Evan Read online

  “You started it, honey,” he reminded her, and moved deliberately closer, threatening her with his size and strength. She looked nervous now, which was what he intended. Playing games with grown men could be dangerous. Someone needed to prove it to her.

  “Evan…” she said uneasily.

  The car park was deserted, and Anna’s bravado was quickly disappearing. Flirting was one thing, but she still wasn’t quite sure of herself in any intimate situation. She could handle Randall, but Evan had an untamed look about him. He might seem like a big teddy bear at times, but the Tremayne brothers were a fiery bunch and he was the eldest. Probably Connal, Harden and Donald had learned all they knew from his example.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked with a mocking smile when she backed against the car like a kitten at bay. “Not as safe as you thought?”

  She didn’t know what she thought anymore. He smelled of cologne and soap, and his height and size were intimidating.

  “It’s broad daylight,” she pointed out.

  “I know that.” He pursed his wide lips and smiled down at her, but it wasn’t any kind of smile she’d ever seen on his lips before. Or on any other man’s, come to think of it. It was sensuous and masculine and very arrogant, as if he knew that her knees were weak and her heart was beating her to death.

  “I really have to go, Evan,” she said, sounding frantic.

  He could have pushed it. He almost did. Her very vulnerability attracted him as her blatant flirting never had. His eyes fell to her high, full breasts and narrowed. She was voluptuous in the very best way, well-endowed enough to almost fill hands even the size of his. He started at the direction his thoughts were taking. Anna was a virgin. He reminded himself of that silently and forced his eyes back up to her flushed, stunned face.

  “I thought you wanted to get ravished,” he said softly, the velvety depth of his voice a threat in itself. “Running away before we even get started?”

  She swallowed down her fear and eased away from him, laughing nervously. He made her feel young and totally green. “I’ll need to take a lot of vitamins first, to get in shape,” she said, glancing at him as she opened the door of her car and climbed in. “Hold that thought, though.”

  He laughed gently at her grit. She had courage, and she bounced back fast. If she’d been a few years older, anything might happen. “Okay, rabbit, hit the road. But next time, be sure you know what you’re asking for,” he added, and his eyes were serious. “A man won’t usually turn down a blatant invitation, even if it’s against his better judgment.”

  “You’ve been turning me down for years,” she reminded him, catching her breath. “You’re experienced.”

  His dark eyes narrowed on her face. “Yes, I am,” he said quietly. “Keep that in mind. You’re still at the stage where you think a man’s appetite can be satisfied by a few soft kisses. Mine can’t.”

  She glared at him. “I wasn’t offering…!”

  “Weren’t you?”

  She averted her gaze to her fingers on the key in the ignition. “No, I wasn’t,” she said curtly. “I was only teasing.”

  “That kind of teasing can be dangerous. Practice on Randall. He’s safer than I am.”

  “At least he wants me,” she muttered, and she abruptly started the car.

  “Good for him,” he replied. “Don’t speed in that toy car.”

  She moved the toolbox from the passenger seat to the floorboard. “I never speed,” she lied.

  He watched her fasten her seat belt. “Through for the day already?” he taunted softly.

  “I’m having lunch with my best friend,” she said evasively.

  He lifted his eyebrows. “I didn’t know you had one.”

  She didn’t answer him. She backed out of the parking spot and managed to take off without stripping the gears. Tears glittered in her eyes, but he wouldn’t see them.

  She stopped at a nearby restaurant and had a hamburger, all by herself. She had no girlfriends. She liked Randall very well. He was a resident at the hospital, the son of the local doctor, and not bad looking. Of course, he did have a wandering eye, but Anna got along with him and didn’t feel threatened by him. Her heart was Evan’s, sadly enough. How terrible, to love a man who treated you like a child and made fun of you when you offered yourself to him. She could have bawled. Actually, everything was bravado with her, where Evan was concerned. She’d teased him just to get his attention. But having gotten it, she didn’t know what to do with it. He was experienced, and she wasn’t. She didn’t know how to handle a man like that. She’d just been shown graphically that she was totally out of her element with Evan.

  She went back to the office late, and her heart wasn’t in her work for the rest of the day. Polly didn’t even notice. Anna wondered sometimes if her mother paid much attention to anything that she didn’t want to see.

  The party her mother gave to celebrate the opening of the new Jacobsville mall gave Anna an excuse to dress to the back teeth. Not, she told herself, that Evan was going to notice. He’d already said he probably wouldn’t come. Randall would be there, though. She could certainly dress up for him.

  She wore a witchy, silver, crystal-pleated dress that fell in layers to just below her knees. She let her blond hair waft loosely around her shoulders, straight and heavy, and she wore sexy little high-heeled sandals on her feet. She knew she looked good, but the evening felt flat. She added a hint of pastel lipstick to her full lips and brushed her hair, but her heart wasn’t in her preparations. Without Evan, her whole life was flat and uninteresting.

  Downstairs Randall was waiting for her, looking very trendy in his sports coat and neatly pressed slacks. He wore wire-rimmed glasses, and he was very dignified. Not a hair out of place, although what he had was thinning above his forehead. He wasn’t handsome. But women loved him. He had a gentle, caring demeanor and he was good company, even if he did have the worst kind of wandering eye. Anna liked him, and the feeling was mutual.

  “You look very nice,” he told her, glancing around at the very elegant crowd Polly was entertaining. “Your mother knows everybody, doesn’t she?”

  “Everyone who moves in her circles,” Anna replied. Randall’s interest in the wealthy set disturbed her. Anna had never mixed with people simply because of their wealth or social status. Neither did the Tremaynes. Randall was thinking ahead to the time when he would be in practice, she was sure. His preference for an uptown medical practice was something he made no secret of.

  He took Anna’s arm and guided her through to the canapé table, where ruby punch and savories were being offered to the guests. “I’m starved. I had to forego lunch for exams. I wish this was a sit-down affair.”

  “Lori did honey chicken and salmon croquettes,” she told him, gesturing toward platters of food. “And there are little blueberry muffins, too. If you load enough on your plate, you’ll get full.”

  He smiled at her. “I guess so.”

  She noticed the couples moving to the soft music of the live band. She loved to dance, but Randall couldn’t. He had no desire to learn, even though she’d offered to teach him.

  “You wouldn’t like to shuffle around the floor?” she tried yet once more.

  He shook his head. “Sorry. I’m tired. I want to get off my feet, not on them!”

  She lifted her shoulders as if she didn’t care. She got a cup of punch, looking around for familiar faces. When she spotted Harden and Miranda Tremayne, her eyes went helplessly past them, hoping for a glimpse of Evan. But he wasn’t there. Her face fell, even as she smiled a greeting at the couple.

  Miranda was wearing a black maternity dress with flowing lace, and she had a radiant Harden beside her. Anna had always felt a little sorry for Harden, because he’d seemed so alone. But these days, he smiled a lot, and the old coldness was gone from his blue eyes.

  He had a possessive arm around Miranda’s swollen waist, and he looked devastating in a dinner jacket. Almost, Anna thought, as good as Evan looked s
imilarly clothed.

  “Nice turnout,” Harden murmured dryly. “Your mother outdid herself.”

  “Indeed she did,” Anna said, grinning. “Do I get introduced? I’ve seen Miranda, but I’ve never actually gotten to meet her.”

  “Miranda, this is Anna Cochran,” Harden obliged. “You met Polly at the Chamber of Commerce banquet a few days ago. Polly sold the property for the new mall and helped coax in some new businesses.”

  “I’m very glad to meet you,” Miranda said, smiling back, her silvery eyes almost the color of Anna’s dress. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Anna sighed. “About my relentless pursuit of Evan, I guess,” she murmured ruefully. “It’s a hopeless cause, but I can’t seem to get out of the habit. One day he’ll marry somebody and I can give up with good grace.”

  “That doesn’t seem likely,” Harden replied on a sigh. “Evan is sure he’s doomed to perpetual bachelorhood. He’s forever moaning that women won’t give him the time of day.”

  “His excuse used to be that they trampled him trying to get to Harden.” Miranda laughed, swinging her long, dark hair. “Nowadays, he’s convinced that he’s too old to appeal to anyone.”

  “Thirty-four and ready for ‘the home,’” Harden agreed. He shook his head. “Save him, Anna.”

  “I’m trying,” she laughed. “But he won’t let me put away my baby dolls and my play tea set. He thinks I’m a mere child.”

  “He wouldn’t if he saw you in that dress,” Miranda said with a conspiratory smile. “You look very elegant.”

  “At least Randall noticed,” Anna grimaced. “Want to meet him?”

  She turned to drag Randall over by one arm while he nibbled on chicken wings. “This is Randall Wayne,” she told them. “He’s a medical student.”

  “I’m a resident, thank you very much,” Randall said, glowering at her. “Only a short leap from my own practice, when I finish my residency next year,” he added, grinning at them. “Remember me if you break anything.”

  “I’ll do that,” Harden promised.

  “Oh, Randall.” Anna sighed. “You’re hopeless.”

  “Patients are scarce for young doctors,” he reminded her. “Can’t blame a man for trying to drum up business in advance.”

  “Certainly not,” Miranda said laughing.

  Anna didn’t want to ask, but she couldn’t quite help it. “I don’t suppose any of the rest of the family came with you?” she asked.

  “Just Evan,” Harden murmured reluctantly, watching the way her eyes brightened. “He’s parking the car.” He didn’t want to tell her the rest. Anna’s helpless attraction to Evan was so obvious that he was already hurting for her.

  “He may be out there all night,” Randall pointed out. “It took me thirty minutes to find someplace to leave my car.”

  “Evan’s resourceful,” Harden said. He glanced regretfully at Anna. She was going to need time to steel herself before Evan came in. He owed her that. “And Nina’s with him. She’s a whiz at finding the impossible.”

  Chapter 2

  Anna didn’t know how she managed to respond to that casual comment, but she saved her pride with a smile and an offhand remark. Evan had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want her adulation, now he was pushing the knife home. He’d brought Nina, whom everyone knew was his old flame. The woman was now a successful fashion model in Houston, and she was visiting locally. Probably she was doing her best to rekindle those embers. If Evan had brought her to Polly’s party, he had to be encouraging her.

  “My brother is an idiot,” Harden told Miranda as they moved away, his blue eyes glittering. “My God, did you see what it did to her? Evan thinks she’s a child, but the kind of hurt I saw in her face isn’t juvenile.”

  “Doesn’t he feel anything at all for her?” Miranda asked.

  “I don’t know. If he does, he’s buried it. He’s stubborn, and he can be cruel when he’s pushed. Anna’s made a game of it, playing at flirting and teasing. He thinks that’s all there is to it. He doesn’t think she’s serious.”

  “But she is.”

  He nodded. “I’m sure of it. It’s a camouflage. After all, the safest way to hide your feelings is to exaggerate them. Poor little thing. Randall isn’t a patch on Evan, but she’ll wind up marrying him out of unrequited love for my brother.”

  “Such a waste.” Miranda sighed.

  He pulled her closer. “Indeed, it is. Thank God we’re past all that uncertainty.”

  She smiled, lifting radiant eyes to his. “I love you.”

  His blue eyes kindled. He bent and kissed her softly. “I can send that back, multiplied.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, pressing close. “I know. We have so much, Harden.”

  His lean hand lightly touched the soft swell of her belly and his eyes blazed into hers. “More than I ever dreamed,” he whispered. “Did I ever tell you that you’re my life?”

  Miranda was too choked with emotion to even answer. She pressed close against his side while his lips brushed her forehead with exquisite tenderness.

  Anna, watching them covertly, wanted to cry. What they felt for each other was almost tangible. She’d never known that kind of intimate caring. She probably never would. Randall’s idea of romance was a few kisses punctuated with groping. He might make an excellent doctor, but he had a long way to go as even a lukewarm lover. And he wasn’t, could never be, Evan.

  She sipped her punch while Randall spoke to someone he knew from the hospital. She wouldn’t look at the door, she absolutely wouldn’t. She wasn’t going to give Evan the satisfaction of knowing that he was killing her with his indifference.

  “Finally, something to drink!” came a husky, purring voice from behind her. “Hello, Anna!” Nina Ray said, smiling faintly. “I hope that punch is spiked. I really need a drink. Evan had to park almost in the pond! My feet are killing me from so much walking.”

  “That’s nothing unusual is it, for a model?” Evan taunted.

  Anna couldn’t meet his eyes. She glanced at his white shirt and black tie and dinner jacket and averted her gaze to gorgeously dark Nina in a white and black gown that put everyone else’s dresses to shame.

  “You look great,” Anna said sincerely. “I see you all the time in fashion magazines. For a small-town girl, you sure hit it big.”

  “I had a lot of help, lovey,” Nina mused. She glanced up at Evan with a self-confident sexiness that made Anna grind her teeth in frustration. She’d never learn how to do that.

  “Where’s Polly?” Evan asked as he filled punch cups for Nina and then himself.

  “Circulating,” Anna said, smiling. “She’s very much the lady of the hour.”

  “She deserves it,” Evan replied. “That mall will bring in a lot of new businesses, and plenty of revenue.”

  “Everything helps to swell the tax base,” Randall remarked, joining them. He smiled at Nina. “You look lovely!” he enthused, and Anna could have hit him. He hadn’t been half that vocal about her own appearance.

  “Thank you. And who’s this?” Nina asked, her dark eyes flirting with Randall.

  “Randall Wayne,” he said, taking her slender hand in his. He actually kissed the knuckles, just above the red-painted nails. “Nice to meet you, Miss Ray.”

  Nina beamed. “You know who I am?”

  “Everyone does. Your face is unmistakable. I see it on magazine covers all the time.”

  “Yes.” Nina sighed complacently. “My career has taken off since Evan helped me find that new agency.”

  “Anything to help,” Evan said suavely. He was trying not to notice Anna and failing miserably. In that silver gown, her exquisite skin was displayed almost too blatantly. Her honey-brown tan made her complexion even prettier and emphasized her big blue eyes. It was an effort to keep away from her.

  “The band is very good,” Nina remarked. “Evan, do let’s dance!”

  She took his hand and headed for the dance floor without giving him time to spe
ak to Randall or Anna. Not that he would have, anyway, Anna thought. He was giving her a blatant message—hands off. She lifted her cup of punch to her lips with a sigh.

  “This punch needs help,” one of the guests remarked, slipping a bottle of whiskey from under his dinner jacket. “Here goes!”

  Anna watched him fill the bowl with a wry grin. She knew one of the guests would have hives if he saw that. Evan didn’t like punch, though, so there was little likelihood that he’d imbibe. He hated alcohol. Anna had heard that he actually took a glass of wine back to the kitchen one night when he was having dinner with Justin and Shelby Ballenger.

  She mentioned that to Randall after the punch spiker had sampled his handiwork and retired to the dance floor with his partner.

  “Yes, I heard about that,” Randall remarked. “Justin and Shelby have three boys now, haven’t they?”

  “Yes. They’re neck and neck with Calhoun and Abby.”

  “They have two boys and a girl,” he reminded her. “I heard Harden and Evan’s brother Connal mention it at a party I attended a week ago.”

  She laughed gently. “Connal insisted that Calhoun and Abby had a daughter just after their second child was born. They don’t. They have a son named Terry, and when Connal heard the name, he assumed they’d gotten the daughter they wanted. He knows better now, of course, but it’s become something of a family joke. Not that anybody mentions it to Calhoun or Abby.”

  “Terry is kind of a unisex name,” Randall said.

  “It’s short for Terrance, which isn’t,” she corrected. “Imagine that—two brothers and six sons and not a girl in the bunch.” She shook her head.

  “What about Shelby’s brother, Tyler?”

  “He and his wife can’t have children,” Anna said with quiet regret. “But they’ve adopted five! Nell was very upset, but Tyler involved her in one of those foster parent programs. In no time, she was knee-deep in kids who’d had no real home at all. They said the children are the greatest miracle of their lives.”

  “A unique solution,” Randall agreed. “One couple in seven is infertile. It must be difficult, although they seem to have found a way to cope with the loss.”