The Devil She Knows (10 page)

T
HE MOMENT
W
ILLOW’S
car disappeared around the corner Dev regretted letting her go—even if it had been the right thing to do. Walking away from her ten years ago had been the right thing, too, and look what that had gotten them. A big, fat mess.

He still didn’t understand how she could think he’d gone from kissing her to banging her sister. He’d been a shameless prick back then, but that was a line even he wouldn’t have crossed. And especially not with Willow.

Hell, he’d walked away because she was too good for him. Anything aside from going home alone that night would have just proven his point. And he’d desperately wanted something to prove him wrong.

He’d wanted to deserve her, which was why he’d gone.

Doing the right thing had never been his strong suit. He was more comfortable with breaking the rules than obeying them. Back then, he’d failed no matter what. Might as well do it in a spectacular fashion than let people think the failure was his choice.

He hadn’t realized just how remarkably he’d screwed up with Willow until last night. The thought that he’d left a permanent emotional scar on her bothered him. He had plenty of his own and really wished Willow could escape without any. Although he realized that probably wasn’t logical.

His persistent hard-on wasn’t entirely happy with his decision, either. And, unlike before, the thought of going home and taking care of himself held absolutely no appeal. Not when he’d had a taste of the real thing.

So he tossed and turned all night, the few snatches of sleep he got filled with erotic dreams of Willow.

The next morning he was grumpy and horny, a lethal combination. Especially considering the conversation he planned to have with Willow later.

He was going to have to figure out a way to bleed off some of the tension snapping through him before they talked or all the good intentions from last night would probably go flying out the window the moment he saw her.

Which was why he was heading back out to the resort site. The subcontractor he’d hired to collect and run soil samples had arrived today. Brett had already called him to let him know the men were hard at work. Oversight wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind, but maybe there’d be a pile of dirt he could shovel.

If not, he’d offer to help the clearing crew and chop down a damn tree.

The soles of his steel-toed work boots had barely touched the ground when his cell phone rang. A groan escaped as he glanced at the screen. The last thing he needed was a call from his ex-wife’s new high-priced lawyer. Not today.

He answered anyway, knowing he really didn’t have a choice.

Three months earlier he’d gotten a frantic call from Natalie. It was the first time he’d heard from her in almost six years. And even before she’d dropped her bomb, he hadn’t been excited about the prospect of catching up.

While their two-year marriage had dissolved with little drama—neither of them had cared enough to fight at that point—he still didn’t relish revisiting that time in his life.

He’d been trying to find something to fill in the holes left by his mother, father and grandparents. He’d been back in college to finish his last two years and was finally starting to feel like he was on the path to normal. When Natalie had popped into his life she’d just added to the illusion.

Beautiful, graceful, funny and sweet, she’d been the kind of woman advertising campaigns told every man they wanted. Their relationship had been a bit of a whirlwind, and before he’d realized what was happening they were married. But the strain of living together quickly ended the fantasy of the fairy tale.

She’d graduated a year ahead of him and gotten a job offer in California. And she hadn’t asked him to go with her when she accepted. Six months later divorce papers arrived on his doorstep, and he hadn’t thought twice before signing them.

Unfortunately, he also hadn’t followed up to make sure they’d been filed correctly. He’d let Natalie take care of everything, and he was paying the price for that now.

When she’d gone to apply for a new marriage license with the guy she’d been seeing for four years, they’d discovered that her half-assed lawyer hadn’t processed the paperwork correctly.

She’d called Dev in a panic. She could push the divorce through without him if she wanted, but that would take time. They’d scrambled to move the wedding date. The venue was already rebooked. Her fiancé was flying her entire family in from Georgia. She’d asked for Dev’s cooperation in fixing the problem.

Since he’d been just as anxious to end the marriage, they’d started the process again. New lawyer, new paperwork. Dev had signed it, popped everything into the FedEx envelope and immediately forgotten about it. And Natalie. Again.

As far as he was concerned, they hadn’t been married in a very long time. Who cared what the state of Georgia said?

“Mr. Warwick, I’m so glad that I reached you,” the lawyer said, reminding him that he needed to pay attention to the call. “I just wanted to let you know that everything has been filed with the courts.”

“Wonderful. How long before the divorce is final?”

He made a noncommittal sound through the crackling static. Newcomb was going to have to invest in a cell tower if he wanted his guests to have reception out here in the middle of nowhere. “That’s difficult to say. A few weeks, probably. This is an uncontested divorce with no complications like children or alimony. Y’all have been living apart for years so there are no assets to split. The ruling is nothing more than a formality.”

No joke. At least Natalie’s lawyer got it.

“Well, the sooner the better. Please let me know when you hear anything.”

“Of course.”

Dev ended the call and frowned down at his cell phone. Until that moment he hadn’t even thought about his divorce...and whether or not he needed to tell Willow about what was going on.

Scraping a hand over his face, Dev closed his eyes. Jesus, as if things weren’t complicated between them already. They had enough misunderstandings to sort through. The last thing he needed was to add one more.

She’d only been back in his life for a few days. For now he was going to keep this to himself. In a few weeks it wouldn’t be an issue anyway.

“Problem?” Brett Newcomb slid up beside him, arms crossed over his wide chest. The business suit should have been out of place in the middle of the noise and construction and trees, but it wasn’t. Dev had spent enough time around businessmen to recognize a guy with confidence and power. He’d learned quickly where to concentrate his efforts when selling his company’s services.

“No.” He shook his head, making the word stronger. “No. Just some personal stuff that won’t go away.”

Newcomb pursed his lips but nodded. “As long as it isn’t a problem with the resort.”

“Nope, not at all. So far, everything looks perfect. My team is running the samples now. We’ll have the results soon. I’ve gotten some preliminary data on the run-off and need to sit down with you about a few adjustments I’d like to make, but they’re nothing major. I think they’ll actually offer us the opportunity to be more green.”

“Excellent. We really want to push the environmentally friendly angle.”

Dev understood and appreciated that Newcomb and the rest of the consortium were open to that. Green often meant more expensive, but usually paid for itself in the long run in decreased energy costs.

“Great. Any chance you need an extra pair of hands? I’ve got plenty of experience in basic construction and know how to swing a hammer and ax without maiming anyone.”

Newcomb’s single dark eyebrow lifted in a silent question. “Wanna tell me why you need a physical outlet?”

“Not particularly.”

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with Willow Portis would it?”

Dev groaned before he could stop himself. Just hearing her name made his cock jump to attention.

The bastard staring at him tried unsuccessfully to bite back a smirk.

“Putting you through hell, is she? Willow looks sweet and innocent, but underneath all the polish there’s a spine of steel.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Lexi mentioned you guys had some sort of history.”

Dev clenched his jaw. “You could say that.”

“Fair warning, everyone likes Willow.”

“Why wouldn’t they? She’d bend over backward for anyone.”

Brett jerked his head in quick agreement.

“She might not have family here in Sweetheart anymore, but she’s got plenty of people who care about her. You hurt her and you’ll have to deal with me...and probably Gage Harper.” Brett shuddered. “Trust me, you do not want to go toe-to-toe with him. He’s ex-military, protective of his fiancé’s friends, oh, and he’s trained to kill with his bare hands.”

Brett flashed him a gleefully evil smile.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re not telling me anything I haven’t already figured out.”

Brett shrugged. “Thought I’d give you fair warning.” Walking over to a truck parked a few feet from Dev’s, Brett reached into the bed and pulled out a lethal-looking ax.

He handed it to Dev and gestured with his chin toward the stand of trees. “Get to it.”

Not even aching muscles and blistered palms could keep his mind from wandering back to Willow...and what he planned to do with her once he got her naked again.

* * *

W
ILLOW’S NERVES WERE
stretched to the breaking point. She kept waiting for Dev to show up, but so far he hadn’t.

She was distracted, and today was not the day for that. There was too much going on. She was behind on the country star’s dress—it was supposed to be ready in less than two weeks. The problem with the entire project was that she’d quickly lost interest in it. The entire thing had morphed into a spectacle, the kind of gown that would make her the center of every gossip blog.

And while that should have thrilled her—because her name would be attached to all that free publicity—the dress no longer felt like her own. And she couldn’t figure out how to find the spark she’d lost.

Not that it mattered. She had a deadline and a bride who expected a finished product, so she’d make it. Even if it meant pulling several long nights and calling in a few reinforcements. While she tried to do most of the sewing herself, she did have several talented seamstresses who helped when she needed them.

Although today wasn’t the day for that, either. The appointment schedule had already been full for the afternoon, but when a bride from Charleston arrived with a last-minute disaster, Willow didn’t have the heart to turn her away.

The dress she’d ordered from another shop had arrived in the wrong size and style and no one had noticed until it was too late to fix. The poor girl was in tears explaining to Macey, Willow’s business partner, that she needed a brand-new dress in two weeks.

Macey had shown them to a private salon, settled mother and daughter into plush chairs, served them soothing tea and then called in reinforcements. Willow had taken one look at the bride’s tear-stained face and wasn’t able to say no—even though she probably should have.

The four of them had set out to find a gown that would fulfill the bride’s vision for her wedding day while also being immediately available off the rack. Most of the dresses they carried were samples, designed to be tried on and then ordered in the desired size.

But for the few who were in a hurry to marry, they did keep a small selection of dresses available for immediate purchase.

Unfortunately, the more dresses they tried on the unhappier the bride became. Not that it was easy to tell. She tried so hard to hide her disappointment, but Willow noticed.

And after learning the girl’s fiancé was a soldier set to be deployed in a few weeks Willow knew there was nothing left to do. She couldn’t send this poor girl down the aisle in a dress she didn’t love. Those were memories she’d never be able to get back. Willow would do whatever she had to in order to make this girl’s dreams come true.

And her decision was rewarded when the bride flung her arms around Willow’s neck and sobbed uncontrollably at her offer to design something for her.

They talked about what she wanted the gown to look like, took measurements and found a ready-made gown that could serve as the base of Willow’s design. That would save some time.

When the girl left, she was beaming, and it was her mother’s turn to hold back tears as she thanked Willow and Macey profusely for fixing the disaster...and saving her daughter’s perfect day. For the first time in several months, Willow’s chest swelled with excitement, happiness and pride.

This was why she’d gotten into designing wedding gowns in the first place. To celebrate true love...even if she hadn’t been able to find it for herself.

And why did her thoughts immediately conjure up a vision of Dev kneeling before her, looking up through heavy-lidded eyes as his mouth made her quiver?

To hide her flaming cheeks and wayward thoughts, Willow fingered the soft silk of the gown they’d chosen. Without looking up at Macey, she said, “At least she wanted something fairly simple.”

“Simple?” Macey’s voice squeaked. “An intricate crystal band down the center of her back is simple?”

“Sure, when the rest of the gown is elegant and requires little more than a few strategically placed drapes of material. I can cut out the back of this gown and sew in the embellishment without a problem. I’ve already got a piece I think will work perfectly. Besides,” Willow shot her friend a glance, “I didn’t have the heart to tell her no.”

“Yeah, neither did I. Why do you think I called you in?”

“We’re a pair of softies.”

“Of course we are...we sell wedding dresses.”

Willow was actually excited about the project. Maybe it was being needed. Or the fact that, even without meeting the groom, she instinctively knew the couple was deeply in love. She’d seen enough brides over the years to spot the fakers.

This girl had been real.

The bell out front rang. Macey left the workroom to help whoever had walked in. Willow stayed in the back, slipping the dress over the naked form standing next to her worktable.

She stepped back and stared at it, distracted by the images flipping through her head as she reached up to a high shelf for a clear plastic box that held strips of hand-beaded lace. It caught on the edge of the shelf and wobbled precariously. Just as it was about to tip and come crashing down on her head, an arm shot past her and plucked it out of the air.