Chapter 16 #2
Katie steamrolled his thoughts. “Lawrence, please set up the meeting. The sooner the better.” She slid a smile at Ian. “Tell the engineer that Ian Finnegan will be attending.”
Katie turned on her side, studied the man next to her.
A short time ago, it had been difficult to imagine someone in her bed every night, certainly not this man.
Since that kiss, her life had exploded with a passion and need she hadn’t known she possessed.
She wanted him—in bed and out. This was different than the na?ve longings she’d experienced at nineteen.
This was so much deeper…so much stronger… so much more.
She loved him.
His presence made her feel safe…wanted…understood.
He challenged her with questions about her business, made her stretch her world, look for the possible in the improbable.
She’d always played it safe, followed rules—in life and in business—but Ian had shown her that sometimes you had to take a risk because the reward was immeasurable.
She let out a tiny sigh, watched his chest rise and fall as he slept.
She almost regretted suggesting he “clean up” for the meeting with Lawrence.
Ian wasn’t someone to be cornered, or caged.
He was meant to live life on his own terms, whatever that meant.
Real. Unconventional. And she very much wanted to be a part of that life.
Did he want that, too? When he invited her back to his house last night, she’d hesitated. What if someone spotted them heading inside? What if they drew conclusions?
What if…
So what? Finally, she didn’t care because she believed in Ian Finnegan, and whatever happened before was over and belonged in the past. He was honorable, kind, and cared about her.
He wanted to help and had turned away from her all those years ago to protect her.
Not because he didn’t care, but because he did.
They hadn’t spent the night apart since the kiss that changed everything.
Eight glorious nights together. How long would he stay in Magdalena?
Would he consider traveling back and forth, maybe ask her to visit him?
What would that look like? If not for him, she might never have found a way around the business problems. Once she met with the engineer, she’d request a meeting with the investor and ask Ian to attend as her consultant.
He could wear whatever he wanted. Katie didn’t care about his hair or his faded jeans and scuffed-up boots.
She cared about him, the real Ian Finnegan, and it was time to stop hiding it.
Well, so much for sleep. A person didn’t have an epiphany involving “love and forever” and fall back to sleep.
Not happening. If she stayed in bed, she might be tempted to wake him up and spit out what she’d just discovered.
I love you with my whole heart. I want to make a life with you.
No, she couldn’t do that because truths should be shared when the other party was wide awake.
Besides, Katie needed time to sort her feelings and work on her presentation to the engineer.
What better way to do that than in the kitchen, raiding the cabinets for a late-night snack?
She eased out of bed, located Ian’s T-shirt, and tossed it over her head.
Oh, she hoped he had something good to eat that didn’t require a stove or mixing.
Pretzels, potato chips, toast with peanut butter?
As Katie padded to the kitchen, she wondered about his food choices.
The man devoured chicken sliders and wings and insisted there wasn’t a pizza he didn’t like.
But what did he eat when he was by himself—other than her soups and Harry’s takeout?
Ian was an intriguing puzzle, and the more she learned about him, the more she wanted to know.
The kitchen in a person’s home held a lot of secrets, and Katie was on the hunt to uncover a few about the man sleeping upstairs.
The first drawer she opened held a pack of mints, a handful of dark chocolate squares, a bag of red licorice, and a sleeve of peanut butter cookies.
Tomorrow, she’d make homemade peanut butter cookies, and he could taste what he’d been missing.
Katie slid a piece of red licorice from the bag and closed the drawer.
She considered heading straight to the pantry to check out his possible cereal choices, but decided to take a quick peek in the next drawer.
Katie didn’t expect the second drawer to contain a secret that would change their relationship and destroy the fragile hope she’d begun to believe in.
But there it was in the drawer near the microwave, a manila envelope with Katie’s Soups scrawled on it in Ian’s handwriting.
She eased the contents from the envelope and began to read.
Apparently, Ian and Lawrence knew one another.
In fact, the spreadsheets and the dates indicated Ian had an “in” to her company and had been studying it long before he approached her.
How had he gotten these? Had he bribed someone? Had he bribed Lawrence?
Anger surged through her, followed by disgust and an emotion close to hate. Had he been playing her? Lying to her? Why? Maybe his desire to help her had forced him to cross an ethical line and obtain proprietary information. What did it all mean?
Katie grabbed the papers, bounded up the stairs into the bedroom where the man she’d been foolish enough to trust lay sleeping.
Peaceful. Relaxed. Oblivious. She’d finally admitted she loved him, was ready to open her heart and give him another chance.
And it would all have been a lie because he was a liar.
She threw the papers at him, watched a few land on his shoulder and startle him awake. “What the–”
“Damn you, how could you do this?”
He blinked his eyes open, shook his head. “Katie? What’s going on?” His gaze landed on the papers and she spotted the second he realized what they were. He didn’t speak for several seconds and then his gaze shifted to hers. “We need to talk.”
She pointed to the papers scattered about the bed.
“Talk? It’s a little late for that. You should have worked on your story before I discovered these.
” A scowl, a snort, and then, “I knew better. Darn it all, I knew better than to trust you again. But no, you seemed so sincere. Just like you do every time, but I should have known.”
He sat up in bed, chest bare, sheet riding low on his hips. They’d made love a few short hours ago when she’d believed they had a future together. Now that was all gone.
“I did know your company was in trouble because I’ve been tracking it for a long time. What do you want to know? Ask me anything, and I’ll tell you.”
Now, there was an offer to tell her everything. “Sure, I can ask you anything, but will it be the truth? Or will it be another convoluted story that sounds like the truth but is wrapped up in your lies?”
“I really did just want to help you. I wanted you to succeed, and I wasn’t going to let you fail.”
“Let me fail?” She stared at him, fists clenched on her hips, disgust swirling through her. “How exactly did you know what was happening? And how were you going to save the company?” The man was as arrogant as ever, and that made her furious.
“I have personal knowledge of this company.”
“Personal knowledge? What does that mean? Did you bribe somebody for information?” Another possibility shot through her brain.
“You know the investor, don’t you? You’re buddies with him, aren’t you?
Or is it a her? I could see that. Maybe you shared a bed and the sad tale about me and how much I needed help.
Yes, I could definitely see that.” Even as she spoke the words, her chest ached at the thought of him sleeping with someone who controlled her fate.
“You’re way off base. This wasn’t information gleaned from pillow talk.”
“Okay, then this mystery investor that no one knows about…you know who it is, don’t you?
” She dared him to deny it, and when he didn’t, she slammed him with more accusations.
“Of course, you know him. Just like you probably know the engineer. You’re all buddies…
your families probably know each other. And somehow, my name just came up, and once you heard it, you homed in on it.
What did you do? Ask to be involved because you knew me?
Took it over as a pet project?” That possibility was horrible, but the next one was worse. “Took me over as a pet project?”
The jaw twitch and nostril flare said he didn’t like her comments. “None of the above. You aren’t a pet project, and I’m not chummy with the investor.”
“Say I buy that story, which I don’t. But let’s say I do. How do you explain your ‘inside’ knowledge? And why not try the whole truth for once, not just the parts you want to tell me?”
Those blue eyes turned dark, his expression unreadable. “I am not chummy with the investor.”
Big sigh, a huff. He was trying to connive his way out of telling her.
“You already said that.”
The man she could have loved drew in a sharp breath, blew it out. “I know a lot about the company because I’m the engineer.” Pause, and then the words that destroyed any chance with him. “Lawrence works for me.”
“Lawrence works for you? How could that be? He’s always been my contact person, since I…” No, no, no! Katie stared at him, realized how much she didn’t know him. “You’re the investor.”