Once Tempted (38 page)

Tess froze in her seat. The Bradfords? No, it couldn’t be—

“Yes,” Erica said. For a horrible moment Tess thought Erica had read Tess’s panicked thoughts. But then she continued. “Dad was VP of one of his companies when we lived in Boston. He left the company when he met Christine and decided to move to Greenwich to be near her. But he and Mr. Bradford have remained friends. I’m sure the Bradfords will attend if their schedule permits. Though now that I think about it, maybe they won’t. Their only son died recently so perhaps they won’t want to endure the socializing a wedding requires. Remember when Dad and Christine went to that funeral in Boston last December, Carrie? It was for the Bradfords’ son.”

“That’s right. I remember we had dinner with Benjamin and Mom afterward. Benjamin felt terrible for the Bradfords. They were shattered. So VIP category for them, Phil.”

Oh God. Just when she’d hoped the past was behind her, it reared its ugly head. The news that the Bradfords were friends of Carrie’s family came as a violent shock … yet it shouldn’t. Some worlds had less than six degrees of separation. More like three. New England’s wealthy elite was one of them.

Connections were one thing—and Carrie’s mother and stepfather were obviously well connected. What rocked her was the idea that they had been asked to attend
David’s burial when she, his wife, had been barred from paying her last respects, from saying a last goodbye.

Hurt and humiliation flooded her once more. Choking her.

Carrie looked up. “Are you okay, Tess?”

“Of course. I swallowed my coffee too quickly. It burned.” She tried a smile, fighting the dizziness that had assailed her at the mention of the Bradfords. She reached for her ice water and took a deep gulp. “There. All better now,” she said, patting her trembling lips with a napkin.

Across the table she met Erica’s inquisitive gaze.

Somehow she got through the rest of the breakfast. It was easier once Ward sat down again, for Erica shifted the focus of her attention to him. Tess hadn’t liked how carefully Erica had studied her, with a kind of microscopic intensity, following the mention of the Bradfords. Tess wondered how much of her inner turmoil she’d inadvertently revealed. Fortunately Ward appeared to notice nothing amiss, engaged as he’d been talking to the guest.

The conversation flowed around her, Brian reminiscing about his high school and college summer jobs at Silver Creek, lifeguarding at the pool, weeding the vegetable gardens, and bussing in the kitchen. His stories were funny; Brian told a good tale. Tess managed to smile at the appropriate moments as she moved her omelet around her plate.

Carrie happened to glance at her watch. “Oh my God, Brian, we’ve got to get going or we’ll miss our flight. I still have a couple more things to throw in my suitcase.”

They all rose from the table. “The weekend’s gone way too fast,” Brian said.

“Yes, it has. Good thing you’ll be back before long,” Ward said.

Brian smiled. “Damn straight. Thanks, Phil, for dealing with our guest list. Maybe we’ll get lucky and all those who have yet to reply will decline.”

Tess hoped Brian’s wish came true. Even the possibility of facing the Bradfords again made her sick.

Brian and Carrie hurried out. Erica turned to Ward. When she smiled like that, she was stunningly beautiful, Tess thought.

“Luckily I’m all packed,” Erica said. “But my suitcase is rather heavy and doesn’t have wheels. Would you mind helping me with it? The staff must be very busy.”

She was stunningly beautiful and extremely clever, Tess added silently. Erica of course knew Ward would be unwilling to further burden his employees during peak check-out time.

Ward gave Erica a long look, then shrugged. “Sure.” To Tess he said, “I’ll meet you in a few minutes at Brian’s car, okay?”

She nodded, secretly relieved to have a few minutes alone. If she didn’t compose herself, Ward might guess that something was wrong. And where would she start if he asked? The list was growing longer by the minute, starting with his ex-fiancée’s declaration that she intended to win back his heart, and ending with the awful prospect of her former in-laws appearing at the wedding where, if they were to catch sight of her, they would doubtless spit in her eye. The middle of her list was just as distressing. It consisted of all the ways she’d fallen in love with Ward and all the reasons she wasn’t yet ready to voice to him what was in her heart.

Even though Carrie had said that she still had a few belongings to stow in her bag, she and Brian met Tess by
the rental car first. Carrie was growing nervous at the prospect of missing their flight. She’d told Tess she taught a large lecture class on Monday mornings. Once again she checked her watch. “Should I call Erica?”

Brian wrapped his arm about her shoulder and squeezed it. “No. Believe me, Ward’s not going to let her make us late.” He pressed a quick kiss against her brow. To Tess he gave a lopsided grin. “Actually I’m glad we got you alone. I wanted to say sorry for the remark I made earlier. For a while I was concerned that Ward was having trouble moving on after the break-up. Now it seems as if it’s Erica. But you don’t have anything to worry about, Tess—”

“Oh! Here they are,” Carrie exclaimed happily.

Tess turned to see Ward and Erica walking up the path together. They made a striking couple, his compelling dark looks a perfect foil for her blond beauty.

“Hey, guys,” Brian called out as they neared. “We were about to send out an APB for the two of you.”

Erica glanced up at his words and perhaps because she wasn’t watching the path, or perhaps because this was just another part of her grand plan, she stumbled sideways into Ward, who reached out to steady her with his free hand. “Careful, Erica,” Tess heard him say.

“Thanks. You’re always there for me, aren’t you?” There was only one word to describe the smile Erica gave Ward: dazzling.

Ward must have reacted by moving. Or maybe Erica just choreographed it all impeccably. Which one it was didn’t really matter. What did matter was that she teetered again on her heels and lost her balance. Pitching forward, she landed against Ward in a graceful arc, and somehow her hands found their way around his neck. Her lips found him too. She kissed him, open-mouthed and for far too long … So long that her kiss became
their
kiss.

“Listen, Tess, you can’t still be mad about that damned kiss.”

“I hadn’t realized there was a time limit.” Her voice was tight.

“Yeah.” He gave her a crooked smile. “It elapsed about forty minutes ago.”

She didn’t return his smile. She couldn’t. The image of Ward and Erica kissing still sickened her. It had unlocked all the jealousy and misery she’d felt when David taunted her with the other women he picked up for sex. She remembered how she’d cried and wailed and stormed with him not to hurt her like this. She’d even begged.

They were in Ward’s laundry room, the oddest place for a fight, especially as it was a nice laundry room, clean and bright, with lots of countertops. Determined to ignore Ward, she’d made good use of the space over the afternoon. She now had piles of laundry neatly stacked and she was still adding to them.

Doggedly she smoothed the shirt she’d pulled out of the dryer and folded it, running her hands along the warm cotton edges, pressing down with her weight so that he wouldn’t see how they trembled.

She thanked God for the laundry. It gave her something to do, something to focus on rather than rewinding the image of Erica pressed tight against Ward, kissing him for far too long, so that when it finally ended Brian had whispered an appalled, “Oh, shit.”

Personally, Tess thought that didn’t even begin to do justice to the situation.

She pulled out another shirt from the dryer and began folding it with machinelike precision.

Standing next to her, Ward sighed and shifted, propping his hip against the washing machine, which was
churning and sloshing with another load. He’d left her for an hour or so to check on Ziggy and the wounded steer, doubtless hoping that when he returned she’d have calmed down. In a sense, she had, but it was less a calming down than a shutting down, her way of blocking out the hurt.

“I’m sorry you’re upset, Tess. There’s no cause.”

She spared him a quick glance before returning to her task. “Of course not. Why should I be upset if your ex-fiancée not only announces publicly that she wants you back, but then proceeds to give you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? Talk about trying to revive love. Were you even going to mention that last night she wasn’t only interested in talking about your exceptional wonderfulness? That she’d also decided to tell you how much she longed to walk down the aisle with you? Interesting that you skipped over that part of the evening’s discussion.” Abruptly she stopped and clamped her mouth shut. No, she wouldn’t do this. She
couldn’t
do this.

“Tess, I hate that we’re fighting over Erica. I’m sorry she kissed me. But it’s not fair to act as if I’m complicit in any of this.”

She maintained a stony silence.

He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. “Tess, it takes two to tango. I am
not
getting back together with Erica. Do you remember those women I told you about—the ones who were more attracted to what Silver Creek represented in dollar signs than they were to whatever qualities I might possess? Well, Erica was one of those women.”

“What do you mean? You said she broke off the engagement.”

“Yeah, she did call it off.” Bitterness tinged his voice. “But only after I made it clear that I wouldn’t go through with her nifty idea to sell off our livestock so we could turn the pastures into world-class golf courses and go
looking for fat-cat investors to make Silver Creek into a resort like any other in America. The pot of gold she envisioned from these decisions would go toward some nice properties she wanted to live in—in San Francisco, New York, God knows where else. Once she realized I would never try and convince my family to change the ranch so she could lead the pampered life she’d envisioned, she decided I wasn’t worth marrying. Once I realized what really fueled her desire to be Mrs. Ward Knowles, I was only too glad to let her go.”

“Maybe she’s seen the errors of her ways—”

“I’m fairly sure she has, especially now that it seems she and her rich Silicon Valley boyfriend have split. I actually think you’re partly to blame in this business too.”

“Me? What are you talking about?”

He grinned because her question had come out as a shocked squeak. “You’re doing such a great job promoting the ranch and raising its profile, she’s probably figured out that it’s not necessary to sell off the cattle and sheep to make this place turn a profit. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s calculated exactly how many well-organized events like Brian and Carrie’s wedding and the cowgirls’ weekend it would take to increase the ranch’s revenue. Of course, Erica’s also probably still laboring under the delusion that somehow that money would ultimately be used so she and I could jet about like celebrity wannabes—which is why I’ve made it crystal clear that I’m not interested in getting back together with her. I want to be with somebody who wants me—and my deeply flawed character.”

When she looked at him in confusion, he smiled. “You know, my supreme arrogance and rudeness. It’s possible you mentioned a few others.”

She felt a blush heat her cheeks. “I—uh—may have been a bit harsh that day.”

He grinned. “Really? You mean I’m growing on you?” Stepping close he reached out and tucked her bang behind her ear—she loved it when he did that—and then trailed his fingers over her cheek. “Tess, I want you to move your things into my place.”

She looked up, startled by his unexpected suggestion. Startled and worried. His thumb was now tracing her lower lip. It trembled against the calloused pad. “I—I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ward. It’s too soon. I—”

He raised his hands to frame her face. His beautiful eyes were mesmerizing and intent. “Tess, I’m crazy about you. I want to do this.”

“Oh, Ward—” she began in an agonized whisper. “I—I care for you too. Really, I do. It’s just—” She stopped and closed her eyes. Oh God, life was so messy and complicated. She wanted this so much, but how could she move in with him when she wasn’t sure she was ready to be in a real relationship yet? It wasn’t only the pain of her ruined marriage that held her back; she’d yet to talk to him about the Bradfords. Her aim in coming to Acacia had been to escape every last tie to them. Then today, their name had been spoken by sweet, kind Carrie, and all the ugliness associated with them had returned. Tess only hoped Ward would understand why she’d taken their money when she did find a way to tell him. She couldn’t make the attempt now. She needed more time.

She covered his hands with hers and drew them down to clasp them tight. “Ward,” she began, her voice low and pleading. “So much has happened to me during this past year. Terrible, terrible things that I’m still struggling with. And so much has happened since I came to Acacia and Silver Creek. This job as the guest ranch’s events planner, I love it. And I love organizing Brian and Carrie’s wedding. But it’s all a lot of work, and I’m so scared of screwing up. Can’t we just keep things as they are for
a while longer? Until after the wedding, perhaps? Until after Erica is really gone from your life?”