Chapter Five
“Inever knowwhat you want. You seem so restless, especially the last couple of weeks.” Warren picked up his scotch. The ice cubes clinked against the glass.
“It’s just been so hot outside,” Scarlett said as she looked out at the golf course.
“What the hell does the weather have to do with it? Except for that one day last week when the power was out, you’re always in air conditioned places.”
She shrugged and fiddled with the napkin in her lap, avoiding his gaze. What she wanted to tell him was that she was at a crossroad—a junction—in her life. Up to this point, the road she’d traveled had been straight and planned, but the moment she laid eyes on the black-haired man with the stormy gray eyes, a desire to break loose seized her. After their torrid and urgent coupling, Scarlett knew Shadow was a sudden and dangerous detour diverting her from that orderly path.
“You’re not pregnant, are you?” he asked while he motioned the waiter over for another drink. “Is that why you’ve avoided making love?”
She glanced up at him and put her fingers to her lips as a heavy sigh escaped from them. Her long hair swished around her shoulders as she shook her headno.
“Then why the hell are you freezing me out? Did I do something wrong that I don’t know about?” He reached for her hand and pressed it to his lips.
“I’m just feeling out of sorts, that’s all.” She slipped her hand out of his grasp.
“Well, see a fucking doctor. A man can only take so much,sweetheart.”
The waiter put the drink in front of him, then began to clear the empty lunch plates. “Would you like anything else?” he asked, shifting his eyes between them.
“No, thank you.” Scarlett reached down and grabbed her straw clutch purse and caught Warren’s gaze. “I have to get going.”
“I’m not ready—I just got my drink.”
She patted the back of his hand. “You stay. I have a million things to do for the upcoming charity ball. We’ll talk later.”
“What about dinner tonight?”
“I can’t—I have a committee meeting.” She rose to her feet.
“I can come by later tonight and we can go to my place. Richard’s in Denver on business for the rest of the week.”
“That won’t work. I promised Logan and Rhea I’d babysit.”
Before she could dash away, Warren grabbed her wrist and held it tight … too tight.
“I don’t know what the fuck’s wrong with you, but you better get over it fast. I’m done playing your fucking game,” he said in a voice so low, she barely heard him.
“You’re hurting me,” she said, yanking out of his hold. “And I’m not playing a game with you. I’m just out of sorts like I already told you. Thanks for lunch.”
Scarlett hurried away, her heels tapping on the floor. She couldn’t say she blamed Warren for being fed up with her; she’d been sulky and edgy ever since she let a stranger fuck her brains out. If she’d felt guilty about it, at least that would’ve been something, but she didn’t.Maybe I should go away for the summer. La Jolla or Malibu would be great.
The valet guy pulled her midnight blue Mercedes in the front and she walked over, handing him a tip before sliding onto the cool leather seats.
When she turned into the driveway, Scarlett saw the indoor tennis court taking shape over to the far left of the house. Why her father was hellbent on building it was beyond her, especially since no one in the family played the game on a regular basis. Her mother would get together with her friends and play at the club, but the truth was that they spent most of the time inside at the bar getting sloshed. For some unknown reason, her dad liked theideaof having an indoor tennis court, so he decided to have one built. For the past two days, Scarlett had woken up to the sounds of drills, saws, and hammers, and she couldn’t wait until the damn thing was finished.
“Did you have a nice lunch with Warren?” her mother asked as Scarlett walked into the sun room. Her mother was bent over one of her many plants, pruning it.
“It was okay.” Scarlett kicked off her high-heeled sandals and wiggled her toes.
Her mother looked over her shoulder, a slight frown burrowing into the lines of her forehead.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
Bending down, Scarlett picked up her shoes. “It means it wasokay.” She knew where this conversation was going, so she started walking out of the room.
“Your father thinks Warren should’ve proposed to you by now. He’s very angry about it and thinks that you’re putting Warren off.”