Into The Sunset: An Erotic Romance Anthology (6 page)

“
They’re cheating!” Annie
said.

“
Ah-huh, they’re definitely
cheating. I love their expressions. Look at how innocent he’s
pretending to be while pulling out a card.” She pointed to the
other player who had his hand by the small of his back, pulling out
one of the two cards there.

He looked at the tableaux again. The innocent
victim looking at his cards, somber in black. The cardsharp next to
him with an assessing frown, holes visible in his gloves as he held
two fingers up to his partner. And his partner, peacock bright and
projecting wide-eyed virtue as hard as he could while fishing out
the needed card.

Rex laughed. “It is a good
painting.”

Rose smiled at him, a warm expression that lit
her face up like the sun and her gaze met his. With a mind of its
own, his body leaned forward, his tongue traced his
lips.

Not the time for a kiss. He looked at the
ground and Rose shook her head, her cheeks coloring. At least he
wasn’t the only one affected. He didn’t know if it was a good or
bad thing, Rose wanting him back.

“
Rose! There you are! I knew I’d
find you standing here. Are you sure I can’t order you a
reproduction?”

They turned to see an elegant man, early
fifties, in a tailored gray suit soiled here and there with a bit
of dust.

“
As you can see, I’ve been
preparing for your visit.” He gave Rose a saucy wink and she
replied with an easy laugh.

Rex wanted to growl, to push Rose back into
the car and leave.

The man, Alfred, looked at him and took a step
back. “And who are your lovely companions?” he asked, quickly
regaining his composure.

“
This is Rex Waits, our new
foreman, and his daughter Annabelle Lee.”

“
I’m Alfred Faulk. Charmed to meet
you,” he said as Rex crushed his fingers in a less-than-friendly
handshake. The man didn’t even wince. He was good. “And you as
well, Miss Annabelle Lee.” He performed an elaborate bow for his
daughter, who giggled.

If he kissed the back of her hand,
Rex was going to punch him. And if he
touched
Rose, he would kick his
ass.

The heat of his emotions surprised him, the
curse springing to his thoughts like a fist.

“
Well, dear, are you ready to see
some mysteries?” He held out his arm and with a smirk Rose took
it.

Rex clenched his jaw. That counted as
touching, didn’t it?

“
I’ll see you two later,” Rose
said with a wave.

“
Bye!” Annie said.

He grunted and jerked his chin at
them.

“
It was a pleasure meeting you
two. Hope I see you again,” Alfred said, looking over his shoulder.
His eyes narrowed on Rex for a second before he turned to Rose, all
business.

“
Daddy, why don’t you like that
man?” Annie asked.

He winced and scrubbed the back of his neck.
“Um… It’s not that daddy doesn’t like the man. He was just
surprised, that’s all.”

Annie gave him her
Oh aren’t you just full of it?
look. “Okay,” she said. He added the
If you say so…
in his
head for her. She was going to be a terror when she got older.
Boys, look out—this one’s too smart for her age!

* * *

What had just happened? For a
second, she thought Rex was going to kiss her, and she was going to
let him. Alfred was nattering on and all she could think about was
the knot in her chest. It ached
.
Even looking at Rex like that made guilt squeeze
up into the back of her throat, a sour taste.

“
Are you all right,
dear?”

She stared at Alfred. When had he stopped
talking?

He gave her hand a friendly pat. “I don’t
think your new foreman cared much for me,” he said, leading her
through a long dim hall.

That was another puzzle. Was Rex jealous? And
why was he here? It had her mother’s fingerprints all over it. Lily
always did like to play matchmaker. It was her meddling that got
Peggy together with Josh.

“
I have to admit, if you were more
to my taste, I’d probably be jealous of him,” Alfred
said.

He’d needle her until she replied.
It was one of the things she grudgingly liked about him. “But I’m
almost half your age, and young people
exhaust
you.”

“
You are taxing. Useful, but
taxing. I like telling you whippersnappers what to do, and then
retiring to my office.” He let go of her arm to punch a code into a
keypad. “And in here, we have something extraordinary. The clay
Bernini models,” he said with a flourish.

The lights flicked on and Alfred guided her to
the first sculpture. When they were set out for the public, there
would be glass between them, but here, she got to see them naked,
waiting to be displayed.

It was the sacred moments like these, when the
centuries dissolved and the artist spoke to her, that inspired her
love of art.

She forgot all her problems as Alfred
explained the different tools used and the marks they left. He got
into politics too. The man couldn’t resist.

At the last piece, Alfred left her. He knew
she wanted some time alone with the art. She took another tour,
seeing, absorbing, marveling at the details present even in the
simple clay models. The curls of hair, the drape of fabric, the
rigid look of religious ecstasy. She’d like to see the public
exhibit too, to see people enjoying the art.

“
Have you seen the real thing?”
Alfred asked.

Her heart squeezed out a dribble of black
bile. She and Robert were going to visit Rome on their honeymoon.
She had been looking forward to the art museums. Robert had been
looking forward to feigning interest, or at least that’s what he’d
teased.

“
Rose?” Alfred was frowning at
her.

“
Sorry, just a lot on my
mind.”

“
Mm…” He closed the door behind
them, and she could tell by the furrow on his brow he was getting
ready to make his sales pitch.

“
I’m not—”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. She
hated how he could do that, speak with gestures as much as words.
“This offer is a little different, and for once I’d like you to
listen with an open mind.” He sighed. “I know we’re not friends,
barely even colleagues, and it’s not my place to say these things,
but each time I see you, you look…” He stared at the floor, as if
the words he needed were written there. “Well, more haggard. If you
die an almost-widow in Boston, that’s fine by me, but you’re not
happy, are you?”

She didn’t know how to react. The words had
the sharpness of truth. They pricked at the knot in her
chest.

“
And really, I want to see you
happy. You’re a talented researcher, and while the hoi polloi will
never appreciate what you do for them, I do. You deserve to be
happy.”

“
What does that have to do with
working here?” she asked.

“
I want to offer you a part time
job. You’d be able to pick the assignments you wanted to work on,
and spend more time with your parents, and—I hope I’m not
overstepping my bounds again—Rex and his daughter.”

She shook her head. “We’re not seeing each
other.”

“
Well, that’s too bad. Wanting to
rend my soul from my body aside, he looks like a very nice
man.”

“
Did you and my mother plan this?”
she asked.

He shrugged. “I prefer coordinated. It sounds
less nefarious.”

“
Since when have you two been
friends?”

He laughed at that. “Since I decided you were
going to work for me, and then I realized how lovely your parents
are. Your father and I quarrel, and your mother laughs.”

Rose wasn’t sure whether to be happy or
annoyed that she was right.

“
I’m going to be sending lots of
business your way as soon as the resort opens. Consider working
here as a way to thank me.”

She arched an eyebrow at him.

“
Well, it was worth a try. But do
think it over, for once. You have a life, Rose. It’s time you start
living it.”

Alfred fidgeted with a ring, and her curiosity
was piqued. He was normally so composed.

“
I know how you feel, what it’s
like to lose someone you love. That guilt, when you open up your
heart again. But I know too,” and as he spoke, tears sparkled in
eyes, “that Yvette would have wanted me to be happy. Do you think
your fiancé would want you to spend the rest of your life pining
over him?”

Everything stopped. The next thing she knew,
Alfred was settling her on a bench in the courtyard.

“
I’ll come back and check on you.
I know it’s a lot to think about.”

She barely heard him. The wind shifted the
leaves in the arbor, making the shadows play on the ground. Her
stomach was a fist, and her heart quivered.

Robert wouldn’t have wanted this, would he? He
wouldn’t have wanted her to bury her happiness in the ground with
him. She put her head down and cried. If anything, he’d be
disappointed in her, spending all these years with her heart locked
in her chest, numb with sorrow.

A door clicked open and she peeked through her
fingers. Annabelle Lee streaked towards her, a frowning Rex a step
behind her.

“
Don’t cry, Miss Rose,” the girl
said, flinging her arms around the distraught woman.

She caught the girl with an
oof
.

“
Now, Annie, maybe we should…” Rex
trailed off, his hand hanging in the air.

She waved away his concern. “I’m all right,”
she said with a sniff.

Politely not looking at her, Rex proffered a
red handkerchief.

“
Thanks,” she said, dabbing at her
eyes.

“
Can I give you a ride back? I
don’t like the thought of you driving back upset. If that’s okay.”
He kept the fingers of one hand busy with the fingers of the
other.

Not that she could blame him. She felt like
she’d swallowed a jar of Mexican jumping beans. “Yes, thank you.
I’d appreciate that.”

Alfred waved goodbye to her and she nodded.
She’d have to thank him, somehow. Hell, maybe she’d even take the
job he offered. She could move back home, and maybe…

Her gaze slid over to Rex, his face tense and
closed.

“
He didn’t upset you, did he?” Rex
asked softly once outside.

She thought about how to answer that question.
“He upset me, but someone needed to.” She sighed, and with the
outrush of air, everything inside her untwisted. “He said some
things I needed to hear.”

Rex took a deep breath before he said, “I can
respect that.”

The perfect gentleman, he opened the door for
her. His practical little Honda made her smile.

“
I’ll send a couple of the boys
for the truck,” he said, starting the ignition. He was a little too
big for the car, just a few inches shy of being
cartoonish.

“
Buckled up?” he asked, his gaze
flicking to the rearview mirror.

“
Yes, sir,” Annabelle Lee
said.

“
Miss Rose?”

“
I will be,” she said, fastening
her seatbelt.

Annabelle Lee made Rex flip around the
stations until he found one playing the Rolling Stones. The pair
sang along to “Paint it Black.” She couldn’t keep the grin off her
face. They were adorable together.

“
I didn’t know you could sing,”
she said.

Rex’s cheeks turned red.

“
Daddy doesn’t like to sing around
other people. It’s a secret,” Annabelle Lee said from the
backseat.

Rex gave her a look, begging for
pity.

“
I’m good at keeping secrets.”
Rose knew the next song, a Beatles tune, so she joined them. She
tried to remember the last time she’d felt like this—happy,
relaxed—and with a wrench she realized that it had been when Robert
was alive.

Her voice faltered and she snuck a glance at
Rex. He was focused on the road, and he probably wouldn’t notice
her staring at his lips, watching them shape the words, wondering
what they’d feel like pressed against hers. His head turned a
little and she jerked her gaze away.

His daughter’s in the backseat. Not the time
to be lusting over him.

Dust trailed behind the car on the long
driveway to the ranch. Rose wondered if there were already
estimates in for getting the old road paved.

“
Annie, you run inside and thank
Miss Lily for suggesting we go there.”

“
Okay, Daddy.” The little girl
hopped out of the car and they both watched her look for traffic
before calmly walking to the porch. Once her feet hit the first
step, she was off at a run.

They smiled at each other, realized what they
were doing, and looked away. He surprised her, placing his hand
over hers.