Chapter Four
Four
Sloan knew what he’d just said had probably shocked her, but she should know just how straightforward he was known to be.
While she was sitting there, staring at him as if she thought he’d lost his mind, he decided to say, “After seeing you at the wedding celebration, it quickly became apparent that even after ten years, I’m still attracted to you.
Then I remembered that you owed me something. ”
That got her to talking. “I owe you what?”
“A week. If you recall, you left town at the beginning of spring break, after we’d made plans to spend that week together at my family’s cabin on Kodiak Island.
It would have been our last time together by ourselves before graduation.
” He had been scheduled to graduate from college in a few months, although she’d had another two years to go.
What he wouldn’t tell her was that he’d intended to give her an engagement ring that week.
There was no way he would have graduated, leaving her behind at the university, without putting a ring on her finger.
Leslie was a beauty, and too many guys would have been all over her the moment he’d left campus.
The thought of waiting two years for them to marry hadn’t bothered him, just as long as she’d known how much he loved her and that they were promised to each other.
However, that never happened, because she hadn’t shown up on Kodiak Island.
He had waited for an entire day at the only airstrip on Kodiak.
Then he’d gotten the email telling him to go to hell and that she didn’t want to ever see or talk to him again.
He had tried calling, but it had gone straight to voice mail.
It had taken him an entire day to get off the island due to a massive rainstorm, but he’d left the moment he could and headed to Anchorage.
Once he’d reached her apartment, it was Sarah who’d told him Leslie had packed up and left.
She’d then happily told him why. If she couldn’t have him, then Leslie wouldn’t, either.
Sloan had contacted Leslie’s father, who’d told him he had to honor his daughter’s wishes and could not tell Sloan where she’d gone. However, Mr. Cassidy did tell him it was somewhere in the lower forty-eight.
Sloan had returned to Kodiak and spent the week alone, drinking booze and regretting the day he’d allowed Leslie into his heart.
It had been Garth who’d found him in that pitiful state and talked some sense into him.
His oldest brother reminded him that he had months before graduation, and that’s what he needed to focus on.
Afterward, he’d promised to help Sloan find Leslie, even if he had to hire a private investigator to do so.
By the time Sloan had graduated, Garth was ready to keep his end of the bargain by hiring a PI.
However, by then Sloan’s heart had hardened.
He refused to love a woman who had not trusted him.
So instead of wasting time and money looking for Leslie, he returned to Fairbanks and began working at his family’s business, determined to forget her and pledging never to give his heart to another woman again.
“What you’re suggesting doesn’t make sense, Sloan!”
Her sharp words snapped him out of his reverie. He needed to leave. All those memories were getting to him. Standing, he said, “That’s your opinion, Leslie. I suggest you think carefully about your options. When you do, I’m sure you’ll discover the one I’m offering isn’t so bad.”
He placed his business card on her desk. “You’ve got until noon tomorrow to decide.”
Sloan turned and walked out of her office.
Several hours later, an angry Leslie paced her apartment floor while she talked on the phone to Carmen. “Can you believe the nerve of Sloan Outlaw? Just who does he think he is?”
“Um, he sounds like a man who wants you for Christmas.”
Leslie stopped pacing. “This isn’t funny, Carmen.”
“And you don’t hear me laughing. I wish some man who looked like Sloan wanted me for Christmas. I would wrap myself up to be put under his tree anytime. Then I would wait patiently for him to unwrap me.”
Leslie rolled her eyes. “Will you stop being a romantic for once?”
“No. Someone is offering you a chance to actually live the life while I’m just dealing with fantasies.”
“Listen, Carmen, the man wants me in his bed.”
“So? It’s not like you’ve never been there before.”
Leslie dropped down on the sofa. “Those times were different. We were in love then. We aren’t now. All he wants is revenge for what I did to him ten years ago. That makes him no better than Martin Longshire.”
“Isn’t he? Mr. Longshire wants to destroy your company. Sounds to me like Sloan Outlaw is trying to help you save it. Think about it, Les. He’s offering you a temporary partnership that even you said was too good to be true. All you have to do is something you probably want to do anyway.”
“Carmen!”
“Just keeping it real. Are you going to try and convince me that you haven’t once wondered if he’s still good in bed?
And according to you, he was good. ‘Testosterone on legs’ is how you described him to me, and he’s all you used to talk about.
In fact, you admitted he’s the reason you never could sleep with another guy, because he’d spoiled you for anyone else.
I bet he doesn’t know you haven’t slept with another guy since him. ”
Leslie frowned. “That is none of his business.”
“True, but I still say being his Christmas present would be your present, too. It’s either enjoy his bed or lose your company. For me it’s a no-brainer.”
Leslie thought about everything Carmen had said. She glanced at her watch, knowing she needed to jump on a call with her company’s attorney. “I need to go, Carmen. My attorney will be calling in a few minutes.”
“When do you give Sloan your decision?”
“By noon tomorrow.”
“Okay. I know after sleeping on it you’ll wake up tomorrow and make the right one.”
She knew in Carmen’s mind, the right one was agreeing to Sloan’s proposal. “I’ll talk to you later, Carm.”
“Okay, but just so you know, Sloan’s offer pretty much sounds like that Christmas miracle you mentioned you’ve been hoping for. Bye, Les.”
Later that night, while Leslie lay in bed, all kinds of thoughts were going through her mind. According to the phone call she’d had with Stan, the bank would not give her the extension on the loan. That left her with no options on the table other than Sloan’s.
Like Carmen, her attorney thought Sloan’s offer was a godsend, almost too good to be true, and that made Stan suspicious of Sloan’s motives.
Of course, she didn’t tell Stan about the condition Sloan had attached to his proposal.
However, to arrest Stan’s concerns, she explained that she and Sloan had dated in college and what he was doing was a favor.
That had satisfied Stan, and he’d even said she was lucky to have a friend who would come to her aid.
Such a friend...
She had known the old Sloan, the one who didn’t have a ruthless bone in his body.
Granted, the Sloan Outlaw who’d shown up at her office today still had charm and impeccable manners, but she knew he’d changed.
And so had she. Considering how they had broken up and the lies she had believed about him, she was surprised he was willing to help her at all.
And why would he want them to sleep together, of all things?
To her, it didn’t make sense, because they’d always made love and not just had sex.
To them, there had always been a difference.
Evidently, he thought that now there wasn’t a difference.
But still, she needed to talk to him, because there were questions that needed answering before she could make a final decision.
Easing out of bed, she pulled his business card out of her purse. It was just a little past ten, but he used to be a night owl. Was he still? Was he even in Wasilla or had he gone back to Fairbanks? She would find out soon enough, she thought, as she punched in his number.
“Hello?”
“Sloan, this is Leslie.”
“Yes, Leslie?”
She swallowed deeply. He still had a sexy phone voice. “There are a few things I need to know about your proposal before I can make a decision.”
“What do you need to know?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “It’s about my week at your cabin, if I decide to do it.”
“What about it?”
“Will we sleep together just one time?”
“Would we have slept together just one time ten years ago, Leslie?” was his quick comeback.
She frowned. “Things were different then, Sloan.”
“I’m aware of that. What I want is the week I didn’t get. I would not have forced myself on you then, and I won’t do it now. I will leave it up to you if or when we make love.”
“Oh?” She was surprised to hear that. “And what if I decide that I don’t want to make love to you at all during that week?”
She heard his soft chuckle, and it sent warm shivers through her body. “I’m not worried about that happening.”
“I’m not the same person, Sloan.”
“Neither am I. We might find it interesting to discover what those differences are.”
“Are you still in Wasilla?”
“Yes. I plan to be in town until you make a decision. If you accept my proposal, then I need to hang around to make sure Longshire knows I mean business.” He paused.
“I know your company shuts down for Christmas this Friday. I’d like you ready to go to the cabin with me the following weekend. We’ll stay for a week.”
She frowned. “What if I’ve made plans for that week? What if I have a boyfriend?”
“Have you? Do you?”
As much as she now wished she could say yes to both questions, she truthfully couldn’t. “No, I’m not dating seriously at the moment, and as far as my plans for the holidays—”
She paused when she felt the thickness in her throat. She tried not to think about the fact that this Christmas she would be all alone. “With Dad gone, I didn’t have any plans,” she finally said. Then to change the subject, she asked, “What about your job?”