Chapter Thirteen #2
Lily grimaced. This could not be happening. Evidently, her humiliation was not yet complete.
“Uh, no,” Rhett said, “this is the owner of Bloom & Grow Nursery where all our decorative flowers came from today.
Well, he could have called her the gardener like Delia did. At least Rhett gave her credit for the nursery, except now she had to turn around. She straightened, breathing deeply as she did, and made the forced turn.
A seventyish society matron gazed at her with a hopeful expression. Lily locked eyes with the woman to keep from looking at Rhett. Her tears were too close to the surface to risk that.
“Hello.” She stepped forward and extended a hand, determined to be professional. “I’m Lily Foster from Bloom & Grow.”
Mrs. Berube eagerly shook her hand. “Do you know Rob Shaw? I play bridge with his mother.”
Lily noticed Rhett stiffen, but she managed a polite smile. “Yes, Rob is our head grower at Bloom & Grow.”
“His mother claims he’s the best grower in the world, and that he produces trees and palms no one else can grow.”
This time Lily caught a distinct though quiet snort from Rhett, which irritated her more than a little. His shabby treatment of Lily was bad enough, but no one treated Bloom & Grow employees badly. She would not allow that.
“He is a superb grower,” she said, tilting her chin up. “It’s because of Rob we can offer a unique inventory no other nursery in the southeastern United States can match.”
She made purposeful eye contact with Rhett and immediately regretted the action. His eyes—so dark they were almost black—glittered dangerously back at her. She swallowed hard.
“I thought so,” Mrs. Berube said smugly, “and I’ll be sure to tell Rob’s mother his boss said so.”
“You do that,” Rhett said softly without shifting his gaze from Lily. “Can you find your way back to the terrace, Mrs. Berube? I’d like to speak to Ms. Foster about the flowers.”
“What? Oh yes, of course,” she said, suddenly timid at his directive.
She wandered back up the garden path and disappeared behind a bed of azaleas. Still Rhett’s gaze locked onto Lily. He didn’t blink. That laser stare no doubt wilted corporate CEOs in takeover negotiations, and it didn’t do much for Lily’s self-confidence at the moment either.
“Oh, there you are, Robby.” Mrs. Berube’s voice drifted back to them.
Rhett scowled at the nickname.
Why did he suddenly hate Rob? Did they have a history of which she was unaware? She wished Rhett would come right out and say what was on his mind, so she could plead her own case. After today, she would never get another opportunity.
And Rhett did just that.
~ ~ ~ ~
“All a big game to you, wasn’t it?”
The words were out of Rhett’s mouth before he could even slow them down.
He should never have walked back into the garden.
He should have found Garrett and sent him with Mrs. Berube.
He had watched Delia drag Lily back here, and only Delia had come out, so he couldn’t say he didn’t know Lily was in the garden.
Some morbid aspect to his personality had made him send Mrs. Berube back to the terrace, which left him alone with Lily. To rehash her betrayal.
When her eyes finally met his, he couldn’t move. He suddenly wanted something from her. But what? An explanation? Retribution? An apology? He still ached for her as much as he had during their perfect week in New York. Damn his treacherous heart, which was starting up that weird tug and pull again.
“Robby, over here!” Mrs. Berube’s voice called again, sounding more distant this time.
Lily glanced hopefully in the direction of the matron’s voice, and something in Rhett snapped. He snorted in disgust. Lily’s eyes flashed, and that lit his fuse.
“The great Rob Shaw,” he sneered, “and he’s all yours now, isn’t he? Or is Aidan Cross the lucky guy today?”
That probably hurt worse than anything. The pain of Lily’s betrayal had brought Rhett to his knees, but watching Lily cavort with Shaw at the charity gala and then seeing her with Cross today had rammed a dagger through his heart. What a fool he had been!
She was only after a guy with money. Apparently, any guy with money would do. Chester Armstead had blathered on about Rob Shaw’s trust fund at the charity gala, so seeing Lily with Shaw had made sense. But today, she was with Cross who was almost as rich as Rhett. So which guy would she pick?
He felt a growl rumble deep in his throat. Well, the guy who wouldn’t be her pick was a certainty—him.
Lily frowned hard. “He’s not all mine.”
“Oh really? What part of him don’t you control? Or should I guess?”
He felt his fingers angle into a fist, and he wished Shaw or Cross was here so he could take a swing at either one of them. They had Lily. He wanted Lily.
“I don’t control Rob. He’s his own man.”
“How about Cross? Is Cross his own man too? Or did you figure out how to control him?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said warily.
“Don’t you?”
He took a step forward, and she stepped back. Seeing her desire to get away from him sent a razor-sharp pain straight to his heart. He couldn’t let her see she mattered. He had to cover his vulnerability.
“It’s all one big game to you,” he accused again.
“No!” she cried.
“I must have been your greatest challenge yet. Tell me, did you still hope to corral me? Is that why you’ve been dancing attendance on Shaw and Cross right under my nose? To make me jealous?”
If so, your plan has been working just fine.
She gave him that well-executed, confused look again. “No, I didn’t . . . I mean, Rob wasn’t . . . And Aidan thought . . .”
“Just say it.”
She cleared her throat. “Garrett said—”
“Garrett said!” Rhett exploded. “What the hell does Garrett have to do with this?”
She took another step back, and for a brief instant, he saw a flash of fear in her eyes. Seeing her fear hurt worse than anything, worse even than seeing her with Cross or Shaw, worse than her not wanting him near. How could she think he would ever hurt her?
He moderated his tone. “What does Garrett have to do with this?” he repeated through clenched teeth.
“He was just helping me get a chance to talk to you.”
I’ll strangle Garrett.
“When?” he roared, and Lily flinched.
“Today.”
“I’m not talking about today! I’m talking about when we met. Did Garrett know about your little sting to trap me and make me look like a fool?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but since you can’t stop shouting, I’m leaving. I’ll talk to you when you can calm down.”
She sidestepped to get around him. He shifted and grabbed hold of her arms.
“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me the truth.”
She jerked free. “Now you suddenly want the truth? You didn’t want the truth when you threw me out of your house and threw my plants in your pool.” Her eyes flashed with fury. “What truth do you suddenly want?”
“The truth about everything!” he said, half-shouting again. Why was he yelling? This woman made him nuts like no other woman he had ever met.
He struggled for his normally calm demeanor.
“The truth about whether Garrett knew you were setting me up. The truth about why you set me up. Neat little plan you devised to sell me truckloads of plants at the same time. What was supposed to happen if I didn’t figure out your little deception?
Were you going to try and trick me into marrying you?
Was that what your little innocent routine was all about?
I had to marry you to get you in my bed? ”
She had the gall to look stunned. Didn’t she realize how easily that could have happened?
“Or were you going to throw me over and go after their money? Or better yet, try to get me back and then keep Shaw or Cross on the side?”
“On the side?” she echoed.
“Did Garrett know?” he asked the question, but he refused to believe it was true.
She stared at him for several interminable moments with an incredulous expression, then her blue eyes flashed with fury.
“Let. Me. Get. This. Straight,” she said, enunciating every word.
He could see an explosion was imminent, and that was just fine with him. Everything would finally be out in the open.
Her blue eyes narrowed. “You think Rob and Aidan are both my boyfriends?”
“I don’t think. It’s obvious. Now.”
“You think I cooked up a scheme to sell you lots of trees and plants, so I could meet you and marry you and then cheat on you, with Rob or Aidan on the side. All so I could get my hands on your precious money?” Her voice had gone deadly soft.
“And you think your best friend Garrett knew all about the scheme and said nothing?”
Why did it sound so stupid and idiotic when she said it?
What the hell is wrong with me?
Seeing her with Shaw and Cross is what’s wrong with me.
“Did he?” he forced out.
“The only way Garrett helped me was to give me an opportunity to explain things to you, which I no longer want. You are an arrogant, egotistical, pig-headed, gutter-minded imbecile, and I’m not explaining anything to you!
It’s a wonder you made ten dollars let alone a billion dollars as boneheaded as you are.
” By now, she was yelling. “I don’t want anything to do with you! ”
Without warning, she shoved him back a couple steps and marched right around him.
He wheeled around to see her back disappearing through a bed of azaleas.
Cross and Shaw stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the path from the terrace.
Garrett was right behind them. Seeing the three glaring at him had Rhett’s hands curling back into fists.
“What do you want?” he snarled and made an effort to force his palms flat against his thighs.
“A swing at you, you miserable son of a bitch,” Cross growled back and curled his own hands into fists.
Please take a swing. Just one.
Garrett threw out a forearm to stop Cross. “No! You’re not going to mix it up like boys in a schoolyard. Too many guests here.” He glared at Rhett. “Too many of our clients.”