Harmony stepped out of the cabin and waited for Rick’s stepmother to approach. Tiffany didn’t hide her obvious distaste for the camp as she picked her way through the brush on high heels, tottering dangerously as one got caught on a root. For a secret moment Harmony wondered what Tiffany’s reaction would be if she stumbled onto a fire ant mound. She swallowed a laugh.
“Hello, Mrs. Chapman.” She closed the door and waited. “What can I do for you?”
Tiffany brushed her hair back from her face and adjusted oversized sunglasses on her tiny nose. “Harmony.” She stepped over a log and ran her hands over her short blue skirt. “It’s primitive out here. Backward.”
“Yep,” Harmony said. “Just me and the plants and birds. The wild animals.”
Tiffany craned her neck and looked around at the woods. Then she shrugged and adjusted the jacket of her expensive-looking suit. “I don’t know how you stand it. Rick told me it’s got its perks, though.”
That put Harmony on her guard. Had Rick talked to Tiffany this morning? After he’d left her bed? No. He hates Tiffany. Even if she hadn’t seen it for herself last night over dinner she’d have known it from the way Rick spoke of his father and stepmother.
“I like it,” she said.
Tiffany stepped closer and smiled as she removed her sunglasses. She ran her eyes over Harmony and sniffed. “You would.”
Ouch. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Chapman?”
“I was just curious to see where Rick’s little tree-hugger lived.”
“I’m not—”
“He told Bill all about you when he first got here,” Tiffany cut in. “About how you and your stupid plant were going to ruin Bill’s deal.”
This was interesting. Harmony crossed her arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “And?”
Tiffany ran her painted fingers through her hair. “Bill told him to take care of you, that’s all.”
Her heart began to pound and she straightened away from the door. “What?”
“Bill told Rick to take care of the little tree-hugger. To keep you busy until the Institute picked a new spot.”
No. Rick didn’t sleep with her to get her on his side. No!
Tiffany bent down and peered through the window. “How cozy.” She straightened and winked. “I guess he did his job.” She waved her hand. “And now he can finish Chapman’s.”
She couldn’t speak. Could what this woman said be true?
“With a closer look I guess your place isn’t so bad,” Tiffany said. “Looks like you have a shower out back. Hmm.” She slid an ugly grin at Harmony. “No wonder Rick said roughing it wasn’t a hardship.”
“But he never… ,” Harmony said to herself. “He—”
“He wants the top position at Chapman, honey,” Tiffany said. “And he’s willing to do anything for it.”
Cold settled in her belly. No. Rick couldn’t be like that!
“I don’t believe you,” Harmony said on a breath.
Tiffany began to pick her way back toward the car. “Believe what you want. Rick is Bill Chapman’s son. Believe me, he has Bill’s ambition.”
She vaguely heard Tiffany start the car and drive away. Her stomach began to churn. No. Rick hadn’t used her that way. They had a connection. She’d felt it in his touch. Seen it in his eyes. The truth smacked her square in the face. She’d fallen for it all over again.
“Stupid, stupid girl,” she told herself. “You saw what you wanted to see.”
Rick was just like Adam. Just using her to further his own agenda. She shouldn’t be surprised. She’d known about Rick’s ambition before Tiffany made it even clearer. It was why he worked at Chapman, why he took Bill’s coldness and indifference for a chance to climb the corporate ladder and prove himself.
She sank down on the step, curling into herself as tears burned her eyes. She’d given Rick her body. That had been ridiculously easy. She’d given Rick her heart. Now that had taken some doing. He took all she gave as a corporate perk?
How could she be so stupid?
***
That evening, after a long day of work at the Institute, she packed up her things and headed out. She and Dr. Robbins were finished for the day, a little later than usual but it had been a relief to lose herself in work. After Mrs. Chapman’s lovely disclosure, it had taken some time to collect herself before riding into the village. But she’d given Dr. Robbins her full attention as they wrapped up the presentation. Thankfully the man only asked her what was wrong once before poring over their work again.
Rick had called a few times during the day, but she’d let Becky know from the first phone call that she didn’t want to speak to him. She couldn’t think of an excuse to tell the girl. She just wasn’t good at lying. Her lip curled at that realization. That was her fatal flaw. Especially when she seemed to attract liars. Apparently it took one to know one, and she was woefully clueless in that regard.
She expected Rick wanted see her tonight. Why should she be surprised? Why shouldn’t he want to take what she gave him until he left for Boston, right? There was no way she could see him and not think about everything Tiffany had said. His career. His screwed-up family. His ambition. Her stomach couldn’t take it. As for her heart? Her heart ached. She shoved her notes into her pack and opened the trunk of her scooter.
“Harmony!”
She turned in response to the familiar voice despite her resolve. Her shoulders slumped. Oh, great. Rick walked toward her, a smile on his face. Oh, he was beautiful. So big and capable. His smile did things to her insides as easily as those lips did stuff to her outsides.
“Hi, Rick.”
He stopped in front of her, slowly losing his smile. “What’s wrong?”
He saw too much, that was one thing. She wouldn’t wear her foolish heart on her sleeve, that was for darn sure.
She shrugged one shoulder. “I’m just really busy.”
“Yeah, I called you at the Institute but they said you were tied up.” He eyed her pack as she stashed it into the trunk. “Finished for the day?”
Yes, but she wouldn’t let him know that. “No. There’s this report… ”
As excuses went, that was lame. She couldn’t think of a lie fast enough before he touched her. Just one hand on her arm and she wanted to melt. No! She straightened and leaned away from him.
He looked confused but soon smiled again. “Join me for dinner? I’m just heading over to The Clubhouse now.”
Dinner? Candlelight and wine and Rick, smiling and charming her out of her panties again? No way. Ariel and Max may have raised a flake but they hadn’t raised a fool.
“I can’t,” she said. “I have this report to finish. I’m going to be up all night.”
She flinched inwardly at her slip. That wasn’t a good thing to say when all she wanted was to be up with him all night. Like last night. Nestled in his arms, hearing him finally open up about his family, the drive behind his ambition. But he must have missed her slip, because he just gave a quick nod.
“Okay,” he said. “I won’t bother you.”
Whew. But then he kissed her. He tasted so good she wanted to keep kissing him forever. That treacherous thought brought her back to reality. Rick wasn’t a forever kind of guy. He was all about right now, and she wasn’t that kind of girl. She couldn’t be. Her stupid heart was involved.
He ended the kiss too soon, darn her lack of control. He brushed his lips on her temple and straightened. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.”
She couldn’t watch him walk away without telling herself that soon he’d keep on walking. She hadn’t really lost anything, right? Rick never made any promises. But she ached for what she’d thought they’d had. What she wished for, actually. A future together. A chance to make him realize that he was worth so much more that Bill Chapman thought. Maybe she was a fool.
She waited until he entered The Clubhouse before driving back to her camp. It must have been the wind in her face that made her eyes tear.
She couldn’t be crying over Rick.
***
Rick sat in the lounge of The Clubhouse, marking time until his take-out order was ready. He nursed his beer and peeled at the label’s corner. He’d asked Harmony to join him for dinner, but she’d said she was busy. He blew out a breath. Busy? Since when did her work spill over into the evening? She’d seemed different there on the walk. They had loved each other late into the night. Maybe she was just tired. He’d seen her tired before. He’d seen her angry. He’d seen her happy. But he’d never seen her so… Un-Harmony, maybe. There was no fire in those hazel eyes.
At least Bill and Tiffany were the hell out of Cypress Corners. He could make the changes he’d decided on without the old man’s interference. If he had to swallow one more comeback to his father’s endless put-downs he’d burst. Tiffany hadn’t hidden her continued interest, either. What a pair. He drank some more beer. But the project was on target, the money would come in on time, so Rick didn’t have any worries there.
He thought for a moment. Maybe it was Harmony’s work. God knew he could lose himself and his good mood if a job or contract didn’t go just right.
He looked through the archway into the restaurant and rethought his conclusion. He spied Dr. Robbins sitting with a few people from the Institute, laughing and talking as they shared a meal. The Institute’s director certainly didn’t seem concerned about anything.
Rick put his bottle on the bar and stood, then made his way through the tables toward Dr. Robbins. He nodded greetings to the director’s companions, a young man he’d seen around and the red-haired receptionist, and faced the doctor.
“Good evening, Dr. Robbins,” he said.
“Rick, hello,” Dr. Robbins said. He waved a hand at an empty chair at their table. “Join us?”
He shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m just picking up dinner. Have you spoken to Harmony?”
He ignored the speculative looks the other two exchanged, growing curious as Dr. Robbins’ brow furrowed.
“Today? Why, yes. This afternoon we discussed her presentation on migration.”
He knew nothing about that and didn’t pretend to. “So she’s still busy with it, I suppose.”
Dr. Robbins blinked. “Not at all. We handed it over to the developers in a nice neat package this afternoon.” He looked behind Rick and frowned. “Actually, I thought Harmony would be out with you tonight.”
A server touched Rick on his elbow and he jerked. “Yeah?”
“Your order, Mr. Chapman,” the skinny kid said. “It’s on the bar.”
“Thanks.” He turned to Dr. Robbins. “That’s my dinner. Have a good night.”
He picked up his meal and headed to his house. A big juicy burger and a couple of beers later he sat on the couch, reliving the passion he’d shared with her on this spot. Where the hell was she tonight? Tucked into that cozy cabin of hers, poring over her notes. Too busy for dinner? Too busy for him, was more like it. But what had he done?
It couldn’t be that he kept his feelings from her. Aside from his admissions where Bill and his mother were concerned at least. She’d never asked for any pretty words, and never burdened him with any from her. He was the one who’d almost said he loved her. Thank God he hadn’t made that mistake. Maybe those were just words, but they could do a lot of damage. That jerk Adam had probably promised her the friggin’ moon when they were together.
He wasn’t about to make promises he didn’t intend to keep. All right. He wasn’t a guy who ever made promises at all. They’d never talked about love or commitment. Hell, he’d never talked about what he was going to do next month let alone next year.
He had to keep his focus on what he wanted. Career. Proving himself. Chapman was everything. That has been his goal for years now. He closed his eyes. He wouldn’t think about it. If Harmony said she was busy, she was busy. He’d never met anyone like her before, honest and upfront about everything. She wouldn’t start playing games now.
He wouldn’t play them with her, either. That was for damn sure. He’d take his cue from her and give her space. He wouldn’t lose sight of his ultimate goal. Harmony’s face filled his mind for an instant, her smile, her laugh. The sweet way she’d loved him last night.
Just for tonight he’d allow himself to think about something other than Chapman and the damn corporate ladder.
Tomorrow would come soon enough.