Tangled Hearts (Passion in Paradise) (20 page)

“Is that so?  For which
of my many sins are you taking me to task for this time, babe?  I’ve been a
pretty amiable guy, all things considered,” he protested, settling himself more
deeply into her comfy couch before situating her in his arms.

Normally, she’d pull
away from him and try to put some distance between them.  Tonight, however, she
was too tired to fight the attraction she felt and she enjoyed the feeling of
being held in his strong arms.  She wouldn’t allow herself to feel bad about
it; some wars were better waged with a fresh mind.  After the day she’d lived
through, she was anything but fresh.  “You tattled to my brother about this
entire day!” she criticized.  “Doesn’t RJ have enough to worry about without
you dumping today on him?  He’s already far from home at Christmas.  Isn’t that
enough?  Did you have to burden him with your suspicions about Brad, too?”

 “Yes,” he answered
flatly, no doubt in his voice at all. 

“You don’t feel even a
bit bad about dumping all that on him?” she queried skeptically, turning her
head to eye the man beside her. 

“No,” he declared
resolutely.  “Melody, Rhythm would kick my ass from here to Baghdad if he
thought for one second I was keeping something that has to do with your safety
from him, and he’d be right to do it.  I’m not gonna keep shit from your
brother and neither are you.  I’ve been where he’s at… trust me when I say that
what his mind can conjure up when he’s worried is worse than any truth either
of us could give him.”

“Fine,” she mumbled. 
“I just think that you’re all making a lot of fuss over a whole bunch of
nothing
.”

“You are allowed to
think whatever you want; it won’t change my actions in the slightest,” Cal
assured her.  “For now, I think you and I are going to take advantage of those
tickets you bought me and spend some time in Nashville.  I’ve never been there
and I think a few days of sightseeing are just what we both need.”

“What?!” Melody yelled
sharply, jerking upright.  “Cal, I can’t.  I mean, I could spare a day, maybe
two, to go with you to see the Civil War battlefield reenactment, but I can’t
afford to be away for longer than that.  I’m getting ready to open my store on
February fourteenth, remember?”

“I know; I’ve been
working right beside you which is how I know that we both need a break.  You
and I both know that you are in good shape right now.  We’ll go for a week and
by the time we get back, all your inventory deliveries should be here.  We’ll
return in time to stock your shelves and computerize all the stock just like
you wanted.”

“But…”

“I already talked to
Abel.  He agreed that we could have our orders redirected to his office and
he’d hold them for us until we returned.  He’s got a whole empty room to store
the stuff and his assistant, Maggie, rarely leaves the office.  We’ll be fine
to go.”

“Well, you’ve just got
it all figured out, huh?” Melody pouted, more than a little affronted that he’d
arranged all this behind her back.  Honestly, it was
her
store, dammit.

“Don’t get angry with
me, Princess,” he chided gently.  “Look, after today, I just think it might be
better if we got you away from here for a bit.”

Melody glared at him. 
“Callum, nothing happened today besides the fact that I accidently ingested a
food to which I’m allergic.  That’s all.”

“So you think….I’m not
convinced.  Please, Melody.  I’ve already gotten everything covered for us. 
Come away with me for a little bit,” he pressed.  “Let’s get away and spend
some time… just us.”

“How is that different
from the time we spend together here exactly?”

“There we’ll have room
service and little mints on our pillows,” he rationalized with a wink.  “C’mon,
I want you to myself for just a few days.”

“Aren’t you afraid that
if we spend too much time together I might end up killing you?” she asked
curiously.

“Baby, only people we
really care about an awful lot can make us that angry.  So, I say bring it on,”
he returned with an unworried nod. 

Well, hell, Melody
inwardly cursed.  “Fine.  But I’m paying my own way and I’m getting my own
room.”

“We’ll see,” Cal
chuckled, dropping a kiss to her upturned nose. 

“Yes, we shall,” Melody
huffed, eerily feeling as though the battle lines had been drawn between them.

As Melody stood in line
behind a pair of nattering grey-haired ladies animatedly discussing the Grand
Ole Opry show they were taking in later in the evening, she prayed for
patience... or divine intervention and steadfastly ignored the presence of the
horse’s butt standing to her right.  Of course, there, in the stately lobby of
The Hermitage Hotel located in the heart of downtown Nashville, she once again
realized that her Lord and Savior was ignoring her calls.  It was no matter;
she’d already promised herself that no matter how much Cal pissed her off, she
would act like the mature, sophisticated woman she was, with or without the
Almighty’s assistance.  She would be the lady her mother and grandmother had
raised her to be if it killed her, by Heaven. 

And trying to be a
proper lady just might be what dispatched her to her Eternal Rest, too, she
thought with a touch of bitterness as she lifted a hand and rubbed her
throbbing temple while she wondered if she could develop a brain tumor
overnight.  Taking a deep breath, she mentally coached herself to think of
serene streams and babbling brooks running through an emerald green meadow. 
Wait!  Was that a bossy lumberjack marching toward her carefree daydream??? 
No, dang it!  She refused to allow that towering asshat that kept insisting on
micromanaging her life into even her daydreams!

No, she was going to
find a way to remain serene and passive while standing here in this very classy
hotel lobby beside the world champion for being a domineering, dictatorial
dickhead.  Besides, hotel management would probably frown on her current fantasy
of using one of the heavy sculptures adorning their polished tables as a murder
weapon.  No, she’d keep her cool, dammit.  At least until she got the
infuriating ass behind a closed door where the only witness to the crime she
was prepared to commit would be the minibar she intended to raid right after
the deed was done  Oh yeah, once she got the overgrown bully alone, all bets
were off!  The gloves were coming off and she was going to strangle him with
her bare hands.

Because, honest to God,
the insufferable pain in her ass was becoming almost unbearably alpha the
longer they spent together.  He’d taken over nearly every aspect of her life in
the past month and had grown incredibly successful at bending her to his will. 
Okay, maybe she was overstating
a little
, but not by much, she thought,
cutting her eyes toward her own personal giant of a bodyguard again. She told
herself to relax and enjoy his devoted attention, but from the moment he’d
bundled her into his truck this morning, he’d insisted on paying for
everything.

And that royally pissed
her off.

Because after being
Brad Weller’s little trophy girlfriend/fiancée, she was NOT interested in ANY
guy paying her way.

Nope.  Nuh uh.  Not
happening again.

Gas.  Lunch.  Heck,
even the long sleeved tee-shirt she’d bought as a souvenir at the Civil War
Battlefield - - the man had insisted on footing the bill for
every-freaking-thing.  She appreciated it – she truly did.  But enough was
enough.

Learning that he’d
booked them into one of the premier five star hotels in Nashville was her
breaking point.  Mostly because she’d been prepared for the Holiday Inn…not,
well…
this! 
Looking around at the expensive décor, she bit her lip.  Not
even Brad had ever taken her somewhere this nice and he’d been going to marry
her.  This place was the kind of hotel that either the very wealthy or the very
in love used.  While she didn’t know much about Cal’s finances, she seriously
doubted that he made a sport out of wasting money (especially since, like her,
he was going to soon be opening his own business), and the second option wasn’t
something she could think about if she wanted to maintain the tiny bit of
sanity that she had remaining.

“Cal,” she whispered
out of the side of her mouth again, “I really think…”

“Shut it, Princess,”
she heard him growl back in a low tone.  “I already told you… this is where I
want to stay,” he told her again for the fourth time.  Leaning toward her, his
eyes shined wickedly as he whispered against her ear, “Listen, babe, I fully
intend to
finally
get you both naked and naughty in Nashville, and I’m
gonna do that in a nice place on a soft, luxurious bed.”

She wanted to hiss,
spit and claw his glittering eyeballs from their sockets at his bald assumption
that this week away would somehow become a romantic retreat for them (because
it wouldn’t, despite the fact that her lady bits were cheering wildly), but
knew it would draw attention to them.  And the last thing she needed was a jury
of her peers hearing from a bunch of Nashville’s finest how her sanity finally
snapped and she’d removed Cal’s penis via his windpipe.  Clenching her jaw to
keep from giving him the cursing that he so richly deserved, Melody instead
forced a tight smile to her lips as the little old ladies moved to the side and
the concierge beckoned them forward to the check-in desk. 

“Welcome to the
Hermitage Hotel, sir.  How can I help you today?” the stately man behind the
counter greeted them respectfully.

“Actually,” Melody said
hurriedly, “I think we’re in the wrong place.  We’re sorry!” she apologized
quickly as she tried to pull Cal out of line by his arm.  Of course, it was
like a mouse trying to move a skyscraper… a complete and total failure.  He
merely chuckled at her antics and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her
into his side and holding her there.

“Don’t mind her,” he
told the other man with a wink.  “She’s just not used to my idea of a good time
yet.  I booked a suite for us last week under the name Callum Valentine,” he
informed the now-amused man behind the counter as Melody tried to twist flesh
from Cal’s body as she pinched his side.

Growling under her
breath when he swatted her hand the way most people swatted irritating gnats,
Melody heard the man in front of them tapping away at his keyboard while she glared
up into Cal’s determined face.  “Does it even matter to you that I don’t want
to stay here,” she hissed.

“Nope,” Cal denied
easily as he exchanged a smile with the man checking into the hotel at their
left.  “She’s a bit high strung,” he informed the other man as Melody smacked
his chest.  “Never knows how to just let herself be spoiled, y’know?”

“Got one here just like
her,” the elderly man beside them laughed as he jerked his head toward the
unamused elderly woman at his side.

Melody swapped a commiserative
look with the older woman.  “Maybe if our men weren’t insistent on acting like
dominating cavemen, we’d be more easily moved.”

“Preach that from the
mountaintops, dear,” the little old lady’s aged voice agreed with a nod of her
white head.

The concierge took that
opportunity to interrupt their bonding moment by clearing his throat.  “I’ve
found your reservation, Mr. Valentine.  Everything you requested is in order,
sir, and all the arrangements have been made,” he shared evenly, sliding two
key cards across the granite counter to them.

“Everything he
requested?  Arrangements?” Melody echoed suspiciously, staring at the widely
smiling man.  “What arrangements? What’d he do?” she bit off, narrowing her
gaze on the hotel employee.  Getting no response, she turned her attention to
Cal’s satisfied face, she asked again, “What’d you do, Cal?”

Both men ignored her
queries as they shook hands and the concierge gestured for the uniformed
bellboy.  “This couple will be staying in Executive Suite 2A, Shane.  Get them
settled in, would you?” the concierge ordered before smiling toward her and Cal
again.  “Shane will take you up, sir.  Madam.  Enjoy your stay at The
Hermitage,” he said with a small bow at them. 

“Oh, we will, man,” Cal
chuckled, offering the man a little wave before turning to the younger man
waiting for them with their bags already loaded on a rolling cart.  “Lead the
way, Shane.  We can’t wait to get our stay underway.”

“Well, one of us
can’t,” Melody grumbled, following behind the rolling cart as Cal settled a
hand on her lower back and guided her down the carpeted corridor toward the
elevator.

Several minutes later
as she stood in the opulent hotel suite, Melody swallowed hard as her eyes
filled with tears.  Dear Lord, but Callum was making it extremely difficult not
to fall in love with him.  Staring at the vase of colorful tulips (her favorite
flower which she’d mentioned to him in passing ONE time), she shook her head. 
“Does that damn man listen to
everything
I say?”

“Unless it’s something stupid
like you telling me we could never work, yeah.  I listen to everything you
say.”

Turning on her heel,
her eyes widened as the found Cal leaning negligently against the arched
doorframe that separated the bedroom from the sitting area.  “I thought you
were going to take a shower!” she blustered, her cheeks reddening as she
realized she’d been talking out loud.  AGAIN.

“Have you seen the
shower yet?” Cal returned with a shrug.  “I’m afraid I’ll get lost in
there…thought maybe you’d come hold my hand,” he continued hopefully.  “I take
it you like the flowers,” he went on, nodding toward the fragrant bouquet as he
strolled toward where she stood, her bare toes digging into the thick piled
carpet. 

Looking down at her
feet, she grimaced.  She’d discarded her shoes the moment Cal had tipped their
bellboy and sent him on his way.  Now, standing in her bare feet as he came
toward her, she knew how a deer felt when the headlights got shined on his
unsuspecting self.  “How in the world did you get them to find you tulips in
January?  Those must have cost you a fortune, Cal.” she rambled, licking her
suddenly dry lips as she made herself meet his eyes.

“Worth it to catch you
smiling the way I just caught you smiling, babe,” he declared with a grin,
dropping his hands to the curve of her hips when he stopped in front of her. 
“Now, about that shower…”

“Hold it right there,
Mr. Grabby Pants,” Melody ordered, gently, but firmly, pushing his hands away
from her.  “There will be no coed showers, Cal.  And I suggest you get on the
phone right now and find us a room with
two
beds.  Either that, or you
can make yourself real comfortable on that tiny couch tonight,” she warned,
jerking her head toward the gorgeous, but small dark leather sofa sitting
against the wall opposite the huge flat screen television mounted to the wall. 
“Seriously, I don’t know what you thought you’d accomplish by renting this
suite, but…”

“Do you like it?” he
asked, cutting her off as he wrapped his long, muscled arms around her again
and pulled her against him.

“Wh-what?”  she
floundered, her voice a little breathless as she inclined her head to meet his
soft gaze.

“I said, do you like
the suite?”

“Well, it’s beautiful,”
she admitted, looking around the room at the tasteful furniture.  Decorated in
shades of cream and rich chocolate, it was coolly elegant while still remaining
inviting. 

“Then, my goal was
accomplished.”

“Huh?” she grunted,
frowning as she tilted her head and considered his relaxed expression.

“I wanted to stay
somewhere that I thought you’d be comfortable relaxing and letting down your
guard, Melody.  I saw this place online and liked it.  I thought you would,
too.”

“I do like it. 
Truthfully, I love it,” she confessed softly, her body slowly warming as his
warm hands slid underneath her simple black shirt to stroke the sensitive skin
of her lower back.

“Then, babe, my mission
was a success,” he stated lightly, dropping a gently kiss to her forehead. 
“Not gonna lie to you… I saw that bed in there in the pictures and fantasized
of about a hundred ways I wanted to slide into that tight little body of yours,
too,” he confided huskily as he lowered his head and pressed a kiss against the
side of her neck, “but, if that doesn’t happen, I’m still gonna have the memory
of your face when you saw those flowers.  That alone made this trip completely
worth it to me.”

 “I just wish you’d
told me that you wanted to stay somewhere so… fancy,” she murmured, her words
slightly muffled by his chest.  “I would have pitched in on the cost and…”

Cal’s laugher echoed in
the still room, cutting her off.  “Babe, I’m not exactly poor.  I spent twenty
years in the Army climbing through the ranks with no wife or kids.  I don’t
exactly suffer from a lack of funds.  Between what I’ve saved and my
retirement, I live quite comfortably.  I can even afford to tack on a few
dependents when the time is right.  Will you please stop worrying about money?”

“I don’t like not
paying my own way,” she shared anxiously, her body stiffening against his.

“I’ve told you that
you’re mine, Melody,” she heard Cal say for the eightieth time since they
celebrated Christmas together.  “I will always take care of what belongs to
me.”

“And I’ve told
you
that I don’t belong to you or anyone else.  I’ve tried belonging to a man
before, Cal.  It didn’t go so well for me.”

“Because you were
involved with a boy dressing up in a man’s clothing, Mel.  Real men don’t treat
women the way you were treated.  Let me show you the way this works when a man
wants his woman the way I want you, babe.  The difference between him and me
will be like fire and ice.  Complete fuckin’ opposites.  And you’ll have the
added benefit of knowing that
I’ll
be worth your time.   I think I’ve
already proven that much,” he pointed out, nestling his face into her neck while
his arms tightened around her.