Back in His Bed: Boardroom Rivals, Bedroom Fireworks! / Unfinished Business with the Duke / How to Win the Dating War

No one could wind him up like Brenna could. This debacle of an evening was proof of that. “I’m inclined to agree with you.”

“Then why—?”

“I think we’ve taken this discussion as far as it can go. No sense circling back and rehashing the past again. When you’re ready to sign the sale papers, let me know.” Picking up his towel from where he’d dropped it earlier, he draped it over his shoulders and left her standing there, glaring at him.

It certainly wasn’t for the first time. Oddly, though, this time he felt as if he deserved it.

Watching Jack walk away was like reliving yet another painful scene from their marriage. Except this time there wouldn’t be the fabulous make-up sex later on.

Knees shaking, she made her way carefully to the table and sank into a chair. She heard the door to the house close, and now, safely alone, she let her head drop into her hands. So much had been thrown at her tonight, and she wasn’t sure she could process it all.

This was a nightmare—the kind she couldn’t wake up from. She’d been so close—too close—to giving in to the sensual pull of Jack that if he hadn’t whispered his indecent proposal into her ear at that exact moment she’d probably be happily under him right now.

But to have him offer her…God, it didn’t bear thinking about. She didn’t know which was worse: the fact Jack thought so little of her now he believed she’d be willing to sell herself for Amante Verano, or the fact she’d seriously considered it for a nanosecond.

And how to explain the pain that had shot through her when he withdrew his offer altogether?

No one could rip her apart with the effortless efficiency of Jack Garrett. She’d thought—make that hoped—time and maturity would have made her immune to him. Or that he’d forgotten how.

Tears burned in her eyes. No, she told herself angrily as she took deep breaths. She would not cry over him again. She’d long ago grown weary of crying after one of them walked out, and she was finished with that. It had to be the rehashing that had her so close to blubbering again.

She’d loved him so much back then, but over the years she’d decided it had been a one-sided affair. To have him say he’d loved her? To hear that she’d hurt him when she left? That was a one-two punch she hadn’t seen coming, and her head was still reeling.

Once upon a time she’d believed her love for Jack could solve anything life threw at them. But the cold reality of their endless cycle of fight-truce-sex-fight had shown her how big the gap between them really was. The inability to bridge that gap had always been her secret failure, the thing she’d never admitted to anyone.

But for a few minutes tonight she’d thought they’d almost built that bridge. She’d briefly felt that old connection—the one they’d had in the very beginning, when they could talk for hours about everything and nothing. That feeling had been buried quickly in the ensuing mess, and she felt a pang of disappointment at the loss.

Brenna sighed and lifted her head. Everything looked exactly the same, seeming to belie the upheaval she’d just gone through. The glowing lights from the pool, the bubbling hot tub, the chirp of the crickets and the smell of the flowers created a serene setting designed to soothe—exactly what she’d come looking for tonight. But it was wasted on her now.

Her insides tumbled over each other and her head ached from the emotional extremes and pressure. Even her wine couldn’t calm the storm within her. Grabbing her robe, which she didn’t bother putting on, she concentrated on making her shaky legs move her back to the privacy of her bedroom quickly.

Because, damn it, Jack had made her cry. Again.

Chapter Five (#ulink_cc62fbc2-eb9f-54f1-a259-925f09486256)

“‘EVERY day is a beautiful day at Amante Verano.’ Isn’t that your motto?” Dianne sing-songed the greeting as she poked her head around the lab door and extended a steaming mug in Brenna’s direction.

Brenna accepted the coffee with a grateful smile. After another restless, miserable night, the heady aroma of Di’s high-octane brew was a welcome jolt to her sluggish system. “Ever since you printed it on my coffee mug it is.”

“Then why do you look like someone kicked that puppy you claim you’re going to get?”

She wouldn’t be able to avoid this conversation for long. She might as well go ahead and get it over with. “One guess.”

“Jack.” Dianne pushed a rack of vials and testing supplies to the back of the counter and pulled herself up to sit, her legs swinging gently. “Are you two still fighting? Come on, Brenna, surely there’s a better way to sort this out?”

“I wish. Every conversation—no matter how nice I try to be—always deteriorates into a shouting match. And last night was a nightmare. I thought exes were supposed to get more civil as time progresses. Not us.” Brenna shook her head and leaned back in her chair.

“Unfinished business, I think.”

Brenna stared into her coffee. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Dianne snorted. “Try that with someone who didn’t witness the whole thing. I watched you fall goofystupid in love, elope, and then divorce in less than six months. I also know what that did to you—even if you tried to hide it from everyone else.”

Her stomach was hollow enough at the moment. She didn’t need Dianne making it worse. “Where’s Chloe?” she asked with forced cheerfulness.

“With her father, learning the intricacies of wine-making, testing and probably teething on your new digital refractometer. Now, don’t change the subject.” She shook her head in disappointment. “It was a weak attempt, anyway. No points for effort.”

“I thought it might work there for a minute,” Brenna grumbled.

“With someone else, maybe. But you can’t fool me. Now, spill. What is going on with you two?”

She certainly wasn’t going to go into detail. She still hadn’t made sense of it yet herself. “You know the basics. Then, last night, Jack offered to give me his half of the winery.”

Dianne lit up and she clapped her hands. “That’s fantastic! It’s not perfect, I know, but it beats…” She trailed off as Brenna shook her head slightly. “Oh, no. There’s a ‘but,’ isn’t there? I hate the ‘but.’”

“No ‘but.’ An ‘if.’”

Dianne’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “I’m not following you. An ‘if’? What kind of ‘if’ ?”

Brenna glanced over to make sure the lab door was firmly closed. “Jack offered to give me his half if—” She took a deep breath. “If I slept with him.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re not serious?” Brenna nodded, and Dianne’s jaw dropped. “That’s—that’s—that’s…”

“Disgusting? Amoral?” she offered. “Brilliant? Good business sense? I honestly don’t know.”

“But you didn’t.” Di looked at her carefully. “Did you?”

“No! Do you think I’d be in this bad shape if I was now sole owner?” Brenna leaned back in the chair and took another sip of coffee. “I have to admit, though, it was pretty tempting.” And if she’d given in to that temptation she wouldn’t have been turned inside out by the rest of their conversation.

“And I can see why. You get everything you want just for a little nookie? That’s a helluva return on your investment.” Brenna felt her own eyebrows go up at the words, and Dianne cleared her throat. “Not that you would, though. That would be wrong.”

“I had no idea you had such a practical Machiavellian streak. In some ways it does seem like a relatively minor thing to do—I mean, it’s not like I’ve never had sex with him before.”

“Ah-ha!” Dianne jumped off the counter. “That’s what was tempting you. Not the vineyard. Oh, no. Sex with Jack again was the temptation.”

That much was true. No sense in lying. “Yes. Jack was the temptation. I haven’t forgotten what it was like. I remember every single detail.” Images danced through her memory, bringing a physical response. “Vividly.”

“So do I, and I only heard them from you,” Di said, fanning herself.

“But I’m not stupid. Physically and financially it sounds like a pretty decent deal, but honestly—and if you repeat this I’ll kill you—I’m afraid it would hurt too much. In here.” She placed a hand over her chest.

“Afraid you wouldn’t be able to respect yourself in the morning?”

“That, too.” She’d come to several conclusions in the wee hours of the morning. Including that one.

“Ahh.” Dianne bit her lip. She understood. “Jack still has a piece of you. I suspected as much.”

“I don’t know how or why, but, yeah, it seems he does. You’d think I’d be over him by now. It’s been a long time.”