struck him as the kind of woman who would admire simplicity. Gazing into her eyes, however, he had the sinking feeling that admiration for his taste in rings was the last thing on her mind.
“You’ve obviously lost your mind,” she said, but her voice was softer now and laced with something that might have been regret.
“Quite the contrary. It’s the only rational decision for both of us.”
“Rational,” she repeated as if it were a dirty word.
There was an ominous undercurrent he didn’t quite get. “Actually, yes. I’ve given it quite a lot of thought. We’ve known each other forever—there won’t be any nasty surprises. We’ve both had more than our share of those. I can give you the kind of life and financial security you deserve.”
“And I can give you…what? A hostess? A cook, perhaps? A bed partner on cold nights?”
Jordan could feel the blood climbing into his cheeks as she enumerated some of the very thoughts that had occurred to him. They’d sounded better in theory than they did spoken out loud by a woman who was clearly insulted. She wasn’t taking this well at all. He searched for a new approach. “Now, Kelly…”
Unfortunately he never got to finish the sentence. Kelly was already shaking her head, rather emphatically, it seemed to him.
She stood and glowered down at him. “Not a chance. No way. Forget it, bud. Take a hike.” She seemed to be just warming up.
The flare of unexpected temper just might be one of those previously hidden flaws he’d been hoping to discover. He tried to calm her. “You’re saying no without giving the matter any consideration at all,” he advised her. “When you do, I’m sure you’ll see—”
“Not if we both live to be a hundred and ten and we’re the only two people tottering around on the face of the earth,” she assured him.
Jordan was beginning to get an inkling that she meant it and that nothing he was likely to say tonight was going to change her mind.
“Okay, okay,” he said, defeated for the moment. “I get the picture.”
“I doubt it.”
A hasty exit seemed in order. “Maybe I’d better let you sleep on it. We can talk again tomorrow.”
Kelly drew herself up and squared off in front of him. Fire sparked in her eyes, amber lights bringing that normally placid shade of brown alive. “We can talk tomorrow, if you like,” she said emphatically, “but not about this.”
Jordan edged carefully around her and made his way to the front door. “See you in the morning.”
“Jordan?”
Her voice halted him in his tracks. She had obviously followed him.
“You forgot something.”
He turned back. She was holding out the box with the engagement ring. “Keep it here,” he said, refusing to accept it. “Try it on. Maybe you’ll get used to the idea.”
She tossed the ring straight at him. He caught it in midair and sighed. “I’ll bring it with me tomorrow.”
“Don’t,” she warned angrily. “I’m not some poor substitute you can call on when the first string doesn’t show.”
Jordan was shocked by her assessment, even though he had to admit there might be just the teensiest bit of truth to it. “I’m sorry. I never meant it like that,” he insisted.
She sighed heavily. “Yes, Jordan, I think that is exactly how you meant it.”
That said, she quietly closed the door in his face. He was left standing on the porch all alone. Oddly enough, it was the first time in all the visits he had paid to this house that he was leaving feeling lonelier and far, far emptier than when he had arrived.
He made up his mind as he drove the few miles back to White Pines that night that that wouldn’t be the last of it. After all, hadn’t he wooed some of the most sought-after women in all of Texas? Maybe approaching this as a business proposition hadn’t been the wisest decision. He’d try roses and, if that didn’t work, billboards along the highway, if he had to. Nobody said no to Jordan Adams. Kelly would weaken sooner or later. What struck him as slightly worrisome was the fact that it suddenly seemed to matter so much. Somewhere deep inside him he had the troubling impression that she was his last and best chance for happiness.
* * *
“The man is impossible!” Kelly declared, leaning against the front door and listening for the sound of his car driving off before she budged. She didn’t want to move until she knew for certain he wasn’t coming back. She seriously doubted she could hold out against his ludicrous proposal for very long. She’d been in love with the man practically since the cradle.
Unfortunately he had never once in all these years given her a second glance. She doubted he would be doing it now, if he hadn’t suffered a defeat in his blasted plan for his own life. Who in hell had a timetable for getting married? No one she knew except Jordan Adams. Well, he could put that plan into action without her.
“Mommy, are you okay?” Dani asked, peering up at her.
“I sure am, munchkin,” she said with more exuberance than she felt.
“You look funny.”
She grinned at the honest assessment. Bending over, she scooped her daughter into her arms and swung her high. “Funny?” she repeated indignantly. “Mommy is beautiful, remember?”
Dani giggled from her upside-down vantage point. “Very beautiful,” she confirmed. “Let me down, Mommy. My head’s getting dizzy.”
“Mine, too, sweetie,” she murmured, glancing through the window and watching the red glow of Jordan’s taillights disappear into the night.
Suddenly she thought of all the times she’d watched Jordan drive away, her heart thudding with disappointment once more because he hadn’t recognized how perfect they were for each other, because his kiss had been nothing more than a peck on the cheek.
She’d married Paul Flint only after she’d finally faced up to the fact that Jordan was never going to view her as anything more than his pal. Her world had fallen apart after that stupid, impulsive decision. Not right away, of course. It had taken a month or two before Paul had started spending more and more time away from their home. She wasn’t even certain when he’d started seeing other women.
When she finally accepted the fact that Paul was having affairs, she asked for a divorce. Jordan had been there to pick up the pieces. He hadn’t even said he’d told her so as he’d transported her and then three-year-old Dani to the ranch where Kelly had grown up.
From that moment on they had fallen into their old pattern of frequent phone calls and visits whenever he came home from Houston. She looked forward to their talks more and more. She had dreaded the day when his marriage to Rexanne would force an end to the quiet, uncomplicated time they spent together.
At least that wasn’t a problem any longer, she thought with another sigh.
“Mommy? Are you sad?” Dani inquired with her astonishing perceptiveness.
“Just a little,” she admitted.
“I know just what you need,” her daughter announced, giving her a coy look that Kelly recognized all too well.
“What’s that?”
“A new kitten.”
Kelly grinned at her child’s sneaky tactics. The suggestion was certainly a more rational one than Jordan had offered. A kitten was a whole lot less complicated than taking on a husband who’d selected her for marriage for all the wrong reasons.
“I’ll think about it,” she promised. “Now, go take your bath and get ready for bed.”
Dani bounced