She checked her phone for an answer from Teresa. At last! Her text must have arrived while she was in the shower. She cringed at the single devastating word: “Sacramento.”
So Dwayne was definitely looking for her. Her heart froze in her chest. What if he found her? What would she do?
“I’ll send him back to Michigan,” she said aloud, pushing defiance into her voice. That helped. “If I can’t feel brave, at least I can sound brave.” Then she wondered,
Why am I worried? He’s the one who chose Sienna over me. I’m the one who was wronged! Not him.
But she hated confrontation. She dreaded seeing him again and listening to him try to talk her into whatever he wanted. “Oh my gosh, that’s what he’s been doing from the beginning. He manipulated me with his slimy suaveness.” She cradled her phone in her hands, hanging onto it as if it were Teresa herself, and not just her text. She stared at it mournfully. “I don’t think suaveness is a word.”
The knock at the door rattled her, and she dropped her phone. She wasn’t ready for this! She didn’t have it in her to face down Dwayne this morning. Not after three marvelous days with Chris. It was such a joy to spend time with him, and so uplifting to know he adored her, just like the old song said.
Another knock. She stiffened her spine, picked up her phone, and went to the door. She peered through the peephole and sagged against the wall with relief, then unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.
“Chris!” She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his. He smelled wonderful, like shampoo and musk. When he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, she decided she could spend the whole day just like that. They didn’t have to go anywhere. They could stand there in the doorway hugging for hours.
His voice was soft and warm against her ear. “I love the way you say good morning after a day in the mountains. We’ll have to go hiking a lot.”
Meredith planted a kiss on his cheek and loosened her grip. “I’m just so glad it’s you.”
Chris’s emerald eyes clouded with doubt. “Who else were you expecting?” Then his eyes widened. “Did that jock Forest call you?”
Meredith smoothed his brow. “Forest?”
Chris looked relieved, then embarrassed. “I sort of called him and bragged a little about dating you.”
Meredith was delighted. “You bragged about me?”
Chris nodded. “I hope that was okay. But if he called you and tried to get a date”—he shook his head sadly—“I’ll just have to choose between you, I guess.” He unwrapped his arms and held his hands out like a scale. “Forest, my best friend from college,” he said, weighing the friendship on his right hand, “or Meredith, my sweet Annie Oakley, who finally walked back into my life and stole my heart.” His left hand quivered then dropped with the weight of the comparison, as if filled with gold. “Too bad, Forest. Meredith wins.” He embraced her again. “As I recall, yesterday we crashed the kissing barrier. Do you mind if we take up where we left off?”
Meredith melted against him. “What a great idea.” A moment later, she was lost in his kiss. She wasn’t sure how long they stood that way, but when her knees grew wobbly, she pulled back and murmured, “Maybe we should move so the maid can get in.”
Chris’s eyes were filled with passion. He seemed a bit disoriented, but he nodded and cleared his throat. “Okay, um, sure. Sorry. You, um, I mean, I just can’t get enough of kissing you.”
Meredith traced the line of his chin with her fingertips. When had “cute” turned into “gorgeous”? She wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t deny that it had. He was the most attractive man she’d ever known. How could she have missed that in Shakespeare class?
Chris clasped her fingers in his hand and said softly, “That feels lovely, but if you don’t stop, I won’t be able to move.”
“Oh.” Meredith felt heat rising to her cheeks. “Maybe we should find breakfast?”
“Good choice,” said Chris. “And I promised to show you the bachelor pad.”
“You’re not worried anymore about us being all alone there?” teased Meredith, stepping into the room to grab her purse.
“Well, we won’t be that alone,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll have to behave myself.”
Rats
, thought Meredith, then she giggled and let Chris lead her by the hand to his Mercedes GL.
She didn’t think anything about it when a shiny red Honda pulled out of the lot behind them and made the same left turn as Chris did.
CHAPTER 8
C
hris’s place was half an hour away, not too far when it came to commuting, but he was enjoying it a lot more with Meredith in the car. It was the first time he regretted having luxurious bucket seats, because he wanted to pull her close and let her snuggle up against him. But then, when he’d made his choice of interior, he thought the love of his life was gone forever.
He glanced over at her perfect profile, those dark, deep eyes and that elegant neck. He expected to see the same look of joy and excitement she’d worn since their first dance, but today, she seemed preoccupied.
“Annie Mer”—he’d combined the names into a loving new sound—“is something wrong? You seem worried.”
She looked at him, and in an instant, he could see the concern in her eyes.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
Meredith tilted her head back against the seat. “Dwayne is looking for me.”
Chris frowned. “How do you know?”
Meredith told him about the email and text message from Teresa and the red-eye to California.
Chris shrugged. “He had his chance. He blew it. You’re with me now. Everything will be all right.”
“I thought it was pretty mean of him to withhold my paycheck,” she said glumly.
Chris suppressed a smile. “Don’t worry. Something tells me you have a very bright future ahead of you. Didn’t you tell our class you wanted to go to graduate school?”
Now she really looked depressed. “That was my dream,” she said. “But my family was pressuring me to get a job to pay off my loans.” With a look of horror, she blurted, “How will I make my payment?”
For a moment, Chris was confused. Then he got it. “Oh, student loans. Right. Well, let’s leave that worry for another day. I have a little surprise for you at my place.”
Meredith rewarded him with a brilliant smile. “What is it?”
“If I tell you, it won’t be a surprise.” He took her hand and kissed it, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Will I like it?”
Oh God, I hope so,
he thought. Aloud, he said, “I’m counting on it.”
After she revealed her concerns to him, he started paying more attention to the traffic around them. He caught a glimpse of a red Honda in the fast lane, but it never passed them. Could someone actually be following them? Then he felt silly. There were millions of cars on the California highways, and a lot of them liked to drive in the fast lane. It was foolish to think Meredith’s ex could actually be following them. Besides, Dwayne had no claim on Meredith. He’d thrown her over for another woman. He was a jerk and a loser. He’d probably flown to Sacramento on a business trip.
On that note, he pulled off the highway and headed toward a neighborhood in the low-lying hills, with just enough roll in the landscape to afford privacy between the luxury homes. A few minutes later, he pulled into his long, brick driveway and stopped in front of his castle Tudor home. The exterior was sandstone brick, with a brown metal roof, and the tower next to the arched entryway had narrow windows that stair-stepped down the turret.
Meredith’s mouth dropped open. “This is your ‘bachelor pad’? It’s magnificent! A fairy princess must be watching from the tower.” She turned to him and grabbed his arm. “Are you seeing a fairy princess behind my back?”
Chris laughed. “You like the house?”
Meredith put a hand over her mouth. “I’m stunned. There must be four bedrooms at least. You live here all alone?”
“Five bedrooms, six and a half baths, and servants’ quarters in the back. Well, that’s actually another little house. So technically, I guess I live here alone at night. But during the day, there are three other people. And right now, there’s even more, because I’m having a pool installed. Want to see?”
“Oh my God, I want to see every square foot.” Meredith was already getting out of the car.
Chris grinned. Her reaction was better than he had hoped. “Wait for me.”
He gave her the tour of the house, and introduced her to his housekeeper, the groundsman, and Toby, a large German shepherd.
Meredith melted at the sight of the dog. “I didn’t know you were a dog person. Why doesn’t Toby go to work with you?” She stopped and looked around for a second, then asked, “Why do you go to work at all?”
Chris shrugged. “I need something to do, and since Gran earned a fifth-degree black belt in tae-kwon-do in her youth, she made sure I took lessons for years. A gym seemed like the natural thing to do. Toby is home security, not work security.” He turned to the housekeeper. “Imelda, where’s Ron?”
“He’s out back, keeping an eye on the construction people.” She smiled at Meredith. “Nice to meet you.”
“Thanks, same here,” said Meredith. “Who is Ron?”
Chris said, “He’s our bodyguard. Imelda and her husband are here alone a lot of the time, and their grandkids come to visit. Sometimes our neighborhood is targeted by burglars, and I want her to feel safe. Come on, I’ll show you the pool. Or rather, the hole in the ground where the pool will be.” He led her through the great room, the dining room, the huge kitchen, the mudroom, and out the back door.
Chris waved at Ron and commented to Meredith, “Ron’s the one who’s not wearing an orange construction vest. He was on the pro wrestling circuit before I hired him. Impressive, no?”
“Very,” said Meredith, wide-eyed.
“Mr. Dann, welcome home.” Ron lifted a hand in greeting, then strode toward them. “Is this the young lady you’ve been talking about?”
Chris made the introductions. “How’s the work coming?”
“They’re waiting for a piece of equipment to arrive,” said Ron. “Since they can’t do much for an hour or so, I told them they could drive to the Village Store.” He nodded as the three construction workers trudged past. “And if it starts raining,” said Ron, glancing up at the gathering clouds, “we won’t see them until tomorrow.”
“Did they lock up that front loader?” Chris gestured at the huge John Deere tractor with its earth mover wedged in the dark soil.
“Yes, sir.” Ron gave Meredith a mock salute. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” He looked back and forth from Chris to Meredith and rubbed a hand over his mouth, like a man who had more to say but was thinking better of it. His eyes twinkled. “Guess I’ll go tend to the kennels. Got to keep the guard dogs happy.”
After he left, Meredith said, “He seems nice. And bulky. Where are the kennels? Do you have more than one dog?”
Chris nodded. “Three, actually. The kennels are behind the servants’ quarters. What do you think? Will the pool be big enough?”
“Gosh, it’s going to be awesome. Why would you ever want to leave in the morning?” She linked her arm with his. “This is a wonderful surprise.”
Chris shook his head. “No, this is just my house.”
“I could stand here and look at this view all day,” sighed Meredith.
Chris grinned. “You can wait here, then. The surprise is inside. I’ll go get it. If it starts raining, come indoors, okay?”
Meredith nodded, and Chris went into the house. He ran upstairs, taking them two at a time, and into his bedroom. Toby galloped after him, tongue lolling. Chris checked the dresser, but he didn’t find what he was looking for. “Where is it? For Pete’s sake, it can’t be lost.” He pulled out the drawers, checking each one. Outside, a car door slammed. Toby barked and ran downstairs. “I wonder if I can take an hour off the labor bill,” Chris muttered, thinking about the construction workers lazing about. He growled at himself. “Where did I put it?”
In desperation, he checked his bathroom. Nothing on the vanity. Then the dressing room. There it was, on the smaller chest of drawers. He picked up the tiny box and tucked it into his jeans pocket. On his way back through the bedroom, he opened the drapes. It looked like rain outside, and he liked to let in as much light as possible.
“There. That’s better.” He glanced down at his SUV in the driveway and froze. Parked behind it was a shiny red Honda.
CHAPTER 9
M
eredith waited patiently for Chris for a whole thirty seconds. Then she giggled to herself and stepped off the brick patio to take a look at the tractor. She’d never been that close to heavy equipment before, and the bright green and yellow of the machine beckoned to her. As she approached, she was impressed by the size of the earth-moving attachment. It was as tall as she was, even with its lower edge buried in a foot of earth. It had cleared out quite a hole in preparation for the pool.
How typical of Chris to forget to mention that he was rich! She’d seen how his grandmother lived, and that was certainly a level of splendor she’d never hoped to achieve in her lifetime. But after Nita Pearl had called Chris’s house a “bachelor pad,” she never expected to find servants and a bodyguard.
She was so glad she’d had a chance to reconnect with Chris on a personal level before she saw his house. Mansion? Grounds? Bodyguard? Her head was spinning. But at least she’d come to realize how much she loved him before her opinion could be swayed by all these trappings of wealth.
“Besides,” she said to the tractor, “there are richer people in the world. It’s not like he’s royalty or an oilman or anything like that. His grandparents probably invested well, and he’s their only heir.” She patted the side of the tractor. “I knew you’d understand.”
“Understand what?”
The voice from her past shocked and frightened her.
“Dwayne!” She whirled around to see his tall, slithery good looks glaring at her from ten feet away. She sputtered for a moment, searching for something to say, then lifted her chin and shouted, “You’re trespassing!”
“Look who’s talking. This isn’t your place either.”
Before she could stop herself, Meredith took a step backwards. The John Deere stopped her. “What do you want? How did you find me? Why are you here?”