Lone Star Legacy: Relentless Pursuit

She took it, tucking it into a pocket. “Thank you. Right now, I have plenty of my own material I can use.”

“After the past week and the coming week of staying here and working with Caroline every day, my guess is that by this weekend, you might enjoy an evening out. How about Saturday night?”

Saturday night out with Will Delaney sounded wonderful, but it meant getting sidetracked from the plans for her future even more. He grew more tempting daily and the risk of an affair was constant. Any affair for her would involve her heart and later, it would mean heartbreak, because Will would end it. Yet how tempting it was to think about Saturday night with him.

“I haven’t changed my mind about keeping this job separate from my private life. I’m here to work with Caroline. That’s all.” The words came out automatically, but it hurt to refuse.

He leaned closer, placing his hands on the chair arms on either side of her, hemming her in. Only inches away, his dark eyes consumed her. It was difficult to get her breath and her pulse raced. “You’re scared of life.”

“You got your way about this summer. Stop while you’re ahead. I’ve already explained to you, I don’t want to get tied up emotionally with someone.” She could barely get her breath to talk. “The minute Caroline goes to kindergarten in the fall, I will go back to my plans for my school. Particularly now that I have funds. I’m not getting distracted from my goals. I’m going to achieve what I’ve always dreamed about. And I’m not having a short affair with you, which is what dinner would lead to. Thank you, but we’re not going out to dinner.” Her voice was breathless and she was beginning to lose her train of thought and get lost in his dark eyes. He was too close, too appealing, too persistent. “We need to keep this a professional relationship. Treat me the same way you do Rosalyn or Edwina,” she added.

“That’s not at all the same thing and you know it. I’d be asking this if you hadn’t come to work for me. You’re scared to live again. One dinner and dancing isn’t that big a deal. It’s not an affair.”

“You know that’s not all you’re asking for. It’s a distraction I don’t need,” she whispered while he focused on her mouth.

“You’re a distraction I do need,” he replied, leaning close to cover her mouth with his.

Desire blazed in her. While her pulse roared in her ears, her heart pounded. His arm slipped around her waist then tightened before he lifted her to his lap and settled her against his shoulder. His kisses awakened responses unfelt in years. Heat and need grew vital. His boldness consumed her caution as her resistance crumbled.

The distant moan was her own voice, dim in her ears. He held her tightly while she had her hands against his chest.

When he raised his head slightly, she opened her eyes. Dazed, she wanted to pull him back to kiss her again.

“You’re ready for a night out. Go out with me Saturday night—you’re not making any kind of commitment beyond joining me for dinner away from here instead of eating the way we usually do.”

She slid her arm around his neck. “Yes,” she whispered, pulling his head down to kiss him again.

Surprise flared in his dark eyes before he kissed her. Relishing their kisses, she closed her eyes. From head to toe she tingled while heat pooled low in her body and an ache built.

Desire spiraled, burning hotly. Ava ran her hand over his broad shoulder, down over his chest while he caressed her nape. Slipping his hand down her back, he pulled her shirt free from her slacks. His warm hand caressed her bare back. Sitting up, she slid off his lap to return to her chair.

“You agreed to go out Saturday,” he reminded her and she nodded. She had gone against her own good judgment and plans. Even so, excitement hummed and she couldn’t take back her agreement. Just one Saturday night dinner. A few kisses. Nothing more—she could do that without heartbreak.

“Are you in contact at all with Caroline when you’re away?”

“Yes. Since we have Skype, I call her daily. She is as silent as when I talk to her in person, but with Skype we’re face-to-face.”

“That’s good to keep the contact and let her know you’re interested.”

“For the first time since I became her guardian, I feel better about everything concerning her.”

“You’re reading too much into the one tiny response I got from her.”

“No, that was not tiny. It was monumental. A breakthrough.”

“Will, stop setting yourself up for a big disappointment. I hope I can reach her, but that one response is no indication. We’ll just take it one day at a time.”

He smiled as if she had told him he couldn’t be certain the sun would rise tomorrow. Exasperated by his high expectations, she shook her head. “Does your mother see her often?”

“No. My mother packed and left when she divorced my father. She married again, moved to Chicago where she was originally from and never looked back. We hear from her several times a year, see her about once a year. She’s not excited over becoming a grandmother and really has no interest in Caroline, particularly since Adam’s death.”

“That’s too bad. I adored my grandmother—the one I knew. The other one died when I was small and I never really knew her. I can barely remember her.”

“My mother doesn’t deal well with people who have problems. She is not a patient person. Ironically, she does a lot of volunteer work, but it’s in the arts, the symphony, that type of thing. She’ll be present for the reading of Dad’s will, I’m sure. She’ll expect to inherit a large amount and she probably will. When it came to money, he was always generous to her.”

“He never married again?”

“No. I don’t think he wanted to commit. He was sour on marriage. There were women around, but no more marriages.”

“Will your brothers be here when the will is read?”

“Sure. Even Zach will come home. You’ll meet them all. They already know about you and that you’re going to work with Caroline. Do your sisters know you accepted my offer?”

“Oh, yes. So do my folks. Trinity and I have been together this past week.”

“So tell me about Trinity and Summer.” While she talked he took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. He was still, and it would be ridiculous to protest the slight touch, so she talked about her sisters. Words came automatically while most of her attention was on the slight physical contact she had with him. Even though it was almost nothing, she tingled to her toes from it.

Conversation shifted and changed to a variety of topics until the moon was high. Ava stood. “It’s definitely time to turn in.”

He walked inside with her, talking about the coming week. At her door he slipped his arm around her waist to pull her close. This time she didn’t protest, but moved eagerly into his embrace, her arm encircling his neck.

Kisses grew heated, lengthening while he pulled her tightly against him, his hand exploring her back, slipping down over her bottom, up again over her back until she stepped out of his embrace.

“It’s later than ever. Good night, Will.”

Brushing a kiss on her lips, he smiled. “Until tomorrow.”

She closed the door to her suite, moving through the empty room quietly, wondering if she would get to sleep for the few hours left in the night. What had she gotten herself into?

He was quickly becoming irresistible to her.

By the time Ava finished breakfast the next morning, Will had left for his business trip. Ava sat on the playroom floor with Caroline and pulled a box from her tote bag. “I thought maybe you like to play games. I have one I hope you’ll like. We can try, and if you don’t like playing, we’ll stop,” Ava said, getting out a deck of cards. “See, they’re princess cards and each card has a letter on it. First let’s arrange them in the order of the alphabet and you can see the princesses.”

Ava began laying out the cards. “There are two identical cards that each have the same letter. Here are two cards with A and Princess Ann. Here are two B cards with Princess Brianna. Next, Princess Carolyn. And then Princess Dorothy. Now, what card comes next?” she said, spreading out five scrambled cards.

While Caroline sat quietly, Ava remained still, waiting to give Caroline a chance to participate. After five minutes had ticked past, Caroline pulled Princess Eileen and placed it in the row.

“Excellent,” Ava said. “I’ll do the next. Here’s Princess Fiona. We can mix these all up and play a matching game.”

She slowly went through the simple rules as they began to play. She had wondered whether Caroline would play or not, but the girl began to respond, her mind quick and her memory good.

From the game they went to books, and Ava read to Caroline, but once again, she let Caroline turn pages and knew that Caroline was reading along with her. They worked on letters and numbers through books and games until almost noon.

“Want to swim before lunch?”

Caroline was always slow to respond if she did at all. She gazed back at Ava with huge brown eyes and nodded her head.

“Great. I’m ready for a swim. Let’s put on our suits. Do you know where your swimsuit is?”