Hot Property (16 page)

But Betsy didn’t want to think about that
time in her life any more. If she did, then she’d remember the
devastation she felt when he left that last time and never came
back from Timbuktu.

“I was saying it’ll be fun to watch the
little buggers sprout up.”

Skylar casually placed his arm on her
shoulder, his eyes focused on the miniature pine and spruce trees
as if he were mesmerized by them. “I’d kind of like to watch them
grow too.”

“Yes, well you can drive by daily if you
want,” Betsy mentioned as she shrugged off his arm and leaned over
to pick up her bike.

A move she had to make. Otherwise, that
rock-like protective coating that surrounded her would’ve been full
of cracks within seconds from his touch.

“Betsy,” his voice came to her in that
familiar husky whisper. “If you can’t get loan approval to purchase
the house, I’m taking it off the market.”

She jerked her head around and glared at him
as he continued. “There’s nothing I’ve built before that I’m not
proud of. But this place has become special. I guess it’s the kind
of home I’ve always dreamed of settling down in.”

Betsy was speechless.

“Do you know what I mean? Putting down
roots. Marrying--starting a family. This is where it begins.”

One heat wave after another began attacking
Betsy. She swallowed and swallowed again to try and combat the
sensations.

Finally, she felt safe enough to believe
when she attempted to speak the words would come. “But we have a
contract.” Okay, her voice had worked. But it lacked the firmness
she so desperately felt it needed at this moment.

“I know. And I plan to compensate you.
You’ll have the full commission you’re entitled to.”

“Well I couldn’t accept,” she protested, her
voice gaining strength. “Besides, I don’t plan on my loan being
denied.”

“Did you apply at City Savings?”

“I did.”

“So we’ll know after tonight’s meeting if
your loan’s approved.”

“I guess we will,” Betsy agreed,
staunchly.

Without further ado, she swung her leg over
the seat of her bike with the full intention of leaving.

“On the other hand, we could work out a
compromise no matter who winds up with the house,” Skylar stated in
one quick breath.

Betsy froze. She had an idea what he was
referring to and it pushed her panic buttons.

“If you’re talking about sharing the
place--”

“You don’t like the idea?”

“It’s a crazy idea,” she declared and made a
run for it while she still had the chance.

It took two attempts before the engine
roared on and she steered the bike back onto the road and sped
toward home; away from him and the outrageous, yet tempting
offer.

She made it home in record time. Safe, in
the sanctum of her home. At least for now. And hopefully, long
enough to strengthen her weakening armor.

Times like this sure made her want to
surrender the fight though. How bad could it be sharing the house
with Skylar? That is if the bank were to turn her down. Then, would
sharing the same bed be part of the deal Skylar had offered?

“What in the world are you doing?” she
demanded of herself out loud.

Perhaps one day she could let down her guard
altogether. That is if someone of the opposite sex offered marriage
and was sincere about loving her. But sharing a house--a bed, with
one without commitment would never do. Even if the man happened to
be Skylar Blakewood.

A one-sided love affair wouldn’t work. At
least Betsy didn’t think so. In any event, she refused to give it a
trial run.

“And that is that.”

She did it again as she plopped on the sofa.
She was talking to herself. Maybe she was losing her mind.

The evening ahead was one of the longest,
nerve racking ones Betsy could remember. And as the hours dwindled
away, trying to sleep was like asking for a miracle.

The entire night she was plagued with this
eerie feeling the bank had turned down her loan request.

There was an alternative to the misery she
was in. She could call a board member and hope they’d give her an
answer. A simple yes or no would do. But then, that would be highly
unprofessional.

She’d just have to wait it out until morning
and go through the proper channels, which meant putting a call into
Helen, the loan officer who had taken her application.

The decision certainly didn’t relieve her of
the unsettling sensation tugging at her. Nor did the wonderment of
what she’d do if the loan was denied. She wanted to think she’d
allow more time for the business to prosper. Then, she’d find
another perfect hilltop.

There were occasional feelings of guilt that
hit hard. What about Skylar? Had he really fallen in love with the
house as he’d more or less professed? If so, could she hurt him
like that? Okay, so I’m not made of steel. Because when it came
right down to it, Betsy knew no matter what news Helen gave her in
the morning, she was not purchasing the house. Skylar could keep
it.

Betsy remembered her eyelids getting heavier
and heavier. The next thing she remembered was hearing the
telephone ringing, rousing her instantly.

She bolted upright and had the receiver in
her hand before the second ring.

“Hello,” she answered rushed. In the very
next breath she realized the morning sunshine was flooding her
bedroom.

“Did I wake you?”

A giddy sensation flooded her with the sound
of that husky whisper.

“Skylar…. No, I’m up. Not awake, but on my
feet…. An hour…. No, I’ll be there.”

Her sweaty palm continued its death grip on
the receiver several seconds after she heard the click on the other
end of the line.

An instant later, she hung up and tore into
the bathroom to shower. She managed to put on a light coat of
makeup in spite of her trembling fingers. She took the time to blow
dry and style her hair. And she still had nearly a half hour before
she agreed to meet Skylar at the house. But that didn’t leave her
standing in front of her closet trying to decide what to put on.
Without hesitation, she yanked her lucky dress from its hanger and
slipped it on.

Why she decided on that particular dress was
a mystery to Betsy. From the sound of Skylar’s troubled voice, she
assumed her loan had been approved. But she didn’t feel happy or
lucky. She felt an urgency to get to him, to ease the pain from the
loss he must be suffering. The instant she gave him her news, told
him he could keep his house, she knew his agony would slide away.
And that’s all that seemed to matter to Betsy right now.

She knew she was fifteen minutes early when
she turned her car onto the road that had been cut up the hillside.
But that was all right. Fifteen minutes sooner to ease his
suffering.

Betsy was nearly to the top before she
spotted the luxury car parked next to old Betsy. Then she saw
him.

Her insides instantly churned with sickness,
anger and though she didn’t like admitting it, jealousy.

“You have a helluva lot of nerve,” she
mumbled to herself as she watched Stephanie press her lean body
against his in the front doorway. Then she had the audacity to peck
his cheek with a kiss.

Just what kind of game are you two playing?
Good Lord, you’re engaged to be married, Steph. And just what kind
of a man are you, Skylar Blakewood?

Betsy watched Stephanie float away from him
and head her way. On first impulse, Betsy felt like slouching down
in her seat so she wouldn’t see her. Second impulse had her opening
her car door and stepping out as Stephanie started around the front
of her car.

“A little early for you, isn’t it,
Steph?”

“Did the thought cross your mind that I
might not have been to bed yet?” she quipped. Her familiar wicked
chuckle echoed off Betsy’s eardrums as she watched her disappear
into her car.

Betsy silently counted to ten in an attempt
to dissolve the anger boiling within. It might’ve worked if she
hadn’t looked to Skylar the second the big car pulled away.

His eyes narrowed. And the smile Betsy had
seen when Stephanie kissed him had vanished. It was as if he
resented the fact that his beauty queen left him to face his enemy
alone.

What could she have been thinking when she
decided to back out on the deal to purchase the house? There was no
way she was giving up her dream house now. And he could play on her
sympathies all he wanted, she was keeping the house.

“You’re early,” he finally called to
her.

“Is that a problem?” Betsy snapped as she
strutted toward him.

Skylar turned away and began adjusting the
door when he gave her a flat out, “No.”

“I was wondering when you were going to get
that on.”

“Had to have it custom-made.”

“Look, I’m sorry for showing up early and
intruding on you and Steph, but you sounded desperate when you
called and--” The sound of his chuckle temporarily cut her off.
“What’s so funny?”

“You didn’t interrupt anything important
between me and Stephanie. Actually, I’m grateful for the
intrusion.”

“I see.”

He faced her. “Do you always do that?”

“What?”

“Say I see when I can tell you don’t.”

“You’re wrong. It’s quite obvious you and
Steph are having an affair. Why she’s marrying this Gregory
somebody isn’t clear. I mean why not marry you if you’re the one
who turns her on?”

He chuckled again, only louder. “You’re
jealous.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Betsy protested,
knowing he had hit the nail on the head.

“Well there’s no need to be. I’d hardly
marry my first cousin. Or have an affair with her.”

Betsy gave his words another run through her
head. When they registered, she wanted to jump for joy before the
humiliation set in. “Why did you let me go on like that then?”

Skylar smiled. A delicious smile. “You were
going so fast I thought if I stopped you, you might bite your
tongue.”

Betsy tried not to, but couldn’t prevent the
smile. “I do have a tendency to go on about things.”

“And to assume things that aren’t true.”

Betsy’s smile disappeared, not because she
willed it to but because she suddenly felt ashamed. But Skylar let
her off the hook pronto.

“I think you should know that even if
Stephanie wasn’t my cousin, she’s not my type. Hell, no man should
have to put up with her.”

Betsy slapped her forehead when another
thought entered her mind. “I can’t believe how stupid I’ve
been.”

“You’re not stupid.”

“Then how come when I found out Steph wasn’t
marrying you, I didn’t question why she had to wait until you
resigned to become a board member at the bank? I should’ve figured
out you were a relative.”

Skylar shrugged, then smiled. “If you want
to hear stupid, I’m the one who introduced Gregory to
Stephanie.”

“I guess neither one of us have been
thinking too clearly of late.”

“Gregory’s the investor friend I mentioned
that first day we met, remember?”

Betsy nodded.

“Well, I doubt our friendship will last past
the honeymoon.”

“They barely know each other then.”

Skylar groaned. “Believe me, the late night
call I received a few weeks ago from Stephanie, insisting I haul
myself over to the club because the two of them wanted to share the
good news, I knew Gregory had gotten himself in deep.”

Could that have been the night? Oh God, what
a fool she’d been. “That didn’t happen to be the night they got
engaged, was it? And the night you recommended she re-list her
house with me?”

“One and the same.”

Betsy winced. “I thought--”

Skylar wrinkled his brow. “Thought
what?”

“It’s not important,” Betsy insisted before
quickly changing the subject. “We really should be discussing the
reason you wanted me to meet you here this morning.”

“I thought you’d want to hear the bank’s
verdict.”

Betsy saw sadness and something else enter
into his expression. But she couldn’t quite place it, other than
resentment toward her.

“You can have the house,” she suddenly
blurted.

Skylar gave her a surprised look. “You
already heard?”

“Well no,” Betsy stammered. “But they
approved the loan, didn’t they?”

Dead silence.

Then, when Skylar’s eyes finally met hers,
he started taking baby steps toward her. “Betsy,” he began. But
Betsy didn’t give him a chance to finish.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve already decided I
don’t want--”

His mouth came down on hers before she had a
chance to continue.

At first, Betsy resisted. Her fists pushed
into his hard chest. But when he didn’t budge, she slid her arms
around him. And her lips parted as his tongue commanded. The feel
of his body sent a scorching heat to rise up within her. Not the
kind of heat that was torturing. But rather, one that carried her
off to some magical place she just knew she’d want to refuse the
return journey from.

The journey to paradise was cut short when
Skylar suddenly withdrew his tongue and stepped back from her,
leaving Betsy feeling like she might crash to the ground. But
before she hit, he stepped back up to her and wrapped his arms
around her waist. His warm blue eyes gazed down into hers.

“The board didn’t exactly approve your
loan.”

“They didn’t?” Betsy croaked.

“You need a co-signer. Preferably me.”

Betsy blinked several times as her brain
mauled over what he said. Then, once she thought she knew what he
meant, she twisted away from him, anger beginning to replace all
the earthshaking good sensations.

“I get it. We’re back to sharing the
house.”

“Did I say that?”

“Why else would you consider co-signing?”
she demanded.

“Who said I was considering?” Skylar fired
right back.