CHAPTER SIX
Oh yeah, baby. Those were the only words floating through Annabelle’s mind as she sat in her room, jotting down notes on the people she’d met today. Those somehow related to Vaughn by either work or friendship.
She started a diagram but couldn’t concentrate, so she moved on to the press release. She needed Vaughn to make a public statement about the lodge and send a letter to those who already had bookings. Unfortunately, she couldn’t concentrate on anything but that kiss.
A kiss like the one they’d shared could make her reevaluate her decision to remain celibate. Judging by her swift reaction to Vaughn, it’d been too long since she’d been in any kind of relationship and she obviously needed the physical contact.
Desperately.
And only one man would do.
She and Vaughn were alone in this big house, nothing between them except the memory of that kiss. How could she not reevaluate her perspective and give herself permission to act on her desires?
True, she’d challenged herself this same way before and lost, but she’d learned her lesson, and this time she wouldn’t be hurt. This was a situation of limited duration with a man she knew up front wasn’t interested in anything serious. She’d only be in this small town and large house for a short time. Too short to invest her heart in Brandon Vaughn. But her body was another story.
Besides, if she didn’t give herself permission to seduce Vaughn, she’d never get any work done. Taking his wary reaction into consideration, she needed to start slow. But she’d absolutely decided to go for it with Vaughn.
Her stomach growled, interrupting her thoughts, but not her work, which just wasn’t flowing. Time to prepare a meal and feed the mind and the soul. She could cook for both herself and her missing housemate, who’d dropped her off and disappeared for parts unknown. Probably looking for more of that precious space he always seemed to need. She could just leave a plate warming in the oven for him later.
She decided to make use of his state-of-the-art kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets and fridge, coming up with steaks in the freezer, baking potatoes and some salvageable green stuff for a salad.
An hour later, she had both steaks defrosted, marinated and sizzling on the downdraft cook-top grill. She’d found a bottle of Merlot, and was flipping the steaks and pleasantly buzzed when Vaughn finally returned.
“Annabelle, are you here?” he called out loudly.
At the sound of his deep voice, her stomach churned with excitement. As she waited for him to stride into the kitchen, she tried to force a nonchalance she didn’t feel.
He entered just as she decided the steaks were finished. She placed them on the table along with the rest of the meal before glancing up. Looking at him was a feast for the senses. Vaughn wasn’t an athlete who’d let his body go to hell after retirement. On the contrary, his T-shirt, cut off at the abdomen and the sleeves, showcased well-toned muscles and tanned skin. No man should look so good.
“Of course, I’m here. Where else would I be?” she asked, forcing herself to focus and answer his question. “You insisted I not bring my car, then you took off, not to be seen again for hours.”
He had the good manners to look embarrassed. “Sorry. I needed—”
“Space,” she finished for him.
“Right.” He shot her a sexy grin. “So, something’s cooking.” He shoved his hands into his back pockets and peered over her shoulder at the meal on the table.
“More like someone’s been cooking.”
“For two.”
Caught, her face heated with embarrassment. “I thought if I was going to be using your food, I should at least include you in the meal. Just in case you were hungry.”
Vaughn stared, surprised at the dinner on his table. He’d been a real bastard to her and she’d thought about including him anyway.
“Thanks,” he said awkwardly. He wasn’t used to people doing things for him.
“You’re welcome. You might as well sit. Unless you’ve already eaten?”
He shook his head. He’d been out in a pathetic attempt to outrun thoughts of the steamy summer kiss they’d shared.
No such luck. Seeing her again brought back hot memories of her sweet mouth and the way those luscious curves had felt pressed against him. With a groan, he settled into the chair across from her, resigned to the fact that she was with him, whether physically or emotionally, and would be until their working relationship ended.
“Wine?” she asked.
He nodded. “Why not.”
She added to his glass, then leaned forward in her seat. “So, you’ve been out running.”
He ran a hand through his windblown hair. “That obvious?”
She shrugged. “Only to someone who’s looking.” Her heavy-lidded gaze met his and held, until he couldn’t mistake her meaning.
He had to laugh. “I need to ask you something.”
“If I can ask a question in return, I’m more than happy to answer.”
He nodded. “Are you always this direct? Sexually I mean.”
She steepled her fingers and paused in thought. “I suppose that depends. I generally say what I think. I can’t see any sense in hiding my feelings. As for what’s going on between us, I’m focused on two things.”
“And those are?”
“One,” she said, raising a finger. “I need your cooperation to fix the problems with the lodge, and so far, you’re not giving me any, and two,” she said, raising a second finger, “I believe in bringing things out into the open and our attraction is there whether either one of us likes it or not. So instead of letting it get in the way of work, I choose to acknowledge and deal with it, so we can move forward.”
He blinked, staring at her in amazement. “Are you saying you got the attraction out of your system and can move on?” Because he sure as hell wasn’t able to do any such thing, no matter how badly he wanted to.
“I said move forward.” She emphasized her point with a shake of her head that had her ponytail falling over the shoulder of yet another of those jerseys she favored.
He stabbed his steak and let the fork remain. It was one thing to acknowledge the attraction, another to contemplate doing anything more about it. Moving on seemed smartest. Safest. He wasn’t sure what she meant with her semantics, but she was directing the conversation and he decided to see where she was headed.
“So, while we’re eating, I thought we could deal with my first point and talk business.”
She’d obviously decided to drop the more heated subject and he exhaled a hard sigh of relief. The knot in his stomach eased, as did the tension lodged inside him.
He cut into the steak and began eating. “Delicious,” he said, between bites.
“I’ll let the cook know.” She spoke with laughter in her voice, but he couldn’t mistake the glow of pleasure in her cheeks or the warmth in her eyes at his compliment.
Just watching her, his skin flushed hot with wanting.
“Tell me about your reasons for building this lodge. I’m sure it has something to do with the kids you want to bring in for the summer. And I already know you volunteer at the high school. So, what gives?” she prodded, and not too subtly, either.
Her pointed questions froze everything that had been thawing inside him. He was drawn to her, yes, but he didn’t trust her. Not enough to divulge his deepest secret and thus expose his biggest fear—that no woman would ever love the real Brandon Vaughn. The man beneath the trophies, money and rings.
“I thought we were going to talk business.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “My reasons for the lodge are personal.”
“So you say.” Leaning back in her seat, she drained the last of her drink. “But I answered your question and you said you’d answer mine,” she reminded him.
Her eyes had glazed with the effect of the wine. Her deep vee-neck plunged a bit too low, revealing soft white skin and plump cleavage he’d give anything to taste. Her allure had never been more potent.
Too bad he was about to douse the flame. “As I recall, I said you could ask. I never agreed to answer.”
Dismay flickered in her eyes, but she covered it with a casual wave of her hand. “You disappoint me, Vaughn.”
“I’ll have to live with that.” But he suspected it wouldn’t be as easy as he claimed. He didn’t like coming up short with her and he wasn’t sure why.
“Just don’t underestimate my determination,” she warned him. “In the meantime, tell me more about this house.”
At least that answer he could give her.
She rose and began collecting dirty plates.
“Leave them. The cleaning lady comes in the morning.” He stopped her, catching her wrist in his hand. The petite feel took him off guard. For a woman so sure of herself, she seemed fragile in his grasp.
He wondered if he’d have to be gentle with her when he finally got her beneath him, then discounted the notion. She was stronger than she looked and tough as nails. And he was an idiot even thinking about having sex with this woman.
He quickly released her. “I bought this place because it fit my needs,” he said, answering her question.
She lowered herself back into her seat. “So you said. But it’s a contradiction. You say you need space and you buy a huge house, yet you only open and live in a fraction of it.”
“So? It’s far enough from the residential sections of town to give me the privacy I want.”
“Mmm. I guess that makes sense.”
He narrowed his gaze. “You don’t sound convinced.”
She pursed her lips in thought. “Well, when your mother was here earlier, I picked up on some of what you two were saying. And the dynamics were pretty obvious.”
He clenched his jaw tight, hating any conversation that involved his mother or father. He’d long since come to terms with the man he’d become, or so he thought, until thoughts of how his parents viewed him resurfaced.
“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked Annabelle.
“I think you came home to show your parents how good you’ve done in your life.”
“When did you become a psychiatrist?”
She shrugged. “A publicist has to be good at reading people and dissecting situations. And right now, I sense I’m making you uncomfortable.”
“You’re just pushing too much. As you’ve seen for yourself, my parents don’t think I’ve accomplished a damn thing with my life, so hell yes, I wanted to show them a thing or two.”
“And buying this monstrosity accomplished that?”
“No,” he admitted. “It just brought me back to all the crap I left behind.” He’d intended to give her a short, one-sentence explanation so she’d back off. Instead he’d given her more insight into himself than he allowed most people.
“Then why stay?” she asked, still prodding for answers.
“Because this town is my home,” he bit out.
She ran her tongue over her lower lip. “Now that I can understand.” She hesitated, then drew a long, deep breath, causing her chest to rise and fall.
Though he watched and his body responded—hell his cock was hard—he held his own, wanting her to explain. That sexual tension she’d stopped discussing remained alive and smoldering just below the surface. “How so?”
“You and Uncle Yank are close, or at least you once were. So you must know he took us in when my parents died.” Quivering emotion laced her voice.
Vaughn reacted without thinking. One minute they were adversaries, the next he reached across the table and grasped her hand in his. “I’m sorry about your folks.”
She nodded in gratitude. “Thanks.”
“You were lucky to have Yank.”
“Yeah, we were.” She spoke softly. “But for a while, I wasn’t even sure he’d take us in. I was so afraid the three of us would be separated and—” She paused and hiccuped, an obvious attempt to swallow her emotions. “Anyway, my point is, I can relate to the need for that feeling of home. But home isn’t the same as family, you know?”
A low growl rumbled deep in his throat. “Not everyone can have the perfect parents.”
“And I just told you I didn’t have any parents. I’m just saying that for whatever reason, you and your folks don’t connect. But you feel that connection to this town anyway. So much so that the lodge is the home this house will never be.”
She understood him and that scared him even more than the sizzling kiss. “Your point?” he said too gruffly.
“I’d like you to let me use that emotional connection to this town in order to reach out to the people, and not just those around here. People in Greenlawn already love Brandon Vaughn. But I’d like to reach your extended public. The people you want to come and vacation at your lodge.” She leaned closer. “Let them see the man inside the athlete and want to help you as much as you want to help the kids.”
She squeezed his hand tight and he glanced down. He’d almost forgotten they sat hand in hand, making a personal connection.
There was now a subtle understanding between them. He drew a deep breath. “I’ll think about it.” He told himself he was responding to her business sense.
Still, he hated the idea of exposing something he did from the heart and using it as a media ploy. Then again, he wasn’t stupid. If he wanted the summer camp to become a reality, he needed the funding the winter lodge guests would provide. That was, after all, the reason he’d hired Annabelle in the first place.
Their hands remained intertwined. Her gaze met his, soft and understanding. Nothing businesslike in her expression or in the depths of those blue eyes now. This time if he acted on impulse and kissed her again, more than just sexual desire would be at work. At the moment, he didn’t care.
A loud knock sounded at the back door of the kitchen. Vaughn turned and glanced over. A familiar figure stood outside, one of his workmen who often came by uninvited. “I wonder what he wants.”
“Who?”
He jerked a head toward the back entrance. “Roy Murray. My electrical foreman.”
“Why doesn’t he use the front door?”
He rolled his eyes. “He decided back doors are reserved for friends, and according to him, that’s what we are. But he really does mean well.” Vaughn rose and opened the door.
His foreman stood there in his jeans and white work shirt, tool belt on and a grin on his face. Vaughn caught sight of his son behind him.
“Hey, Roy, Todd. To what do I owe this visit?”
Roy stepped inside and Todd followed.
“We don’t mean to interrupt, Coach. But Dad and I were out for a walk and he wanted to stop by.”
“Not a problem, Todd.” Vaughn held out his hand and exchanged a handshake with the kid. They’d developed the gesture as a means of bonding during practices.
Roy looked on. “Hope it’s all right we’ve come by. I was told your back lights need fixing and I thought I’d help you out.”
The guy was the ultimate do-gooder, but a complete pain in the ass sometimes. Still, he was an ace electrician and Vaughn saw shades of his old self in Todd, who also struggled in school.
“Who could’ve possibly told you my lights were out?” Vaughn asked.
“One of your neighbors.”
Vaughn wasn’t buying. “I don’t have any neighbors. It’s one of the reasons I bought this place.”
“Oh jeez. Come on, Dad. Let’s leave Vaughn alone.”
“I always enjoy your company, you know that.”
Vaughn slapped Todd on the back, meanwhile Roy laughed. “Okay, okay, I confess. I was out taking a walk last night and I noticed it myself. You’re so busy with the lodge and hopefully thinking about coaching at State, you don’t need home improvement things to worry about. So here we are.” He grinned at Vaughn.
“That’s awfully nice of you to try and help me out, but I have a handyman coming by later in the week to handle things.”
“I also wanted to thank you. Todd told me you ran plays with him the other day. He’s grateful, and so am I. I told you he’s got a good heart,” he said, speaking to Annabelle behind him.
“You two know each other?” Vaughn asked, surprised.
Roy stepped forward, his shoulders squared. “We met at Cozy Cups this morning. She was talking to Joanne, and mano to mano,” he said to Vaughn, lowering his voice, “I think the women were exchanging bedroom secrets about you. One ex-lover and another present one. Dangerous info there, if you know what I mean.” He winked at Vaughn and darted another glance at Annabelle.
Beside him, Todd shuffled his feet, uncomfortable with his father’s frank talk.
“How are you, Roy?” Annabelle asked, ignoring his indiscreet words.
“Just fine. This is my boy, Todd.”
Annabelle remained seated but waved to both visitors. “Nice to meet you. Your father and Vaughn have said great things about you.”
The teen actually blushed. Vaughn understood. Annabelle had that effect on people.
“Uh, Dad, I think Mom will be wondering what’s taking so long if we don’t get going,” Todd said.
The foreman nodded. “Yep. Women like to keep us men on a short leash.”
Personally, Vaughn thought Roy needed an even shorter one. “Well, thanks again for your offer, and Todd, I’ll see you soon. We’re ready for the electrical inspection?” Vaughn asked as he opened the door for Roy to leave.
“Ready, boss. And keep in mind, the college boys need you if any of them are going to go pro.”
“That’s why I’m helping them now, Roy.” Vaughn slammed the door closed behind the other man, then turned to Annabelle. “The man’s a piece of work.”
“He sure is.”
“But Todd seems nice.”
Vaughn grinned. “The kid has so much potential it scares me sometimes. He’s got raw talent.”
“And you’re so sweet to coach him.”
He shrugged. “Kids like him need the extra attention, if not on the field, then off it.”
“Which brings me back to what we were discussing earlier,” she said, pointedly.
He laughed and let it go. “I’m going to turn in for the night. If you want to go to the lodge with me in the morning, I suggest you do the same.”
“And I’ll take that to mean any serious discussion we were having is over.”
He grinned. “You’re perceptive.”
“And smart and determined. We covered a lot of things we may need to revisit again.”
“We’ll see.”
She crooked her finger and, as if he were connected by a string, he drew inexorably closer until her lips were inches from his. In that moment, he wanted her with a ferocity that rocked his world. Wanted her more than any other woman at any other time in his life.
“No, you’ll see. Because the answers I’m looking for could very well determine the success or failure of your beloved lodge.”
He glanced at her glossy lips and full pout. Through sheer willpower, he didn’t allow his gaze to drop lower, to the enticing vee of her top and the fleshy mounds beneath, but his fingers twitched anyway.
Suddenly she straightened, and with a sassy flip of her hair and a smile of female satisfaction on her lips, she reached for the leash she’d left on the counter. “And now I think I’ll go take my dog for a walk.”
Before he could think, let alone answer, she whirled away, out of reach, leaving nothing but her fragrant scent and the promise of a restless night’s sleep in her wake.
* * *
Lola picked up the telephone, then placed it down again. She’d promised Yank she’d keep his secret, but for how long? How could she not tell the girls about the diagnosis on his eyes?
The ophthalmologist’s words came back to her with clarity. Macular degeneration could progress slowly or quickly depending on the person. And there were new treatments that could slow or halt its progression, the success rate also depending on each particular case. She and Yank had the written information, but he was refusing to read about it, at least right now. The doctor said denial was normal at first and as soon as he adjusted to his situation, he’d come around. Lola hoped so. By the time he did, she intended to be fully versed on all of his options.
But the girls, they needed to know. She’d just have to give Yank a deadline by which he either told them or she’d do it herself.
As for Yank, while sitting in the doctor’s office, she’d glanced at his profile and accepted that he was the man she loved. If he needed a reason to push forward and help himself, she’d just have to give him one.
She glanced at the various shopping bags spread over her room, which contained her new wardrobe. The wardrobe that would hopefully catch the attention of any man, even one with blurry vision and a thick skull.
Now all she needed was the nerve to wear the clothing. But Lola was certain she’d find the courage. Because her future was at stake.