Strange how everything, your whole world, could change so quickly. Just a few weeks ago, she’d been half convinced that Dave wasn’t to be trusted. That he might have had something to do with Alex’s disappearance.
Now she knew that the only thing he was guilty of was making her love him.
“Oh, this is not good,” she muttered, closing the book on her lap.
She was curled up in a wide, leather chair in the library. There was a fire burning in the hearth and outside, gray clouds scuttled across the sky while a cold October wind rattled the trees and buffeted the windows.
The room was cozy and comforting but without Dave, it was empty.
She glanced at the sofa where they usually sat, wrapped up together, talking, laughing, kissing. A sigh slipped from her as she thought about how little time she had left with Dave. He’d set up a meeting with the owner of TexCat for next week. Once he got the cattle deal he wanted, their time together would be over. And oh, how she would miss being here. Miss him.
When the phone beside her rang, Mia grabbed it, grateful for a reprieve from her own thoughts. “Hello?”
A woman’s voice, quick and friendly. “Hello, may I speak to Dave?”
“No, he’s out with the herd for a few days,” Mia said, wondering who the woman was and why she wanted to speak to Dave. But in the next second she told herself that she had no right to wonder. She and Dave weren’t a real couple, after all. But playing her role, she added, “I’m Mia, Dave’s fiancée. Can I take a message?”
“His fiancée?” the woman repeated, her voice hitching a bit higher. “Isn’t that wonderful! No, there’s no message, thank you. I’ll catch him another day. And, oh, congratulations!”
“Thank you,” Mia said, but the woman had already hung up. Okay, she thought, setting the receiver back into its cradle, that was odd. But since the mystery woman seemed more excited than angry to hear Dave was engaged, Mia felt better about her. Sure, she didn’t have the right to feel jealous, but that didn’t stop the sharp sting of it.
Jealous. She had to get past that, because once their time together was over, Dave would be dating other women. Women who would come here, to this house. Be with him in his bed. Stare into those fog-gray eyes as his body claimed theirs.
And after a while, she thought dismally, Dave probably wouldn’t even remember her.
* * *
By the time Dave got back to the house two days later, he was dusty, tired and damned crabby. Of course, he knew the reason for his bad mood.
It was Mia.
Or rather, the lack of Mia.
Spending those long nights out on the ranch used to be something he looked forward to. Getting away from the house, from the business side of things and getting back to the heart of ranching. Working the cattle, sleeping under the stars with nothing but a few cowboys and the crackle of a campfire for company. It kept him connected to his land and to the men who worked for him.
Now, thoughts of Mia, hunger for Mia, had ruined the whole damn experience for him. What the hell did that make him? What had happened when he wasn’t looking? She was slipping under his skin. Getting to him in ways that he hadn’t thought possible. Her laugh. Her scent. The feel of her long, supple fingers sliding over his body.
Everything about the woman was more than he’d expected. Who would have thought that a shy, quiet housekeeper would be so multilayered? So easy to talk to? Hell, she even liked playing video games and had damn near kicked his ass at one of his favorites.
She was only in his life temporarily. Their bargain was a business deal, that was all. Didn’t matter if he had a good time with her. Didn’t matter that he wanted her more than his next breath. When the deal was over, they’d go their separate ways. That was the point of a signed contract, he reminded himself. Rules were laid out, plain and simple, so there were no mistakes and no recriminations. If he wanted to keep the relationship with Mia going after the terms of the contract had played out—then that left him open to all sorts of trouble. He’d learned long ago that the only way to have a woman in his life was to keep it simple. Hence, the rules. Without them… Even wanting Mia as he did, he didn’t think he could continue to see her when this was over. It would get…complicated.
Promises made were too easily broken. He wouldn’t set himself up for that kind of misery. Better to have the “rules” laid out in black and white.
Yeah, the deal had become a little more than he had planned. After all, he’d expected that one night of sex with Mia would ease the craving for her. Instead, it had only grown until she was all he could think about. So yeah, a flaw or two in the plan.