She didn’t answer right away. “Because I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else,” she said finally.
He nodded, understanding completely. Although he had enjoyed living in Phoenix while attending college, he never could wait to return home … to see her again. He hadn’t been back a week when Ramsey had sent him into town to pick up a can of paint thinner and he’d seen her again.
At first he’d been taken aback, nearly not recognizing her. She had gone from the gangly young girl to a twentysomething-year-old woman who had grown into a beauty that he had noticed right away. It was a good thing her father had been on guard and had intervened again, because there was no telling where his lustful mind would have led him that day. She had gotten spared from being added to the list as one of Derringer’s Pleasers. When he’d returned home it seemed women had come out of the woodwork vying for his attention.
They soon arrived at Torie’s, an upscale coffee shop that was known for its signature award-winning coffee and desserts. He helped her out of his sports car, very much aware of the looks they were getting. But now, unlike the other times, he wasn’t so sure the focus was on his specially-designed Danish car and not on the woman he was helping out of it. For the first time since he could remember, he relinquished the car to the valet without giving the young man a warning look and strict instructions to be careful on how his prize was handled.
“Mr. Westmoreland, it’s nice to see you,” the maître d’ greeted when they entered the coffee shop.
“Thanks, Pierre. And I’d like a private table in the back.”
“Most certainly.”
He cupped Lucia’s arm as they were led to a table that overlooked the mountains and a lake. The fire that was blazing in the fireplace added the finishing touch. A romantic setting that for even someone like him—a man who probably didn’t have a romantic bone in his body until it suited him—was clearly defined. “We can have just coffee if you like, but their strawberry cheesecake is good,” he said, smiling when they were seated.
Lucia chuckled. “I’m going to take your word for it and try some.”
The waiter came to take their drink order. She ordered a glass of wine and when he ordered only a club soda she glanced over at him curiously. “I’m driving, remember? And I’m still on medication,” he said by way of explanation. “And the doctor was adamant about me not consuming alcohol while I’m taking them.”
She nodded. “Are you still in pain?”
A rueful smile touched his lips. “Not unless I move too fast. Otherwise, I’m doing fine.”
“I guess you won’t be getting on Sugar Foot’s back again any time soon.”
“What makes you say that? In fact, I plan to try him again tomorrow.”
Her look of horror and disbelief was priceless, he thought, and he chuckled as he reached across the table to engulf her hand in his. “Hey, I was just kidding.”
She frowned over at him. “I hope so, Derringer, and I certainly hope you’ve learned your lesson about taking unnecessary risks.”
He laughed. “Trust me, I have,” he said, although he knew she was a risk and he had a feeling spending too much time with her wasn’t a good thing. It was then that he realized he was still holding her hand, and with supreme effort he released it.
He should know better than to get too attached to a woman like Lucia. She was the kind of woman a man could become attached to before he knew it. His attraction to her seemed too natural, but way too binding. She was a woman who seemed to be created just for the purpose of making a man want her in ways he had never wanted a woman before. And that wasn’t good.
After their initial drinks, they ordered coffee and then shared a slice of strawberry cheesecake, and while they sat there she had his undivided attention. They conversed about a number of topics. More than once he caught his gaze roaming across her face, studying her features and appreciating her beauty. Whether she knew it or not, her facial bone structure was superb and any man would definitely find her attractive. But he knew there was more to her than just her outside beauty. She was beautiful on the inside as well. Derringer listened as she told him about a number of charities and worthwhile events she supported, and he was impressed.
A couple of hours later while driving her back home, he couldn’t help but reflect on how the evening had gone. Certainly not the way he had planned. When the car came to a traffic light, he glanced over at her. Not surprisingly, she had fallen asleep. He thought about all the things he wanted to do to her when he got her back to her place, and knew the only thing he should do was walk her to her door and then leave. Something was going on with him that he didn’t understand and he was smart enough to know when to back off.
That thought was still on his mind when he walked her to the door later. For some reason, he was being pulled in another direction and frankly he didn’t like it. Her kiss alone had shot his brain cells to hell and back and knocked his carefully constructed plans to teach her a lesson to the wind. Even now the taste from her kiss was lingering in his mouth.
“Thanks again for such a wonderful evening, Derringer. I had a great time.”
He’d had a great time, too. “You’re welcome.” He forced his lips closed to stop from asking her out again. He simply refused to do that. “Well, I guess I’ll be going now,” he said, trying to get his feet to step back and trying to figure out why they wouldn’t budge.
“Would you like to come inside for more coffee?”
He shook his head. “Thanks, but I don’t think my stomach can hold much more. Besides, my restrictions are over and I can return to work soon. I’ll be helping Zane and Jason with the horses in the morning. I need to get home and get to bed.”
“All right.”
He made a move to leave but couldn’t. Instead, his gaze settled on the face staring at him and he felt something pull at his gut. “Good night, Lucia,” he whispered, just seconds before leaning down and brushing a kiss across her lips.
“Good night, Derringer.”
He straightened and watched as she let herself inside the house. When the door clicked locked behind her, he turned to move down the walkway toward his car. He opened the door and slid inside. He needed to go home and think about things, regroup and revamp. And he had to figure out what there was about Lucia Conyers that got to him on a level he wasn’t used to.
Six
Zane stopped saddling his horse long enough to glance over at his brother. “What’s going on with you, Derringer? Last week you were inquiring about women’s panties and now this week you want to know about a woman’s scent. Didn’t you get that mystery solved by viewing the tape on that video camera?”
Derringer rubbed his hand down his face. He should have known better than to come to Zane, but the bottom line was his brother knew more about women than he did and right now he needed answers. After he got them he’d be able to figure out what was going on with him when it came to Lucia. It had been almost a week after their date to the movies and he still didn’t have a clue. And he had yet to confront her about being his late-night visitor.
He glanced over at Zane across the horse’s back. “There’s nothing going on with me. Just answer the damn question.”
Zane chuckled. “Getting kind of testy, aren’t you? And how did your date go with Lucia Saturday night? I haven’t heard you say.”
“And I’m not going to say either, other than we had a nice time.”
“For your sake I think that’s all you better say or Chloe, Megan and Bailey will be coming down on you pretty hard. You might get a reprieve from Gemma since she’s out of the country, but I wouldn’t count on it if I were you, because she’s coming home later this month for the charity ball.”
Derringer