Rocky Mountain Hitched: Contemporary Western Romance (To Love Again Book 6) (7 page)

“Maybe,” she said, propping her head up on her elbow to look at him. His face was sun-kissed, except for the white circles around his eyes from the ski goggles. “I love spring skiing.” She reached over to trace the lines of his face. Up close, she could see the years. He was still youthful looking, more than a man his age had a right to be, but looking closely it was clear he wasn’t as young as all that. Not that she cared. She just hoped that as the years passed, she’d be able to keep him to herself.

“What are you thinking?”

“Hey, isn’t that my line? Most men hate that question and almost never ask it.”

“Most men?” He reached over and tickled her ribs. She squealed.

“That’s what my clients say. What do I know?”

“Hungry?”

“I ate a lot of wings. You?”

“No,” he said, rolling his weight on top of her. “We can grab a quick bite before we meet them at the club. We haven’t been dancing since we first met.”

She looked up at him. “That’s right, we haven’t.” She wiggled underneath him, pressing her hips into his. “You’re crushing me.”

“Apparently I’m not, ‘cause you’re still moving.” He kissed her nose and rolled off onto his side. She took a deep breath. “Faker,” he said.

She rolled onto her side to face him. “Did you talk to Barry about Chet?”

“Why would you think that?”

“I know you better than you think,” she chided.

“Clever girl. He’s going to see if he can find out something online.”

“Like what?”

“Don’t know. Just look into him, I guess. I couldn’t give him much to go on. You’ve never really told me about him.” His gaze was guarded.

She closed her eyes and took a breath. “There’s not much to tell. He ran around on me, broke my heart repeatedly, shredded my trust and my dignity, then left without a word. When the dust settled, I was glad to have him gone, but the way he left crushed the girls.”

Tray ran his hand up over her hip. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“I know. Life isn’t always fair.” Her stomach churned. At some point, they needed to have this conversation. She sucked in a breath. “He was a bastard but I don’t think he’s dangerous.”

“He never …?”

“Abused me? Or the girls? Not physically, but he hurt us in a thousand other ways. Late suppers, missed birthdays, forgotten anniversaries.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “So many forgotten anniversaries.”

“If he is following you - I’m not saying that he is - but if he is, what do you think he wants?”

Good question. And one she’d been asking herself for the last few days. “I can’t imagine. It’s been almost four years without a word from him.”

“I’m sorry to ask this,” Tray said, focusing on his hand tracing circles on her hip, “but, you’re divorced, right? I mean, legally we can get married?”

“Oh, God yes. I took care of that in the first year. Since technically he abandoned us, it was uncontested. I didn’t even have to see him.”

“And he knows you’re divorced?”

“Of course. But we never did hear from him. I’ve always been waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought he’d want to see the girls. For a while, I thought he might try to get shared custody, but he never even asked for visiting rights.”

“Bastard,” Tray said.

Isabel raised her brows. “Exactly. It was a hell of a thing to explain that their father didn’t give a rat’s ass about them. Of course, I didn’t frame it that way. But he never sent so much as a birthday card to the girls.”

“I’m sorry, Issy.” He stroked her shoulder. “Did you ever wonder if —”

“If maybe he died? I’m ashamed to say part of me wanted him dead. Just so it would be easier to explain. For the first year or so, he just fell off the face of the earth. Then, through the grapevine, I heard he’d taken some time off and was living in Borneo or someplace over there.”

“Borneo?”

She shrugged. Even after all this time, it made her tired just thinking about it. “He’s back in the country now. As far as I know, he’s working at the same real estate company as when we were married.”

“I’m sure Barry will find out everything there is to know. The question is, do you want to know what he finds out?” Tray cocked his head.

She rubbed her hand over her forehead. “I don’t know. If it’s important for me to know, then yes.”

He nodded and pulled her close. “I won’t let him hurt you again, love. And I will never hurt you the way he did.”

She snuggled into him, finding comfort in his embrace. She believed him. With all her heart, she believed him. She exhaled and her body relaxed. She pushed up off the bed. “Beer? I’m going to have some wine.”

“Sounds good,” he said, sitting up. “What’s in the mini-fridge for snacks?”

“Let me see.” She pulled a beer out and placed it on the counter. “Snickers, M&M’s, Pringles, and dry roasted nuts.” She turned toward him holding the bottle of nuts and quirked her brows.

“Definitely the nuts.”

She pulled what was left of the white wine out of the fridge and poured about two fingers worth into the goblet. “I don’t think that’ll be enough wine,” she mused.

“I’ll go,” Tray said, getting up.

“Go where?”

“To the bar.”

“Really? Why don’t we just call room service.”

“I could use a stretch,” he said, extending his arms over his head. “Be right back.”

Isabel stood by the fridge and watched the door click behind him.
Huh, men.

~~~

Tray took the stairs, two at a time, down to the main lobby. Poking his head into the dining room, he saw the pasta buffet was still in full swing. It wasn’t as late as he’d thought. They could come downstairs for dinner before they went dancing.

The bartender presented him a couple of choices, both well chilled. After choosing, he signed the chit with their room number, re-entered the lobby, and crossed the wide expanse of marble floor to the gift shop. The young woman behind the counter, discreetly filing her nails, glanced up and smiled widely.

“How can I help you sir?”

“I was hoping for some fresh flowers,” Tray said, his gaze sweeping the shelves and counters lined with souvenirs and boxed candy.

“We have some,” the young woman said. “Out back in the cooler. What did you have in mind?” She rifled through a stack of papers beside the cash register, and passed him a full-color brochure. “We have some beautiful daffodils for Easter. Lilies, too.”

“Roses?”

“Absolutely, we got some nice ones in this morning. Let me check what colors we have left.” She slipped from behind the counter and through a door into the back. “We have red. And red.” She smiled, a crooked bit of a smile, that he found somehow endearing. She reminded him a little of Isabel’s daughter Karin.

“Red is perfect. I’ll take a dozen, please.”

“Shall I send them up to your room, sir?”

“I’d rather take them myself, if it’s no trouble.”

“No trouble at all, sir. Give me five minutes. Would you like a vase for them? We have a nice selection against that wall.” She pointed out a shelf with a handful of different vases.

“I’ll have a look,” Tray said. He shuffled through the vases for a couple of minutes - they all looked the same to him - and in the end, chose the one that looked the right size for a dozen roses.

The girl approved of his choice, artfully arranged the roses with baby’s breath and some extra greenery in the vase, and presented the chit for his signature. Thanking her, he made his way back across the lobby, choosing the elevator back to the fourth floor.

He opened the door into an empty room. The lights had been dimmed and music played softly from the entertainment cabinet. He placed the flowers and wine on the table, grabbed the ice bucket and went back out into the hallway. When he returned, he put the wine into the ice and tapped on the bathroom door. Steam rolled under the opening. “I’m back.”

“Come in,” Isabel called. He opened the door. She leaned against the back of the large heart-shaped Jacuzzi in the corner. Bubbles threatened to spill over the edge of the tub, and a sweet scent filled the air. She grinned up at him and raised her glass. “Your beer is on the counter.”

Rose petals were strewn on the counter, on the floor and sprinkled over the sea of bubbles. Her skin, flush with the heat or the wine, glowed. “You’ve been busy,” he said.

She beckoned him to her, index finger curled. “Come in.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He ripped his shirt over his head, kicked off his shoes and socks, and stepped out of his jeans and shorts.

She whistled. “Very nice,” she said, wiggling her brows. “Don’t forget your beer.”

“I’ll grab another one, and bring your wine in. Hang on.” He grabbed the ice bucket and placed it on the counter within reach of the Jacuzzi. He left the flowers on the table - a nice surprise for later, and surely the steam in the bathroom would wilt them almost instantly.

Climbing into the tub, he let out a sharp gasp. “How hot is this water?”

She laughed. “You’ll get used to it. Just slide in.”

“Oh, stop saying things like ‘slide in’ or things won’t be so relaxing in this tub.”

“What makes you think I want to relax?” She toed his leg, trailing her foot up to his thigh.

He grinned and shifted his body further into the water.

“I am loving this view,” she said.

“Me, too,” he agreed, glancing at her through slit lids.

“I mean outside.” She waved her arm expansively. He looked out onto the face of Rundle Mountain. The light of the full moon was edging over the rock face. “How did you manage to book this corner room? It’s completely enchanting.”

“I pulled a couple of strings. I’m glad you like it.”

“And the moon? Did you have that on command, too?”

“Dumb luck on that,” he said. “Another hour or so and it will be shining in on us.”

“Mmm,” she reached out her glass. “Cheers.”

“Here’s to us,” he said. “May this be the first of many long baths, full moons, and enchanting evenings.”

“Hear, hear.”

“Speaking of enchanting evenings, we haven’t talked about our honeymoon at all. Where would you like to go?”

She shrugged, her shoulders glistening with foam. “I haven’t thought about it. Maybe Hawaii?”

“Hawaii is good. We can snorkel, swim, visit the volcano. I have friends on the Big Island.”

“Really? For a farmer, you sure have friends in a lot of different places.”

Grinning, he nodded. “Because they all got off the farm and went elsewhere.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere, as long as it’s with you. In any case, my father taught me something many years ago and now that we’re engaged, I intend to put it into practice.”

“What’s that?”

“His mantra was ‘When Mama’s happy, everybody’s happy’.”

She chuckled. “There’s truth to that. There’s something else we haven’t talked about.”

“What’s that?” The tub was enormous, and he shifted so he was sitting beside her. They both looked out onto the side of the mountain.

“Where we’ll live after we’re married.”

“I assumed you’d want to stay in your house and I would join you.”

“That’s okay with you?”

“Of course. I don’t care where we live. As long as we’re together.”

“There’s a theme to your comments,” she teased, taking a sip of wine and placing the goblet back on the ledge.

Leaning his head in to meet hers, he sighed. “All true. You’re all I want.”

“Ah,” she sighed. “You’re all I want, too.”

He stroked her leg while they watched the moon rise over the peak of Mount Rundle and light the sky. He felt content and grounded in a way he’d never experienced before - the world reduced to him and this woman.

“Uh oh,” she said. “We’re supposed to go dancing.”

“Should we blow it off?”

“I hate to, but maybe they won’t mind. I’d rather stay in. You?”

“Absolutely,” he said, running his hand further up her thigh. “Should we call?”

“I’ll send Jenny a quick text. Should we call Room Service before the kitchen closes?”

“I think we’re okay for a couple of hours,” he said, lazily moving his hand up her belly to her breasts. “I’m hungry for something else right now.”

“Let me text Jenny and I’m all yours.”

She reached for her phone, back arched and breasts heaving out of the foam. He couldn’t resist and tweaked her nipple hard. She grimaced at him, but not before he recognized the shudder that ran down her spine.

CHAPTER TEN

Isabel put her phone down, and stepped into the large, fluffy towel Tray was holding for her. He dried her, inch by inch, working his way from her head to her toes. He patted her face, her shoulders, teased the soft cotton over her taut nipples and down over her belly. He slid the cloth between her legs, gently patting her inner thighs and, barely touching her clit, he blew delicately on her most sensitive spot. Her legs weakened and she clutched his shoulders for balance.