Warner was wrong this time, Cecil thought. He turned away from the perpetual twilight of the woods.
“Obviously, at some point Mary changed her will,” he said patiently.
Ashley came to a halt. “So what are you going to do about it? Warner is sure to offer Lucy more for those shares than we can afford to give her. She’d be a fool not to sell to him.”
“Everyone has a price,” Cecil said, “but that price isn’t always a matter of dollars and cents.”
“What do you mean?”
“If Lucy Sheridan was simply after the highest price she could get, she would have made that clear up front. Instead, she’s holding out for something else.”
Ashley spread her hands. “What else is there?”
“I’m not one hundred percent positive, but I think she may want answers.”
“Answers to what?”
“I think she’s got some questions about her aunt’s death.”
“That’s ridiculous. Sara Sheridan and Mary Colfax died in a car accident. End of story.”
“It might have been easier for Lucy to believe that if she hadn’t discovered Brinker’s body in her aunt’s fireplace.”
Ashley turned her back to him, wrapped her arms beneath her br**sts and stared out into the trees.
“According to the media, Sara Sheridan murdered Brinker thirteen years ago,” she said. “What can his death possibly have to do with those shares?”
“I don’t know.” Cecil moved to stand behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed the side of her throat. “Stop worrying. I’ll figure out what is going on, and then I’ll deal with it.”
“You’d better deal with it quickly. The clock is ticking now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Warner is getting impatient. I’ve stalled as long as I can. We’ve been married for over eight months. According to the terms of that damn prenup, I won’t get a dime out of him if I’m not pregnant within a year of the wedding.”
“I know.”
“I’m not about to have his baby, so my only hope of getting my money is that merger. If Warner finds out that I’m using protection, he’ll file for divorce immediately.”
“Just give me a little more time.”
“Tell me you have a plan to deal with Lucy Sheridan.”
“I have a plan.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Ashley spun around. “It would be bad enough if Warner dumped me because he believed that I couldn’t get pregnant. If he found out that I have no intention of trying to give him a spare heir—that I’m just hanging on because of the merger—I’m not sure what he might do. He’s got a temper.”
Cecil frowned. “Do you think he might become violent?”
“If he thinks I’ve betrayed him, yes,” Ashley said. She shivered. “Yes, I think he might become violent.”
Cecil tipped up her chin. “Don’t worry. I’m in this for the money, just like you and Quinn and Jillian. If the merger doesn’t happen, I don’t get my payday, either. Trust me, I’ve got all of our best interests at heart.”
“I know.” She sighed. “It’s just that sometimes I get scared.”
“I’ll take care of you.”
Ashley gave him a misty smile. “I know.”
He drew her down the hall and into the bedroom. It was such a rush to screw the client’s wife.
30
Lucy was braced for Mason to try to hurry her through dinner, but much to her amazement, he did no such thing. It was as if they were lovers who had been together long enough to be comfortable with what lay ahead, she decided. No rush. No pressure. But she had seen the masculine anticipation in his eyes all afternoon and sensed the heat of a low-burning fire inside him. Every time he touched her she was aware that he wanted her.
That afternoon, while he was inside the lodge, she had silenced the notification chirps on her phone. It was her way of making a commitment, she thought. Not a long-term commitment, just a commitment to the night. But it was a commitment of sorts.
She knew that he was impatient, marking time until they went back to the lodge. But now, after a slow meal of crab cakes and roasted sweet-potato fries, he seemed willing to linger indefinitely over coffee and the ice cream they had ordered for dessert.
It was as if now that he knew the end of the sensual game was in sight he was content to let her take her time before he took her to bed.
She wondered if he knew that he was not the only one balanced on the precarious cliff above the dark waters of desire. She was thrilled, but at the same time more nervous than she had expected. The truth was that, deep down, she was a little scared. She was not sure how to deal with the complex mix of emotions that he had stirred up inside her.
Feminine intuition was warning her that whatever happened between them tonight would change everything. He had been right when he’d remarked that she’d had one foot out the door throughout her engagement. She’d had one foot out the door in each of the handful of other serious relationships she’d been involved in as well.
But she had the feeling that tonight she was not taking a tentative step into a strange room to see if she wanted to stay or not. An entirely different metaphor was required. Tonight she would be jumping into an unknown sea without a life preserver.
The thought made her smile. Maybe there was something to all that thundering-water imagery in those erectile-dysfunction commercials. She could swim, but that did not mean she would escape unscathed when things ended. And in her experience, things always ended. Furthermore, they tended to do so sooner rather than later.
But for now she was determined to live in the moment. Sitting across from Mason at the candlelit table, she could see that he had made a similar decision. They were two adults going into the night with their eyes wide open. Tomorrow would take care of itself.
When the check arrived, she did not offer to bring out her credit card. Mason was trying to give the night to her as a gift. She had to respect that. Someday, if they stayed together long enough, she would give him something special, too.
He finally put his empty cup down on the saucer and looked at her.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
An unfamiliar sense of certainty settled into her. She wanted this night; she wanted it with all her heart.
“Yes,” she said.
They walked back along the wharf to the lodge and through the lobby. Lucy’s certainty did not waver, but she could not deny the tension building inside her. She had to be prepared to give the best performance of her usually insipid love life. In her admittedly limited experience, most men had no difficulty believing in a well-acted orgasm, but she had a feeling Mason might be able to detect a fake unless it was a very good replica.