“How many in your party, sir?” inquired the hostess.
Con jerked away from his memories. He indicated Tam. “I’m joining the lady.”
He followed the hostess to Tam’s table, tried to force his body to relax, and tapped the folders he held against his thigh. Tam’s loving had been a tremendous gift that he’d vastly undervalued. He’d learned a hard, painful lesson when she left—succeed or fail, life without Tam was pointless.
Tam didn’t want marriage. Well, he didn’t want the kind of single life and fatherless children that he’d grown up with. He’d pulled himself and his sisters from the muck of poverty, earning every cent, reward, and privilege. Tam thought he was obsessive, territorial, stubborn, and possessive. He’d had to be to survive, and that made him who he was—the man who loved Tamsin Carter Donal.
After last night’s kiss he was certain she wanted him. The rush of unsated desire came back full force as he recalled the sweet surrender of her lips and body. They’d been good together before. They would be again. This time she had to stay with him.
His jaw tightened as he set his mind on his goal. She was both stronger and more cautious now than seven years ago. Because of those years, he needed to proceed carefully. Once he uncovered all her secrets and overcame her wariness, she wouldn’t stand a chance of resisting. If he was right, when she realized their mutual need, how they really loved each other, she wouldn’t want to resist. One thing was certain. Tam needed to know he wasn’t giving up.
Just as she closed her lips over a forkful of eggs, Con dropped one of the folders beside her plate and sat across from her. “Good morning, sweetness, sleep well?”
While he placed his order, she swallowed and took a sip of coffee. A single drop glistened against her rosy flesh.
Oh to be a drop of coffee and flavor Tam’s mouth
.
The urge was strong to lick the drop away and mark her as his in front of everyone. He resisted temptation. Taking that approach in public was a cheap shot and guaranteed to make Tam angry. Her anger wasn’t part of his plan.
She raised her napkin, blocking Con’s view of her mouth and bringing him back to earth. When she finished blotting her lips, she smiled.
“As a matter of fact, I slept just fine. Thank you very much for moving to the other bedroom. Now if you’d just concede that sharing a suite is a mistake and move out, everything would be great.”
“I agree things could be better.”
She brightened.
“But the only move I should make is into your bed.”
She pressed her lips together and glared at him.
He smiled and spread his napkin in his lap, thankful for the sheltering table and cloth. Tam’s effect on him had always been too easy to see. “The registration booth was closing, so I got your packet when I went to get mine.”
“Is it that late already?” She glanced at her watch.
“Relax. You’ve got at least fifteen minutes before your first seminar.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
Warning himself to stay casual, he reached for the coffee carafe. “The conference invitation was clear. No late registrants would be admitted.”
Her mouth twisted. “Then your courtesy was self-motivated.”
“You claim you’re not interested, so why should my motives matter?” Her continued mistrust wounded him, but he put the hurt aside. Focusing on that wasn’t productive. He covered his heart with his hand, feigned a bland expression, and tapped the folder next to her. “That’s yours.”
“I don’t like being crowded.” She sniffed.
“Nobody’s crowding you. You can pack your bags and leave any time.”
“Maybe you should consider that option yourself.”
He caught the gleam of fire in her eyes before she turned her attention to her toast. Proud of her because she’d kept her edge and disappointed that she ignored his bait, Con waited a minute before trying a different tactic. “I couldn’t help noticing that you’ve got a full docket.”
“Are you satisfied that we’ll attend enough of the same sessions for you to keep me in your sights?” She picked up her folder and perused its contents as if she weren’t suspicious of his every move.
She was trying to hide her feelings. Despite her bent head, he could see the tension in her shoulders. He wished he could rub away those aches, but after last night it was too soon to touch her. He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Sadly, I have private meetings all day. I won’t see you again until tonight’s cocktail party.”
Con smiled and bit down on a bagel. Giving her space today would lull some of those suspicions and make a later full-scale assault all the more effective. She wouldn’t see it coming. He chewed, swallowed, and contemplated a future with Tam firmly by his side in work and life.
“Con.”
He brought his gaze to hers. She said his name with an icy calm that worried him. “Yes.”
“How closely did you look at this folder?”
“Just glanced at your itinerary. Why?”
“Because the hotel staff seems to have carried the booking error over to my registration.”
His brow wrinkled. “I don’t understand.”
She widened her eyes, but that lapis-on-sky stare was pure ice. “You would never meddle with my registration, would you?”
The thought had crossed his mind to be immediately discarded. A surer way of making her angry, he couldn’t imagine. “No, I wouldn’t. Is something wrong?”
“My corporate title’s been dropped and my affiliation changed to O’Neal Corp. instead of TLC Distribution.”
“Let me see that.” He reached for the folder, but she held it away from him. “Please.”
“Oh, fine.” She shoved the folder at him.
“This is easy enough to fix.” He pulled a pen out of his pocket. Crossing out O’Neal Corp., he added CEO after her name and wrote in
TLC Distribution
with quick, bold strokes beneath. He wasn’t so underhanded that he’d try to belittle her. That she even implied he would hurt so much he lashed out. “I didn’t do this, but part of me wishes I had.”
“Why?” Shock paled her features.
Con placed her nametag atop the reassembled folder, added one of his business cards, and returned the packet to her. She sat frozen, pressed back in her chair, as if cornered by a dangerous animal.
He gave her a sharp-eyed gaze. “Look around you, Tam. How many women do you see wearing conference nametags?”
She shifted her shoulders and surveyed the space. “One or two. That’s not surprising. Distribution has been male dominated for a long time. Women are just beginning to become part of the corporate structures in this field.”
“Exactly.”
Tam sent him a puzzled look.
“There are over a hundred men attending this conference and only two or three women. Each female is a prime target for male attention. If it were up to my supposedly obsessive territorial nature every man here would know that you’re taken. You’re mine, Tamsin.”
“I am not yours.”
“That will change.” What insanely arrogant impulse possessed him to utter that ultimatum, he couldn’t say.
“Hmpf.” She dismissed his claim, then poked a finger at the closed folder. “Thanks for the pen and ink corrections. Nonetheless, I paid a lot of money for a top-notch conference, and I intend to get this set right. While I’m at it, I’ll make certain there are no other mistakes. As for your wild idea that I belong to you, you’re delusional.”
She rose, tossed her napkin on the table, and picked up the folder. As she passed by, he gripped her wrist, slowing her. “Think what you like. I intend to prove to you and the rest of the world that we belong together.”
She shook her head, removing his hold. “Really? Then this will be the first time the famous Connor O’Neal determination fails miserably.”
Con watched her walk away. Her hips swayed gently. Her long legs carried her swiftly from the room. Too soon, all that remained of Tam were the seeds of doubt and the scent of ginger-laced peaches. Suddenly he discovered he’d lost his appetite.
Tam was wrong. Any failure wouldn’t be his first. He’d already failed her, or she would have found a way to contact him—sick or not. He’d been left with a fledgling company plus a hole in his heart bigger than a crate of lemons and just as bitter. That hole still ached. She hadn’t believed in him or them. For that, he had no one to blame but himself. He’d treated her like something that would always be exactly where he’d put it. He hadn’t confided his most private thoughts or asked about hers. He’d never shown her that he needed her and her faith in him, or that a long-term committed relationship was not only possible but what he wanted for them both.
The acid memory of days, months, years spent wondering what happened churned in his stomach. Wrong as she was about how many times he’d failed, he feared she might be right about the rest. No matter how determined he was, if Tam didn’t want him, he’d never win her back. He rejected the possibility. He held a passionate attraction for her. Yesterday he’d seen want in her sleepy blue eyes. He’d felt need in that incendiary kiss. She hid a wealth of desire. All he had to do was figure out how to mine that wealth.
Tam had been skittish of commitment from the day they met at an orientation for interns working in the company where he was a junior exec. He’d been careful of her feelings and happy enough to shack up. They shared goals and dreams; the world was good. Then her internship had ended. Unwilling to let her go, he’d thought talking about marriage and O’Neal Corp. together would ease her fears. She’d disappeared anyway. If any hope remained for them, they had to deal with the real issues—his stubbornly determined, possessive, objectifying drive to get what he wanted and keep it at all costs, plus Tam’s distrust of personal commitments. They needed to build trust. He wished he was certain how to do that in five days.
****
After a short, pithy conversation with the conference manager, Tam had a new, accurate folder followed by a very successful day of workshops, networking, and no sign of Con. She was relieved, she really was. Back in her bedroom, she hurried to put the finishing touches to her hair and fasten her earrings. She needed to call Susannah. Whenever business took Tam away, her heart ached at the separation. She always wondered if her own father had ever missed his daughter on his too frequent business trips, or had his only heartache been the heart attack that killed him while he was gone. Tam had never gotten to say goodbye or even remind him that she loved him. That would not happen to Susannah. Tam would move heaven and earth to communicate with her daughter every day they were apart. No way would Susannah grow up thinking that she took second place to a business. No way would Connor O’Neal’s single-minded drive have the chance to hurt Susannah, as Tam’s own father had hurt her and her mother.
Tam dialed the number. Her conscience twinged.
Connor is a good man. He deserves to know he has a daughter. Susannah deserves to have a daddy. She’s old enough. Both Con and I have made mistakes. Neither of us is more at fault than the other. Keeping Susa from Con shows a complete lack of faith in him. He’s obsessive and territorial but not dangerous. Those very traits helped him survive and thrive despite a poverty-stricken childhood, which argues that he would be an excellent father. Absolutely no proof exists that Con is like my dad and would neglect either Susa or me? Neither is there proof to the contrary. Mom suffered neglect and crushed dreams waiting for a man who was too busy making the next deal to love his family. Knowing how painful that was I can’t risk loving Con, not for myself, and not for my daughter.
“Donal residence.” Sarah Carter Johnson chimed the formal greeting and drew Tam from her thoughts.
“Hi, Aunt Sarah.”
“Tam, it’s so good to hear you. How was your drive to Montana? We expected you to call last night. Are you okay?”
Tam soaked up her aunt’s concerned outpourings. “Yes, I’m fine. The drive was long but uneventful.”
“Good.” Having lost the rest of her family, Sarah worried in torrents whenever Tam was on the road.
For her aunt’s sake, Tam tried to relax her voice and pretend nothing stressful had occurred. “I’ve only got a few minutes.”
“Then I’ll put Susannah on. She’s waiting right here.”
“Hi, Mommy.”
Instantly Tam felt bright and lighthearted. “Hello, oh best of fairy girls, did you have a good time at school today?”
“Chuckie let out our hamster, Bobo, and Miss Bebbins sent him to the office.”
“Bobo or Chuckie?” Tam asked, knowing the answer.
Her daughter’s laugh came over the phone. “That’s silly, Mommy. Chuckie went to the office. Bobo is lost.”
Tam’s heart squeezed. She knew she had to work to support her family, but she hated being away from Susa.
“I’m sure the hamster will turn up.”
“Nancy said her daddy would give our class another one. He owns a pet store.”
“That’s very nice of Nancy’s daddy.”
“Mommy, is my daddy lost?”
What could she say?
Your daddy doesn’t know you exist because I never told him. I didn’t think he’d want us
. Unless Tam confessed to Con soon, he might as well be lost. “I guess you could say he’s lost.”
“Are you gonna find me another daddy?”
“Do you want a daddy?”
“Well, sorta, Nancy has lots of fun with her daddy. But I really want a baby brother. Aunt Sarah says I can’t have one unless I have a daddy.”
Tam smiled. “Aunt Sarah’s right. No baby brothers unless you have a daddy.”
“Then will you find me one?”
“This is important to you, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, Mommy. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Tam made three loud smacking kisses into the phone, then placed the handset back in the cradle.
“If that was your boyfriend, I hope you told him it’s over.”
Tam jolted from the bed and turned. Con leaned negligently in the open doorway. She placed a hand over her racing heart. Had she forgotten to shut the door? How long had been there? “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“No, you didn’t. You were too busy throwing kisses at your telephone lover.” He stalked her. Danger glittered in his eyes.