Texas Gold (10 page)

“I would have brought you a corsage, but Nina assured me no one there under sixty would be caught dead in one.”

“Speaking of there, maybe now you could tell me...”

He barely heard the words as she trailed one hand down the other bare arm. She had no idea that simple movement was sexy as hell.

“Hello. Earth to Brenton.”

He looked into her laughing eyes. “The country club. It’s a benefit dinner and auction for a local scholarship foundation.”

He didn’t tell her more, didn't figure it was necessary.

“Who will be there?”

“Lots of people. But you’ll be the most marvelous of all, I’m sure.”

Forty five minutes later, Mallory looked at the short line of limousines in front of them and couldn’t believe it.

A fountain with multicolored lights stood front and center of the yard, Valet attendants parked expensive cars and women in couture outfits escorted by men in tuxedos were everywhere.

As Brenton’s chauffeur opened her door, she spied an actual super model walking by in a barely there red dress and a gazillion dollars worth of diamonds around her neck, wrist, ankle and hanging from her ears.

When Brenton stepped out of the car, she threw herself in his arms. “Brenton, darling, how wonderful to see you.”

Good Lord above. He actually knew these people.

He introduced her to the model who smiled politely and left them alone.

“I can’t believe you know her.” She whispered in star struck awe and he shrugged it off.

“Money opens doors you’d never believe.”

Around her, she spied more models, sports stars, business owners, actors and actresses.

She’d had no idea Dallas was such a mecca for the rich and famous.

She was so far out of her league it was unbelievable.

Still, everyone she met was courteous. No one asked her what she thought she was doing. No one raised eyebrows or rudely whispered words and pointed in her direction.

When she saw John and his date walking toward them, she figured her reprieve was over.

“Hey, hey, hey. Look who’s here. It’s my main man and the sweetheart of Serendipity.”
 

She was right. For whatever reason, it was obvious John didn’t like her anymore than she liked him. His voice was loud and his tone obnoxious.
 

If he thought that would make her mad, he was right. If he thought she’d leave because of it, well, he’d just have to get to know her better.

Brenton placed his hand securely behind her back, making them look even more like a real couple. “Good to see you, John.” He turned to the beautiful blonde on John's arm. “And you must be Emily. I’ve heard so much about you.”

John’s date practically purred when she talked to Brenton, but she made no secret that she figured Mallory was little better than dryer lint.

Waiters walked by with champagne and caviar, and Mallory ignored John as best she could. He was talking about the new Serendipity developments, no matter how Brenton tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.

She thought about walking away, but she didn’t want John to think she was running scared. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out a way to coldly cut Brenton’s business partner and his date without appearing the coward.

She took an offered glass of champagne and was relieved when after only a few minutes, Brenton started to move away.

“We’ll talk later,” he promised John. He didn’t say anything to the date just turned away and almost ran right into a man who looked vaguely familiar.

The man was looking at her with that same faint recognition. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear. Did he say you were from Serendipity?” The man pointed at John.

“Yes.” Suddenly she knew who this was. His face appeared on sports columns in newspapers across the state, and he had his own sports talk radio show. She was staring at a man she hadn’t seen in years, but a man who’d been to her house more than once when she’d been growing up.

“Smokey Joe Callahan.” He’d been one of her heroes years before. His cowboy mustache was specked with gray, but he was still as long and lean as he’d been back then.

“You can’t be Mallory Baber.”

“In person.” She was so happy to see a familiar face, she wanted to dance a jig, Instead she settled for a hug and introduced him to Brenton.

“Smokey Joe used to come to town when I was a kid.”

“It was after that first Cinderella season your daddy had. I was just a beginning reporter back then, but I loved to cover the Friday night lights. And when a town like Serendipity started on their way to a state championship, I knew it was magic. Made a hell of a story, too. How is old J.D. these days?”

She didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to remember that the man who wanted to destroy her daddy was standing next to her. “He’s still the same.” He was even if Brenton didn’t think he could handle the challenges ahead.

“Best damn coach I ever saw. He could get pure miracles from boys who couldn’t toss a foam football at the beginning of summer training. And defense. Holy hell, I remember talking to his opponents and them saying your daddy’s defense was like facing war and knowing you’d be damn lucky to make it through alive.”

This couldn’t be more perfect. Brenton had to believe it now. Surely he couldn’t just ignore an objective viewpoint from one of the greatest sports journalists in the state.

Smokey Joe lifted the long neck beer he was drinking. “I gotta skidaddle. My wife’s probably bidding on something like a metal crepe myrtle for our front yard. With our luck, we’ll probably get it. Tell your daddy I said good luck with this season.”
 

She promised she would.

He turned to leave and then stopped and lifted his beer to Brenton. “Good to meet you, too. This is a nice thing you do, son. See y’all inside.”

As he walked away, Mallory couldn’t believe it. “You do this? The benefit, the food, the auction?” She pointed to the front of the room. “The ice sculpture?”

He shrugged. “Not really. I just get the ball rolling.”

What did the man not do?

After a dinner that could only be described as heavenly, he stood. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

As he walked away, a woman who looked like she’d worn her diamonds to bed the last ninety years leaned across the table. “He really is wonderful, dear. My Howard always matched whatever donation Brenton started the night off with, and I think I’ll double it this year. You know this is only one of his scholarship foundations. We sent more than twenty teenagers to college last year.”

The lady sitting next to her nodded in agreement. “I sit on the board of the women’s shelter. Brenton saved it from closing five years ago. We’re opening four new homes over the course of this year thanks to the money he’s donated and raised.”

Mallory wanted to ask questions like exactly how many scholarship foundations Brenton chaired or how much money he gave to women's shelters, but the lights dimmed and there he was on a stage with John in front of them presenting a check for two million dollars to a man she assumed ran the day to day operations of the foundation.

When he returned to his seat, a young Hispanic girl was thanking everyone in the room for enabling her to earn her degree in bioengineering.

She told a story of hardship at home and in school growing up. Of working two jobs while in high school to help her mother put food on the table and of meeting Mr. Alexander, the man who’d changed her life.

The room erupted in applause and Mallory wondered if he’d wanted her to see this part of his life for more than one reason. Did he want her to see him as more than a money driven man who only cared about turning small town paradises into overdeveloped cheesy tourist traps?

If so, as she sat beside him in the grand ballroom of the country club, she couldn’t help but realize he’d succeeded. To many people, Brenton Alexander was a knight in shining armor. Too bad he was the death knell for everything she held dear.

She would have to remember that on the trip home instead of the face of the girl as she held up her new degree. Because no matter how badly she wanted to, she couldn’t pull his lips to hers and thank him for a wonderful evening.

The ride home was quieter than he’d expected.

Brenton thought Mallory would be full of questions and accusations. Imagined teasing her on the way home. Instead, she sat away from him, back ram-rod straight, no tiny bit of flirting. No talking. No praise for his work.

No matter what he told himself, he’d brought Mallory to impress her.

Somehow, he’d failed. He couldn’t help but wonder if John’s weasely attempt at rudeness was the cause.

That had certainly back-fired.
 

So Smokey Joe Callahan knew her father. He wondered why she’d kept silent on her own state championship.

Actually he knew very well why she hadn’t said a word about it, he just wondered if she knew.

He’d bet every dime to his name that Mallory never talked about her accomplishments when people talked about her father’s victories.

The same way he never told a soul why he was so driven to help the inner city kids of Dallas. The same way he wrote check after check for shelters without a thought to cost.

The car rolled along the interstate, silence his only companion. He missed her flirtatious banter and her challenging defiance.

“Still impressed?”

For a second, he thought she wouldn’t answer. She must have decided the silent treatment was the coward’s way out because she finally spoke. “Amazed is more like it. Why didn’t you tell me this was your benefit dinner and auction?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to take me on a five mile cross country trek through town yesterday? Probably the same reason. Trying to get the upper hand in our battle of wills.”

“It’s not simply a battle of wills, Brenton. I’m trying to fight for the life of Serendipity. And for my daddy’s career.” Her eyes blazed as she looked at him, but other than that, her anger was hidden.

For a second, he let the silence fill the car again. Finally he spoke. “I don’t want to fight you tonight, Mallory.” He reached over and ran his hand down her bare arm. “I want to enjoy the company of the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met.”

She tugged her arm away. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

He laughed. “You certainly are getting to know me well.”

He wanted to pull her into is arms, to show her how true his words were, but he’d promised her a week.

Suddenly, he wasn’t sure he wanted this to be about business anymore.

But if it wasn’t about business, he didn’t know what to do next. In terms of dollars and cents, he always knew his next move.

With Mallory sitting across from him, with the memory of her lips on his, her laughter as she ran through sprinklers in the early morning, her loyalty to a father he was set to ruin, he was completely, totally, lost.

Chapter Seven

The minute Brenton’s hand touched her arm, Mallory knew the trip home had changed.

And God help her, she wanted it to. She wanted to feel the tingle of electricity that seemed to fill the air between them.
 

Truth be told, she wanted him to touch her because she wasn’t going to make the first move.

He lifted her hand to his lips. “You’re a beautiful woman.”

The feather light touch of his lips on her hands sent reverberations of tension through her body.
 

She slipped off her seat belt and moved closer to him. “And you’re an incredible man.”

His fingers touched her lips. “Shh. Let’s not talk. Not now.”

Nodding in agreement, she met his lips with her own. The same tempestuous roller coaster of emotions that made itself evident with every kiss was there, but it was tempered by something calm, something sweet.

And she knew it was her realization that this man wasn’t just a callous destroyer. He couldn’t tear apart everything she held dear. Not after all she’d seen tonight.

Please, God, don’t let me be wrong about this.

The words played through her mind as she touched her lips to his. This kiss wasn’t about possession. It was her gift, freely given.

Oh, she wanted to give so much more.

His fingers rolled gently up and down her neck as she continued their kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair and down his chest, opening his shirt buttons with ease to touch bare skin. Her fingers trembled as they moved lower, past his rock hard stomach to the clasp on his pants.

His moan of pleasure acted as an intoxicant, and she would have done more. But his hand stilled hers.

“I’m only human. I promised you a week to get to know me. A week without this, but I don’t know that I can give a week.”

The car pulled in front of her house at the same time he spoke, and she was torn. She’d moved beyond the week, beyond the idea that this was simply business.

But as she looked at his face, as she remembered this night, she wondered if he’d made this whole business deal out of fear. Or maybe he’d moved beyond business, but was now afraid to admit it.

Could she take the chance?

His shirt rebuttoned, he walked her to her door. She hadn’t responded to his words, didn’t know what to say.

But when he lifted her hand to his lips once more, when she felt the same tremors move through her body leaving her breathless, bringing her entire body to life, she knew what she wanted.

“Don’t wait.”

For a moment, he froze, her hand suspended in air, his body bent slightly. “Don’t wait.” He repeated her words in a gruff whisper as if he weren’t sure what he’d heard, and she nodded.

“Come in with me now. Stay as long as you like.” When she’d made her decision, it seemed so right, but the longer they stood on her small front porch, the more ridiculous she felt. This was a man who knew supermodels on a first name basis. Why in the world would he want to stay with her?

“Hold on.” She watched as he walked back to the car, and then as it drove away.

When he returned, he didn’t wait for her to open the door, didn’t give her chance to ask the questions running through her mind.

Instead, he pressed her against the door with his body and crushed her lips with his.