A Texas Chance (19 page)

Sophie had to giggle. “But…”

“No buts. I don’t let Diego give me free medical care—or at least I insist on donating to his clinics—and I’m not going to take advantage of you. Except to stick myself in the front of the line, that is.”

“How about I make you a good deal?” she asked. “And you can tell your friends if you like it?”

“I’d do that anyway.” He waggled his eyebrows. “But if you’d throw in a special meal by that chef of yours, I’d pay a premium. Nothing too good for my Gracie.”

“You just leave it to me. It will be a romantic paradise.”

He nodded in satisfaction. “Now that’s my girl. Bet you’re real good at what you do, aren’t you, Miss Sophie?”

“I am,” she said, believing it for the first time in a while.

“Exactly what are you wangling Sophie into?” Cade said as he walked up to the two of them.

“That’s between me and her, son.”

“Get your own girl, Dad.”

Hal glanced over at her, eyes rolling. “You see how my children talk to me?” He shook his head dramatically then clapped Cade on the shoulder. “My advice to you, son, is to snatch this woman up. Only a blind man wouldn’t see what a treasure she is.” He winked at Sophie. “I’ll be in touch, Miss Sophie.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” She watched him go and sighed.

“I swear every one of my brothers’ wives would leave them for Dad in a heartbeat.”

She had to grin. “Except that it’s patently obvious how much he adores your mother.” She looked up at him. “They’re wonderful, Cade. You have the dream family.”

“They like you, too.”

The notion warmed her as she glanced around, smiling. “I can’t get over how much is finished already.”

He was looking at her solemnly and her smile died.

“What?”

He seemed conflicted.

“Cade?”

“My agent called.” He stopped.

“Good news? Did you tell her about the tribute to Jaime?”

“I did. She likes it.”

“But…?”

He glanced away, then back. “There’s this place. I’ve waited a long time to have the chance to photograph it. Westerners aren’t allowed in, as a rule.”

“How soon do you leave?” Ruthlessly, she ignored the pit that had opened in her stomach, the ache that she was determined to hold at bay.

“Two weeks.”

Two weeks. Right before her opening.

“Sophie, I’m sorry. I wanted to be here when—”

She pasted on a smile. “I told you, I understand. I saw you with your camera today. You think you’re okay?”

“I don’t know. I hope so.” He looked over her shoulder. “Jaime would have loved to make this trip. We both waited years, hoping.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“No. Not really.” His gaze locked on hers. “I want to come back to see you. After. Will I be welcome?”

“Of course,” she said automatically, but she couldn’t look at him.

“Sophie…” He took her chin, tilted it upward. “I… This is my life. My career is who I am.”

“I know.” And she did. “It’s okay.” She took a deep breath, stepping back to put distance between them before the crack inside her became visible. When she was sure her expression was composed, she finally looked at him. “It would be criminal for you to miss this. I’m happy for you.” She was. Even as she was screaming inside. But she’d known this day would come. He’d never pretended he’d stay. “If you’ll excuse me, I just…”
Have to go
.
Have to be alone
.

“Sophie…”

She straightened, turned back and faced him. “I’m fine, Cade. We always knew it was temporary. Just a fling, remember?”

“It’s not for two weeks. I can still help you until then.”

“That’s not necessary.”
Let me go, Cade
.
Don’t make me break in front of your family
. “Look how much is done already. It’ll be fine. Besides, you’ll have a lot to do to get ready, I imagine.”

She spotted Jenna close by and seized the escape. “Jenna, have I shown you what Armando finished yesterday?” Taking her friend’s arm, Sophie walked away from Cade as fast as humanly possible.

S
O
THE
Q
UEENIE
HE
’
D
FIRST
met was back. Cade stemmed his frustration. His help was not necessary? So he’d been useful for a while, worked his butt off for her, but now that he wasn’t all hers to command, he was dismissed? Just like that?

Hell if he was. He hadn’t even found the rest of the photos for her, and he never reneged on his promises. He all but stomped up the stairs to Sophie’s attic abode, muttering to himself every step of the way.

As he strode into the room, he caught sight of the vanity mirror. Got the scent of her in his nostrils again and leaned heavily against the doorjamb.

He didn’t want this to be over.

But that wasn’t fair. If he were to return to the only life he knew, he would see her far too little for a relationship. She deserved more. He located the wallet he’d left on a chest and shoved it into his pocket. As he began to leave the room, he heard the recently connected hotel phone ring but shrugged. Sophie would get it. Or Patty.

But no one did, and the last thing Sophie needed was to lose a booking. They probably couldn’t hear the phone over the racket from outside.

He could take notes, couldn’t he? Cade snatched up the receiver. “Hotel Serenity,” he barked, then tried to remember Sophie’s customary greeting when she answered a call.

“This is Hilary Swenson from the
Austin American-Statesman
. May I speak to Ms. Carlisle?”

The newspaper. “Can I take a message? She’s tied up right now.”

“Have her call me.” The woman rattled off the number. “I want to discuss doing a spread on the hotel for the paper.”

Way to go, Queenie
. Sophie would be over the moon. “I’ll tell her.”

“Thank you.” She disconnected, and Cade jammed the piece of paper in his pocket and went in search of Sophie.

This was exactly what he had to keep in mind. Sophie would be too blasted busy for him soon, and that was good. This hotel was the life she wanted. He would do everything he could—whatever protests she might want to make—to set her up as well as possible in the time he had left.

They would part friends. And maybe see each other again. For Jenna’s sake, if nothing else, they would be civilized because Jenna treasured Sophie’s friendship.

He’d be busy himself with the trip to North Korea, with Jaime’s book. He closed the door on her room as he wondered if he’d be back here again. He’d like that—a lot—but what was most fair to her?

He could take a battering ram to the walls she was already erecting between them…or leave her alone as he probably should have from the beginning. Either way, he would hurt her.

This was why he didn’t do relationships. Why, unlike all the happy couples here today, he would remain alone. He was solitary, always had been, and he liked it that way.

And the price of stepping out of isolation and feeling too much…was too high to pay.

Queenie would agree, he knew that down to his bones.

Which made his decision for him. So instead of taking the good news about the article to Sophie himself, he sent the note to her via Chloe.

And Cade got back to work.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

T
HE
NEXT
MORNING
,
S
OPHIE
raced around the hotel like a madwoman. She blessed the generous MacAllister family who, after hearing her shriek of joy devolving to horror that a reporter and photographer would be there the next morning, had redoubled their efforts outside but also insisted on helping her set up two of the guest rooms, as well as the downstairs public areas.

She’d been too desperate not to take them up on their offer to help.

Her first task after the interview would be to assemble her staff. Armando had agreed to serve as groundskeeper, and one of his men would assist. He told her he could also do minor repairs like plumbing and some carpentry, so he would be in charge of maintenance, as well.

He had a sister-in-law, he said, who had been widowed and had hotel housekeeping experience. She would be here tomorrow to speak with Sophie, and her chef, Patty, already knew who she wanted to help her in the kitchen.

For the time being, Sophie would be the desk clerk and bookkeeper, then as bookings increased, she’d hire staff to replace her at those duties. She still needed a valet and bellman, but things were taking shape.

The reporter would be here in an hour, and Sophie was down to fine-tuning, wishing she hadn’t dithered so much about the artwork that would grace the foyer. The blank spot bothered her, but it wasn’t dithering, was it, when you wanted the best? When the wrong choice would be worse than a blank spot? She wasn’t open yet, anyway. The reporter would have to understand that this was a work in progress.

Patty was cooking a meal to serve to the reporter, and the scent of bread in the oven drifted through the downstairs. If she liked the food—as Sophie knew she would—that would only help ensure the article was positive.

A delivery truck stopped outside, which puzzled her. She wasn’t expecting a delivery. She pushed through the front door to tell whoever it was that she needed them out of the driveway before the reporter showed up—

Cade and Jesse emerged from the cab. Cade waved, and she couldn’t stop a stab of longing from going through her. She shouldn’t miss him in her bed. He’d only spent two nights there…two unforgettable nights.

Anyway, he’d worked later than anyone else yesterday. He couldn’t have had but a few hours of sleep. She certainly hadn’t.

It had been hard not to ask him to stay the night, but there was no point in dragging things out. She had to start separating him out of her life…and her heart.

“Mornin’, Queenie,” he said as he and Jesse shouldered a large wrapped object between them.

“What are you doing here?”

“Good morning, Sophie,” said Jesse. “May we come in?”

“Oh—yes, of course, but…” She stepped aside.

“You don’t have to like it,” Cade said. “But I think you will.”

They set it down in the foyer and began to unwrap what turned out to be a painting. A stunning one.

Sophie gasped. Spread one hand over her chest. “It’s— Oh, my word—” Her gaze flew to Jesse. “Is it one of yours?”

He nodded. “Cade wanted it for this spot.” He glanced around the foyer then shook his head at his brother. “You nailed it, bro.” He looked back at her. “But art is a very personal decision. You will not offend me if you don’t want it.”

“Not want it?” she echoed, still stunned. “It’s perfect. Absolutely right, but I—I can’t possibly afford your prices.” She chewed on her lip. “Is there… Could we work out a payment plan, perhaps?”

“It’s a gift.”

“Oh, no, I—”

“It’s a gift to Cade,” he explained. “Where he chooses to hang it is his decision.”

She looked at the man who’d already done far too much for her. Who seemed to understand her better than she understood herself, she feared. “Cade, no, you can’t…”

“Queenie, I’m pretty damn tired of arguing with you. Anyway, isn’t that reporter due soon?”

“How is it you keep maneuvering me into doing things I’m not prepared to do?”

“Then catch up,” he snapped. “We’ll put the damn thing up for the interview, then you can do whatever the hell you want with it afterward. I’m going to get the ladder and tools.” He stomped out.

Sophie watched him go, beset by a stunning, not altogether welcome realization. For whatever unfathomable, insane reason, she was in love with this bad-tempered, overbearing man.

And it was going to kill her to let him go.

But she would.

“Sometimes things seem impossible,” Jesse said softly, “when they’re not.”

Her gaze whipped to his. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes, you do. He’s a good man, my brother. Not smooth and definitely not easy.” His lips curved. “But don’t give up on him, Sophie. You bring something out in him… He needs you.” He studied her. “And I think you need him, too.”

“He’ll leave soon. He’s gotten permission for the trip he’s waited his whole career for, did he tell you?”

Jesse shook his head. “But it means something that he did tell you.”

“I can’t hold him back. He’s suffered over Jaime and wondered if his career is over. He thinks his career defines him. He needs to go.”

“Sometimes life changes on you and you have to learn to adapt,” he said cryptically.

But before she could ask more, Cade returned with a ladder and hammer and hangers.

She stopped him as he shoved past her. “Cade, thank you. I’m sorry…it’s just…I’m overwhelmed.”

The temper in those beautiful dark blue eyes eased. “I’m only trying to help you, Sophie. Before I go, I just want to be sure you’re okay.”

She longed to stroke his face, soothe the trouble from his brow, but they weren’t alone, and time was their enemy. “I know. I will be okay, I promise. And this…” She looked over at the painting, which absolutely thrilled her. “It’s unbelievable. And exactly what I wanted.”

She glanced at Jesse, then back to Cade. “There are no words to thank you both for this.”

Cade held her eyes with his, searching, worrying.

She found a smile for him, then stepped back to let him work.

O
N
S
UNDAY
AS
SHE
RACED
to the newspaper box on the corner, Sophie made a mental note to be certain all her newspaper subscriptions were set for the opening. She wanted to create a place of refuge for her guests, but for some of them the morning newspaper was a welcome and necessary ingredient of the day, however much reading the news was the exact opposite to her.

But this morning, she could hardly wait to see the write-up. The interview had gone splendidly and she knew the article would be terrific. The photographer had scarfed up helpings of everything and the reporter couldn’t stop complimenting Patty’s gift in the kitchen.

She’d loved the honeymoon suite plan, too, and inspected the progress with great interest, confiding that she might even want to book it for a getaway with her boyfriend.

Cade’s little building, which Sophie had begun to call The Haven, wowed the reporter, too, and she’d gone crazy over the artwork. When Patty had let slip that Sophie knew the MacAllisters, the reporter had peppered Sophie with questions about Zane, on whom she admitted having a terrible crush. Sophie had resolved to have a stern word with Patty about confidentiality and had instinctively protected Zane’s privacy with the reporter, not admitting that he was still in town and had, in fact, been there the day before working like a common laborer—and demonstrating that the muscles women sighed over hadn’t been earned solely in the gym.

Funny—once she might have been one of those sighing women, but Zane had assumed the role of teasing younger brother to her now. He was gorgeous, yes, as all the Montalvo and MacAllister men were.

But Cade filled her mind, and there was room for no one else.

The sharp barb of sorrow lay waiting. The realization that she’d fallen for Cade was not welcome, but she had quit trying to deny it to herself, at least. Jesse might have guessed, but instinctively she trusted his discretion, and she’d be more careful when her paths crossed with Cade’s family in the future. Because they were kind, they’d worry over her and be torn because they, too, would see that leaving was the right thing for Cade.

Let it go,
she thought as she reached the corner and spotted the newspaper vending machine. Excitement zipped up her spine as she put in her coins and retrieved her copy, nearly tripping over a crack in the sidewalk as she made her way to the door of her favorite café to order coffee. She flipped through the pages and finally seized upon the photograph of herself standing on the hotel porch and smiled—

Until she read the headline.

SCANDAL BECOMES HER

Sophie scanned the article that both praised and damned her. The reporter had taken the approach that what Sophie had done was impressive, especially in light of rumors about her tainted past and accusations of misappropriated funds at her last job. Sophie supposed she should be grateful that the reporter had noted that no charges had ever been filed against her, but why hadn’t she asked for Sophie’s side of the story?

You wouldn’t have given it, even if she asked
.
You can’t
. Both true, but despair crept over her and Sophie stopped reading at the point where the writer lauded Sophie’s efforts to begin again, comparing her life to the decaying mansion she was restoring to health.

Her knees wanted to buckle, and she caught herself looking for a place to hide. She would read the rest eventually, but she couldn’t do it here. With supreme effort, she pulled herself up straight, forced herself to order her coffee, to smile at the barista, to leave a generous tip and depart smiling as though nothing at all were wrong.

The other shoe had dropped. She had no doubts about who had fed the reporter the details about her past troubles. Kurt had gotten the final word, after all. He’d taken everything away in Atlantic City, but that hadn’t been enough for him.

Her cell phone rang, and she glanced at the display.
Jenna
. Oh, God. The entire MacAllister family would read this. They would think she was a failure and a fraud. And Cade… She couldn’t bear it. They’d liked her, made her feel a part of something.

She snatched up the paper, suddenly terrified. What if the reporter had dragged the MacAllisters into her mess? Quickly she scanned the rest of the article and sure enough, mentions of Cade’s photographs, of Jesse’s art, of the connection to the famous movie star… They would think that she had used them.

What did she do now? How did she apologize to such good people?

And…Maura. Oh, dear mercy, if people canceled their bookings because of this and she lost Maura’s money…

Blindly Sophie retraced her steps to the hotel. Once inside the front door, Finn greeted her with his usual abandon.

Sophie sank to the stairs beside him and buried her face in his fur.

T
HE
BAD
NEWS
ROLLED
IN
with a speed that probably shouldn’t have surprised her. She lost an individual booking first, then a travel agency, followed by a festival’s hotel liaison—all of them extremely unhappy to have been placed in the position of scrambling for good rooms, and some of them promising lawsuits.

At first, Sophie tried to explain that she was not guilty, that no charges had been filed, but even those whose respect she’d thought she’d earned would not reconsider. She understood. When you had high-roller clients, no one wanted to risk his reputation on someone who’d lost her job due to financial improprieties.

Protesting that she’d resigned, not been fired, didn’t help, either. Innocence was a hard case to make when Sophie couldn’t explain why she hadn’t fought to clear her name.

After the tenth cancellation, she was ready to beg, but she knew it would do no good.

Then came the calls for interviews—television stations, magazines, blogs… The whiff of crime mixed with the magic of Zane MacAllister’s name was too delicious a dish to pass up. She began with
No comment
but quickly moved to screening her calls.

And when a concerned Jenna phoned again, Sophie did the same. What, after all, could she say? The truth that could exonerate her would devastate Maura, to whom she owed so much.

When Cade’s mother called, Sophie turned off the phones, too miserably conscious of how she’d repaid a whole family’s generosity.

Then Cade showed up.

S
HE
WASN
’
T
ANSWERING
her phone, but her pickup was in the driveway.

Finn was barking wildly inside, and Cade’s gut clenched. Since Sophie didn’t answer the door, he used his key.

“Sophie?”

Finn was upstairs. Cade charged upward, taking the steps two at a time. “Sophie!” he shouted.

Finn greeted him frantically at her door, and as he soothed the dog, he pushed his way inside, his gaze searching the room until he spotted the mound beneath the covers. “Sophie?” His heart was beating too fast as he reached for her.