Texan's Wedding-Night Wager / The Oilman's Baby Bargain. Charlene Sands

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СКАЧАТЬ by her admission, Kevin furrowed his brow. “Why?”

      Emotions surfaced on her face and her eyes narrowed with pain. “I don’t know. Maybe because nothing I said or did kept you at home.”

      Kevin leaned way back in his seat and studied her.

      She continued. “My mother had the same issue with my dad. He was never home. Always working, until the day he died. You know he died of a heart attack. Fell facedown on his desk at the office.” Cara looked up for a second, holding back tears. “My mother said he died doing what he loved best.”

      Anger bubbled in his gut. Cara had it all wrong if she was comparing her father to him. Their situations were entirely different. Cara’s father had had more wealth than he knew what to do with, while Kevin had had nothing and worked hard to bring their life up to a certain standard of living. He’d been determined to make his first million by age twenty-five.

      For Cara.

      Always for Cara.

      “You think I didn’t love you enough?” Kevin asked. “That I wasn’t home because I wasn’t…what? Happy with you? Or because I found you lacking in some way?”

      Cara shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now, Kevin.”

      They’d had this argument before, but never with so much raw honesty. “I say it does—”

      “Hey, Novak.” Lance walked in with Darius and both strode to their table. Kevin winced. He needed them here like a hole in the head.

      Lance ignored Kevin and nearly lifted Cara out of her seat to give her a bear hug. “My God, you look great! It’s good to see you, Cara.”

      “Same here, Lance.”

      Darius moved in and gave Cara a hug, too, his low, easy voice greeting her. “You have brightened my day, woman.”

      “Hi, Darius. How have you been?”

      “I’ve got no complaints.”

      Cara beamed seeing the two and, without invitation, both Lance and Darius took a seat, cramming Cara and Kevin into the booth. Kevin sat back and listened as Cara and his friends caught up on their lives.

      The interruption actually was more beneficial than he’d originally thought, since it had lifted Cara’s mood. They’d gotten way off course with the discussion earlier and Kevin fully intended on charming his wife tonight. He’d been thinking about seeing her all day. And if nothing else, he could rely on a sinfully erotic chocolate dessert to get her in a risky frame of mind.

      Cara had indulged herself fully, devouring obscene, hot-fudge cake while enjoying Kevin and his friends. She’d missed their friendship and remembered how much fun they’d all had in college. At the time, Kevin was the only one of the three men in a serious relationship. Now, the opposite was true. Lance had Kate, and Darius had Summer, while she and Kevin teetered on the edge of a divorce.

      “They haven’t changed much.” Cara smiled, feeling melancholy on the drive back to her hotel.

      “Those clowns? They’ll never change.” Kevin grinned.

      When he stopped at a red light, he glanced at her, then leaned over to wipe a smudge of hot fudge from her bottom lip. “You’re messy.”

      “Am not.”

      Kevin licked the hot fudge from his thumb, making Cara squirm a little in her seat. His gaze focused on her mouth, and erotic thoughts entered her head.

      “Oh, no?” Kevin’s voice went low and deep. “Then why do I have to clean you up?”

      Puzzled, Cara squinted. “You don’t have to—”

      “Yeah, I do.” He leaned in farther to cup her head in his hand and slanted his mouth over hers, his tongue doing a thorough swipe over her lips. Cara relished the liberties he took with her, enjoying every second of the kiss. When she began to kiss him back, savoring the moment, the car behind them honked.

      “Darn it,” Kevin said, moving away. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the car behind them. “Hold your horses, buddy.” Kevin straightened in his seat and drove out of the intersection.

      Cara’s chuckle had him turning her way.

      “What’s so funny?”

      “You haven’t changed your driving habits. Still arguing with everyone on the road.”

      His eyes twinkled. “Idiots. All of them.” When he looked at Cara, a deep, rumbling laugh emerged.

      “All of them but you, right?”

      “You got that right, babe.” His charming grin unnerved her.

      Cara settled in her seat, still smoldering from that one red-light kiss and feeling light of heart at the same time. Kevin and chocolate had that effect on her.

      Memories flooded her senses of all the silly, lighthearted moments they had shared during their courtship. Kevin had been entertaining and easy to be with. He’d been irresistible, too, and Cara found that tonight, all those traits that made up the man she’d loved had surfaced.

      Kevin reached for her hand. “It’s early and a beautiful night. Want to take a walk?”

      Cara didn’t hesitate. She’d enjoyed the evening and didn’t want it to end. “I’d like that.”

      Kevin squeezed her hand and nodded. “I know just the place.”

      Cara leaned back in her seat, trusting Kevin to entertain her. He’d been doing a good job of it since she’d arrived back in Houston. Though their marriage was over, this short time together would help them heal from wounds inflicted years earlier. Maybe this was the salve they needed to repair their injuries so they could move on with their lives.

      Whatever the reason for her carefree mood, Cara wouldn’t analyze it too deeply. She was on vacation from life at the moment, a small black hole in time where she and her soon-to-be-ex husband could enjoy each other’s company without repercussions.

      She’d forget his blackmail for the time being, shoving his motives out of her head. In less than two weeks she’d be back in Dallas, planning her new studio design, doing what she loved doing.

      Kevin stopped the car on a dirt road that overlooked Somerset Lake. Brilliant moonlit waters glistened with sapphire illumination. Kevin got out of the car and opened the door for her.

      The air felt heavy and warm, typical for a summer Texas night. Crickets chirped on and off and, in the space of quiet, the gentlest rippling of waves could be heard.

      Cara swallowed hard as she took in the view. This was the place they’d come with all their friends, to have picnics and bonfires during the summer. This was their place, the spot right beyond the picnic tables, where she and Kevin had first admitted their love for one another.

      Cara took Kevin’s offered hand and followed him down a dusky, bluebonnet-laden path that led to the water. She took each step with care. She hated trampling on the flowers.

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