Past Promises

Chapter Seven

The man didn’t reply when Linda opened the door and greeted him. Levi didn’t like him already. Obviously, Simon Dyson had a history with Linda.

He strode into the shop like he owned it, looking here and there, and frowning as he did so. Levi might prefer to wear jeans or fatigues, but he knew expensive clothing when he saw it.

The suit Dyson wore was definitely not one he’d bought off the rack. The cufflinks and tie clip were set with a large onyx and a small diamond. Nothing too flashy, but just enough to show wealth. The watch strapped to his wrist would easily pay for a new car and his shoes cost more than Levi’s entire outfit put together. His blond hair was short, but styled, his fingernails buffed and the scent of expensive cologne emanated from him.

Levi had seen Dyson’s type before. Well educated, privileged and from a background of money, the Simon Dysons of the world coasted through life assuming everyone else lived to serve their whims.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Levi leaned against the edge of a heavy, oak dining room table and watched. Dyson worked out. He was fit beneath the expensive suit, but it was the kind of fit that came from an expensive gym and trainer and not from honest physical labor. There was no way he was leaving Linda alone with this guy. He’d seen the expression on her face when she’d seen Simon. It was a look of resignation.

“Why are you here, Simon?” Linda closed and locked the door, obviously not willing to open the shop until she found out what was going on.

Simon glanced in Levi’s direction, swept him from head to foot with a contemptuous gaze and turned back to Linda. “This is a private matter.”

Levi kept one eye on Simon as he watched Linda. She took a deep breath, one of her hands coming to rest on her stomach. Son of a bitch. This guy was making her ulcer act up. His eyes narrowed as he imagined all the nasty things he’d like to do to Dyson.

Linda gave a bitter laugh. “Nothing between us is private, Simon. Our relationship, our breakup and the subsequent fallout was fodder for all the gossips back home.” She strode over to the counter and straightened up some papers that were resting there. “You made certain of that.”

He shrugged as he glanced at his watch, giving the impression that he had somewhere better to be. “I thought you’d want to keep this conversation private, but that’s your prerogative.” He raked his gaze over Linda, obviously taking in her frazzled air, her disheveled hair and the slight reddish mark on her neck. “You seem a bit scattered this morning.” He shot Levi a smirk before returning his attention to Linda.

Levi cursed the stubble on his jaw. He’d marked her skin without meaning to. His muscles clenched with the need to do something. Anything. In a perfect world, that anything would include his fist connecting with Dyson’s face. But Levi didn’t move, didn’t blink. There were better ways to deal with men like Dyson who would run to the cops at the first sign of physical violence.

Linda flushed, a pink tint creeping up her cheeks. Her blue eyes snapped with annoyance. “Say what you have to say, Simon. I’m busy.”

“I can see that.” He let his gaze wander around the store. “Selling trinkets and second-rate antiques. Quite a comedown for someone of your lineage.”

Anger, slow and steady, burned in Levi’s gut. He’d been gathering intel on Linda’s family, but he was starting on Dyson the second he was gone. One way or another he was going to pay for the look of pain that flashed across Linda’s face.

“I know neither you nor my family can accept my choices in life, but they’re mine to make.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at Dyson. “If you have nothing more to add, you should leave.”

Dyson shrugged. “I’m here on behalf of your family. Your poor mother and father are concerned about you—leaving law school, breaking our engagement, moving away from home, working in sales. He raised a finger with each point he listed, as if ticking off an imaginary list. When he finished, Simon shook his head in mock concern.

“Get to the point, Simon.”

He tugged at the cuffs of his shirt, straightening them. The diamond in the cufflink glittered briefly. “Well, some might wonder about your emotional state of mind.”

Linda gave a harsh laugh. “That’s pushing it, even for you Simon. I left law school because I didn’t like it. It was my family’s dream, not mine. I found a job I liked. I ended our engagement when I discovered you sleeping with one of my so-called friends.” She broke off, her chest rising and falling heavily.

Simon shrugged again. “What did you expect me to do? You’re a cold woman, Linda. It didn’t mean anything.”

Linda snorted, “It meant something to me. It meant you were a two-timing, unfaithful louse.”

“Men aren’t faithful and anyone who says differently is lying. I expect we both would have had affairs over the years once you’d presented me with a son to carry on the tradition at the firm.”

Levi ignored the pain in his chest. Linda had been engaged to this guy, which meant she’d slept with him. The thought of Linda, with her open and honest sexuality, in bed with Dyson made Levi want to hit something. Hard.

And Levi couldn’t believe this guy. He’d had Linda in his bed and he’d cheated on her. Levi knew firsthand what a sensual, giving lover she was. If there was a problem in their relationship, it obviously stemmed from Dyson.

The coldness grew within Levi as his resolve strengthened. He was going to get her family and Dyson out of her life. One way or the other.

“That’s big of you, Simon. But I don’t want a marriage like my parents or your parents or any of the other members of your social group. You didn’t want to marry me. You wanted to marry a Fletcher. Someone with name recognition and money to help with your political aspirations. And I inherited quite a bit of it when my grandmother died.”

“And look what you chose to do with it.” The façade of sophistication fell away for a brief second, but Dyson caught himself almost immediately and quickly returned to his urbane self. “You squandered a chunk of it on an old building and all this stuff.” He waved his hand contemptuously to encompass the furniture around him.

Levi put his anger aside and continued to listen. Every detail he gleaned now was something he might use later. He kept his eye on Linda, not liking the pallor of her skin. Dyson knew just where to dig to undermine her confidence.

“It’s called starting your own business, Simon. Obviously something you’d know little about.”

One corner of Levi’s mouth turned up in a quick grin. Score one for Linda. Dyson straightened his shoulders and raised his nose in the air, not liking that shot.

“It’s called tradition and family, something you don’t seem to care about in the slightest. Your family is concerned about you.”

“No,” she countered. “My family is concerned about grandmother’s money and they want me to come home like a good little girl, marry you and become a politician’s wife. Not gonna happen, Simon. I’m happy here. I’ve made a life for myself.”

“I can see there’s no talking to you right now, but I promised your father I’d try. He’ll be disappointed when I tell him you’re not only selling trinkets, but sleeping with one of the locals.”

“You leave Levi out of this.”

The pain in his chest receded slightly as Linda immediately jumped to his defense. Nor did she deny the fact they were sleeping together.

“So, I’m right.” Dyson continued. He turned his back on Linda and strode over to Levi. “I’m Simon Dyson.” He said his name as though Levi should recognize it. Dyson obviously had delusions of grandeur.

“Levi Mann.” He didn’t offer his hand and neither did Dyson. They sized one another up and Levi could tell immediately that Dyson wrote him off as a muscle-bound local without too much ambition. A lot of folks made that mistake. Levi didn’t mind. Made his job easier in the long run. Gave him the element of surprise.

“Hmm,” Dyson said under his breath. He headed to the door and turned the locks, glancing back over his shoulder. “You’ll be hearing from me again.”

“Go away, Simon.” Linda made a shooing motion with her hands. “I have better things to do than talk to you.”

Dyson lost his smile, turned on his heel and left the store.

Linda turned to Levi. “Sorry about that. Can you watch the shop for a few minutes while I run up and change?”

Levi nodded, watching Linda as she all but ran from the room.

Linda was shaking as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. Simon and her family had the ability to make her so angry, while making her feel totally inadequate as a person at the same time. Quite a feat considering everyone else in her life saw her as independent and competent.

She let herself in and headed straight for her ulcer medication. Her stomach was burning after her conversation with Simon. “Don’t do this,” Linda admonished herself. Stopping in the middle of her living room, she took a deep breath and slowly released it. Then she took another breath. “Let it go.”

Kicking off her shoes, she padded to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk. She wanted to avoid taking her medication, if possible. It was a way of not letting Simon win. It might be petty and childish, but she didn’t care.

Sipping some of the milk, she headed to her bedroom, immediately calmed by the serene space. The pale green on the walls soothed her. Taking a calming breath, she placed her glass on the nightstand and hunted up some clean panties and a fresh blouse. The one she had on was badly wrinkled.

She grinned as she went to the bathroom to wash up. It was much better to think about Levi and what had happened between them in the stockroom. Too bad Simon had to come by and ruin the mood.

But that was Simon.

When she was dressed again, she picked up her brush and tidied her hair. Grabbing her favorite lipstick, she slicked it over her lips. Nothing made a woman feel more in control than being confident in how she looked. Linda stared critically at herself in the bathroom mirror. Other than the slight pallor of her face, and the small reddish mark on her neck, she looked like her normal, competent self.

Tossing her lipstick back onto the counter, she left the bathroom and hurried back to the living room, stopping in the bedroom long enough to grab her glass of milk. She’d take that with her.

She slipped on her shoes and headed for the door, once again grateful for Levi. The thought of him having to deal with customers made her smile. He was so big and strong and some of the antiques she sold were so fragile. Yet, she knew Levi could handle it.

He was a man very aware of his strength and tempered it when necessary. She shivered as she remembered the way he’d brought her to orgasm, pushing her up and over so fast.

She locked the door to her apartment and started down the stairs, Simon’s parting words flitting through her head. She didn’t want to hear from him again. But she knew he wasn’t going to give up. He’d decided he wanted her for a wife and was pissed off that she hadn’t just fallen in line and married him when he’d given her a half-hearted apology for having an affair.

The bastard. Did he really think she was so weak willed and stupid?

Probably.

The only member of her family that had known the real her was her grandmother. She missed her dreadfully. It had only been a few months, but her passing had left a void in Linda’s life. She truly felt orphaned in spite of her parents and her brother. Or maybe because of them.

Which reminded her, she had to call her lawyer later. There should be some news about getting the money from her grandmother’s estate released to her any day now. The will had gone to probate after the estate had been appraised. Her grandmother had made bequests to several charities and friends, but she’d left the bulk of the estate to her only granddaughter. Her lawyer was expecting things to proceed with no problems.

The first thing she planned to do when the money was transferred to her was to pay off the promissory note that she’d taken out to pay for the building and renovations. Even though the note was for a short term, there was no sense in waiting until it came due. She wanted the security of owning her home and business. Besides which, there was so much money in the estate that paying off the building wouldn’t even make a dent in it.

She was lucky the bank had loaned her the money. After spending almost all her personal savings on stock for Past Promises, Linda hadn’t had much in the way of assets. But with the promise of the money from her grandmother’s estate and the income the bank would make on the interest, they’d agreed. It was easy money for them and a convenience for her.

Linda hadn’t wanted to wait until the money was available to her to start her new life. Even with everything flowing smoothly, she’d known it would take months to settle the legal affairs, given the size of her grandmother’s estate.

When she’d visited Jamesville late last fall and seen the perfect building, she’d been willing to do whatever it took in order to buy it. That included taking out a promissory note with outrageous interest.

The money would come in the next few months and the hefty payments would be a thing of the past. Life would be perfect if only her family and Simon would leave her alone.

She wouldn’t have to work at all once she had that money, but she wanted to. Antiques called to her on a deep level. She loved finding a beautiful piece and matching it with just the right owner. Didn’t matter if it cost twenty dollars or twenty thousand. The feeling was the same.

Voices reached her as she opened the inner door to Past Promises. “Yes, ma’am. The inlay on that table is cherry wood. It’s a good quality piece. They don’t make furniture like this anymore. You can see the craftsmanship in the way the table is constructed.”

Her stomach settled and she crept inside, setting her glass on the counter as Levi bent down to listen to the elderly lady he was talking to. He glanced her way and sent her a beseeching look even though he looked to be in control of the situation.

It was in that moment that she completely lost her heart to Levi Mann. She knew he hadn’t known anything about antiques when he’d started helping with the renovations. He’d told her so. He was always asking her questions. But more than that, he listened to the answers. Listened to her when she prattled on and on about antique tables and dishes and silverware.

He was a remarkable man.

Taking pity on him, she strode forward. “Good morning.”

“This is Mrs. Perry.” Levi took the elderly lady’s arm and escorted her toward Linda.

“I’m Linda Fletcher, the owner of Past Promises.” Saying it aloud made her tingle all over. She smiled as she took Mrs. Perry’s hand in hers. “Would you like a cup of tea or coffee while you browse?”

“My, yes.” Her eyes twinkled behind gold wire-rimmed glasses. “A cup of tea would be lovely. The young man here was just telling me all about the Piecrust table in the corner. It would look perfect in my entryway.”

Linda barely contained her grin. It was funny to hear Levi referred to as a young man. “It’s a beautiful piece. I acquired it at an estate sale in Vermont. It belonged to a prominent family.”

“Excuse me, ladies. I’ll be going now.” Levi inclined his head and headed for the front door. The bell jangled as he left.

Linda realized she was watching him and glanced down at Mrs. Perry, who was watching him too. The older lady looked at her and grinned. “If I was thirty years younger, I’d give you a run for your money with that one.”

Linda laughed, delighted with her customer. “I imagine you would.”

She hitched her large purse over her arm and looked away as Levi drifted out of sight down Main Street. “But it wouldn’t matter. That boy only has eyes for you.”

Pleasure suffused Linda. It was much different from the earlier pleasure. That was physical. This was emotional.

Caution, she warned herself. She loved Levi and he cared for her, but he wasn’t staying. That had been made clear from the very beginning.

Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy what they had while he was here. It was going to hurt when he left. It was too late for her to pull back and protect her heart.

It had been too late from the moment they’d met.

“Let’s get you a cup of tea, Mrs. Perry. Then we can discuss the table and anything else you’re interested in.”

The older lady gazed up the road where Levi had gone. “We’ll start with the table and see where that goes.”