The Millionaire Meets His Match

Seven

I must be out of my mind, Adam thought as the plane soared above the mountains and headed for home. He’d had her just where he wanted her and hadn’t made a move. And though he could stand back and marvel at his own inner strength, he had to question whether he’d made a mistake or not. His body was still clamoring for her despite knowing that she was trying to play him.

Now, as he watched Trish squeeze her eyes shut and clutch his hand, Adam wondered if it was indeed inner strength or just plain stupidity that had caused him to walk away from her. Last night’s kiss had proven that Trish wanted him as much as he wanted her. Sure, maybe she was a gold digger, but he didn’t think she’d been faking the need he’d seen in her eyes. And if the look in her eyes hadn’t been enough, she’d actually said so. Out loud, he reminded himself, replaying the moment over and over in his head. His memory was perfect, dammit. He could recall with absolute clarity the scent of her. The feel of her. The shine in her eyes as she looked up at him. And he could hear her whispered voice echoing in his mind.

I want that, too, she’d said, when he told her he wanted to make love with her.

I want that, too.

So, was he deaf, as well as stupid? She’d wanted him. And what had he done? He’d walked away. As a show of strength. To prove that he was his own man and to show the world that no one but Adam Duke would determine his own future. Certainly not some cute-as-hell gold digger. And definitely not his mother.

But what had he gotten for his troubles? A sleepless night, an aching body and a temper on the edge of snapping. Why the hell did it have to be Trish James who appealed to him on every level?

He’d walked away to prove that he wasn’t the kind of man who would roll over and play dead just because Trish James said she wanted him.

“So how’s that whole ‘determine your own future’ thing working for you?” Adam muttered under his breath. Then he shook his head, thoroughly disgusted. “It’s not working well at all.”

Because he hadn’t determined anything, he told himself. In making his choice to thwart his mother’s matchmaking attempts, he’d been reacting, not acting. He hadn’t made the choice he’d wanted to make. He’d made the only one he could make. So, really, his interfering mother and the gold digger she’d set on his scent were still in charge. And the knowledge of that was enough to kick his determination into high gear. There was no way they would win this game. No way at all.

“Did you say something?” Trish asked, her eyes fluttering open.

“No,” he said, irritated that she’d caught his muttering. “Just thinking out loud.”

She nodded, then looked down at their hands and carefully pulled hers away. “Sorry. But thanks for the hand-holding. Again.”

He refused to acknowledge that he missed the feel of her hand in his. Clearly, he was still wound too tightly.

“Whatever gets us off the ground,” he said, smiling though his jaw was tense enough to crack walnuts.

“It seems to work.” She smiled shyly, then didn’t seem to know what to do next, so she pulled out her notes from yesterday, opened her laptop and began typing.

He watched her slim, graceful hands strike the keys, then glanced up to see her squint as she studied her notes. Absorbed in her work, she began to nibble at her bottom lip in concentration, and Adam had the most maddening urge to pull her into his arms and nibble that lip for her. Dragging her off to join the Mile-High Club probably wouldn’t be the most professional way to start the business day, but at this point he really didn’t care.

The jet leveled off and Adam forced himself to open his briefcase and get some work done. If he could focus on upcoming concerns, maybe his mind would stop wandering to Trish. He pulled out the documents he needed to study for a meeting later this afternoon and tried to concentrate on them. But it was impossible with Trish sitting so close to him. He glanced over and saw her staring at her computer screen, now filled with her notes from yesterday’s survey with the ADA lawyer. She looked fresh and businesslike this morning in a blue-gray suit and a simple white shirt. She hadn’t pulled her hair back so it hung loose and thick and wavy around her shoulders and she wore some sultry perfume that wafted into his brain and turned his thoughts to soggy oatmeal.

Who was he trying to fool? There’s no way he was going to get any work done. He wanted her more now than he had the night before, which he wouldn’t have thought possible. Now that he’d tasted her, he knew it was only a matter of time before he would have all of her.

A matter of time? No. He wanted her now. Wanted his hands on her curvaceous breasts, wanted his mouth on every single inch of her skin. He was rampant at the image of those long, shapely legs wrapped around him. Muttering a harsh expletive under his breath, he subtly adjusted himself in his chair.

He would have her tonight, of that he was certain. There would be no walking away from her this time.

With that settled, Adam ruthlessly squelched his desire for Trish and forced himself to get down to the business of running his company.

“This has got to be the longest day in history,” Trish muttered as she sat at her desk later that afternoon. She’d been trying all day to forget about the night before, forget about that stunning kiss and focus on her job.

Earlier, she’d actually considered claiming she was ill and going home. But if she’d gone home, she’d just be staring at her four walls and slowly driving herself insane. But being here at the office, so close to Adam and not being able to do anything about it, was driving her batty.

“And just what would you do about it if you could?” she asked herself bitterly. “He doesn’t want you, remember? You were practically begging him to make love with you and he walked out.”

Granted, she didn’t have much experience in making love, or with men in general, for that matter. But she was fairly certain that having the man walk out after the woman said she was all fired up and ready to go was not a good sign.

She cringed at the memory of her puckering up and practically begging him to kiss her before he left her room last night. But no. Instead of kissing her, he’d whispered, “Next time,” then walked out.

What had he meant? Next time? Next time when? Tonight? Tomorrow? Next year? And why did she care? She wasn’t here to be romanced. But in spite of her best-laid plans and against her better judgment, she wanted to be.

Needless to say, she hadn’t slept well at all last night, despite the beautiful room and that plush bed.

Now she wondered, not for the first time, whether she should just quit her job with Adam Duke and deal with the pain of losing her home and her grandmother in some other way. She had to face the fact that the man she’d been seeking revenge from, the man who had ruined her life and destroyed her grandmother’s dream, no longer stirred up the same anger and resentment inside her.

No, that man stirred up something very different inside her now.

“Oh, my goodness,” Trish said, as tendrils of lust radiated through the pit of her stomach. She was in very deep trouble if simply thinking about the man could turn her insides to jelly.

Trish forced herself to remember that she was being paid to work here and that’s just what she needed to do. If nothing else, it would keep her from feeling sorry for herself. There was nothing worse than a pity party for one.

Bouncing up from her chair, she gathered a stack of documents that needed to be copied and carried them to the copier. For the next three hours, she buried herself in work, typing documents and letters, making copies, running to the mailroom. Thankfully, the work kept all her troubling thoughts from circling over and over in her mind.

The next time she looked up from her computer, Adam was staring at her from his doorway. “Do you mind staying late tonight? We’ve got some extra work to take care of.”

“No, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’d planned on it. Shall I order dinner?”

“In a minute,” he said. “Can you come into my office first?”

“Of course.” It would give her a chance to tell him what she’d been thinking about all day.

He sat on the edge of his desk as she approached.

“I want to thank you for everything,” she said tentatively. “Dinner last night was wonderful, the resort is magnificent and, um, I hope you’ll accept my apology for what happened, you know, after.”

Adam studied her for several long seconds, his face an expressionless mask. “No.”

Okay, she hadn’t expected that. Couldn’t he see how hard it was for her to humiliate herself in front of him? Again? As confused as she was by his reaction, she was also a little steamed. For heaven’s sake, she was apologizing to him, the least the man could do was be gracious about it.

“No?” Her eyes narrowed in puzzlement. “You won’t accept my apology? But…you can’t just say no.”

“Yes, I can.” He pushed away from the desk and approached her. He was so close and his look was so focused on her that for a moment, she thought he might kiss her again, right there in his office. And however crazy it was to think it, it was even crazier to hope he would do it. Which made her wonder just how unhinged she’d become.

But instead of kissing her, he took hold of her hand and led her to the sitting area at the far end of his office.

When they were both seated on the soft burgundy leather couch, Adam squeezed her hand. “Are you apologizing for our kiss last night?”

She couldn’t meet his gaze but instead concentrated on an intriguing spot on the wall beyond his left shoulder. “I behaved completely unprofessionally. I can’t even believe I did that. You should probably fire me, but maybe we could just move on and forget it ever happened.”

“If anyone should apologize, it’s me,” he told her, dropping her hand and standing up. “I’m your boss. You don’t owe me anything.”

He pulled her to her feet, took her hands in his and held them tightly. “I should apologize, but I’m not going to.”

“You’re not?” She blinked at him. This wasn’t going the way she’d expected it to.

“No. Because I’m not sorry at all. I really liked kissing you and I’d love to do it again, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to.”

“Oh, but I do,” she said in a rush, then felt her cheeks burn. Very smooth, Trish, she told herself. Burble over him like a high school girl talking to the football star.

“I’ll understand,” he repeated quickly as his mouth spread into a grin. “I’ll be extremely irritable and I’ll have to take a cold shower or two, but I’ll understand.”

She breathed in, then out, slowly. “You’ll understand.”

“That’s right. I won’t like it, but you say no and this is done. Here. Now.”

She pulled her hands away and tried to gather her thoughts. All she had to do was say no. It was up to her. He wanted her, just as she’d hoped. And she wanted him desperately, despite knowing what kind of man he was. Despite knowing it was a huge mistake. But, first, she had to say something.

“Adam, it’s important that you know that I’ve never done that before. That is, I mean, I hope you don’t think I’m…” She exhaled heavily and waved her hand in exasperation. “Oh, you know what I mean.”

He laughed softly. “Are you trying to say you don’t usually kiss the boss?”

She raised her chin and met his gaze. “Of course I don’t.”

He gazed at her with that crooked, boyish grin of his and she felt another unwelcome spark burst into flame in her belly. She reminded herself that she was flirting with the enemy, but it didn’t help douse the flames. She wanted him. She knew better, knew she should stand up and walk out right then, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“Say no and we’re done. But if you don’t say it, Trish,” he whispered, lifting one hand to skim her hair back from her face, “then there’s no stopping once we start.”

“I don’t want to stop,” she confessed, and closed her eyes as his fingertips trailed across her cheek.

He pulled her tight against him and covered her mouth completely in a hot, open-mouthed kiss that overwhelmed and inflamed her.

He held the nape of her neck firmly, keeping her close as their tongues tangled and parried in a wildly sensual paso doble. Trish met his passion with her own ardent desire, ignoring the voice in her head that warned her that if she wanted to survive, she should walk away from Adam Duke, now.

But how could she walk away when she was already lost in this sweeping rush of sensation and wanting? Already lost in the softness of his lips that belied the strength and confidence of his lean, hard body. He pressed her against his solid chest, causing her nipples to quiver and harden.

Oh, God, no, she wouldn’t walk away.

“Adam, I…” She couldn’t complete the thought but it didn’t matter as he seemed to anticipate her every want.

“I know,” he whispered, and laid her down on the wide couch. He covered her body with his and his mouth claimed hers with renewed urgency. His taste filled her senses, his taut body tempted hers. She could feel him lengthen and harden against her thigh and she wanted all of it, all of him.

She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck at the same time as his hand moved to cup her breast, drawing a soft moan from deep in her throat. He began to unbutton her blouse while his lips nipped and kissed their way along her jaw to her ear, then down her neck.

He pushed himself up and straddled her, staring at her with a heated intensity that somehow gave her the courage to act more boldly than she felt. He watched intently as she eased her blouse off, then began to unhook her bra.

“I’ll do it,” he said huskily, and peeled back the white lace cups. His nostrils flared as he stared at her exposed breasts.

“Beautiful,” he said, then took both breasts in his hands and used his thumbs to gently flick her nipples to a hard peak.

She caught her breath when he bent down and took her into his mouth, teasing one ultrasensitive nipple first with his teeth, then with his tongue, rolling and licking her firm tip until she groaned aloud.

He continued his tender assault on her other breast as he reached to unzip her pants and ease them down her legs. She took over, shimmying and finally kicking her pants to the floor to allow him full access to every part of her.

His eyes met her gaze and Trish saw a flicker of heat and pure masculine satisfaction in his dark eyes. He slipped his fingers beneath the elastic band of her thong and touched her most intimate spot. When he slid one finger inside her, she gasped.

“So hot and tight,” he murmured, then eased out and back in again. He repeated the action over and over, creating friction against her sensitive flesh that aroused and devastated her.

“Adam,” she whispered. “Please.”

Instead of answering, he stood and made fast work of taking his shirt off, tearing off his shoes and socks before unzipping and removing his trousers.

Trish watched, mesmerized as she savored the sight of his long, powerful legs and well-toned body. She shivered with anticipation and her breath hitched as he pulled off his boxers and revealed his large, stiff erection.

She ached to touch him.

He was watching her now as he reached for his pants and pulled a foil packet from the pocket. He tore it open and slipped on protection, then stretched out on the couch and took her in his arms. He kissed her fiercely, carnally, at the same time as he found her moist core and entered her with one, strong thrust.

Trish’s eyes opened wide and she cried out, but almost as quickly as the pain came, it was gone, replaced by a feeling of fullness, an intimate connection she’d never experienced before.

Adam stopped, held perfectly still, locked inside her and stared down into her eyes. “A virgin?” His words were strangled as if there were a fist clamped around his throat. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Can we talk about this later?” she demanded, lifting her hips, drawing him deeper.

He hissed in a breath through gritted teeth.

“Don’t stop,” she commanded, and latched her ankles over his legs.

He gave her a tight grin. “I have no intention of stopping, but we’ll talk about this.”

“Later,” she moaned. Her hands glided over his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down, urge him on, reassure him it was okay to keep going. Please keep going.

His lips found hers again and he kissed her tenderly as he began to move again. Pleasure grew and spread through her and she relaxed beneath him.

“Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Move with me.”

She did so, matching his rhythm. She could feel his heart pounding against hers and it made her feel alive. She watched his face-beautiful, strong, straining as he gave her pleasure. She tightened her legs around him, then lost sight of everything but the lush heat that was threatening to consume her.

“Open your eyes,” he said. “I want to see them turn dark when you come with me.”

She was helpless to do otherwise as he plunged and filled her. Heat built within her and need ignited every nerve ending as she climbed higher and higher. She cried out his name as color exploded behind her eyelids and electric pulsations coursed wildly through her body.

Adam stiffened above her and shouted her name. He drove into her one last time, so deeply that she could’ve sworn she felt him touch her heart. Then he collapsed against her and his full weight pressed her into the couch. He murmured words she couldn’t hear, but his warm breath against her skin soothed her.

For the next few minutes, all she could feel were the tremors moving in waves throughout her body and all she could hear was their ragged breathing. She was completely drained and satiated. She felt free, joyfully free and more alive than she’d ever been before.

Eight

Adam carefully shifted and stretched out alongside Trish. He tucked her closer to him and then, leaning on one elbow, stared down at her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Despite the fact that they were inches away from each other, she wouldn’t meet his gaze. A virgin? Was she really that hungry to get her hands on his bank account that she’d given up something so precious?

Adam wondered what she was thinking. Was she getting ready to bolt? He wouldn’t put it past her, but he wasn’t about to let her walk out right then. Not until he knew what was going on. He wanted-no, he needed-to know what was going through her mind. If she’d felt so compelled to apologize for one measly kiss the night before, she must be drowning in guilt and regret now, after just having had wild, incredible sex on his office couch.

But that didn’t mean she was going anywhere. No way. Not yet. His own guilt had ratcheted up a notch or two besides. Would he have taken her if he’d known she was a virgin? No. But that ship had sailed. Besides, he couldn’t say why, but he wasn’t ready to let her go. Not until he could taste her again. He thought of the private bathroom connected to his office, with a shower big enough for two. He could offer her the use of the shower, then join her there.

The soft curve of her thigh was nestled against his shaft, causing it to stir to attention. He almost groaned aloud. It wasn’t bad enough that he’d taken her here, in his office, on the couch. Now he wanted her again.

“I’d better be going,” she whispered.

“No,” he said immediately, telling himself she was too vulnerable right now for him to allow her to leave-and he refused to dwell on why he cared one way or another. He’d never wanted a woman to stay with him any longer than absolutely necessary. But Trish was different. He wasn’t prepared to say how or why she was different. She just was. Gold digger or not, he felt something for her. And besides, he wanted answers to some questions.

“You’re not going anywhere until I find out why you didn’t tell me you were a virgin.”

“Why does it matter?” she asked, still averting her gaze.

“Because I wouldn’t have taken you on a damn couch, that’s why.”

She glared at him. “Well, then, that’s why I didn’t tell you.”

He frowned as he brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “But I could’ve gone slowly and not hurt you so much.”

“You didn’t hurt me,” she insisted softly, shaking her head as she said it. Her eyelids fluttered and she finally smiled at him. “Well, not too much anyway. And after a few seconds, it was perfect.”

“Not yet,” he said with determination. “But it will be.”

Trish sat at her desk early the next morning, torn between preening like a satisfied cat and crawling under her desk to hide in shame.

She’d had sex with the enemy.

If it had only happened once, she might’ve chalked it up to temporary insanity. But it hadn’t happened just once. Not even twice. Three times! In three different ways. She shivered at the memory of everything he’d done to her. One thing was certain: she’d never look at his conference table the same way again. And she was considering erecting a small shrine in front of that awe-inspiring couch of his.

She knew it was wrong, knew what a mistake she’d made, but it had been amazing, wonderful, thrilling. She’d reveled in Adam’s kisses, each caress and every whispered word. He’d made her feel like she’d never felt before.

Well, of course she’d never felt those things before. Up until last night, she’d been a virgin.

She couldn’t have told Adam why she was still a virgin at the ripe old age of almost twenty-six, so it was a good thing he never asked. She’d grown up sheltered, surrounded and protected by her grandmother and her neighbors at the Victorian Village. Once she went off to college, she was working too hard to mix in much with the party crowd.

She graduated a year early, then came home and enrolled in the MBA program at the local university. Grandma Anna was starting to slow down, so Trish tried to help out in the store every day. She took over the purchasing and handled all the shipments. She rotated the displays and dealt with advertising and promotions.

Grandma was always teasing her, telling her to go out and meet people, have fun, fall in love. And Trish always figured there would be plenty time to do just that.

But that was around the same time her grandmother and their neighbors applied for historic landmark designation for the Victorian building. And that’s when their world came crashing down, thanks to Adam Duke’s company.

That’s why she was here. Because Adam Duke had destroyed their lives and now she was out to ruin him. If only she could remember that.

Trish sighed heavily and powered up her computer. It was still early enough that she could do some personal work without feeling too guilty.

“This is for you, Grandma,” she murmured, then logged onto the company’s Web site and did a search of their mergers and acquisitions over the past two years. She made a list of the companies Duke had acquired, and planned to search the Internet to see if any unsavory dealings had gone on during the transactions. She might even try to set up some interviews of the former employees of those companies to see how badly they were treated by the Dukes.

She sat back in her chair, feeling better now that she’d taken some small action toward avenging her grandmother. After the way she’d spent the previous evening, she wasn’t sure she’d ever lose these feelings of guilt, but at least she could tell herself that her mission was still on track. She owed that much to her Village friends.

So why did her thoughts keep drifting back to Adam?

This morning it seemed that all she could remember was Adam’s skillful moves, his talented mouth and the scent of his skin. Suddenly her loins tightened and fresh waves of excitement surged through her. She could barely suppress a moan.

“Oh, good grief,” she muttered as she stood up. She had to get busy. What if someone caught her daydreaming at her desk? What if Adam caught her? It was still early and he wasn’t in yet, but he’d be walking down the hall any minute. She swept up a handful of correspondence and rushed off to the copy room to work.

Standing in front of the copy machine, Trish realized she had some serious decisions to make. Where would she go from here? What would she do? She leaned against the machine, closed her eyes and exhaled wearily. It was time to admit that she was in deep trouble.

After all, it wasn’t bad enough that she’d slept with the man she’d once considered her worst enemy, the man she’d held responsible for destroying her happiness and the life of her beloved grandmother. And it wasn’t bad enough that the man she’d slept with was her boss, the person whose company she’d infiltrated in order to destroy him. And it wasn’t even bad enough that she’d made a promise to her grandmother on her deathbed that she would avenge the wrongs done to Grandma Anna and her neighbors, that she would find a way to make Adam Duke experience the same level of pain that she and Grandma Anna had known.

No, what was really, really bad was that she couldn’t wait to be in his arms all over again.

But it couldn’t happen again.

The copy machine stopped and Trish jolted at the abrupt silence. In that moment it became crystal clear exactly what she would have to do. A switch had been thrown inside her conscience. Even though she hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep last night and now felt as though she were walking through a heavy fog, she knew at last the direction she must take. Deathbed promises were not to be treated lightly. She’d betrayed not only her grandmother but all her old neighbors by becoming involved with Adam Duke.

How could she ever face her old friends again?

There was only one thing to do.

She had to tell him she could never have sex with him again. If she didn’t put a stop to it now, her goal of righting the wrong she’d set out to do would have to be written off as a total failure. Which meant that it wouldn’t be Adam who was destroyed. It would be Trish.

As she walked back to her desk with the stack of copies, she concluded that she would talk to Adam as soon as possible. It shouldn’t be difficult. After all, why would he care that she was refusing to sleep with him again? He had a million women waiting in line for the same opportunity.

She wrinkled her nose at the thought. Even if that was true, she didn’t like to think about all the women in the world who were chomping at the bit for a chance to have wild jungle sex with Adam Duke. It was downright depressing.

As she sat down at her desk and began to check her e-mails, she shook her head in dismay. All those women. Just waiting in line. Why in the world would he even give a hoot that plain old Trish James would never make love with him again?

“No, absolutely not.” Adam had heard enough. He stormed across the office and halted within a foot of her. “I refuse to accept your resignation. You’re still my assistant, Trish. There’s work to do. So, go back to your desk and do…something.”

“Do something?” she repeated, then had the nerve to smile at him.

“You heard me,” he grumbled. “Go.” He waved his hands as if to shoo her away. Dammit, he couldn’t be this close to her without inhaling her luscious scent. He wanted to strip her naked and nail her against the wall. Probably not a good idea to bring that up, given her present mood.

“Adam, please,” she said patiently, as if she were a wise parent and he a recalcitrant child. “I didn’t say I was resigning. I said I’d been rethinking my job here at DDI.”

“Yeah, I heard you,” Adam said, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. “I just don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Rethinking. I’ll probably be sorry I asked, but what the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that things have become complicated,” she said carefully. “It means I don’t think we should…” she huffed out a breath and fisted her hands against her thighs in frustration. “Do I really have to spell it out for you?”

He took another small step toward her. “Yeah, Trish. Spell it out for me.”

“We can’t have sex again,” she shouted, then slapped her hand over her mouth and stared at him in astonishment.

“Okay.” He grimaced and rubbed his ear. “I don’t think they heard you down on the third floor.”

“See what you made me do? I didn’t mean to yell.” The apology was a bit muffled as she still had her mouth covered.

“That’s okay,” he said, and reached for the hand covering her mouth to coax it away. “I don’t agree with your ‘rethinking’ plan but I appreciate your honesty.”

“You do?”

“Of course I do,” he said, keeping a strong grip on her hand. “And I’ve got to say, I also appreciate your feelings.”

“Really?” She gave him a suspicious sideways glance. “Well, thank you.”

He nodded. “You’re welcome. And I’m really glad you’re not quitting.”

“I would never leave you in the lurch.”

“I’m glad.” He stroked her shoulder paternally. “I need you, Trish.”

She nodded earnestly. “I know. And I won’t let you down.”

He continued the stroking, gradually moving his hand up to cradle the back of her neck. “You never have.”

“Um.” She craned her neck ever so slightly to allow him more access. “Thank you, Adam.”

“No problem.”

“Okay.” She bit her bottom lip, then said, “Well then, I guess I’ll just go…do…something.”

“Yeah, one thing before you go,” he said, then bridged the short distance between them by tugging her close to him.

“Um, what are you doing?” she asked warily as they stared at each other.

“Just testing a theory,” he said, and nipped gently at her ear. It was gratifying to hear her moan.

“But-”

“You see,” he murmured as he ran slow, nibbling kisses along her jaw. “In the interests of full disclosure, I should tell you that I absolutely do intend to have sex with you again.”

“Oh,” she said, breathing out a sigh as he licked the pulse point at the base of her neck. “But really, that’s not a good idea. And I-I should get back to…um, work.”

“Yeah, me, too,” he said, eliciting a strangled sob from her as he cupped her breast through her silk blouse. “I won’t keep you too long.”

She arched her back, then groaned, “How can this be happening again?”

“I’ll show you,” he said, and covered her mouth with his in a devastating kiss that left no doubt about his intentions. Dammit, he’d missed the taste of her. Now he wanted to savor every inch of her skin, inside and out. In seconds, he was reaching to unzip her pants while she fumbled for his belt.

He’d thought after one night that he would’ve had his fill of her. He’d figured he’d be calling her bluff this morning, revealing her to be the gold digger that she was. But as soon as Trish had tried to call it quits, he’d known he wasn’t ready to end it with her. The fact that she’d tried to end it first was something he’d have to think about.

Was she playing him? Was she deliberately being coy in hopes that he’d be the one to push for a relationship? A relationship that would lead to him standing at the altar watching her walk down the aisle?

While that vision should’ve been enough to send him running for cover, it didn’t matter right now. He still wanted her, still needed her with a bone-deep passion that was relentless. And until the need faded, he wasn’t about to let her go.

“Adam, touch me,” she whispered.

“Glad to,” he said. Picking her up, he walked her backwards, then pressed her against the wall and urged her to wrap her legs around his waist. “On second thought, I’m keeping you here all morning.”

Her office telephone rang at five o’clock. Trish ran back to her desk, recognized Adam’s cell phone number and grabbed the phone.

“Hey, Trish,” he said, his deep voice sending waves of desire through her entire body. How could the sound of his voice make her so weak? Oh, she was such a goner.

“Listen,” he continued, “I’d like you to stop by my house and drop off the Spirit file on your way home from work tonight. Will that be a problem?”

“No problem at all.” Trish slid back into her chair and mentally smacked herself. Work. He was calling about work. What had she expected? He was her employer, remember? She worked for him. For goodness’ sake, she really needed to get a life.

“If you don’t have plans,” he continued, “I can pay you back by cooking dinner.”

Dinner? He wanted to cook her dinner? She knew she should say no. It was inviting trouble to continue seeing him. And dinner at his house? Oh, please, she would never make it home. Come on, Trish. You can do it. Open your mouth and say, no. Say thanks, but no thanks.

“I really shouldn’t,” she hedged, and wanted to kick herself for not being firmer in her refusal.

“Do you have plans already?”

Tell him yes!

“Uh, no,” she said, then rolled her eyes. What was wrong with her? Why didn’t she just lie? Because he would’ve seen right through it. She was a really bad liar, just as Deb always told her.

“Then stay for dinner.”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I thought you were into health and nutrition.”

“I am,” she said, frowning. What did that have to do with anything?

“You need to eat dinner,” he cajoled. “It’s not good to skip meals.”

She shook her head. “I’m not skipping-”

“Look, Trish, you’re bringing me work files. It’s just business. I’d like you to stay for dinner so we can discuss the opening-night festivities.”

She sighed. “Yes, okay, fine.” You wimp!

“Great,” he said jovially. “I’ll grill some steaks. See you in a while.”

She placed the phone down, then her head hit her desk with an audible thunk. What was wrong with her? What part of we can’t have sex again! did she not understand? Of course, as soon as she’d thrown those words at him this morning, he’d taken up the challenge. And she’d bent to his will like a floppy licorice stick. But oh, God, that frenzied round of wild sex against his office wall? Sweet Georgia Brown, for as long as she worked for DDI, she would always look fondly on that particular wall.

“Excuse me,” a soft, female voice said. “Is Adam Duke here?”

With a start, Trish lifted her head. She hadn’t realized anyone was here, hadn’t heard that woman’s footsteps because of the thick carpet that covered the wide hallway.

“Hello.” Trish stood, straightened her jacket and brushed her hair back as she surreptitiously studied the woman who was several inches shorter than Trish and definitely more voluptuous. She didn’t recognize her and wondered who she might be. A client, maybe? The woman wore a lovely coral halter dress that accentuated her remarkable cleavage, and her perfectly highlighted blond hair was pulled up in a sexy updo. She was beautiful and from the looks of her diamond-encrusted watch, buttery soft taupe purse and matching open-toe high heels, she was wealthy, as well.

“I’m sorry,” Trish said. “Mr. Duke is not available.”

“Oh, dear,” the woman said. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She sighed. “I was told he worked late most evenings, so I took a chance, hoping he might be available for cocktails tonight.” She opened her purse and handed Trish a business card. “I guess we’ll do it another night.”

“Are you a friend of Adam’s?” Trish asked warily as she gripped the business card. Even the woman’s stationary was expensive.

“I’m Brenda,” she said smoothly. “He’ll know who I am. Are you sure he won’t be back tonight?”

“I’m afraid not,” Trish said. “He’s gone for the day.”

Brenda sighed again and glanced at her elegant watch. “Tonight really would’ve been ideal.”

“I’ll be glad to give him your card.”

“Please do,” she said, then flashed a knowing smile. “He’ll want to know I came by.”

“Of course, he will.”

“Okay, then.” She turned to leave, then stopped and looked back at Trish. She hesitated, then said, “Please let him know that I’m really looking forward to getting to know him better.”

Trish smiled tightly. “I’ll be sure to tell him.”

“Thank you,” Brenda said, then walked away.

“No, no, thank you,” Trish murmured as she watched the woman stroll down the hall.

The potatoes were baking in the oven, the wine was opened and breathing, the steaks were marinating. As the doorbell rang, Adam put the salad he’d just made into the refrigerator to chill.

“Perfect timing,” he murmured, then jogged to the front door, opened it and smiled. “Come on in.”

“Sorry I can’t stay,” Trish said breezily as she shoved the thick Spirit file into his chest. He struggled to catch it.

“What’s this?” Adam said, taken aback. “Why can’t you stay?”

“I just remembered a previous engagement,” she said through clenched teeth. “Oh, and by the way, Brenda said to say hi.”

“What?” Adam shook his head. “Who’s Brenda?”

“Oh, that’s nice,” she said tightly. “You date so many women, you can’t even remember their names.”

“No, I-”

“And she was so disappointed you weren’t there. Here’s her card. You be sure to call her for a good time. Oh, hey, maybe she’d like to come over for dinner.”

“Trish, this is ridiculous. What’s going on?”

“I’ve had my eyes opened.” She seemed to deflate before his eyes. “Never mind. It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I never should’ve gotten involved. It was wrong. You’re my boss.”

“That doesn’t matter,” he insisted. “Please, Trish, don’t-”

“Good night, Adam.”

“Wait. Will I at least see you Monday?”

She sniffed. “I told you I wasn’t going to leave you in the lurch. I don’t go back on my word.”

Adam couldn’t be sure but he thought she looked close to tears. He grabbed her hand. “Trish, I don’t know what happened but we can-”

“No. I’m sorry.” She pulled her hand free and backed away from him. “I can’t. I just can’t do it.”

“Move it a little more to the left, boys,” Sally said, and Adam and Brandon groaned in unison. “I think it’ll look beautiful centered on the window, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Adam said, straining as he moved the heavy love seat one more inch. Then he dropped his end of the couch and swiped his damp forehead with the sleeve of his denim work shirt. “See, Mom? It’s perfect. It’s staying right here.”

It was Saturday afternoon and his mother needed to rearrange her furniture. It did no good to ask why. Sally often got a wild hair up her butt to move stuff around for no rhyme or reason. But, hey, it meant free beer and pizza for lunch.

“Hey, Cam,” Adam called, “bring me a beer, will you?”

From the kitchen, Cameron yelled back. “No problem.”

Sally bent her head to the left, then the right, closing first one eye, then the other, trying to make sure the love seat was exactly where she wanted it to be.

Ignoring her, Brandon plopped down on the couch and yelled, “Bring me a beer, too, will you?”

“Already on it,” Cameron said, as he walked back into the den, holding three icy bottles. He handed one to each of his brothers, then took a long, satisfying swig from his own.

“I think it’s perfect, right where it is,” Sally said finally.

Adam chuckled. “Glad you think so, Mom, because it’s not going anywhere else today.”

“That stupid little thing weighs a ton,” Brandon groused as he sat back and perched his bare feet on the ancient wide oak coffee table.

Sally sat down next to him and patted his biceps. “That’s why I keep you around, sweetie. Now, take your feet off the table.”

He did, but rolled his eyes. “Can you feel the love?” Brandon said, and his brothers laughed.

Cameron took a seat in one of the leather Buster chairs that faced the small couch. Glancing up at Adam, who slouched against the wall, he said, “Everything go smoothly with the Fantasy ADA survey?”

“Yeah,” Adam said, taking a long sip of beer. “Trish had everything written up the next day and we sent the settlement letter off to the other side. Bob Paxton should have the renovations done within two weeks.”

“That’s fast.”

“Yeah,” Adam agreed. “He was motivated.”

“By anger, I’ll bet.”

“Exactly.” Adam grabbed a chair from the game table and sat. Just mentioning Trish’s name made him worry and wonder for the hundredth time today, what in the world had happened to her last evening. She’d gone running off and before he could even think to go after her, she was gone. Now he would have to wait until Monday to find out how everything in his world had gone south between the time he called her at five o’clock and the time she showed up at his place less than an hour later. And who was Brenda?

He missed Trish, dammit. Not that it meant anything. It couldn’t mean anything. He would never allow a woman to become so important that she had the power to disrupt his peace of mind. But Trish was his assistant. They worked well together. And yeah, okay, he wanted to be wrapped up in her naked, hot body more than he wanted to breathe again. But never mind all that. She was a valued employee. Of course he was worried about her. And that’s the story he was sticking to.

“So, how is Trish?” Brandon asked casually. “How’re things going?”

Adam flashed him a look of warning but said nothing.

Sally perked up. “Who’s Trish?”

“She’s my assistant, Mom,” Adam said tightly. As if she didn’t know.

“Oh, I’ve spoken to her on the phone. She sounds so sweet.”

Cameron snorted as Adam slumped over in the chair, rolling his eyes.

“Who’s Trish?” Brandon repeated with a chuckle. “That’s real funny coming from you, Mom.”

“It is?” Sally said. She glanced from one son to the other, then shook her head in confusion. “I guess I don’t understand your male sense of humor.”

“Brandon’s humor is a world apart,” Cameron said.

“True enough,” she said. Again she stared at each of the men, no doubt in search of the real story, then homed in on Brandon, clearly the weak link in this scenario. “So why don’t you explain to me just how funny I am?”

Brandon exchanged glances with his brothers, then shrugged. “Guess it had to come out sometime.”

“Ball’s in your corner, dude,” Cameron said, then stood. “I think this calls for more beers. Mom, you want something?”

“Chicken,” Adam muttered under his breath.

“Got that right,” Cameron said with a grin. “I can’t watch.”

“I’d better have a glass of white wine,” Sally said, but didn’t take her eyes off Brandon, who was starting to squirm.

“Coming right up,” Cameron said, whistling as he left the room.

“Now, what in the world are you talking about?” Sally said. “What’s going on?”

Brandon squeezed her hand patiently. “Mom, we know you arranged the whole thing.”

“What whole thing?”

“With Trish.” He shrugged again. “And Adam. We know Marjorie helped. We know the whole story.”

She cocked her head and stared at him in complete befuddlement. Adam’s stomach was beginning to sink. His mother wasn’t that good an actress.

Cameron walked back in and handed her a glass of pale, straw-colored wine.

“Thanks, sweetie,” she said, smiling up at him. “I think I’m going to need it.”

“No problemo,” he said, and quickly moved out of his mother’s line of sight.

She took a sip of wine, placed the glass on the side table, then cast a meaningful glance at Adam. “Can you explain what Brandon’s talking about?”

Adam frowned as whispers of worry fluttered inside him and couldn’t be stopped. Had he been wrong? Was his mother really not playing games? Impossible. He blew out a tired breath and said, “Trish is the woman Marjorie hired to be my assistant.”

“What happened to Cheryl?”

Brandon chuckled. “Oh, you’re good, Mom.”

“Cheryl got pregnant and quit,” Adam explained.

“Oh!” Sally said, clapping her hands. “Well, that’s wonderful. I should send her a gift.”

“Mom, focus,” Brandon said, sitting forward. “We know you arranged for Trish to work for Adam.”

She blinked. “I did what?”

“We know you’re trying to set him up with women. You know, so he’ll get married and have children and you’ll have grandchildren and-” Brandon waved his arms around. “You know, blah, blah, blah.”

“Ah.” Sally’s eyes narrowed. “Blah, blah, blah. Yes. Well, it’s true I want grandchildren, but I’m not sure…well, tell me again how I arranged for-what was her name?”

“Trish,” Brandon said. His patience was wearing thin.

“Right, Trish.” Sally looked contemplative. “Tell me again how I arranged to get her into Adam’s office.”

Brandon cast an anxious glance at his brothers, not saying aloud what he was so obviously thinking. Could their mother’s memory be slipping? Adam almost laughed out loud. He had no such doubts. Sally Duke was smart as a whip. She was pulling Brandon’s chain. He shouldn’t be enjoying the show, considering it was his ass on the line, but he just couldn’t help himself.

“Remember, Mom?” Cameron spoke slowly. “Marjorie arranged it for you. She got Trish in there.”

“Of course.” Sally nodded. “Marjorie’s a good friend.”

“Exactly,” Brandon said. “So you’re not denying you set the whole thing up?”

“Why would I?” Sally asked. “It sounds like a very clever plan.”

“We wouldn’t expect anything less, Mom,” Cameron said.

“Thank you, sweetie,” Sally said, then glanced over at Adam with a sparkle in her eye. “All this talk of women and plans and setups reminds me, Adam. Have you gone out with Brenda yet?”

Alarmed now, Adam stood. “Who’s Brenda?”

“Yeah, who’s Brenda?” Brandon asked.

Sally sat back on the couch, seemingly enjoying herself. “Brenda is Geraldine Sharkey’s doctor’s daughter.”

“Geraldine?” Cameron said, as he leaned against the back of the leather chair. “Your friend from the hospital guild?”

“Yes,” she said, beaming at Cameron, pleased that he’d remembered. “We play canasta together now. She wanted to introduce Dr. Brisbane’s daughter to some nice men, so I gave her Adam’s office phone number.”

“Oh, crap.” Adam glowered. The mysterious Brenda. She was the one his mom had set him up with? But that would mean… “She didn’t call. She just showed up.”

“But, Mom,” Brandon asked cautiously, “why would you send Brenda when you’ve already got Trish working for Adam?”

Sally started to answer him, then stopped. “What does Brenda have to do with Adam’s assistant?”

“Very funny,” Adam said, and started to pace the floor of the den. “Look, Trish is working for me and I’m happy with her. I don’t want any more setups, so you can call off your dogs. Send Brenda somewhere else.”

“Is she hot?” Brandon asked hopefully.

Cameron burst into laughter and Adam just shook his head.

Sally pushed herself off the couch and met Adam halfway across the room. She wound her arm through his and said softly, “Adam, you must know I had nothing to do with getting this woman a job in your office.”

“I know that now, Mom,” Adam said, leading her on a slow walk across the room.

He believed her. Which meant Trish was innocent. She hadn’t been stalking him or playing him or lying to him. And Adam had treated her badly. Dammit, she’d been a virgin. He didn’t like the guilt that had reared up inside him. He didn’t like knowing he’d been wrong. And he didn’t like admitting that he wanted Trish anyway. Wanted her now even more than he had before.

“It sounds as if you like her,” Sally said cautiously.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” he warned.

She smiled up at him. “Honey, I always have my hopes up as far as you’re concerned. And you’ve never let me down.”

He let out a sigh. How could a man argue with the woman who’d given him everything? Even her meddling was a gift, he thought, because without Sally Duke in his life, he’d never have known what love was. “Thanks, Mom. You’ve never let me down, either.”

“Oh, sweetie, you’re going to make me cry.” She wrapped her arms around him in a big hug and Adam felt like a complete ass. He wasn’t about to tell her how badly he’d treated Trish. How he’d seduced a completely innocent woman. Innocent in every way.

Later, as he drove home from his mother’s house on the cliff, he thought about how he’d sweet-talked Trish, flown her off to Fantasy Mountain and plied her with champagne. The following day, she’d given herself to him. In his office. On the couch. And various other places.

He should’ve been disgusted with himself, but the memory of taking her on his conference room table caused him to harden instantly and he wanted her all over again.

He had thought Trish was a gold digger, a willing accomplice in his mother’s half-baked plan, anxious to get a piece of his hefty bank account. But she wasn’t who he thought she was. She was the real deal. To complicate his predicament, he liked her. A lot.

“Dammit,” he said, pounding his fist on the steering wheel. He would find a way to make it up to her. He would take her out, treat her like a princess. He would explain his mother’s mistake in sending Brenda to the office. Then he would make love with Trish all night long. All week long. Hell, all month long.

He knew it wouldn’t last between them. It couldn’t. Adam didn’t do forever. He would eventually let her go, but until that moment came, they could enjoy each other to the max.

Nine

Trish was losing ground.

It had been almost two weeks since that fateful evening when the elegant Brenda had shown up with her perfect hair and perfect shoes and ruined Trish’s weekend.

But by Monday, Trish knew she had to thank the woman for opening her eyes to reality. She had no business dreaming of Adam Duke when he was the one responsible for all the unhappy turns her life had taken. From that day on, Trish had been on a campaign to find something, anything the least bit incriminating that she could use against Adam. So far there was nothing, but she’d vowed not to give up.

Meanwhile Adam had sworn that it was his mother who had tried to set him up with the voluptuous Brenda. And Trish believed him. Adam had explained that his mother wanted him and his brothers to settle down, so she had resorted to sending every woman she came across their way in hopes that one of them might lure the men into marriage. And that was never going to happen, Adam assured Trish.

Trish had laughed along with him when he described his mother’s tenaciousness, and she accepted his apology, not that he needed to apologize. But since he was offering, she was willing to forgive him.

But she refused to forget.

Trish opened a file drawer and returned two folders to their rightful place, then pulled the file cart over to the next drawer. Adam was out of the office and Trish was all caught up with her work, so she was using this time to re-examine the client files in the hope that she’d missed something important the first time.

But her mind kept going back to Adam’s apology about his mother’s matchmaking efforts and his cold insistence that he would never marry. It’s not as if Trish were looking for someone to tie the knot with, least of all Adam Duke, but it made her sad that he’d grown up to be so contemptuous of marriage.

And yet, despite his cynicism, he had been nothing but thoughtful and attentive to Trish in the two weeks since that fateful night. She’d tried but couldn’t dismiss the memory of his arms wrapped around her. Every time she thought of his heated gaze, her insides twisted into curlicues.

For two weeks Adam had been relentless in his campaign to soften her up, weaken her resolve and change her mind. He’d been inventive and sexy and sweet, and Trish’s resolve was slipping fast. He was fighting dirty, captivating her with his charm and consideration. Just when she thought she had a handle on her emotions and could withstand his latest salvo, he would slip through her defenses.

On Tuesday, he’d placed a single white rose on her desk and said it reminded him of her own unique style and beauty. Then he’d kissed her gently and she’d practically dissolved in his arms.

Trish buried her head in her hands. She had to be strong. She had to fight, not just for herself but for her grandmother and all the people who really mattered to her. And she was fighting, she thought, as she flipped open another client file and studied the lease agreement.

But every time Adam came near her, she was betrayed by her own body. Closing the client file, she sighed. Perhaps it was time to accept defeat. She just plain wanted him.

Oh, she knew it couldn’t last. He was clearly not the type of man to settle down, get married and raise a family. Not with her, anyway. Not with the shopkeeper’s granddaughter. Even with her MBA, she knew she wasn’t the type of woman Adam Duke would ultimately marry-if he ever married at all. He would marry someone sophisticated and worldly, someone with whom he could travel the world. Trish’s feet were firmly planted on solid ground. She wanted to live here forever. Sure, she’d love to travel someday, but it wasn’t as important to her as home and family were.

And someday, she vowed, she would have a home and a family, but for now, none of that mattered.

For now, for today, Adam wanted her. And she wanted him. So for as long as it lasted, Trish would savor his desire to be with her. She wouldn’t dwell on the future. She would live in the present, enjoy the moment and hope that her time with Adam Duke would provide enough lovely, exciting memories to keep her warm for a lifetime.

It had been one hellish day. Trish felt like a limp string of spaghetti, beaten and boiled and flung against the wall. She’d done nothing all day but put out fires and quell skirmishes that had been threatening to become full-scale wars. She’d definitely earned her paycheck and that was always a good feeling. It was just too bad she was way too tired to enjoy herself.

Once Adam had left the office for a dinner meeting with a visiting developer, Trish had dragged herself over to the file cabinets where she’d taken the time to go through a few more file drawers. Despite her overwhelming attraction to Adam, she was absolutely duty-bound to do something for Grandma Anna and her Village neighbors. So she continued her search for a scrap of something, anything she might be able to give to the local press, some story they could dig into in hopes of embarrassing Adam. It didn’t have to bring down his entire company anymore. She just wanted to find something that would bring closure to the pain her family and friends had gone through. She owed it to them.

But tonight she simply didn’t have the energy to scour the files. Her heart wasn’t in it, even if her conscience nagged at her. She compromised between heart and conscience and worked diligently for almost an hour, going through and checking each file, before getting discouraged and calling it a day.

Knowing she had nothing at home in the way of dinner, Trish pulled into the local grocery store on her way home and parked. Before getting out of her car, she buttoned her coat because the nights were getting colder now. As she locked her car, she could see her breath in the air, and it reminded her of that cold night out on the balcony at Fantasy Mountain.

She shivered, remembering that it was out there on that balcony that Adam had first kissed her.

They would be going back to Fantasy Mountain in two weeks for the grand opening. Adam had promised that the two of them would go up two days early and take advantage of the spa and any activities they wanted to enjoy. There was only one activity she could think of, and that was making love for hours with Adam in that beautiful room with the luxurious, fantasy bed.

With that image in her head, she almost floated across the parking lot. As she reached the door, an older man bumped into her and she grabbed him before he could fall.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Are you hurt?”

“Nah, I’m okay,” the man said.

Trish did a double take. “Sam? Sam Sutter?”

“Trish?” Sam said, then laughed as she wrapped him in a bear hug. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

“Oh, Sam, I’ve missed you so much.”

His laugh turned to a cough that grew stronger and more deep-throated until he was doubled over.

“My goodness, Sam, are you all right?” Trish thumped his back, not sure what else to do. “Let’s get inside.”

Sam Sutter was an old friend of Grandma Anna’s. He’d owned the bike shop in the Victorian Village, two doors down from Anna’s Attic. His shop used to rent bikes and paddleboards and roller skates to the tourists who walked to the beach along Sea Cove Lane. Sam had given Trish her first bicycle and taught her how to ride it. Every bike she’d ever owned had come from Sam’s shop.

Her old neighbor looked as though he’d aged ten years in the last few months since she’d seen him. She hoped it was just the cold that had him looking so worn down.

Sam stood up straight, the coughing jag over, but Trish could still hear him wheezing.

“Sam, you don’t sound good at all,” she said as she grabbed a cart and led him down the dairy aisle.

“No kidding,” he said, blowing his nose with a linen handkerchief he’d pulled from his coat pocket. “I caught one of those winter colds and I think it’s turning into bronchitis.”

She placed a carton of milk in the cart, then threaded her arm through his as they walked down the next aisle. “You need to get to the doctor.”

“I know, honey, but I just can’t afford a doctor these days. I’ll buy some cough syrup and aspirin. That’ll have to do me for now.”

“Did you get a flu shot this year?”

“Not yet, but I’ll try to work it into my busy schedule.” He grinned at her. “You’re a sweetheart, Trish.”

“Oh, Sam, I miss you,” Trish said, and squeezed his arm.

“I miss you, too, honey,” Sam said with a chuckle. “We had some good times back in the day. That reminds me, I ran into Bert Lindsay the other day.”

Bert and his wife, Tommie had operated an upscale hair salon and beauty supply store in the Village.

“How are they doing?” she asked, as she maneuvered the cart around the corner and down the next aisle.

“Tommie’s arthritis has been bugging her, but she’s got a good attitude.”

“I’ll try to stop by and see them next week.”

“You know they’d love to see you,” he said.

“I would love that, too.”

Sam waited while Trish picked out the best-looking zucchini she could find, then he said, “Bert tells me you’re working for Duke.”

Trish sucked in a breath, then exhaled carefully. “Yes, I am.”

“I knew you’d find a way to get to him. You were always a smart girl.” Then his eyes narrowed. “It’s probably not very generous of me to say this, but I hope you come across something we can use to get his nose in a twist.”

Guilt pooled inside her and sent hundreds of tiny ripples of shame out to every cell in her body. Here was one of her dearest friends, beaten down and destroyed by Adam Duke and all Trish could say was, “Oh, Sam, I’m not sure I can do that.”

He touched her shoulder in understanding. “That’s okay, honey. We all just appreciate that you’d care enough to try.”

“I-I promise I’ll do what I can.”

They wandered over to the cold remedies aisle and Sam found aspirin and a box of extra-strength cough syrup. “Whatever you do, honey, I know it won’t bring the Village back. But it would be nice if Adam Duke just had an inkling that what he did to us was wrong.”

“That would be nice,” Trish said halfheartedly, then wanted to crawl into a box. She could barely look Sam in the eye, knowing she’d betrayed them all by becoming romantically involved with Adam. What would they do if they knew the truth? They were all such sweet people, they’d probably forgive her. She just wasn’t sure if she could forgive herself.

At the checkout stand, Sam began to pull cash and coins from the pockets of his old coat.

“Hey, I’m buying this,” Trish said, pulling out her credit card.

“Don’t be silly, honey.”

“But it’s the company card,” she said lightly, hoping he’d believe her little white lie. “We’ll let Duke pay for it.”

Sam let out a rusty laugh. “In that case, okay.”

As they walked out to the parking lot together, Trish asked, “Do you need anything, Sam? Can I help you in any way?”

“Ah, honey, I don’t need a thing. It’s just been great to see you.”

“Are you limping?”

“It’s nothing.” He waved it off as he grumbled, “Doctor says I need a hip replacement. Can you imagine them cutting me open to stick a hunk of metal into my hip socket? That’s not going to happen.”

“Oh, Sam.” She shook her head. “It might make a big difference and get rid of the pain.”

“Maybe,” he muttered, then he jabbed his finger in the air. “Let me tell you something: getting old ain’t for sissies.”

She chuckled. “That’s what Grandma Anna always said.”

“Yeah, I know.” He laughed. “I miss your grandma a lot. She was a pip, that one.”

“I miss her, too.”

“Here’s my truck.” He gave her another big bear hug, then she helped him open the door. “You take care of yourself, honey, and don’t let that Duke fellow get you down.”

“I won’t.” She held his arm steady as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “You take care of yourself, too. Get rid of that cough.”

“I promise.” He grinned. “We’re all so proud of you, Trish.”

“Thanks, Sam.”

She waited until he was tucked inside his truck and had started the engine. Then he waved. She smiled and waved back, watching until his truck disappeared out of the parking lot. As she walked to her car, she thought about Sam and how much she’d missed him. How much she’d missed her Village family. She was so glad she’d run into him. So why did it feel like her heart was breaking?

Adam shoved another thick lease document into his briefcase. “Are we all set with the orchestra? I know the union guy was giving you problems.”

“It wasn’t a real problem,” she said, brushing off his concern. “The union rep just wanted to make sure we’d be giving the band two full breaks during the evening and I told him we would. So, no problem.”

Trish had taken charge of hiring a big band orchestra for the gala. She’d never negotiated a deal like that before, never dealt with union issues or artistic temperaments. It had been exhilarating and scary and she’d pulled it off without a hitch.

Adam tapped his fingers on the edge of his case, thinking. “What do we do for music during the breaks?”

She smiled. “I’ve got a fantastic DJ to fill in. He’ll also do some introductions and announcements. I’ve given him a script.”

“You’re amazing.”

“I know.” Her smile grew as he laughed. “I mean, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, and glanced at his copy of her checklist. “So the music is set. And the hotel’s taking care of the red carpet stuff. We’ve got limousines lined up to take guests from the airstrip to the hotel entrance. Photographers are set. Lighting is good. All the entertainment channels will be there.”

“We’ve even got an actual red carpet.”

“Oh, yeah. Can’t forget that,” he said, chuckling. “I think that’s everything. Are you finished packing?”

“Almost.” She thumbed through the pages of her list. “Oh, I’ve got the company jet flying your mother and her three friends to the resort the morning of the gala, then they’ll be back to take your brothers and their dates up in the afternoon.”

“Thanks for taking care of that.” He pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’m glad we’re going up two days early.”

“It’ll take two days to get everything ready.”

“We won’t be working the whole time,” Adam said. He’d already told her he wanted this time to be a mini-vacation just for the two of them. They could do whatever they wanted. If they were in the mood for some energetic physical activity, they could go cross-country skiing or ice-skating. Or they could just settle into the spa, get a couples massage, or while away the hours in the sauna or hot tub. He’d already scheduled a manicure and pedicure for her. He’d insisted that her every wish was his command, as long as she was pampered and fluffed and ready for him every night.

Trish doubted she would spend much time being pampered, but she couldn’t help the tingles she felt when he described what he wanted to do to her.

She only had one more thing to do before they left the next day. She’d been putting it off forever, but the fact was, she needed a fabulous dress for the gala. Knowing there would be snow, she’d borrowed Deb’s down coat and gloves again. But she still had to buy a dress. She planned to go shopping tonight after work, unless she could sneak off before that.

“That’s it,” Adam said as he closed his briefcase. “I’m off to meet with the SyCom people.”

She handed him a thin folder. “Here are your notes for the meeting.”

“What would I do without you?” he asked, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Mmm, is it too late to cancel the SyCom meeting?” Trish smiled. If only. “You’d better go.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned and gave her a snappy salute, then grabbed his briefcase and strolled out the office door.

Trish sighed as she stared at the mess on Adam’s desk. She would deal with all that later. Right now, she would take advantage of Adam’s absence and go find a dress.

Two hours later, Trish returned to the office, ready to get back to work. She’d bought the most beautiful dress she’d ever seen. Why that made her feel guilty, she wasn’t willing to say out loud, but at least she’d found it on sale.

After taking care of all the work on her desk, she headed into Adam’s office. Files were piled everywhere on his desk, papers were askew. There was spilled coffee and a half-eaten cinnamon scone still sitting there. How could he possibly work in all that mess and jumble?

She began straightening things, starting with piling the many files onto the file cart. She tried to match the loose papers with the files they went with. Pens and paper clips went back in the drawer, the scone was tossed out and dirty coffee mugs were hustled down the hall to the kitchen dishwasher.

After his desk was cleaned to her satisfaction, she pulled the file cart out to the cabinets by her desk and began returning them to the drawers. It took her nearly an hour, but she had almost reached the bottom of the pile. She picked up the next file wallet and checked the name. It was one she hadn’t heard of. Vista del Lago. Curious, she thumbed through the thin folders and pulled out a piece of correspondence to see what it was all about.

She got through the first short paragraph before she had to fumble for her desk chair to slide down and sit. She examined the attached notice addressed to residents of Vista del Lago, informing the tenants that they had thirty days to vacate before the building was to be demolished.

The internal company letter to Adam was marked “Personal and Confidential” and listed the reasons why the building should be torn down. It was close to the beach, so the property was worth millions. It was an eyesore with paint peeling and wood trim crumbling, so it would take too much work to restore it. The tenants were mostly senior citizens on fixed incomes, so raising the rent had proved problematic. Better to just evict the tenants and level the building.

Trish’s hands shook as she read the details of the coldly impersonal Notice to Vacate, which gave the elderly tenants thirty days to pack up all their worldly belongings and find somewhere else to live.

The letter reported that the Vista del Lago site would be the ideal place to build luxury condominiums that would garner an excellent return on the company’s investment.

She didn’t know how long she sat there staring into space. She was struck dumb, frozen, unsure what to do next. This was it, the perfect sordid information she’d been seeking ever since she first came to work for Adam.

Her mind bounced back and forth between pretending she’d never seen the letter and shouting its discovery to the rooftops.

Part of her insisted that the letter was none of her business. She should just shove the file back into the drawer and forget she ever saw it.

But how could she do that?

It was documentation, clear and stunning evidence that Adam’s company was about to tear down yet another building-this one filled with defenseless, low-income senior citizens-in order to build something more pleasing to the corporate eye, something like high-priced luxury condominiums with a view of the ocean. Much better than the ugly low-rent senior housing that was currently occupying the space.

Trish’s stomach was doing backflips and not in a happy way. The letter and accompanying notice weren’t exactly a smoking gun, but they were just the sort of dirt the local newspapers would devour like hungry hounds. It might not destroy Adam Duke, but if the press framed the story correctly, it would definitely be a blow to his company’s reputation and Adam’s personal pride would probably take a serious hit. If the news coverage was good enough and the public outrage strong enough, it might even prevent the project from going through.

It was the perfect weapon. Trish knew it. But how in the world could she use it against Adam when she was in love with him?

“No.” The word shuddered from deep in her throat as that realization sank in.

Trish rose from the chair and paced around her alcove. Feeling trapped, she went into Adam’s office and walked to the window overlooking the coastline.

“Oh, no. Absolutely not.” She whipped around, stumbling blindly back and forth across Adam’s office. She didn’t know where to go, what to do, where to hide from the stunning realization that she was in love with Adam Duke.

Barely able to take another step, she collapsed onto the couch.

How could she be in love with him?

She let out a moan, then bent over and buried her head in her hands. It couldn’t be. Please, not Adam. Despite his good qualities, despite the fact that he was her lover, he was still the man responsible for forcing her small family and her beloved neighbors out of their homes. He was the man who’d destroyed the beautiful historic building where she and her grandmother had lived and worked their entire lives. He was the man who’d replaced that lovely, venerable Victorian building with an ugly, soulless concrete block-long parking structure.

He was the same man who would do it all over again to the residents of Vista del Lago, if Trish didn’t stop him.

She sat up, glanced around. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation for his actions. Maybe he didn’t know the whole story. But that was ridiculous. The evidence was sitting on his desk. He had to be familiar with the file.

It was staring her in the face. Adam Duke was about to destroy the lives of yet another group of innocent people.

Sadness crept into Trish’s heart as the inevitability of her situation settled over her. She had to do something. She had to take a stand.

No longer sure of her motives or her feelings, Trish scanned the Vista del Lago paperwork, transferred it onto a CD and slipped the disk into her purse.

Ten

They descended the jet stairway onto the tarmac and Adam inhaled the cold, pine-scented mountain air. He could finally relax and spend these next two days with Trish, uninterrupted by the work that had consumed them over the last few weeks. He planned to keep her busy in bed when he wasn’t otherwise pampering her.

She’d been quieter than usual during the plane ride but Adam chalked that up to her usual anxiety over flying.

“I’m so glad to be back,” she said softly, staring out at the mountains they had just flown over. Then she rubbed her arms. “Oh, but it’s so cold.”

“It’s going to snow.” He took hold of her hand and led her to the waiting limousine. “The driver will take us to the hotel, then come back for the bags.”

He bundled her into the limo and held her close. As the driver sped toward the resort, he considered the woman sitting next to him. He was proud of the work she’d done and didn’t mind admitting that she made him look good. She’d been thrown into the role of his personal assistant and she’d exceeded his wildest expectations. She was a hard worker and a good sport.

But more than that, she was sexy as hell and he couldn’t get enough of her. He was amazed to realize that he hadn’t grown tired of her, amazed that he still wanted her every day and night. He knew it couldn’t last, knew that he would send her away eventually. He couldn’t say when it would happen, but he knew it would. For now, though, he refused to question the fact that he wanted to be with her all the time.

He hoped that when the breakup finally happened, Trish would understand and not take it personally. He would be careful to make sure she knew that it wasn’t her, it was him. Adam had vowed, long ago, never to become too involved with anyone. He didn’t believe in forever, certainly didn’t believe in love. He didn’t trust it. After all, people might say they love you and promise to take care of you, but then they’d dump you off at a hospital entryway and never return. He ought to know. People lied.

After all the pain he’d seen growing up, first in the orphanage, then in all those miserable foster homes, he knew it was unavoidable that people grew to hate and hurt one another. He’d seen plenty of damage done and figured that for most relationships, it was just a matter of time.

Sally Duke had been different, he told himself. The exception to the rule.

But romantic love was doomed from the start. He wouldn’t let that happen to him. And he wouldn’t let it happen to Trish, either. He didn’t want to hurt her so he was determined to avoid anything that remotely resembled a serious relationship.

And Trish had “serious relationship” written all over her.

But for now, for the next two days, he was looking forward to spending time with her and making love with her. And what better place to do that than Fantasy Mountain?

After the elevator delivered them to the top floor, he followed her into the presidential suite and watched with amusement as she twirled around, trying to take in everything. The room was spectacular, if he did say so himself. And needless to say, much bigger than the one Trish had slept in last time.

The walls were constructed of blond wood logs polished to a high sheen, except for one entire wall that was covered in river rock and formed a wide fireplace and hearth. A forest-green suede couch and charming bentwood chairs and tables made up a cozy conversation area. The wide, rounded balcony stretched the length of the suite with doors leading out from both the living room and the bedroom. In the bathroom, a soaking tub was planted in front of windows that looked out at the snow-capped peak of Fantasy Mountain.

Trish walked into the master bedroom and saw another small fireplace facing the king-size bed, framed in willow branches. She turned and faced him. “I didn’t think it was possible but this room is even more fantastic than the one from before.”

“That’s because it’s bigger,” Adam said with a grin.

“It’s definitely bigger,” she said with a smile as she wandered back into the living room. “It’s also different because we’re seeing it in the daylight.”

Adam followed her, content to watch her enjoying herself. She peeked through the gauze curtains, then pulled the cord to open them, filling the room with more light. “Oh, the view from here is beautiful.”

She turned to face him just as a shaft of sunlight bounced off her back, creating an aura of shimmering gold and bronze around her. It made him realize that she was the most stunning woman he’d ever seen.

“You’re beautiful,” Adam said, unable to keep the thought to himself.

She beamed at him. “So are you.”

“First time anyone’s ever said that to me.” He approached her slowly. “I hope you didn’t make any plans for the morning.”

“Plans?”

“Yeah. Come here.” He yanked her against him and kissed her in a soul-searing meeting of mouths and tangling of tongues. Then, in one swift move he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, where he laid her down on the bed, then stood and began to unbutton his shirt.

Trish sat up to pull off her sweater, but Adam reached over to stop her. “I’ll do that.”

“Hurry,” she said in a breathless whisper.

“Oh, yeah.” Her mouth was already swollen and wet from his kiss and so damn tempting that he had to taste her again. He knelt on the bed and swept down to devour her, his tongue plunging in and around hers. He felt himself grow even more rigid and had to force himself to control the need that was consuming him.

He reached for her sweater and pulled it up and over her head. The slinky black bra was a surprise and he grinned as he used his finger to trace the shape of her breast, then dipped beneath the lace to play with her firm nipple.

“Adam, now,” she demanded, then closed her eyes and raised her arms over her head. The movement caused her back to arch and her breasts to rise up. Adam swore under his breath and quickly unclipped her bra to reveal her soft, round breasts and tight nipples.

“Perfect,” he said, and bent to take first one, then the other into his mouth.

He moved quickly to whisk off her pants, then left a trail of wet kisses along her belly. He gazed down at the strip of black lace she wore and swore again.

“You’re so damn hot,” he muttered. With one hand, he tugged at those skimpy lace panties and caused a tiny bit of friction against her soft folds. Hearing her whimper ignited his blood. He reached beneath the lace and touched her center, then dipped one finger into her. “So wet.”

Tearing the lacy material away, he replaced it with his mouth, first kissing, then licking and finally feasting on her.

Her incoherent gasps fueled his own internal fire. He ran his hands up and down her strong, sexy legs, then grabbed her shapely ankles and hitched them over his shoulders. And continued his relentless onslaught of her hot, moist center.

The sensation of bringing her to a shattering peak was almost too much for him to take. Desire, painful and urgent, ripped through him as he crawled his way back up to look at her.

“You are the sexiest, most perfect creation,” he said, unable to stop touching her.

“And you’re wearing way too many clothes,” she whispered, and grabbed his belt buckle.

He laughed, stood and stripped, pulling a condom out of his back pocket and donning it.

He had a moment to register her rich, brown hair tumbled around her delicate features, and her long, lush naked body stretched out on the luxurious bedspread, before kneeling back on the bed between her legs.

Holding her gaze, he positioned himself, then entered her slowly and had to grit his teeth to keep from exploding from her heated tightness.

It was all he could do to keep the rhythm slow, to feel each stroke move deep inside her, so deep that he began to lose himself in her, lose all sense of everything but her beautiful eyes and her lush heat. As his movements gathered speed, he felt a bone-deep need resound within himself, but refused to question it.

Her legs gripped him high on his waist, opening her up and allowing him to thrust even deeper. Her breath grew short, her breasts flushed dark rose and Adam knew she was ready to climax.

“Come for me, sweetheart,” he said, his concentration focused, his thrusts slowing, teasing, until he withdrew almost completely. She opened her eyes in alarm just as he plunged back into her so deeply he thought he might lose himself in her. He rushed to kiss her, to swallow her screams, to savor her mouth as he thrust again, then withdrew. Then again, and again. Her eyes flashed hot and dark and he turned relentless, driving into her, plunging, stroking, their bodies damp with sweat and heat, his need savage and unremitting.

He saw her eyes cloud over seconds before she shattered gloriously. He crushed her lips again, tasted her passion, her pleasure, her sweetness, and lost control. His body tightened almost beyond endurance as he emptied himself into her.

Two days later, the night of the gala was picture-perfect in every way. It had snowed that afternoon, turning Fantasy Mountain into a glittering white winter wonderland.

Adam and Trish had reluctantly slipped back into work mode several hours earlier. Now Adam stood at the top of the wide main stairway leading into the hotel and greeted each guest personally. Wealthy investors and their families, old friends, a number of celebrities, even a few of his competitors, were all arriving to enjoy the opening weekend festivities. Adam’s brothers and their top executives were already inside working the crowd.

The paparazzi swarmed outside, their flashbulbs and strobe lights turning the evening sky to daylight. Television interviewers were lined up along the red carpet that swept the entire length of the long carriage drive entrance. Heat lamps were posted at intervals to keep the arriving guests from feeling too much of the chilly night air.

From where he was standing, Adam could observe Trish with her walkie-talkie and her clipboard, coordinating limousine arrivals and valet service. She wore her jeans and boots and a down jacket as she worked the lines, running from one end to the other. She would stop to give an encouraging word to one of his staff, then laugh at a photographer’s joke. She had a knack for making them all feel as though she were one of them while still giving orders and keeping everything on a tight schedule. She radiated confidence and warmth and it was obvious that everyone working the event had fallen in love with her. Everyone.

Hell. Scowling, he ran a finger in between his collar and his neck. Why was it suddenly so damn hot?

Sally strolled up to him and put her arm around his waist. “Darling, everything is simply fabulous. The hotel is magnificent.”

“Thanks,” he said, giving her shoulders a quick squeeze. “You look beautiful.”

His mother wore a high-collared white satin tuxedo shirt with a black taffeta skirt and cummerbund-not that Adam would know taffeta if it walked up and bit him, but she’d described the dress in excruciating detail on the phone earlier in the week. Her hair was all scooped up in some kind of fancy French braided style, no doubt to show off her shiny, dangly earrings.

Sally beamed. “Thank you. Isn’t it about time you got things started?”

“Twenty more minutes,” Adam murmured, checking his wristwatch to be sure. He waved to catch the valet captain’s eye, then tapped his watch and pointed to Trish. They’d worked out the signal ahead of time. Sure enough, within seconds, Trish came running.

“I’ll make it on time,” she said, bounding up the stairway and heading straight for the hotel door. On impulse, Adam stepped into her path and grabbed her in his arms. He swung her around, then kissed her and set her back down, breathless.

“You’ve got fifteen minutes to dress and get back down here,” he said.

“You’re not helping,” she said, smacking his arm. Then her eyes widened. “Is this your mother?”

“Yes,” he said, turning. “Mom, this is Trish.”

“We’ve spoken on the phone,” Sally said, shaking Trish’s hand. “It’s so nice to meet you in person.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Duke.”

“Oh, call me Sally, dear. Everybody does.”

“Thank you,” Trish said, smiling. “You look so beautiful.”

“Oh, you’re a sweet girl,” Sally said, patting her hair.

“Yes, she is,” Adam said. “Now get going.” He kissed Trish again and she laughed as he patted her behind to push her along.

“So, that’s Trish,” his mother said a moment later.

“Yeah,” he said, baffled and annoyed over the sudden and very public display of affection he’d just shown the world.

“She’s absolutely perfect,” she murmured.

His mother’s tone had him eyeing her suspiciously. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She held up both hands innocently. “I’m just saying she’s a perfectly lovely girl. And Marjorie tells me she’s a hard worker.”

His eyes narrowed. “What else does Marjorie tell you?”

“Oh, Adam,” she said, with a soft chuckle. “If you only knew.”

“Mother.”

“Don’t frown dear, you’ll scare the guests.”

He shook his head, then he held out his arm for her to hold. “How about if I escort you inside?”

“I’d be delighted.”

With his mother by his side playing hostess, Adam worked the grand ballroom for the next twenty minutes. His guests raved about the rustically elegant resort and its beautifully designed ballroom and conference space. They gushed over the guest baskets placed in every room. Trish and the guest-services coordinator had selected the items to be included in the baskets and Adam had approved. Champagne, fresh fruit, cheeses and snacks, free spa treatments along with items from the hotel’s exclusive line of hair and skin-care products, and a plush Fantasy Mountain bathrobe and towel.

Adam thought about his mother’s earlier reaction to Trish. His suspicions were raised anew and he realized he would have to put an end to his affair with Trish as soon as he and Trish got back to town. The gala would be over and his life could get back to normal. He supposed he would miss her once in a while, especially around the office, but that’s the way it had to be.

Having made his decision, he studiously ignored the tightening he felt in his chest.

As he greeted the mayor of a small town north of Dunsmuir Bay, he noticed the crowd begin to murmur.

“Oh,” his mother whispered. “She’s stunning.”

He turned but couldn’t say a word as he stared across the room. Trish wore a strapless black gown that molded to her breasts and fell in a graceful column to the floor, yet managed to show off every curve of her body. It was classic and elegant. And outrageously sexy. Her hair tumbled loosely around her shoulders and a thin row of diamonds draped her neck, bringing Adam’s gaze right back to her stunning breasts. She looked like a goddess emerging from the sea.

She’d never looked more beautiful, if that was possible. It was Brandon who greeted her at the door, introducing himself to her and escorting her into the room. He snagged her a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and stayed by her side and talked.

Watching her sip champagne, Adam’s insides tightened at the memory of their two days of pleasurable solitude ensconced in the hotel suite. They’d explored each other’s bodies all day and throughout the night, finally falling into an exhausted sleep as dawn broke over the mountain.

Then waking up to start all over again.

The memory of her legs wrapped around him, her body arching into him, her sobs of need, caused a physical hunger in his gut and his jaw clenched as he forced himself to ignore it.

Adam checked his watch again. He had to determine exactly how long he’d have to stay at the party schmoozing with his guests before he could take Trish back to their suite. He could barely wait to strip that incredible dress off her.

“At the risk of repeating myself, she’s very lovely,” Sally said amiably, tucking her arm through his.

He looked at her squarely. “She’s also a great assistant-smart, loyal, highly organized and very talented.” And gorgeous in bed. Which is exactly where he wanted her. Now.

Sally touched his arm maternally. “I’m glad you have good people working for you, sweetie.”

Adam exhaled slowly. “Me, too.”

The orchestra began to play a big band favorite and Adam watched Brandon lead Trish out onto the dance floor.

“Crap,” Adam said. Why was his brother holding her so close? He was going to cut off her breathing.

Sally chuckled. “Why don’t you dance with me instead of standing here scowling? Your guests are going to think something’s wrong with the plumbing.”

“Good idea,” he muttered, and led his mother onto the dance floor.

After a few minutes of gliding around, Sally smiled up at him. “You dance beautifully, Adam.”

One of his eyebrows shot up. “I’d better. I risked my life to learn the damn fox trot.”

Sally laughed. To this day, Adam couldn’t believe she’d forced all three boys to attend cotillion when they were barely thirteen years old. Once word got out at school, the Duke brothers became targets and the fights began. The boys gave as good as they got, but often came home from school with black eyes and bloodied knuckles. Rather than cancel the dance lessons, Sally briskly enrolled them in marital arts and boxing classes, as well.

Chuckling, Adam recalled that she’d also forced them to learn how to cook and do their own laundry. She’d always said she was determined to raise well-rounded men who would make good husbands.

Adam was happy to be well-rounded, but that didn’t mean he intended to be anyone’s good husband.

“Every woman loves a man who can dance,” Sally said suggestively, her eyes glittering with humor as she glanced across the ballroom.

Adam couldn’t help but follow the direction of her gaze. His stomach tensed all over again as he spotted Trish, laughing and flirting and all wrapped up in the arms of his own brother.

The song ended. Trish and Brandon Duke applauded politely, then walked off the floor together.

“It was nice to meet you, Brandon,” she said, and was surprised to realize she meant it. She’d been concerned when she found out that the outgoing man who’d met her at the door was Adam’s brother. But as it turned out, he was a big friendly bear of a guy and a surprisingly good dancer. A former football player, he was several inches taller and a bit stockier than his brother. A very good-looking man, though not nearly as handsome as Adam.

“Great to meet you, too,” Brandon said. “Especially after hearing so much about you.”

“Really?” she said carefully. “Such as?”

“All good things,” he assured her.

“Now I’m truly worried.”

“Don’t be,” he said, laughing. “Listen, I’m going to try those Buffalo wings on the pier as soon as I can get there. Thanks for the recommendation.”

“You’re welcome,” she said. “I’ve never been to Buffalo but I think they’re pretty close to the real thing.”

“That’s what I’ve been looking for,” he said. “Whenever my team played the Buffalo Bills, we’d always go to the Anchor Bar downtown to get our fix. I haven’t been able to find the real thing since then.”

“I hope you’ll let me know what you think,” she said.

As Brandon continued talking, Trish casually gazed around the crowded ballroom and ultimately homed in on Adam. A rush of warm longing rose from her toes all the way up to her ears as she realized he’d been watching her intently.

He stood with Sally, who stared up at Adam with a look of glowing pride and Trish couldn’t blame her. Adam looked incredibly handsome in his custom-made tuxedo, and Trish shivered involuntarily as she remembered how the two of them had spent the early part of the day luxuriating in the soaking tub, washing each other’s backs and making love. Then they’d dressed slowly. She helped him with his formal bowtie and cuff links. He zipped up her jeans, slowly, inch by inch, his fingers gliding along the zipper’s path, touching her skin and sending ripples of heated desire throughout her body.

They almost didn’t make it downstairs.

It was crazy. They’d spent the last forty-eight hours doing almost nothing but making love with each other. But now, gazing at him from across the ballroom floor, she realized she wanted him again. Would the wanting never cease?

It didn’t matter. Once she returned home, she would turn the CD over to the local papers and quit her job at Duke Development. Grandma Anna would be avenged and Trish would move on with her life.

But for now she didn’t want to think about that. For now, for this moment, there was only Adam.

She was about to make her excuses to Brandon and go to Adam, when a tall, dark and dangerously handsome man stepped in front of her.

“I’m Cameron Duke,” he said in a deep, rich voice. “Obviously, my brother’s too rude to introduce us.”

“Not rude,” Brandon insisted. “Just being considerate of Trish’s tender feelings.”

Trish grinned at Brandon, then shook Cameron’s hand. “I’m Trish James, Adam’s assistant.”

“I know,” he said, and his mouth twisted in a cynical grin. “I was wondering why we hadn’t met you before, but now it’s obvious.”

“It is?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You’re beautiful.”

Trish felt herself blush. The Duke brothers were formidable, to say the least, and each one was more good-looking than the next. The three of them must’ve fueled the dreams of every girl they went to high school with. Smiling up at Cameron, she said, “You’re very kind.”

“No, I’m not,” he said bluntly.

“He’s really not,” Brandon said with an affable grin.

The band struck up the first notes of a sultry samba and Cameron held out his hand. “But I’m a good dancer. Shall we?”

“Oh.” She cast a furtive glance across the room and saw Adam talking to someone else, so she smiled at Cameron and took his hand. “I’d love to.”

“Mr. Duke. I must speak with you.”

Adam turned, then had to look down at the short, thin man who’d addressed him. The middle-aged man wore a wrinkled black business suit with a worn purple tie and looked nervous and uncomfortable in the midst of all the festivities.

“Yes? What is it?”

“I’m Stan Strathbaum, former president of Strathbaum Construction, now a loyal employee of Duke Development.”

“Yeah?” Was he supposed to know this guy? Adam couldn’t say why, but he disliked him on sight.

“Yes.” The man’s lip curled up in a sneer as he pointed to the dance floor. “Mr. Duke, do you know that woman?”

Adam tried to follow the direction he was pointing and stared out at the dance floor.

“Which woman?” Adam said, his voice reflecting his annoyance.

“That one,” Strathbaum said, his finger jabbing the air as he continued to point. “The one in the black dress.”

What the hell? Was he pointing at Trish? Did Strathbaum know how close he was to being tossed out on his ass?

“What about her?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know her name, Mr. Duke, but I’ll never forget her face. She stormed onto a Duke construction site several months ago and threatened me with bodily harm if I didn’t halt the demolition of some old building near the pier.”

“Couldn’t have been Trish,” Adam said confidently.

“Oh, it certainly was, sir,” Strathbaum said, and pushed his glasses up his greasy nose. “It was her. She was hostile and unstable and promised to take down Duke Development if it was the last thing she ever did. At the time I thought I’d have to call security, but I managed to drag her out of my office myself.”

He’d heard enough. How could this little creep stand here, insulting Trish? Who the hell did he think he was? “That’s a ridiculous story.”

“I’m warning you, sir, that woman is a security risk.” He folded his arms firmly across his chest. “The entire resort and all the guests could be in serious danger.”

“What are you talking about?” Adam said, a hint of danger in his low, deep voice. “I’d like you to leave before I call security to help you on your way.”

The little guy swelled up like a self-important toad, but still managed to look wary. “Sir, you may not like what I say but I’m telling you the truth. I demand-I mean-”

But Adam had stopped listening. Instead, he stared at Trish, willing her gaze to meet his. He saw her eyes turn warm, then cloud up in confusion, then widen in horror as she seemed to recognize the obnoxious but apparently truthful man who’d just revealed her deepest, darkest secret to him.

From the dance floor, Trish noticed Adam talking to a slightly built man who looked alarmingly familiar. Her steps faltered.

“Is something wrong?” Cameron asked.

“I-I don’t know.” But suddenly she recalled where she’d last seen that man and his prune-faced sneer. It was at the construction site where she’d gone to beg someone-anyone-from Duke Development to put a stop to the imminent destruction of her home. At the site, she’d had the unfortunate luck to deal with Stan Strathbaum, the man who’d insulted her, threatened her and tossed her out of his office.

The same man who was talking to Adam. He was even sneering now as he pointed his accusing finger right at her.

Trish’s blood turned to ice and her world flipped upside down.

Filled with dread, she pushed away from Cameron. “I have to go, I’m so sorry. Good night.”

She quickly threaded her way off the packed dance floor and ran from the room.

By the time Adam made it up to the suite, she’d already called the concierge to arrange transportation back to Dunsmuir Bay. She’d packed away her beautiful dress and hurriedly changed into jeans, boots and a sweater.

He stormed into the bedroom. “Who are you?”

“You know who I am,” she said wearily, tossing her underwear into her suitcase.

“No, I don’t,” he said. “Not anymore. Was that guy right? Did you threaten to destroy my company?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Trish, you went tearing off the dance floor the minute you saw me talking to Strathbaum. What else am I supposed to think?”

“You’re supposed to trust me,” she said weakly, as she threw her toiletries into a small bag and stuffed them into her suitcase.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to stop. “Trish, answer me. Did you threaten to take down Duke Development? Not that you’d ever have a snowball’s chance, but did you?”

She exhaled resignedly. “Yes, I suppose I did, but it’s not what you think. I-”

“Not what I think?” he shouted. “Hell, you just admitted it to me. What else am I supposed to think? Somebody tells me you were threatening my company a few months ago, then lo and behold, you’re on my payroll. What the hell? Were you honestly trying to destroy me?”

“No!” she cried, pulling away from him. “I just needed something to-”

“What did you need?” he demanded. “Money? Is that it? Are you actually the gold digger I thought you were all along?”

She stopped and stared at him. “You thought I was a gold digger?”

He shook his head. “That’s not the point.”

“You thought I was a gold digger?” Trish repeated more loudly, then came up close and jabbed him in the chest with her finger. “Let me tell you something, you arrogant jerk. I don’t care anything about your money! Your company demolished my home. You destroyed my neighborhood, my grandmother’s store, her livelihood and everything important in her life. You left us with nothing but rubble. My grandmother had a heart attack and died when you tore down the Victorian Village.”

“Wait. Victorian Village?” he said, bemused. “I remember that place. It was like a landmark.”

“Yeah,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “It was. Until you showed up. I grew up in that landmark. That was my home. The home your company demolished eight months ago. And why did you do it? Because Duke Development needed a parking lot.”

“What? That’s not true.”

“Oh, yes, it is,” she said heatedly. “You bulldozed our beautiful homes and shops and replaced them all with an ugly block of concrete. You gave us thirty days’ notice, then you evicted us. You threw my grandmother and all of our neighbors out into the street. They were good people, good friends I’d known my entire life. And for what? For a slab of concrete! My grandma died of a broken heart and I hated you for that.”

“Wait a minute,” he said.

“No.” She gasped for air and realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks. She wiped them away angrily as she rounded the bed and pulled the rest of her clothes from the chest of drawers against the wall.

Adam followed her every step. “Wait a damn minute. I don’t do business that way.”

“Oh, really?” She looked up at him, saw confusion in his eyes and wished she could believe in it. Wished she could believe in him. But the facts were there. She’d lived the truth of how he did business. Maybe if she showed him that she had proof, he’d stop the ridiculous pretense of innocence.

She grabbed her purse, pulled out the Vista del Lago disk and thrust it at him. “You take a look at this, then talk to me again about how you do business.”

“What is this?” he demanded, holding up the disk.

She stared at the disk. “It-it’s something I was going to hand over to the newspapers.”

“Then why are giving it to me?”

She laughed sadly and wiped away more tears. “Because even though you hurt me ten times over, it turns out I could never hurt you. I wanted to, Adam. I really did. But I just can’t.” She zipped her suitcase closed and stood it upright, pulled out the handle, threw her purse over her shoulder and started to leave the suite.

“You’re not leaving,” he said. “I want to talk about this.”

“No more talk,” she said, her world crumbling with each step she took. She stopped at the door and shook her head in misery. “You don’t understand. I’ve betrayed my grandmother’s memory by becoming involved with you. I’ve let down my friends and neighbors, the people you ruined.” Her voice dropped another notch. “I can’t believe I fell in love with a man who could do that to anyone.”

His eyes were arctic blue as he stared at her in disbelief. “Do what?”

“That,” she whispered, pointing to the disk, then she grabbed her suitcase and walked out.

Eleven

Adam had never considered himself a coward but he’d been avoiding doing something for more than a week and it was starting to eat him up inside.

He stared at the CD on his desk. The one Trish had given him. He’d put off viewing it for so long now, he was beginning to feel like a damn fool.

At first he hadn’t wanted to look at it because he was just plain furious. At Trish, naturally. But also at himself for being sucked in by a woman who’d lied the entire time she’d been with him, then tried to blame him for her lies. He refused to accept that he’d been hurt by her betrayal. That was his mother’s brilliant theory, once she realized Trish had left. Adam had less than politely cut her off, tersely explaining that no, he’d just been righteously pissed off.

The night Trish walked out on him, the night of the Fantasy Mountain gala opening, Adam had barely managed to return to the party where he maintained a semblance of civility-until he was ready to crack.

Once he was back home in Dunsmuir Bay, he’d buried himself in his office and worked day and night on other projects, other resorts, other deals. He had a business to run and didn’t need some beautiful, treacherous woman running around distracting him. Even though every time he passed the desk where Trish usually sat, something inside him fisted in pain-that wasn’t the point.

He knew his mother was concerned about him, but he couldn’t deal with that right now. His brothers were another story. They’d made no bones about wanting to smack him out of this mood he was in, so they would occasionally show up at his house and drag him out for beers or otherwise try to cajole him into having some fun. One night, they showed up in his office with a twelve-pack and proceeded to berate him into easing up on the senior staff, some of whom had apparently been whining that Adam was taking out his problems on them.

Adam’s solution had been succinct. They could suck it up. That’s why they got paid the big bucks.

And besides, Adam wasn’t the one with problems.

Meanwhile, Marjorie had quietly replaced Trish with Ella, a perfectly competent older woman who’d been with the company for ten years. She did her job, but didn’t go out of her way to excel or make his life better. She didn’t make him laugh. She never ordered him a healthy dinner on the nights he worked late.

“Like tonight,” he grumbled, and reached for the phone to order a pizza. After three rings, he hung up the phone.

“Hell.” Maybe he should order something more healthy from that upscale place Trish had found. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Should he be eating more chicken? Or maybe a steak. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, but it wasn’t pizza.

The damnable woman had even managed to screw up his eating habits.

He shoved his chair back and stood by the window. Out on the bay, the full moon was reflected in the rippling water and the harbor lights twinkled in the distance. He swore under his breath.

It wasn’t food that he wanted. It was her. He wanted Trish. Wanted her soft curves pressed up against him. Wanted her exquisite lips and tongue on his skin. And okay, he even wanted her clever mind solving his problems.

There, he’d admitted it. Satisfied? He slapped his hand against the wall of glass, then blew out a heavy breath. No, he wasn’t satisfied.

Damn her for making him want.

He turned around and once again stared at the disk lying on the desk next to his laptop. He hadn’t viewed it yet and he wasn’t sure if he ever would. Why should he? She’s the one who’d lied to him. So why should he believe anything he might see on that disk?

And speaking of lies, why should he believe she’d meant it when she told him she loved him?

Disgusted with his line of thought, Adam swept a piece of scrap paper off his desk and into the trash can. No, Trish didn’t love him. No way. How could she love him and lie to him at the same time? Simple. She didn’t love him, never had. Not that any of it mattered, he told himself. He didn’t do love. Remember? Oh sure, he had cared for her. A lot. A small, pitiful part of him probably always would. But caring for someone wasn’t the same as loving her.

And hell, it was a damn good thing he didn’t love her because her betrayal would’ve hit him even harder than it already had. Not that he’d taken it that hard. It’s just that, it could’ve been worse.

He eyed the disk again. Maybe he should throw the damn thing away. Or maybe he should return it to Trish. But he didn’t know where she lived. Hell, he’d been sleeping with her and he didn’t even have her address. He’d never picked her up for a date, never dropped her off, never kissed her good-night in front of her house. Didn’t matter now.

He could probably get her address from Marjorie, although she’d been pretty annoyed with him lately. Still, he was the boss. He could get anything he wanted. Of course, even if he got Trish’s address, it’s not as if he’d go running after her.

“Oh, man,” Adam muttered, spearing his fingers through his hair in exasperation. Knowing he wouldn’t be getting any work done in his current state of aggravation, he shut down his laptop and left the office for the night.

That weekend, Sally Duke insisted that Adam come over for a special afternoon party she was throwing. He arrived an hour late to find the back patio deserted. When he walked into the kitchen, the only people he saw were his two brothers. Brandon stood at the stove, stirring and tasting Mom’s homemade barbecue sauce.

Adam put the six-pack of beer and a bottle of white wine for his mother into the refrigerator. “Where’s Mom?”

“She’ll be out in a few,” Cameron said.

Adam took a beer out and popped it open, then glanced around. “Anyone else show up yet?”

“Nope, this party’s all about you, bro,” Cameron said. Slouched against the kitchen counter, he took a pull of his longneck bottle of beer. “You’ve got Mom all freaked out. She can’t stop worrying about you.”

“Well, hell.”

“Yeah. Which means we’re going to have to kick your ass.”

Adam rolled his eyes and drank his beer. “That’s what this is all about?”

At the stove, Brandon shrugged. “Nothing personal you understand. It’s our job.”

“I do understand that,” Adam said, picking up his car keys and slipping his sunglasses back on as he moved toward the kitchen door. “Enjoy the beer I brought. Say hi to Mom. I’ll see you all around.”

Brandon grinned. “And here I thought you’d be grateful for a chance to share your feelings.”

“When pigs fly.” Adam stepped outside and tried to close the door behind him, but Cameron caught it.

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” Cameron said calmly and stepped through the doorway.

“This should be fun,” Brandon said, chuckling as he followed his brothers outside.

Adam stopped near the heated pool and turned to face his two closest friends in the world. “Guys, I love you, but if you come any closer, I’ll have to kill you.”

“Love you, too, bro,” Cameron said, approaching him cautiously from the right. “But you’re being an ass and we’re tired of Mom bugging the hell out of us about it.”

“See,” Brandon said, taking a step toward him on the left, “it’s a matter of facing you down or dealing with Mom. You be the judge.”

Adam had to admit they had a point. “Fine,” he said, splaying his arms out. “Take your best shot. But I warn you, I’m taking you both down with me.”

“As long as you go down first,” Cameron said and rushed forward.

The explosion of water set off a mini-tsunami in the pool as all three brothers plunged into the deep end.

After some flailing and splashing and dunking of heads, Adam finally surfaced. He wiped his eyes of excess water and eventually focused on the pair of pink flip-flops standing at the edge of the pool. He looked up and saw his mother glaring down at him. She wore a goofy hat but her lips were set in a grim line and both hands were bunched up into fists perched on her pink shorts-clad hips.

“Hey, Mom, you’re looking good,” Adam said.

“Adam, I want to talk to you.”

“Ouch,” Brandon said. “She’s mad.”

“Yeah, that’s going to leave a mark,” Cameron agreed.

Adam sighed in resignation. He’d seen his mother’s eyes before she walked away. She wasn’t angry with him. She was worried. And that knowledge cut him in ways he couldn’t begin to understand. He gripped the side of the pool and pushed himself up and out. Grabbing a towel, he followed him mother inside and found her in the kitchen, stirring the barbecue sauce on the stove.

“Everyone says you’ve turned into a bear at work,” she said nonchalantly after a few moments.

“I’ve had a lot on my mind.” He walked to the fridge and pulled out another beer, then sat down at the kitchen table, popped the top and took a long sip. “We’re really swamped right now. Just opened Fantasy Mountain and now we’ve got Monarch Dunes opening in three months.”

Sally sat down at the table next to him and Adam knew she was through beating around the bush. “Adam, what happened to Trish?”

He tried several ways of skirting the subject but eventually she wore him down, as she always did.

When he was finished telling his side of the story, she sighed. “Sweetie, even as a child, you didn’t want to trust in love. But you’re not a child any longer. Are you going to let Trish walk away, knowing you’ll never be whole without her? Or will you find a way to convince her that you truly are the good man she once thought you were?”

“Let’s get it straight, we’re not talking about love.” He realized his knuckles were turning white and loosened his grip on the beer bottle. “Besides, she lied.”

“Maybe she had a good reason to lie. Did you ever ask?”

His jaw worked as he stared out at the wide expanse of grassy lawn that stretched all the way to the cliff. “No, I never asked. How could I trust her to tell me the truth?”

“Oh, Adam,” Sally said. “Of the three of you, you were always the one who had the hardest time giving your trust.”

“I trust you, Mom.”

She sniffed a little and her eyes glistened. “Thank you, darling. I hope you always will. But more than anything else, I want you to trust yourself.”

“I trust myself,” he muttered. “It’s the rest of humanity I have a problem with.”

She laughed. “You’re going to have to let that go.” Sitting forward, she grabbed his hand. “Honey, if you want Trish, you have to dig deep, find out what happened there. Maybe it won’t bring the two of you back together, but at least you’ll be able to go on, having found out the whole truth. Until you do, I don’t know if you can ever be happy. And if there’s one thing I want in this world, it’s for you to be happy. And you know I always get what I want.”

Adam chuckled as he squeezed her hand with both of his. “You scare me to death, Mom.”

“Oh, honey.” She jumped out of her chair and gave him a tight hug. “That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

He didn’t go straight home but stopped at the office instead. It was a quiet Sunday so he knew he wouldn’t be disturbed. Sitting down at his desk, he picked up Trish’s disk and stared at it. “Vista del Lago” was written on it, probably by Trish, and he absently rubbed his finger over the script.

Swearing under his breath, he shoved the disk into his laptop and viewed the two pages of scanned documents.

When he was finished, Adam swiped his hand across his face. What the hell?

The letterhead was Duke Development’s but he didn’t recognize the name of the letter writer, Peter Abernathy. He logged in and used his special admin password to look up Abernathy’s employment background and his record with DDI. The man had been president of Abernathy Construction up until a few months ago when Duke bought him out.

While Adam was logged on, he decided to look up the same information on Stan Strathbaum. Turned out, Strathbaum had a background similar to Abernathy’s. He’d been head of his own small company, Strathbaum Ltd., until Duke bought him out eight months ago.

After reading both men’s employment histories, along with the DDI due diligence reports, Adam spent some quality Google time in order to get more information on both men and their business practices, as well as some details regarding certain historical landmarks in Dunsmuir Bay.

Finally, he sat back in his chair and thought about what he’d learned. For a long time, he stared out at the horizon where the pale blue sky met the cobalt blue of the ocean. He could now understand why Trish had been so upset by the thought that Adam would approve the plan to tear down Vista del Lago. She must’ve experienced a painful sense of déjà vu when she’d read that letter and notice, thinking Adam was out to destroy another small community of friends and neighbors, just like hers, all over again.

But what she didn’t know was that Adam had never approved the Vista del Lago teardown. He never would. He didn’t operate that way-not that she would ever believe him. And furthermore, he never would’ve approved the destruction of the Victorian Village if he’d known about it. That one had slipped through the cracks. Or rather, Strathbaum had shoved it through the cracks. The slimy little creep had rushed the demolition through before anyone at Duke could make a decision on the property one way or the other. And as furious as he was at the little toad, Adam had to admit that he was culpable, too. His company, his mistake. The mistake being that he hadn’t been paying close enough attention. He’d taken his eye off the ball and people had been hurt.

With ruthless calm, he made a note to fire Strathbaum on Monday. Adam and his brothers didn’t need someone like that working for Duke Development. But as satisfying as firing the man would be, it wouldn’t bring back Trish’s home or her grandmother. There was nothing he could do about the past. But there was plenty he could do about the future.

Trish drove to the hospital and handed the vase filled with two dozen perfect red roses to the clerk at the front desk. “Please give them to someone who needs them.”

“They’re so beautiful,” the admissions clerk exclaimed. “But that’s the third bouquet this week. Is it your birthday?”

“Not exactly,” she hedged, then smiled. “Enjoy.”

Actually, the bouquet of red roses was the fifth arrangement she’d received this week. Day one was daisies. They were so cheerful, she hadn’t had the heart to give them away. Day two, pink roses. Day three, a beautiful spring bouquet. Trish had spent half the day mooning over that one before deciding it would be perfect for cheering up a sick hospital patient. Day four, shiny balloons and homemade chocolate-chip cookies. One balloon said, “I Miss You.” She couldn’t bear to give that one to the hospital so it was still bobbing around her tiny living room. How many more gifts and flowers would Adam send before he gave up and left her alone?

He’d called, too. Two, three times a day. She’d refused to answer or call him back. It was torturous enough just hearing his voice on her answering machine. If she actually spoke with him, how would she ever be able to block him from her mind and heart?

She should’ve been happy she’d proved him to be the bad guy she always knew he was. But she wasn’t happy. She was miserable.

She pulled the car over and parked across the street from the pier. There weren’t many tourists because it was winter, but the sun was still warm enough that she pulled a hat over her hair before walking across to the pier.

After buying a small box of caramel corn, she took the old wooden stairs down to the beach. The waves were forceful and the air was crisp and cold. She could smell the salt, feel the slight spray on her skin. She tried to think of happier times. Before Adam. She couldn’t think about him because it hurt too much to wonder what might have been.

Was she being maudlin by coming down here? It was so close, only a block away from where the Victorian Village had stood. Now there was an ugly gray parking structure standing in its place, but Trish refused to look at it.

As she skipped through the waves that washed onto the shore, she thought of Grandma Anna, the only family she’d ever had. She barely remembered her father-killed in Operation Desert Storm when she was a little girl. Her mother died when Trish was nine and she and Grandma Anna mourned the loss together and grew to depend on each other.

Her grandmother had been her closest friend, her advisor, her teacher, her parent. Now she had no one, and it hurt so deeply to know that she was alone in the world. No family, no loved ones. Well, there was one man she loved, still. Even though he’d hurt her badly. She’d thought there was no greater pain than when Grandma Anna died, but she was wrong.

Losing Adam hurt even more.

She wasn’t sure why it hurt so much. He’d never really been hers, after all. And she’d known his true nature all along. So why did it hurt so much now that she was alone again?

It had been three weeks since that fateful night at the Fantasy Mountain gala when that hideous man had spoken to Adam. If only she’d been able to stop him. If only Adam hadn’t believed him. If only. Trish was sick and tired of moaning and groaning about things she couldn’t change, things that could never be.

Such as the fact that she’d actually told Adam that she loved him. And he’d returned the favor by staring daggers at her as she walked out the door.

Oh, it was too humiliating to think about.

“So don’t think about it,” she grumbled, kicking up sand. “Do something. You need a job. You need to get on with your life. You need to do something about Grandma Anna’s things.”

She’d wondered what Grandma Anna would say about Trish falling in love with Adam, and now some words came to her mind. “Don’t be ashamed for loving well.”

Tears prickled her eyes. No, she wouldn’t be ashamed. But it was definitely time to stop wallowing. She’d given love her best shot and she’d grieved over it. Now it was time to pick herself up, dust herself off and all that other stuff. What she needed was closure.

“That’s a one-of-a-kind item,” Trish said, wrestling the small treasure back from the woman who’d picked it up and shaken it. “An eighteenth-century pillbox. French, hand-painted with real pearls lining the edges. The cameo is carved ivory, inlaid on amber.”

“Does it come in red?” the woman asked.

Trish wanted to smack her but resisted, much to her credit, she thought. Honestly, she’d wanted to smack so many of the people she’d dealt with today.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She wasn’t usually so short-tempered. She could understand people wanting a bargain, but didn’t anyone in the world want something of quality that would last a lifetime or even longer?

Maybe it had been a mistake renting a booth at the local antique swap mart, but she’d decided she needed to sell Grandma Anna’s antiques and collectibles, which had been in storage for the past seven months. She’d thought for a while that she would open another antiques store. After all, the reason she’d gone for her MBA, with a concentration in retail management, in the first place was to bring the Victorian Village shops into the twenty-first century. She’d had so many great marketing ideas for the whole neighborhood group, starting with obtaining the historical landmark designation.

So much for that pipe dream. It was time to move on with her life, time to clear away the clutter, but it still broke her heart to think of her grandmother’s beautiful treasures going to somebody who didn’t know a pillbox from a pop tart. She began to straighten the items on the back shelf.

“How much for everything you’ve got?” a man asked.

Adam.

Trish didn’t have to turn around to know it was him. Every part of her knew it was him, including her stomach, which was performing somersaults at the sound of his voice.

It was vain, but her first thought was that she really wished she’d worn something prettier instead of the T-shirt and jeans she’d decided to wear today. It was dirty business, setting up the booth every day, although visitors didn’t seem to care much what anybody wore in the vast tented hall of the old fairgrounds.

She turned and took a moment to drink him in. Oh, God, would she always want to swoon whenever she saw him? Today he looked incredibly handsome in his high-powered suit and tie, even better than he looked in the dreams that continued to haunt her every night. Her throat was suddenly so dry that she grabbed her water bottle and gulped down the liquid. It barely quenched her thirst and didn’t do a thing to calm her stuttering heart.

She forced herself to take even steps until she stood in front of him, separated only by the table filled with Grandma Anna’s vast collection of antique pillboxes. With her chin rigid, she looked him in the eye and said, “I’m afraid you can’t afford it.”

His eyes narrowed as he stared back at her for what felt like minutes. Then he began to grin, slowly, calculatedly. Damn that cockeyed grin of his! It never failed to send her nerve endings spinning out of control.

“Hello, Trish,” he said, his voice still as deep and sexy as she remembered. “You look good.”

Well, she knew that was a lie, but it was a kind one. “What are you doing here, Adam?”

“Looking for a treasure,” he said, gazing straight into her eyes.

She swallowed. Could he hear her heart breaking? Had he come to destroy her once again? It wouldn’t take much.

“Look, Trish. I understand that I hurt you. I know you don’t trust me as far as you can throw me, but we need to talk and I need to show you something.”

She sucked in a breath. “Adam, there’s nothing you can show me or tell me that would change anything.”

“I know you think so, but I want you-no, I need you-to give me a chance to change your mind.”

She sighed. “Adam.”

“You said you loved me.”

She swallowed. So he was going to play dirty. “Oh, you heard that, did you?”

“Yeah, I heard you say it, so you can’t take it back.” Not breaking eye contact, Adam shoved the tables of knickknacks and collectibles aside and stepped inside her booth. In her space. Breathing her air. “I know you, Trish. You never would’ve said you loved me if you didn’t mean it. Did you mean it, Trish?”

She tossed her hair back. “You thought I was lying about everything else. Why not that, too?”

“Let’s just agree that I was an idiot.”

“Okay, I can agree on that,” she said, biting back a smile.

“I want you back, Trish.”

Almost as quickly as it came, her smile was replaced by a frown. “Adam, it would never work between us. We’re too different. You’re wealthy and powerful and I’m just…me.”

He took a step closer and said quietly, “I was dumped outside a hospital when I was two years old.”

She hadn’t known that and instantly, her heart wept for that tiny abandoned boy. “Oh, Adam.”

“Believe me, Trish,” he said. “My brothers and I have built a business and I’m proud of what I’ve done with my life. But I’m not all that wealthy and powerful on the inside. I’m just me. And all of me wants all of you with every last fiber of my being.”

Tears threatened to erupt and Trish had to take some deep breaths before she could speak. “Adam, I don’t know if I-”

He held up his hand. “I told you there was something I wanted to show you. Can you leave right now and come with me? I promise it won’t take long.”

Without another thought, she called out to her old neighbor, Sam, who was helping his friend Howie repair bikes in Howie’s booth across the aisle. “Sam, can you watch my booth for a little while?”

Sam looked up and winked at them. “Sure, honey. You go on. I’ll take care of things for you.”

Adam said, “Thanks, Sam.” Then he swooped Trish up in his arms.

She let out a little shriek. “Is this really necessary?”

“I don’t want you to get away.”

As he carried her down the aisle toward the door, people called out encouragement and a few ladies applauded.

“See?” he said, grinning. “It’s a good thing.”

She shook her head. “You’re impossible.”

“I just know what I want.”

The drive to the beach in his Ferrari only took a few minutes. Adam turned onto a side street and drove another block, then pulled to the curb in front of a row of six lovingly refurbished Craftsman-style bungalows. They had all been converted into small retail businesses.

Each house was painted a slightly different muted shade of sage green or terra-cotta. Flowers bloomed along the walkways and charming signs were planted in the well-kept front lawns. Each house had a porch where goods were displayed, and each had a private owners’ dwelling attached to the back.

“Oh, aren’t they beautiful?” Trish whispered as she got out of the car. “I didn’t know these were here.”

“I didn’t, either, until I started looking,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. “But they were exactly what I wanted.”

She gazed up at him. “You own one of them?”

“I own all of them.”

“You-”

“Or rather, Sam Sutter owns that one.” He pointed to the house on the end. “See the sign?”

Trish stared, then read, “Sam’s Beachside Bikes.”

“Oh, my gosh,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “He never said anything.”

Adam smiled. “The old guy’s got the kind of poker face that could make him rich in Vegas. Mrs. Collins owns that one. Check out those mannequins on the porch. By the way, she’s quite the diva.”

Just then, Mrs. Collins walked out onto the porch and waved a huge scarf in their direction. “Yooohoo, Trish! Isn’t this marvelous?”

Trish choked out a laugh but said nothing.

Adam pointed to the last house down the row. “Tommie and Bert Lindsay have already started moving their beauty supply inventory into the place on the far end. And Claude and Madeleine Maubert want the one next door for their patisserie. I think a French bakery and restaurant like theirs will do really well in this area. This is a well-traveled area, close to the beach, with a lot of small, upscale businesses and pedestrian traffic. I ran some demographics for all your friends’ shops and-”

She launched herself at him and he managed to catch her. “Thank you,” she said, as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I don’t know how or why you did it and you’re probably insane for doing it, but I can’t thank you enough for this.”

He stroked her hair, kissed her forehead, then turned with her in his arms and pointed again. “Did you notice this place here in the middle?”

Adam had thought it was the prettiest house in the row, painted three different shades of muted green with beveled glass windows in front. The door was old oak with wrought-iron fixtures and the porch was wide enough for a table and chairs and lots of potted plants.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured.

“Read the sign, sweetheart.”

Trish turned her gaze toward the white sign that swung from a post in the middle of the lawn. She gasped. The sign read “Trish’s Treasures.”

She stared dumbly at Adam.

“It’s not Anna’s Attic, but it’s all yours,” he said. “If you want it.”

“Oh, Adam.”

“There’s one more vacancy,” he explained quickly, hop ing if he just kept talking she would change her mind and take a chance with him. “That’s in case one of your other friends from the old building wants to move their business here. I tried to track them down, but I haven’t heard back. Anyway, whoever claims the last place, I’ll sign over the deed to them.”

“But…why?”

He pulled her back into his arms. “Isn’t it obvious? Because I love you, Trish.” His gaze roamed over her face as he took in every inch of her. “I want to make you happy, sweetheart. I swear, I never would’ve torn down your beautiful home. It’s my fault that I didn’t keep better track of what my company was doing, but that will never happen again. I hope one day you’ll believe me.”

“I do believe you.” She sniffled as she tried to blink away her tears. “The more I got to know you, the more I doubted you had anything to do with it. But that man, Strathbaum…”

“I fired him.”

She bit her lip for a moment, clearly conflicted, then said, “Well, I hate to wish pain on anyone else, but I’m glad he’s gone.”

He stared into her eyes, so green and misty. “I hate that my name caused you so much pain. I wish more than anything that I could bring back your grandmother, but I can’t. I just hope you’ll be able to forgive me someday.”

She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I’ve already forgiven you.”

“Tell me I have a chance. Tell me you still love me.”

Her bright smile lit up his heart. “Of course I still love you. I never stopped loving you.”

“Marry me, Trish. Put me out of my misery and say yes.”

“I thought you’d never marry anyone, ever.”

He grimaced. “Did I mention earlier that I was an idiot?”

She laughed as one last tear rolled down her cheek. “You did.”

He rubbed away the tear with his thumb. “You changed me, Trish. I want to be with you forever. Say you’ll marry me.”

“Of course I’ll marry you.” She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, Adam. I love you so much.”

“Thank God.” He kissed her, then grabbed her in a fierce hug and felt the formerly empty spot in his heart overflow with love.