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“I dumped her because she took everything I said literally. You’ve got to admit, Annabelle, that’s just disconcerting. I made her so nervous she couldn’t eat, not that she did much of it anyway. It was an act of mercy.”
“You do that to women. I know you try not to, but it still happens. It’s your looks. Except for Heath, you’re my most challenging client.”
“I am not your client, Annabelle,” he retorted. “I don’t pay you a cent.”
“Pro bono,” she chirped, looking so pleased with herself that both Dean and Heath laughed.
Dean grabbed his rental car keys from the coffee table. “Look, Annabelle. I came back to the city for the weekend so I could pack some things to ship to the farm and catch up on all the business your husband has been throwing at me. There’s nothing earthshaking going on in my life.”
Now that was a lie.
As he drove to the airport, he thought about Blue and contemplated how easily he’d given himself over to the dark side. And for what? Emptying out her wallet didn’t guarantee she’d stay in place. If she made up her mind to leave the farm, she’d do it, even if it meant sleeping on a park bench. She’d only stayed around this long because so much had happened. He hoped April had been able to drag her to those estate sales in Knoxville over the weekend because he didn’t want to think about returning to the farm and finding Blue gone.
Blue sat on the porch step, cradling her second cup of Monday morning coffee and trying to appear relaxed as she watched Dean riding toward her down the lane. She’d spotted his car keys on the kitchen counter when she’d gotten up this morning, but he hadn’t come to the caravan, and this was the first time she’d seen him since he’d taken off on Friday.
He was riding a high-tech gunmetal gray road bike that could have carried Lance Armstrong up the Champs-Élysées. He looked magnificent, almost futuristic, as though he belonged in a big budget sci-fi movie. Sunlight bounced off an aerodynamic silver helmet, and powerful leg muscles rippled beneath a pair of skintight electric blue bike shorts. Her own leg muscles felt wobbly just watching, and an unacceptable pang of longing pierced her heart.
He drew up to the end of the old brick walk. It was barely eight o’clock, but judging from the sweat glistening on his neck and the damp cling of the green mesh shirt to that amazing chest, he’d been doing some serious riding. Blue forced herself to get a grip. She nodded toward the bike. “Nice.
How long have the training wheels been off?”
“Big talk from somebody who looks like she lives in a toy box.” He swung his leg over the frame and walked the bike toward her. “I decided it was time I stopped messing around and started getting back in shape.”
She couldn’t help gaping. “You were out of shape?”
“Let’s just say I’ve slacked off more than I should have since the season ended.” He pulled off his helmet and hung it over the handlebars. “I’m turning that back bedroom into a weight room. I don’t believe in showing up for training camp flabby and overweight.”
“Not to worry.”
He smiled and tunneled his fingers through his sweaty, flattened hair, which instantly rearranged itself into a sexy rumple. “April e-mailed me photos of the paintings and antiques the two of you found in Knoxville this weekend. Thanks for going with her. The pieces will look good with the new furniture I ordered.”
Blue had seriously considered setting her pride aside and asking April for a small loan. With all Knoxville’s great neighborhoods, she wouldn’t have had any trouble finding clients, and she could have repaid April in no time. But she hadn’t asked. Just like a kid playing with matches, she’d come back. She had to see what would happen next.
“So how was your weekend?” She managed to set aside her cup without slopping any coffee over the rim.
“Filled with alcohol and rampant sex. Yours?”
“Pretty much the same.”
He smiled again. “I flew to Chicago. I had some business to take care of. And Annabelle was the only woman I spent any time with while I was there, in case you’re interested.”
She was very interested. She curled her lip. “Like I care.”
He pulled a water bottle from the bike and tilted his head toward the barn. “I had the shop deliver two bikes. The second one’s a smaller hybrid. Use it whenever you want.”
She stood up so she could give him her best hard-ass look. “I’d thank you for that, but my gratitude ran out when I discovered that my hooker money is missing from my wallet. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“Yeah, sorry.” He propped his foot on the bottom step and took a slug from the bottle. “I needed some change.”
“Fifty-dollar bills aren’t change.”
“They are in my world.” He snapped the cap back on.
“You are so obnoxious! I should have stayed in Knoxville.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She sauntered down the steps, or at least she hoped it looked like sauntering. “Because I’m praying Jack will come back. Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m almost positive I’ll be able to work up the nerve to ask for his autograph.”
