“Uh, not since last night.” Technically, it was true, since she’d had her eyes closed for the past few hours.
“He’s not in his room.”
The water came on in the bathroom.
“I hear the shower,” she called to her brother. “Meet you downstairs?”
There was a pause. “Sure.”
Stephanie flopped back down on her pillow, blowing out a sigh of relief. Not that her sex life was any of her brother’s business. But, wow. She’d hate to have to listen to the shouting.
Four
As Alec approached the kitchen, he heard both Royce’s and Jared’s voices. He adjusted his collar, straightened his cuffs and shoved his guilt as far to the back of his mind as humanly possible.
Then he cringed as he passed the messy dining room table. They all would have seen it on their way to the kitchen, and it was completely unprofessional to leave his work scattered like that.
“We’re all heading out there in an hour,” Jared was saying.
“Good morning,” Alec put into the pause, glancing at the faces around the breakfast bar, first at Jared and Royce, then Melissa and Amber, checking for anger or suspicion.
Nothing he could detect, so he allowed himself a quick glance at Stephanie.
Damn it. She looked like she’d made love all night long. And her gaze on him was intense.
When Amber turned toward her, Alec quickly cleared his throat, moving toward the coffeepot, hoping to keep everyone’s attention from Stephanie. The woman had no poker face whatsoever.
“Heading where?” he asked Jared as he poured.
“The airport. We can give you a lift.”
Alec didn’t dare look, but he could feel Stephanie’s shock. It wasn’t perfect timing, but he couldn’t very well refuse the offer after telling Jared he was leaving today. There was work to do in Chicago, and there was also Norman Stanton to deal with.
Besides, what was he going to do if he stayed? Make love to Stephanie again? If they were alone in the same house, odds were good it would happen. His professional ethics were already teetering on the edge of oblivion.
“Thanks,” he forced himself to tell Jared. Then he turned, casually taking a sip from the stoneware mug. “Stephanie? I’ve got a couple more questions before I pack things up.” He nodded toward the dining room, hoping she’d get the hint. It might be their one chance to say goodbye alone.
Standing at the opposite side of the breakfast bar, she was blinking at him like a deer in the headlights.
This time Amber did catch Stephanie’s expression, and she frowned.
“Stephanie?” he repeated. If she didn’t snap out of it, they were going to have one hell of a lot of explaining to do.
“What?” She gave her head a little shake.
“In the dining room? I had a couple of questions.”
“Oh. Right.” Now she was looking annoyed with him. That was much better.
She followed him out, but Amber came on her heels, followed by Royce and the rest of the family. Alec was stuck with asking Stephanie some inane business questions, to which he already had answers, as he packed the papers away in his briefcase.
In no time, they were heading out the door to Jared’s SUV. Alec hung back, but he only managed the briefest of goodbyes and apologies to Stephanie before he had to leave.
Stephanie spent the next few weeks training hard with Rosie-Jo for the Brighton competition. At first, she’d been angry with Alec for his abrupt departure. Then she’d been grateful. After all, there was no sense in prolonging it.
They’d had a one-night stand, no big deal. She couldn’t have asked for a better lover. And, though it was short, it had been wonderful, physically, at least.
But then the gratitude wore off, and she felt inexplicably sad and lonely. She found herself remembering details about him-the sound of his laugh, how his gray eyes twinkled when he teased her, his confident stride, his gentle touch, the heat of his lips and the taste of his skin.
She knew she was pining away for something that couldn’t be, for something that had never existed in the first place, except in her own imagination.
She didn’t think she felt guilty about making love to him. But maybe she did. Maybe that was why she was pretending their relationship was something more than a fling.
Cold fact was, she’d given her virginity to a man she didn’t love, a man who was little more than a stranger.
It was the end of another long training day. She stabled Rosie-Jo and double-checked the feeding schedule. Leading up to Brighton, everything about Rosie’s regime had to be perfect, as did Stephanie’s.
She pressed her hands against the small of her back, arching as she sighed. Her period was a few days late, and she was getting frustrated with the wait. It was only a small difference, but competing at the most favorable hormonal point in her cycle could be the edge she needed to win. If she didn’t get it by the weekend, she could be jumping with PMS.
She pulled her ponytail loose, finger-combed her hair and refastened the rubber band as she made her way to the barn door. She was exhausted, almost dizzy with fatigue today. And she was famished.
She took that as a good sign. It wasn’t uncommon for her to polish off a pint of ice cream and a bag of potato chips the day before her period started. Not that she’d indulge in either this close to a competition. She’d have some grilled chicken and a big salad instead.
The thought of the food had her picking up her pace across the yard. But by the time she got to the front porch, she’d changed her mind. Chicken didn’t really appeal to her. Maybe she’d do a steak instead.
Then she opened the door and caught the aroma of one of her housekeeper Rosalind’s stews. She gripped the door frame for a split second. Okay, definitely not stew. She’d sit out on the back veranda and grill that steak.
The next morning, Stephanie blinked open her eyes, surprised to find it was nine-fifteen. The training schedule was obviously wearing her out. Fair enough. Her body was telling her something. She’d make sure she incorporated an extra hour sleep in her routine for the next two weeks.
She sat up quickly, and a wave of nausea had her dropping right back down on the pillow.
Damn it. She could not get sick.
Not now.
She absolutely refused to let a flu bug ruin the competition.
She gritted her teeth, sitting up more slowly. There. That was better. Wasn’t it?
She gripped the brass post of her bed, willing her stomach to calm down.
It wasn’t fair. First her period screwup, and now this. She needed to do well at Brighton. She’d trained her entire life for this year of all years. But it was as if the stars were lining up against her.
She started for the en suite, telling herself it was mind over matter. She was young and healthy. And she had a strong immune system. She was confident she’d quickly fight off whatever it was she’d picked up.
She stopped in front of the sink, pushing her messy hair back from her face, groping for her toothbrush and unscrewing the toothpaste cap.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her face was pale. Her eyes looked too big today, and the smell of the toothpaste had her rushing to retch into the toilet.
There was little in her stomach, but she immediately felt better. What the heck was wrong-
She froze.
“No.” The hoarse exclamation was torn from her.
Her hand tightened on the counter edge and she shook her head in denial. She could
They’d only done it once. And they’d used a condom.
