The Perfect Ingredient (Dare Valley) (31 page)

“I have to admit I’m really excited about this venture,” Abbie said, reaching for the cup of tea Jane had brewed for her. “Your joint product line is really going to help put our hotel chain on the map for something beyond poker.”

“The hotel chain is already on the map. I’m just going to throw my name in more publicly.”

“That’s a nice thing to say, Terrance,” Abbie said with a smile. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your trip.”

Terrance reached for his coffee, covertly watching Elizabeth and her friend. When Jane looked at Matt, Terrance followed his gaze. They shared a significant look too.

He’d always been able to detect trouble, ever since he was a loner kid in a rough neighborhood. His gut churned. Something was wrong here, and he wasn’t in the know.

“Thanks, Abbie. I’m sure everything will fall into place,” Terrance said, hiding his hand for the present.

“Did the lamb not sit well with you, Elizabeth?” Rhett asked. “You look as pale as a possum in the moonlight.”

Her chuckle was as forced as they come. “A possum, Rhett? How unflattering. Must be the wine. Perhaps I had too much.”

She hadn’t.

Terrance turned his head to study her. She wouldn’t look at him now.

As he was reaching under the table to touch her thigh again, to establish that precious connection between them, he noticed her hands were clutching her napkin, the knuckles white, just like how she’d been gripping her purse in the car.

What the f—

“How about we take our drinks out back,” Matt suggested, standing. “It’s not too cool tonight, and our new fire pit is waiting to be christened.”

“Have you decided which house you’re going to live in when you two get hitched?” Rhett asked, pushing back and helping Abbie with her chair as she rose.

Terrance did the same with Elizabeth, almost in slow motion.

Something was terribly wrong, and he couldn’t think about anything else.

“We’re staying here even though technically Matt’s not living here,” Jane told them. “Shh… Dare Valley doesn’t like their mayoral candidates living in sin.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, Jane,” Matt said in exasperation.

“Well, it’s true. We chose my place since it has a couple more bedrooms for when we decide to have kids. Of course, we’re planning to get married first.”

Rhett nudged Abbie, and she shook her head. He leaned closer and whispered something in her ear. She whispered back. By the time they turned their attention to the others, he was grinning.

“Jane?” he said. “Do you mind if I ask Mac and Peg to swing up here for a bit? Keith’s soccer game should be over by now, and they’re picking Dustin up for us from his soccer practice.”

“Sure thing,” Jane said, standing now. “It was too bad we couldn’t find a night when everyone could make it.”

“With the kids’ activities after school, it can be a challenge,” Abbie said as they went outside.

The night was cool, and the stars above would have captured Terrance’s complete attention if not for the rigidness of Elizabeth by his side. When Rhett called her over to point out one of the constellations to her, Terrance gripped the railing.

Rhett seemed clueless, but Jane and Matt undoubtedly knew something he didn’t.

Should he ask Jane about it if Elizabeth refused to talk to him? But she’d made it pretty clear she wouldn’t tell him anything Elizabeth wouldn’t.

When Mac and Peggy finally arrived on the back porch with Keith and Dustin, Matt brought the newcomers drinks.

“Good to see you again, Private Dancer,” Peggy said to Terrance by way of hello.

She wasn’t the kiss and hug type, so he only rolled his eyes. Keith ran over to Rhett, who slung him upside down, making the young boy squeal with laughter. The moment he put Keith down, Rhett took Abbie’s hand. Dustin took his mother’s hand with a grin.

“We didn’t think we could get everyone together at the same time,” Rhett said, “so we decided to share our news with y’all first. Honey…”

Abbie’s smile was radiant as she said, “We’re having a baby.”

Keith let out a whoop of pure pleasure, and Jane rushed forward to hug them all.

Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open, but her expression soon turned into a grin. “Oh my God!” she said, dashing toward them. “Congratulations, Rhett, Abbie, Dustin. That’s wonderful.”

Lifting her off the ground in a bear hug, Rhett said, “I figure that between the two of us, we’re going to make an artsy poker player.”

“Do you think the baby’s going to grow as tall as you, Uncle Rhett?” Keith asked.

“Only if he’s a boy,” Rhett said, taking Mac’s hand and giving him a man bump. “How about that, Maven?”

“Couldn’t happen to better people. I’m going to be an uncle again.” When Mac and Abbie embraced, she pressed her face into her brother’s neck. “I’m so happy for you, Abbie.”

She wiped a tear away. “We figured it wouldn’t be fair to Dustin if we waited until he was in college to have a baby, so Rhett convinced me to accelerate the timetable. At least he’ll have a little time to enjoy his brother or sister.”

“I’ll be coming home for college, Mom,” Dustin said as Mac grabbed him in a bear hug.

“You’d better,” Mac said. “This kid is going to need an older brother.”

Peggy hugged Abbie, and the others offered their congratulations one at a time. Terrance was the last one to give Rhett a man hug.

“Congratulations. Seems some cooking classes might be in order for another reason now. You’ll have another mouth to feed.”

Rhett pounded him on the back. “Yep. I need to take a cooking class on baby food once Abbie’s job is finished. It’s going to be fun. I’ve never been so happy.”

But even his friends’ uplifting mood following the happy announcement couldn’t shake off Terrance’s sour one. Elizabeth was on the other side of the deck now, talking to Jane and Abbie.

He had never felt so alienated from her, not since finding a Dear John note and the lingering smell of her Chanel perfume on his pillow.

Chapter 34

Terrance was stewing. Even from across the porch, Elizabeth could see how angry he was. She couldn’t blame him. His impending trip to New York had sent her into a tailspin.

All she’d been able to do was sit in her seat, her purse clutched in her hands, wondering if Vince had called him and asked for the meeting. A taunt like that would be just like him.

When Terrance explained the purpose of the trip, she’d tried to relax. Until he started talking about how he and Mac wanted to discuss their new franchising venture with Vince, something she should have anticipated. Her mind was in turmoil, the pressure giving her a headache. Terrance and Mac could not give Vince another business venture.

Even Jane’s famous poker face hadn’t been up to scratch when the trip came up at dinner. The way she’d looked at her and then Matt had made it that much harder to breathe like normal.

Especially when Terrance laid his hand on her thigh, his desire to reestablish connection evident.

Now they were drinking out on the porch, and Elizabeth was doing her best to reestablish her severely compromised poker face.

“Can you help me in the kitchen?” Jane asked, taking her elbow and steering her away before she could reply.

Girlfriend was not taking no for an answer.

“Does anyone want anything?” Elizabeth asked as she let Jane pull her to the patio door.

“How about you get some of that fancy champagne for a toast?” Rhett called.

“Rhett, I can’t drink,” Abbie reminded him.

“The doc said you could have a sip, but if you don’t want any, sugar, that’s just fine. What else would you like?”

“Water would be great,” Abbie replied.

Elizabeth tried to smile when she met Terrance’s stony gaze, but it was of no use. She yanked open the door, eager to escape the questions she could see in his eyes.

Jane strode to her wine cooler and pulled out a bottle of Dom. Turning, she pointed the pricy bottle at Elizabeth.

“Remember when you agreed you would revisit our discussion about telling Terrance? Well, now’s the time.”

“Shh. Do you want someone to overhear?” She scanned the various entry points in the kitchen to make sure no one had followed them inside.

“Elizabeth! We need to talk about this.”

“Not now, Jane,” she said, grabbing champagne glasses from the cabinet.

Jane popped the cork and started to pour, her motions choppy. “Matt doesn’t like this whole thing one bit, and I know he’s even more upset now that he knows Mac’s involved through this new franchising venture. Elizabeth, it can’t go forward.”

She darted a glance at the doorway again. “I know, Jane. I’ll think of something.”

“
Tell him.
He deserves to know. You’re not protecting him…you’re hurting him.”

She picked up four glasses, balancing the stems between her fingers. “I’ll send someone else in to help you,” she said and walked back out without another word.

What should have been a night filled with laughter and happiness was instead rife with worry and despair. The champagne tasted flat in her mouth after Rhett gave a toast that brought tears to her eyes.

To our baby. May he or she know how much all of these people here tonight already love him or her.

Rhett teased her and Jane about being aunts for the first time, but Terrance kept his distance, staying on the edge of the group, sipping his champagne with narrowed eyes.

When everyone said their goodbyes, they walked to his car without speaking or holding hands. He didn’t even open the door for her. Only slammed his own.

They drove back to her house in silence, her heart thudding in her chest. Still intent on keeping her secret, she searched for plausible excuses that would pacify him given how important his life in New York clearly was to him . He was being featured in
GQ,
and his star was rising even higher now. There was no way she could hurt his career.

When they reached her house, he cut the engine, but made no move to open his door. “Do you want me to go? Because the way you acted tonight sure as hell makes me want to leave.”

If he did, they would be in tatters again, and she wasn’t sure she could patch them together a third time.

She laid a hand on his arm. The muscles were locked beneath two layers of fabric, his griffins poised to fight.

“Please come inside.”

“Give me one good reason why I should after tonight.”

Oh, God. “Because I love you, and I’m scared.” That was the truth at least. “And I don’t always know what to say or how to handle what’s between us either.”

He turned in his seat to face her. “What is it about New York that bothers you so much? It’s not just this trip, because I saw the way Jane and Matt acted when I mentioned it tonight. Whatever you told them, it couldn’t have been about the trip. I only told you on the way over there.”

His logic wasn’t wrong, and she decided she could only share her feelings. Not the cause of them. She hoped it would be enough for now.

“I’m afraid I’m going to lose you,” she whispered. “Everything you’ve ever had or wanted is in New York. All your friends. Your hangouts. The show. I can’t compete with that.”

“Oh, Christ,” he muttered and shoved open the car door.

He stalked around the front and circled to her side. She pushed open her door, and they both stood in the cool night air, gazing at each other.

“Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?” He thrust his hand up to the stars. “I love you.
I. Love. You.
If I haven’t yet conveyed what a big deal that is for me, then I’m sorry. You don’t ever need to be afraid of competing with my life in New York, Elizabeth.”

Her lip quivered in the cool night, and she wrapped her arms around herself in a futile attempt to control the emotions raging inside her.

He kicked the ground and strode off two steps before coming back to stand in front of her. “You’re my perfect ingredient. You! Okay? I’ve scoured the world for something—a spice, a condiment, a rarity—thinking food was the answer to filling up this hole inside me. I never thought it would be a woman. Cooking saved me. It’s been the best part of my life…until you.”

Her hand reached out to clutch his jacket. Her heart was thudding in her chest, pushing against the confines of the old lies she’d internalized, the ones that said she couldn’t be anyone’s everything.

“Do you understand now?” he asked. “New York is
nothing
compared to you. Nothing.”

“Oh, Terrance,” she whispered, pressing her face into his chest, hanging on as wave after wave of emotion rolled through her.

Reaching for his face, she raised on her tiptoes to press her mouth to his. He yanked her to him and ravaged her mouth, pouring out all his anger and frustration. She welcomed it, soothing him with soft kisses while his fingers dug into her waist, as if searching for an anchor.

He swung her up finally into his arms and jogged the short distance to the front door. After she managed to unlock it, he kicked it shut and carried her to the bedroom. Setting her down by the bed, he tore off her shirt, sending buttons flying in every direction.

“I can’t wait,” he told her in a hoarse voice, all finesse gone.

She didn’t answer. Only undid the lone button on his jacket and helped him shrug it off and then his shirt. He peeled off the rest of her shirt too and then swept away her black skirt, hose, and heels in one pass. Kicking them free, she reached for his belt, and soon they were both naked.

Falling back onto the mattress, she gazed up at him and opened her legs. His hot stare sent shivers across her body. When he slid over her, covering her, she stroked his face.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, dammit, and don’t forget it.”

Her hands clenched his backside, any mention of his Cuss Fund forgotten now, and he pressed deep into her with one thrust. She was more than ready for him, and even though he’d been swept away by emotion earlier, he found his tenderness as he started stroking into her.

“You destroy me,” he uttered in a hoarse voice.

She understood. She felt the same way. As she rose to meet his thrusts, she could only try and communicate through her body what he most needed to know.