“I guess I didn’t turn up the heat enough,” Cat said quietly, looking into her wineglass. Disappointment etched in every word as she, Melody, and Lisa sat at a table in their favorite restaurant for lunch a few days later.
Lisa and Mel shared a look before Lisa said, grinning, “Oh, I think you did. Mel and I couldn’t help noticing when Rory came back that he was turned on as all get-out. That’s probably why he left the party so soon.”
Cat snapped her head up. “Are the two of you serious?” Hope was in her eyes and her voice.
“Yes, we’re serious, Cat, so I wouldn’t throw in the towel yet if I were you,” Mel said, taking a sip of her own wine. “If nothing else, you proved one thing. Rory is still attracted to you.”
“Yes, it definitely appeared that way,” Lisa tacked on.
Suddenly in a much better mood, Cat leaned back in her chair and smiled. That was definitely news she’d needed to hear. She had been down in the dumps since seeing him that night. “Now if I can get him to stay in my presence more than five minutes to let him know how I feel. The only way we can really repair our relationship is for us to spend time together. That’s the only way I can seek his forgiveness for what I did. I didn’t realize just how much I loved him until he wasn’t in my life anymore. It seemed like a part of me was missing. I’m sorry it took me almost a year to discover he’d been right all along and that the two of us were meant for each other.”
“So what are you going to do now?” Mel asked.
“Think of a way to get him off somewhere, without any interruptions.”
Lisa’s eyes lit mischievously. “I think I have an idea how you can accomplish that.”
“How?”
“Peyton and Rory have planned a fishing trip to the cabin this coming weekend. What if I come up with a reason for Peyton not to go, which means Rory will be there all alone?”
“Mmm,” Cat said thoughtfully, already liking the idea as numerous possibilities flowed through her mind. Then one she didn’t like suddenly popped up. “What if he asks his new girlfriend to go with him if Peyton backs out?”
Lisa pursed her lips, considering, and then spoke. “Her name is Shari, and a few weeks ago I asked Rory for her phone number, so I could invite her to do something with me that weekend since he would be away. That would give me the chance to get to know her.”
At Cat’s glare, Lisa quickly added, “That was before I knew you had come to your senses and wanted him back. Anyway, he said she would be out of town herself that weekend. In that case, I doubt she’ll be there.”
Cat felt better in knowing that. However if her plan worked, Rory would be faced with making a choice—her or Shari—and Cat was going to make sure she did everything to reconcile things between them. She had actually thought being a success was everything, but now she understood what Rory had tried to make her see. Success wouldn’t be there with her on those cold nights, nor was success something she could count on when she needed a friend to talk to. She could tell from their brief conversation that past weekend that Rory had his guard up with her and he would continue to keep it up. She had to try more than ever to breach it.
“Okay,” she said, looking at Lisa. “You come up with a reason to keep Peyton at home, and I’ll think of a way to make sure this weekend turns out to be one that Rory will remember for a long time.”
Mel held up her wineglass. “Here’s to getting your man back,” she toasted.
Cat laughed and raised her glass along with Mel and Lisa. “Getting Rory back,” they all chimed.
The Next Day
Peyton waited until he knew his wife had pulled out of the driveway and then called Rory on his cell phone. He smiled. “Hey man, just thought I’d give you a heads-up. Our women are cooking something behind our backs.”
Rory, who had been outside cutting his yard, leaned against his kitchen counter after taking a huge gulp of water straight from an icy cold bottle. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because Lisa convinced me not to go fishing with you this weekend,” he said smugly. “She wants me to go with her this weekend to visit her cousin in Atlanta.”
“And you’re giving up fishing for that?”
“Hey, man, what can I say? She put her persuasive skills to work, and before I knew it, I was agreeing to anything she wanted. You can call me weak—I don’t give a damn. However, I prefer to be called satisfied instead.”
Rory chuckled. “Okay, man, I get the picture.”
“You know this is a setup don’t you?” Peyton then said. “And how much do you want to bet that Cat is going to show up at the cabin now that I’m out of the picture.”
Desire raced through Rory’s body. He definitely liked the thought of hanging out with her alone at the cabin for an entire weekend. Yes, it sounded like a setup, and if it was, little did the woman he loved know that he had his own personal agenda. He planned to teach her a lesson that she wouldn’t forget.
* * *
Cat left work early on Friday to go home and pack, a chore she found easy, since she was taking as little clothing as possible. Although she knew that it would take more than seduction to bring Rory around, she believed when all else failed, hit a man right below the gut.
And she planned to hit hard.
The question of what his initial reaction would be upon seeing her at the door lingered in her mind. Would he get upset and close the door in her face, or would he pull her into his arms and kiss her? The thought of him doing the latter filled her with all kinds of anticipation. She could actually feel the hard demanding mouth on hers, tasting, promising, but more important, surrendering.
Cat’s entire body hummed at the thought, and she allowed herself to indulge further as images of those deep, chocolate brown eyes latching on her just moments before Rory picked her up in his arms to carry her off to the bedroom to make intense love to her. Adrenaline, excitement, love laced with lust flared within her stomach, and she knew if any of the scenarios she’d imagined took place, then this Shari would be old news.
An hour later, Cat was on the road, heading toward Georgia and a section of land near Blairsville that Peyton’s parents had given the couple as a wedding gift. The area was rich with prestigious horse farms, large country estates, riverfront homes, and breathtaking mountain views that opened not only your eyes, but also your soul. She would always remember the first time Rory had brought her here alone. They had cruised the back roads leading to the cabin, taking in the beauty of the mountains. And once they’d reached their destination and unpacked, they had taken in the splendor of each other when they had made love for the first time.
So for her and Rory, this would be coming full circle, going back to the place where their intimate life together had begun, and she hoped to mend the tear she had placed in their relationship. Based on the information Lisa had given her yesterday, if her calculations were right, Rory would reach their destination four hours before she did, and Cat hoped that Lisa’s claim that he would be alone was an accurate one. She didn’t want to think about her embarrassment if it wasn’t.
Scratch that. Wipe that thought out completely.
She refused to think of that possibility. Her hopes for this weekend were too high. For the past twelve months she’d been like a woman trapped underwater, and now that she was finally coming up for air, she planned to breathe in as much of it as she could. Already in the deep recesses of her mind, Rory’s manly scent was filling her nostrils, and she couldn’t help remembering that scent mingling with his taste whenever they kissed.
Sensations suddenly swamped her senses, and as she took the interstate that crossed the Alabama line into Georgia, everything faded from her mind, except thoughts of her and Rory spending time together.
* * *
Rory glanced down at his watch. It was almost six in the afternoon. He’d been at the cabin only a few hours and already he was champing at the bit, wondering when Cat would show up. What if Peyton’s assumptions were all wrong and she had no intention of coming? Hell, he didn’t want to think of that possibility, since he had spent the past two days thinking of an angle he could use that would really throw her for a loop.
According to Peyton, Lisa and Cat’s plan was for Cat to arrive, claiming there was some sort of a mix-up, since Lisa had given her the okay to use the cabin for that same weekend. And now since the two of them were stuck here together … Oh, well …
Rory snorted. Cat would get what she wanted, but on his terms, and she would have to be the one to prove that a future, and not just a temporary sexual fix, was what she really wanted.
His ears picked up the sound of a car pulling in outside. He swallowed, knowing the time to playact had arrived. He hated being deceitful, but then, there was a reason for this madness.
He had deliberately parked his SUV in the garage out back to make the story Cat would tell seem even more plausible. Thanks to Lisa, Cat had her own key and was supposed to walk into the cabin and act surprised to see him. He would play as dumbfounded as she while she explained there must have been a mix-up on cabin dates.
Yeah. Right.
He glanced around. The cabin looked cozy enough with the wood burning in the fireplace. He had unpacked and unloaded the food in the refrigerator. He had showered earlier and changed into another pair of jeans and a T-shirt. And now he waited for her to walk through the door. As he watched the doorknob slowly turn, he knew this weekend they would either get their act together or end things completely.