happy to let loose. Plenty of women with whom Ajax could become well acquainted.
But he only tugged at his bow tie and released a couple of shirt buttons as he said, “I should call it a night, too. Big day tomorrow. I’ll walk you to your car.”
It had rained earlier. Crossing from the shelter of the tent onto a wet path, Veda scooped up as much of her mermaid dress train as she could. After a few steps, however, some of it slipped, dropping right into a puddle. She was about to dive and rescue what she could, but Ajax had already gone into action.
As if she weighed no more than a bagful of petals, he scooped her up into his arms. When Veda flipped the fabric up and over her lap, Ajax’s gaze caught hers.
“All good?” he asked.
She almost sighed. “All good.”
As they left the party noise behind, rather than focus on her body’s reaction to being pressed up against so much Rawson muscle and heat, she did her best to concentrate on something else.
“When was the family house built?” she asked, studying the majestic shingle-style Victorian.
“The original place was built a hundred and forty years ago,” he said, his big shoulders rolling as she gently rocked to the swing of his step. “It’s still standing just a little north of here.”
Veda wondered if it was anything like the original Darnel house, a gorgeous but pint-size stone structure that she used whenever she stayed over now.
“This house,” Ajax went on, “was built around ten years later. It’s been extended and modernized, but its heart is the same. Earthy. Solid.”
Through some living room windows, she saw a wall filled with family portraits—some recent, others obviously going back years. There wasn’t a single photo displayed in her father’s house anywhere—not of family or graduation. Certainly not of a wedding.
As those portraits slid out of view, Veda sighed. “Lots of happy memories.”
“Oh, man, I had the best childhood. This was a great place to grow up, and with fantastic parents.” As they passed beneath an overhead light, Veda watched a pulse begin to beat in his jaw as his grin faded. “Things changed after Mom died, of course. But we got through it. In some ways, we’re even stronger.”
Veda was happy for them. Was even envious, as a matter of fact. What she wouldn’t give to have been part of a big, happy family. How different her life would have been.
“I didn’t get to meet Griff or Jacob tonight,” she said, “but they looked proud standing behind Lanie with you all before the cake was cut.” After a brief speech, she had thanked everyone for coming; some guests were from as far away as Argentina, Australia and the Netherlands. Lanie’s dressage events took her all over the world.
“Yeah. Great night. And tomorrow morning, over a huge breakfast, all the highlights will be rehashed and new stories shared…until we’re all asking about lunch.”
When he chuckled, Veda noticed that her hand had come to rest upon his chest. Along with the gravelly vibration, she could actually feel his heartbeat against her palm. Then he looked down into her eyes and everything else receded into the background at the same time his gorgeous grin seemed to gravitate a smidgeon closer.
If I wound my fingers into his lapel… she thought, …if I edged up a little and he edged down…
Then—thank God—they arrived at her SUV. Ajax lowered her onto her feet and, as Veda admired his profile—the high brow, hawkish nose and shadowed granite jaw—he gave a thumbs-up to the ad panel for her business painted on the door.
“Best Life Now,” he said. “I like it. Real catchy.” He nodded like he was invested. Like he sincerely wanted to know more. “So how does a person do that—have their best life now? Do you give talks? Teach classes?”
“I do both.” She delivered her automatic line for anyone who showed interest. “You ought to come along to a self-improvement seminar sometime.”
Not that she could possibly tutor him on anything in that regard. Ajax had his life all sorted out. He was exactly where, and how, he wanted to be.
He crossed his arms and assumed a stance that said she had his full attention. “Give me the elevator pitch.”
“You can achieve your best life now by behaving your way to happiness and success,” she replied. “Start with healthy habits and surround yourself with the best. The best friends, the best information, the best advice, and be smart enough to take it. You should also go after the things that matter to you the most. Everyone needs to get behind themselves and push.”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “Get up in the morning and get things done.”
Spoken like someone who’d always had his shit together.
“Did you know that some people struggle to even roll out of bed in the morning? And you need to look beyond the rationale of just being lazy.”
“Look beyond it to what?”
“Maybe past trauma, dysfunctional family, learned helplessness.”
His eyebrows drew together. “You can learn to be helpless?”
“Sure. It can happen if a person feels like they can’t stop the bad stuff from happening, so they just give up.”
The same way Veda had wanted to give up after her mom had died. She wasn’t able to save the person she had loved most in the world. Worse, she had felt responsible for the accident. Constant feelings of worthlessness coupled with guilt had added up to a why the hell bother? mind-set.
Ajax’s expression changed as his eyes searched hers. “There’s a whole lot more to you, isn’t there, Darnel?”
“A few layers. Like most people.”
The perfect Ajax comeback line might be, And I want to peel back every one, starting here, tonight. But there were parts of Veda no one would ever know. Not her father or Lanie. Not Veda’s Best Life Now clients or blog followers. And certainly not Ajax Rawson…family rival, player extraordinaire and proponent of an industry that she wished would disappear.
As if he’d read her mind, Ajax’s jaw tightened and his chin kicked up. Then, rather than delivering a line, he did something that pulled the rug right out from under her feet. He took a measured step back, slipped both hands under his jacket and into his pants pockets. The body language was clear.
Nothing more to say. Won’t hold you up.
After a recalibrating moment, Veda got her rubbery mouth to work. “Well, Ajax…it was good to see you again.”
“You, too, Veda. Take care. Stay well.”
When he didn’t offer a platonic kiss on her cheek—when he only pushed his hands deeper into his pockets—she gave a definitive nod before climbing into her car. But she hadn’t started the engine before his face appeared inches away from her window.
The nerves in Veda’s stomach knotted even tighter. Damn, she had to give it to this man. He’d waited until the very last minute, wanting to catch her completely off guard to ask if he could see her again.
Channeling aloof, Veda pressed a button. As the window whirred down, she got ready for an extra-smooth delivery. But Ajax only pointed down the driveway.
“Take it slow down the hill,” he said. “There’s a sharp bend near the office.”
She blinked. “A bend?”
“It’ll be wet after the rain.”
When he stepped back again, Veda took a moment before winding the window back up, starting the car and driving away.
So…
Score, right?
Rather