Love's Deception (9 page)

C
arissa couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, Nathan’s dark, soulful eyes stared back at her. Her heartbeat accelerated and her body grew warm as she realized that she was falling hard. It was the worst thing that could have happened.

Minutes later, she gave up on sleep and headed for the kitchen. She jerked open the refrigerator door and stared blankly inside. What the hell was she doing? Food was the last thing she wanted. She slammed the door and went over to the dining-room table.

As if on cue, the front door swept open and a singing Helena sauntered into the penthouse.

Carissa glanced at her watch. “It’s five in the morning.”

Helena turned toward her voice. “Good. That means it’s still early.” She spun around and danced with an imaginary partner. “Girl, I love this town.”

“Let me guess. You found your Black Chippendale dancers.”

“Honey, I discovered paradise. I swear if I was just a few years younger I would have snagged one of those young whippersnappers.”

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

Helena danced toward Carissa. “Don’t start raining on my parade just because I know how to have a good time. Let me guess, you had the handsome hunk bring you home by nine-thirty.”

“No. I just made it in a couple of hours ago. And speaking of which, you had some nerve just dumping me like that. What were you thinking? I’d just explained why I needed to avoid the man.”

Helena waved off her niece’s argument. “I know if I were you, that man would be the last person I’d avoid.”

“Will you please be serious for a moment. I’m trying to prevent this from blowing up in my face and you’re sitting there trying to play matchmaker.”

“Risa, love isn’t a deadly disease. Stop trying to do everything to make yourself undesirable.” Helena pulled the hair band from Carissa’s head. Thick, full curls tumbled to her shoulders. “You’re beautiful.”

Carissa stood, shaking her head. “Sometimes I wonder if we’re even from the same planet, let alone share the same genes.”

Her aunt crossed her arms. “Are you trying to tell me that there aren’t nights when you lie awake craving the touch of a soul mate, a man who understands you, someone who is an extension of yourself?”

Carissa fell silent.

“No?” Helena went on. “How about a man who makes you feel safe whenever you’re in his arms, or has a way of making you feel beautiful just by looking at you.” Helena shook her head. “If you can look me in the eyes and tell me that you’ve never craved any of those things, then I agree, we
are
from two different planets.”

Carissa’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “Of course I want those things. But this is the wrong time, the wrong guy.”

“How do you know? I saw the way he looks at you. I bet he can sketch you with his eyes closed. Hell, after six marriages, I can tell you that none of my husbands looked at me like that.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“No. You’re in denial and about to throw away a chance of a lifetime.”

Helena spun on her heels and left Carissa to think on what she’d said.

Carissa watched her departure with a growing sense of hopelessness. How her aunt continued to look at life through rose-colored glasses was beyond her. Sure there were a few things she liked about Nathan other than that he was easy on the eyes.

His complex personality intrigued her. When he talked about his work, she heard his passion and love for his art.

Before long, Carissa found herself wondering what really ended his engagement to India. The woman’s name soured in her mouth. No doubt she was a knockout with legs up to her neck.

She sat at the table, depressed. Why in the hell did she care who the man dated—or what kind of woman he preferred? Since he was a photographer, she had no trouble believing he preferred the model type. She stood and went over to a mirror hanging in the living room and took a good look at herself.

She posed playfully, assessing her appearance.
I’m all right
, she concluded, but she was unhappy that there wasn’t anything that stood out about her features—other than her hair.

Running her fingers through the thick mass, she watched how her natural curls framed her face and enhanced the shape of her eyes.

“See, I told you you were beautiful.”

Carissa jumped at the sound of her aunt’s voice. “Don’t you ever sleep? I thought you’d gone to bed.”

Helena waved her off. “I told you, it’s still early. Have you thought more about what I said?”

“I admit that I would love to find a special someone and eventually go on to raise a family.” She exhaled and crossed her arms. “But like I said, it’s the wrong time and the wrong man.”

Nathan woke to a ringing phone. “Hello.”

“Ah, so you’re alive.”

“Smokey?” Nathan sat up and glanced around. “What time is it?”

“Six-thirty.”

“A.M.?”

He laughed. “I take it you had another all-nighter at the hospital.”

“Yes and no. What happened to you last night? I thought we were going to have dinner.”

“I’m sorry. I was called away. I left you a message at the door. You didn’t get it?”

“Yeah, I got it. It’s just that I’ve never been stood up before. Lucky for me, I ran into Dad’s—I mean Travis’s friend from the hospital. I had dinner with her.”

There was a slight pause over the line before Smokey said, “I see.”

Nathan heard the hurt in his voice and mentally kicked himself. “Are you sure you’re all right with all of this? I mean, I want you to understand why—”

“Look, son. You don’t owe me any explanations. If this is important to you, then it’s important to me.”

“You don’t know how much I appreciate hearing that.” Nathan smiled against the phone. “It’s also important to me that you know that I’m not looking to replace you.”

“I know that.”

When Smokey exhaled, it sounded more like a sigh of relief to Nathan.

“So this is the same lady you were telling me about the other day?”

“Yeah. It turns out that she’s
not
engaged to Travis. She only told the hospital that in order to be able to see my father.”

“She sounds resourceful.”

“Among other things. I can’t blame her, really. I probably would have done the same thing if I were in her position.”

“Mr. Honesty is condoning a lie? This woman really must be something.”

“It’s not that. It just seems that my father doesn’t have too many friends. Hell, she probably thought I wasn’t coming to see him either. Seems to me she’s the only friend Travis has.”

“Sounds like you’re still interested.”

Nathan’s smile widened. “I don’t know what I am, to tell you the truth. But it helps that she’s been through a similar situation with her father. She’s given me a lot to think about.”

“She’s starting to intrigue me, too. What did you say this Angel of Mercy’s name was?”

“Carissa Carnes.”

“Carnes?”

“Yes? Do you know her?”

“N-no. Not a Carissa Carnes, but it’s not like your father and I traveled in the same circles.”

Nathan nodded, but he sensed there was something Smokey wasn’t telling him.

C
arissa’s heartbeat pounded in her ears as she jogged up an inclining hill around the base of Stone Mountain. She had long tuned out the music playing through the headset of her CD player, and she struggled to make sense of the steady stream of conflicting thoughts running through her head.

For the past week, she’d buried herself in her work. However, the attempt did little to ease her guilty conscience. In fact, it seemed to make matters worse. In an effort to avoid any further confrontations with clients or competitors, she had Liz cancel a month’s worth of meetings. It was illogical, she realized, but she couldn’t help how she felt. Just as she couldn’t help how her mind kept returning to Nathan Edwards’s haunting eyes.

She picked up her pace and even increased the volume on her CD player. But when his image persisted, the music was once again forgotten. She’d learned from the nurses the amount of time Nathan spent with his father. Again she envied his possible second chance.

But what would you say if you did have a second chance with your father?
Carissa’s mind drew a blank. After she traveled another mile, she stopped and shook her head. She had no idea what she would have said or done differently.

Closing her eyes, she tilted her head up toward the sky, relishing the sun’s warmth as she grabbed the small water bottle strapped to her hip.

She also didn’t know how much longer she could avoid running into Nathan at Cartel Enterprises. The man came every day wanting to talk to C. J. Cartel. Yesterday, she had hidden in the restroom for more than two hours. Something had to give.

She removed her headset just when a loud masculine voice shouted her name close by. She jumped, then pivoted with her hand over her heart.

Nathan’s unexpected appearance startled her.

He jogged to a stop beside her. “I thought I’d never catch up with you.”

When he flashed her a brief smile, for a shocking moment her legs weakened. “What are you doing here?”

“George and I decided to have our morning run up here.” He nodded to a handsome German shepherd panting happily at his side.

At first glance at the dog’s adorable expression, she couldn’t help but kneel down and run her hands along the dog’s soft coat.

“Ah, don’t tell me you’re a dog lover as well?”

“Only if they love me back.” She smiled as she looked up and held his gaze.

“Well, George and I are trying to enjoy our short time together. He leaves tomorrow with my assistant.”

An awkward silence passed before she gathered her composure and stood. “How are you doing?” seemed like the only safe thing to ask.

“I’m doing well. All things considered.” His smile never faltered, yet she saw something flicker in his eyes, and she wondered how she should reach out to him. But she was the last person in the world who knew how to reach out to people.

“I’ve missed seeing you at the hospital,” he said, continuing to hold her gaze. “I hope I didn’t run you off.”

“No, not at all. It’s just that I’ve been sort of busy,” she stammered with the excuse and actually felt a rush of heat burn her face.

“I see.” He leaned down and scratched behind George’s ear. “Well, I felt guilty just the same. I realize I can come on a bit strong at times—”

“No. Really, it wasn’t you. I just felt like I was intruding on your time with your father. I don’t belong there.”

“That’s nonsense.” He shrugged off her excuse. “It’s apparent to me that my father’s well-being means
a lot to you. And I know about your daily calls to the hospital. Nurse Anne speaks highly of you.”

Carissa’s mouth opened in surprise as she struggled to come up with a response.

“It’s okay,” Nathan added. “I really do understand.”

“You couldn’t possibly.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. There’s no excuse for the way I’ve behaved toward you. But trust me when I say that my not coming to the hospital has very little to do with you and everything to do with my relationship with your father.”

“I see.” Disappointment flashed across his handsome features, but he quickly added, “I know this may sound strange coming from me, especially when you consider the history between me and my father, but I think he needs you right now.”

“You don’t understand,” she persisted.

“Maybe not. All I know is you seem to be one of the few friends he has right now. I suppose my father is a bit of a loner. He’s going to need our prayers to get through this. If you want, I can arrange my visits so that I’m not there when you come.”

Carissa blinked. “That won’t be necessary. I rather enjoyed your company. I think I can arrange to come by this afternoon to check on Edwards.”

Nathan’s brows arched. “You call him by his last name?”

Damn
. “N-no. I meant Travis. I—I wasn’t thinking.”

He smiled. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I made you nervous.”

Her mouth opened in protest, and he held up a hand to stop any quick retort.

“Relax. It was a joke. I hope this means I’ll see you later this afternoon. Maybe then I’ll be able to convince you to go on a second date.” He flashed her another smile, then called to his companion. “Come on, George. I’m sure you’ll get another chance to see the pretty lady.”

Nathan winked and led George away, while Carissa tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Hours later, Carissa breezed into the office, hoping to pick up a few things without an incident. Liz wasn’t at her desk as she rushed into her office, but Carissa froze in her tracks the moment she saw Colin Hunter sitting behind her desk.

“How in the hell did you get in here?” Carissa jabbed her fists against her hips.

“How isn’t half as important as why.” Colin smiled. “I thought that this would be the perfect time to celebrate.”

“Celebrate?” She shook her head. “You obviously have no idea what I’ve been through in the past week. And just where have you been? I’ve been leaving messages all over the place for you.”

He stood and with long, confident strides swallowed the space between them. “If you’re referring to what happened with Edwards, I already know about it. It’s a minor setback, but I don’t see why we can’t move on with our plans.”

Incredulous, Carissa stared at him. “What?”

Colin shrugged. “Come on, Cartel. Like you always say, ‘Business is business—it’s never personal.’”

“What kind of rivalry do you have with this man? I never knew your competitiveness extended to wishing actual harm. Yes, business is business, but this is something else entirely.” She kept her steady gaze leveled with his.

Colin turned and headed back toward the desk. “I’m sorry,” he said over his shoulder. “But you’re wrong.” He faced her and leaned back against the desk. “There’s no rivalry. I hardly know Edwards. I’m anxious to get this project under way. You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”

Had she?
“I haven’t had time to decide what I’m going to do about anything. And there’s no real need to address the issue now.”

“I see.” He studied her. “You’re not going soft on me, are you, Cartel?”

When she didn’t answer, he added, “I thought I’d never see the day.”

Carissa bit back her anger. “Okay. So you’ve discovered I’m human—sue me. Now, if you don’t mind, the last time I checked, this was still my office.”

“I can take a hint.” He headed for the door. “But think about it. With Edwards temporarily out of the picture, we can get things done faster than we had planned.”

Carissa shook her head. “You mean faster than
you
had planned.”

A strained silence filled the room as Colin’s usual
stony features cracked. “I thought we were in this together.”

“Don’t take it personally. It’s just business.” Carissa’s shoulders straightened. “I think maybe you should leave.”

He stepped forward, then stopped. Suddenly, his whole demeanor changed. “You’re right.” His hands lowered to his sides. “I’m letting my ambitions take over and I apologize.”

Her gaze narrowed.

“No hard feelings.”

Whether it was a statement or a question, Carissa wasn’t sure, nor did she care.

He smiled, but she couldn’t force herself to return the gesture. Instead, she walked to the door and held it open.

His incredulous stare narrowed. “As you wish.”

He glided past her. A question seemed to linger in his eyes, but she chose to ignore it. With a flick of her wrist, she slammed the door.