Can't Fight This Feeling
The woman came closer. “Say it again?”
Angelica realized she’d been almost whispering. Hoping like heck that Brett was preoccupied with his phone calls, she cleared her throat and drifted nearer the counter. “The Mountain Historical Society auction we held at the end of the summer. I was part of the committee that put it on.”
“Oh.” The other woman blinked. “Are you from around here? I thought I knew just about everyone.”
“I’m a relative newcomer.” She stuck out her hand—what else could she do? “Angelica Rodriguez.”
“Mackenzie Walker.” Her grasp was firm. “But everybody calls me Mac.”
Mac Walker. “Nice to meet you.”
“So how’d you get involved with the historical society?” Her assessing gaze took in Angelica’s black jeans, black boots and the black-and-white sweater she was wearing that had white chiffon cuffs and a matching chiffon underlay that peeked out below the hemline. “It’s not something I’d guess a newcomer would join.”
Glancing toward the courtyard, Angelica saw the legs hadn’t moved and she could hear Brett murmuring, presumably into his phone. “It was my friend Glory Hallett,” she said. “She knew I had some experience putting together fund-raisers and she invited me to serve on the committee with her.”
“Now Glory I know,” Mac said. “And I remember hearing about the big party that accompanied the auction—at one of the fancy mountain lodges, right? I think my sister and her fiancé attended.”
“It was a wonderful event at the Aspen & Oak Lodge. Dinner, dancing and then the silent auction. We had many beautiful and valuable things to offer, thanks to Walter Elliott. When he passed away, he left the historical society the contents of his mountain home.”
At the mention of the name, Mac stiffened. “That’s right. Walter Elliott,” she repeated.
“It was quite the success,” Angelica said brightly. “We hope to have an annual fund-raiser from now on. Maybe next summer you and your husband—”
“What are you doing here?” Brett said, strolling into the office. His gaze was trained on Angelica’s face. He didn’t look pleased to see her.
Mac glanced over at him. “This is An—”
“I know who she is.”
The other woman’s brows rose. She looked from Brett to Angelica and back again. “You two are acquainted,” she said, in a speculative tone.
Angelica felt herself flushing again. “Uh, hardly. Not even a little bit, really. I’ve seen him around once or twice.”
“Not even a little bit?” Mac repeated.
Maybe the other woman was the jealous type who would scratch her eyes out for merely looking at her husband. If Brett was married to her, Angelica was sure she’d probably find herself very possessive. “I should be going,” she said, taking a step back.
“Not so soon,” Mac replied, a smile tipping up the corners of her mouth. “We’re just getting friendly.”
Angelica fanned herself. “Is it a little warm in here or is it just me?”
“I think it’s just you,” Mac said, with a light in her eyes that Angelica didn’t trust. “I’m perfectly comfortable. How about you, Brett?”
He was still staring at Angelica as if she was something he’d brought in on the bottom of his shoe. “I’m always comfortable.”
“Well. Um.” Angelica wished the floor would open up and swallow her. “I was just popping by to give you that update.”
“What update?” he asked.
Mac’s expression looked way too innocent. “On the historical society fund-raiser. Angelica had a hand in it. Remember the one that Poppy and Ryan attended about a month ago?”
“I don’t listen to half the things she prattles on about,” he said.
Mac rolled her eyes in Angelica’s direction. “Men! And then they wonder why they have so much trouble with us. If only they’d pay attention every once in a while.”
Rather than speaking, Angelica responded with a tentative smile. With that pair of crystalline eyes on her, it was hard to think.
“I rarely have trouble with women,” Brett said.
“Because they’re often much too accommodating,” Mac retorted. She directed her attention back to Angelica. “Are you married? Have a boyfriend?”
“No. I’m, um, on my own right now.”
“Isn’t that fascinating? Brett’s on his own right now, too.” She shot the man a look. “Or has that changed?”
When he didn’t answer, Angelica gestured between the two on the other side of the counter. “Oh. I thought maybe you two might be married.”
Mac let out a loud hoot. “No, thank you. He’s my brother.”
It wasn’t relief or anything like it that sluiced through her, Angelica told herself. Or if it was, it was only because it would have been humiliating to have spent so much time fantasizing about a guy who was already spoken for. “I met your sister once, then. Shay?”
“Sure.” Mac glanced over at Brett. “So our brother introduced you?”
“Angelica introduced herself,” Brett said. “And if I recall correctly, she thought Shay might be my girlfriend.”
“Hmm.” Mac tucked her thumbs in the front pockets of her jeans. “You seem very interested in my brother’s relationship status,” she murmured.
Angelica barely registered the other woman’s remark, as the memory of that particular meeting ran through her mind again. “You told her I was a useless piece of fluff,” she said to Brett. It had hurt then. It still hurt.
He winced. “You heard that?”
“Never mind,” Angelica muttered. “I’ve got to go.” The universe, clearly, had its back still turned to her. “It was nice to meet you,” she said, nodding to Mac. Then she headed for the door.
“Wait,” Brett began, but she was already out the door.
When it shut behind her, she began jogging, even though the heels of her boots wobbled on the uneven sidewalk. No matter, she needed to put distance between herself and the man who always made her feel awkward and uncertain—not to mention hot and hyperaware of every inch of skin.
“Hey!”
She’d only made it half a block from Mac’s business so, pretending she didn’t hear Brett’s voice, she moved faster.
Then a hard hand closed around her elbow. She skidded to a stop. Rounding on him, she yanked her arm from his hold. “What now?” she demanded, glaring at him through narrowed eyes.
He stepped back, then he smiled.
It was devastating. He’d never smiled at her, but there it was, a slice of white teeth and attractive lines around the corners of his beautiful eyes. How she despised herself for being so susceptible to him. She slammed her hands on her hips. “Well?”
“You’re pretty cute when enraged.” His smile widened when she made a low, furious sound in her throat and he held up his palms. “You can retract your claws, kitten. I’m not here to steal your catnip.”
Still, he stole her breath. And if she wasn’t careful, he might steal something else. “What are you following me for?” she demanded.
“To deliver an apology.”
“Did your sister put you up to this?”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s all my own idea, okay? That was a lousy thing I said to Shay. I was probably in a crappy mood and just mouthed off.”
“Probably in a crappy mood?”
“Okay, I’m sure I was in a crappy mood. You seem to bring out the worst in me.”
“I am devastated to hear that,” she said, her tone sarcastic.
He winced again. “Angelica—”
“Never mind.” She pretended to wipe a slate clean. “Apology accepted.”
“Thank you.” He continued to watch her. “So.”
“So.” She refused to twitch. Then she couldn’t stand the silence a second longer. “Well... Have a nice life.”
One of his eyebrows rose, the one with the intriguing scar.
“We’ll likely never see each other again,” she explained.
“It’s a small town,” he said, rubbing his palm over his hair in that habitual gesture.
She shrugged. “Just in case, then.”
There was a long moment of silence. “Just in case then,” he finally agreed. “Be happy.”
It would only take a job, some place to live and a way to forget all about him. “I intend to,” she said, and hoped that intention was enough to make it so because luck hadn’t been on her side lately.
CHAPTER THREE
BRETT RESISTED THE urge to watch Angelica walk off and instead turned to his truck, parked just a few feet away. Apology made, apology accepted and that should be enough to put her from his mind forever.
The breeze picked up as he fumbled with his keys. Autumn was doing its thing in the mountains. Warm sun, cool air, both energizing, and he should be looking forward to a day of vigorous outdoor work. Instead, he felt as if a weight was tugging him down.
We’ll likely never see each other again.
It had nothing to do with that.
The door unlocked, he jerked it open. The tall pile of paperwork he’d forgotten he’d set on the driver’s seat when he had exited the car began to slide off the cracked vinyl. He lunged for it, just as a rough, rogue gust caught at the sheets and sent them swirling. They flew about in the air, some behind the truck, some above the truck, some somersaulting like tumbleweeds along the asphalt in every direction as the wind blew.
He swore out loud and tried corralling the mass by stomping on the sheets near his feet and trapping others against his body. No way was he going to collect them all, he thought on a groan, snatching another that flew past his head. This was going to be a bookkeeping disaster.
Then, he glimpsed a figure in the periphery of his vision. He turned his head to see Angelica dashing about the scene, gathering up the errant documents. He allowed himself one second—okay, two—to admire her upturned ass when she bent over, then he continued on with his own search and seizure.
Several minutes later, the crisis seemed to have passed. When he turned in a 360, he couldn’t see any more fleeing papers. Angelica came toward him, her hair messy and her cheeks flushed, a mass of invoices and handwritten notes clasped against her chest. “I think we might have gotten them all.”
His own arms were full. “A good portion, anyway.” With his toe, he pushed on the lever that folded the driver’s seat forward and then stowed what he held on the narrow rear seat. Turning to Angelica, he said, “Let me take those.”
“I’ve got it.” She shuffled forward. “You stand behind me and block the wind while I set them down.”
He pivoted and she half turned to sidestep into the narrow space he created between his body and the truck. The wind picked up again, tossing her hair so it slid across his face in a silky caress. It smelled amazing and he instinctively moved closer, blocking the breeze and also blocking her in.
She set down her stack, then moved back, her behind meeting his groin. At the contact, she froze.
He told himself not to bury his face in her hair. He told himself not to slide an arm around her waist and pull her closer.
So he didn’t do either of those things.
But he also didn’t step away. Which meant that when she spun around, they were face-to-face. Chest to chest. If he bent his head, they’d be mouth to mouth.
They stared at each other and all he could think about was how damn beautiful she was. It was the face of a heartbreaker, with fine-grained, golden-tinted skin and large eyes framed by sooty lashes. The lush mouth was maddening.
Tempting.
She put her hand over his heart, attempting to push him back.
The thrust didn’t rock him. He covered her fingers with his, then frowned at how chilled they were. “You’re cold.”
“A little,” she admitted. This time, when she shoved at him, he retreated, though he still had her hand.
“Let me buy you a hot chocolate,” he said. Her cool skin, that killer face... It compelled him to offer her warmth. Sweetness.
She hesitated.
Her reluctance twisted something inside him. Did she consider him not good enough for her? He let go her hand. “You can still have a nice life,” he muttered. “Just after the damn drink.”
Then he ground his back teeth, instantly regretting his harsh tone. Why the hell was he like this around her? She put up his hackles. Made him feel prickly and irritable.
He was never the most genial of fellows, but he was actually considered by some women to be charming. No charm for her, though. No wonder she didn’t want to spend another minute around him.
“Never mind,” he said, making to climb into the truck. “Sorry.”
This time it was she who grabbed his elbow. “I’d like that. The hot chocolate.”
He blew out his breath, waiting a long moment to see if she’d change her mind. When she continued to stand there, he shut the vehicle’s door and pointed toward the corner. “Oscar’s Coffee.”
Inside the small shop were picnic tables painted a soft yellow. Brett directed her to one as he went to retrieve the beverages. He said yes to whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings without asking her.
Her gaze brightened when he put the oversize ceramic mug with its peak of fluffy stuff in front of her. “Yay. You got me the extras.”
“I don’t believe for a second you’re one of those women who denies herself. I’ve smelled the cookies you bake.”
She eyed his beverage, which was exactly the same as hers. “And here I expected you to order a cup of dark and bitter brew for yourself.”
“I like my sweets, too.”
“But not my cookies.”
He refused to squirm on the bench. For months every instinct had warned him against getting “cookies” close. Those instincts were still clamoring at him even now, but she must have entranced him with those warm, melted-chocolate eyes.
Her hands surrounding the cup, she delicately sipped her drink. Then she set it down and licked at the cream on the top of her lip.
He told himself the little action didn’t make him hard, but that was a lie. Clearing his throat, he attempted to think of something else. “Fund-raisers, huh?”
She glanced up.
“You told Mac about the one for the historical society.”
“Oh. Right.” Lifting her cup, she delicately blew on the liquid surface she’d revealed with her last sip.
Her pursed lips didn’t do anything to ease his tight muscles. “You learn how to do that in school?” he asked.
“Plan fund-raisers?” At his nod, she shook her head. “I was actually an international finance major in college. I had the mistaken idea that studying the subject might win my father’s approval and that he’d then bring me into his business.”
Somewhere along the line, Brett had learned her father was a well-known and wildly successful hedge-fund manager, whatever the hell that was. “But he dashed your hopes?”
“All for the best,” she said, waving a hand and directing her gaze back to her drink. “I’m not suited for that kind of risk, and it turns out I like to keep myself busy with more tangible activities.”
“I have a degree in landscape architecture,” he heard himself say. “But I can’t stand being cooped up in an office for so much of the day, sitting at a desk. So I don’t design landscapes as much as put my hands on them.”
She looked up, her eyes widening. “Oh.”
His voice turned dry. “Not quite the uneducated country bumpkin you thought, huh, uptown girl?”
Her brows slammed together. “It wasn’t that. I was surprised you managed to share three sentences about yourself.”
God, there he went again. If he could manage it, he’d kick his own ass. “I—”
“And that we might actually have something in common.”
That shut him up. All he’d been doing since the moment he’d caught sight of her the very first time was telling himself they were opposites in every—wrong—way. He’d used that thought as a wedge, a shield, an impenetrable wall that prevented him from eating her cookies, from asking her out to dinner and from doing what he really, ultimately wanted—taking her into his bed.
He rubbed his hand over his hair, aware she was studying him. Suppressing the urge to touch his scars, he wondered what she thought of them. What she’d think if she knew that he liked them as a reminder of important lessons learned.
“So...” she said now, a thread of amusement in her voice. “That’s quite a filing system you have.”
Glancing up, he enjoyed the way her small smile curved her lips. “You’d think six years in the army would have drilled organization into my marrow, but the minute I got out, I went back to sloppy paperwork.”
“You were in the service?”
“Tenth Army Mountain Division.”
“Mountain,” she said. “That must have significance.”
“It was formed during World War II for warfare in the Alps. The civilian ski patrol was used for recruiting purposes, and they found soldiers on the slopes and in ski clubs all over the States. Those same soldiers developed skiing as a vacation industry after the war.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Now you do.” He sipped at his chocolate. “Our grandfathers came back and laid out the ski runs and designed the lifts and operated the ski schools that this area became known for. So when mountain kids join up, the Tenth is tradition.”
“Where were you stationed?”
“Fort Drum, New York. But I spent time in Florida and a year in Afghanistan.” Just saying the word brought the whop-whop sound of choppers into his head, the taste of red dust to his tongue, the pungent scent and the oily feel of blood onto his skin. Pushing it from his mind, he rubbed his hand over his hair and switched subjects. “When my time was up, I was ready to come home.”
“No career as a military man for you?”
He shook his head. “I wanted to get away for a while, save some money. But my life is here in my mountains with my family. So I started my business, thus giving birth to my really lousy filing system.”
“You can get help for that, you know.”
“Yeah. And I’ll have to hire someone and a crew eventually, after I sweat out a bit more of my restlessness and start soliciting design work. Maybe next year.”
“Until then, paper chaos.”
He shrugged. “I had a part-timer working in my office at the end of the summer. But then high school started and she’s much too busy for me now.”
At her raised brow, he added a little more. “Kid’s a whiz with just about everything. She’s my sister Shay’s stepdaughter-to-be.”
“Your sister’s getting married?”
“Two out of the three of them. Both Shay and Poppy.”
She opened her mouth, but he pointed at it before she could get a word out. “Don’t ask me a damn thing about the weddings. I make it my job not to absorb a word they say about them.”
“You don’t approve?”
“The men they’re marrying, Ryan and Jace, are great. It’s the constant chatter about dresses, rehearsals and seating arrangements that make me want to bash my brains in with a shovel.”
“Something else we have in common. I’m not a big fan of weddings, either.”
Okay, now she surprised him.
“Don’t look so shocked. Not every woman dreams of that big day. Between them, my parents have been married seven times. For all but the first, of course, I’ve been standing by in something itchy or ugly, pretending I believe they’ll have a happy-ever-after.”
“Seven divorces then?”
“Six. My mother’s still married to her current, though I doubt they’ll last.” She gave a little shrug.
The small, indifferent gesture felt like a punch to the gut. For some reason he’d assumed she was like his little sister Poppy, who walked through life with stars in her eyes. She wore her open heart and her belief in happy endings right there on her sleeve.
But Angelica had a more jaded view and it wasn’t sitting well with him. Just as he’d felt compelled to chase away her chilled hands with hot chocolate, now he wanted to gather her up and soothe those old hurts he sensed.
It was a damn dangerous urge, because going soft for a woman was a sure way to get himself crushed.
Had that T-shirt.
Brett looked down at the table. Their cups were drained, meaning it was time to move on and move her out of his life. He hitched back his chair and she immediately took the hint and rose from her own. He stood, too, and they were close enough that if he had all the time in the world he could count each one of her luxurious lashes.
We’ll likely never see each other again.
With that in mind, maybe he could kiss her.
His hand drifted toward her. He snagged an errant lock of hair with his forefinger and brushed it away from her cheek. Her color heightened and he saw her fight a shiver—and lose.
Hell. He closed his eyes a moment, willing himself to keep still. But her visceral response to his touch only made him want more...more access to her hair, her skin, her body. More opportunities to watch her react to his hands on her, his mouth on hers...
Opening his eyes, he saw she was staring at his shirt buttons, hard. Her fingers were curled into fists and as he watched, she swallowed. “Time to go,” she said.
Neither of them moved. That weight was back, anchoring him to the floor, slowing his heartbeat to a funeral dirge. “Yeah.”
“Yeah.” She edged back, now far enough away that it would take effort to claim that kiss he shouldn’t be thinking of. Smart girl.
He cleared his throat. “That ghastly pile of paperwork is waiting for me.”
She glanced up. Their gazes caught. “You know, maybe I could...” Her voice trailed off.
The sentence didn’t need to be finished for him to understand the half-spoken offer. And why she’d stopped herself. Unless they went separate ways, their certain collision wouldn’t end pretty. Yes, a very smart girl.
“No,” he said. “You’re not suited for that kind of risk, either.”
Brett might as well have been saying those words about himself.
* * *
ANGELICA WALKED WITH Glory from the parking lot to the headquarters, and museum, of the Mountain Historical Society. It was a stucco bungalow seated among tall pines and partnered by the blacktop parking area made bumpy by roots that had caused deep ruts and sudden swells. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be very much fun this evening,” she warned her friend. “I should have stayed home.”
The darkness was barely alleviated by a lone dim light on a tall pole, but she didn’t need to see Glory’s face to know the other woman sympathized. “Another call from the lawyers?”
“Yes. Any day now, they say, the word will get out.” While she had nothing to do with her father’s perfidy, she still felt terrible about it. And, to be honest, felt terrible for herself. Terribly alone. She sighed.
Glory linked arms with her. “It’s good for you to do something besides mope. You need more work and making contacts is the right way to find it. You’ll get better acquainted with people and then who knows what might come up?”
Though the auction wrap-up meeting was open to the general membership, Angelica didn’t expect many besides the committee members would bother to attend. It looked as though she was right. When she gazed about the conference table, the only one there who hadn’t been directly involved was Vaughn Elliott—whose grandfather had donated his mountain home’s contents to the group.
They’d made over a million dollars from the silent sales.
Angelica stared as the committee chair, Ruth Nagel, made the announcement. The older woman could hardly contain her excitement. “I think Piney is our good luck charm!”
They all glanced through the open doorway to the lobby, where a seven-foot stuffed bear loomed over the welcome desk. It had been part of the Elliott estate, but they’d unanimously decided to keep it as the society’s mascot of sorts.
“Maybe we should be grateful to Angelica, too,” Glory put in. “It was she who curated the items, providing context and provenance whenever possible.”
Ruth beamed and toasted her with her foam cup of terrible coffee. “Thank you, Angelica.”
She waved the gratitude away, though she did appreciate it. Glory had cajoled her onto the committee early in their friendship and she’d enjoyed the work she’d put in. It had been interesting to catalog the historical items, everything from exquisite furniture to antique sets of golf clubs to a beautiful world globe inlaid with abalone shell.