Feel the Heat: A Contemporary Romance Anthology (24 page)

Despite Shelly’s numerous faults, she knew as well as he did a marriage between them would be nothing short of a disaster. Unfortunately, she didn’t feel the same held true for him and Tara. She took every opportunity to push the two of them together and, much to his chagrin, Tara seemed to feel she owned some sort of territorial rights to him, regardless of the fact, he’d never expressed any interest in the shallow girl.

“Of course, I’m delighted to see you. Simply surprised.”

“Well,” Shelly answered. “That’s better. We were cruising the islands on our yacht when we heard you were here. It’s been far too long since you’ve come to stay on Martha’s Vineyard with us. Tara is beginning to feel neglected.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Rob was unwilling to deal with Shelly’s matchmaking schemes when he was having the time of his life with Meg.

“Are you feeling well, Robert?” Shelly asked. “We’ve been here several minutes and you’ve yet to notice my new hairdo or remark on Tara’s lovely dress. We went to special pains for you, darling.”

Rob groaned. He’d committed a major faux pas, failing to follow the social niceties expected by the Thompson-Rhodes of the world. Without a thought, Rob slipped into the familiar character he played, noticing for the first time, how much it chafed.

“It’s simply that you caught me unaware. You both look very pretty, as always.”

Appeased, Shelly and Tara tittered at his insincere praise.

“Seth, how are you?” Rob turned his attention to Shelly’s husband, anxious for an escape from the two women.

“Quite well,” Seth replied. “Managed to schedule a couple months off from the practice.”

Rob swallowed his sarcastic reply, well aware that Seth, since landing the very wealthy Shelly Thompson, was little more than a token figurehead at his successful practice, leaving the real work to his partners.

Shelly kept him on a tight leash and wouldn’t accept more than his total attention and devotion. It was the main reason she and Rob would never have been a compatible match. He was far too independent for Shelly’s tastes.

However, as far as Rob could tell, Tara would be perfectly content to share his name, homes and money while making few demands on his time. Obviously, Shelly realized this as well and was quite anxious for the advantageous union, regardless of his feelings about it. He’d successfully evaded her maneuverings for two years. Meg’s appearance in his life had only solidified his conviction that Tara was the last person on earth he wanted to marry.

“Robert Madison, I swear I don’t know where your manners are. We’ve been here nearly five minutes and you’ve yet to offer us a drink.” Shelly crossed to the bar and looked ready to settle in for the long haul.

Rob needed to get rid of his unexpected guests before Meg reappeared. This heartless trio would blow his cover in a matter of seconds and Rob wasn’t willing to have his real identity revealed in such a fashion. “I’m afraid you’ve caught me at a bad time. I was about to shower and head out to an important meeting.”

“A meeting? At this time? It’s nearly five o’clock. Surely you haven’t planned a meeting in the midst of your vacation.”

“Actually, an unexpected opportunity has fallen into my lap. You know me, Shelly, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“What type of opportunity?”

He hedged. “I find as I get older, I don’t like to talk about business ventures until the deal is done. Getting a bit superstitious.”

“You, superstitious? Ridiculous. What are you up to? I find it very hard to believe you have anything so pressing you would miss the opportunity to spend the day with Tara. Especially after all the fuss she’s gone to for you.”

Glancing behind Shelly, Rob watched Tara throw him a come-hither look as she thrust out what appeared to be a new pair of breasts. Rob felt a trickle of sweat bead at the back of his neck as he counted the minutes remaining before Meg returned. Suddenly, her habit of showering and dressing quickly seemed less endearing. He needed more time.

The sound of a door opening behind him, as well as the shocked faces on the three people in front of him convinced him that time was up. Turning slowly, Rob smiled at Meg’s lovely appearance. She had donned a simple sundress, the same color as her blue eyes. Her hair was still damp and she’d left her long, blonde curls loose. He’d never seen her look more beautiful.

Her friendly smile caused him unease as he could practically hear the women behind him sharpening their claws.

“Meg.” He walked quickly to meet her as she approached. “You look gorgeous,” he murmured in her ear. “Come meet some of my friends.”

Placing a protective arm around her waist, he turned to face the firing squad, praying silently for a reprieve.

“This is Seth Rhodes and his lovely wife, Shelly.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Meg shook their hands in her ever-practical, no-nonsense way. Rob watched the subtle rising of Shelly’s eyebrows as she took in every aspect of Meg’s appearance.

“Of course it is.” Shelly’s words were cold. Meg looked inquisitively at Rob.

Ignoring Shelly’s rudeness, Rob gestured to Tara. “And this is Shelly’s younger sister, Tara.” Rob smiled inwardly as Shelly hissed at his mention of her elder status. Shelly was extremely sensitive to any mention of age and Rob was pleased to manage his own revenge.

“Nice to meet you.” Meg repeated the words warily, obviously wondering what response she would receive from this sister.

“Yes.” Tara looked down her nose at Meg. “Indeed.”

Moving closer, Tara managed to insinuate herself between Meg and Rob with an ease that caught him unaware.

“What a surprise to meet one of Rob’s little—” she paused for effect, before rudely adding the word, “friends.” Then she placed a proprietary arm on him. Rob started to look at Tara with new eyes. In the past, he’d felt Tara was as much a pawn of Shelly’s machinations as he was, but now he wondered who was truly pulling the strings.

Shaking off Tara’s possessive grip, Rob moved toward Meg, anxious to shield her from the wolves he’d unleashed on her.

“Shame on you, Rob,” Meg said, her voice laced with humor. “You should have told me we were expecting company. I would have dressed up.”

Rob nearly burst into laugher at her imitation of Shelly and Tara’s snootiness. He winked at her. “I’m sorry, my dear, but you have to believe me, their visit was a complete surprise.”

Shelly, miffed at being excluded, attempted to enter their conversation. “We knew Robert would be pleased with our unexpected arrival. He’s so fond of Tara. We all grew up together and Robert is forever inviting her to visit.”

Rob had to physically stop himself from growling at Shelly’s bold-faced lie. Determined to bring this painful interlude to an end, he turned to face his unwanted guests. “I hate to cut this reunion short, but as I said earlier—”

“Oh yes,” Shelly interrupted. “Your business meeting. You know, Seth, I’ve just had a thought. It would be impolite of us to leave this lovely young woman alone.” Shelly gestured to Meg and Rob felt his stomach drop. “Especially while Robert’s out amassing another fortune. Meg, you should join us for dinner tonight.”

“Actually, Meg and I have dinner plans after my meeting,” he said.

Shelly was undaunted. “Then for drinks. I insist. I’m very interested in getting to know your new friend.”

“I would love to join you for drinks,” Meg answered before Rob could offer a suitable excuse.

“Meg.” He was desperate to stop the disaster that was unraveling before his eyes.

“Rob, they’re your friends. And apparently you have a fortune to make?”

Hearing her confused question, he cursed and pulled her aside, despite the rudeness of the gesture. “You and I need to talk. Please don’t go out with them.” He felt the walls of his lies closing in.

“Robert,” Shelly said loudly, no longer masking her anger. “I thought you were in a hurry. You know we’ll take very good care of your friend.”

“I’m a big girl and it’s just a drink. I didn’t realize you had a meeting.”

“I don’t,” he started to say, but the words caught in his throat. “I wish you would stay here.”

“Are you embarrassed by me?” As soon as she spoke, Rob understood how much Shelly and Tara’s snubs had hurt her.

“Don’t be silly.”

Tara’s voice came across the room and stopped him from adding any other assurances.

“Honestly, Rob. You would think we were a school of piranhas circling around your little goldfish. It’s just a drink. We won’t even leave the hotel. We’ll go to the bar downstairs. Come on, Meg,” Tara added a twinge of a dare to her words. “We’re all friends here, aren’t we?”

Meg smiled, though Rob could see the effort it took. “Of course, we are.”

R
ob watched
as Meg followed his oldest friends out of the room. The sound of the door closing behind them sounded ominously like the last nail being driven into his coffin. He’d been a fool to let her meet Shelly’s entourage, let alone leave with them. Sinking onto the couch, his mind raced as he considered what he could have done differently. Meg thought he was ashamed of her. How the hell could she think that? It was he who didn’t deserve her. She was a wonderful woman.

An amazing woman he’d been lying to since the beginning and now it was all unraveling.

She was never going to dismiss his lie as anything less than what it was—an outright deception. Now that she’d met his friends the deceit seemed even worse. Meg would believe he was toying with her.

Dammit. Tara and Shelly weren’t going to ruin the best thing that ever happened to him. Rising, Rob raced to the door, startled to find Pierre, poised to knock.

“Pierre,” Rob began. “I’m on my way out.”

Pierre continued to block the doorway. “I need just a moment of your time.”

“This really isn’t a good time.”

“I understand. I saw Ms. Williams in the company of Mrs. Thompson-Rhodes and her sister. No doubt you intend to join them?”

“Yes.”

“Dressed as such?” Pierre gestured at Rob’s clothing.

He was still in his swimming trunks and the tattered T-shirt he’d pulled on just before opening the door to Shelly and the disaster she represented. No wonder Tara and Shelly had looked so shocked when he’d first opened the door. He never dressed in anything less than height of fashion. He’d toned down his appearance over the past couple of days so Meg would feel more at ease. It occurred to him, however, he was the one who’d been more at ease in the comfortable clothing.

“Damn.” He walked back to his bedroom. Pierre followed. Reaching into his closet, Rob pulled out his Etro Cargo pants and black silk shirt. Buttoning it, he turned to find Pierre standing in the doorway. “Go ahead. Tell me what an ass I’ve been. I should have told her the truth. Say I told you so because, by God, you did.”

“I don’t think you were wrong.”

“I’ve been lucky to get away with such an idiotic lie this long. I don’t know what possessed me to think I could—what did you say?”

“I don’t think you were wrong to lie to Ms. Williams,” Pierre repeated.

“You said no good ever came from a lie.”

“I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t think you’ve ever known a real friend or even true love. Someone who saw you as you were, not merely as an image displayed for public consumption. Very few people have ever seen through the mask you wear to hide the true person inside. But Meg, she’s seen inside you?”

Rob nodded. “Yes.”

“And I assume she liked what she saw?”

“Amazingly, yes,” Rob answered.

“Then you weren’t wrong to lie to her. However, you would be sincerely remiss in letting someone else, perhaps someone less careful, reveal your true identity.”

“I would, but Pierre, I’ve waited too long. How could I ever ask her to trust me when the whole basis of our relationship, short as it’s been, has been built on a lie?”

“Actually,” Pierre replied. “I would say, for the first time in your life, this is the only relationship not based on a lie.”

Meg knew the true Rob Madison, the man underneath the money and power, the man who liked corn dogs and horror movies, the man who hated vanilla and who read mystery novels voraciously. She knew his secret fondness for reality shows and folk music. She knew all of this because she listened to him. She cared enough to get to know him—as a person of worth, not ‘net worth.’

“I have to go.” Rob was suddenly desperate to declare his love and his lie, desperate to stake the one claim that meant anything to him. He was a man known for never losing, never giving up. He would be that man now because if it took him until the day he died, he would marry Meg Williams. He wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life, spoiling her rotten and introducing her to everything she’d missed—snow skiing, Italy, art museums and rock concerts. He’d give her the entire world.

* * *

“
S
o you’re a teacher
,” Shelly asked for the third time. Meg suspected she was merely repeating the fact until she was able to believe it. “Special education?”

“Yes.” Meg glanced toward the door for the hundredth time, wishing Rob would save her from the interminable company of these intolerable people. How on earth could he actually be friends with such a lazy, snooty, viperous lot?

“Retards, you mean?” Tara joined the conversation for the first time.

“No.” The hair on Meg’s arms stood straight up at the woman’s heartless words. “I teach children who are mentally handicapped.”

“Same difference.”

“Not the same,” Meg added hotly. “Although, I would say to someone with your limited education and level of compassion it might seem so.”

“Excuse me?” Tara leaned forward. “I attended one of the finest finishing schools in the country. No doubt, you’re a product of public education.”

“And proud of it.”

Tara smirked at her response as Shelly shot her an appraising glance. Apparently, the older sister felt a threat the younger sibling didn’t. Shelly was clearly the one of Rob’s friends she should be most wary of. Tara didn’t have two brain cells in her entire head, too wrapped up in her own self-importance to notice anyone around her and Seth appeared to be an alcoholic. Meg watched his polish off his fourth martini in ten minutes without batting an eye. He covertly caught the eye of the waiter who immediately brought his fifth.

“I think teaching is an admirable profession.” Shelly shocked Meg with the sincerity of her words. “I must confess I’m curious how a teacher from Virginia managed to end up sharing a suite on a resort island with one of the most eligible billionaires in the world.”

Meg felt the breath leave her body. Billionaire? Aware the others at the table were waiting for her response, Meg struggled to clear the lump that had formed in her throat.

“There you are.”

Turning, she saw Rob, her lovable, dear friend. Yet this time, she felt as if she was seeing him with different eyes. His clothing was casual enough, yet she suspected it cost top dollar. Judging from the distraught look in his eyes, she knew he heard Shelly’s last comment. However, she couldn’t help wondering if he was distressed by the comment or that she’d discovered his secret.

Tara bounced out of her seat at Rob’s appearance, clearly feeling victorious since the discovery that Meg was merely a teacher and no serious threat to her. “Rob Madison,” she purred. “You naughty boy. How could you leave me alone for so long?”

Rob Madison.

The name bounced around in Meg’s brain until she thought it would explode.

Madison hotels.

Good God, she’d been shacking up with the owner of the hotel that had screwed up her vacation plans. How could she have been so blind? The penthouse, the caviar, room service at two in the morning. Damn, even the limo proclaimed the truth—MAD 1. Of course, he was the owner.

And what a laugh he must have been having at her expense. No doubt the poor little rich boy had decided to do some slumming and she had slept with him, given him her trust and her body. God help her, she could be carrying his child.

She didn’t remember leaving the bar or walking toward the front door of the hotel. She didn’t remember walking out to the parking lot. She didn’t remember anything until she felt Rob’s hand on her arm as he yelled her name.

“Meg,” he shouted. “Dammit, Meg, you have to let me explain.”

“Explain?” she whispered, shock setting in. “There’s nothing to explain. I have to leave.”

“No,” Rob said, quieter now that she stopped walking away. “You aren’t going anywhere. Not like this.”

“Robert,” Tara’s voice sounded. “Let her go. I’m here now.”

“Tara.” Rob’s voice was filled with more menace than Meg had ever heard. “Get the fuck out of here right now before I have you escorted off my property by security.”

Meg heard Tara’s gasp and through the fog clouding her mind, she wondered if anyone had ever spoken to her in such a manner.

“Come on, Tara,” Shelly said. “I think it’s time we left. I’m sorry, Robert.”

Sorry for Rob?

Meg laughed. He was the one playing the game. He was the liar who’d gotten exactly what he wanted from the dumb little hick.

The laugh continued, bubbling out of her in great, gasping hiccups. She laughed until she felt the tears streaming down her face.

“Christ, Meg,” Rob exclaimed. “You’re killing me, sweetheart. Please don’t cry. I can’t take it.”

“Let me go,” she whispered.

“Never.” He lifted her into his arms, turning back toward the hotel.

Jerking herself from her self-pity, Meg struggled to get away. In the midst of her thrashing, Rob shifted her, tossing her over his shoulder. She gasped when she felt his hand land hard upon her ass.

“Damn you!” She was aware of the scene they were making in the lobby, but she didn’t care. The ding of the elevator caused her to renew the fight, knowing her chances of escape would be severely limited if he got her back to the penthouse. Again, she felt his hand come down on her buttocks.

“Ouch,” she squealed. “That hurts.”

“Then stop fighting me. I’m going to talk to you and I don’t give a damn if I have to tie you to a chair and gag you to make you listen.”

“Oh, no,
Rob Madison
. You listen to me. I’m leaving. Let me down right this second!”

Rob ignored her request as they entered the elevator and she continued to struggle. Too soon, the elevator arrived at the top floor and Rob carried her quickly down the hall to his penthouse. His penthouse—not the company that he worked for, but the company he owned. Meg’s anger returned full-force.

As soon as he shut the door behind them, he set her on her feet, bracing himself for her attack. If Meg hadn’t been so furious, she would have laughed at the sight of a man the size and stature of Rob Madison preparing himself for the blows of a woman who barely came up to his shoulder.

“How dare you!” She raised her fists and pummeled his chest. “Who the hell do you think you are to manhandle me like that? You lying bastard!”

He winced at her words and Meg felt a sense of déjà vu as she lost control of her temper, much like she did her first night on the island.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I lied to you.”

She found it hard to catch her breath around the lump lodged in her throat. She trusted him and he lied. Finally, her voice broke around the question she had to have answered. “Why? Why would you do that?”

“You didn’t recognize me.”

“So?” Meg was perplexed at his answer and her anger returned. “Did that piss you off? Are you so used to everyone knowing your face that you wanted to punish me for not worshipping at your billion dollar feet?”

“Good God, no. I liked that you didn’t know me.”

Confused, Meg continued to stare, waiting for him to explain.

“For the first time in my life, I was able to get to know someone and to let them get to know me without my name and fortune influencing things.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Maybe not to you. No doubt the friendships you’ve formed were based on mutual interests and compatible personalities. Those relationships were built on trust. I constantly question the motives of people who call themselves my friends because most people of my acquaintance don’t give a shit about me. They only care about what I can give them. You met Shelly and Tara—they are two prime examples of the type of women who travel in my circle. Shallow, self-centered, spoiled to excess.

“But you aren’t like that.”

His words chiseled their way through her wall of anger. His pain was palpable and she found herself wanting to reach out to him despite the fact he’d hurt her. “Until I met you, I was exactly like them.”

“I don’t believe that.” She was livid with the man and yet here she stood, defending him, reassuring him. If she had a brain in her head, she would get the hell out and leave the poor little rich boy to his own devices.

But then a memory formed, the image of Rob following her into the bar—offering her a drink and a place to stay. Offering to help her, despite her drowned rat appearance. Despite the fact she’d attacked his driver. No, he wasn’t like Shelly and her family. No matter what he might say, there was a lot of good in him. She considered herself to be a very decent judge of character and Rob was one of the kindest men she had ever met.

Rob stood silently by the door, no doubt thinking he could bar her escape. His head was bowed and she saw how much her anger was costing him. Maybe there wasn’t such a thing as love at first sight. She didn’t deny their original attraction could be called anything other than lust. Yet somewhere in the midst of all that lust, love had come. It was just as he had said. By getting to know him, by learning his personality, and figuring out what made him tick, love had grown. His compassion and generosity spoke to her. His sweet words and compliments warmed her lonely heart. He said she saw the true man behind the name, but he also saw the true Meg, the one she kept buried deep beneath the boring, sensible parts.