by Susanna Carr
The anger swirling inside him was cold and hard. He wanted to walk around the desk and crouch down, surround and trap her until she handed over the emerald. But his instincts told him to play dumb. Pretend the way she was pretending. He had struggled to remain standing in the doorway, but he trusted his instincts more than the hurt and anger that tore him up inside.
“You’re telling me she raced a sports car?” Laurie said slowly. “Our Christine Pearson?”
Travis turned to face Laurie. She had a motherly quality about her. Her salt-and-pepper hair swung just below her chin. Her blue eyes sparkled with interest and concern behind the cat-eye glasses. She wore a thin green cardigan over a floral-print dress. Laurie appeared unassuming, but he wasn’t going to lower his guard.
“She was a natural,” Travis said with a smile. He admired Laurie’s ability to elicit information from him. He knew how to sidestep the questions. It was a technique he had learned while growing up. His grandmother wouldn’t leave the house and at times her fears were so great, she wouldn’t let him out, either. It was easier to make up stories and excuses than to reveal the truth.
But he wanted to know more about Christine and an incurable gossip was the best source. He had to give a little to receive something in return. Laurie wanted information, but her true mission was spreading it around. She was the expert on everyone in Cedar Valley and wanted him to know it. “You sound surprised,” he said. “Christine is a speed demon.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Laurie said with a frown. “Christine used to be like that. She was the kind of girl who climbed the water tower because it was the tallest structure in the area. Stood on her bike as if it was a surfboard and rode down the hill at full speed. But that changed once her dad ran out and she became the head of the household.”
Travis didn’t want to think of Christine as a carefree girl who had to grow up fast, but he instantly imagined a young woman trying to make ends meet. She would dress in clothes that were too old for her and take the role of caregiver seriously. A little too seriously.
He didn’t want to think about her navigating the adult world without any guidance. He needed to remember that she was a thief. Christine Pearson stole his friend’s emerald. Travis clenched his teeth as he recalled Aaron’s face when he had to admit he’d lost the stone. He had failed his friend—one of the few people in this world who mattered to him—and he had to make things right. He wasn’t going to find the emerald if he fell for Christine’s innocent act.
“What else did she do in Vegas?” Laurie asked.
“She was very interested in extreme sports,” Travis said, hoping his voice carried to Christine’s office. “The bigger the risk the better.”
“Christine?” Laurie said in a squawk. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person? You should see her investment portfolio. It’s about as low-risk as you can get.”
“She did a sky jump,” Travis revealed. He set his coffee cup down and reached for his cell phone. “I think I have a picture somewhere on my phone.”
Laurie chuckled and rubbed her hands together. “Oh, I wish Darrell could see this.”
Travis glanced up sharply at the older woman. “Her ex-boyfriend? Why?”
“Don’t worry about him, sweetie.” She gave him a knowing look and patted him on the arm. “There is no competition. That is over and done with. She would never take him back after how he humiliated her.”
Travis glanced at Christine’s empty office. He knew she was shy and blushed easily. She didn’t know how to attract attention, but did she avoid it because of an embarrassing experience? “What do you mean?”
“He had one too many beers at the bar one night,” Laurie said in a confiding tone, “and announced to the whole town that he was breaking up with her because he found her boring.”
“Christine?” Travis’s eyes widened in surprise. The woman had a thirst for adventure and an interest in everything. She couldn’t shake loose her cautious nature, but her excuses to avoid any risk were just as entertaining as watching her explore the world around her.
“That’s what he said,” Laurie said with a cluck of her tongue. “Especially in bed.”
His mouth dropped open. “Say what?” Christine had been magical and mind-blowing in bed. Nothing she did had been mechanical or predictable. She gave from the heart and had made their one night memorable.
“Hmm...you don’t agree?” Her blue eyes danced with triumph. “Good to know.”
Travis clipped his jaw shut. Damn, this woman was good. He wanted to shake Christine out of her hiding place with a few mentions about Vegas, but he wasn’t going to discuss that night. She may have had an ulterior motive taking him to bed, but it meant something to him. He wasn’t going to share that moment with anyone else.
“How did Christine respond?” he asked. Most women he knew would retaliate.
“Christine didn’t make a scene. She handled it with grace, just as we knew she would,” Laurie said with a hint of admiration. “Now I wonder if she went to Vegas to let her hair down. Prove to herself that he was wrong.”
Was that also why she took the emerald? Did she need to do something extreme, something illegal, to show that her ex-boyfriend was wrong about her? That made more sense to him than the other motives he had considered.
“Travis?” Christine’s unsteady voice echoed in the lobby. “I thought I heard you.”
Travis’s breath hitched in his throat when he saw Christine in the lobby. His heart began to pound as she walked toward him. Her brown eyes seemed bigger and her features appeared more delicate. The simple brown dress highlighted her pale skin and feminine body. Her movements were innately sensual. She didn’t need high heels to show off her incredible legs.
Christine had a determined smile on her face as she clutched her cell phone as if it was her lifeline. He knew she wanted to take control of this reunion and get him out of here. In the most ladylike fashion, of course, because that was what people expected.
Not if he could help it. “Christine.” He held his arms out wide.
Her smile took a dip as she stood in front of him. “What are you doing here?”
“You know why I’m here.”
“No...” She gave a cautious look at Laurie, who showed no interest in leaving them alone. “No, I don’t.”
So that was how she was going to play it. Innocent until the very end. He could play this game, too. Expose her lies and her true self to her friends.
He stepped forward and gathered her in his arms. “I missed you,” he admitted in a growl. “I missed this.”
Her body went rigid in his embrace. “I don’t understand.”
“You left so quickly yesterday morning,” he complained. “Snuck away like a thief.”
“Um...Travis?” She looked from side to side as her cheeks turned red. “What has gotten into you?”
He didn’t know. He meant to pretend he was a devoted lover, but it felt too real. He found the pull irresistible. Travis bent his head and claimed her mouth. Heat exploded between them as she parted her lips. He darted his tongue into her mouth, desperate for another taste of her.
He broke away when he realized he was getting into dangerous territory. She had a hold on him that he didn’t understand and didn’t want to break. “I’m not ready to let you go,” he said gruffly.
Christine carefully stepped out of his embrace and gestured to the door. “Why don’t we step outside and discuss this?”
“As you wish.” He gave a sharp nod. “I’ll follow you anywhere.”
9
CHRISTINE SCANNED THE area when they stepped outside the bank. No one was around, but she knew her coworkers were watching her from the windows. She was tempted to find a private spot, but that was asking for trouble. Especially after that kiss.
She brushed h
er fingertips against her mouth. She wanted to kiss Travis so much that her lips stung with need. The instant attraction they had shared in Vegas had been exciting and new. Now it was inconvenient.
And the flare of desire in his eyes didn’t make sense. She didn’t turn heads when she walked through town. Why would Travis watch her as if he knew exactly what she looked like underneath?
“Okay, Travis,” she said as she strolled to a tree with low branches next to the parking lot. “What is really going on?”
“You tell me.”
She gave him a quick glance when she heard his sharp tone. She saw his harsh features and felt his hot gaze. She had never seen him this intense. “I don’t understand. Is this some kind of joke?”
“Believe me,” he said in a low voice, “I’ve never been more serious.”
“Why me?” She turned and leaned against the tree trunk, then looked up to meet his gaze. “You had your choice of women in Vegas.”
He gave her a curious look. “And I chose you. The question is why did you choose me?”
“Are you kidding?” she asked. Travis was everything she admired in a man. He was a mix of strength and gentleness, of knowledge and action. When she was in his arms, she felt safe to break out of her comfort zone.
“Why did you?” he asked. “I really want to know.”
“Travis, what we had was fun.” She didn’t like that description; it made her time in Vegas sound trivial. That weekend changed her. Travis changed her. “But I am not the kind of woman men pursue.”
He tilted his head. “What are you talking about?”
Wasn’t it already glaringly obvious? Christine curled her hand tighter against her cell phone and the device bit into her palm. She had never been mysterious or stunning. She didn’t attract male attention.
She didn’t mind it. At least, that’s what she told herself. She had other things to offer in a relationship. She was the caregiver, the cheering section. But that wasn’t enough to hold a man, apparently. When Darrell dumped her because she wasn’t exciting enough, it had been a wake-up call.
But she still wasn’t stunning or mysterious. She could dress the part of the femme fatale, but she was still too cautious to fulfill what the sexy shoes promised.
“You wouldn’t have noticed me in the casino if I had dressed like this,” Christine said as she gestured at her dress.
Travis flattened his hand on the tree trunk above her. “You wouldn’t have noticed me if I hadn’t approached you.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Her dream list didn’t include sex with a tall, dark and gorgeous man, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have noticed Travis.
He leaned in. “Would you have done something about it?”
Her world was growing smaller as Travis filled her senses. She pressed her spine against the rough bark. “Depends on how brave I felt at the time.”
“How brave do you feel now?” he asked. He raised his other hand and caressed her cheek. She trembled from the soft touch. “We’re in your territory now and you know that I came all this way to find you.”
“It’s different,” she insisted hoarsely. “This isn’t Vegas. I have to be on my best behavior.”
Her phone chimed. She glanced at the text from Jill. He kissed you? Christine closed her eyes and groaned. Gossip traveled fast in this town.
“Does your best behavior include hiding under a desk?” Travis asked as his hand rested against the fluttering pulse at the base of her throat.
She opened her eyes wide as the embarrassment gripped her. She could barely breathe. “What?” Her voice sounded strangled as heat scorched her skin.
“Just now?” He gestured at the bank building. “There is no other door to your office. You were under the desk, weren’t you?”
“Okay, yes.” Christine tossed her hands in the air in defeat. She should have known she was no match for Travis Cain. He saw everything. And why wouldn’t he? She was no different from the countless women who threw themselves at his feet. “You caught me. I should have expected that. I panicked when I saw you.”
His eyes darkened. “Why?”
“I didn’t want you to see me,” she said in a harsh whisper. “Not like this.”
Travis’s hand drifted down the side of her body, grazing her breast. “Like how?” he asked.
“I’m not a woman of action, but I want to be. I went to Vegas and pretended to be someone else. A bolder version of myself....” Her voice trailed off as she became very aware of Travis’s hand spanning her waist. “But I wasn’t that brazen after all.”
His hand skimmed her hip. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m just a small-town girl,” she admitted. “My days are filled with my job and my friends. That’s it. I haven’t traveled around the world. I don’t even have a passport.”
“Then how...” His fingers flexed against her hip as he looked around the bank. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“I lied because I didn’t think the real me would interest you. I still don’t.” She heard the chime of her cell phone. She squeezed the phone in her hand and ignored it.
“So the bucket list was a lie, too?”
“No, that was the truth. There really is one.” Unfortunately, she thought with a twist of her lips. She wished she had never found it. It only reminded her of time wasted. Of dreams unfulfilled.
“How do I know it wasn’t some pickup line?” he asked. “A clever way to keep me at your side. I never saw the list. I was taking your word for it.”
If only she was that clever when it came to luring men. “I didn’t have it with me because I had it memorized.”
“Anything else you’d like to confess?”
“Didn’t you hear me? The list is true. It’s a real thing,” she insisted. “My friend Jill has seen it. I don’t go waving it around to people because it’s not something to brag about. I only have two things checked off.”
“Wait a second.” He let go of her waist and placed his hand on the tree trunk, trapping her. “You told me you wrote it when you were eighteen. That you had a hundred items on the list.”
She felt a wave of prickly heat crawl up her neck. “Yes,” she muttered.
“You only accomplished two things in ten years? That can’t be true.”
She wanted to say it was because she was confined here in Cedar Valley. That she couldn’t take a risk with her neighbors watching, waiting for her to fail. But she knew that was no longer true. That had been an excuse.
“I wanted to do all those things but life got in the way,” she said dully. “Whenever I wanted to try something, my plans fell apart. If I raised the money for a trip, I would suddenly have to use that money for emergency home repairs.”
“You’re not the type to give up at the first sign of failure.”
“I’m not,” she said with a small smile, pleased that he recognized that about her. “But after a series of setbacks and disappointments, I thought I’d take a break. The crazy thing is that I’m much better at helping my friends and family achieve their dreams. I’m good at it. I thought it would be good practice until it was my turn.”
“But your turn never happened,” Travis guessed. “Until last weekend when you decided it was your time. That’s why you were in Vegas. No other reason?”
She shrugged. “Why else would I be there alone?”
Travis peered into her eyes. What could he see? Christine wondered. Could he tell that her life was built more on disappointments than achievements? That nothing came easy for her? She would read every article on setting goals and still come up short. There was a time when she used to think something was wrong with her. Why else did some people get everything they wanted and she was still waiting for a break?
“What two things did you cross off?” he asked suddenly. “I know one
of them was to win money.”
Christine winced. Oh, why did he have to catch that part of the confession? “I decided that if I crossed one item off, I could add one,” she explained.
“The last thing you did in Vegas was win money. After that....”
She fought to meet his gaze. “After that...was you.”
Christine saw the light of surprise in his eyes. The sharp, angular features in his face softened. The edge of his mouth tilted up as he gave her a confident, sexy smile.
She crossed her arms and glared at Travis. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.”
His smile grew wider. “I didn’t say a word.”
“You don’t have to.” She had some crazy dreams on that list and now she’d given him the biggest ego boost.
“Hey, why are you glaring at me?” he said with a laugh. “You’re the one who added a one-night stand on your list.”
“No, I added you,” she corrected him. “And I crossed you off the list.”
His smile disappeared. “Was that why you slept with me? Because of some list?”
“If I was desperate to check something off my list, I would have added sky jumping or driving a Ferrari,” she said. “I could have added anything on my list and I wanted you. I wanted you the moment I saw you, but I wasn’t going to get distracted.
“I wanted you more than anything else Vegas had to offer.”
“And now that you’ve had me, you’ve crossed me off your bucket list and you no longer have any interest in me. Is that it?”
I wish. Instead of getting Travis Cain out of her system, she realized she wanted him more than ever. “No, that’s not it at all. I know that Cedar Valley will bore you. I’m just saving you some time.”
“Christine, you had my full attention the moment you stepped into that casino. Nothing’s going to change that.”
His declaration warmed her. Travis might believe what he was saying, but she knew it wasn’t going to last. “Big words for a man who doesn’t believe in staying in one place for long,” she murmured. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
