by A. C. Arthur
She disappeared through the swinging door before he could utter another word. Which worked just fine for him because for the first time in his life Trent Donovan had been left speechless.
Twenty-four hours. That’s how long he’d managed to avoid calling Tia. The last thing Trent wanted was to appear as if he needed her. Which, coincidentally he did.
Getting through the rest of Sunday hadn’t been too bad since he’d already had an appointment to play golf with his brothers. Adam was the one trying to get the brothers and their father hooked on the game. Trent personally needed more of a contact sport like football or basketball, but he’d indulge his little brother for a while longer. Besides, it was time the Donovan men spent together.
The evening was a little more difficult since memories of the previous night kept interrupting his thoughts. During those memories, Trent couldn’t help but think about the times that Tia had appeared haunted.
Finding her in the dark room at Adam’s house had been the first shock. She should have been out mingling, enjoying the party that would undoubtedly lead to even more career prospects for her. Instead she was closed in a room after apparently drinking too many glasses of champagne. And while she had purposely sought solitude, she hadn’t wanted to be alone.
That’s why she’d invited him in and eventually to stay. Trent had been so focused on getting her into bed that he didn’t give himself a lot of time to consider the facts. Tia had been afraid of something that night. And whatever it was, it had scared her so much she’d resorted to being with him, a man she’d previously acted as if she detested.
Trent had always been the inquisitive brother. His habit of investigating any and everything had caused more than one disagreement in his family. But that had never stopped him before.
So first thing Monday morning he had run a complete background check on Tia Marisal St. Claire. The results hadn’t been what he’d expected. In fact, it had taken him hours to come to grips with it and the way it made him feel.
He’d wanted to call her that night but couldn’t figure what to say to her, especially with his newfound information. However, he needed to talk to somebody to decide what his next move should be. Outside of his brothers and his father the only other person Trent would ever seek out for advice—advice he would actually listen to—would be his mother.
Beverly Donovan was the glue holding the Donovan men together. She was their rock, their strength, the first woman any of them had ever loved. The only woman Trent loved. While to most men their mother was the light of their life, to Trent, Beverly was so much more.
When he’d gone into the Navy he didn’t have any girlfriend left at home to write him sappy letters laced with perfume. His brothers were in college and had lives of their own. His father wasn’t all that pleased that his son had decided to enter the military but had tried valiantly to respect Trent’s wishes. But it was Beverly who had written to Trent weekly. It was she who would wait on the third Sunday of every month at precisely six o’clock in the evening for his phone call. Only she knew of the times he’d doubted himself and how best to kick his butt into gear. She was one of his best friends and the only honest woman he’d ever known.
Late Tuesday afternoon he’d decided to go and see her, to get her take on the information he’d found on Tia.
“She’s having a girls’ night with Camille, Jade and Noelle. They’re talking about that baby shower again,” Linc said with a sigh and a shake of his head in answer to Trent’s question as to where their mother was. “Man, I’ll be so glad when Jade delivers. Don’t get me wrong, the most beautiful sight a man could ever see is his wife pregnant with his child. But damn, I can’t take these mood swings much longer.”
Adam and Henry Donovan laughed as they sat in the pool room at the Donovan estate. Trent had heard them talking and come in, asking where his mother was.
“I can’t wait for Camille to get pregnant,” Adam said rubbing his hands over his legs. “Camille is going to be a great mother.”
“Slow down, son,” Henry chuckled. “Enjoy some alone time with your woman first. I tried to tell this one that but he was too fast for me. Once those babies get here, Jade won’t remember your name.”
Linc looked horrified and Trent couldn’t help but chuckle himself. They all looked happy and content, talking about their women and babies and such. Trent felt like an outsider, but then he’d always felt that way. So different from Adam and Linc he’d always been. While they were college and business suited, Trent was more hands-on, physical and dominating.
“So what brings you by, Trent?” Henry asked. “We don’t usually see you during the week.”
“Yeah, when’s your next assignment?” Linc asked as he unhooked his cell phone and looked at it. Probably checking for a call or text message from Jade.
His big brother was so whipped, Trent almost laughed again. “I’m free of assignments for a while.”
“After Connecticut you should be taking a hiatus. I heard that was a close call with the explosion and shooting at Bennett Industries, then the arrest of the stalker lady and that lieutenant from the Marines,” Adam added.
“I read about that.” Henry lifted one of his favorite cigars out of the box and stuck it in his mouth. He would keep it there, unlit for at least fifteen minutes before eventually lighting and smoking it. “Terrible shame. I hope the family’s doing okay.”
“They are,” Trent said. “I spoke to Sam last night.”
“Really?” Linc looked up from his phone. “Did you also talk to his sister?”
Trent shook his head. His brothers didn’t forget a thing. “No I didn’t talk to Lynn because we have nothing else to talk about.”
“My boys,” Henry shook his head. “Just over a year ago all of you were breaking hearts across the nation. Now only one remains. When are you going to settle down, Trent?”
“I’m not,” Trent answered quickly, adamantly.
Adam was first to laugh while Linc went back to whatever he was doing with his cell phone. “He just hasn’t been caught yet,” Linc mumbled.
“Or has he?” Adam asked, his annoying chuckling finally ceasing. “Camille was pretty upset when she couldn’t find Tia after the party Saturday. She called her house a couple of times but didn’t get an answer.”
Trent wisely kept his mouth shut.
“Who’s Tia?” Henry asked taking his cigar out of his mouth to study it.
“She’s the model,” Linc chimed in.
“When Camille spoke to her on Sunday she said Tia sounded strange but assured her she was all right.”
“So.” Trent stood, going to the patio door and opening it. Although it was March, it was almost sixty degrees in Vegas and getting warmer as the topic of conversation was going in a direction Trent didn’t want.
The previous topic, his military career and how dangerous it was, wasn’t any better. Trent loved his family and didn’t like the fact that they worried about him when he was away on assignments. But that was his job, he couldn’t really see himself doing anything else.
Or at least he hadn’t until Sam had proposed the private investigation agency. The jury was still out on that one.
“So,” Adam continued. “One of the drivers told me he saw you carrying Tia to your car before the party was over.”
Trent sighed. This town was too damn small. “She wasn’t feeling well so I took her home.”
“Yeah, you’re the perfect gentleman,” Linc quipped. “Today’s Tuesday—is she able to walk on her own now?”
Adam was laughing again and Trent wanted to stuff something into his big mouth to keep him quiet.
“She was walking yesterday,” he answered tightly.
“Then you obviously didn’t do your job right,” Adam guffawed.
Trent moved across the room taking a seat on one of the bar stools. “Does Camille know you’re this vulgar? She gets after me about every word that comes out of my mouth but yet you talk like that.”
Adam
straightened in the chair still smiling. “I’m smart enough not to talk like this around her.”
“Just like Trent’s smart enough to see a woman who’s in trouble home safely. Good job, son,” Henry said.
His father was tracing a finger along the line of his cigar now and Trent wondered when he was just going to smoke the damn thing. Sunday on the golf range had been so nice with them. For a minute Trent had thought Adam was going to mention Tia, but he hadn’t. He wondered why he did now.
“Thanks, Dad. I’m glad somebody knows when to do the right thing.” He glared at his brothers.
“The right thing?” Linc grinned. “What time did you leave her in the morning and have you called her since?”
Trent didn’t answer.
Adam went on, “Well, she worked on a catalog shoot yesterday. I know because I stopped by the shoot to see Camille and Tia was there.”
And that’s why Adam was bringing her up now. Trent wondered if she’d said anything about him.
“You slept with her, didn’t you?” Linc asked as he sat back in his seat, eyeing Trent.
Trent couldn’t help but grin. His brothers knew him too well. “What’s my name?”
Chapter 8
At Trent’s words they all laughed, Henry included, even though he still hadn’t lit that cigar.
“Now back to Linc’s question. Have you called her?” Adam asked.
Trent sighed. “No.” When Adam opened his mouth to speak again Trent held up a hand to stop him. “But not for the reason you think.”
“There doesn’t have to be a reason, it’s just what you do,” Linc said seriously.
For a minute Trent was bothered by the tinge of disappointment he heard in Linc’s voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, you are still in your love ’em and leave ’em stage. You’re not calling her because you got what you wanted all along.”
With another woman that might have been true. But Trent still wanted Tia, desperately.
“What would you say if I said you were wrong?”
Every Donovan in the room had his gaze aimed at him. To himself even Trent had to admit that the words sounded strange. “I wanted to call her. As soon as I left her on Sunday afternoon I wanted to call.”
Linc dropped his cell phone into his lap. Adam sat straight up in his seat. And Henry, who had just lit the lighter and held it to his cigar, watched Trent in shock as the flame quickly tapped out.
“So did you?” Linc finally asked.
“No.”
Adam leaned forward, his arms resting on his legs as he continued to stare at Trent. “Why?”
“Because I had her investigated instead.”
“What?”
“Now that sounds like my brother.”
Linc and Adam spoke simultaneously. Henry shook his head, flicked the lighter once more and took his first puff of the cigar.
“I did it because I think she’s hiding something and I wanted to know what it was.”
“You just slept with her, she doesn’t have to divulge her entire life history to you just to have sex,” Adam said disgustedly.
“What did you find out?”
Trent knew that Adam would take this personally. Tia and Camille were good friends. Trent was no fool, he knew that whatever went down between him and Tia would directly effect his sister-in-law and ultimately his brother. That was one reason why Trent was determined to do the right thing in this situation. While he usually dealt with women in a callous and cold manner, his family was a different matter entirely. He would do whatever he needed to ensure they weren’t hurt or stressed by his actions.
“She’s had some pretty hefty emotional baggage with her. I think that’s why she was so upset at the party. I took her home because she’d been drinking and I didn’t want her to try and drive herself.”
“Chivalry’s not dead, I see,” Henry said between puffs.
His father wasn’t doing a lot of talking, but he was listening, Trent knew. That’s what Henry did. He listened, he thought and then he talked. If Trent were lucky he’d make it out of here just barely scathed by what his father could possibly say to him in this situation. While the Triple Threat Donovans had their reign Henry Donovan had constantly preached to his sons about loving and respecting women, about finding the right one, settling down and building their own legacy. Trent had no doubt that the same lecture was waiting in the wings for him, yet again.
“Tell us what the report said, Trent,” Linc prodded.
Adam shook his head, standing. “I don’t want to know.”
“Yes, you do,” Linc said. “Sit down. He’s our brother before she’s Camille’s friend. Besides, from the way he’s looking it might be something we all need to know.”
Adam sat reluctantly. “You need to learn how to respect people’s privacy,” he told Trent.
“There’s no such thing as privacy in this day and age,” Trent told him. “Besides, I wasn’t doing it because I didn’t trust her. I did it because I was worried about her.”
“Wow. That’s new.” Linc rubbed a hand across his jaw.
“Look, she was engaged to be married and she was pregnant two years ago.”
The men remained silent for a moment.
“So where’s the husband and the baby?” Adam finally asked.
“They died,” Trent said solemnly.
“How?” Linc sounded nervous.
“They were in a car accident. Her fiancé, Jake Baskins, who was also her manager at the time, was distracted by an oncoming eighteen wheeler. He lost control of the car and drove over an embankment. He died instantly. Tia was knocked out. By the time she arrived at the hospital she was hemorrhaging. The baby, a little girl, died an hour after the crash. She was only two weeks away from delivering.”
“Damn.” Adam sat back in the chair.
Linc’s fingers now visibly shook as he continued to rub his chin.
“That’s not all,” Trent continued. “The night of the party was the second anniversary of the accident. She’d been drinking because she was hurting.” And he’d taken her home and made love to her. For that he felt like the biggest jerk in all civilization.
Yet, a part of him sensed that being with her in that way had helped her through. She’d held on to him so tightly as if she were afraid he’d vanish and she’d be left alone to commemorate the anniversary by herself. He hoped by staying with her he’d saved her from even more pain.
“She did look a little tense that night,” Adam said. “I wonder if Camille knows. Of course she doesn’t, she would never have insisted that Tia come if she knew what she was going through.”
“I get the impression she doesn’t talk about her past much.”
“So how was she with you that night?” Linc asked. At Trent’s raised brow he rephrased his question. “I mean, did she seem upset or high-strung or what?”
“She was definitely a little testy at first. But once we got to her place she was cool until after…” Trent’s words trailed off and he cleared his throat. “Then she went from sated to tense to needy all in the span of about fifteen minutes. She asked me not to leave so I didn’t.”
“Good move,” Henry finally chimed in.
The brothers looked his way in question.
“She needed you that night and you were smart enough to realize that,” Henry said. “Had you left her, the pain of that anniversary would have been compounded for her. As carefree and unfeeling as you like to portray yourself, I know you wouldn’t have wanted that.”
His father was right. Trent would have felt miserable if he’d found out later why she wanted him there. Although, in retrospect if he’d known all this about her a month ago, he doubted he would have pursued her this relentlessly.
“So what are you going to do now that you know? You’re not going to duck her are you?” Adam asked cautiously.
“I can’t duck her if she hasn’t called me,” he replied a little too quickly.
“Wait
a minute, the last time you saw her was Sunday afternoon? It’s now Tuesday evening and you haven’t heard from her?” Linc stated, a smile spreading across his face.
“Don’t even go there,” Trent warned. “Adam just said she was working on a catalog shot for Camille. She’s not ducking me.” Although the thought had crossed his mind.
Adam chuckled. “That would be something, wouldn’t it. Trent Donovan finally getting a dose of his own medicine.”
Besides Trent, Henry was the only one not laughing. “My advice to you, son, is not to play games with this one. She’s had a traumatic time so if you’re not sure about where you’re heading with her, then steer clear. Some people don’t deal well with emotional issues. Your toying with her might lead to something catastrophic and I know you don’t want that on your shoulders.” Henry took another puff of his cigar, blew smoke into the air and nodded toward Trent. “Think about what you want from her carefully before making another move. I’ve got a feeling she’s not the type you’re used to dealing with.”
Tia looked at the cheerful yellow, green and white invitation once more and took a deep, steadying breath. She could do this, she told herself over and over again. She had to do this.
About a month ago she’d received the invitation and after contemplating a day or two, she had responded that she would attend. Jade Donovan was a lovely woman who had invited Tia to her spa on more than one occasion to unwind. Her husband Linc was easy to look at and even easier to like. The fact that he was Adam’s brother and Camille’s future brother-in-law just made liking Linc and Jade all the more easy.
But Trent…now he was another story.
It had been three days since she’d seen or heard from Trent and she was beginning to feel like an addict going through withdrawal. Thinking about him now had her center throbbing. Squeezing her legs together tightly she scooted closer to the desk, focusing her eyes on the computer screen.
The phone rang, interrupting Tia’s thoughts. Tia answered; it was her mother. Madeline St. Claire checked up on Tia with regularity. She was so glad Tia went to the party on the painful anniversary instead of sitting at home remembering.
