“The way you were getting along with Bonnie this afternoon, anyone might be fooled into thinking you’re a regular family man.”
That he might actually enjoy having his own wife and child around. Which was crazy. Zack was a bachelor businessman, pure and simple.
Although hadn’t she had a change of heart since caring for Bonnie? Yesterday a seed had been replanted, and now she couldn’t deny feeding into the fantasy of having a child of her own. Having a husband, a family…
Oh, but she was getting all muddled when, tonight like never before, she needed to keep everything straight.
Zack’s brows dipped before he drained the wine from his glass and made a sound of deep satisfaction in his throat. “This really is an exceptional year.”
Having tasted the wine, she had to agree. But no matter how enjoyable, she didn’t intend to indulge beyond one glass tonight. After that incredible kiss in the snow, he’d told her exactly how he felt. He wanted to make love to her. Sitting across from Zack now, looking so casual yet dynamic, if she was a weaker woman, she might easily fling her napkin to one side and suggest they cut dinner short.
But as much as she’d enjoyed the day and having the opportunity to see this other more human side of Zack, those other darker considerations kept weighing on her mind. She’d known he liked women, that he was beyond ruthless in business, but to discover via Kate this morning that he’d used another man’s sorrow to move closer to a contract’s finish line? It set her teeth on edge.
She was attracted to Zack in a way she hadn’t known existed but she couldn’t live with herself if she put physical need before her conscience. Not that iron man Zack would understand that.
When his cell lying on the counter buzzed, Zack went to check the message. Without replying to the text, he returned to the table and drew his chair in.
He took a long pull from his glass and explained, “Dirkins wants to see me tomorrow.”
Trinity sat straighter. “Do you think he’s ready to meet your offer?”
Had he succeeded in wearing the poor man down?
Zack collected his fork again. “Yes, I think he’s ready to sign.”
“Guess you finally got to him.”
He studied her then shrugged. “I’m sorry. You’ve lost me.”
Should she tell him what she knew or should she accept that she could do nothing to change the way Zack approached life and let it slide? The only rule in his world was “there are no rules.” Even when it came to an anguished father’s emotions. A broken man who’d been knocked down twice—once by the death of his son and again when Zack had insinuated he was in some way to blame.
Trinity shifted her plate away. Right or wrong, she needed to know. “How did James Dirkins’s son die?”
“Car accident.” Zack patted his mouth with his napkin and thoughtfully set it back down on his lap. “Some say it was suicide. Apparently he’d been troubled of late.”
“Apparently? So you did some research?”
His gaze sharpened. “Where’s this going?”
She couldn’t keep quiet. She had to ask, and if Zack didn’t want to admit that he’d played on this man’s feelings to gain an upper hand, she wouldn’t be surprised. Men like Zack rarely took responsibility. They only plundered the rewards. Or that’s the way the media depicted him.
But the man she’d come to know a little came across as more complex than that, and certainly capable of compassion. Being part of his pantomime for Bonnie and those games when they’d fooled around in the snow…Could that story about Zack putting those kinds of emotional screws into Dirkins really be true?
“When I spoke to Kate this morning,” Trinity began, “she said you’d let Dirkins know you believed he was somehow responsible for his son’s death.”
Zack’s brow furrowed and his gaze darkened until the irises appeared black. His voice was low and grating. “She said what?”
Her cheeks flushing, Trinity pushed back her chair. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“‘You’ being Trinity Matthews or the so-called free press?” He swore and dropped his fork on his plate before he met her gaze again. “Usually it doesn’t bother me, living in a society where everyone is consumed by what the other half wear and eat and say. It’s a circus. Three parts illusion and the other part bullshit.”
Trinity’s heartbeat was crashing high in her chest. She hadn’t expected this reaction. Was this some kind of show to get her on his side? Gain her sympathy? Or was he better than the press made out? Than even Zack might sometimes give himself credit for?
“Are you saying you didn’t suggest to James Dirkins that he as good as killed his own son?” she asked.
“Does it matter what I say? You people print what sells.” His lip curled. “And you think I should be ashamed of myself.”
His expression, his tone, the conviction of his words…
She gave a hapless shrug and muttered, “I didn’t say it was true.”
He looked at her hard then huffed like he was tired of it all. His plate in hand, he moved to the kitchen.
She glared at her own plate then came up with an idea that might work for everyone.
“Even if Dirkins can’t manage it on his own anymore, he must be torn. It’d feel like he was saying goodbye to his son again. Maybe there’s some other option where he can still be a part of the hotel without having to take all the responsibility. What if you offered him a partnership?”
His dish rattled into the sink. “I don’t do partnerships.”
Her lips and stomach tightened. “Of course you don’t.” How could she forget? His brothers believed in partnerships, not Zack.
He moved back to the table. “I’m not a bad guy. I go out of my way to be fair in business, to be a good son and uncle.” He reached, found her hand and pulled her to her feet. “And in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m also a man who has normal desires and needs.”
She caught her breath but, defiant, challenged his gaze. “I’d noticed.”
“Tomorrow the authorities will come and take that baby away. Hopefully they’ll find her parents but either way our involvement will end.” His fingers brushed down her forearm, gripped her hand. “That doesn’t mean we have to stop seeing each other.”
The world tilted beneath her feet. Everything was suddenly way out of balance.
“You want to see me again?”
He brought her close. “What do you think?”
His mouth dropped over hers and her body flashed with an energy that had been building all day, that had bubbled on the brink of boiling over since she’d put the baby down. Now the fuel racing through her blood rushed to her core, making her feel heavy and hot and desperate for him to make good on the promise he’d made today. The promise about making love.
His hand cupped her cheek, directing the slant of her head while he worked a kiss that left her floating inches off the floor. The sensations and emotions were so powerful she wanted to thread her arms around his neck and forget about what was wrong or right, or smart or pathetically stupid. She was smoldering, unable to pretend she could walk away before experiencing more. And wasn’t that only human? Why shouldn’t she have this night? There was nothing stopping them except her pride. If this was a mistake, she’d need to live with it, like everything else.
She’d all but surrendered, fanning her palms up over Zack’s hard cashmere-covered chest, when his caress changed in tempo and in tone. His kiss was still expert and breathtakingly thorough but in her heart