Emma’s eyes burned. “PJ. Payton what? Junior?”
“Payton Kyle Cummings, Jr.,” he said. “CCS will be mine. And I will do with it what I choose.”
“You’re going to tell him after the fact, aren’t you?”
His jaw clenched.
“You think that will finally put the past to rest.”
“I know it will. Don’t bother giving me reasons to the contrary.”
“I wasn’t going to.” She dashed her fingers across her cheek and rose. She walked up to him and placed her hands around his corded neck. “You have to do what you feel you must.” She rose onto her toes and pressed her lips gently to his.
His hands came around her waist. “What’s that for?”
She swallowed. Thought about the feelings she’d had for Jeremy St. James. He’d said he’d loved her. Had taken her virginity and her heart and given back nothing.
Yet she didn’t even hate him for it. Not anymore.
She had Chandler because of Jeremy. She’d met Kyle because of Jeremy.
And the feelings that filled her entire soul for Kyle made everything pale in comparison.
“Because I love you,” she said softly, then smiled faintly when he just stared at her, his green eyes searching. “And I know you don’t love me, so stop thinking of a way to let me down gently.”
“I have nothing to offer you, Emma. I could provide every material comfort, but you’d still be with a man who only knows how to work. Baxter’s belief would be all too true. And I don’t want to hurt you that way.”
Aching sadness welled in her chest. “I told you not to let me down gently.”
He sighed and tugged her against him. “I don’t know what else to do.”
She pressed her forehead against his shoulder. Felt his heart beating beneath her cheek. She closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears away for now. He didn’t need them. She didn’t want them. “Take me to bed, Kyle.”
He pulled back an inch. Lifted her chin with his thumb until their eyes met. “Emma.”
“I don’t want your reasons why we shouldn’t any more than you want my reasons why you shouldn’t continue with your plan for your father’s company. I just want to make love with you, Kyle.” Her heart raced as she pressed his palm against her breast. “Don’t you want that, too?”
He lowered his forehead to hers. “You know I do.”
“Then take me to bed,” she whispered.
Kyle hesitated and her heart quailed. But he swept her up into his arms and carried her out of the kitchen, stopping long enough only to snap off the overhead light.
He carried her up that wide sweeping staircase, and she didn’t care at all that the carpet was arctic white. She only cared that she was in his arms. And for this night, at least, he was hers.
Behind the closed door of his bedroom, Kyle set Emma on her feet beside his bed. He tossed back the blankets and Emma moved around behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his strong back.
She tugged up the bottom of his T-shirt and flattened her palms against his abdomen. Then she found the button at his waist and popped it loose. “I mentioned that I liked you in jeans, didn’t I?”
Kyle stood, still as stone as her fingers found the next button on his strained fly. “Yes.”
“Mmm.” She drew in a breath and he felt every luscious curve against his back. “Well, sugar, I like you even more out of them.” Her voice was pure sweetness. Pure invitation. She tugged and two more buttons popped free. Then her fingers were tormenting him even more.
He turned and dragged her nightgown up her hips and off. It was still fluttering to the floor when the rest of his clothes joined them and he dragged her down onto his bed.
Her legs were satin smooth. Her breasts creamy and thrusting against his lips. And her hands were busy driving him to the edge of sanity. He swore under his breath and caught her wrists in his, pressing them above her head where they couldn’t do more damage before he was prepared. And then he looked at her. Really looked at her.
Her lips, glistening pink. Her beautiful body. Her hands that rested above her head, palms up. Totally vulnerable. Totally his. But it was her eyes that ensnared him. Dark. Shimmering with emotion.
His heart ached, because the emotion in her eyes felt like a weeping kiss goodbye. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He meant more than the physical.
She didn’t waver. “You won’t,” she promised. She drew up her knee, brushing it along his hip.
His control snapped and he reached for the night-stand drawer.
When he made her his, Kyle knew that no woman would ever come close to moving him as deeply as Emma.
And when he awoke in the morning, hours later than his usual five o’clock, he knew without having to get up and look that she was gone.
Her wedding ring sat on the nightstand beside the bed.
Chapter Fifteen
“I hear this is the best place for a guy to get a cup of coffee.”
Emma turned, her heart stuttering. But rather than Kyle standing on the other side of the counter, it was Jake. She tucked her order pad in the pocket of her Mom & Pop’s apron and reached for the coffee carafe, pouring a cup, which she slid in front of him. “Why are you here, Jake?”
It had been two weeks since Emma took Chandler and left Kyle’s home. Even the rampant speculation about her and Kyle had begun to die.
During that time, she hadn’t heard anything from him directly. Despite her desire to leave his home with nothing more than what she’d taken to it, she’d found her apartment filled to the gills with the nursery furniture that had been delivered that first week at Kyle’s.
If that wasn’t enough, the baby grand piano that had arrived shortly afterward meant she couldn’t even unfold her sofa bed at night.
She knew she had to send it all back. She’d gone into her arrangement with Kyle to cover her debt to the hospital. To provide some measure of security for her son. Now that the arrangement was over, she wanted none of those things. She only wanted Kyle’s heart.
It was the one thing she wasn’t sure he realized he even possessed. He’d convinced himself that all he cared about was ChandlerAIR. And avenging the past by tearing apart the company founded by his birth father.
She looked across the counter at Kyle’s brother, waiting for an answer. He tucked his sunglasses into the neck of his black T-shirt and slid a manila envelope on the counter toward her. “That’s for you.”
“What is it?”
“Look and see.”
There was no hint in his eyes. Only a similarity in shape and color to Kyle’s that made her hurt inside. She picked up the envelope and opened it. Two eight-by-ten photos slid out. Emma holding Chandler that day in the gardens at the Crest. And Kyle, impossibly handsome in his severe black tuxedo. A breeze had caught his hair, and he was focusing on something out of the camera’s range.
She swallowed and slid the photos back into the envelope. “Thank you. Have you, um, seen Kyle?”
“Nope.”
It was midmorning and the diner wasn’t busy. Emma leaned against the counter. “You plan to, though.”
He pursed his lips. “Can’t say I do.”
She touched the envelope. “You could’ve mailed these. You’re in Buttonwood because you want to see your brother.”
“What’s he doing these days?”
She folded her arms. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen him in nearly two weeks.”
“You love him.”
She didn’t flinch. “Yes.”
“So why aren’t you together?”
“Ask him.”
He shook his head. “My brother has moved on with his life quite well. He doesn’t need people from the past dragging him down.”
“For intelligent men, you two behave incredibly stupidly. I’d like to thump you both upside the head.”
Jake set down his coffee cup, his eyebrows raising.
“Why do you think Kyle tracke
d down you and Trace and Annie?”
“He told you about us?”
“Yes, he did. He takes his family ties very seriously. Both the old ones and the new ones. Even if he doesn’t want to acknowledge it.” Emma touched his hand briefly. “He worries about all of you.”
She glanced up automatically when the bell over the door tinkled. And felt the blood drain from her face at the sight of Jeremy St. James, standing there all tanned skin and golden hair and gleaming teeth.
She was vaguely aware of Jake turning around to see who’d entered. Heard Millie, dear Millie, swear under her breath and march across the diner, saying loudly and ridiculously that the diner was closed just now.
Everybody knew that Millie’s place was open every day. Rain or shine.
Jeremy simply stepped around Millie and approached the counter. “Hello, Emma.”
The shock was fading quickly. Emma pressed her palms to the counter. “What do you want, Jeremy?”
He glanced around. The few customers who were present were all watching avidly.
“Perhaps we could discuss this more privately?”
“We have nothing to discuss.”
“The baby,” he said stiffly.
She widened her eyes. “What baby? If you’re referring to my son, I believe we both know where we stand on that issue.” She was giddily grateful that she’d left Chandler with Penny that morning rather than bringing him into the diner with her.
“It’s a boy.” There was a strange satisfaction in Jeremy’s voice that sent a wave of unease through Emma.
“Go away, Jeremy.”
He looked at Jake, who was listening unabashedly. “This is a private matter,” he said, his tone dismissive.
Emma wondered what on earth she’d ever seen in the man. “Then you shouldn’t bring it up in the middle of a diner,” Jake said easily. “Emma, love, you want me to get rid of the jerk?”
The jerk. Tears stung her eyes because it was the term Kyle had always used. “He’s not worth it,” she said thickly. “Excuse me.”
She rushed past Millie and went into the kitchen. Scrubbed furiously at her cheeks.
Millie followed her. “That little…snot,” she said furiously. “Coming in here, making you cry.”
Emma laughed brokenly and hugged her friend. “I’m not crying because of him,” she assured. “But if you don’t mind, I think I’ll take my lunch break now. Just until he gives up on whatever he wants and leaves.”
Millie was nodding, walking with Emma to the rear entrance. “If he’s not gone in an hour, I’ll call Sheriff Wright and have him removed.”
“The St. James family would love that,” Emma murmured. “I’ll be back before the lunch rush,” she promised, and slipped out the back door.
Walking quickly, she crossed the street and headed toward the park. Rachel Arquette was sitting on one of the benches, her hands folded over the enormous swell of her pregnant tummy. “Getting closer?” Emma asked, smiling sympathetically.
Rachel nodded and pushed awkwardly to her feet. She tugged at her nurse’s uniform, smoothing the maternity top over herself. “What’s the lunch special at Mom & Pop’s?”
“Chicken potpie or meat loaf.”
“Sounds good.”
“Which?”
“Both.” Rachel laughed and headed back toward the clinic. “Make sure Millie saves plenty for me when I take my lunch break in a few hours.”
Emma watched Rachel for a moment. She wondered if it was any easier for Rachel than it had been for her, being single and pregnant. But while everybody in town concluded that Jeremy had been the father of Emma’s baby, conjecture had been ripe over who’d fathered Rachel’s.
She took the bench vacated by Rachel and gazed at the pretty flowers lining the walking path. The sun was warm and she slowly relaxed, closing her eyes. The flowers were nowhere near as riotous as the ones in the garden at Kyle’s home. But for a little while she pictured herself back in that colorful retreat.
How she missed Kyle! Missed the way he’d grab a bunch of grapes and absently pop a few into his mouth. Missed the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled and missed the way he held Chandler.
Why was it that Jeremy’s unexpected presence made her feel that loss so much more acutely?
“Is this seat taken?”
Her eyes flew open and she pressed her hand to her heart. “Gracious.”
Payton Cummings smiled down at her. “Didn’t mean to scare the wits out of you, my dear.”
Emma rose. “I’m surprised to see you,” she admitted. “How are you?” For a man whose company had been bought and parceled into nothing, he seemed surprisingly content. Now that she knew who he was, she wondered why everyone on the planet couldn’t see the resemblance between him and Kyle. Except for the eyes and Kyle’s darker hair, the men were very similar.
“Fine. I brought Helen into town to visit with her friend who works at the clinic. I thought I recognized you walking over here.” He nodded at her apron, which had the Mom & Pop’s logo plastered across it. “Taking a break?”
Emma nodded. She wasn’t sure what to say. Wondered what Payton knew and didn’t know.
“How is your son?”
“Fine. Just fine. Growing very fast.”
“Just wait,” he said easily. “Soon he’ll be wanting the keys to your car. I’d like to see Kyle’s face that day. If you two have a girl, it’ll be even worse on that boy.”
Emma’s smile stiffened. He didn’t know. He couldn’t. Because if he did, he wouldn’t be standing here visiting with her as if there was nothing on earth he’d rather be doing. She looked over her shoulder and could see the front of the diner. It was entirely possible that Jake was still there.
Payton sat down on the bench and let out an appreciative sigh. “Helen was right about all work making Payton a dull boy. The best thing I’ve done in a long time was to sell CCS to Kyle. It was the only thing in my life for a long while until I met Helen and Winter. But a man needs more than his work.”
Emma wondered if Kyle would be Payton’s age before he realized that, too. She pushed her hands in the patch pockets of her apron. “Your wife said you were in New Mexico for a while.”
He nodded. “I went there after my first marriage broke up.” He frowned, staring into the flowers near his feet. “It was an unpleasant situation,” he explained. Then his expression cleared and he smiled at her. “And one of the reasons I’m so particular about the people with whom I do business. Kyle is an admirable man. He already knows the things it took me a lifetime to learn. And he’s a lucky man to have a lovely woman like you at his side.”
Emma felt ill. “Mr. Cummings. Payton. I—”
The squeal of tires shattered the quiet morning. They both looked over to see a low-slung black car pulling up in front of the diner. Kyle climbed out.
“Good gravy,” Emma said faintly, her eyes following Kyle as he rounded the car and disappeared into the diner. Jake, Jeremy, Payton and Kyle, all in one day. This was a recipe for disaster.
“Looks like your husband is in a hurry to see you.” Payton rose and closed his hand around her elbow. “Shall we?”
Emma swallowed and nodded, since there really was no alternative. They walked out of the park and crossed the street, Emma’s stomach tightening with every step. Kyle had no idea that Payton was here. She wished there was some way to prepare him.
But there wasn’t. And in bare minutes Payton was following her through the front door of the diner.
Emma’s eyes immediately focused on Kyle, who was standing at the counter beside Jake. He held the two photos from the envelope in his hand.
Emma fiddled with her apron, not knowing what to say. Jake, however, said it all.
“Well, well,” he said in a goading voice. “Look who’s here, PJ.”
Beside her, Payton went still. Emma glanced at him, then hurried across to Kyle. The muscle in his jaw twitched, and she put both her hands around his arm. Reveled in the presence of him.
The strength. The scent. The sight.
“What are you doing here, Kyle?”
“Millie called me. She said the jerk was here bothering you.”
Emma looked over at her boss, who merely shrugged. So much for calling Sheriff Wright. Emma wasn’t surprised, though. Millie had made it perfectly obvious that she thought Kyle was Emma’s very own Prince Charming and that it was just a matter of time before Emma was living in that house up on the ridge for real.
Emma wished she had Millie’s faith. But there was more at work here than Emma’s overflowing love for the man standing so tensely beside her. She didn’t know what had happened about the CCS deal. All she knew was that Kyle felt like a coiled cobra beside her, and Payton was staring at the two brothers like he was seeing ghosts.
“PJ,” he murmured. “And Jacob. My God.” He fumbled with a chair, wrapping one hand around the back of it for support. “How can this be?”
Desperately torn, Emma looked up at Kyle. But his lips were tight and Jake looked no better. Payton looked ashen.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. “Why, PJ?”
“My name is Kyle. Kyle Montgomery. There hasn’t been a PJ Cummings since the day you walked out of our house and forgot we existed.”
Payton shook his head, rubbing his shoulder with one hand. “No. No, son, it wasn’t like that.”
“I am not your son.”
Payton frowned, his pain clear for all to see.
“I, on the other hand, am your son,” Jake said bitterly. “But I still hate your guts for abandoning us the way you did.”
Emma looked from one man to the next. She understood Kyle’s and Jake’s feelings. But couldn’t they see that Payton was suffering, too? She pressed her cheek against Kyle’s shoulder, murmuring his name. He was unmoving.
She couldn’t stand it. Payton looked as if he was ready to collapse. She let go of Kyle’s arm and started for the older man.
She didn’t reach him in time. With a grimace and a long low moan, he collapsed.
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