Who's Cheatin' Who?

“From what I’ve seen, you have the makings of a first-class facility,” she said while they headed up the crushed stone path toward the big house.

“It will be. After Demetri’s renovations are finished on the main house, the place will be top-notch. Unfortunately, that’s going to take a while.”

“Speaking of Demetri, where is he?”

“Rome. Elizabeth’s doing a couple of concerts in Italy. Apparently he can’t go for more than a few days without seeing your cousin.”

“True love,” Melanie said and smiled. “I got an e-mail from her saying they’re trying to schedule a wedding date for next year between her tours.” While they continued up the path, Melanie swept a hand toward a mass of flower beds. “By then, Elizabeth will have had all these beds planted. It’ll be gorgeous around here when everything blooms.”

Marcus paused at the edge of the brick patio and turned to face her. “Will you be here with me to see all those flowers?”

Melanie felt a flutter in her stomach. She knew exactly how she would like to be with him. Down, girl, she told herself.

“That depends,” she said evenly.

“On?”

“Three things.”

“I’m listening.”

“When we went through the stables, you outlined a few renovations you and Demetri plan to make. I’d like you to agree to three more.”

She saw caution kick into his dark eyes. “What sort of renovations?”

“As you know, I’ve been studying new stable management theories. One being how important it is to pay attention to the flow of energy.”

Marcus’s brow furrowed. “How exactly do you do that?”

“By placing doors and windows in the right orientation.”

“That’s the only theory you’ve been studying?” he asked neutrally.

“No, color,” she said. “Horses don’t see color the way we do, but they can differentiate various hues. Everything in your stable is painted a dingy gray. It’s depressing, to people and horses. Also, there’s no music.”

Marcus stared at her for so long that Melanie felt the urge to squirm. Then he gripped her elbow and nudged her along the path that led to the two-story brick building she’d noticed earlier

“There are two apartments on the upper level,” he explained. “If you take the job, the one on the south will be yours.”

“Who lives in the other one?”

“I do.”

Side by side, they headed up one of the building’s gleaming white staircases. Melanie didn’t ask if he intended to agree to the changes she’d suggested for the stables. Patience, she told herself as they stepped onto the wooden balcony that spanned the building’s front. She would find out soon enough.

Marcus slid a key into the lock of the nearest door, swung it open. “I realize this is much smaller than you’re used to, but it’s nice.”

She stepped past him into a bright, cozy room with pale yellow walls and a shining oak floor. A tan leather sofa and matching chair sat in front of a small brick fireplace. Melanie could see rambling hills through the wide sheer-draped windows.

New, top-of-the-line appliances sparkled in the kitchen. A tub with jets took up one corner of the tidy bathroom. The walls of the bedroom were painted a pale blue; sheer white curtains hung at the two windows. The soft blue and white were repeated in the bedspread, and a round rug spread a pool of color on the wooden floor. A framed mirror hung over the whitewashed pine dresser.

Marcus had remained in the bedroom’s doorway, one shoulder propped against the jamb. She met his gaze in the mirror. “These quarters are more than nice.”

“Glad you think so. You said your taking the job depends on three things. You told me one. What’s another?”

“For the past five years, I’ve sponsored a summer mentor program for students. I’d like to continue it.”

Their gazes were still locked on each other’s mirrored reflection.

“I worked at Quest this past summer,” Marcus said. “I don’t recall your program.”

“I put it on hold this year.” Her chest tightened at the thought of how many things the DNA discrepancy had touched. “I was busy working with Robbie, trying to get Something To Talk About up to speed.”

“Which you did,” Marcus acknowledged. “A lot of stables use working students during the summer. In exchange for all the chores they do, they get riding lessons and room and board. Is that the type of program you’re talking about?”

“No. The kids I work with all want to be jockeys and their riding skills have to already be at a certain level. I give each student a one-on-one inside look at a jockey’s life. We work on their form, I teach them signs to watch for while they’re riding that might indicate a horse has an injury. And what to look for in a horse’s performance so they can tell the trainer what’s going on.” Melanie pursed her lips. “That would benefit you.”

In the mirror, she watched Marcus push away from the door and move toward her. With every step he took, her pulse beat faster.

“What’s the third condition on your taking the job?”

Here we go, Melanie thought. To buy time, she laid her folded jacket on top of the dresser while she tried to remember her carefully constructed reasons against their further personal involvement that she’d come up with during the sleepless night. Sleepless because of him.

She turned, and discovered he now stood only inches from her. Close enough to make her feel threatened. And tempted.

While the incredible scent of musky aftershave and potent male surrounded her, aroused her, she decided in retrospect that a bedroom probably wasn’t the prime place to have this conversation. Especially since her thought processes had suddenly detoured into wondering how it might feel to toss caution aside, shove him onto the bed and have her way with him.

Which she absolutely, positively was not going to do, she lectured herself. A reminder of the battering her heart had taken by another man who’d shared nothing about himself was all it took for Melanie to square her shoulders and dive in.

“What happened between us in your office at Quest can’t happen again.”

“The kiss, you mean?”

Had his voice actually softened, or was she just imagining that? “Yes. If we’re going to work together, we need to agree on that.”

“It won’t happen again,” he said levelly. “I keep my hands off my coworkers and employees. That’s an unbreakable rule as far as I’m concerned. Does that take care of your concerns?”

“Well.” Melanie blew out a breath. Apparently she was the only one having lust control issues. “Yes, that covers everything,” she said, hoping she sounded as casual as he did.

“Then we shouldn’t have any problem if you decide to take the job.” He raised a dark brow. “Are you going to take it, Melanie?”

He was the most compelling man she’d ever met. His black-as-midnight hair and eyes, the olive cast of his skin that made her think of the time she’d spent racing in sunbaked Spain, his chiseled mouth and strong jaw—they were an absolutely riveting combination.

Which made working with him a huge complication. One she would have to deal with in order to help her family’s precarious financial situation.

She angled her chin. “Are you going to agree to my ideas for the stables?”

“After you explain them to me in depth, I’ll consider them.”