slight glow lit in her eyes before she quickly banished it. Was she thinking of how itâd been, with him walking into the room, latching gazes with her?
A bang-up attraction just like the one he was feeling now?
Was she feeling it, too, but doing her damnedest to tamp it down?
âI was taking a break from doing some repair work in the hotel,â she said. âSo it was going to be a long night. I own the place, along with my brother and sister, but Iâm the one who runs it. And the only time I have to do catch-up work is when the desk isnât very busy. But itâs been that way ever since the Tony Amati story came to the forefront.â
âI heard all about that.â
She crossed her arms over her chest, as if resisting any small talk. âAnyway, you came right over to my table. Charming. Persistent. Long story short, we ended up in bed in one of the empty hotel rooms. And when you left the next morning, you said youâd â¦â
Heâd already guessed what heâd said, and he wondered how many women heâd done it to and if heâd really meant it at the time.
âI told you Iâd be back,â he said.
âYes. You said youâd come back after youâd taken care of your business for the day.â She fingered her collar, as if missing the jewelry she used to wear. âYou took my necklace from my pile of clothing and said you wanted to bring it with you. You were in a playful, good mood. âItâs just some insurance,â you said. âA guarantee Iâll come strolling through the lobby again tonight.ââ
Insurance? A guarantee? Okay, from what he remembered about himself, this didnât sound like him at all.
Had he been toying with her? His brothersâhis best friendsâhad told him that he was a pretty harmless scamp, but it didnât sound like it right now.
Why hadnât he just made it clear to her that their one-night stand was merely that?
A sense of bewilderment rotated within him, as if trying to find a place to stop, to lock in and provide some clarity, but it never did.
âAt any rate,â she said, still cool, âthatâs the gist of it.â
He wanted to ask her just when sheâd stopped expecting him to come back, but he wasnât sure why he was even wondering.
She started walking again, and he knew sheâd said all she was going to say. He knew that heâd done a real number on her, too, whether she showed it or not.
âIâm sorry,â he said again, following her, taking the necklace out of his back pocket and holding it out. âI wish I couldââ
âYou donât have to wish anything.â She ignored the necklace. âActually, itâs good to know the reason you didnât come backânot to say Iâm glad you were in an accident, but â¦â She blew out a breath. âAt least youâre okay.â
He acknowledged that, nodding, then out of pure impulse, took her hand, intending to put the necklace in it. She gasped just as a zing of energy flew up his fingers, his armâ
Holding her ⦠Curves against his palms, sleek, smooth, so beautiful â¦
He came out of it as she pulled her hand away from his and walked off again.
âYou can keep it. Itâs only a bauble.â
But, as he stood there, he got the feeling that this necklaceâand everything that went along with itâno doubt meant a lot more than that to her.
He wanted to apologize again, but by now, apologies were just air. Meaningless.
He caught up with her in a couple of long strides. âIf thereâs anything else you can tell meââ
The words spilled out of her, as if the sooner she said them, the sooner he would leave. âYou said that two out of three of your brothers are happily married. They tease you about being a bachelor until youâd like to punch their lights out. Your momâs a widow, and you think that, more than anyone, she wishes youâd get out more to find someone whoâd make your days âshine all the brighter,â as sheâd say. Thatâs what happened to her and your fatherâtrue, fast love.â
What? âI told you all that?â
âWell, we didnât sleep much, whether it was talking or â¦â She trailed off, as if she regretted how far sheâd gone in this conversation.
But he was swamped by yet another image. Holding her against him as she closed her eyes, pressing kisses to her eyelids, one by one, then the tip of her nose. Watching her in the glow of a soft lamp as she drifted off to sleep. Feeling something unfamiliar twisting inside of him, as if being born â¦
But wasnât he the ultimate cowboy bachelor?
The same twisting sensation ripped through him now, as if daring him to define what it was.
Up ahead, he could hear childrenâs laughter, the clang of a playground, past all the dust-brushed Old West buildings. Rita kept leading him toward it.
âRita,â he said, âwhen I came back here, it was because of you.â
This time, when she slowed down, she almost seemed to stumble before she straightened her posture. âWhat?â
âI had this fragment of a memory â¦â He gentled his tone. âAbout you. It drove me to find you, even if I canât remember exactly why. I keep thinking that if I spend some time with you, itâs going to shake things loose in my head.â
His directness had apparently stunned her, because she kept walking slowly, not looking at him.
But then, she did sneak a glance, her expression even more torn now.
Heâd played his last card with her.
They stopped at a chain-link fence that separated them from swing sets, a teeter-totter and a field where children were playing tag and doing somersaults and cartwheels in front of a woman wearing a floppy camp hat. Next to the field stood a small pastel-colored building with a mural on it. In the mural, children of all sizes and colors laughed, held hands and peered up at a rainbow.
One little girl with dark curls just like Ritaâs spied her, and she jumped up, then waved.
Rita waved back as the girl picked up a bag from the edge of the grass and came running toward a swinging gate in the fence.
âMommy!â she yelled, curls bouncing, skirt flying.
A new flash of memory hit Conn hard.
âKristy. Thatâs my daughterâs name â¦â
He just stood there as the girl came through the gate and hopped into her motherâs arms. Rita buried her face in her daughterâs hair, squeezing her until she pulled away, planting a kiss on the childâs forehead.
Then the girl sucked in a breath. âI forgot!â
She ran back to the field, where her teacher was holding a majoretteâs baton.
Meanwhile, it looked as if Rita was daring Conn to say something about her having a daughter. Looked as if she was wondering if this would be enough to let him know that sheâd never truly expected him to stay for more than one night in the first place.
How had he reacted when she had told him she had a daughter that night? Had he wanted to run?
But then why would he have taken her necklace and promised to come