“This is really yours?”
“You sound like that’s not possible.”
“Hey, that’s not it at all. It’s just that I’m impressed.”
“Impressed, huh?”
“Yeah, impressed. This is a grand old house, and apparently you’ve made a success of operating it as a bed-and-breakfast. To me that’s impressive.”
“I’d like to think so. I know that I love every minute of being an innkeeper, so to speak.”
“You would. It fits your personality to a T.”
Again she wanted to tell him he didn’t know jack about her personality, but she refrained. She was already in water over her head. Why purposely drown herself?
“Did you buy the old place?”
“I’m buying it. Right now the bank and I are partners.”
He chuckled. “I hear you.”
“One of these days, though, it’ll be mine free and clear.”
“You’re that busy?”
“Ruby’s grown, despite the fact that it maintains its status as a quiet country town. Being so close to Austin has given us the tourist boost we needed to grow our economy.”
“I noticed several antique stores as I drove down main street. Ruby never had anything like that before.”
“Again, it’s the boom going on in Austin that’s responsible.”
He looked around for a moment, then faced her again, his eyes probing. If only he didn’t have that certain way of staring at a woman as if she was the only person on the face of the earth. Denton could rival Richard Gere when it came to that feat. At one time she’d loved that. Now she hated it.
“You look great, Grace. Have I told you that?”
A warmth spread through her, which she promptly ignored. “No, but that’s okay. I’d rather talk about you.”
“I’m sure you’re curious.”
“Let’s just say I know you’re not passing through for old time’s sake.”
Did he flush or had she imagined that?
“You’re right,” he said, reaching for his coffee and taking a drink. “I’m here to see a client.”
“In Ruby?” She didn’t bother to mask her astonishment.
“A quirk of fate. What can I say?”
“Whatever,” she said, hearing that breathlessness in her tone again and wishing she could get her act together.
He set his cup down, then crossed an ankle over the other knee. “I’m an investment broker in Dallas, have been for several years now.”
“That’s nice.”
He chuckled. “‘How boring’ is what you’re really saying.”
“I wish you’d stop trying to second-guess me,” she said, trying to control her edginess but failing miserably.
“I was always pretty good at doing that, if you’ll remember.”
His voice had dropped to a husky pitch, and his eyes were so intent on her lips that she felt a rush of color to her face while all the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. “Look—”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to go down that road. It’s just that I never expected to see you again, especially not here in Ruby.”
“Just because you hauled it—”
His lips thinned. “You’re right to be pissed.”
“Look, Denton, I’m not pissed, okay? Let’s just leave the past where it is. Buried.”
“So my car just broke down. How’s that for a mundane topic of conversation?”
Ignoring his hint of sarcasm, she asked, “Where?”
“At the station across the street.” Denton went on to explain what was going on.
“Ah, Raymond’s in charge.” Her lips quirked in a smile. “No doubt he’s proudly displaying that BMW for all the town to see.”
“Reckon?”
They both laughed at Denton’s choice of words. Then, realizing how chummy that sounded, Grace sobered. “What if he can’t fix it?”
“The dealership in Austin will have a loaner car here in no time.”
My, my, how nice, she almost said in a snippy tone, but didn’t. Obviously, he was making money hand over fist. She wondered which rancher in Ruby had the kind of big dollars it would take to invest with him? She wasn’t about to ask, for several reasons, the main one being she wanted to get rid of him. The longer this indulgence stretched itself, the more dangerous it became to her peace of mind, especially with his gaze seemingly fixed on her breasts.
In spite of her efforts to the contrary, the color lingered in her face. “You’re welcome to wait here,” she said, glancing away.
“Are you sure?”
His husky tone drew her back. “I even have a vacant room,” she quipped.
“I just might take you up on that.”
Her jaw went slack. “I didn’t—”
“I know you didn’t mean it, but I do.”
“We both know that’s not going to happen.”
Both of his eyebrows shot up. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“Are you married?” she asked bluntly, more for herself than for him. She was desperate to steer things back on course after she’d opened her mouth again when she shouldn’t have. But no way was he going to remain in Ruby. The thought of him sleeping in her place as a guest was ludicrous and she wouldn’t let it happen.
“Not anymore,” he said in answer to her question.
“Ah, so there was a Mrs. Denton Hardesty?”
“Was is the correct word.”
“Not an amiable parting, huh?”
“Not hardly.”
“Sorry.”
“Me, too. I hate failing at anything. But nothing about our relationship was right from the beginning. Thank goodness there were no children.”
She wanted to amen that but didn’t.
“What about you? I don’t see a ring on your finger.”
“There hasn’t been one.”
He raised his eyebrows again. “I find that hard to believe.”
“That I’m an old maid?”
Denton made a snorting sound as his gaze roamed hotly and blatantly over her. “You know better than that.”
She turned away, her heart in her throat, feeling the inability to handle much more of this togetherness. “Let’s just say I’m happy with my life the way it is.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
A silence fell between them during which she made a conscious effort not to meet his eyes.
It was then his cell phone rang. Grace tried to ignore what he was saying by concentrating on what she was going to serve for snack time. The Brenners would be back shortly, and on rare occasions even Ralph was known to appear for the afternoon goodies.