Something flickered in her eyes and her cheeks became pink. “Not really. I just want to talk tonight.”
He gazed into her eyes and wondered if he should probe more deeply. Then he figured they could talk tonight. But he couldn’t let her go without doing one thing. When he stepped closer to place his hands on her shoulders, he felt her stiffen slightly. He studied her and then slipped his arm around her waist to kiss her.
“Tony, I should—” His lips on hers ended her talk.
For a moment she was resistant. Then all her stiffness vanished as she put her arms around his neck and returned his kiss passionately, a blazing kiss that meant whatever herproblem was, she still couldn’t cool the blazing sexual attraction between them.
When she stepped away, he let her go. She was breathing as hard as he was and they looked at each other a moment. Her blue eyes seemed clouded with worry. Turning away, she rushed out to her pickup.
“I need to get home, Tony. See you tonight,” she called over her shoulder.
He hurried to watch her while she started the pickup. Gravely, she glanced at him and then drove away.
He stared after her. Something had definitely changed since the last time they were together. He didn’t know what it was, unless she was trying not to tell him that she didn’t care to go out with him again or receive phone calls from him. But knowing her as he did, he was certain she would have just said it.
That day was inevitable and he probably shouldn’t have called her, but he knew she would want to see the dog. Oh, who was he kidding? He’d called because he wanted to see her. The dog was just an excuse. As much as he told himself to leave her alone and forget her, he couldn’t stay away. His body seemed to crave her, the way a starving man craves food. Maybe tonight would be different, he told himself. Maybe tonight the reluctance and resistance he’d sensed in her would disappear. He could only hope.
He retrieved his hat and headed to his pickup to catch up with Keane and see how they were coming on clearing the land for the new pond.
But as he drove, he couldn’t stop the niggling feeling that something big was going to happen tonight. Something sure as hell was wrong with Lindsay and he could only wonder what.
Lindsay spent the rest of the day at her house. Part of the time she helped her cook, Rosalee. Part of the time she was shut in her room deciding what to wear and how to tell Tony about her pregnancy.
She had wanted to wait, make her own decisions, but she couldn’t go back to the carefree, happy times when she was with him after the auction. She had decided to tell him immediately and face dealing with him. It would come sooner or later and she wanted the battle over and done.
She wanted to look her best when she told him. When he was dazzled by her, Tony was much more cooperative. Take the night of the auction, for example. But then, that night she’d had surprise on her side. Oh, she had a surprise this time, all right. One that might make him faint.
Rummaging in her closet, she selected a black dress she had bought on impulse when she had been shopping in Dallas. She had never worn it, just because no occasion had arisen, but tonight should be one.
She yanked off her jeans to try on the dress. Before she pulled it on, she stopped to look at herself in the mirror. Even though it was too soon for physical changes, she couldn’t keep from looking for them. It was satisfying to see she looked as slim as ever. Change was inevitable, but she hoped it didn’t show really early. She wanted to keep working on the ranch, and if any of the guys noticed and realized, word would get to Abe. He would insist she stop and if she didn’t, he’d probably talk to her brothers about it.
By five in the afternoon Rosalee had finished and left for the weekend. Lindsay had bathed and still worked to fix her hair, planning to leave it down in long spiral curls around her face.
As the time drew closer for Tony to arrive, her nerves became more raw. She dreaded talking to him, knowing all the peace between them would go up in flames tonight and they wouldeach have to make a big effort to be civil and work out how they would deal with their new situation. Most of the changes would be in her life, but Tony would have adjustments and decisions, too. And their dates, their lovemaking, the fun they’d had—all that was over. It wasn’t something she expected to get back in her life.
Feeling she had reached a point where her appearance was the best she could do, she went to the front window to watch for him coming up the drive. After a moment she stepped out on her porch to sit in a wooden rocker. In spite of the hot weather, she was chilled. Mounting dread about revealing her pregnancy to Tony enveloped her. She could anticipate his reactions and she suspected battles with him would fill the coming weeks. Underneath that dread was an undercurrent of anticipation, because she would finally be with him again.
When his sports car came into view, her pulse jumped. He might be bossy, but he still was the most charming, exciting, sexy man she had ever known. She went inside to take one more look at herself in the mirror, then stood waiting for the doorbell. Was she about to face her biggest struggle ever with Tony?
As Tony drove up the driveway to Lindsay’s ranch house, his eagerness to see her grew. He’d been nervous all day to find out what disturbed her but, right now, knowing he’d see her in minutes, he couldn’t help hoping for another hot, sexy night of lovemaking.
Never in his life had he been deeply involved in a serious relationship and he knew he wouldn’t start now with Lindsay. They were just too different. Even so, at the moment he wanted to be with her; he missed talking to her and seeing her. He feared their tenuous relationship might be close to termination right now, but he intended to enjoy tonight to the fullest.
When the door swung open, his heart thudded and for seconds all he did was stare.
Lindsay wore another pair of stiletto heels with thin sexy straps crossing her slender feet, which matched her black sleeveless dress. Her plunging vee neckline revved his pulse another notch. Her straight, short skirt revealed her legs for him to view. Had she left her hair falling freely around her face to please him? Probably not, but he’d enjoy it anyway.
“You look gorgeous, Lindsay,” he said. He was breathless, his voice deeper. “That black dress is killer on you.”
She smiled at him, but it wasn’t the wholehearted smile he had received before. “You’ve never been in my house. Come on in and look around.”
He stepped in and the second he inhaled her perfume, he wanted to hold her and kiss her and forget about going out to dinner or eating anything for hours. He could cancel the reservations in Fort Worth and stay right here beside her.
He walked alongside her through a short hallway that opened out into a wide hall with a spiral staircase to the next floor. Above, a beamed ceiling was three stories high with skylights that let light pour into the house.
On either side of the stairs, the house opened up into spacious areas defined only by columns, furniture groupings and area rugs. The open rooms, high ceilings and lots of glass made the already large house seem twice as big.
“Like many other things about you, your house surprises me,” he said. “It’s beautiful, but not what I ever expected. I pictured you in a house more Western, but not the way you pictured mine would be. Just leather furniture and Western scenes in the paintings and traditional Western decor.” He strolled into a living area he’d glimpsed from the hall and noticed a second-floor balcony extending over the length of one side of the roomand the French period pieces upholstered in elegant silks and antique satins.