Destiny (5 page)

Still, she
wanted
. Butterflies kicked in her stomach as she stared into his mocha-colored eyes. “
Why?
Why do you want to go out with me?”

“Are you kidding?” he asked her. “I’ve been sucking up to you for the last six months. You have to know I’m interested.”

His words gave her ego a much-needed boost. “And I need to know why because I’m not looking for another guy who has a need to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”

“Good.” He rose to his full height and folded his arms across his chest. “Because there’s a big difference between wanting you and wanting to babysit you,” he said bluntly. “Happy now?” he asked her.

“I most definitely am,” she said, smiling, surprising even herself. “So yes. I’ll go out with you. What did you have in mind?”

His grin was wide and equaled hers. “That would be a surprise. Saturday night work for you? My manager can watch the bar.”

She nodded. “You can pick me up.”

“Be ready at eight.”

“I think I can manage that.”

“Looking forward to it, gorgeous.” Joe winked at her before turning his back on her completely and focusing on another patron.

Alone again, Annie looked around for Kelly, but she hadn’t returned. She didn’t see Nash, either. A part of her was glad. She would much rather head home and savor the anticipation of her upcoming date.

As Joe watched Annie leave the bar, he gripped the
cleaning rag tighter in his hand. In order to get a date with the woman he’d had a thing for since he’d seen her coming out of Gillman’s ice-cream shop when he was fifteen, he’d had to lie. Hell, yes, he wouldn’t mind taking care of her. Somehow he’d gotten an overabundance of the protective gene his father had been lacking.

His old man, who had turned the bar over to him, had used this place as his personal playground, picking up women and discarding them when he was through. His mother had been the first in a long line of females, the only difference being he’d married Joe’s mom. Frank hadn’t done his wife any favors since he often came home reeking of booze and other women, ignoring her and whatever she needed out of life. He and his sister both resented the old man, and when he’d died, all Joe had felt was relief.

Joe had had a crush on Annie since high school. He wanted to get to know her better now that she was single and open to it. He had to be careful not to step over the line and act like Nash, the ultimate take-over-and-do-what-he-wanted kind of guy. Joe told himself he could handle not looking out for Annie to the point of driving her crazy. He’d already done his share of caretaking for his mother. Though Ilene Lockhart was better now, Joe knew what it was like to be a caretaker for an emotionally fragile woman. Though his sister had helped, it hadn’t been easy and he wasn’t sure he’d want to repeat his teenage years.

He respected Annie for wanting equality and independence. But equality required trust and she didn’t know him well enough to have that kind of faith. Coming off a marriage and recent diagnosis of a serious illness, she wanted fun and no strings.

He wanted
her
.

He could give her exactly what she needed right now. They’d have fun together and he had the patience required to win her over.

Kelly couldn’t get out of the bar fast enough. No
sooner had she found out that her new best friend had once been married to Nash than she’d had to watch him fawn over Annie and worry about her welfare. The jealousy had bitten her hard and she hated everything about the situation she suddenly found herself in. Kelly had had enough of awkward triangles to last her a lifetime.

Once in the parking lot, she looked for her Ford Fiesta and realized she had the bad luck to be parked beneath a broken light. Instead of emitting a steady glow, the light merely flickered and she had to fumble for her car keys inside her purse. Finally she pulled them from her bag.

“Kelly!”

Startled by Nash’s voice, she dropped the key chain on the ground.

“Why did you run out?” he asked, coming up beside her.

“I already told you. I needed air.”

“Why?” Little lines of disbelief crinkled around his eyes, making him even more sexy than usual.

She tipped her head to one side, wondering why he was questioning her over something so trivial. “Because it was hot in there. Why else?”

“Because you just found out that Annie and I had once been married.”

“Well, you don’t pull any punches, do you?” she asked, embarrassed.

He propped an arm on top of her car. “Not when it comes to something—or someone—I want.” His hot, serious gaze bore into hers.

At his words, the air left her lungs in a rush, his implication clear. “And since when do you want me?”

He laughed suddenly. Not a light chuckle but a deep laugh that came from someplace inside him she’d never seen before.

“Since when have I
not
wanted you?” He reached out and grabbed a strand of her hair, twirling it between his fingers.

The pull was strangely erotic and she felt the tug low in her belly. She swallowed hard and licked her dry lips. “Maybe I should rephrase. Since when have you wanted to act on it? Just last night we agreed
we
can’t go anywhere because of Tess.”

He nodded. “And I’ve done nothing but think about Tess since.” He paused. “But this thing between us. It’s electric and undeniable.”

His husky voice sent tremors of awareness darting through her veins.

“Are we really going to let a fourteen-year-old dictate how we act?” he asked.

Kelly blinked, stunned not just by his change of heart but at the rationale behind it. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“Neither did I until Dare pointed it out.” An embarrassed grin lifted his lips.

“You and Dare talked about me?” God, could this night get any more mortifying?

He shook his head. “We talked about
us
.” He gestured between them. “Don’t forget Dare’s the one who interrupted last night.”

“Don’t remind me,” she said on a groan.

“He’s also the one who made me see reason. I mean, what he said about not letting a fourteen-year-old dictate our decisions makes sense.”

Kelly nodded slowly. “It does,” she agreed. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t change the fact that nothing more can happen between us.”

He blinked, obviously stunned. “Why not? We’re both adults. We can trust ourselves to act like it before, during, and… after things end.”

Well, that was an optimistic summary, she thought. But at least he was honest—he was looking for something short term. So would she. If she allowed herself to get involved with him. Which she wouldn’t.

“I’ve already been through a relationship with someone who swore their marriage was over, and there is no way I’ll put myself through that again.” She folded her arms across her chest, protecting herself with her words and her actions.

Nash placed his hand on her shoulder. She tried to step out of reach, but her back hit the car. She couldn’t go far and he liked having her in his personal space. “Annie and I are divorced. She’s the one who initiated the damned thing. Trust me, she won’t hold it against you if you’re with me,” he promised Kelly.

Was the man obtuse? “Exactly my point! She may be over you, but
you’re
not over her. All any observant person has to do is watch how you treat her and it’s obvious you still have feelings for her.”

“Of course I care. She’s sick and she needs a friend who’s aware and who understands. But that’s all we are. Friends,” he insisted. “Platonic friends.”

“Nash—” Kelly held out a hand to keep a barrier between them.

“Kelly,” he mimicked gently. “You and I are nothing like me and Annie.” He threaded his fingers through hers, slowly raising her body temperature. “Not once did Annie and I ever generate heat like this.”

Before Kelly knew what hit her, he’d pulled her forward. Her chest collided with his and their hips pressed together intimately. She found herself locked between his waist and the car, the hard ridge behind his jeans deliciously obvious, and her body responded, melting for him. Molten liquid fire flowed through her veins.

Heat exploded between them and he sealed their lips firmly together. He was hungry, his mouth nibbling on hers, tasting, demanding until finally he slipped his tongue between her lips. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the sensations. Knowing this was all she could take from him, she eased her fingers through his hair and let him deepen the kiss. After all, how far could they go in a parking lot, but as she wondered, her stomach curled with growing need and an awareness of wanting more.

Which made her regretfully pull back. “You’re right. We’re explosive,” she murmured. “But you’re still emotionally connected to your ex, which puts you off limits for me.”

Still shaking, she knelt down, picked up her keys, and over his argument, unlocked the car, opened the door, and slid inside.

“I’m stubborn,” he told her as he helped her shut the door.

Then she’d just have to be
more
obstinate than him.

Five

Kelly woke up with a splitting headache and a full day
of work ahead of her. For once, Tess beat her to the kitchen and was eating a bowl of Cap’n Crunch cereal. Knowing what she planned to ask of her sister, Kelly didn’t mention the lack of nutrition in Tess’s breakfast choice.

Kelly made herself a bowl of oatmeal in the state-of-the-art chrome kitchen, amused as she compared her surroundings now to the tiny space she called a kitchen in her small apartment. It was hard to believe half the week was over. Ethan and Faith would be back Sunday night and she’d be moving back to the still-new place she needed to make feel like home.

The microwave beeped and she took out her bowl, settling in beside her sister at the table. “I liked your friend Michelle.” The girl had been unlike Tess, soft spoken and more girlie. Odd that Tess would choose her as a friend, but she seemed nice.

Tess shrugged. “She’s okay.”

Kelly narrowed her gaze, sure there was more to this friendship of opposites. “What aren’t you saying?” Kelly asked.

“That she’s the only girl who’ll hang with me. Happy now?” Tess snapped.

Kelly waited until Tess reluctantly met her gaze. “Are
you
? Happy at Birchwood, I mean?” Every time Kelly had brought up Ms. Bernard this morning, Tess had shut down, not that Kelly blamed her. The woman was a bitch.

Tess shoveled a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. “Does it matter?” she asked while she crunched.

“Of course it matters! Ethan didn’t put you in Birchwood for you to be miserable. He thought it would be good for your art. He thought you’d be happy.”

Tess banged her spoon into the bowl. “And he paid a shitload of money to get me in. I couldn’t bail even if I wanted to.” With that, she stood, grabbed her bowl, and placed it in the sink.

“Thanks for cleaning up,” Kelly said, pleased.

Tess ran water into the bowl and spoke over her shoulder. “If I didn’t, Rosalita would rip me a new—”

“Language!” Kelly finally said, drawing the line. “Have you given any thought where you’d
want
to go to school?”

Tess nodded eagerly. “Maybe public school where the kids don’t have so much money they stink of it.”

Where there was also a greater chance of Tess falling in with the wrong crowd again, Kelly thought. But she was convinced a happy Tess would seek to please, not act out. Not to mention she was still in therapy. She had to believe they had her situation under control enough to take the risk.

Kelly drew a deep breath. “I’ll tell you what. You go back to the sweeter personality you had at the end of the summer, and when Ethan gets home I’ll talk to him about switching schools.”

Since their mother had bailed, Kelly had de facto if not legal custody of her sister. From the time Kelly had moved to Serendipity, she’d agreed to let Tess live with Ethan where she was flourishing, but Kelly and Ethan shared in decisions affecting the teenager’s welfare.

“You’d do that for me?” Tess asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.

“If you watch the language and remember to behave.”

The truth was, Kelly would do whatever it took to keep Tess safe and happy, but her sister didn’t need to know what a pushover she was. Letting Tess think her future hinged on her behavior could only benefit Kelly.

“Deal!” Tess held out her hand to shake on the deal.

“Deal,” Kelly agreed, grabbing her sister and pulling her into a hug.

Tess squirmed but hugged her back.

“Now I need a favor,” Kelly said.

Tess stepped back and eyed her warily. “Were you just buttering me up?”

Kelly laughed. “I wish I’d been that smart. I was going to ask you to do this no matter what.”

“Uh-oh.” Tess folded her arms across her chest. “What is it?”

Kelly pointed to her sister’s cell phone. “Call Nash and invite him for dinner tonight at six.”

“You’re kidding,” Tess said, horrified.

“Nope. Invite him. Then I’ll let Rosalita know we’re having a guest.” Kelly met Tess’s defiant glare and waited, prepared to stare her down until she made the call.

A definite pout formed on her lips. “I don’t want to.”

“I know.” Kelly bit the inside of her cheek in an effort not to grin. “But you will. One, because you just promised me you’d behave; two, because he’s your brother; and three, because you’re judging him based on how he feels about Ethan.”

“So?” Tess asked on a prolonged whine.

Kelly exhaled hard and propped her hands on her hips, determined not only to be the adult in this confrontation but to make her point as well. “So his issues with his brother have nothing to do with you. They’re also none of your business.”

“But—”

Kelly shook her head and held up one hand to stop Tess’s imminent tirade. “I bet if you got to know him, you’d understand him a little more. And you’d even like him.”

“Like
you
do?” Tess shot back at her.

Man, the kid was quick. “Yes, like I do.”
Better to go with it than to argue,
Kelly thought. “I think Nash is a solid, upstanding guy.”

With sex appeal in spades, with whom she shared an incredible attraction. If he was so upstanding, then why was she pushing him away? Kelly asked herself. The answer was obvious. Because Ryan Hayward had been upstanding too. In her heart, Kelly knew Ryan had believed himself over his ex-wife and was finished with his marriage. He hadn’t deliberately set out to cheat or hurt her. But he had and the fallout wasn’t over yet.

So lesson learned.

Kelly glared at Tess, pushing thoughts of Ryan and relationships out of her head.

“Fine!” Tess grabbed her cell and called Nash. “Kelly said to invite you for dinner tonight. You busy?”

As invitations went, it sucked, Kelly thought, but at least she’d made the overture.

“Fine.” Tess ended the call and glanced at Kelly. “He’s coming and said to tell you he’s looking forward to it.” She made a face that let Kelly know she was disgusted by the message.

“I’m sure he meant he’s looking forward to seeing you. He’s just thankful I invited him.” Then why did those stinking butterflies begin to kick around in her stomach at the thought of seeing him again?

She shook off the thought and ordered Tess to get ready to leave for school. Tonight would come soon enough.

Kelly glanced at the clock on the microwave in the
kitchen. Six thirty P.M. The table was set, and dinner was heating in the oven, the apricot chicken Rosalita had prepared probably shriveling while they waited for Nash. At six fifteen, Kelly had excused Tess and told her she could go on the computer and chat with her friends until he arrived. She thought he’d be the punctual type as he’d been for the parent-teacher conference. She hadn’t thought he’d stand up Tess, not without good reason and definitely not without calling to explain.

She looked at the clock again and frowned.

“I used to think Mr. Ethan a bad man,” Rosalita said. The other woman stood by the sink, rinsing off a dish. She dried the plate and placed it on the counter.

“You don’t think that anymore?”

The plump housekeeper shook her head. “No. But I no tell him that. I like to keep him on his toes.” She smiled at her private joke. “Mr. Dare is a policeman, so I always think, he’s a good man.”

Kelly bit the inside of her cheek. “And Nash? What do you think about him?”

Rosalita walked around the center island and joined Kelly in a seat by the table. “He’s not around enough for me to decide.”

Kelly didn’t want to speak about Nash behind his back or share his secrets. “I’m sure you’ll get to know him better tonight,” she said, and once again looked at the clock.

“Maybe he’s delayed at work and forgot to call?” Rosalita asked.

If he was, it was damned inconsiderate.

“He’s not coming, is he?” Tess asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

“We don’t know that.” Kelly finally picked up the house phone and dialed Nash’s number, but the call went straight to voice mail.

She waited for the beep, and forcing a lightness into her voice she didn’t feel, Kelly spoke for the answering machine. “Nash, it’s Kelly. Tess and I are waiting for you. Dinner’s ready and smells delicious… I hope you’re on your way over here. See you soon.”

Disconnecting the call, she looked hopelessly at Tess. “I’m sure he has a good explanation,” Kelly said in an attempt to give Nash the benefit of the doubt and still look like a good guy to his sister.

That had been the point of this dinner, after all. Otherwise, why would Kelly want to look at him across the table and wish for things she couldn’t have?

A glance at Tess’s angry expression, an obvious facade for the hurt she was feeling, quashed Kelly’s desire for the man. If he hadn’t been in an accident, God forbid, she’d kill him first and ask questions later.

A few minutes later, her cell phone rang. A quick glance told her it wasn’t Nash and she shook her head at Rosalita. “Hi, Annie,” Kelly said, answering.

“Hi. My father’s in the hospital and he needs immediate bypass surgery,” the other woman said, her voice trembling. “Quadruple.”

Kelly winced. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you. He wants to talk to you before he’s willing to go in. I hate to bother you, but can you get to University Hospital right away?” she asked.

“Of course! Are you okay?” Kelly asked her new friend.

“I’m numb. But thank you.”

Kelly nodded, thinking what a stupid question it had been. Annie’s father was having serious surgery. Of course she wasn’t okay. “I’ll be right there.” Because Richard had asked, which she figured had everything to do with instructions on what he wanted done in the office, but she’d also be there for Annie.

After Annie explained where to meet her, Kelly said good-bye and hung up the phone. She called Tess downstairs and explained the situation to Rosalita and to her sister, who wasn’t interested in anything except being angry at Nash.

Kelly didn’t blame her. She glanced at Tess, who’d changed into a pair of navy sweatpants and an oversized hooded sweatshirt, always a sign the teenager was upset. Kelly acknowledged the silent signal, grateful it was just her lounge clothes and not her old army surplus jacket and other rebellious items she’d worn on her arrival in Serendipity.

Kelly sighed. “You might as well eat dinner.”

“Fine,” Tess muttered. “But I’m finishing it all. Every last bite. So if he does show up, there’s nothing left.”

Kelly bit the inside of her cheek. “Save me some at least. We’ll talk when I get back.” With a last glance at the set table, Kelly walked out, all the while thinking of ways to strangle Nash.

Once in the car, she paused to process where she had to go. She recalled passing hospital signs on the highway, the exit before Serendipity. She had a good sense of direction and was able to backtrack herself and find the place with little problem.

She parked out back and rushed inside the main entrance. Annie had promised to meet her by the front desk. She glanced around, but other than an older woman in a wheelchair with her nurse behind her and a couple checking in with the guard, she didn’t see Annie.

Until Kelly turned toward the gift shop and caught sight of Annie’s familiar blond curls. She stood near the window filled with balloons and stuffed animals, and she huddled close with none other than Nash. A strong prick of jealousy pierced her heart as she watched them together. She hated it, wasn’t proud of it. But it was a reminder of why she promised herself she wouldn’t get involved with the man.

Breathe,
Kelly instructed herself. His ex-wife’s father was here. An ex-wife he worried about constantly. Of course he’d come here instead of showing up for dinner… but he could have called. His preoccupation with Annie had hurt his relationship with Tess and he’d been rude to Kelly, building on her hurt.

She glanced at the exit, torn between leaving and waiting. She really didn’t want to interrupt them and she couldn’t be more uncomfortable standing alone in the lobby like a lost child.

“Kelly!” Annie had caught sight of her and was heading her way in purposeful strides.

“Hey. I just got here,” Kelly said.

“Thanks for coming.” Annie pulled her into a brief hug, which Kelly returned.

She just couldn’t bring herself to dislike the woman, who she believed had been honest with her about her feelings for Nash. It was Nash’s feelings for Annie that concerned Kelly.

“Hi,” Nash said.

Speak of the devil,
Kelly thought.

“I’m sorry about dinner. Annie called me when I was on my way over.” He shot her a look filled with regret.

Kelly merely treated him to a curt nod. Now wasn’t the time to argue or remind him of etiquette. “How’s your father?” Kelly asked, turning to Annie.

“The doctors performed a stress test and basically threw him off the treadmill. He can’t exert himself at all or they’re afraid he’ll have a massive coronary. They want to operate immediately. He just wants to talk to you both about his business,” Annie explained.

Richard wanted Nash here. For some reason, that eased the anxiety filling Kelly’s chest.

“Let’s go,” Annie said. “The nurses are prepping him in his room. As soon as the surgeon gets here, they’ll be ready, so I need to get you two in and out quickly.”

Kelly nodded and with Nash by her side followed Annie to the large bank of elevators and up to her father’s room.

On the elevator ride up to Richard’s room, Nash grew
frustrated. Kelly wouldn’t look at him, wouldn’t let him whisper a word in her ear. And he needed to talk to her because he’d seen her walk into the hospital and knew exactly how intimate he and Annie had appeared. He’d just been comforting her and getting an update on Richard’s condition, but Kelly already had preconceived notions of him and Annie as a couple.

So far he hadn’t done anything to ease her mind or dispel that idea.

Little did Kelly know the only woman he could think of was her. He’d driven to the mansion, so distracted by thoughts of Kelly and how he’d handle dinner tonight with her and Tess that he’d nearly run a light that had turned red.