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  He hesitated, careful not to upset her. “I mean before the accident, you were acting strange.”

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  He crossed his arms and waited.

  Christian expelled a long breath. “I’m lying,” she admitted, then met his gaze once again. “When I was seven years old, I lost my parents in a car crash. Almost like the one we were in, actually. I remember the rain and the thunder that night.”

  “You were in the car with them?”

  She nodded and lowered her gaze, before continuing her story. “People said I was lucky. Funny. I never felt lucky.” She closed her eyes. “It all happened so fast and yet it seemed as if it lasted forever.”

  Jordan squeezed her hand. She pulled back from his grasp.

  “After that,” she continued. “I was shipped to Texas, where my grandmother raised me.”

  Words of empathy raced in his head, but in the short time he had known her, he had a feeling she wouldn’t welcome his sympathy.

  She pulled her body erect and took a deep breath. “But all that was a long time ago.”

  “It’s still a part of who you are.”

  She shrugged, as if dismissing his theory, then looked up to catch him staring. “What?”

  Jordan shook his head. “Nothing.”

  She crossed her arms. “You think it’s silly of me to be afraid of storms, don’t you?”

  “Of course not,” he declared in a low voice. “Despite what you may believe about me, I’m not judgmental. I just wish that you would give me a little more credit.”

  Christian crossed her arms. “I’m sorry.” She took his hand in hers. “It’s still painful for me to talk about.”

  “I understand.”

  They finished their dinner and had to stroll outside in order to reach their rooms. For the most part, they walked beside each other in silence.

  Christian’s pulse raced as she kept her gaze averted, and her mind focused on getting to her room.

  “Well, I guess this is it,” Jordan said, stopping in front of her door.

  She looked over at him. Soft moonlight highlighted the chiseled planes of his face. Breathtaking, she thought as her gaze caressed his features. Desire pooled inside her and she turned her head in order to gather her thoughts.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  “No,” she smiled, hoping to hide her embarrassment.

  “Then why are you blushing?” He laughed as he crossed his arms to stare down at her.

  “I’m just a little warm right now.” She cringed at her choice of words.

  “Oh, is that right?”

  She laughed. “I better say good night.”

  He looked at her door and she wondered if he waited for an invitation. Regret returned to her heart and she tried her best to force an amiable smile. Life wasn’t fair.

  A hint of a smile played at one corner of his mouth. “Thank you for having dinner with me.”

  “I had a good time.”

  His smile vanished as he reached out to touch her cheek.

  Familiar electrical currents traveled throughout her body. Her gaze lowered and remained fascinated with his mouth. Her heart longed for what her mind told her was out of her reach. Everything about him attracted her: his pride, his arrogance, and the way he made her feel.

  His head descended as she tilted hers back. He stopped.

  “Kiss me,” she said, surprised by her boldness.

  His dimples made an appearance before he complied.

  Christian melted into his light, sweet kiss. His hands threaded through her short hair and brought her closer to him. He handled her gently. His tender care brought tears to her eyes.

  She felt vulnerable and almost delicate in his arms. Passion heated at the center of her being and burned hot enough to melt away her sense of defenselessness.

  She deepened the kiss and he answered her aggression with his own. He opened her mouth wider with the pressure of his thrusting tongue. His hand lowered, brushing against her right breast.

  Christian stilled.

  Jordan broke their kiss and gazed down at her. “What’s wrong?”

  Tears slid down her eyes. “I can’t do this,” she confessed in a trembling whisper, pushing away from him. She slid her key through the lock and pushed open the door in one fluid motion.

  “Wait.” He placed his foot in the door, preventing her from slamming it.

  “Please,” she said. Her eyes pleaded with him.

  The name Bobby penetrated his brain. He’d almost forgotten this man stood between them. He removed his foot and watched with a sense of loss when she closed the door.

  Chapter 21

  Noah entered the conference room with his head held high. He made his usual greeting to each member of the board while concealing his troubled thoughts behind a smiling mask. From across the room Wong Chin tilted his head in greeting.

  Noah’s long talk with Rosa had performed miracles on his self-esteem. As the hour approached nine, dread crept over him. No one from the marketing department had arrived. His heart sank. One thing for certain, if by some miracle, he was not voted out of his position, he’d fire the whole marketing department.

  Five minutes till the hour, the members moved into their appropriate seats. Noah maintained his smile. After years of running Opulence, he was prepared to wing this meeting if he had no other choice.

  At the stroke of nine, Malcolm and a horde of people entered the room. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” he greeted, as if they expected him.

  Noah’s gaze met his son’s. Malcolm’s confidence and dominating presence surprised him. He strode over to his father and handed him a syllabus, then proceeded to pass the same information to each member of the board.

  Speechless, Noah took his own chair and waited to hear Malcolm’s presentation.

  Christian stood beneath the steaming flow of water with her eyes squeezed shut. Methodically, she scrubbed her body without chancing a downward glance. By noon, they should reach McKinley Ranch.

  She couldn’t wait. She needed distance and time away from Jordan. She couldn’t make any sense out of her feelings for him anymore. Nothing made sense.

  Her hand glided across her shoulders and around her breast, then stopped. She caught her full lower lip between her teeth, then blinked through a sheen of tears. A sob of disbelief tore from her throat as her knees weakened.

  Paralyzed by fear, she sank inside the tub until she sat huddled against the porcelain. Scalding tears stung her eyes and she tipped her head back, swallowing the painful lump of dread in her throat. Dear God, no.

  Malcolm stood before the board with an easy smile. “Before we get started, I want to introduce to you a good friend of mine and business consultant, Daniel Finley.”

  Daniel greeted the small group with the tilt of his head.

  Malcolm claimed control of the meeting. “I’m not going to waste anyone’s time this morning. I’m just going to get to the point. Opulence is in the red. Let’s just get that out in the open right now. Our sales revenues have trickled down to little or nothing in the last five years.” He made a point of making eye contact with each member as he talked.

  “You’re all here to hear how we plan on turning our figures around. There’s only one way that I can see and that’s for us to take risks. As far as I am concerned the tradition dies now. If it ain’t broken, break it. Mr. Finley is the fortunate owner of a women’s clothing chain called Diamonds. This fall Opulence will merge with Diamonds to establish an aggressive, on-the-edge presence in the market.

  “We’ll incorporate an Opulence location with each of Diamond’s mall locations. This store within a store will enhance the public draw to both retail centers.”

  Voices murmured throughout the room.

  Malcolm continued. “The retail units are scheduled to open one store per month over the next three years. These thirty-six locations will replace the fifty-two Opulence locations. This will reduce our overhead and in
crease sales revenue.”

  Chin spoke. “What does Diamonds get out of this? And since we’re in the red, who is financing these transitions?”

  Malcolm smiled. “Those are two very good questions, Mr. Chin. I’m glad you asked. We propose that Opulence transfer forty-nine percent of its stock to Mr. Finley. This will give him a twenty-two percent equity position in the company.

  “In return, Mr. Finley agrees to fund the construction and transition costs. He will write and sponsor an Opulence debt restructure plan and transfer one percent of his retail stock to Opulence.”

  As if on cue, another team of men entered the room.

  “I would like to introduce, or maybe reacquaint many of you with representatives of our major creditors. And I’m happy to tell you that they are thrilled with our new ideas.”

  Chin stared in stunned disbelief at Malcolm.

  A wide grin spread across Noah’s face as a murmur of excited voices rose from the board members.

  Jordan turned onto the McKinley Ranch and gently applied pressure to the brakes. His gaze darted across the vast open land. The rich azure sky painted the landscape with vibrant colors and thick, white clouds completed the picturesque view.

  Christian stirred, then stretched in the leather seat. Her sleep-filled eyes fluttered open and an instant smile curved her lips. One word sank into her consciousness. Home.

  “It’s beautiful,” Jordan whispered.

  Rolling down her window, she took a deep breath and inhaled the morning’s fresh air. The sight, the setting, shot a burst of adrenaline and enthusiasm through her.

  “It’s paradise,” he said.

  “Come on,” she prodded, “let’s get to the main house.”

  Jordan set the car in motion and marveled at the wide countryside. He followed the thin dirt tracks laid by the constant path of vehicles.

  The Land Rover lunged up a steep hill and when it reached the top, Jordan swore that he had found the lost Garden of Eden. He saw for miles down the carpeted green slopes, while to his left, ranks of trees marched down the hillside. To his right, a house sat in the far distance.

  “There’s the main house,” Christian pointed in the same direction.

  “You have to be the luckiest woman I’ve ever met.”

  She laughed, but a note of sorrow seeped through.

  He glanced over his shoulder at her. His heart tightened at the thought that this could be their last day together.

  Driving down the hillside in a cloud of dust, a knot of apprehension settled in the pit of Jordan’s gut. A small crowd had assembled in front of the house.

  They had barely rolled to a stop before Christian jumped out and cried, “Bobby!”

  Jordan jerked his head and stared in stunned disbelief as a heavy-set, older woman embraced Christian.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” Jordan jumped out of the vehicle.

  “How ya doin’, son?” A muscular man stepped forward and pounded Jordan’s back with the strength of Hercules. The older man’s onyx eyes narrowed from beneath the wide brim of a black Stetson hat. His mouth set in a grim line, while his gaze assessed and measured Jordan.

  “Just fine.” Jordan forced on a brave face and ignored his aching back.

  “Name’s Pete.” The older man thrust out his hand. A toothpick twirled in the corner of his mouth.

  “Jordan.” He accepted Pete’s hand, surprised by the sudden pressure he applied to his grip.

  “Mind if I ask where you’ve been with my niece?”

  Despite his light tone, Jordan didn’t mistake the harsh parental threat in the man’s low and rusty voice. “We—uh. I drove her here from Atlanta.” Jordan felt sixteen again and on his first date.

  Pete’s eyes never wavered from Jordan as he nodded. “Long drive.”

  “Uh, yes, sir, it was.” Jordan looked over his shoulder, expecting some type of help from Christian, but a group of similar-looking men in faded jeans and chambray work shirts had him surrounded.

  “Now you guys leave him alone,” a deep woman’s voice boomed. The men parted like the Red Sea to allow her through. She opened her arms wide for an embrace.

  Jordan leaned down and folded his arms around the shorter woman. She couldn’t have been more than five-three with broad shoulders and a thundering voice.

  When she stepped back, her eyes traveled over him. “Um, um, um. I see Chrissy has caught herself a fine-looking man.”

  A rush of heat flushed Jordan’s face.

  “And modest, too,” she announced, reaching up to pinch his cheeks. “Look at him, boys. He’s blushing. And I just love a man with dimples.”

  Pete shook his head. “That’s all we need around here, a city boy.”

  Jordan frowned at the term that was used as a derogatory remark.

  “Don’t mind him none,” Bobby waved in Pete’s general direction, with a flick of her wrist, then pulled Jordan toward the entrance of the house. “Let’s get you cleaned up before the rest of our guests arrive.”

  “Guests?” Jordan asked, then glanced around. Where was Christian?

  Bobby’s face lit. “Yeah. Didn’t Chrissy tell you?”

  He laughed at the nickname.

  “Today is our annual family reunion. Why, everybody is goin’ to want to get a peek at you.”

  “Why?” he wondered aloud.

  “Why?” She stopped just shy of the front stairs. “Hon, you’re the first man Chrissy has ever brought home.”

  Jordan’s brows furrowed. He had a hard time believing that one. He’d assumed Christian had always had her fair share of admirers.

  “You’ll stay, won’t you?” Bobby asked with wide-eyed concern.

  He looked over his shoulder and saw that everyone waited to hear his answer. “I’d be delighted to.”

  “Good, good. We have plenty of room and Pete,” she shouted, “can carry your bags up to your room.”

  Pete grumbled at being volunteered, but headed toward the rented vehicle without voicing his complaint.

  Jordan turned. “That’s all right. I can get my bags.”

  Bobby stopped him with a firm hand against his arm. “Nonsense. You’re our guest. He doesn’t mind a bit. Do you, Pete?” She looked over to her brother.

  He replied with an obvious lie. “Of course not.”

  “Don’t mind my brother none,” she whispered, then led Jordan into the house.

  Nothing could have prepared him for the beauty that awaited him inside the house. He didn’t get an opportunity to see much at the fast pace Bobby set through the spacious home.

  “Now this is your room.” Bobby opened a door.

  Jordan nodded as his appreciative gaze took in the large room.

  She elbowed him. “Chrissy’s room is just two doors down,” she whispered.

  He liked the animated older woman. He looked for similarities between her and Christian. They had the same dark eyes, but where Bobby’s held a certain spark—a zest for life, Christian’s gaze, more often than not, held sadness.

  Jordan frowned at the troubling thought. “Where is Chrissy? I mean Christian.”

  A broad smile lit the older woman’s face. “Ah, you do like her.” She reached up and pinched his cheek again. “Well, don’t you worry none. I sent her off to get ready for the reunion as well. You’ll get to see her soon enough.”

  Bobby breezed into the guest bedroom and provided a quick tour as to where he could find everything.

  When she finished, she stood watching him with a broad smile.

  Jordan nodded and half expected her to say something, but instead had a nagging feeling that she waited for him to speak.

  “You have a lovely home,” was all he could think to say.

  Pete appeared at the door, with his arms loaded. He stepped through the room’s threshold, but Jordan’s bags jammed in the door’s frame and wedged him between them.

  “Here, let me help you with that,” Jordan offered.

  Pete frowned when Jordan assisted him. “I
hope you don’t expect me to be your bellhop. This ain’t no Ramada Inn, you know.”

  “Ah, quit your griping,” Bobby scolded, slapping Pete’s arm. “Jordan is our guest. You’ll do best to remember that.”

  Pete piled the remaining two bags on the bed. “Just how much clothes did you pack, city boy? I swear you have just as much luggage as my niece does. How long did you say you were planning to stay?”

  “Why don’t you stop harassing the boy?” Bobby slapped Pete’s arm again, then settled her hands on her hips. “Mighty funny, you seem to think I run some type of hotel, the way you expect me to clean and cook for you.”

  Pete’s scowl tightened.

  Jordan wondered if he needed to play referee.

  “Anyway,” her tone turned pleasant again. “You go ahead and get cleaned up. The family should be arriving within the hour.”

  Like a gust of wind, she breezed past him. “Come on, Pete. We still have plenty to do.”

  “That woman is going to be the death of me,” Pete swore under his breath once she left the room.

  Jordan shared a sympathetic smile. He might not have been there long, but he knew exactly who wore the pants at McKinley Ranch.

  Pete pushed his hat up and crossed his arms.

  Anticipating the next session of interrogation, Jordan directed his full attention to the overprotective uncle.

  “Are you sleeping with my niece?”

  The air rushed out of Jordan’s lungs but he hid his shock with an awkward laugh.

  Not amused, Pete waited.

  “Pete!” Bobby bellowed from somewhere within the house.

  The older man’s shoulders slumped as he rolled his eyes heavenward and headed toward the door. He stopped at the entrance. “We’ll finish this discussion later,” he warned, then left.

  Jordan shook his head. “I can hardly wait.”

  Chapter 22

  Christian sat on her bed and stared at the phone. In the back of her mind, she knew she had to make the call, but every fiber of her being was afraid. She dropped her head into the palms of her hands. A dull ache throbbed at her temples.

  She took a deep breath, then snatched the handset off the cradle and dialed a number from memory.