Chapter 9

Mel stretched luxuriously under the covers and delighted to feel a warm body beside her. She snuggled into Danny’s side, and his arm immediately curled around her waist, dragging her onto his body as his lips found her neck.

“Morning,” she said, trembling when his kisses inched lower to the mounds of her breasts.

“Morning,” he replied, muffled against her skin. “We’re staying in bed all day, right?”

“We could.” She moaned when his hands reached up to cup her breasts. Her lips slanted over his, and a few moments later, they panted under the quilt as Danny rolled them over and plunged inside her. Her nails raked down his back as he ground his hips against hers, rubbing her clit with each drag inward. Desire blurred her vision, and she moaned against his mouth as the delightful orgasm warmed her down to her curling toes.

He rolled to the side and grinned. “See? Bed all day, it’d be perfect.”

She licked his lips as he groaned, and his hands fisted in the sheets. She laughed and crawled out from beneath the warm blankets. “I have a few things to pick up at the general store,” she told him. “But you’re more than welcome to spend the day however you want.”

“Hard to do when you’re not here,” he replied then spread out on the bed. “Maybe I’ll see what Greg is up to today.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about your friend. You should invite him to dinner at the inn,” she called out from the bathroom as she relieved herself then brushed out her hair with her fingers.

She actually had nothing to pick up at the store, but she needed time to think about Danny’s offer to take her to Iowa with him for the holiday. The idea of getting out of Westbend for a few days—especially with Danny—was extremely appealing, but there was still a small part of her that rebelled at the idea of moving so fast with a man she had basically just met. If the past few days with him told her anything, though, whatever grew between them was more than just carnal attraction. She meant what she’d told him last night. Her home was with Danny. That was when she stopped worrying about what might happen next year, or the year after that. She only had to think about the present day and spending her time with a man she knew she had already fallen for.

Mel waltzed out of the bathroom and glanced around for clothes, but they had slept in Danny’s room. “I’m going to head upstairs and change. Are you coming into town with me or staying here?”

He held up his phone as it dinged. “Looks like I’m meeting Greg in an hour for beers.”

“Good, you two can catch up. Text me, though, if he’s coming for dinner tonight so I can make enough food for him.”

Once she was in her room, she found her phone on the dresser and texted Cindy, asking if she could meet her at the diner so she could talk to her and Donna about Danny. She dressed quickly, loving how wonderfully sore her body was. Danny was just pulling on a t-shirt when she leaned back into his room to give him a parting kiss.

“I’ll see you later?”

He dragged her against his chest and kissed her hotly, thoroughly exploring her mouth with his demanding tongue before he released her body. “Yeah, later.”

Sucking in a deep breath to steady herself, Mel straightened her sweater, whistled, and all three dogs ran to her side. She found her boots in the foyer, dragged on her coat, and walked out the door with Bobby and Lucy following close behind.

“Xena, come on girl,” she called, but Xena planted her butt and didn’t move from the front porch. “You do like him, don’t you?” The dog settled down, her paws crossed, and didn’t make a move to follow. Mel let her stay to wait for Danny and walked through the snow into town.

More people were out today, enjoying the sunshine as they walked through the festival and looked at the ice carvings created yesterday afternoon. Mel opened the diner door, and both dogs raced in, greeting Donna happily as she stepped out from behind the counter. The customers laughed and pointed at the dogs, and Mel told everyone present their names and not to worry about them misbehaving. They stayed at her feet as she sat at a stool at the end of the counter and told Donna Cindy was on her way over, too.

“Well, to what do I owe this lovely visit?” Donna asked brightly.

“I think we should wait until Cindy gets here so I only have to go over everything once,” she said and couldn’t keep the smile from her face.

Donna laughed coyly and patted her hand. “Oh, you don’t have to say a word, honey.”

“You can’t possibly know,” Mel muttered.

“You have the look of a well-loved woman,” Donna whispered. “Trust me, it shows.”

Mel groaned and dropped her forehead to her hands as the bell over the door dinged and a figure sat down beside her, nudging her shoulder. She glanced up, ready to tell Cindy, but her friend squealed and hugged her tightly. “What? I haven’t even told you anything yet!”

“You don’t have to!” she said and kissed her friend’s cheek. “Man, I was hoping it would happen quickly. So, details please—how was it? Is he as phenomenal as I imagine he is?”

“More so,” she said before she could stop herself, and both women sighed. “Not that I want you thinking about him like that. Donna, what would your husband think? And you need a damn boyfriend.” She poked Cindy’s arm.

“Later, when I’m sure you’re taken care of,” Cindy assured her. “Is this why you wanted to talk to us?”

“No… no, that was all fine, the three, four times,” she said, and Cindy’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Damn, woman, when you get back into it, you really get back into it,” she teased.

Mel wondered if it was a mistake coming here to talk to them, but besides the dogs, she had no one else. “He asked me to go with him to Iowa for Christmas.”

Donna nodded slowly, tapping her long nails on the counter. “That sounds… romantic?”

“His parents live there,” Mel explained, “on the farm he grew up on.”

“Oh,” Donna exclaimed. “Well, that changes things.”

Cindy didn’t say anything, busying herself with the rolled-up silverware on the counter. Mel waited for her to voice her opinion, but she avoided her gaze completely. “He told you, didn’t he?” she accused, and her friend’s cheeks reddened. “Damn it, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Maybe I wanted you to be surprised.” She held up a menu as protection from Mel’s glare. “Honestly, he only asked if you would go. I was happy to see you out with a man, let alone him wanting to whisk you away for the holiday.”

Mel’s glare remained hard, but she believed her friend. “So should I go?”

“Why are you asking us?” Donna retorted. “Do you like him?”

“I had sex with him,” she hissed in a whisper. “I’m pretty sure I do.”

“Then what’s stopping you from saying yes?” Cindy threw at her. “Come on, Mel, get out of Westbend, get out of that damn inn, and go enjoy your life with a guy who clearly wants you in his.”

Mel stood up quickly. “You’re right, I should go, but what if something goes wrong?” Doubt cluttered her mind. “What if his parents hate me?”

“What if the damn moon falls out of the sky?” Cindy replied and gave her a shove. “Stop fretting and go on the trip.” Donna nodded her head fiercely in agreement, clapping her hands together as she muttered under her breath about calling Marty off.

“Marty? What did you plan with Marty?”

Donna waved at her. “Oh, doesn’t matter now. Danny came up with a much better plan.”

“We’re not leaving for a few more days,” Mel said and forced herself to relax and sit back down. “I guess I’ll take care of the details part of the conversation now.”

Cindy and Donna moved in even closer, and Mel glanced heavenwards for strength to deal with her friends, but at least her friends were still in her life. Another point Danny was right on. How that man could so easily read what she needed in her life was beyond her, but she’d take everything he offered and more. She settled on her barstool and regaled Cindy and Donna with tales of last night.

***

Danny paced around his room, gripping his phone so hard he was surprised it hadn’t cracked in his palm yet. “We’re changing the plan, end of story.”

“You can’t do that this late in the game,” Todd argued again. “The investors will freak, and you’ll lose their money. Without their money backing this project, we won’t be able to start construction, and without construction, those properties will sit there unused until we have to auction them off!”

“You’re over-exaggerating,” Danny insisted. “I have plenty of liquid to start this project on my own if they back out.”

“To start one at a time. It’d take ten years!”

“Then it takes ten years,” he stormed. “We’re not going to buy this property, not anymore, and that’s final. I need you to call a meeting with the investors for after Christmas so I can meet with them and go over alternative plans.”

Todd sighed on the other end of the line. “They’re going to eat you alive, you know that, right?”

“We’ll come up with a new plan. There’s plenty of properties in upstate New York we can buy,” he said calmly. “Find one with the same appeal and have the proposal and information prepped for me when I return from Iowa.”

“Iowa? You’re going to Iowa?”

Danny stopped his pacing and glared out the window. “I am. Is there a problem with that? I’m sure you’re more than comfortable sitting in my office chair a few more days.” The chair squeaked, and he groaned. When he got back to the office, he was going to change the locks and ensure Todd couldn’t get into his office unless Danny was present. “I am still in charge, Todd, remember that when you’re speaking with the investors. You might be my partner, but I run this company and I will run it how I see fit.”

“It’s that woman, isn’t it?” he stated. “She’s wrapped you around her little finger.”

“Mel didn’t change my mind. I did when I found out why she wouldn’t sell,” he yelled. “If you’d taken the time to be cordial and talk to her, you would’ve understood, too, and maybe we wouldn’t be scrambling to find a new property!”

“I conduct business as I was taught by my CEO,” Todd jeered. “Maybe he needs to change how he does his job.”

Danny’s jaw tightened, and he whipped around to come face to face with his reflection in the mirror over the mantle. “Maybe you’re right.” The past few days with Mel reminded him of the man he was before the men he had to work with changed him. He didn’t want to be like Todd, a man without cares or concerns about those he did business with. Back home, he was respected because of who he was. His parents were kind-hearted people and though he didn’t tolerate the stubbornness of other people stopping him from getting where he needed to be, he was never inconsiderate. “Maybe you’re right,” he repeated.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Do what I told you to do and let me deal with the investors. If this kills the deal, then so be it,” he asserted. “I’m not going to ruin one woman’s life to ensure it happens.”

“And if you lose your company because of it?”

“Then I know I’ll have a place to stay in Westbend,” Danny muttered and hung up. He tossed his phone on the bed and rubbed a shaking hand down his face as a nervous laugh escaped him.

For the last seven years, his sole focus had been on creating an empire by any means necessary. He’d created enemies along the way, and as he stood in that room, he wondered if he could’ve done things differently. Being nice in the beginning had lost him everything, but he’d learned from those mistakes and moved on to build what he owned now. Did he want to go down as a wealthy man who no one liked to do business with? Or did he want to be known as the farm boy from Iowa with the Midwest charm that no one could resist? Several investors did not care highly for him, but if he changed his attitude, perhaps he could change their minds about him and his company, give him some more leeway with this new deal. Worst-case scenario, he’d be broke and have to start all over again; not that it would be terrible to have nothing. Hopefully, he would have Mel, and they’d have her inn. If she didn’t strangle him when she learned the truth.

Such a tangled web of lies, he lamented. One missed step, and you’ll lose everything.

“Then we’ll just have to play this out perfectly,” he told himself. “After Christmas, right before I head back to the city, that’s when I’ll tell her, give her time to collect her thoughts on whether she can forgive me or not.”

His phone buzzed, and he read the message from Greg saying he was at the bar. Danny slipped into the leather coat and stomped downstairs. Xena waited for him at the door, but the other two had gone with Mel.

“Ready?” She leapt to all fours, her tongue falling out the side of her mouth. “Good, let’s go grab a beer and figure out what to do about your mama.”

***

Todd slammed the phone back in the cradle and leaned back in Danny’s desk chair. “Fucking idiot,” he growled and tapped his fingers loudly on the desk. “He’s going to lose everything for that woman.”

“What does he want you to do?” Janet asked from where she lounged on the couch.

Todd’s gaze caressed her body, and he pushed back from the desk to stalk towards her where she lay naked and splayed out on the leather. Danny might’ve fired her over the phone, but Todd had a few plans of his own in mind, and Janet was one of them.

“I’m going to make sure he has his meeting with the investors, and then I’m going to be sure he has nothing to show for it,” he confided. “He’s losing his edge because of that woman. I knew he was too soft for this job.”

“He was always too soft,” Janet agreed. She sat up on her knees and tugged at Todd’s belt. “He might act like he can conquer the world, but deep down, he’ll always just be a farm boy from Iowa.”

Todd smirked. “He had so much potential if he had only stayed strong.”

“There aren’t many men are like you,” she surmised. “Willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top.”

He reached down and pinched her chin between his fingers. “Like you are, my sweet Janet?”

She grinned in reply, and he released her chin. His head fell back, and he ran his fingers through her thick hair, wondering how Danny could have turned this woman down. He should’ve married her long ago, and then he wouldn’t be about to lose everything he’d ever worked for.

“I’ll call the investors in the morning,” he whispered. “Tell them the plan has fallen through. They’ll give Danny an ultimatum once they realize he’s ruined their three-year project in the making. He’ll be nothing once they’re through with him, and I’ll be there to pick up the pieces when the board realizes how much money he’s going to lose this company.” He groaned and thrust his hips forward.

Janet gripped his hips hard as he tugged on her hair, moving her head for her.

“Then you and I can have the life we both want,” he grunted and pictured this office as his, as it always should have been, with Janet by his side… or on her knees.