Once Tempted (14 page)

“Then haul this tray out to—where are these guests sitting again, Tess?”

“They’re sitting on the matching wingback chairs underneath the flower arrangement, the one with pussy willows—”

“The humungous one?”

“Yes. But really, Quinn, I can—”

“Got it. Off I go. Ta-ta for now. Say hi to Brian and Carrie for me.” She lifted the tray and balanced it. The effort came with a grimace. “You must be stronger than you look, city girl. You’re going to owe me, Ward.”

“No, I won’t. Get going before their iced tea melts.”

“Yeah, yeah. What I do for love,” she muttered before pushing through the swinging doors.

Tess turned to Ward. “That really wasn’t necessary.”

“Yes, it was. I don’t want to keep Brian and Carrie waiting and the sooner we can get the ball rolling, the sooner we’ll know how many additional guests their parents want to invite, which is the biggest headache logistically speaking and one that will affect not only the number of extra rooms you need to book, but the food and entertainment, too. And Quinn’s just giving you grief. She knows she’s supposed to lend a hand whenever and wherever. It’s our job description.”

Mr. Ward Knowles, High and Mighty Ruler of the World, was back, Tess thought with relief. If she could just focus on how much he annoyed her, surely she’d be able to ignore how attracted she was to the rest of him.

“W
E’LL CALL
B
RIAN
and Carrie from my office. I texted Bri earlier and told him to expect our call,” Ward said.

“All right.” Tess turned and exchanged goodbyes with Roo and Jeff and rattled off a few more pungent Italian oaths for Roo’s ever-expanding vocabulary, and they left, Ward following her down the hallway lined with enlarged photographs of Silver Creek in the different seasons. The carpeting muffled the sounds of their steps and the light was soft, making Tess’s white peasant blouse the brightest object in the space. Ward watched the metronome sweep of Tess’s thick ponytail against the white cotton as she moved.

Damn, but she was a fascinating mix of contradictions, he thought. She possessed a lighthearted mix of spunky grit, intelligence, and humor. He’d seen it as she joked with Roo and Jeff and exchanged cheerful insults with the kitchen staff while whisking in and out of the kitchen with the energy of a V8 engine. But beneath her banter and can-do dynamism, Ward detected a deep well of reserve.

He wondered about it. Of course he knew about her husband. But he sensed there was more that pained Tess
and that she guarded those secret wounds carefully. He wondered with whom she would share those secrets.

She obviously had guts. What had it been like for her to leave everything behind and come to a place like Acacia, where she knew not a soul? It made her sparkling cheerfulness that much more impressive. He couldn’t help but be intrigued.

The genius of his mother’s plan to set him up with Tess was increasingly clear. Better not to think about Tess’s spirit, mind, or heart and what unknown events had shaped her. If he was to think about her, he should concentrate on the way she filled out her jeans.

Because Tess in a pair of jeans was a pretty damn fantastic sight. Though he appreciated her dresses and the fine view they offered of her legs, the jeans she’d opted to wear to serve tea hugged all her curves, right up to her truly excellent ass.

It was a good thing that he was behind her, so the view of her lush breasts offered by the scooped neck of her peasant blouse was hidden from him. Otherwise he’d be in danger of losing it altogether. Her butt was distraction enough. He imagined cupping those sweet cheeks and letting their weight fill his palms.

God, Cupid must be laughing his chubby head off. This was not how he’d planned to spend Valentine’s Day, spinning erotic fantasies of Tess Casari.

Any further sexual daydreams vanished when he saw Tess reach behind to knead the small of her back with her fist. Again. The first time he’d caught the involuntary gesture (and no way would the Tess he knew ever willingly show vulnerability) was in the kitchen. That was when he’d decided she needed relief, pronto. The second she passed through the swinging doors, he’d whipped out his cell and told Quinn to get down to the kitchen on the double.

When Tess had returned, her tray was stacked with
dirty dishes. Yet still she moved with grace and managed to dredge up another Italian curse for Roo’s entertainment. It was only when she slowed down long enough to scowl at his presence behind the stainless steel counter that he realized she was wearing the same sexy heels she’d had on earlier. The shoes did fine things for her legs but he couldn’t imagine how she’d survived wearing them to serve high tea to a bunch of famished guests.

He’d probably be weeping from the pain.

Which had made him all the more determined to stop her from taking another tray out to the guests. Luckily Quinn arrived before he had to take any extreme measures, like tying Tess up. But he’d known by the snooty angle of Tess’s cute little nose that she was not pleased with his tactics.

As if that was anything new.

In an effort to keep her distance, Tess had never ventured inside Ward’s office. As it was she saw him whenever he dropped by Adele’s office. Those encounters were unnerving enough. No need to tempt fate by stepping onto his turf.

Ward’s office had a more modern feel than Adele’s. Yet the pieces were made of beautiful open-grained woods instead of the typical glass-and-steel furnishings common to many contemporary décors. His desk was large and square, and Ward had positioned it at an angle so that when he was working he could look out the windows onto the gardens. Past the gardens and landscaped shrubbery Tess spied the stone walls that surrounded the outdoor swimming pool and the terraces where guests could sun themselves. Beyond that she could see a few of the one- and two-bedroom cabins, but really only because she knew they were there. The architect and landscape designer had done a brilliant job of making the
structures nearly invisible. Walking along the winding paths and coming upon one of the cabins hidden by dwarf pines and other shrubs was a little like discovering a magical wooden fort.

From the room checks she performed with Adele, Tess knew the cabins’ interiors were as appealing as their exteriors. Adele, who’d selected the furnishings for each guest room and cabin at Silver Creek, knew how to achieve an appealing rustic elegance in the quarters. Guests could sleep on cloudlike beds and soak in oversized tubs and never know that less than a quarter of a mile beyond, cows munched, sheep bleated, horses galloped about, and goats did whatever goats do.

If Tess were one of the ranch guests, she’d be happy to keep those critters forever at a comfortable remove.

Ward had walked directly to his desk to turn the computer on. “Take a seat while I get hold of Brian and Carrie.”

For once she was happy to follow his commands. Wordlessly she sank into the carved wooden chair facing the desk. It was surprisingly comfortable. Then again, after the day she’d had, a rocky ledge would have felt like heaven. She wiggled her toes inside her shoes, but her feet screamed for more relief. Surreptitiously she eased them out of her shoes and nearly groaned aloud.

While Ward clicked computer keys she stole a quick peek at the strong lines of his face. As a guilty indulgence it was better even than the bite of the chocolate-covered strawberry she’d filched in the kitchen. Though Ward had gotten his hair cut, a lock of it fell across his wide brow at a rakish angle. He really was dreamy looking, she thought with a trace of wistfulness. Too bad he was Mr. Wrong.

She heard the miked sound of a man’s voice and quickly shifted her gaze to a bronze sculpture of a horse running with its legs outstretched.

“That you, Ward?”

“Yeah, Brian. How’s it going? Did you break the news to the families? I imagine there was much weeping on Carrie’s side.”

Tess’s gaze slid back to Ward’s face, which was now creased in an easy grin. He was even more handsome right now, happily joking with his friend. A pang of homesickness pierced her. She missed Anna.

Ward’s friend laughed, then answered, “Surprisingly no. Carrie’s dad didn’t even threaten to drive up to Boston and run me off with a shotgun for presuming to ask for his daughter’s hand.”

“Miracles never cease.”

“Yeah. I gotta tell you, bud, I’ve never felt so lucky. Or so happy. So, were Adele and Daniel okay with our having the wedding at the ranch?”

“I think we’re going to be able to accommodate you.”

“Fantastic news. Thanks, buddy. Hold on just a sec, Carrie’s coming. She was in her study. Guess what she was reading up on today?” Tess hadn’t even met Ward’s friend Brian yet, but she could hear the grin in his voice. “The article was called ‘Fluorescent Excitation of Spectral Lines and Close-Coupling.’ ”

“Of course it was.” Ward laughed

“Awesome, huh? Admit it, I have the sexiest fiancée in the whole world. Hey, hon, it’s Ward. He’s got great news. We can have the wedding at Silver Creek.”

“Oh, yay! I’m so excited. Hi, Ward!”

“Hey, Carrie. Listen, I’ve got someone I want you to meet. Her name’s Tess Casari and she’s our new events planner. If you guys hit it off, she’ll be coordinating your wedding for you. Let me turn the monitor around so we can all see each other.”

At his words, Tess ran a quick, nervous hand over her hair, which she’d pulled into a ponytail to serve the high tea. But her bangs, long though they were, hadn’t stayed.
She fiddled with a thick lock, tucking it behind her ear. Then she made herself fold her hands over the notebook she’d grabbed from her office so she could take notes. She’d spent some of the morning jotting down ideas and making lists but still … what if she blew this?

Ward turned and must have seen the panic she was fighting back. “Relax. You’ll be fine. You look fine, too.”

She felt her eyes widen in surprise. He hardly knew her. How could he have any sort of confidence that she could handle the minutiae of organizing a destination wedding? And he thought she looked fine?

“Astrophysicist and political science junkie, remember? And they’re both about as nice as can be.” Dropping his long frame into the chair next to her, he flashed a smile at the computer screen, where Tess saw two people sitting on a sofa, holding hands, and grinning widely back at her.

Ward’s deep voice was laced with amusement as he continued. “So, this is a little unusual, but Carrie and Brian, I’d like to introduce you to Tess Casari, my mother’s right-hand woman and our new events planner.”

She didn’t want to admit that Ward had been right, but she took an instant liking to Brian and Carrie. They were a darned cute couple. Brian, with dark reddish hair and freckles and ears that stuck out just the teeniest bit, had the sort of boyish looks that made her want to grin right back at him. Carrie was equally appealing. Her gold blond hair fell past her shoulders and her large eyes were cornflower blue.

It was pretty clear from the way they sat squeezed together on the large sofa that they were over the moon in love. Before they’d even exchanged hellos, Brian had lifted Carrie’s hand and kissed it. Tess didn’t think he even registered the gesture.

She had never thought of herself as especially jaded,
but while the four of them were all roughly the same age, she felt about a thousand years older than Brian and Carrie.

But this meeting wasn’t about her. So she shut the door on painful memories of how quickly her own giddy happiness at marrying the man she loved had turned into confused anguish and heartbreak, and injected every ounce of warmth and enthusiasm into her smile that she possibly could.

“Hi, Carrie. Hi, Brian. Congratulations on your engagement. I hope the two of you will be very happy together.”

“Hi, Tess. It’s so nice to meet you. Brian and I are so grateful that you’ll be handling the wedding details. I already know that I’m going to love your ideas. If you work for Adele you’ve got to be good at your job. She’s amazing, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is,” Tess agreed. She drew a breath. There was no way she could do this job without being completely up front with Ward’s friends. “But I think you should know right off the bat that I don’t actually have experience in planning weddings on my own—”

“Not to worry, Carrie. Mom’s giving Tess her files, which contain contacts and notes, and I’ll be serving as Tess’s second lieutenant. We’ll make sure your wedding goes off without too many hitches.”

Tess had noted an air of delicacy about Carrie. Combined with her enormous blue eyes and sweet disposition, certain men would probably scale mountains or act like Lancelot in her service.

Ward obviously fell into that category. It had taken less than three minutes for his protective impulses to be triggered.

Carrie beamed. “Whatever Tess and you do will be more than good enough for us, Ward. We just know
having it at Silver Creek will make our wedding a beautiful and happy event, right, Brian?”

For an answer Brian kissed her hand again.

Tess stifled a sigh. These two lovebirds clearly had no idea how much planning—days and months of it—went into making an event “beautiful and happy.”