Stormy Passion (31 page)

Brenna started laughing. “Look at you. Your
hair is slipping out of its always-perfectly-shaped bun. I don't
think I've ever seen you so frazzled.”

Geraldine put one hand on her hip, turned,
and waved a spoon toward Brenna. “Unless ya like to take my place
over these hot pots, I suggest ya get your skinny rump out to those
tables and make yourself useful.”

Brenna laughed again as she swung the tray up
to her shoulder. She had two more tables, and then she'd take a
breather. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't eaten anything
since breakfast. No wonder this tray of turkey and stuffing smelled
so good.

Rounding the corner, she saw her table to the
right, then as was her usual custom, she scanned the rest of the
room.

That was her biggest mistake of the
day
.

Brenna stopped.

She couldn't move.

No. She wanted to scream. It couldn't be.

The chatter of the dining room faded and was
replaced by the sound of her heart thumping wildly in her chest. It
couldn't be Taylor Rothschild, her former fiancé ... here in Hollow
Ridge ... eating in
her
dining room. Impossible. Fate
couldn't be so cruel.

Yet, there he sat, smiling--not at her--but
at another woman. At first glance, Taylor hadn't changed. His
thick, light brown hair streaked with blonde curled under his ears.
He wore a cream-colored fisherman's sweater beneath a brown tweed
sport coat. The turtleneck sweater brushed his square, stubborn
jaw, which was propped upon his hand as he watched the lady who
smiled at him so sweetly. Unfortunately, she was cute with short
brown hair that just barely reached her chin. He laughed at
something she said, then leaned over and kissed her and held up her
hand to look at--at an engagement ring.

Brenna's stomach twisted in knots before her
senses returned, and she remembered her location and why she was
there. Thank goodness, he hadn't seen her. Quickly, she turned her
back to Taylor and began to wait on her table. She'd just get these
plates served and get the hell out of this room without him ever
noticing her.

Why did he have to show up
here
for
dinner? It had taken her forever to learn to live without him, and
now he was here. And with a beautiful woman. As Brenna reached to
place the last plate, she realized someone was saying something to
her.

“
I'm sorry, what did you
say?” She turned to the gentleman and, in doing so, knocked over a
glass of tea. “Damn!” Her elbow managed to catch a second glass,
and it was all she could do not to scream. She wanted to cry.
Better yet, disappear in a puff of smoke. Brenna grabbed a napkin
and began to mop up the liquid. “I'm sorry. I--I seem to be a real
klutz tonight.”

The woman to Brenna's left politely nodded.
“Don't worry, dear, we all get that way from time to time.”

“
Thanks for your patience,
folks.” She smiled sheepishly, thinking they all had been very
nice, considering their tablecloth was half-soaked in tea. “I'll
tell you what, dessert is on the house. And I'll have someone
change this linen in a moment.” She moved away from the table with
a sigh of relief, then headed for the door, but a voice stopped her
in mid-stride.

“
Miss.”

That wasn't just any voice ... it was the
voice that haunted her dreams.
Just let me get out of this
room
. She took another step. She couldn't face him; she just
couldn't. Perhaps, if she simply kept walking ...

“
Miss!”

She heard the impatience in the deep
masculine voice. It was no use, she couldn't escape now. Brenna
started to turn. Everything around her moved in slow motion. She
saw couples talking and smiling, and still she turned.

She was nearly around.

She could almost see him.

Her stomach tightened.

Her heart beat a frantic rhythm.

Finally, her eyes rested on the man from her
past. The man she’d sworn she would love forever.

Taylor's vivid blue eyes registered surprise
as they met hers, and then the surprise was replaced with something
she didn't care for. Brenna's heavy feet wouldn't cooperate and her
legs wobbled like Jell-O. It took all her strength to take each
step as she moved closer, inch by inch, until at last she stood in
front of
his
table.

Taylor stared at her, his astonishment
evident. At first, she didn't think he was going to speak ... but
she was dead wrong.

Chapter Two

“
What the hell are you
doing here?” Taylor demanded.

Brenna wasn't sure what she'd expected.
Perhaps she'd hoped Taylor had missed her, maybe even forgiven her,
but whatever she had expected it hadn't been this obvious
hatred.

“
How can you be so rude?”
his companion said, looking at Taylor, doubt in her
eyes.

Brenna tried to ignore the dizziness that
swept over her from head to toe. Slipping her shaky hands into her
apron pocket, she found an ink pen and clutched the metal tightly.
She couldn't draw her gaze away from the coldness in Taylor's eyes.
“Hello, Taylor.”

The woman glanced from one to the other. “You
two know each other?”

Evidently, this was the new woman in Taylor's
life, Brenna thought. Her replacement.
Will he
admit he
knows me
? She doubted it by the look on his face.

She watched as Taylor fought for control. His
brow wrinkled with a frown, then eased. He appeared tired, she
thought, probably from working too much. And there used to be a
gentleness about him, but that was gone, too replaced by a hardness
she didn't care for. He swallowed and the muscle in his cheek
twitched, drawing her eyes to the dimple in his strong chin.

“
Yes, I know her,” Taylor
said with an ironic drawl.

“
And--?” His companion
persisted.

Brenna couldn't take her eyes off Taylor. Had
he told his companion about his old girlfriend? It was evident he
wasn't going to explain anything at the moment.

“
You didn't answer my
earlier question.” Taylor reminded Brenna.

“
That's right, I didn't.”
Brenna couldn't let him see how his sudden appearance had almost
knocked her over. She knew she needed to put on the performance of
her life, so she looked him straight in the eyes. “Welcome to
Sleepy Hollow Inn.” She swept her hands in a welcome gesture. “I
happen to own this place.”

The shocked look on his face pleased Brenna
very much.

“
It's nice to meet you. I'm
Carol Holland. I think you must have surprised Taylor by the look
on his face.” She extended her hand. “I take it you two know each
other?”

“
My name is Brenna Fox, an
old friend. I think that Taylor is just a little surprised to see
me here.” Brenna managed a feeble smile as she took Carol's smooth
hand, reluctantly conceding to herself the woman would be easy to
like. “Is there something I can get you?”

“
We'd like a bottle of
champagne to celebrate,” Carol told her. And the radiant smile she
displayed told Brenna she was very happy.

“
Celebrate?”

“
Taylor asked me to marry
him not more than ten minutes ago.” Carol held up her left hand and
wiggled her fingers, displaying a dazzling, enormous diamond.
“We're engaged.”

Brenna's throat tightened, but she managed
not to show her churning emotions as she pasted a smile on her face
and said, “Congratulations. I'll have a bottle sent out to you
immediately. Compliments of the house.” Then, continuing with her
charade, she glanced again at Taylor. If anything, his eyes were
bluer than she remembered and his hair a little blonder. But
suddenly he seemed like a stranger to her.

She went cold inside.

It really was over between them. “I'm glad to
see you're happy,” she managed to say.

How she made it out of the room under her own
power, Brenna didn't know, but once outside, she leaned against the
wall until her breathing returned to normal. Hearing a noise, she
turned to her right and saw Nell coming down the hallway toward
her.

“
Look!” Brenna grabbed
Nell's arm. “There's a man and woman sitting in there.” Brenna
pointed behind her to Taylor's table.

Nell frowned. “There are a lot of men and
women in that room.”

“
I mean over there.” Brenna
motioned to the corner table.

“
Yeah, I see
them.”

“
Please get them a bottle
of champagne and take it over to the table for me.”

“
Why?” Nell looked at
Brenna with concern in her eyes.

“
Are you feeling sick?
You're awful pale, honey.”

“
You could say that,”
Brenna mumbled. “Don't ask any questions, and I'll double your
salary for tonight.”

Nell smiled brightly. “Far be it from me to
ask anything.”

Brenna sought the safety of the kitchen.
“He's here!” She heard her voice squeak as she rushed through the
door.

Geraldine jumped at Brenna's outburst, then
she turned and frowned. “Who's here?”

“
I--I never thought I--I'd
see him again,” Brenna babbled as she started to pace. “Never in a
million years. But h--he's here!”

Geraldine folded her arms across her ample
chest. “Would ya like to tell me who?”

“
Taylor!”

Geraldine's eyebrows shot up. “Really,” she
replied before turning back to the pot she had been stirring.

“
That's all you have to
say?” Brenna stopped and gaped at her.

“
Nope.” Geraldine shook her
head slowly. “It took the man long enough to look ya
up.”

“
You don't understand,”
Brenna said, feeling the hurt and anger she'd tried hard to ignore
bubble to the surface. “He didn't come here to see me. He never
even bothered to find out what happened to me. By some twist of
fate he chose Sleepy Hollow to spend the night. And, get this ...
propose to his girlfriend.”

Geraldine finally put down the spoon and
turned back to Brenna. “So, he ain't married?”

“
I just told you, he's
engaged.”

“
But, he ain't
married.”

“
Don't you go gawking at me
like that. You should see the way he looks at me. Like I'm
something he needs to wipe off his shoe.” Brenna grew quiet, and
then added in a dejected whisper. “He hates me, Geraldine. Taylor
actually hates me.” Brenna leaned against the counter and hung her
head. She had never felt more miserable in her life.

Geraldine furrowed her brow. “Look. Ya walked
out on him so I’m sure that he’s angry, but hate -- I ain't too
sure about that 'cause sometimes things look one way and turn out
the other. Whatcha goin' to do?”

Brenna shook her head and shrugged. “Stay as
far away from him as I can.”

“
That might be hard to do
with ya livin' under the same roof and all.”

“
Somehow, I'll find a way,”
Brenna said as she walked out of the kitchen and headed for her
office. Moving over to her desk, she ran her finger down the
register. “Great,” she whispered, tracing Taylor's signature, which
was as bold as the man she'd loved. He was staying in the Granny
room--the room next to hers. And, he would be there until
Tuesday.

She had the feeling these next few days would
be the longest of her life.

Brenna managed to avoid Taylor the rest of
the night by busying herself with work. When the dining room
cleared, she helped Nell clean off the tables. Brenna wondered what
Taylor had thought when Nell appeared at their table. Brenna smiled
grimly. He was probably as relieved as she was.

Back in their room, Taylor sat in an
overstuffed, navy blue leather chair, staring at the pages of the
book he held, but not seeing the words. Carol was unpacking and
chatting; however, his mind was elsewhere.

He still couldn't believe he'd proposed to
two women in his life and now they were both under
this
roof. He'd always wanted to find Brenna and get her out of his
system once and for all. All the searches had only led to dead
ends, and he'd finally had to give up, convincing himself it was
for the best. But now his churning emotions settled in a large lump
in the pit of his stomach.

“
Taylor, I've heard you
grunt for the fifth time instead of answering me.” Carol looked at
him in the dressing table mirror. He glanced down and frowned at
his book. “That must be a darn good book because you've not taken
your eyes off the thing. You sure don't look like a man who's
blissfully happy,” she pointed out. “Unhappy would be the word to
best describe your features. Your mind is definitely not on me.”
She turned and looked at him. “Come to think of it, you've been
distant and withdrawn all evening. Do you want to tell me who that
woman is since you never bothered to answer my question? And why
were you so rude to her?”

“
Brenna and I went to
college together and I guess you could say we had a disagreement.
I’m a little tired tonight and seeing her reminded me of what she
did to a friend of mine,” he lied.

“
But that was in the past.
You should let it go. She seems like a nice lady,” Carol said then
continued to brush her hair. After a few minutes she asked, “Is
something else wrong?”

Taylor laid his book down on the small oak
table beside him. “Why do you ask?”

“
Because you've been
reading that same page for the last hour.”

“
Guess I'm a slow reader.”
Taylor laughed uncomfortably and Carol's expression softened as she
laughed, too. “Just having a little trouble relaxing. I'll try and
do better.”