself, then at the skid marks on the ground next to her vehicle. Skid marks that had come dangerously close to her and would have definitely make fatal contact if Josh hadn’t been there to pull her out of the way.
“Yes,” she finally managed to say.
Just then, as Leonor turned, the sun hit something at waist level, causing it to momentarily shine and catch her attention. When she looked down to see what it was, she spotted the gun tucked into the front of Josh’s waistband. The weapon would have been hidden by his jacket, but when he grabbed her, the fabric moved and the gun became exposed.
For the second time in two minutes, she caught her breath.
Her eyes widened as she looked up at the man who had saved her not once, but twice—or had that been orchestrated for some reason?
She was no longer sure of anything.
“You have a gun,” Leonor said numbly.
* * *
Damn, he’d meant to be more careful. But something had told him that he might need the weapon today. And when he saw that car speeding at her, all he could think of was saving Leonor. Not Leonor, his assignment, but Leonor, the woman he had made love with.
“I have a license for it,” he told her in a deliberate calm voice. “I use it for protection.”
Glancing over her shoulder to make sure that the crazed driver wasn’t suddenly about to make a reappearance, Claudia crossed over to the driver’s side where her sister and the man who had saved her life were standing.
“Leonor, who is this man?” she asked, waiting for an introduction.
Leonor looked up at Josh. “I don’t know,” she replied numbly.
He was 80 percent certain that his cover was blown, but even so, Josh did his best to exercise as much damage control as he could. Maybe this wasn’t a total loss, he told himself. At least he certainly hoped that it wasn’t.
“Yes you do,” he told Leonor. “I’m the same man you’ve been spending the last few weeks with.” His tone grew very serious. “After that last incident yesterday, I thought I should keep an eye on you and make sure you were safe.” Turning toward her sister—he’d recognized Claudia from the photo in his file, but he pretended otherwise—Josh extended his hand to the blonde and said pleasantly, “I’m Joshua Pendergrass. Your sister and I have been discussing the possibility of exhibiting part of my art collection at the museum where she works.”
The young woman happily grasped Josh’s hand and shook it with feeling. “Well, I’m certainly glad she knows you.” Claudia looked at her older sister. “You didn’t tell me about Mr. Pendergrass—”
“Josh, please,” Josh i
nsisted, hoping that if he was nice to her sister, Leonor would get past the fact that he had a habit of turning up unexpectedly.
But he had little hope of that. Leonor was looking at him as if he was the one behind these hit-and-run incidents instead of the real perpetrator.
“You didn’t tell me about Josh,” Claudia said, accepting the correction as she looked at her sister over her shoulder. Turning back to Josh, her eyes skimmed over him from top to toe, obviously assessing the man. Her smile showed she definitely approved of what she saw.
Still feeling numb as well as shaken, Leonor answered quietly, “No, I didn’t.”
“Wait,” Claudia suddenly cried, replaying what Josh had said before introducing himself to her. “Did you just say that someone tried to run her over before this?”
Josh never looked away from Leonor. Did she have any idea how serious this situation really was, or was she in denial?
“Yes,” he said, answering her sister’s question.
Horrified, Claudia shifted toward her older sister. “Leonor, is someone trying to kill you?” she demanded in disbelief. The next moment she cried, “Who?”
Leonor waved her hand at her sister’s question, refusing to consider that idea. “It was just a coincidence.”
Rather than taking Leonor’s word for it—she knew her sister had a habit of downplaying things—Claudia looked at the man who had just risked his life to save Leonor’s. It was obvious that she thought she’d get a truthful answer from him.
“Is it?” she asked him.
Instead of saying yes or no outright, Josh turned his attention to Leonor and told her, “I think you should report this to the police.”
There wasn’t a hint of a smile to be had. He hoped that by telling her to go to the police, he’d divert Leonor’s attention away from the fact that he had been tailing her.
“Why?” she wanted to know, a tinge of sarcasm in her voice. “After all, I have you to come to my rescue,” she pointed out.
She felt like her heart was cracking right in half. Josh—if that was actually his name—was lying to her, she thought. She could feel it. She had stupidly disregarded all her own carefully constructed warnings and allowed herself to fall for this man. To take this man to her bed, make love with him, and by doing so, she’d started building castles in the air—castles with absolutely no foundations beneath them.
Colton Undercover Page 14
