An Irresistible Temptation (20 page)

Philip paused, half crouched, staring at
her.

“I mean, I need to dress.” She also needed to
wash again. “You should wait downstairs.”

He looked her up and down and she flushed. He
took a step toward her.

“Good thing you kept that man in the hall.
That’s certainly not appropriate attire for entertaining a man in
your room. But your fiancé, that’s another matter.”

He encircled her in his arms, his hands
smoothing up and down the silky material at her back. She tried to
enjoy his familiar touch but, instead, it made her skin crawl. Not
to mention that she felt like a harlot. She wanted to feel warm and
loving and able to carry on normally. But, obviously, as she eased
herself out of Philip’s embrace, this was simply too soon.

“We don’t want to be late,” she said, putting
her hand on his arm and pushing him toward the door.

“Right,” he agreed, “I’ll be downstairs.” He
bent his head to kiss her and she nearly gave him her cheek. She
forced herself to keep still as his lips touched hers. She felt no
stomach-flipping thrill, no desire to rip his clothes off, but
then, she also didn’t feel the need to wipe her mouth, so that was
something. Perhaps if he smelled like Riley . . .

“More of that later,” he promised, lifting
his head and looking at her with what she could only describe as
devotion.

As she closed the door, she considered her
future as pragmatically as possible, for it seemed that romantic
notions were not to play a part. She could live on the memories of
her single passionate encounter with Riley and she could be
Philip’s faithful wife.

Yes, she would be able to tolerate that,
wouldn’t she?

*****

“Well, I can see why you fell for him the
first time and why you could easily do it again.” Carling and
Sophie were in the powder room of The Lick’s gorgeous dining room,
touching up their noses and smoothing their hair halfway through
their meal.

Sophie’s eyes met Carling’s in the mirror.
“You approve of him, then?”

“Yes,” Carling said, “but he did break your
heart, didn’t he? Don’t move too fast, Sophie. What’s to stop him
from doing it again?”

Yes, indeed. What if Philip took her back
east and then changed his mind?

“Well, if I marry him, I guess that seals the
deal, so to speak.”

Carling studied Sophie’s face.

“What?” Sophie asked. “Do I have something in
my teeth?”

“Nah,” Carling said, “I was wondering about
your Riley. Have you heard from him?”

Sophie didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t
spill the details of her intimate encounter with Riley from a few
hours earlier; she’d crossed the line from the usual female talk
about letting a man kiss you for a moment too long or letting a man
touch your wrist. She had let Riley make love to her, knowing it
was for one time only with no future and no declaration of love. It
was shameless. And it had been wonderful.

“You’re smiling,” Carling said, “so you have
heard from him.”

Sophie dodged the question. “He’s not here
anymore. He left for Colorado a short while ago.” She imagined him
on the Central Pacific, picturing the train she’d taken. He would
switch to the Union Pacific and go as far as Cheyenne before
heading south.

“Hm. Well then, it’s a good thing you have
Mr. Wainright. And quite a dishy fair-haired fellow he is, too.
Come on. They’ll wonder what we’re up to.”

“I doubt it. Isn’t discussing men what the
powder room is for? Speaking of which, Egbert is so different away
from the hotel, but also still so Egbert-ish.”

Carling laughed. “Yes, he is. All the
qualities I like about him are still there, but not the nasty hotel
manager parts. I’m falling for him, you know?”

Walking arm-in-arm, they rejoined their dates
and Sophie squashed any stray feeling of disappointment that the
man waiting for her at the table wasn’t Riley. That wasn’t fair to
Philip.

“We’ve been discussing vineyards,” announced
Egbert.

Sophie arched an eyebrow as she looked at
Philip. “And what would you know about growing grapes.”

“I know about drinking wine,” he said
lightly, raising his glass and taking a sip. They all laughed.

“He’s a thoughtful fellow,” Egbert added.
“Helping me think quite clearly.”

“Yes,” Sophie agreed, “he’s very thoughtful.”
After all, that’s what a philosophy student specializes in. “And
what are you thinking about?”

Egbert smiled. “Moving, taking a chance,
speculating, all that exciting stuff.”

“Oh, yes?” Carling asked, probably thinking
of her future.

“Yes, and maybe some other exciting things,”
Egbert said with a wink that Sophie caught. She was glad for her
friend. It was all in front of her. Sitting next to Philip, she
should feel the same way. So why did it seem as if the best part of
her life was behind her, or at least on a train to Colorado?

*****

“Oh, Riley, I’m so glad you’re here.” Eliza
threw herself into his arms as soon as she saw him. It was unusual
for her to display that kind of need; she was not the clinging
type, so he knew it was bad.

He held her, but the difference between
comforting Eliza and embracing Sophie was immediate. Nothing
stirred in him, except concern. Nothing urged him to hold her
tighter or kiss her. He simply rubbed her back and murmured
inanities, useless as he knew them to be, until she got a hold of
herself and pulled away.

“You came so fast,” she sniffed and took a
handkerchief from her sleeve. “He’s very poorly. Doc Cuthins is
upstairs. He says it’ll be over soon.”

That was just like the Doc to tell it like it
was. His patients appreciated it and Riley intended to do the same
in his practice, be it here in Spring . . . or somewhere else.

“Would you like tea?” she offered.

He knew she needed something to do. “Yes,
thanks,” he accepted. “I’ll go upstairs and check on your father,
and I’ll let you know what’s happening. I know you’ll want to be
with him when the end draws near.”

She paled. “Of course.”

Later, in the quiet hours between midnight
and one in the morning, Elijah Prentice passed away with his
daughter and Riley on one side of him, the preacher on the other,
and Doc Cuthins at the foot of the bed.

Riley slept in the guest room so Eliza
wouldn’t be alone in the house for the first time in her life. At
five in the morning, she came to his room, all pale skin in her
white shift and silken golden hair, eyes so light blue they were
nearly transparent. She climbed into his bed and he welcomed her,
putting his arms around her, feeling nothing but affection, knowing
that was all he could expect from their marriage.

“Do you want to make love to me, Riley?”

He froze. If he was going to marry her, he’d
have to, but right then, his sole thought was how he didn’t want to
betray Sophie. He swallowed. “Do you want me to?”

She laughed softly until he realized she was
crying.

“Eliza. Please don’t cry. Any man would be
honored to make love to you.”

“Any man but you.”

He couldn’t lie, but sometime soon, after the
vows, he would have to be intimate with her. “When we’re married—
”

“We’re not getting married,” she said. He
felt her wipe her face dry.

“What are you saying? You’re lying in bed
with me.”

“I’m free to do what I want. This is my
house. And don’t tell me you’ve never lain with a woman before whom
you didn’t intend to marry.”

That hit close to home and, again, his
thoughts flew back to Sophie. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours and
he was in bed with Eliza. What a cad! But if he closed his eyes and
kept his hands on her, he could almost pretend . . .

“Fine,” her voice broke in to his musings,
“then we’ll marry today. I’ll talk to the justice of the
peace.”

Her emotions were bouncing faster than he
could keep up.
Marry, today?

“Eliza, your father just passed. Give
yourself some time to grieve.”

“I am grieving, in here.” She thumped her
chest. “But Daddy’s death wasn’t a surprise. I’m not stricken and
shocked. I loved him, though I know most of the town didn’t feel
that way. And he loved me, unconditionally.” A few silent tears
rolled down her cheeks.

“Yes, he did. Anyone could see that.” Elijah
was absolutely devoted to his daughter and she deserved that. She
deserved that from a husband, as well. Hadn’t Riley said the same
thing to Wainright about Sophie?

He took a deep breath and held it a moment.
He had to tell her what was in his heart.

“Eliza, I don’t want to marry you.”

“I know,” she raised her hand and touched his
cheek. “And I don’t want to marry you, either. I only pushed you so
you’d say it.”

His brain was spinning.

What in the hell just happened?
She
didn’t want to get married—not to him. She wasn’t screaming or
crying or throwing things. In fact, as he breathed a sigh of
relief, he felt her do the same.

“I’m glad that’s finally out in the open,”
she said, turning and snuggling closer, putting her head on his
chest, as if they’d decided on what to eat for breakfast instead of
breaking off a long-term engagement. But he felt like dancing, so
glad was he that he hadn’t hurt Eliza’s feelings.

“Your hair smells good,” he said, knowing it
was a silly statement.

“I know.”

He chuckled. “You’ve always been so sure.
Even about us, I thought. I don’t understand you.”

“Men are so easily manipulated,” she said,
not unkindly. “I’m not so hard to figure out. I wanted to make my
father happy. Making him think that I was marrying a doctor made
him so; he liked you and it kept him at peace. I’m sorry I held on
to you so long, Riley, but I couldn’t let our engagement end before
he died, even though I knew you wanted it to.”

“I see.” So she was the one letting him down
easy, “but now that he’s gone, I can’t just . . . ”

“I know. How would it look? You’d be that
horrible Dalcourt man who broke my grieving heart. Why, when you
came back here to practice, you wouldn’t be welcomed. You’d be a
pariah.” She yawned. “I will make sure everyone knows that I waited
until my father died and then chucked you aside to gain my
freedom.” Her hand drifted idly up and down his chest until he
captured it and held it still. “I’m getting out of Spring,
Riley.”

“What? Why?” He lifted his head a little to
look at her.

“I have been worse to you than you could
imagine. In my heart of hearts, I love someone else. I always
have.” She paused. “You look surprised.”

“I am.”
He was!
“I had no idea.”

“At times, I hoped you and I could marry and
make a go of it, but I knew I couldn’t be the wife you need. Not
the way, say, Sophie Malloy could.”

He started at the sound of her name.

“That’s what I thought,” Eliza said. “It’s
all right. I’ve learned that we don’t choose whom we love.” She
reached up and caressed his cheek. “And I appreciate that you
didn’t abandon me for her, when you easily could have.” She pulled
his head down and planted her lips on his. He held still as
stone.

When she drew back, she snuggled against him
again. “Nope, nothing there. But I was pretending for a moment that
you were him.”

“You want to tell me who he is? I could beat
the tar out of him for you.”

“I wish you could. But he’s not in Spring and
I have no idea where he is.”

“Are you going to look for him?”

“No. That’s unseemly in a woman, don’t you
think? I’m going away for a while to see a little more of this
world.”

He smoothed her lovely flaxen hair. “I want
you to be happy, Eliza. You sure as hell deserve it.”

“You, too, Riley. You, too.

Within a week, Elijah Prentice was six feet
under, his daughter had publicly broken off her engagement with
Riley Dalcourt, and she had nearly finished packing up her
trunks.

“I don’t know Doc. She won’t say where she’s
going.” Riley sat in the surgery, drinking coffee, thinking about
the many conversations he’d had with Eliza in the past few days,
many of which centered on settling his debt with her. He wanted to
pay her back, for the tuition and for his parents’ mortgage. At
first, she’d waved any such discussion away with a flit of her
hand, but in the end, she’d spoken plainly.

“Your monetary obligation never meant
anything to me. I only set it up that way because I knew you were
so damned honor bound that I could use it to hold on to you as long
as I needed. Even with Sophie Malloy’s unexpected arrival.”

He flushed. He didn’t like talking about
Sophie with Eliza. After all, he’d two-timed his fiancée and he’d
done wrong, terribly wrong, by Sophie. He hoped he could make it up
to her now that he was free. He was anticipating that moment when
he arrived back in San Francisco, knocked on her door, and told her
she was the sole woman in his life.

“What’s that grin for, Riley? Just the
mention of her name?” Eliza asked.

“I guess so.” He squirmed on the porch seat,
crossing his arms.

“I knew you’d fallen for her, even at the
beginning. That’s why I had her and Dan over. I had to make sure
she was good enough for you when I let you go.” Sitting on the
railing, she swung her legs back and forth.

“Seriously, Eliza, you are a piece of work.
Tell me what I can do for you?”

“First, become a great doctor, then be happy.
If you choose to be happy with Sophie, that’s all right by me.”

“When I’m a doctor, I can pay you back
everything I owe you, and I will.”

“How about you set up some sort of fund in my
name?” She tapped her cheek. “Yes, I rather like that idea.
Something along the lines of The Eliza Prentice Poor People’s
Medical Care Fund.”