Evander barely recognized Daphne as she sat in the meeting room wearing Maya’s borrowed pantsuit. Her hair was swept up into what Tigger had informed him was a French twist. Even though the outfit was a bit big, she looked professional and businesslike. Not at all like the woman he had come to know and feel comfortable with. When people began acting unlike themselves, it was time to worry. That was when the unexpected happened.
He figured after their chat in the van the night before last that she would go back to Miss Take-It-As-It-Comes, instead of trying to be the hard-nosed bitch. But here he was, on his toes again. At least before calling this morning’s meeting she’d given him enough of a heads-up that he’d been able to phone Austin Smith, the paparazzi, to create a diversion so they could leave the house in peace. The man, true to his word, had created a buzz that had all the lurking reporters sprinting away from the house, cameras waving so he, Daphne, and Tigger could sneak off to Port Carling to meet with Mistral.
Again.
Evander took up his post at the door of the library’s basement meeting room as Daphne greeted Mistral by handing him a stapled bundle of papers.
Maya sat beside Daphne, her lips white from the effort of keeping them pinned shut and not sharing all her business know-how. Outside the room, Tyrone was caring for Tigger, as Kyle had stayed behind to take their mother to her radiation appointment.
Mistral’s new hired gun, Leif, leaned back in his chair.
Daphne began outlining the business plan she’d been working on with Maya since the night of the cottage picnic. A plan for an eco-retreat on Baby Horseshoe Island, rather than the monstrosity Mistral had planned.
Evander figured it was a case of being at least a year too late, but admired Daphne’s determination, as most people would have given up, then always wondered if they could have made a difference.
Mistral shifted, looking uncomfortable. “I appreciate you going through the bother to put something together, but we’re so far into the development that changing plans now could really set us back. Plus, the cost alone…”
Evander had to give it to him, the man at least looked apologetic.
“I understand that,” Daphne said softly as she pushed a sheet of paper across the table toward him. “That is why Maya and I came up with this.”
Mistral held a finger over the graph, his attention on Daphne. “What is this?”
“Money.” She slid a bullet-point list toward him. “And this is how to change direction without losing any. Basically, you’re simplifying what you already have planned. So it will actually cut your construction costs. You can make these changes, do it under budget and still open on the scheduled date a year and a half from now. You’ll be offering fewer services to your clients, which will lessen your overhead. As well, you’ll be offering things you don’t have to build or maintain, such as birds and other wildlife, and the peace and quiet of nature. In essence, build less, charge the same.”
Mistral leaned back, leaving the graphs on the table.
“Ecotourism isn’t a cheap vacation,” Maya blurted out. Hands clasped, she glanced at Daphne, then added, “We know you already have plans for the island, but the problem is that at the rate you’re running into compliance issues, you’re never going to get it built.”
Mistral opened his mouth to argue, his face red. Evander took a step closer to the table, arms loose at his side, ready to act.
Maya continued, “I know you’ve got several agencies hot on your tail, so let’s be honest. Things haven’t been going easy for you. You’re losing money waiting for permits and plans to get pushed through, and the issue with the municipality not following permit protocols is not cool. Nobody’s going to back down on that fight.” She leveled the man with a steely look and Daphne shifted uncomfortably. Evander didn’t blame her. Maya was pretty darn direct. Painfully so.
“You can either carry on with your original plan and hope you don’t go belly-up before you get through the delays, or you can give Daphne’s idea a serious look. It has incredible merits and I believe she is ahead of the game in terms of trends in tourism.”
Maya leaned back. “I honestly don’t see how you could fail with this. In fact, Connor MacKenzie took a look at the plans last night, and if you don’t do this, he will. You’re lucky Daphne’s given you first right of refusal.”
Mistral’s head tilted to the side. They had him.
The Summers had been underestimated again.
Maya stood, and a panicked look flashed across Daphne’s face. Evander awaited his cue from her.
“I still don’t see how changing my plan is going to allow me to come out financially ahead,” Mistral stated. He tried to emulate Maya’s earlier posture by leaning back in his chair, as though he was the one in control. It was obvious the man wanted to learn more.
“Here on page six,” Daphne said, pushing papers toward him.
“Read at your leisure,” Maya said. “Daphne and I have another meeting to get to.” She checked her watch. “If you want to work with us you’d better let us know soon, because we’re pulling this off the table in four days.”
“Four days?” Mistral began flipping pages and Leif scooted closer to the table to help him find whatever he might be looking for. “I’ll have to ask my dad.”
Pansy. The man didn’t even run his own company? No wonder things were so screwed up.
“Don’t forget that we own the rights to this resort plan,” Maya said. “Don’t try opening it elsewhere.”
“I also made a list of the endangered species in the area,” Daphne said. “It’s something that could—”
Both Maya and Evander reached for her. They had Mistral where they wanted him. It was time to shut up.
“Everything you need to know is in the package,” Maya said, pushing Daphne out the door. They left Mistral and Leif hunched over the papers.
Maya shut the door, and said, “I think that went well.” She gave them a bright smile that reminded Evander of Daphne.
“Do you think he’s interested?” Daphne asked, her hands twisted into a tangle.
“We’ll hear from him soon enough,” Maya said.
Daphne turned back to the door and Evander cringed, catching her hand. She didn’t know when to let well enough alone, did she?
“What did you forget?” he asked.
“I just wanted to ask if he wants to see Tigger, since he’s out here today.”
Evander shook his head. “One thing at a time. Don’t distract him.” With a gentle hand on her shoulder, he moved her away from the door, wishing they had the kind of relationship where he could give her a hug.
Maya was watching, her lips pulled into a frown.
Maya would make a good soldier, with her determined, straight-forward approach, but Daphne had too much hope and too much heart. She’d make a lousy soldier, and for that reason it made Evander like her all the more.
Against his better judgment, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms loosely around her. She leaned in, resting her head against his chest. She trembled, making him think of a sapling in need of protection from the storm.
“I’ll go round up Tigger.” Maya hustled off, and Evander wished she’d come back. He was doing a sister’s job right now. He should be rounding up the kid and she should be doing the mumbo-jumbo, loosey-goosey, huggy thing her sister needed. Not him.
He smoothed Daphne’s hair, reveling in its straightness when bullied into a twist.
No, definitely not him.
He allowed himself to snuggle her closer.
Mistral and Leif left the room, Mistral not even looking their way, and Evander had to struggle not to go after the man. The way he’d dismissed Daphne during the meeting had bothered him. Daphne was right here, wanting Mistral in her incredible life, and the man couldn’t even give a crap. He was taking everything for granted. His freedom. His life. Other people. Even ideas. What was the point of Evander getting blown up and going to war if goofs like Mistral could sit around in offices and ignore great ideas?
This was a democracy. There was freedom to try new things. To live a real and full life. But what was the point of it all if you were going to live by tight rules and never try stepping out of the box? If you were never going to even bother to try and stretch a little?
Evander hadn’t gone to war so men like Mistral could ignore their awesome kids. The man didn’t have an inkling of what he was missing. If Mistral could see what Evander saw, he’d be a changed man. But Evander didn’t have the power to open the man’s eyes. Mistral had to make the choice to open them and to see everything he had.
Sometimes, Evander had discovered, you had to go across the world and get shot at in order to understand just how precious one small child growing up in Canada could be.
He shook his head. Mistral didn’t even know what section of the dictionary to find the word lucky let alone where to see it in his own life.
“Mistral doesn’t realize what he is missing,” Evander said, hugging Daphne tighter as Tigger came bounding over, her face lit up like sunshine. “He has absolutely no idea.”
* * *
Daphne had been moping around his mother’s house all day and Evander had finally figured out a decent way to distract her. Yesterday’s meeting with Mistral had torn a piece out of her, and he could only imagine how she must feel—rejected at every turn.
He peeked into the sitting room, where his mother was patiently teaching Tigger to knit, her usually smooth ball of yarn a mess of tangles at their feet. Kyle was trying to sort it out without getting attacked by Rudolph, laughing whenever the cat pounced. Radiation had gone okay, but Evander could see how tired Florence was.
He climbed the stairs to the bedrooms and found Daphne sitting cross-legged on her bed, her head in her hands, elbows on knees. She was wearing uncharacteristic jeans and a T-shirt, her feet bare.
Gripping the door frame above his head, Evander leaned his torso into the room. “Bored?”
He definitely was.
There hadn’t been a hint of danger in almost a week. And the past few days of checking his monitors and security measures for breaches had become a tedious, mindless habit that was making him wonder if he was missing things because there was never anything to see.
Were the Summers finally safe? Oddly enough, Daphne hadn’t asked to go back to her house other than to pick up a few things.
She turned to him, her eyes sad. “Just feeling sorry for myself.”
“Isn’t there a yoga meditation thing for that where you shove your butt in the air while sticking out your tongue?”
“Probably.”
It occurred to Evander that he didn’t know how to proceed from here. An eight-mile run usually helped him out of any funks, but he didn’t think sending Daphne out was a wise idea. Not yet. Who knew if Aaron Bloomwood was still on the warpath, especially if he was indeed working for Mistral’s father, who obviously ran Mistral. And if Mistral actually brought Daphne’s new development idea to his father’s attention, Evander could pretty much guarantee Aaron would do something stupid in order to preserve all he’d been trying to accomplish in making a name for himself within Rubicore and the planned development.
“So?” Evander said, not quite self-centered enough to walk away from the woman and her blues.
“So?” she replied.
“What’s got you down?”
She let out a long sigh. “What doesn’t?”
He let go of the door casing and sat down beside her on the bed, making the mattress dip so low she had to shift away from him in order to not fall against him. She smelled like sunshine.
“List the blues. It’ll be like skeet shooting. You fire, I’ll blast them.”
He got a flicker of a smile. “For one, I’m stuck living in G.I. Joe’s headquarters.”
“Ouch.” Of all the crappy things she had to choose from, and she picked that first? He’d actually believed they were doing pretty good at the cohabitation thing.
“I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I mean, the food is much better here than in the army, from what I’ve heard.” She gave him a half smile that made him want to kiss her lips.
He shifted farther away.
She began listing more blues-causing grievances. “My ex wants nothing to do with our daughter. My sisters are in a battle with him. His partner tried to run me off the road and break into my home. His bodyguard would have shot me or something if you hadn’t intervened.” She shuddered and Evander eased closer in case she needed him. “My life has become an action movie. I don’t even have the money to help with the cottage. My sisters are all going to be able to raise enough to not only save the place, but their billionaire boyfriends are going to fix it up. Meanwhile, I’m over here, about to lose the island for our family after a hundred years of ownership. All because poor Daphne the single mom is an irresponsible hippie with her head in the clouds, and doesn’t understand money. What I understand about money is that there is never enough. No matter how much I budget or skimp or save or buy used.”
“Are you looking for an ear? Or do you want me to argue those points and shoot them down?” Evander angled himself so he was facing her more fully. “First of all, I think you’re doing a bang-up job of keeping those ducks in a row. Especially that bouncing one you’ve got going on. But Daphne, you can’t control what others do and how they run their own lives. You can only change your own. But by doing so, sometimes we can change someone else’s.”
“I guess.” She paused, running her hands through her hair. “I just wanted to prove that I could take control over my life and that I could make changes. And I can’t.” She met his eyes. “You were right.”
Hearing her say that wasn’t as rewarding as he’d thought it would be.
“You’re in a tough spot right now and there aren’t a lot of directions for you to maneuver. Don’t judge yourself based on the ability to take charge over the past week and a half. You’ve tried a heck of a lot harder than most people would in your situation.”
“Are you blowing sunshine?”
“You should know me better than that by now.”
“Are you really a billionaire?”
The shock must’ve shown on his face, judging by her reaction. “Yeah,” he said simply. “Pretty much.”
Only a few dollars short and a lifetime too late to really enjoy it.
“I would never have figured. You carry it well.”
“Was that a compliment?”
“You get so few that you don’t recognize them?” She gave him a goofy smile and he could see that she was well on her way to a cheerful mood again. Back to the Daphne he had come to love.
“And,” she said, holding up a finger in warning, “complaining about money is not me asking you to save me. I know you heard me, Maya, and Polly talking.”
“You’d make a horrible gold digger, Daphne.”
She sighed, shoulders drooping. “I know.”
“Come.” He stood and held out his hand. “I want to show you something hard.”
She rolled her eyes with a groan. “I have no interest in touching your gun.”
“Don’t make this dirty.”
She blushed in a way that made him grin inside as he led her out of the house.
* * *
Daphne should have known.
Evander wanted to teach her kung fu. Or karate. Or jiu-jitsu. Some sort of martial art that was not created for aligning one’s chi, but rather for killing someone with one’s bare hands. The man was never going to understand her, was he?
Digging her bare toes into the soft grass of the sloping backyard, she put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.
“Don’t give me that look,” Evander said.
“Which one?” She tipped her head to the other side. “The one where I am staring at you as though you are a crazy fool who knows nothing about me even after living elbow to elbow for six days? That one? Or maybe the one where you try to make me into a killer so I can be like you, the big army hero.”
He took her down.
She didn’t even see it coming. One moment she was giving him sass and the next moment she was flat on her back in the grass, the heavy weight of his body pushing into hers. She kind of liked it.
Even though the move was taught to him for reasons she was opposed to.
“I never said I was a hero.” His breath was warm on her forehead. She could stay here awhile. He hadn’t even hurt her, laying her out flat.
“Do that again. That was really cool.”
“No.”
She stuck out her tongue and he pulled her to standing. He maneuvered her hands so they were in front of her face, elbows pointed down. “We’ll start with a few blocks.”
“I want to take more action in my life, but not in a kung fu action movie way, Evander.”
Then again, if she got a chance to hit Evander she probably wouldn’t refuse. Yeah, yeah, she was a peace-loving person who believed in words before violence, but she figured she owed him one for the way he’d cramped her style and messed with her chi’s alignment. And she hated to admit it, but this was kind of perking her up for some weird reason.
“Take out your frustrations on me,” he said, beckoning her with his raised hands. He had them positioned as if he was going to chop through something.
She snorted. “I’m not going to hit you.” He’d just block every hit she tried to make, which would lead to immense amounts of frustration.
She contemplated his face, the strength of his bones. She’d probably break her hand if she managed to land a hit. “Can you teach me how to wipe that grin off your face?” she asked.
“Which one?” he teased. “This one where I look at you as though you don’t know me after living elbow to elbow for six days?” He gave her a wicked grin that stirred something fizzy deep in her belly. “You liked that one?”
She lunged at him and he caught her, spinning her around, pushing her up against the trunk of a nearby birch. His breath was tantalizing on her bare neck and she leaned her head to the side, needing to feel his lips graze the tender skin.
Instead he stepped back, releasing her.
“I was having a very nice feel-sorry-for-myself session up there, you know.”
“Beating something will fix you up.”
Daphne rolled her eyes. Typical man.
Evander made dodging moves as though they were in a boxing ring, and she tried to hold her interest. The sunflowers along the back window were starting to open. Fall was coming. She was going to have to put Tigger into school soon. Would she have enough money to cover the requested back-to-school supplies? She hadn’t registered Tigger in the local elementary, unsure why she’d dragged her feet. It was only kindergarten. She hadn’t sent her daughter to optional junior kindergarten, figuring too much school would be hard on a bouncy girl like Tigger, even though it would have been cheaper than day care.
Evander’s open hand whizzed by Daphne’s ear as he faked a jab. Without thinking, she blocked him.
“Good, good!” he said encouragingly.
He threw another jab and she blocked that as well. She had that job interview with Environment Canada tomorrow morning. She’d never thought a nine-to-five position would hold appeal, but with her daughter starting school maybe it was a good answer. Financial stability. Benefits. Retirement package. She’d hadn’t saved a nickel for retirement yet. She blocked another jab and yawned. She’d also need flexibility in her schedule. Would they be able to offer that?
But could she make a difference working for the government? She needed that sense of fulfillment in a job if she was going to be there full-time.
“Let’s mix things up a bit,” Evander said, backing off. Good. He was getting annoying.
Would Environment Canada allow her to take a grassroots approach? She supposed she could always quit if it didn’t work out.
Evander did some sort of crazy move, dropping low on the lawn, one leg whipping out to knock her feet out from under her. She landed hard on her butt.
He paled and was over her in an instant. “Are you okay?”
She blinked up at him. This close, she saw the flecks of gold in his eyes that she’d forgotten about. He had nice eyes.
“Daphne?”
His concern was so genuine, her throat closed up. She rolled onto her left hip and stood, giving herself distance. Dusting herself off, she said, “I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
“I’m sorry. You were just blocking everything and I…”
“I was what?”
“You were blocking me like you’d done this before. I figured it was time to step things up. What kind of training do you have?”
“Training?”
“Martial arts. Karate or something?”
“Tai chi. Yoga.”
“Huh.” He leaned back on his heels. “Maybe I should try yoga, after all. You’re good.”
The compliment was unexpected and Daphne felt herself blush.
“You went to this sort of Zen place,” Evander was saying.
“I was thinking. Are we done? I’m going to get a sunburn. I didn’t put on lotion.”
Evander repositioned himself, taking on his typical shoulders-back, all-business body language. “I need to teach you self-defense.”
“Why?”
“It’s something I can do for you.”
“Aren’t you already doing enough?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Fine.” She threw up her hands. “Teach me how to kill someone. Put a dark hue on my aura.”
“There’s a positive energy associated with using your body to defend yourself. This is going to give you strength and power.”
“Okay. Show me.” She tipped up her chin, fighting to be positive. She always worked so hard to show the world a happy side, and it seemed as though Evander simply walked up and it all just drifted away as though it had never been there, revealing all her hurt and anger. The hurt and rejection she kept hidden inside. He always released it, and she hated feeling that way. It was out of control and it wasn’t happiness. Those emotions were so dark and strong they could take over her life, destroy her. Her feet ate the ground between herself and Evander as she threw all her hurt and anger into her hands, thrusting them against his broad chest. He stumbled backward, his eyes wide.
To her surprise, he shoved back. She caught herself before she fell, and whirled on him, fists clenched and swinging. If he’d been a second slower, she would have hit him a good one right on the cheekbone. Instead, he blocked her and dropped into a ready position, legs bent in a crouch, arms out and ready to block her jab. She imitated his position, glad she was in jeans for once.
He wiggled his fingers at her as though to say, “Give it to me. Give me your best shot.”
She knew she couldn’t take him. She had nothing in her arsenal that could get through to a man as trained and as ready and aware as he was in this moment. The lawn stretched out behind him, birds chirped in the sky, a light breeze kissed her skin, and in front of her was a man as large as a grizzly bear, ready to take her down as soon as she moved.
She dropped her arms in defeat. This was her life right now. She couldn’t move without being taken down. She could throw goodwill and ideas out there and they’d be swatted right back out of the sky again, as though someone was standing over her, swinging a giant flyswatter.
Tumbling into the grass, she held in a choking sob. Evander was wrapped around her in an instant, pulling her onto his lap. He held her so tight it was both confining and comforting. Soothing and painful.
It was perfect.
The sobs spilled out of her and his lips burned trails across her forehead, laying kiss after kiss as though paving a highway of sympathy across her skin.
She tipped her head up so the kisses would land lower on her face. The heat of his skin touching hers left tingles along her cheekbone, over the bridge of her nose, before curving around to her lips.
Their kisses turned greedy and hard, bruising skin as they tried to give away the pain in their souls. Her palms ran up his sides, untucking his perfectly ironed shirt. His skin was hot under her fingers, and she tracked over small ridges of scars as though they were a sandy lake bottom under her touch.
His hand ran up over her T-shirt, cupping her breast, and she sighed. It had been so long since anyone had touched her. Consumed her. Loved her.
Their kisses turned frantic as she straddled him, plucking at the buttons down his front. All thought left her mind for long glorious seconds. Her body tingled with anticipation and everywhere it touched Evander’s she felt as though she was caving in to him. She wanted to be his, to be seen, to be felt.
Evander whispered something, his voice raw. She smiled against his mouth, pushing his shirt off his shoulders. It was caught on something. Her fingers stumbled across something hard. His gun.
She scrambled out of his lap, suddenly aware of what she was doing and with whom. He was her bodyguard. He was being paid to protect her. He was a wonderful man, but he’d made it clear that being together would cloud his judgment. She needed him clear-minded for her, for Tigger.
Chest heaving, she fell to the grass, staring at the handsome man who locked his eyes on hers, his gaze echoing what she wanted. What she needed. Echoing the lust. He felt it, too. The connection. It fizzed and sparked between them like wet Pop Rocks candy. Evander was like nothing she’d ever experienced. Not even Mistral.
He was the man she wanted, despite everything. Daphne Summer wanted Evander de la Fosse with everything she had.