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Barring that, he could at least let the dogs out.
He opened his bedroom door, wondering if Johanna was up yet. He didn’t hear her so he assumed not. The wide-open barn space sprawled in front of him. The dogs sat up, one, two, three—tails wagging, tongues lolling out. They launched off their beds behind the sofa in unison but thank God, not barking. He knelt, petting each to keep them quiet. Then he snapped his fingers to lead them to the door. Walking past the couch, he almost stopped short. Johanna slept on the sofa, wrapped in a quilt, still wearing her sundress from yesterday.
His gaze stayed on her even as he waved the dogs outside, then he turned to face her fully and enjoy a view that far exceeded anything outside. Many nights he’d watched her sleep, her face relaxed, her stubborn chin softened a bit. Her long lashes brushed her sun-kissed cheeks. His body went hard all over again, his jeans more and more uncomfortable. He needed to get himself under control before she woke.
Padding barefoot across the room, he quietly put together the coffeepot. A crystal cake plate and cover displayed a selection of pastries big enough to feed them twice over. He grabbed a bear claw, wishing his other hunger was as easy to satisfy.
As the coffee gurgled the scent of java into the air, he felt the weight of eyes studying him. He already knew. Johanna. The connection that threatened to drive him mad was alive and well.
He pulled two stoneware mugs off the hooks under the cabinets. “Sorry I woke you.”
A rustle from the sofa sounded, and her reflection came to life in the window pane over the sink.
“It’s okay. I was just catnapping anyway.” Johanna stretched her arms over her head. “It was tough to sleep after we argued.”
“That wasn’t an argument. I consider that a very revealing discussion we should have had a long time ago.” He poured coffee into both mugs. Black. They both drank it the same way, strong and undiluted by sugar or cream. The only thing it seemed they still had in common. He picked up both and walked toward her.
“What would talking about my insecurities have changed?” Her bare toes curled against the rustic braid rug. “Do you think our breakup would have hurt any less? I can’t imagine how.”
“True enough.” He passed her a mug, wishing he could find a way to be with her without tearing them both apart. “Truce?”
She took the mug, wrapping both hands around the mug, brushing his fingers. The ever-ready attraction crackled. He saw it echoed in her eyes, along with wariness.
“Truce,” she repeated, sipping the coffee carefully. “Where to next?”
“Travel day, actually. I’ve got work to catch up on this morning.” Not a total lie, since he always had work. “Then we’ll fly out this afternoon to take Sterling to his new family in South Carolina.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask who your grandmother lined up next. The president?”
“Just a former secretary of state.”
She coughed a mouthful of coffee. “I was joking.”
“I’m not.” His grandmother moved in influential circles. He hadn’t given a second thought to the families she had chosen. They were longtime friends. But he hadn’t thought of how visiting these high-profile people would go over with Johanna. How many times had he tossed her into the middle of unfamiliar, perhaps even intimidating gatherings with no warning? Hell, he hadn’t even given her any direction on how to pack, just offering to buy what she needed.
He’d hoped to use this time together to find peace for his grandmother—but also to find closure with Johanna. Okay, and also to have lots of sex with Johanna until they both were too exhausted to argue about the past. Then they could move on.
Clearly, his plan wasn’t working out because he was falling into an old pattern of charging ahead and expecting her to follow. She didn’t trust him and if she didn’t trust him, there wasn’t a chance in hell they could sleep together again.
He couldn’t change the past, and he’d accepted they couldn’t have a future together.
Although he could damn well do something about the present. For starters, he could share the details about their travel plans. But he would have to dig a lot deeper than that to fully regain her trust.
He sat beside her on the fat sectional sofa, trying to start right now, by including her in the plan for the week. “We’ll be visiting the Landis-Renshaw family in Hilton Head. They’ve vacationed at the ranch before. As a matter of fact, they rented the whole place once for a family reunion .”
“That would be quite a who’s who of family reunion s.”
And he hadn’t even told her their third stop would be to meet with a deposed European king.
* * *
Johanna welcomed the bustle of their travel day to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Stone had arranged for accommodations in a pet-friendly beach cottage with plenty of space for the dogs to run. They would meet with the Landis-Renshaw family in the morning.
Other cottages dotted the shoreline, but with an exclusivity that brought privacy. One other couple and a small family played in the surf, but otherwise she and Stone were on their own. She’d sensed a change in him earlier as he’d shared his plans for the South Carolina portion of their trip. He was genuinely attempting to include her, rather than simply taking charge.
So far, the truce they’d declared had held, due in large part to how he’d included her. That helped her relax, taking away a layer of tension she hadn’t even realized existed. She’d been worrying about the unknown.
She sat cross-legged on the wooden deck, a dozen steps away from him. The dogs curled up around her and she checked over each of them, making sure they hadn’t picked up ticks in Vermont or sand spurs from their run along the beach earlier. She finished with Pearl, the search more extensive given the cairn terrier’s longer fur.
Stone walked out of the surf like Poseidon emerging from the depths of the ocean. Big. Powerful. The hazy glow of the ending day cast him in shadows, his dark hair even blacker slicked with water. She’d always known Stone the cowboy entranced her more than Stone the CEO.
But Stone nearly naked absolutely melted her.
She forced her attention back to Pearl to keep from drooling over Stone in swim trunks. Her skin prickled with awareness as he opened the porch gate and walked past her. She heard the rattle of ice as he poured a glass of sweet tea before he dropped into one of the Adirondack loungers.
“How was the water?” She released Pearl to play with the other two dogs on the fenced deck.
“Good, good.” He set his glass aside. “Everything okay with the dogs?”
They sounded like any other couple catching up at the end of the day, except there was this aching tension between them. “They all checked out fine. Just a couple of sandspurs on Pearl. I trimmed their nails, and I’ll want to bathe them all after they run on the beach again. Otherwise, they’re all set to meet their new families.”
He swung his feet around, elbows on his knees. “You’re a nurturer. It’s in your blood.”
Her hands clenched into fists to resist the urge to sweep sand from the hair on his legs. “Are you trying to needle me with the nurturer comment?”
“I’m just stating a fact. You’ll make a great mother someday.”
The humid night air grew thicker, her chest constricting. “You’re good with children. The natural way you held little T.J....I just don’t understand you.”
“I’m good with horses, too. That doesn’t mean I’m supposed to be a jockey,” he said wryly.
“I wasn’t insinuating you should be a father. You’ve been honest about your feelings on that subject. It just took me a while to stop thinking I could change your mind.” Hugging her knees, she studied him in the fading light.
“I’ve always tried to be careful that women didn’t get the wrong idea about me and wedding bells...until you.”
That should have meant something, but it only served to increase the ache. “You’re a playboy married to your work.” She exhaled hard. “I get that. Totally.”
Stone went quiet again for so long she thought they might be returning to the silent truce again. Awkward and painful.
Then Stone stood, walking to the rail and staring out at the ocean. “My father.”
Rising, she moved to stand beside him, wind pulling at the whispery cover-up over her bikini. “What do you mean?”
His father had been an off-limits topic for as long as she’d known him. Not even Mariah brought up the subject. Stone had always said that according to his mom, his paternity was a mystery. Was he opening up to her on a deeper level, including her in more than a few travel plans?
“I found out.” His voice came out hoarse and a little harsh as he continued to look out at the foaming waves.
She rested a hand on his arm tentatively, not sure how he would react but unable to deny him some comfort during what had to be a difficult revelation. “I wish you would have told me.”
