Isn't it Romantic? Read online

“Ah, yeah,” he answered when his companion joined them. “Linda, this is Shelly. Shelly, this is Linda.”

  Shelly impolitely ignored the introduction. “I thought your last name was Westmoreland.”

  “Oh, how cute,” Linda laughed. “’Darling’ is simply a form of affectionate address,” she explained.

  When Shelly’s eyes narrowed, Trey thought it best to end the introductions. “It was nice to see you again, Shelly. We need to find a seat before the lunch rush arrives.”

  “But I’ll talk to you later, right?”

  “Right,” he answered.

  Her blonde head nodded. Shelly turned to retake her place next to Harold at the cash register. She paused as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh.” She turned back. “It was nice to meet you, Linda. And by the way, you look great to be such an old acquaintance of Trey’s.”

  Linda lifted a perfectly arched brow. “Is that what he called me?” She laughed. “We’re more than that.” Her dark eyes shifted to Trey. “We spent six years together. Trey and I used to be married. It was nice to meet you, too. Do your parents own the restaurant?”

  The little vixen seemed at a loss for sarcasm he noted, watching Shelly’s face pale. “No,” she answered, somewhat dazed. “The Lanes are friends of ours. My mom’s and mine,” she specified.

  “So, how did you and Trey become acquainted?”

  Color returned to Shelly’s cheeks. Her eyes began to twinkle mischievously. “Acquainted?” She lifted a brow in mimic of Linda’s earlier reaction. “Oh, we’re more than that.” She gave a fake little laugh. “My mom and Trey had a baby together.”

  ———

  “I don’t know what Shelly just said, but it made Ms. Perfect’s mouth fall open,” Cynthia informed her lunch partner.

  Katrine fought the urge to turn her head in their direction. Unfortunately, she’d lost the battle a moment ago and snuck a peek at Trey and his date. The woman, whoever she was, could have stepped off the cover of Vogue. Katrine suddenly felt very tall, very gangly, and very ugly.

  “Shelly is headed this way. Sit up and try to act unaffected.”

  “Why should I?” Katrine wanted to know. “I am affected. Extremely affected!”

  “This could very well be a business lunch or she could be an old friend. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions. You want to act grown up about it and set a good example for Shelly, don’t you?”

  “Not really,” Katrine grumbled. “But you’re right.” She sat up straighter and tried to school her features into a mask of control.

  “Guess who she is?” Shelly didn’t waste any time as she slid in next to her mother.

  “An old friend?” Katrine asked weakly.

  “That’s what he said, but Linda said she’s his ex-wife.”

  “His ex-wife?” A lump formed in Katrine’s throat. That beautiful creature used to be married to Trey? That walking advertisement for Glamour Magazine once shared his life, his bed? “Oh.” She cleared her throat and turned a look of helpless appeal on Cynthia.

  “Well, she’s probably just in town for the day and they accidentally ran into each other,” Cynthia reasoned. “Now, what would you like for lunch, Shelly?”

  “I’d like a spaceship to set down outside and for aliens to abduct Trey’s ex-wife for scientific research,” she answered seriously. “I saw the way she looked at him. She’s not here for the day. She’s here to sink her teeth into him.”

  Shelly turned toward Katrine, her lower lip trembling slightly. “Mom, you’re not going to let her have him, are you?”

  The desperate look on her daughter’s face broke Katrine’s heart. “Honey, whoever Trey chooses to see is none of our concern. I told you from the beginning, our relationship is strictly business. I can’t control—well, you shouldn’t have expected—”

  “You’re not going to fight for him,” Shelly interrupted in a stunned whisper. “Not even for me.”

  Again, Katrine felt her heart constrict. “You can’t always have everything the way you want it to be, Honey. In real life—”

  “I don’t want real life!” Shelly said passionately. “I’ve never asked you for a puppy. I’ve never asked you to be a Girl Scout leader. I’ve never asked you for anything, but I want Trey. First, I wanted him for you, then something happened … in here.” She placed a small hand against her chest. “Now I want him for me, too.”

  Shelly stood up abruptly, glancing toward a certain table. “If you don’t do something about her,” she nodded in the couple’s direction. “That isn’t going to happen.”

  Katrine was too stunned to respond as Shelly stormed away. She watched her shove two doors leading to the kitchen open and disappear. When Cynthia remained uncharacteristically silent, Katrine picked up a menu and glanced across the table. Her friend’s frown put Katrine on the defense.

  “What am I supposed to do?” she demanded. “Go over there, hit him over the head with a club and drag him out of here?”

  Cynthia lifted a brow. “You might try a more subtle approach. Surely you can think of a more creative way to catch him.”

  “You make him sound like a fish,” Katrine grumbled. “I don’t know the first thing about ‘catching’ a man.”

  Cynthia began to chuckle softly, then laughed out loud.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Come on, Katrine. You wrote the book, or at least a dozen, on the subject. If you don’t know, who the hell does?”

  ———

  “So, you and Kat Summers delivered a baby together?” Linda mused for the third time. “That must have been an absolutely grotesque experience.”

  Trey watched her lips move. Perfect white teeth flashed behind the dark red of her mouth. “Actually, it was wonderful.” He lifted his gaze to a pair of velvet-brown eyes. “Charlie, the cab driver, named the baby after me.”

  Linda wrinkled her nose. “How flattering. A cabby’s baby being given your name.”

  “Well, at least someone’s son has my name,” he stated with annoyance. “Tell me again why you’re in Dallas?”

  “Shopping,” she answered evasively.

  “And why did you come to the paper?”

  “To see you, of course.” Linda swatted his arm playfully, then forgot to remove her hand. “I’m here, you’re here. It seemed odd to be in Dallas and not pay a visit to my ex-husband.”

  “You ended our marriage with a note six years ago. Didn’t you find that odd?”

  Her eyes lowered at his accusation. “You’re angry with me.”

  The assumption was so ridiculous, Trey laughed. “I don’t care enough to be angry with you anymore, Linda. But for a while, yes, I was damned mad.”

  When her gaze lifted, just the proper amount of pain shone in her eyes. “I thought you’d come after me. I–I thought you’d realize how you’d neglected me and come charging forward to reclaim the woman you loved.”

  Despite Trey’s inner assurance he no longer cared for Linda, he felt the need to kill her at this moment. Did she suggest his devastation was all a game to her? “Why would I? You said it was over. You called me boring. You said you wanted another man. Why would I come after you?”

  “Because, I wanted you to,” Linda answered, her lips puckering into a pout. “It never occurred to me you wouldn’t. Not until it was too late. You just ran off to Dallas and what else could I do but marry Stone?”

  “I’m sorry I put you in such an awkward circumstance Linda. I’m even sorrier for Stone,” he said, stressing what he considered the stupidest name he’d ever heard. “Did you leave him a note, too?”

  Linda flushed becomingly. “No. He didn’t deserve one. I caught him with another woman. I just left; a note wasn’t necessary. He understood my reasons.”

  “I guess he would. I’m sorry,” Trey said with more control. He knew how she must have felt. The thought of Linda cheating on him had torn at his insides. He’d taken it as a personal affront to his ability to please a woman and for a couple of years after their d
ivorce, proved himself proficient with a number of one-night-stands. It was a stupid reaction, even though he’d been choosy about his women and careful, he hadn’t proven anything except for being an insecure, insensitive jerk.

  “I didn’t blame him too much.” Linda twirled a straw in her diet soda. “We didn’t have a good relationship. Besides,” she stared directly into Trey’s eyes before wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue. “He didn’t do anything for me, not like you do.”

  Trey couldn’t believe the absurdity of the situation; the woman who turned his life upside down six years ago and admitted to playing some sort of game by doing it, was actually sitting across from him, wearing that ‘come-on’ look in her eyes. The one, he recalled, that had been few and far between after about the third year of marriage. Unconsciously, his gaze traveled to the front booth and a blonde ponytail. It was an effort to ignore Katrine, but after the humiliation she caused him last night, and because he didn’t want to merge the past with the present, he thought it best to get lunch over with and Linda out of Harold’s.

  “Are you seriously involved with anyone?” Linda asked bravely. “Daddy says this assignment with Kat Summers is only a publicity stunt to help both your careers. Is that true? The picture on the cover of that dirty little gossip rag this morning was staged, wasn’t it?”

  The volley of questions brought his attention back to Linda. “I don’t believe you have the right to delve in either my personal or professional life.”

  “You don’t have to tell me,” Linda decided smugly. “The man I married wouldn’t lose his control to the point of hefting a woman over his shoulder and carrying her across a parking lot in front of witnesses. It’s too out of character for your rational behavior. After all, if I couldn’t force a spontaneous reaction from you, I’m sure a blonde romance writer whose dress clearly labeled her, hussy, couldn’t.”

  “Katrine isn’t a hussy,” Trey defended without thought. “I liked that dress and—” He quickly closed his mouth. “It was interesting to see you again, Linda, but I should get back.”

  “You’re in love with her,” she accused.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he blustered. “Falling in love with her would be like asking someone to shoot bamboo under my fingernails. The same—”

  “I’ve never seen that look in your eyes.” Linda thrust out her bottom lip. “I’ve never heard that impassioned denial in your voice. At least you saw the logical side to falling in love with me. I come from a respected journalistic family. That woman is nothing but a romance writer—”

  “Katrine Summerville probably makes more in a year than I do,” Trey informed her stiffly. “She’s very respected in her genre.”

  “Well, if you didn’t charge to my rescue, you’ve certainly charged to hers,” Linda quipped. “But then, Kat Summers, or Katrine Summerville, whichever you prefer, is obviously an expert at manipulating men. It’s basically what she does for a living.”

  Displeased by the turn of conversation, mostly because he felt confused about, ‘charging to Katrine’s rescue’, he snatched up the bill, indicating lunch had ended. “I’ve always suspected the two of you were a lot alike. Why don’t you tell me the real reason you’re in Dallas.”

  “Daddy said you’d be suspicious. At least she hasn’t robbed you of all your rational logic.” Linda rewarded him with a dazzling smile. “I wanted to see you.” At his skeptical expression, she batted her lashes. “And, because Daddy wanted to know if you were happy here, or if you’d be interested in coming back. Your family is in Philly. I’m in Philly. This feature will make you a hot commodity.”

  “Funny, how everything seems to boil down to business. I’ve got a deal on a house that’s supposed to close in two weeks. Does it sound as if I’m interested in moving?”

  “A house?” Linda’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Why would a bachelor want the hassle of becoming a homeowner? Unless…” Her gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Does this house by chance have a big yard for a blonde-headed girl to romp around in?”

  “It has a huge back yard so my brother’s and sister’s broods can romp around,” Trey answered. “My family rarely comes for a visit due to the space problem. I’ve had this deal in the works much longer than I’ve known Katrine and Shelly.”

  “Oh,” Linda sighed with relief. She promptly returned to bargaining. “You could get out of it if you really wanted. I’m just asking you to consider coming back. I realize as far as the two of us are concerned, we need to spend time together before you’d be willing to give me a second chance. Is that so much to ask?”

  Anything Linda asked was too much in Trey’s opinion. After what she’d done to him six years ago, he found it amazing he’d kept a civil tongue in his head while talking with her. “Go home and tell Sam I’m not interested at the moment. As for us, I don’t make the same mistake twice. I’m still the hard-working, boring man you married the first time, Linda.”

  “Are you?” She smiled slightly, just enough to be sexy. “I’m beginning to wonder after seeing that copy of Texas Trash this morning. I wish you’d lift me over your shoulder and carry me off somewhere this very minute. Would you make mad, passionate love to me? Did you with her?”

  Trey painfully gained his feet, moving around to help Linda with her chair. It was a natural gesture he’d tried to break himself of with Katrine. “No.” His simple answer left her to wonder which part of the question he referred to. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Dallas. Tell Sam I said thanks, but no thanks.”

  Reluctantly, Linda rose. “Trey, you just have to see me again so we can discuss this further.”

  “I don’t have time,” he said, clearly frustrated. “I’m working on a feature, remember?” Unconsciously, he glanced toward the front booth where Katrine and Cynthia sat.

  “Oh her,” Linda huffed. “Oh … her,” she repeated, her gaze darting from him to the front booth. “But of course. It stands to reason if the brat is running wild around the place, the mother is most-likely close by.”

  “Watch what you say about Shelly,” Trey warned. “She’s an exceptional child. I’m fond of her.”

  “I want to meet her mother,” Linda decided. “If there’s nothing serious going on between the two of you, it won’t cause any riffs in your relationship by introducing us.”

  Trey frowned. “I don’t see any point. It would be awkward.”

  “Just say I’m a fan and wanted to meet her,” Linda persisted. “If you refuse, I’ll simply go over and do it myself while you pay the check. I assume the blonde ponytail in the front booth belongs to Kat Summers?”

  He sighed.

  “You know I always get my way. I always get what I want.”

  The hot gaze his ex-wife ran down the length of him left Trey little doubt as to what Linda wanted, or more precisely, what she thought she wanted. He wondered why he’d ever found her little pouts cute. Trey wasn’t conceited enough to believe Linda truly desired him. He was simply a toy she feared someone else wanted to play with. A toy who’d now become her favorite one.

  “All right. But this had better be brief. I need to get back to work.” He stepped aside to allow her to move in front of him. “And Linda, there’s no reason to bring up the past.”

  “No.” She sounded sadly resigned. “I don’t suppose so.”

  Trey politely let the woman who once broke his heart lead the way.

  Chapter 14

  “They’re leaving,” Cynthia whispered. “You’ve given me a perfect excuse to watch Trey walk away, not that any woman with eyes in her head needs much of one,” she added with a wicked grin. “I can’t believe he rode one of those contraptions. Bet that was something to see.”

  Katrine smiled. “Actually, he did pretty well considering he’d never been on a mechanical bull. Those seasoned ranch hands gave him hell about the tux, but before long, they were giving him pointers and cheering him on. I’ll say one thing for Trey Westmoreland, he’s persistent. He just kept doing it until he
got it right.”

  Cynthia’s dark brows lifted. “Sounds like my kind of man. Think about it.”

  Her friend’s advice was unnecessary. Katrine had thought about it—thought about the way his body moved with the motion of the bull, how the muscles in his arms bulged after he shucked his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. She thought about the hot blood racing through her veins when he finally mastered the machine, and also about the way he walked afterwards. Although humor didn’t seem appropriate under the circumstances, she laughed.

  “Hello, Cynthia.”

  Both women glanced up into Trey’s strained features. “Katrine.” He nodded an acknowledgment. “I have a fan with me who’d like to meet you.”

  My fan or yours? Katrine tried to paste a smile on her mouth as fake as the brunette’s, who ran a cool and somewhat dissecting survey over her. Trey’s ex-wife stared down her perfectly straight nose, then her smile widened. Katrine’s unthinking rush into the restaurant earlier came back to haunt her in that moment. The Barbie Doll was obviously not the least threatened by what she saw.

  “Linda, this is Kat Summers, and Katrine, this is Linda…” He paused to glance at the brunette. “Sorry, what’s your last name now?”

  The woman’s smile faltered. “Westmoreland,” she answered, retrieving the smugness she’d wore a moment earlier. “I took Trey’s last name back after my divorce. Foreshadowing, I guess.” She cut her gaze at Katrine, then slid her arm possessively into his. “I love your books. Trey used to enjoy them, too—sort of secondhand. He didn’t know a few of those late night encounters where we embraced unbridled passion were linked to your talent. Not that Trey wasn’t an expert at—” She quickly closed her perfect mouth. Linda flushed, as if she’d only realized her lack of delicacy concerning her and Trey’s past intimacy.

  Words, those valuable entities that rarely deserted Katrine Summerville, had. Her mind, however, had no trouble conjuring a visual. A steamy, lust-fiddled picture of Trey and Linda—Barbie and Ken—her mind searched for a proper adjective—’doing it’ seemed appropriate.