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“Already done.”
“You are efficient, aren’t you?”
“I don’t get much of a chance to show off anymore. It feels good,” Louise admitted, holding up the clear bowl of fruit for Tiffany’s inspection. The cut crystal sparkled in the late morning light.
“Beautiful,” she murmured, and the housekeeper beamed. “If you’re sure there’s nothing I can do . . .”
“Scat! Will ya?” Louise instructed with a severe frown that broke down completely as she laughed.
Tiffany chuckled. “All right. I’ll be down in about twenty minutes.”
She walked toward the stairs and remembered the times she and Ellery had entertained. It had been often and grand. Louise had always enjoyed “putting out a spread” as she had called it. Ellery had insisted that entertaining potential buyers was all part of the business, and he had been at his best when dressed in a black tuxedo and contrasting burgundy cummerbund while balancing a glass of champagne between his long, well-manicured fingers.
It seemed like aeons ago. And all that time, while Tiffany was married to Ellery, he was probably leading a double life as a stranger named Ethan Rivers, and having an affair with Zane Sheridan’s ex-wife, Stasia.
Tiffany’s heart twisted painfully and she balled small fists in frustration. How could she have been so blind?
It would be easy to blame it on youth or naivete, but the truth of the matter was that she had been so anxious to love someone and have him love her in return, she had closed her eyes to the possibility that her husband had been anything but what she had wanted to see.
Stop punishing yourself,she warned, as she slipped out of her clothes, rewound her hair onto her head and stepped into the shower.It’s over and done!
Or was it? Was Dustin telling the truth when he said that Ellery was dead, or was it just part of a complex cover-up to hide the fact that Devil’s Gambit was alive and that another horse andanother mandied in the fire? Oh, dear God, would Ellery have been involved in anything so vile as murder? The thought turned her blood to ice water and she had to steady herself against the wet tiles. A cold wave of nausea flooded over her, and Tiffany felt for a minute as if she were going to vomit.
“Oh, God,” she cried softly, forcing herself to stand.
No matter what else, she couldn’t—wouldn’t—believe that Ellery would take part in the death of another human being.
She turned off the shower and wrapped herself in a bath sheet without really thinking about what she was doing. With trembling fingers, while her head was still pounding with the cold truth of the past, she dressed in a bright dress of indigo polished silk, and pinned her hair in a tousled chignon. After touching up her makeup and forcing her morbid thoughts to a dark corner of her mind where she could examine them later, she started down the stairs. As she did, the doorbell chimed loudly.
“I’ll get it,” she called to Louise and hurried down the remaining three steps to the foyer and walked to the door, her heels echoing sharply against the imported tile.
Squaring her shoulders, she opened the door, expecting to find Mac’s wife, Emma McDougal. Instead, her eyes met the silvery gaze of the only man who had ever touched her soul.
“Zane,” Tiffany whispered, and felt the need to lean against the door for support. It had been more than a week since she had seen him, and in that time so many truths had been uncovered.
Now, as she looked at the man she loved, Tiffany felt as if she were staring into the eyes of a total stranger.
Chapter Ten
Zane leaned against one of the white columns supporting the roof of the porch and stared at Tiffany. His hands were thrust into the pockets of his jeans, and his slumped posture was meant to be casual, but his shoulder muscles were tight, so tense they ached.
God, she was beautiful, more beautiful than he remembered. Dressed in shimmering blue silk, with her golden brown hair pinned loosely to her crown, Tiffany looked almost regal. A single strand of gold encircled her throat, and thin layers of silk brushed against her knees.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Zane finally spoke. “Are you going out?” he asked, his gray eyes delving into hers. One look at Ellery Rhodes’s widow had destroyed all of Zane’s earlier promises to himself. After the meeting with Griffith just three days ago, he had silently vowed that he would stay away from Ellery Rhodes’s widow. Now, as he gazed into her intriguing blue eyes, he knew that keeping away from her would be impossible. Despite all the excuses he’d made to himself to the contrary, seeing Tiffany again was the single reason he had returned to Rhodes Breeding Farm.
Tiffany, recovering from the shock of seeing him again, managed to square her shoulders and proudly hold his gaze. Though her heartbeat had quickened at the sight of him, she forced herself to remember Dustin’s condemning words.Sheridan’s got a reputation for being ruthless.... Ellery was involved with Zane Sheridan’s wife.
“No,” she finally replied, “I’m not going out.... We’re having a special lunch, sort of a celebration.”
Zane detected new doubts in her exotic blue eyes, doubts that hadn’t clouded her gaze when he had last seen her. The small hairs on the back of his neck prickled in warning. Something was wrong here, and he intended to find out what it was. Silently he cursed himself for staying away so long. In the course of the past week, someone had destroyed all the trust Tiffany had previously felt for him. It didn’t take long to figure out who was to blame, and his fists balled at the thought of Dustin Rhodes.
Zane straightened and walked closer to her. “Tiffany, what’s wrong?” he asked, gently placing his fingers on her shoulders and pulling her close.
“Don’t,” she whispered, knowing that her battle was already lost. She wanted to melt into him. Just seeing him again had been enough to make her heartbeat race in anticipation. Maybe Dustin had been wrong about Zane, maybe he had lied.
She leaned heavily on Zane, letting his strong arms wrap around her. Her face was pressed to his chest, and she could feel the warmth of his breath on her hair, hear the even rhythm of his pounding heart.
Don’t fall under his spell again,a small voice inside her cautioned.Remember what Dustin said about Ellery and Zane’s wife. He’s probably here just to get information about Stasia. He’s been using you all along.
