Dear Diary, the mark of a man!
Zach glanced around the large veneer conference table at his team. A line of glass jugs filled with iced water ran down the centre of the oval table. Half-filled glasses and glossy brochures sat in front of each of his twenty-strong team.
Fourteen men. Six women.
All stared at him as though he’d taken a ‘stupid’ pill, waiting with varying levels of expectation for him to clarify his statement.
He regarded each suited and staid employee. As CEO of CCP Development, he sat at the head and everyone looked to him for answers.
“Sir, are you saying you want to scrap the project?” Harry, who sat three seats down the table to his left, asked. “The land Andalucía sits on is the perfect location for the hotel and spa country retreat. It offers perfect idyllic settings for a relaxing getaway.” Harry glanced at his colleagues, no doubt looking for them to back him up. When no one spoke, he continued. “I don’t want to speak out of turn but we’ll be bringing hundreds of jobs to the area, as well as increased revenue to local shops and businesses. Why would you decide against it?”
Zach tapped the proposal brochure in front of him with his pen. “I’m not scrapping the project, simply relocating to a more suitable part of the country.”
After making love with Maddie in his shower, he knew he couldn’t go ahead with his plan to demolish Andalucía. His decision hadn’t been easy to make but there was no way he could bring himself to betray her like that. Not after what they’d shared. And not after he’d seen the undisguised yearning and tears in her eyes just before she’d bolted after amazing shower sex.
She’d left so fast he hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about Andalucía. But now he didn’t need to. He knew he was making the right choice, even if it had resulted in an are-you-crazy speech from Ben, who now sat in stoic silence at the foot of the conference table.
“That’ll cost millions. It could ruin CCP Development.” Grace sat opposite Harry to Zach’s right. She was head of accounts and took any change in budget personally.
He breathed deeply. The danger to his company was not news to him. He was very aware his proposed change could destroy everything he’d worked hard to achieve. CCP Development was a physical testament to his worth, his way of proving to Hector, and the world, he was worthwhile.
As his eyes met each individual’s, he conveyed his faith that they would achieve the desired outcome. “Alerce Spa Resort will go ahead as planned. Let me worry about the particulars.”
With Zach’s reassurance, his team smiled in collective recognition of their leader’s confidence.
He tackled a few more questions before, assured all was well, they moved onto the finer details of the project proposal. Each team member had an area of responsibility and reported on the progress of their part of the development, sticking to the project rather than location.
An hour later Zach gave his usual pep talk, sending his team off with encouragement and high morale while he hoped like hell he wasn’t about to kill his company. As they stood to leave, Zach’s gaze landed on Ben who shook his head and waited for the door to close behind the last of the team.
Zach crossed to the bank of tinted windows, pocketing his hands. Second-guessing his decision was not an option.
“This woman must be something special.” Ben stood just within his peripheral view.
Maddie certainly was that. She’d been the one stabilizer in his life. Even when she was no longer part of it, her influence had stuck. He owed her this—how could he not after what she’d given him? Friendship, faith, belief in himself—her.
So yes. “She’s very special.”
Ben sauntered over and handed Zach the brown A4 envelope that had sat on the conference table throughout the meeting. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Zach. Because this could end everything you’ve worked for.”
More than Ben knew. But it also had the potential to win him something more precious—Maddie.
Back in his office, Zach glanced at his watch, reached for the phone on his desk. It would be around six A.M. Sacramento time. He punched out the digits of Eli’s number in rapid sequence and waited with barely leashed patience for Kimber’s father to answer.
“You got my message.” The statement came down the line in Eli’s usual gruff Scottish accent. He’d been living in Sacramento more than half his life yet hung onto his ancestors’ accent with a doggedness that spoke of the man’s stubborn nature.
“That’s why I’m phoning. You said you have news for me.” Zach paced the width of his spacious office. All day he’d been unable to relax, gripped by an unease he couldn’t shake—like something devastating was about to rip his life apart.
“Kimber has gone missing. I thought you might have seen her. Spoken with her.”
“I know.” His grip on the phone tightened. “How long has she been off the grid?”
Eli maintained close tabs on his daughter. Had to if he wanted to keep her out of the place she belonged. If she’d given his men the slip, she could be anywhere. Cold dread slid down Zach’s spine. Why hadn’t he pursued his suspicion instead of pushing aside the warning that had nagged him for days?
“A month.”
“What?” Zach stopped pacing. A month? “And you’re only now letting me know?”
“She said she wanted a holiday.” Eli’s heavy breath filtered down the line.
“You let her go off by herself?”
“Of course not. What do you take me for?”
Zach refrained from telling him.
“I sent her with two bodyguards. She gave them the slip in Venezuela.”
“Tell me you aren’t saying what I think you are.”
“She left her meds.” Eli’s worry and fear zipped across the miles. “She hasn’t been taking them since Venezuela.”
Damn and blast! That’s what he thought. “I take it we’re having this conversation because you’ve exhausted every other avenue.”
“Like I said, Zachary. Do you know where my daughter is?”
~*~
MADDIE COULDN’T sleep.
Possibly because she wasn’t in Zach’s arms.
Tears burned her eyes.
She’d been avoiding him. Unable to trust herself not to blurt her feelings for him, she’d more or less run away after he’d made love to her in his wet room en suite. After her trip out to Berkshire with her mum yesterday, she stayed over at her parents’ house in an effort to be conveniently unavailable when Zach phoned to suggest they “hang out”. Then she’d spent today at the set, trying to convince production she was fit enough to resume work. She left late and had taken Lisa up on dinner and a movie with her husband and kids, only to finally make it home after midnight.
She had several missed calls and text messages on her mobile from Zach. And since she didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t make her sound like a complete moron for running out on him, she switched off her phones—landline and mobile.
What a mess she’d gotten herself in. Thinking she was tough enough to seal her heart away and simply enjoy the time she had with Zach made her a fool. She’d deceived herself into believing she wouldn’t allow him to crush her emotions with his inability to love her the way she loved him. She had no doubt Zach cared for her, but she finally was willing to admit she wanted more than what he was offering.
That frustrated her. Not because she couldn’t have Zach’s love, but because she couldn’t make herself settle for just being lovers for as long as it worked.
Not with Zach.
And now she was ducking him.
She wanted a lifetime with Zach, a lasting relationship, and it broke her heart to know he could grant her only an incomplete fling. She didn’t want to end up making them both unhappy by eventually demanding more than he was capable of giving.
He was right.
She let her heart get involved and now she had a single way of protecting it. She needed to make a clean break from Zach. They had no future, and she should’ve set a bourn to that from the start.
Tomorrow she would put her house on the market. Perhaps move back to her old room at her parents’ until she found other accommodations. That would be the smart thing to do, and yet the thought of giving him up made her indescribably sad.
Her eyes growing heavy, she closed them, welcomed the light doze. It seemed mere seconds had passed when almighty banging outside of her house snapped her alert.
She got to her landing window in time to see a dark-coloured car wheel-spin away, tires squealing in protest of the sudden burst of power. She glanced at the wall clock to see the time was three thirty-seven A.M.
Perhaps the car belonged to one of the neighbours. This was a gated community and only residents would have access at this time of night.
She was still having a hard time figuring what all the commotion was about when she saw Zach dash from the vicinity of his house to hers, throwing on a shirt as he ran. Her heart leapt to her throat. Had the racket something to do with him? Instinct kicked in. She rushed along the landing and raced down the stairs.
Please don’t let Zach be hurt.
Maddie unlocked the door just as he hammered on the heavy hardwood. From his frantic pounding, she expected to find him injured.
She yanked open the door.
“Are you okay?” They threw out the question together.
“Yes.” Again in unison.
Maddie let her gaze travel over him, looking for any sign of damage. As far as she could see, he looked fine in more ways than one. His wrinkled white shirt hung open, revealing a chiselled body that made her hands itch from the memory of all the times she’d explored it. His faded jeans hastily pulled on, zipped but button left undone, his hair ruffled in a delicious just-tumbled-out-of-bed way.
“What happened? Why did you come over?”
Zach threw a glance over his shoulder then back to her. “Someone vandalized your car.”
“What?” Maddie shouldered past him, sure he was mistaken. No one around here would do such a thing. When she rounded the corner to her security-lit driveway where she’d left her car outside her garage, she gasped. “No!”
Some hooligan had thrown red paint all over her new white Mercedes SLK and, as if that hadn’t been enough, the culprit seemed to have used the paint tin to bang a series of dents into the bonnet and doors. With that amount of damage, she expected the alarm to have gone off, and it would have ... had she remembered to set it after returning from Lisa’s.
“Who would do this?” Maddie reached down to pick up the five-litre paint tin from beside her car.
Zach’s hands closed on her shoulders, warm and firm as he held her back.
“Don’t touch it, Mad. You’ll contaminate any evidence before the cops get to it.” He turned her, enfolded her in his strong arms. “I think I know who did this.”
Maddie pushed out of his embrace, not wanting to allow herself to give in to the urge to lean against him—to let him protect her. “You do?”
Zach released her, puffed out a breath as he ran his hand through his hair. “Let’s go inside.”
She followed him into her house and closed the door behind them. The entryway seemed overly bright. In fact, the whole house was alight. She must’ve hit every light switch on her way to the front door.
“Okay, what do you know?”
Jaw clenched, he looked so serious her stomach dipped with dread. “I think you’re in danger. Ever since your accident, I’ve had a vague connection niggling me. The fire on set, what happened to you, and now this, all clicked with another incident a few years ago. I think Kimber is trying to harm you.”
“What?” Maddie stared at his grave expression hoping he was kidding, although she could see he really believed what he was saying. “Why?” Unable to grasp such a thing, she turned away. “Come on, Zach. Don’t you think that’s a little over the top?”
Zach’s hands closed on her shoulders, his fingers warm and gentle on her bare skin as he twirled her back to face him. She read concern in his blue gaze.
“I only wish it was that farfetched.” He broke eye contact for a second then met her gaze again. “I think it’s time I told you a few things about my marriage. But first we need to deal with informing the police about your car.”
Because the sensation of Zach’s hands on her made her want to forget everything except him, she stepped back, forcing him to release her so she could turn toward her landline in the hall.
“I’ll do it.”
He stopped her with a hand on her arm, studied her long enough to make her squirm.
“Let me,” he said. “You can make us a hot drink while I make the call.” He pulled his mobile out of his pocket. “Do you know your phones are off?”
“Um ... yeah. I turned them off.”
He frowned, his thumb hovering over the mobile’s screen. “You were avoiding me?”
Maddie folded her arms, saw Zach’s gaze dip to her chest, felt her breasts tingle in response to the interest that flared to life in his eyes. She glanced down at her pink spaghetti strap nightdress, wishing it were longer or that she’d thought to throw on a robe.
“Can we talk about this later? I’d like to understand why Kimber would vandalise my car.”
His frown darkened. He blinked. “Sure.”
She headed to the kitchen, glad for Zach’s take-charge personality and sick with the desire to throw herself into his arms. She’d better lose that impulse right now or she’d never be able to bring herself to give him up. As it was, to her immense annoyance, her brain seemed to be the only part of her willing to end things with Zach.
When he walked back into the kitchen, she was adding cream to the two mugs of coffee on the counter.
“The police are sending out forensics later this morning.” His deep voice broke the silence, making her jump even though she knew he was there.
She glanced around in time to see him pull out a stool from under the breakfast bar and sit. Noticed the tension in his body language.
“Thanks.” Maddie lifted the coffee mugs and took his to him. “I’ll inform my insurance company first thing.”
The corners of Zach’s mouth lifted in a small smile of thanks as he accepted the rich roasted brew.
Their fingers brushed.
An unnerving sensation of tingling warmth crept up her arm.
Oh yeah, breaking things off with him is going to be a piece of cake.
To hide her reactive shiver, Maddie clasped her mug in both hands and inhaled the creamy coffee.
“You were going to tell me why you think Kimber’s responsible for my car.”
Zach pulled out a stool next to his, indicating she should sit.
“I had a phone call from her.” He put his mug on the counter. “She was phoning to check that you weren’t badly hurt after the accident. When I told her you were fine, she didn’t sound as pleased about the fact as she tried to make out.”
Zach stood and ran his hand through his hair again as he tended to do when under pressure. “For you to understand how damaged Kimber is, I’ll have to start from the beginning.” He reached for his coffee, moved to the sink, and leaned against the shiny aluminium, crossing one sneaker-encased foot over the other. “I told you Kimber did drugs, what I didn’t tell you was she developed psychosis as a consequence. When she takes her medication, she’s not too bad. Unfortunately, getting her to take her meds is a fulltime job. When she doesn’t take them, she hears voices, which often leads to violent behaviour. Add her jealousy to the mix, and she’s lethal. Capable of anything.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“More than you can imagine.” Raw emotion hardened his tone. “I discovered the extent of Kimber’s illness a few years ago. She knew from the beginning our marriage wasn’t based on love. Had known there was no way I would ever have committed to her, or anyone else, if there hadn’t been a pregnancy.”
Maddie ached to ask what he felt about commitment now, but held her tongue for fear of getting the answer she didn’t want.
“Ben, who is now my acquisition manager, was my second in command when we worked for Kimber’s father. The last weeks before I finally accepted things would never work between her and me, she started accusing me of never having tried to make the marriage work. Since I knew she was right, I thought I owed it to her to put in at least a little effort. At her insistence that I stay with her I sent Ben on a business trip in my place.” Zach paused, rubbed his eyes with the thumb and fingers of one hand, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Lucy, Ben’s wife, was five months pregnant, and I assured him I would keep an eye on her.” He dropped his hand, caught and held Maddie’s gaze. “Kimber found out and got jealous, accused me of having an affair with Lucy.”
Making a task of blowing her already cooling coffee, Maddie lowered her gaze. “Were you?”
“Of course not!” The rancour in his voice snapped Maddie’s attention back to him. Offence glittered from the blue depths. “I may be many things, Maddie, but I’m not unfaithful.”
Maddie looked away. “Sorry. Continue.”
“The day Lucy had her obstetric check-up I arranged to meet her at a cafe afterward to make sure she was okay. I got held up in a meeting and by the time I arrived at the Midway Cafe, it was to discover Lucy had been run over by a hit-and-run driver as she’d tried to cross the road. Lucy lost the baby and almost died.”
He stopped talking, drank down his coffee, placed the mug in the sink, and took so long to recommence the story Maddie wondered whether he would. Finally, he blew out a breath.
“Her pelvis was so badly crushed she’d never bear another child. She’s paralysed from the waist down, and will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.”
She stifled a gasp behind her hand as her heart broke for the other woman. The torture in Zach’s voice had tears stinging her eyes.
“Did they ever catch the driver?”
Zach stared at her with pain and remorse dulling his regard. “Kimber was the driver. She claimed her brakes failed, the garage report says they did, and Eli had enough money and power to make Kimber’s problems go away. I knew she was possessive to the point of controlling neurotic, but it wasn’t until Lucy’s accident that I discovered how evil she was.”
“Do Ben and Lucy know who the driver was?”
Zach nodded, glanced away. A sad, guilty, expression crossed his face, and it shredded her heart to see his pain. “In exchange for not pressing charges against Kimber, Eli makes sure Lucy has the best medical care and home help. He built Lucy and Ben a house with every high-tech gadget Lucy could ever need or want and gives them unlimited access to his private jet, yacht, and helicopter.” Zach placed his hands on the sink, tapping his fingers in a random, tinny beat. “Let’s just say, there isn’t anything Eli wouldn’t do for his little princess.”
He pushed away from the sink and came back to sit on the stool next to Maddie’s. “I couldn’t save Lucy from Kimber’s spite, but I’ll be damned if I let her hurt you, Maddie. Come away with me.”
“Zach, this is ridiculous. I can’t just pick up and run off. I’m in the middle of the new Return To New season. ”
“I own a cabin in Vermont. Let’s go there. I’ve contacted Eli and he’s confirmed that Kimber hasn’t been taking her meds. He said she’s been missing for a month, and the only way she could’ve heard about your accident was if she was over here. Her father has his people out looking for her. But I want to make sure you’re safe until he finds her.”
Maddie could hardly get her head around what Zach was telling her. It was one thing to hear that his ex was loony enough to run down a pregnant woman deliberately, but unnerving to find out she was the new target. “Are you thinking she was riding the dirt bike that collided with me?”
“I have no evidence to prove it, but every fibre of my being tells me she is responsible for your accident.” Zach reached out and smoothed a stray strand of hair from her cheek. His stroke was gentle, yet managed to set her insides on a slow burn. “If she wasn’t riding that bike, then she hired someone to.”
Things like this didn’t happen in her world. “I don’t understand why she would want to harm me.”
Zach cupped her cheek, his gaze electric as he held hers. “Don’t you know, Maddie?” His voice dropped to a husky murmur as he traced his thumb over her slightly parted lips, his gaze holding hers in its hypnotic enchantment. “You mean the world to me. Kimber knew it and hated the fact. Even when thousands of miles of ocean separated us, she still felt threatened by you.”
“She has no reason to be.”
“You don’t understand the way Kimber’s mind works. She would see my moving into the house next door to yours as a sign that she’d lost me to you. She’s a sore loser.”
“But I haven’t got you.” No matter how much she wished she did.
“Don’t you?” His lips brushed hers, once, twice, then settled for a deep kiss.
“This is insane.” But she wasn’t sure which situation she was referring to. The one where Zach’s ex might be trying to hurt her or the one where his kisses made promises he would never agree to.
“You may very well be right, but she won’t stop until she really hurts you. Do you understand? This is not a game.”
“Have you any idea how crazy this sounds?”
“Yes, I do.” He drew in a rough breath. “We’ve been divorced five years and she still finds reasons to invade my life.” He let his hand drop away from her face. “I thought I’d be rid of her for good if I moved back here to my hometown. But it seems even that won’t get her out of my life.”
Maddie reached for her lukewarm coffee and cradled the mug between her hands like a shield, willing her face to stop tingling where his hands had touched her skin.
“What are you going to do?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Take out a restraining order. Whatever I do, I want to make sure you’re far away from Surrey for the next few days. She doesn’t know I have the cabin. You’ll be safe there until Eli’s people locate her.”
“You want me to fly to Vermont and hide out in some cabin while she keeps her freedom? To my way of thinking, she ought to be the one locked away.”
“I’m not trying to lock you away, Mad. All I’m asking is that you let me keep you safe until we find Kimber. Then, believe me, if she’s responsible for any of this. I will make her account for the deeds.”
Something in the way Zach said this made Maddie breathe easy. If Kimber was indulging in jealous rage against her, Maddie was glad Zach was there to offer protection.
She dropped her gaze, afraid he’d see in her eyes all the mixed emotions running through her.
Perhaps he noticed before she had a chance to hide them. Or perhaps he simply guessed at her trepidation because he pulled her to her feet and into his arms.
“I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, sweetheart.” He smoothed a hand over her tousled hair, holding her to his naked chest as if she belonged there.
After several minutes of them simply standing while he held her securely in his embrace, he said, “Let me stay with you, Maddie.” His deep voice softened, grew raspy and seductive. “I need to be with you.”
The raw emotion in his voice tugged at something fundamental in Maddie.
It’s only desire.
She should walk away.
Yet she couldn’t make herself do it. Instead she leaned back, raised her chin enough to bring her lips within millimetres of his.
With a throaty utterance that rumbled from his chest, his mouth captured hers in a long, uninhibited kiss. And Maddie let her heart believe that just this once she felt love in the carnal caress of Zach’s lips.