Chapter Ten

 

He was afraid to blink, in case she vanished. The feel and taste of her still lingered and he regretted not staying a while longer in that hotel room. With their orders taken, his coffee poured and her tea steeping, he launched into an additional explanation.

“I knew how attached you were to The Inn,” he said. “It was so painfully obvious. My first inclination was to simply sign it over to you, but I was too selfish.”

“I don’t understand.”

“If I’d done that, how could I justify staying? How could I let you know I had designs on you? That I wanted to explore the instant attraction?”

“Oh. Oh.” She stared at him, blue eyes wide, faint stubble burns on her throat. “So, you loaned me money to fix it up, giving you an excuse to stay around?”

“I have people I trust to run my business, baby, but not for months. Not even weeks. I’ve done some pretty fast talking. Called in a lot of favors.”

“I had no idea. But did you think I could make a go of it?”

A rueful smile curved his lips. “I was more worried you’d kill yourself with work. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard and be so versatile. You’re amazing, Regan. My admiration for you knows no bounds. But no, I couldn’t see you making a go of it.”

“The odds were stacked against me,” she admitted. “But I couldn’t see anything else.”

“It was a bugger, knowing you held The Inn close to your heart and maybe had no room for me, once I figured out what I felt went past simple attraction. But at the same time, I couldn’t ask you to sell. Not without making every effort to help you. Within reason,” he added. “There was no way I could stand the idea of you living in a place that wasn’t safe. I just didn’t expect that you’d do all the work.”

“I’ve never been afraid of hard work.”

“Good thing. Because I’m a work in progress according to my mother.”

She smiled widely. “I’m sure she thinks you’re perfect.”

“Wait until you meet her. And Naomi.”

“I’d like that.”

“I should have invited you earlier but I doubted you’d take time away. Was I right to think that you had to prove it to yourself?” Strain and worry tugged at him.

She let him take her hand, their beverages cooling in front of them. “You seem to know me better than I know myself. I was consumed, obsessed, I guess you’d call it. I was determined to make The Inn viable again.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “It drove me crazy, watching you work so hard. Turned me on too.”

“Yet, you kept your distance.”

“As best as I could. I took innumerable cold showers. Tormented myself hanging around you, hiding how I felt.”

“You were underfoot a lot.”

“I was determined not to influence your decision. I didn’t want you to have any regrets. The businessman in me couldn’t see throwing away money, but I’d have burned it in the fireplace to keep you warm if necessary. It was a fine balance. And I couldn’t stay away. I tried to distance myself, to give you the time you needed. When I took an overnight trip to Boston the first time, I missed you so badly I made myself ignore you when I returned. It was that or jump you and show you how much I was interested.”

A tremor shook her voice when she asked, “But why did you solicit offers on The Inn?”

He levered out of the booth and rushed around to push in beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I wanted you to have a safety net. I wanted to tell you, time and again, but it never seemed that you were ready. I didn’t know if you’d ever be ready to sell.” He felt his face tighten as he added, “And I worried that you wouldn’t want me the way I wanted you. I couldn’t leave you with nothing.”

Tears sheened her eyes before she tucked her head against his shoulder. “I think I made it pretty plain last night—and this morning—how much I want you. I … I lusted after you.”

Drifting his thumb over her knuckles, he kissed her temple, feeling the last of his worries fade away. “I didn’t dare let myself interpret anything, baby. That’d be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. It was hard enough for me not to paw the ground or something equally animalistic.”

“You didn’t want the money, did you?”

“Not at all. It wasn’t a business deal from almost the minute I laid eyes on you. You marched into that lawyer’s office, gritting your teeth and fearing the worst. Something about you pulled me in, Regan. I confess I told myself it was purely physical, but obviously, it was more than that, seeing as I barely got to lay a finger on you.”

“You kissed me.”

“And I thought I’d blown it, big time, with that move.”

“That kiss both gave me hope and confused me.”

“Short rations,” he teased.

“You must have your pick of women.” A hint of uncertainty colored her tone.

Hadn’t he convinced her? Tucking a finger beneath her chin, he tilted it, staring into her eyes. “I picked you.”

Her wide mouth lifted into a smile. “Works for me.”

“Pancakes with bacon? Crisp? Ham and eggs?” Their server interrupted a definite moment, but Regan’s belly chose to remind them breakfast was her favorite meal of the day and he could admit to being famished.

They leaned back to let her arrange the plates, and he moved to the other side of the booth.

“Where were you going?” he asked, lifting his cup.

She swallowed a forkful of pancake and syrup. “To Montana.”

“Good grief. I can’t see myself in Montana, but…” He ran a hand through his hair. Maybe there was another option if she didn’t want to go back to Vermont. Or join him in Boston.

“Funny. I can. Cowboy hat. Boots. And some tight jeans. Maybe a pair of chaps.” She licked the syrup off the tines and obviously hid a smile as his gaze narrowed. 

“Seriously, Regan. Can I convince you to come back? Actually, come to Boston?”

“I love the big, confident businessman, but I’ll take the disconcerted, uncertain, and absolutely drool-worthy guy,” she teased.

“Drool-worthy?” He’d be anything for her.

“Okay, I’ll come with.”

He blinked and then swallowed. “Just like that?”

“Just like that. Montana wasn’t my first choice in any event. Given making a choice between you and wherever, I know my preference.”

And he’d come close to losing this woman. “I should have ravished you much sooner.”

“Maybe you should have, but I’m not sure I would have come to recognize the futility of revamping The Inn if you had. I’d have lost myself in a daydream of having it all, and when it fell apart it might have spoiled things a little.” Her honesty made him smile and he grabbed her hand again.

“I know you’re not a Boston kind of girl, but I have a country house. The grounds are in dire need of some tender loving care. Kind of like the owner.”

“Wellesley.”

“Excuse me?” He needed to pay better attention, but his mind was skipping ahead.

“Wellesley has a Master Gardener extension program. I want to get my diploma. Now that I can afford it.” She set down her utensil and picked up her coffee. He wasn’t in any hurry to release her other hand. “Gloria—she’s kind of an honorary aunt, a friend of my mother’s—will be disappointed, but I think we could visit her.”

“I can visit Montana. Especially if someone important to you lives there.” If she wanted Wellesley he’d find a way for her to get in, not that she likely need his help.

“We’ll get those boots,” she teased.

Wrapping a small piece of bacon in a napkin, she took it out for Oscar while he dealt with the bill. When he emerged, she was talking to the cat.

“I worry that I’m going to wake up and my heart will still be broken,” she told the cat who crunched the morsel. “I had no idea this … person lived inside of me!”

He spoke through the open window, pleased to have overheard her. Thrilled to reassure her. “I knew she existed. And you’re going to wake up beside me each and every morning, baby, face to face with the truth. And I’ll kick my own ass before I hurt you again.”

Staring into her eyes, he hid nothing from her, wanting her to see him as her future. “Oscar won’t forgive you if you do,” she said. “And you know how he gets.”

He laughed. “He’ll have an entirely new world to explore and dominate.”

After following him to the car rental building, she got Oscar settled in the back while he dropped off his Mercedes. He swung into the passenger seat and she waited for him to buckle up. The cat ceased his grumbling and broke into a rusty purr, apparently all right with giving up his favored shotgun position in deference to another male in his and his mistress’s lives.

“You okay with me driving?” she asked.

Normally, he’d be far from okay. “I told you. You’re the most competent woman I know.”

She bit her bottom lip, and this time he soothed it, touching it gently with a finger. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s a tough go, being competent all the time. Looking out for myself.”

Surging into her space, if hampered by the close quarters and seat belt, he pressed a kiss on her lips. “I’ll be there when you need me, baby. And sometimes when you don’t, but I know you’ll set me straight in those instances.”

“And I’ll be there for you when you need me.” She blinked and a tear spilled over her lashes. “Always.”

He thumbed away the trace of moisture from her cheek before kissing her again, tasting her sweetness.

The future bright, they hit the road back.