AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re saying you want to have sex with her,” Nash said dryly.
“No.” The denial was instant. “I mean, yes, I want her, but it’s more than just sex.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Hudson asked. “Do you want her back, or is this a summer thing?”
Travis spied an eagle soaring over the water. It skimmed low across the lake, rising into the air and then dipping back, dragging its claws across the surface as it headed toward the forest that rose from the far shore. He thought back to the other night. To the expression in Ruby’s eyes. To the sound of her voice. The tremble as she spoke.
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “It’s not about wanting her back. It’s about making it work.”
“You have to be sure,” Hudson said, shaking his head. “You don’t want to open up old wounds for
nothing. You could end up pushing her farther away.”
Irritated, Travis looked at his brother. “If I could just track her down, I can make her see that we should at least try. Five minutes. That’s all I need.”
“Christ, you’ve got an inflated ego.” Hudson snorted. “Only five minutes?”
“I can give you at least fifty.”
Both men looked at Nash. “What do you mean?” Travis asked.
“At the charity golf dinner, I managed to snag the winning bid for a full-body massage at Ruby’s spa.” He paused, grinning wickedly. “It was offered up by the owner, which would be your ex.”
“I’ll double whatever you paid.” Travis shot up.
“Triple it,” Nash retorted.
“Done.”
“Don’t you want to know how much I paid?”
Travis shook his head. “Nope. Don’t care. When’s your appointment?”
“Tomorrow at four.”
Travis’s grin faded as he stared at the man across from him, and something dark curled in his gut. “You were going to get a massage from my Ruby?”
“First off, that woman doesn’t belong to anyone but herself. And secondly, hell no,” Nash said with a chuckle. “It was for my mother, but now I can get her an entire year’s worth of fancy treatments at that spa with what you’re going to give me.”
Nash scratched his chin and grabbed a cold beer from the bucket. “Just don’t screw it up, because if you piss her off, she’ll kick both of our asses. And while you’d enjoy it, it’s not something I look forward to. I’ve got enough complications in my life right now without adding Ruby Montgomery into the mix.”
“Complications.” Hudson looked at his friend. “What’s that all about?”
Nash scowled. “You don’t want to know.”
“I kinda do,” Hudson replied with a chuckle.
Travis however, wasn’t paying attention because his mind was already on tomorrow. He had a plan, or at least the beginning of one. It wasn’t perfect. Hell, it wasn’t even thought out, which meant there was lots of room for error. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. All he needed was five minutes.
At least, he hoped so.
Chapter 12
Ruby didn’t look up when Jaylene walked into her office, because she’d been expecting her assistant. It was nearly five o’clock and had been hours since she’d grabbed a muffin and a coffee. When Jaylene offered to get her a bowl of butternut squash soup from The Blue Elephant, she’d happily agreed. Of course, she could have had someone from the restaurant run the soup up, but Jaylene had been flirting with Steven, one of the kitchen staff, for weeks now, and who was Ruby to stand in the way of that?
Besides, she had other things to worry about. She was nose-deep in catalogs and samples, trying to decide on a color scheme and “look” for the new bungalows being built adjacent to the main building. The painter needed her decision ASAP, and how could she offer the right choice when she was still unsure if she wanted a fresh Nantucket beach feel, or sultry Caribbean? She’d been finding it hard to concentrate all week. The reason was obvious. All six feet three inches of him.
Trying to block Travis Blackwell from her mind was exhausting.
