“Her name is Addison,” Jake said gruffly.
“Jacob,” Lissa said, “we all know that you call her Adoré because you love her, and we all know, too, that to try and understand love is something that Stephen Hawking and Einstein combined would never be able to do.”
Jake’s sigh traveled through the phone.
“In that case, kid, I wish you good luck.” His voice hardened. “But if this guy hurts you again, he’s toast. Got that?”
“Got it,” Lissa said.
She ended the call smiling, but that didn’t last long because she really had no idea why Nick had finally gone after her and for all she knew, here she was again, setting herself up for a fall.
* * *
She kept busy as afternoon gave way to evening, sweeping and polishing away weeks’ worth of dust, saying “Yuck” as she tossed unidentifiable stuff from the fridge into the trash, and, best of all, taking calls from people in the trade who’d already heard the story of Raoul and her.
Word was spreading even more quickly than she’d anticipated, but it was a juicy tale and juicy tales usually moved like wildfire.
She smiled a couple of hours later when the doorbell rang and a kid delivered a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses from John, the maître d’ at Raoul’s, with a note that said Brava!
The bell rang again and a messenger handed her a box of decadent handmade chocolates and a card that said Welcome Back from a friend who’d been decent enough to let her fill in at his kitchen after the Raou
l fiasco.
A little while after that, a courier delivered a letter informing her that a renowned East Coast restaurant group was going to open a Beverly Hills branch, and that the CEO would be honored if she’d come in to discuss the position of executive chef.
“Honored,” she said, laughing as she read the letter.
Lovely, all of it, but nothing could keep her from thinking about Nick’s visit to El Sueño. What had he wanted? Why hadn’t he simply called? Why did he want to see her? For that matter, how had he learned about El Sueño? She’d told him she was from Texas, that she’d grown up on a ranch, but she couldn’t recall telling him anything else.
Exhaustion caught up to her just after ten-thirty. She showered, put on a pair of comfy if raggedy sweats, realized she’d never had supper and made herself a haute cuisine quickie: peanut butter and honey on whole wheat toast, along with a cup of tea.
Then she settled in to watch the eleven o’clock news.
Exhausted or not, she was too wired to sleep.
If Nick really wanted to find her, where was he? Why hadn’t he shown up here? Why hadn’t he phoned her?
Wait.
Did he have her L.A. address? Did he even have her phone number? She had his because Marcia had given it to her…
No. She was starting the old routine, making excuses for a man rather than face the…
“Good evening, and welcome to tonight’s news.”
A home invasion in Bel Air. A homicide in downtown L.A. An accident on the 110. And coming up next, an exclusive with Nick Gentry.
Lissa sat up straight.
Her heart did that banging-against-her-ribs thing again.
There he was. Gorgeous Nicholas. No clinging vine of a redhead this time. Just him, Nick, no cane, his hands tucked into the pockets of a leather bomber jacket—and a dark smudge, a little bit of a swelling on his jaw.
“…all kinds of rumors, Nick, about you and that ranch you own in Montana. What’s it called? The Double D?”
“The Triple G,” Nick said. “I’ve heard the rumors and I want to set them straight.” His mouth twitched; Lissa recognized that twitch and knew it meant he was trying not to laugh. “No,” he said solemnly, “I’m not turning it into a dude ranch. I’m not selling it to the Japanese. I’m not turning it into an ostrich-breeding farm.” He took a breath and so did Lissa because, foolish as it sounded, he seemed to be staring not only at the camera but straight at her. “The Triple G will continue to be a working ranch, an honest part of an honest tradition, one I hope my dad would be proud of.” He paused. “But there’s going to be a new road that goes through it, to a piece of land that looks out on the mountains, land someone once described as not only beautiful but amazing.”
Lissa stared at the screen.