The Tycoon's Secret Child (Texas Cattleman's Club: Blackmail 1)

“Needs some life in it,” Bobbi pointed out with a slanted look at Wes. “But looks like it’ll be a little livelier for a while anyway.”

“All right,” Wes said, tossing a knowing look at the older woman. “Caro, you want to see your room? It’s upstairs.”

Bobbi’s eyebrows lifted at the sign language he used, but then she nodded as if pleased to see it.

“I do! Come on, Abbey!” Caroline headed for the stairs at a run, and the dog was only a pace behind her.

Isabelle and Wes followed, and when he took her hand, she held on, pleased at the warmth. The connection. This was a big step for her. Coming back to Royal with the man she had once run from. Odd that she’d never planned on it, but she’d ended up coming full circle. If it all worked out somehow, great. If it didn’t, would she pay for this decision for the rest of her life? For her own sake, as well as Caroline’s, she hoped not.

At the top of the stairs, they turned left and Wes led the way to a door halfway down the hall. When he threw it open, Caroline raced inside, then stopped dead and sighed, “Oh, boy.”

Isabelle had to agree. Wes had gone all out. The room was a pale, dreamy blue, with white curtains at the windows and a blue-and-white coverlet on the bed. There was a table and chairs in one corner, bookshelves filled with books and a child-size blue couch covered in white pillows, just made for curling up and daydreaming. There was a mural on the wall of butterflies, fairies and storybook castles and a thick blue rug spread across the wood floors.

How he’d managed all of this in just a couple of days was amazing. Unless, Isabelle thought with a sideways glance at him, he’d been planning to get her and Caro to Texas all along. Good thing? Bad? She couldn’t be sure yet.

Caroline whipped around, still clutching her doll in the crook of one arm, and threw her free arm around Wes’s knees. Tipping her head back, she said, softly, “Thank you, Wes.”

He cupped the back of her head and smiled down at her with a gentleness that touched Isabelle’s heart. There were so many layers to the man that she doubted she would ever learn them all. But this man, the gentle, loving man, was the one she’d fallen so deeply in love with years ago. It was a side of him she’d rarely seen, and it was all the more beautiful now because of it.

And Isabelle was forced to admit, at least to herself, that she still loved him. Watching him with their daughter had only solidified the feelings that had never faded away. She’d known five years ago, even when she left him, that she wouldn’t be able to run far enough to outdistance what she felt for him. She’d tried. She’d buried herself in work she believed in, in caring for her daughter and in being a part of her town and her family.

But in spite of everything, for five long years, Wes had remained in the back of her mind, in a corner of her heart. And even as she tried to fool herself, she’d known somehow that what she felt for him was still alive and well. Today just proved that.

As her heart ached and her throat tightened, he lifted his head, catching her eye, and everything inside her melted. Isabelle had risked a lot by coming here with him, staying with him. But it was too late to back out now. She had to see this through. See where it would take her. Love didn’t disappear just because it was inconvenient. But if she walked away a second time with a broken heart, Isabelle wasn’t sure she’d survive it.

“You’re welcome,” he said to the little girl still beaming at him as if he were a superhero.

Caroline gave him another quick grin, then climbed onto her couch to try it out and Abbey crawled up right beside her, laying her big head in the little girl’s lap. Clearly, a mutual adoration society had been born.

“Now,” Wes said to Isabelle, “I’ll show you your room.” He took her hand again to lead her directly across the hall.

The moment he opened the door, she knew it was the master bedroom. It was massive. Far bigger than her own bedroom at home, this one boasted a stone fireplace on one wall, with a flat-screen TV mounted over the mantel. There were two comfy high-back chairs and a small table in front of the hearth, and on either side of the fireplace, floor-to-ceiling bookcases. A bank of windows on the far wall was bare of curtains and displayed a view of the trees, grass, a swimming pool and those hills she’d spotted before, off in the distance. There was also what looked like a barn. Or a stable.

She wondered idly how many acres he owned, but then her thoughts were scattered by a glance at his bed. It was huge. A dark blue duvet lay atop the mattress, and the head and footboard were heavy golden oak. Dark red rugs were tossed across the shining floor, and all in all, it was a beautiful, masculine space. But it was the bed that kept drawing her gaze. Finally she forced herself to look away, to meet Wes’s gaze.

In his eyes, she saw the glint of desire and the determination of a man who knew what he wanted and had no trouble going after it. “You don’t have another guest room?”

He gave her a half smile, reached out and stroked one hand down her back. Isabelle took a breath, then steeled herself against her reaction. The ripple of goose bumps along her arms, mixed with the heat building at her core, was enough to shatter any woman’s defenses.

“Sure,” he said, voice a low rumble of need, “but we can’t pretend we didn’t sleep together. Can’t go back, Belle.” His gaze locked on hers. “And I wouldn’t even if we could. Don’t think you would, either.”

She shook her head. No point in denying it.

“Do you really want us to be sneaking up and down the hallway in the middle of the night?”

The image his words painted was both pitiful and funny. She sighed. “With Caro right across the hall...”

Wes chuckled. “She won’t think anything of it, Belle. Heck, with Abbey around, she probably won’t notice.” He moved in and wrapped both arms around her. “We already crossed this bridge back in Colorado, you know. You’re not going to try to tell me you’re sorry about it, are you?”

No, she really wasn’t. Maybe she should have been, but she wasn’t. Five years without him had been long and lonely. Having him back in her life might be dangerous to her heart, but Isabelle knew that loving him was no longer a choice for her. It just was.

As for sharing his bed here... Isabelle would be going to bed long after Caro. And she’d be up before her daughter in the morning, so her little girl would probably never realize where her mother was spending the night. And honestly, Isabelle admitted silently, she wanted to stay with Wes. She was here for a week. Why not enjoy what she had while she had it? Risk be damned. If this time with him was destined to end, Isabelle at least wanted now.

“No,” she said, “I’m not sorry.” She watched pleasure dart across his eyes, then she lifted one hand and cupped his cheek, just because she wanted to. “I’ll stay here. With you.”

“Good.” He caught her hand and held onto it. “Now that we’ve got that settled...come on.”

Frowning at his abrupt shift, she asked, “Where are we going?”