One Night, Two Secrets Page 6

  “That’s good,” he said. She realized he was mentally going through some list and he’d switched from being relaxed into some sort of business mode. It was interesting to watch.

  “Also, I was invited to book club with Hadley and her sister so I have that to look forward to,” she said.

  “Book club? You know they just go to a bar and hang out, right?”

  “I do.” She waited to see if he was going to try to tell her not to go.

  “I guess that sounded a bit judgy.”

  “Yeah, just a bit,” she said. “One thing you should know about me, Alec, I’m not stupid. I play a role for my reality show and social media but that’s not really me.”

  “I get that. I sort of clean up the online profiles of large companies and people in the public eye who stand to lose a lot if their image doesn’t jibe with the expectation of who they are,” he said. “I never thought you were stupid, Scarlet.”

  “What do you think about me?” she asked. “You’ve never said. I mean I know I shocked the heck out of you by showing up here, but beyond that, I don’t know what you think.”

  “That’s a loaded question,” he said, stopping in the middle of the willow branch arbor and turning to face her.

  The scent of jasmine was strong here; she realized that someone had woven the climbing vine into the willow branches above their head.

  “Is it?” she asked.

  Because it seemed straightforward to her.

  “Si,” he said.

  She noticed he switched between English and Spanish without really seeming to think about it. She liked it. She thought it happened only when he was distracted.

  This close she couldn’t help but notice the light stubble on his jaw, which drew her gaze to his mouth. He had firm, full lips that she knew felt just right pressed against her. She felt a jolt of desire go through her and blinked, taking a step back.

  She hadn’t come here to hook up again.

  He was the father of her child and that was complicated enough. But she’d never been one to walk away from something she wanted, and frankly, she wanted Alec Velasquez.

  She put her hand on his chest, running her finger over the skin exposed by the buttons he’d left undone at his collar. She touched his gold chain and lifted it up to examine the medallion. He hadn’t been wearing this the night they met.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking, Alejandro,” she said softly, hearing the lust in her own voice and knowing she’d made no attempt to disguise it from him.

  His put his hand over hers, pressing it flat against his chest as he leaned in, angling his head to one side, never breaking eye contact with her as he brought his mouth closer to hers.

  “I’m thinking that if I don’t kiss you I might die,” he admitted. Then his mouth brushed over hers as his hand tangled in her hair.

  She sighed, realizing that this was what she’d been waiting for and that it had been worth the wait.

  * * *

  The tension that had been in his gut since he’d first seen her this morning at the polo grounds finally eased. He put his hands on either side of her neck, holding her gently, reminding himself that she was pregnant, and this kiss could be the start of something.

  It was hard to keep the embrace gentle, hard to rein in his desire for her, because the kiss simply whetted his appetite for more. It made him want to lift her into his arms and carry her into the house and up to his bedroom.

  Memories of their night together stirred in his mind, and now that he was touching her again he wanted more. But he was determined to keep things cool and casual. He didn’t know what the future held for them. And really, he probably shouldn’t be kissing her.

  But she’d touched him and teased him, and he’d never really had to deny himself anything he wanted.

  And damn, she tasted so good that none of that mattered. He opened his mouth over hers and their tongues clashed. She sighed as she moved her hands to his waist, holding him even closer. It was all he could do to keep from crushing her against his body. To keep from escalating this beyond a simple kiss to something hot and heavy.

  His cock stirred, and he shifted his hips back so she wouldn’t rub against his erection. But she pulled him closer with her hands on his waist, rubbing her center against him, and he couldn’t help but thrust against her. She moaned deep in her throat and changed the angle of her head so that he could deepen the kiss.

  He did, taking everything she offered him. He’d spent every moment since their night together reliving it and wanting to be back in her arms. Now she was here.

  Yes, it was complicated, but that didn’t seem to matter when he had her in his arms. He rubbed his finger up and down the column of her neck and felt the shiver that went through her as she wrapped her arms around his waist and cupped his butt, drawing him closer to her. She lifted one thigh and wrapped it around his hips. He groaned and got even harder, though he hadn’t thought that was possible.

  He rubbed himself against her as he continued the kiss. But he knew that the smart thing would be to break this embrace and step back. He was leaving in the morning. He couldn’t sleep with her again and then leave.

  That was a bad precedent to set. Yet backing away also didn’t feel right.

  He lifted his head and rubbed his lips over hers before he broke all contact. “You make me forget everything, even my name.”

  She shook her head. “You’re too clever for that. I doubt a kiss could have that powerful of an effect on you.”

  He took her hand and drew it down to his erection and she rubbed her hand over him. “You have a very pronounced effect on me.”

  She stroked him through his pants, tipping her head back so their eyes met. “I seem to.”

  There was no way to talk about this. He was overwhelmed with the urge to get inside her. He hesitated, though, not wanting her to feel pressure, but then felt her slowly lowering the zipper of his trousers. Her hand slipped inside his open fly.

  There was no turning back. He lifted her off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his hips as he carried her out of the willow arbor to the shaded double lounger next to the pool.

  He sat down, so she straddled his lap and shifted against him, pushing her hands into his hair and bringing her mouth down on his.

  God, he tasted better than she remembered. Straddling his lap made her realize how desperately she wanted to get closer to him. Wanted him close enough so she could feel him inside her. His mouth...damn those perfect lips that felt just right under hers. And the taste of him. It was addicting.

  But she could control it.

  She kissed him again, even deeper than before, rocking her hips and rubbing her center over the ridge of his erection. It felt so good.

  She lifted her head. His eyes were half closed. Rubbing her fingers along his jaw, she felt the abrasion of his stubble, and it sent shivers through her as she shifted around and brought her mouth back to his.

  He tasted so good.

  She never wanted to stop kissing him. She remembered what it had been like—the sex between them. It had been hard to wake up alone and realize she’d never have him again.

  Now she was back in his presence and less than a few hours later she was straddling him, kissing him like she’d never get enough of him.

  Addict.

  The word echoed in her mind. She pushed herself off him, stumbling back away from him. She wasn’t her sister or her mother. She was always in control of her desires.

  Until now.

  Until Alejandro Velasquez.

  She put her hand on her mouth and turned away from him, not saying anything. She heard his heavy breathing and a few minutes later she heard his zipper as he did it up.

  “I should be going. Have a safe trip,” she said.

  “I’ll drive you,” he said.

  “You don’t have
to,” she said.

  “I do. It’s late July in Texas and I’m a gentleman no matter what you might believe. It’s the least I can do.”

  She nodded and went to find her shoes. As he led her to his car, neither of them said a word about what had happened. And when he pulled into the drive of her rented house, she bolted out as soon as he brought the car to a stop.

  She didn’t look back but didn’t have to because in her mind she still saw the passion on his face when she’d straddled him and she knew that staying away from him was going to be harder than anything she’d ever done.

  Six

  Scarlet needed to go out and surround herself with people who just wanted her to be the edgy heiress. Alec had somehow found a way to make her remember all the things that she was usually much better at ignoring. Stuff like how much she had missed him...but more than that, how she missed a genuine connection with someone.

  “Billie? Siobahn?”

  Her little miniature dachshund came trotting into the foyer and Scarlet leaned down to scoop her up. Lulu burrowed into her neck the way she liked and Scarlet closed her eyes as she rubbed her dog’s back. Then she set Lulu back on the tile floor and the dog dashed off for the kitchen. She followed Lulu and found Siobahn sitting at the counter, shoulders hunched, staring intently at her smartphone screen.

  “Siobahn? You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. I can’t believe this. Now they’re saying it’s going to be the wedding of the century,” Siobahn said, scrolling on her screen.

  Scarlet went over and took the phone from her friend, putting it on the counter behind her. “As if. It might be the tackiest wedding ever but that’s it.”

  Siobahn smiled. “Probably all pink and frothy.”

  “Definitely. That woman has an unhealthy obsession with tulle.”

  “She does,” Siobahn said. “Where have you been?”

  She grabbed two Fiji waters from the fridge and passed one to her friend. “I was meeting with the guy I hooked up with when I came to Houston.”

  “That Mauricio guy?”

  She wrinkled her brow. “Uh, well, it turns out that it was actually his twin brother, Alejandro.”

  “Ooh. Interesting,” Siobahn said, moving over to the padded bench in the breakfast nook and patting the seat next to her.

  Scarlet went over and sat next to her friend. She rested her elbows on the wooden table and held the water bottle suspended between her hands.

  Interesting.

  “Is he why we’re in this town no one’s ever heard of?” Siobahn asked.

  “You needed to get out of the city, too,” Scarlet said. She hated to make it seem like she was selfish and did things just in her own best interests. “But yeah.”

  “You’re right. I did need a break,” Siobahn agreed. “So tell me what’s going on with this guy.”

  “I’m pregnant,” she said without further hesitation, even though the words still stuck in her throat as she said them. It wasn’t getting any easier to tell people. She wondered if it ever would or if her kid would be thirty and she’d still feel this foreign, what-the-fuck feeling in her gut.

  “What? I thought you were super careful,” Siobahn said.

  “I am normally but I had run out of pills. I figured I’d be fine since I’ve been on the pill forever and I don’t hook up that much. Especially when I’m filming. I figured I’d be okay,” she repeated.

  “Did he use a condom?”

  “Yes...well, one time,” she admitted.

  “Why am I just now hearing about this?” Siobahn asked. “Sounds like you had one hell of a night.”

  “We did,” she admitted. “Then, of course, he was gone in the morning and I moved on. I like being able to do that. Not get too tied down, but then this...” She looked down at her body. How had this happened? Why now?

  “Why did he bolt?”

  “Turns out he was impersonating his brother who was in love with a girl, and he had to get back to Cole’s Hill to make things right between them,” Scarlet said.

  Siobahn looked over at her.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah,” Scarlet said, taking a long swallow of her water and wishing it were something stronger. If there was ever a moment she wanted to get drunk and forget everything about her life, it was right now.

  “You know you’re making me feel better about my sucky life,” her friend said, wrapping her arm around Scarlet’s shoulder and hugging her.

  “That was my main objective,” Scarlet joked.

  Siobahn smiled. “Do we have the suckiest taste in men ever or has the quality of men in the dating pool just gone significantly downhill?”

  “Might just be karma,” Scarlet said.

  “It might be,” Siobahn admitted. “Be nice if the universe had given us a free pass for all the crap things we’d done when we were too dumb to know better.”

  “It would be. Guess it doesn’t work that way, though,” Scarlet said.

  “Girl, what are you going to do about the baby?” Siobahn asked, looking over at her with those wide eyes that had helped make her so famous.

  “I don’t know. You know O’Malleys make horrible parents. There isn’t one in my direct line who didn’t screw up their kids,” Scarlet said.

  “Yeah, but you’re—”

  “Please don’t say different,” Scarlet said. “I’m not. I just hide the ugly, selfish bits of myself better than Tara did, and my father does.”

  “Whatever you decide, I’ve got your back,” Siobahn said. “So, what about Mauri—wait, not Mauricio, Alejandro? Did you tell him about the kid? Or are we keeping this just between us for now?”

  “I told him but I’m not sure what’s on his mind. He wants me to have a DNA test,” Scarlet said.

  “Bastard. He didn’t believe you?”

  “Karma. I have slept with a lot of guys,” Scarlet admitted. Granted she’d been in her very early twenties and trying to exorcise some ghosts back then.

  “Yeah, but still, why would you try to trap him?”

  “I said as much. And once he realized I didn’t know who he actually was when I came to town he admitted as much. I’m still going to do it. I need it for my lawyers, but beyond that... I was hoping he’d be a decent guy who would raise the kid.”

  “Good idea,” Siobahn said. “Aside from impersonating his twin, is he a good guy?”

  That was the million-dollar question. She shrugged, and luckily Billie walked in before she had to answer any more of Siobahn’s questions.

  “You two okay?” Billie asked.

  Scarlet nodded even though she wasn’t okay. She was pregnant and the father of her child wasn’t who she’d thought he was. But he also wasn’t a bad guy. She had no real idea what to do next but at lease she had her friends to pleasantly distract her for now.

  They spent the evening playing a trivia game and not talking about her pregnancy. But when she went to bed all she could think about was how it had felt to be in Alec’s arms.

  * * *

  Helena kept up the smiles until she and Malcolm were in the car. She was thinking about Scarlet and how someone who seemed to have it all was still struggling with her own issues. It sort of drove home how nothing in life was ever easy. It had been nice watching the polo match with her sister and her friends, but it wasn’t lost on her that her fiancé had spent most of the time avoiding her. Sure, he’d been cool about it but she knew him well enough, or thought she did, to see that he was trying to avoid her.

  He had started to lose a ridiculous amount of weight. She had believed he was taking steps to control his gambling addiction, but here he was hiding something from her again. It was hot in the car and Malcolm fiddled with the air-conditioning as he got in.

  “That was a nice day,” Malcolm said as he put the vehicle in gear and pulled out of the parking
lot of the polo grounds. The parking lot was emptying out. Sometimes if they had a match on Saturday they’d have a party that went into the night but not on Sunday.

  Most of the locals in Cole’s Hill were still ranch people who had to get up early to care for their livestock. Even Helena had an early day tomorrow. She had to take one of her clients’ books to Houston for review by a private accounting firm. It was just routine but she wasn’t looking forward to the drive during rush-hour traffic. And she knew being in the car alone would give her too much time to think about Malcolm and wonder what the heck was going on with him.

  She took a deep breath. Could she just sweep this under the rug? Could she just play it nice and easy? No. More like hell no. That just wasn’t her way.

  “Was it? Because it seemed to me that every time I joined a group you were part of you dashed away. What’s up?”

  “Helena. That’s not what was happening,” he said. But there was that edge to his voice. The one that she’d become way too familiar with ever since their engagement party. Then they’d had a few weeks of relative normalcy after he’d confessed his gambling problem and how he’d overextended his finances to try to impress her.

  “Then tell me what is,” she said. “Pull over here and talk to me. I can’t do this again, Malcolm. As humiliated as I’d be by calling off the wedding, I will do it if you aren’t communicating with me.”

  He cursed but she heard the clicking of the blinker as he pulled onto the shoulder and put the car in Park. He put both of his arms on the steering wheel and didn’t turn to face her.

  “I’ve stopped,” he said angrily.

  He was pissed. But that was okay because she was, too. “I’m not making an idle threat or trying to manipulate you, Mal. If the prospect of us getting married is causing you stress, then let’s just keep living together. If it’s something else, then tell me. Two heads are better than one to solve a problem, right?”

  He looked over at her and she saw so much turmoil on his face that her heart ached for him. And it ached for herself if she were honest. This was the man she loved. She’d loved him for longer than he knew, and she wanted to have that picture-perfect engagement and wedding and then a long life with him. She didn’t want to call things off. Not just because of her ego but because he was the man she wanted. With all his problems and fears, he still was the man who owned her heart.