"Something
wrong, sweetheart?" her father asked, poking his head out of the study.
"Where's Marcus?"
"Gone
I hope.
Good riddance."
"What
happened? I thought you two were getting along famously."
"We
were, but I found out something about him. It made me realize he's a liar and a
con-artist."
"Oh
please." Her father's eyes narrowed. "The man is no more a liar than
I am. You must have misunderstood. I've known him for almost a year. He's good
friends with your brother. You know how Cade is. If the man wasn't worthy of
friendship, he wouldn't give him the time of day."
Her
anger deflated rapidly as she chewed on her bottom lip.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe things did get out of control that night.
The memory of his kiss returned full force. Her body trembled from head to toe.
Damn, the man knew how to kiss
. The
feeling of his lips on hers had driven her out of her mind with desire. Even
Ari's kiss hadn't affected her the same way Marcus' had. The moment their lips
touched, she'd been transported to a world filled with color and feelings. Even
making love with Ari had been so black and white she hadn't realized how
lacking the entire thing was until now. No finesse. No imagination. She rubbed
her arms. "Maybe I did overreact."
"I
think so," her father replied, going back to his busy work. "You can
go into town to apologize tomorrow. I'm sure Marcus will be glad to see
you."
It doesn't matter. I'm not getting involved
with anyone anyway even if the feelings he stirs are disturbing yet intriguing.
She
shook her head and left her father to head upstairs. Thoughts of the
toe-curling kiss danced in her mind as she headed to her room to unpack what
few things she might need during her stay at home.
The next
morning, Elizabeth sped down the dirt driveway as dust billowed out behind her.
Apologizing to Marcus wasn't going to be easy. The man disturbed her on a level
no one had before. The feelings bothered her. He'd played a huge part of her
dreams from the night before, always with shadows of mystery surrounding him
even as he kissed her, stroking her body until she burned with need. The
attraction between them sizzled like bacon on a griddle while she denied the
appeal with her last breath.
Damn it
.
She wasn't attracted to him, she wasn't. He totally wasn't her type at all.
Yeah, I keep telling myself that.
After
several minutes, the buildings of Red Rock came into view. The diner with all
of the local's vehicles parked around it waiting for breakfast or their pals
for coffee, the new florist shop sitting on the opposite side of the street.
A new upscale motorcycle shop selling custom Harleys and several
other stores along the street.
She knew exactly where Marcus' clinic sat
when her father described the building to her. He'd taken over Doc Alexander's
practice, but had his own set up established with state of the art equipment.
He'd also rented out part of the back to a local pet groomer from what her
father said.
A cop
car sat near the front of the diner. She waved at Laurel Dunn, Kale's wife, as
she passed by. It seemed like the
Dunns
and
Westons
lives were irrevocably connected in one way or
another, but more so lately due to Natalie's grandmother adopting both clans.
When Natalie dated Cade after her return to Red Rock, Kale had somehow gotten
involved in the mix of the dating pool. Her grandmother played matchmaker by
pitting the two guys against each other in order for one of them to back off. Then
Kale met Laurel after she came to town to rescue her sister from an abusive
husband who happened to be one of Kale's ranch hands.
Her own
sister Emma got tangled up with a country singer and his identical twin. Now
they were happily a triad living in Nashville with their ever growing brood of
kids. Not that a triad situation ever crossed her mind. The excitement of being
with two men might be something to try once, but she could never be in a
threesome on a regular basis. Kale's sister Delaney recently married Jake
Monroe. Elizabeth remembered Jake and Delaney hanging out a lot during high
school. Shortly afterward, he took off for parts unknown. Last she'd heard,
Colby Mason and Delaney
were
a hot item. Obviously a
juicy story seemed hidden in the confines of those three.
"Such
exciting lives where mine is boring.
I really need to get out
more."
Marcus'
clinic came into view. Elizabeth pulled into the parking lot. Several cars
waited out front and trepidation skittered down her spine. She didn't want to
make a scene but by the looks of all the cars, it sure seemed like half the
town sat in his waiting room with their animals. "Maybe I should just wait
until tomorrow." As she grabbed the gear shift to put the car back into
drive, Marcus stepped out the back door of the clinic. A slight breeze picked
up the piece of hair falling over his forehead and ruffled it like a set of
lover's fingers. The white lab coat molded to his sturdy frame, emphasizing the
breath of his chest. Even though he didn't do hard physical labor like a cowboy
might, he still had a physique of someone who worked out or did demanding work
on a regular basis.
After a
moment, he turned and caught her gaze through the windshield of her car.
Great.
I can't leave now.
She inhaled a sharp
breath as a frown crossed his features. He didn't seem pleased to see her.
What did I expect? I slapped the man last
night.
She
pushed open her car door and stepped out. "Marcus?"
"Hello,
Elizabeth. What can I do for you?"
Once she
shut the door, she approached slowly, her steps faltering at the look on his
face. She pressed her lips together for a moment, wishing to be anywhere but
here. Apologizing to the man seemed necessary, but it didn't mean she had to
like it. The clear blue of his gaze penetrated the iciness in her chest.
"I came to apologize for my behavior last night. I was totally out of line
and slapping you…well I shouldn't have."
"Apology
accepted. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have patients to see."
His quiet
dismissal hurt. She wasn't sure why. Wasn't he moved by their kiss at the
Halloween Ball?
Apparently not if he could just walk away
from her without even a goodbye.
"Wait, please."
"Is
there something else?"
"How
about if I buy dinner tonight?"
What the hell? Am I crazy? The last thing I want is to be alone with
him.
"Why?"
"I'm
really sorry for how I acted. I want to make it up to you."
"There's
no need, Elizabeth, really. It's fine."
The
clipped tone of his voice told her of his anger and disappointment in her. It hurt.
No one had ever been disappointed in her before. "I want to. Please?"
He
tipped his head back, looking up at the sky. At first she didn't think he would
go until he finally said, "All right. Where would you like to go?"
"I
heard The Millhouse is really good even if Cade has interests in the business."
A soft
smile lifted the corners of his mouth. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest.
"Don't let him hear you say something like that. He takes pride in his
business decisions." He tilted his head to the side. "Do you really
want to go back to the scene of the crime?
"Scene
of the crime?"
"The
ball took place there."
She
dropped her gaze to the wide breath of his chest. "True. They have really
great food though from what I hear. Cade would have my head if he heard me.
I've never eaten there though."
"You
haven't?" he asked, moving a step or two closer. "I'm surprised the
two of them haven't taken you there when you were home."
"We
didn't get the chance."
"It's
a date then. What time would you like me to pick you up?"
"Oh
no.
It's fine. How about if I meet you there? It's not like this is a
date or anything." The frown returned and she wondered what she'd done to
piss him off now.
"Six
o'clock?"
"Great."
She turned to head back to her car, but stopped near the front bumper, glancing
over her shoulder. "Marcus?"
"Yes?"
"Don't
worry about a tux even though I know you have one." She smiled as he
grinned.
"Not
a problem, Elizabeth. See you at six."
Once she
slid back inside her car, she felt like she could breathe again. The way his
lip lifted when he grinned and the small dimple that appeared in his cheek
reminded her of the sexy, tuxedoed man she'd been dreaming of since she'd met
him eight months before. He didn't think he could be that man again, but she
had a feeling there were two sides to the very disturbingly different Marcus Melton.
Several
hours later, Elizabeth nervously checked her appearance in the rearview mirror
for the third time as she fought with herself over why she'd stupidly asked
Marcus to dinner. Her father had laughed when she'd told him what she'd done
right before she'd left the house.
"Honey,
I think it's great. There's nothing wrong with two headstrong people having
dinner and discussions over a mistake one of you has made. Marcus is a great
guy. Even if nothing develops past an association, it doesn't hurt to have
another friend on the list."
"Natalie
said the same thing."
"Nat
is a very wise woman." He patted her shoulder after he helped her pull on
her sweater. "Have a nice time and don't worry about your old man. I'll be
fine here."
"You
could come with me, Daddy. I'm sure Marcus wouldn't mind."
He
frowned for a moment. "I'd mind. I'm not tagging along as a third wheel on
my daughter's date."
"It's
not a date. We're just having dinner and some conversation."
"Sounds
like a date to me."
She
rolled her eyes as she shook her head. Her father didn't understand how couples
could go to a party, dinner or a movie or any other place and only be friends.
"I don't have time for a man in my life anyway so quit your matchmaking
already. I'm leaving in a month. I won't be back for three years. I'm not doing
a long distance relationship. Just so you know
,
people
don't fall in love in a month."
"You
never know, sweetheart. Don't close your eyes or your heart to the
possibilities. Things happen for a reason. Only God knows what those reasons
are."
"You
miss Mom, don’t you?"
"Of
course I do.
Every day.
I keep reminding myself that
God took her from us for a reason although we don't know why. When it's your
time, it's your time in my book. It was His wish to have her by his side and
even though she's no longer physically here, she'll always be in my
heart."
"Can
I ask you a question?"
"Shoot."
"Was
Mom the only girl you ever really loved?"
Her
father dropped his gaze to the floor, shuffling his feet.
"Dad?"
When he
lifted his head and stared into her eyes, she knew he'd loved another.
"No. There was someone else early on, but she chose another over me."
Elizabeth
hugged her father whispering, "I'm sorry. I don't know how any woman could
ever give you up for someone else. She obviously wasn't worthy of your love if
she could walk away from you so easily."
"It
doesn't matter. She has her life and I have mine. I had a beautiful wife for a
number of years. One I loved very much. I have great kids who love me.
Some awesome grandkids to love.
If I could get a few more,
I'd die a happy man."
"Someday,
Dad."
"I
know, honey. I just want you to be happy. I know that asshole in Los Angeles
wasn't the man to make you happy."
Now as
she sat outside the restaurant trying to get her nerve up to open the door, she
chewed her lipstick off for the sixth time. Why she felt jittery and jumpy, she
wasn't sure. After all, she didn't think of Marcus as boyfriend material, did
she? No.
A friend.
Nothing more.
She
exhaled sharply and pushed open her car door only to have it wrenched out of
her hand. A small squeak escaped her mouth until she looked up into the blue
eyes of Marcus. His brown sport coat molded to his broad chest while his white
linen shirt emphasized the width of the pecs beneath. Brown tailored slacks and
boots completed the picture of the gentleman cowboy.
"Sorry.
I didn't mean to startle you. I saw you sitting here for several minutes. I
thought maybe you'd changed your mind."
"You
look nice," she said, locking the door, shutting it behind her.