her.
It wasn’t fair, she screamed silently. Not now, not after they’d just found each other. It wasn’t right. She deserved her chance.
She didn’t mean to make a sound, but she must have. Zach looked up and saw her. She didn’t dare think about what he must be reading on her face. The pain at having everything within her grasp and having it ripped away.
He got out of the vehicle and slowly walked toward her. Sunlight glinted off his dark hair. She swallowed hard and forced herself to straighten. He might be able to rip her heart out, but she would never let him know how much it hurt. It looked as if pride was all she was going to have left.
“How’d you sleep?” he asked when he reached the porch stairs.
She glanced down at him and willed herself to be strong. “Great, and you?”
“Not bad, considering.” He looked at the truck. “I found the battery.”
“I guessed that.”
He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “I was thinking. Denver’s not that far away. You want to go into the city, maybe stay for a couple of nights? Eat out, take in a movie?”
She didn’t get it at first. She was so prepared to hear that he’d made up his mind to leave that the change in direction caught her unaware. She blinked and let everything sink in. Denver? Go to a restaurant?
The silence stretched between them. Something very like apprehension flickered in his eyes. If she didn’t know better, she would swear he was nervous.
“Really?” she asked, not daring to believe he wasn’t going to leave her.
“Yeah. It would be fun.”
She launched herself off the porch. He caught her hard against him and hauled her close. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her thighs around his hips.
“Is that a yes?” he asked, then laughed.
She kissed him. “What do you think?”
Chapter 11
They left the cabin before ten in the morning and arrived in Denver shortly after stopping for lunch at an inn with a beautiful view of the mountains. They picked a downtown hotel for their stay. Jamie followed Zach into the exclusive establishment, where he asked for a suite. Minutes later they were shown to the spacious lodgings and left alone.
Jamie prowled the luxurious space. The single-bedroom suite was larger than her apartment in San Francisco. “And decorated better,” she murmured with appreciation as she studied the sitting room.
It had been done in antiques. A sideboard held a crystal decanter set. An elegant armoire housed both a television and a VCR. There was a small wet bar tucked discreetly in the corner, fully stocked, of course.
The bedroom was just as impressive. Pale blue dominated. A silky spread covered the king-size mattress tucked into a sleigh bed. In the bathroom was a Jacuzzi tub big enough for two, a separate stall shower, two vanities and a phone.
She picked up the receiver and listened. Sure enough, there was a dial tone.
“Just in case you get a hot tip on the stock market,” Zach said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her body. “You wouldn’t want to waste a moment.”
She glanced up at him in the mirror and smiled. “My broker does complain about how difficult it is to track me down sometimes.”
“I’ll bet.”
His energy from the previous night seemed to have faded. Dark smudges stained the skin under his eyes, and his mouth looked drawn. He shifted his weight slightly and winced.
Jamie turned toward him. “What’s wrong?”
“Just all the activity catching up with me. Don’t worry about it.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “I asked you to let me help with the driving, but no. You had to do it all yourself. Typical macho posturing. May I remind you I’m strong enough to save your life by carrying you across the desert, so maybe you should listen to me.”
He bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. “No.”
“Zach!”
“All right. What do you want to say?”
“That we should try sleeping this afternoon. We’re not likely to sleep well tonight.”
His eyebrows rose. She fought embarrassment. “I really mean sleep. Not that. We’re both going to wake up at two in the morning. There’ll be plenty of time to do the wild thing then.”
“The wild thing?”
She ignored him and pushed at the center of his back. He allowed her to guide him toward the bed. Once there, he peeled back the covers, then stripped down to briefs before crawling between the sheets.
“Aren’t you joining me?” he asked.
“Not yet. I slept a lot last night. I’ll be in shortly.”
“What if I get lonely?”
She bent over and kissed him briefly. “I can see you’re exhausted, so while that invitation is intriguing, we both know it’s just cheap talk.”
He stifled a yawn. “I think I liked you better back when you were a rookie and still in awe of me.”
“I was never in awe of you.”
He pulled up the covers. “Sure, you were. You used to stare at my butt during class.”
She fought against embarrassment. Was he guessing or had he really noticed? She made a guess of her own. “And you couldn’t keep your attention off of mine when we were working out together.”
He closed his eyes and grinned. “You’re right.”
She laughed softly. “Go to sleep.”
She left the bedroom and closed the door behind her. So he had been looking. The thought pleased her. Sure, it had been a long time ago, and sure, he’d broken her heart. But it was nice to know the attraction had been mutual.
Once in the parlor, she opened the small refrigerator, poured herself a soda and settled on a sofa in front of one of the wide windows. From here she could see tall buildings and a bit of the city beyond. After weeks of being at the cabin, all this life was shocking to her. It was always like that coming off an assignment. The volume of humanity startled her. There had been times she’d felt like the only living person in the world. Then she returned to a civilization that seemed like an anthill of activity. Everyone had a place to go but her. Alone by herself or alone in a crowd, it still came down to lonely.
She stared out the window and fought a feeling of uneasiness. She knew why she was unsettled, but she didn’t want to think about it. No one liked dealing with a personal weakness. But she didn’t have a choice.
When she’d seen Zach working on the truck this morning, why had she instantly assumed he was leaving her? Was her assumption of the worst about her, or about him? She’d been in relationships before. She’d met men she’d cared about. No one had touched her the way Zach had, but a few could have stolen her heart…if she’d let them.
Was that the difference? Usually she was pretty rational in her relationships. She had a good time, laughed, shared stories, went out. Some of the men had even been lovers. She’d been responsive and had enjoyed the experience. But never had she felt out of control. Her emotions were kept carefully in check. When she found herself drifting toward getting serious, she’d stopped long enough to consider her options and what she really wanted to do.
She’d been logical, knowing that her job didn’t allow for long-term commitments. Walking away hadn’t always been simple, but she hadn’t regretted any of her decisions to do so.
Why was it so different with Zach?
She sipped on her soda, then leaned back on the sofa. What was it about the man that got to her? She hadn’t
