Chapter 23
Clayton
I couldn’t help but smile as I stood off to the side in the kitchen and watched Reese poke her head around the door, gaze intent on her brother. “Lo, is the coast clear? Have you seen Cla—”
“Looking for me or trying to avoid me, Little Trouble?” Her head dropped, and it took everything I had not to laugh at her dejection.
Yeah, that’s not the look of a woman happy to see me.
Which I thought had changed a bit after our day yesterday.
Spending the afternoon with her, listening to her talk about her hometown, about growing up here, had been a revelation.
Not about her knowledge, but in just how much she made Henley Falls come alive for me.
Walking the sidewalks was one thing, but hearing about the businesses and the residents made me almost feel like part of the town.
It was a unique feeling, one I’d never experienced before.
Not to mention, judging by how often people stopped her on the street, everyone in the town clearly loved her.
From young children to the older men, not a person we walked past failed to say hello.
Sometimes they asked about me, and sometimes it was like I wasn’t even there.
No matter which, Reese was the primary focus.
I understood the fascination.
Everything about her enticed someone to get to know her, to spend time with her, to get pulled into her orbit. I was a prime example. The more time I spent with her, the more time I wanted to spend with her.
Oddly enough, it didn’t even have to be in bed, though I would not say no to a repeat performance. I’d woken up hard as a rock again today, and it was all the fault of the woman currently standing in front of me, in a pale pinkish-peach halter dress.
God, she was tempting.
The urge to bend her over one of the kitchen stools, lift that skirt, and sample heaven again was strong.
So was the look of disgust on Logan’s face, as if he could read my every thought.
Time to shut that down and act like a normal man. One not head over heels in lust with a woman he shouldn’t be touching at all. Standing, I crossed to the cabinets and pulled down a tumbler before heading to the refrigerator.
“What? No, of course I wasn’t.”
I looked back over my shoulder as I pulled a pitcher out. “No to what, Reese? I gave you two options.” There was something about teasing her, bantering with her, that was such a turn-on I couldn’t even stop doing it if I wanted to. Which I didn’t.
“I wasn’t trying to avoid you. Why would I?” Something close to a smile tried to form on her mouth.
“So, you were looking for me.”
“No. I…” She paused and narrowed her eyes. “You know what? I was trying to avoid you. God, why are you so annoying?” I finished making her drink and placed the iced coffee in front of her. “What’s this?”
“Isn’t it what you like?” I was confident I’d gotten it right, but the way she was staring at the tumbler suggested otherwise.
“Um, yeah, but I didn’t think you’d remember.”
There weren’t many things I’d forget about her at this point.
Logan studied me for a minute before he laughed. “I don’t need either of you in my kitchen if you’re going to fight or start tearing each other’s clothes off. Again, I say thank God I didn’t come home the other night.” He pointed toward the door. “Out. Both of you.”
“After you, Little Trouble,” I offered as I extended my arm toward the side door. “I’m sure there’s something else you can show me around here.”
“You know, I do actually have a job here.”
As if arranged by fate, Tricia walked in. “I can handle the desk. We don’t have any reservations arriving today, so it’ll be fine. Didn’t you say you wanted to show him the barn?” She smiled my way. “Good morning, Clayton. How has your stay been?”
“It’s been amazing. The best. Positively pleasurable.”
“That’s it. Let’s go. Thanks, Mom.” Reese grabbed my hand and hauled me out the door before rounding on me as soon as it closed. “What are you doing? You can’t say that around my mother.”
“Say what? I said nothing bad.” Leaning down, I ran my nose along her neck. “Bad would have been if I said how much I enjoyed hearing you scream my name the other night. Or come on my tongue. Or grip me like a damn vice.”
“There is something wrong with you, Clay.” Pivoting, she stomped off toward the parking lot. “You’d better have your keys. Why don’t you show me what rich people drive.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled them out and trailed after her. After I unlocked the car doors, we slid into place.
“Wow, this is fancy.” She ran her hands over the leather interior. “I didn’t even know they rented out cars like this.
“It’s not a rental.”
Her hand stopped and she turned to stare at me, her mouth wide open.
“You bought it? Who the hell buys a car when they visit a new place?” I told my EA to arrange for a car and this showed up, along with the bill of sale.
One quick signature later I was the proud owner of a car I’d use for approximately two weeks.
“You don’t even think twice about it, do you?
” She startled me with how close she was to my thoughts.
“Spending money is second nature to you, isn’t it? ”
I couldn’t exactly lie to her. “It is, but it always has been. It’s the life I was born into and just a part of who I am.
” The fact that I, or rather our company, could afford to help her achieve her dreams shouldn’t be a strike against me as a man.
“Does it bother you?” The fact that her answer mattered to me should be a warning to step back from what was happening between us, and it was. It was also one I was going to ignore.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I don’t think so. I mean, you’re here because you have money. It’s what we need.”
I was here because I couldn’t stay away from her, but I wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear that.
Seconds ticked by, the silence in the car practically deafening.
Most of the time we’d spent together had been filled with sarcasm and banter, so I had to worry there was something else going on.
I thought back to the interaction with Tricia.
With a glance, I had to ask, “Are you seriously mad about what I said earlier?”
Sometimes I couldn’t tell with her. There was a part of her personality that was continually combative, but never harshly. More like she wanted to push and push to see if I’d stay along for the ride. I had a feeling more than a few people had jumped off.
That quirk of her lips I was starting to adore came into view. Adore? Jesus. There must be something in the air down here that causes me to think this way.
“I should be. If I’m lucky, my parents don’t know we spent the night together. I have a feeling I would have heard about it if they knew.”
The way she said it suggested it wouldn’t have been a pleasant conversation.
Whether it was because of me as a person or more to do with the reason I was here, I didn’t know.
Either way, I didn’t like her family harassing her about it.
Therefore, it would make sense to put a stop to whatever this was now, except that was the last thing I wanted to do.
I wanted Reese with an unnerving intensity.
Wanted her despite the business or the fact we were from two different worlds. I simply wanted.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had wanted something solely for myself.
“Can I ask you a question?” Reese’s words jarred me away from a dangerous path. I started the car, pulling out of the spot.
“Go ahead.”
“You know a lot about my family, but I don’t know a lot about yours except for what Ever and I found online. Would you tell me a little?” The way she asked was more hesitant than I’d heard her before, almost as if she expected me to say no.
For some reason, this was actually something I wanted to give her.
“Point me in the right direction. You probably got most of it if you read the stories or the gossip columns. My parents were an oddity in our social circles. Theirs was a love match, even though they both came from hotel royalty. Conti rules the city, and Montgomery ruled the resort and niche landscape. Like the companies, my parents were opposites, but they balanced each other. Mother was serious and a little ruthless after being raised by Grandfather.” I turned to the right when she pointed as I neared the edge of the driveway.
“Father was a playboy, which my brother has happily taken over. They were a perfect pair, ruling the merged companies and the New York social scene with ease and, oddly enough, likability.”
“Then your father died? How? I didn’t read about it. I…” Her pause worried me for a second. “I didn’t know if you would want me to.”
Glancing her way, I watched as she bit her lip. The move was both sensual and sweet, much like the woman.
“You could have. Half the world knows it.” I turned at the next left and pulled in front of a giant barn, with open land to either side and the mountains soaring in the background.
According to her plans, this would be an event space after much fixing up.
I could see it. I turned, facing her, wanting her to see me as I told the story.
“We were out at our house in the Hamptons for the weekend. Lachlain and I were with friends, and Mother was taking a call about a new hotel build in Australia. My father took Sofia out for ice cream. She was only three but loved it. A lot like Abby.” Maybe that’s why the little girl had struck such a chord with me.
“They were on their way back when a drunk driver crossed into their lane and hit them head-on. Father died on impact. Sofia escaped without a scratch somehow, but it took about an hour for anyone to come upon the accident.”
“Oh my God. Your poor sister.” Reese swiped at her eye, her lashes wet. “I doubt she was unscathed. At least mentally.”