Defying Desire (16 page)

“Are you okay?” Adam was saying.

“What? Oh, I’m fine. I just want to find out what’s going on. Camille hasn’t gotten any fan mail or anything for Tia at the office, has she?”

“Not that I know of. When she told me about the
break-in this morning I started thinking the same thing. A stalker maybe.”

“That’s plausible since she’s in the spotlight all the time. She didn’t seem to think they’d taken anything from her apartment. Not that she had much there to start with. I don’t think she wants a home, Adam. She’s just existing, not really living.”

“Because of the accident?”

Trent nodded. “I’m hoping she’ll let Camille find her some help. You know, someone to talk to, like a therapist.”

“That’s providing she’ll tell Camille what happened. Camille said she’s known for a while that there was something going on with Tia but that Tia wouldn’t open up to her. It’s been hell trying to keep this from her.”

“But I appreciate you doing it. I didn’t want Tia to know I’d checked out her background, let alone told you and Linc about it.” Trent sighed. “I’ve got a feeling Tia isn’t going to have a choice but to tell Camille now. She’s pretty persuasive, that woman of yours, and the way she just huddled Tia off, she’s not going to stop until she knows everything.”

Adam chuckled. “You’re probably right.”

Trent turned and headed back to the truck.

“Where are you going? Aren’t you going to come inside and be with Tia?”

“No.” Trent answered simply.

“Come on, man. She’s obviously shaken up.” Adam had walked to the truck with him.

“And she’s obviously in good hands with Camille.” Opening the door and getting in, Trent sighed, then looked over to his brother and his disapproving glare. “Look, Adam, I can’t be the charming hero like you. I’m not the smooth champion like Linc. I need to do what I do best.”

“And what’s that, leave?”

“No. Fight.”

“You have to know it’s not your fault, Tia.” Beverly Donovan took her hand as they sat on the couch in Camille’s Parisian-inspired living room. What looked like a picture right out of an extreme homes magazine with its warm golden walls, crown molding, high ceilings and amber lighting was quite comfortable.

Camille had given Tia enough time to take a bath and eat a delicious brunch before Beverly and Noelle arrived and the interrogation began. It was a good thing she’d already decided not to even fight this battle. As much as she hated to admit it, Trent had been right, it was past time she started living again. And the first step to that was to be honest with the person who seemed to be more in her corner than Tia realized.

Never having had a best friend, Camille Davis was quickly fitting the bill with her. For months she’d been right there, not only offering Tia jobs, but offering her support. In that smart, subtle way that was pure Camille-like, the extraordinary fashion designer had been, as Tia realized today, waiting for the moment Tia cracked and told her about what was going on.

Tia hadn’t anticipated doing so in front of Beverly and Noelle but found it didn’t bother her as much as she’d thought. Noelle had been quick to inform her that Jade would have been here had Linc not locked her in her room to get some rest after all the festivities yesterday. She completely understood and vowed to call Jade personally to apologize for adding the drama to her baby shower.

“On some level I knew it wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t driving the car and I wasn’t driving the truck that distracted Jake,” Tia said. “Still, I was the only one who survived.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Beverly told her. “The Lord doesn’t make any mistakes.”

Tia smiled. “That’s exactly what my mother says.”

“Then she’s a very smart woman and I fully intend to meet her sometime soon.” Beverly kept rubbing the back of Tia’s hand. “Making yourself sick with grief is a slap in the face to the memory of Jake and Jessica and I know that’s not what you want to do. You’re a beautiful young woman with your entire life ahead of you, Tia. I’m not even going to sit by and let you shut yourself away because you think that’s what you deserve.”

Across the room Camille nodded. “And neither am I.”

Noelle, who had just finished her second Mojito, a drink which she swore was too light to be considered alcohol and hence her reasoning for having it with brunch instead of the orange juice Camille had and the Bloody Mary Beverly was still working on. “I guess I’ll have to take you out partying to get you back in the swing of things,” she said with her leg draped over the back of the truffle colored settee in the corner.

“Thanks,” Tia said, so overwhelmed by the support shown to her by these women who barely knew her that tears glazed her eyes. “But first I think I’m going to take a piece of advice offered to me this morning.”

“What advice is that?” Camille asked.

“To get the name of your therapist and pay her a visit or two.”

Camille came to sit on the other side of Tia. “Oh, that’s a great idea. I’ll get it for you. She’s terrific. Once you get all this out you’ll feel so much better.”

“I’m curious,” Beverly said as she leaned forward to pick up her drink and take a sip. “Who gave you this fabulous advice?”

That had Tia sighing. “I guess I shouldn’t have said it was advice. It was almost in the form of a threat.”

Noelle threw her head back and laughed. “Then I know where it came from. None other than Trent with his domineering military mentality.”

Camille rolled her eyes. “Please tell me he hasn’t been browbeating you.”

Tia felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. Did the light spankings he gave while they were in the throws of passion count as browbeating? She cleared her throat.

“He’s definitely doing something to me,” she said without another thought. The question now was what she planned to do about it.

Linc and Adam were looking at each other conspiratorially. Trent tried to ignore them, he didn’t have time for their antics right now. He’d gone over the folder he had with Tia’s personal information in it twice since arriving back at his place earlier this afternoon. He’d stopped by her apartment once more just in time to see the police wrapping up. Taking the lead investigator’s name was just a formality, Trent had every intention of investigating this matter himself.

Nothing in her file indicated that she’d ever had a stalker. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t one out there. Trent had seen this all before, someone totally obsessed with someone else until all rational thought simply fled from their mind. And with Tia’s visibility there could be any number of suspects running around.

That’s exactly why this impromptu visit from his brothers was inconvenient. He wanted to spend his time solving it, not rehashing it over tea. Not that Donovan men ever drank tea.

“What do you two want?” he said going back to his desk and taking a seat at his computer.

“See I told you he’s crabby,” Adam said nudging Linc.

The brothers moved closer to the desk. “Trent’s always crabby, Adam,” Linc said looking closely at his younger brother.

“What is up with you two and these female terms? Crabby? I’m a guy, I’m not crabby.”

“Then let’s just say you’re in a foul mood,” Adam suggested.

“Let’s just say I’m pissed off because some nutcase has decided to make Tia his target. Slashing her tires wasn’t good enough, he had to go one step further by invading her privacy.”

“This kind of stuff happens every day, Trent,” Linc pointed out.

“That doesn’t make it right.”

“No. It doesn’t. But I don’t recall you getting this worked up about it, either.”

Looking over at the two of them Trent sighed. In his haste to get rid of them he’d been talking directly into their trap. “I’m a military man, any type of injustice bothers me. That it happens to be someone I know just makes it worse.”

Linc sat on the edge of the desk looking down at him. “And that it happens to be the woman you’re sleeping with makes it…what? Personal?”

“It makes it important.”

Linc raised a brow.

“All right, it’s personal!” Trent yelled sitting back so that his chair leaned with him. “She doesn’t need anything else on her mind right now. I’m trying to get her to see a therapist about her grief issues. I don’t want her to hurt any more than she already is.”

“And there you have it,” Adam said to Linc. “Just like I told you.”

Linc nodded while Trent looked from one of them to the other. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re in love with Tia,” Linc said simply.

“What? Hell, no!” he said jumping up out of his chair. “I’m a Donovan, remember? The last one standing as I recall.”

“The last one to fall, I believe,” Adam said with a grin spreading across his face.

“You’re crazy. I’m not in love with her or anyone else. I don’t do love and relationships.”

“And why is that, Trent? You never really told us,” Linc questioned. “I mean, we all had our issues with relationships but you’ve always gotten what you wanted out of them. I don’t ever recall you having a broken heart or going through any type of drama over a female. So what gives with the no-commitment routine?”

Dragging a hand over his face Trent realized that it was either talk to them now or talk to them and his mother later. Because if Adam and Linc thought he was in love there was no doubt they were ready to spread the word and Beverly Donovan would be the first person they’d go to.

She’d already called him from Camille’s house just before Tia had finished with her bath. He had a confirmed lunch date with her tomorrow afternoon and he already knew what the topic of discussion was.

“Look, I can’t be in love with anyone. What’s the point?”

“What’s the point in being in love?” Adam asked and shrugged his shoulders. “Contentment. Satisfaction. Partnership.”

“And unlimited sex that goes beyond any casual encounters you’ve ever experienced,” Linc chimed in. “That’s a stupid question. We’re grown men, the rules we made for ourselves years ago don’t and shouldn’t apply anymore. All of us are
more than capable of having long lasting, fulfilling relationships. Adam and I have found it, so what’s your problem?”

Trent moved to the window and fiddled with the handle that would open and close the blinds. “I wasn’t looking for love,” he said solemnly.

Adam sighed. “Neither were we. But we weren’t stupid enough to turn it away when we found it. Well, at least I wasn’t,” he said smiling over at Linc.

Trent had to chuckle at that. Jade had come back into Linc’s life by way of a debt her sister, Noelle, owed to his casino. In an attempt to work that debt off, she’d ended up losing even more money to Linc’s gaming tables. The two of them had been involved briefly in college but the moment he realized who she was, he knew he wanted another chance with her, so he’d offered her an ultimatum—be his date for a week during the Donovan family reunion, or be prosecuted for the full amount she and her sister now owed to the Gramercy. In the end Linc fell in love and instead of professing his love to Jade, he’d attempted to make another deal with her. Unfortunately, Jade wasn’t one to make deals on love. Now look at them, happily married, with twins on the way.

“I don’t begrudge either of you your happiness. It’s just not for me. It can’t be.”

“Why?”

“Because of what I do. I’m not into real estate and I don’t own a casino. I don’t wake up every morning, get dressed and leave for the office only to return at dinnertime to be with the family.”

“So this is about your job with the special ops team?” Linc asked.

“It’s about not knowing if I’ll return from a mission standing tall or in a pine box.”

The room was quiet and Trent turned to face his brothers. “Every time I leave for an assignment I watch Mom looking at me with that sadness just etching her eyes. I know that she worries every day I’m away because I can read it in her letters. Dad worries but he’s always let me do what was necessary for me. You guys are just you and you respect my choices. But each day I’m away, fighting, I think of you and the impact my death might have on you. Not in the conceited way, but it’s tough knowing that my occupation could cause any of you pain.” He sighed. “And if I fall in love and marry a woman and start a family, I’m putting them in the same predicament.”

“Wow,” Adam stated. “That’s heavy. I never knew you felt that way.”

Trent gave a half smile. “I know. You just thought I was this rough and tough soldier who didn’t give a damn about anyone but himself.”

“Nah.” Adam shook his head. “That’s not what I thought, either. You’re my brother and I’ve always looked up to you. The way you knew exactly what you wanted and you did it no questions asked. I just didn’t realize what you were giving up to be that way.”

“Trent, man, we accept you and your career choice because we know it’s important to you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a full life because of it. The woman you chose to be with, if she loved you in return, would accept you just as we have.”

“But that would be one more person I’d hurt.”

“What if you’re hurting her now by not admitting you love her? Did you think of that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Trent said finally. “She’s not in love with me. She’s perfectly content just sleeping together.”

Adam laughed and Trent glared at him. His brother always found something funny.

“If that’s what you think then I’m going to stop looking up to you. I watched the two of you at Camille’s party and then again at the shower yesterday. And I saw you in the truck this morning. Tia’s not content with just sleeping with you and I don’t care if that’s what her mouth says.”

Linc nodded. “I have to agree with him, Trent. Maybe you can’t see it because up until now you haven’t wanted to see it.”

That could definitely be true. But Trent had known from the start that Tia wasn’t like the other women. He’d known the moment he first kissed her that she had a power over him, a power that he would never willingly give to another. His brothers were right, he was most likely in love with her. He couldn’t be sure because this feeling was still foreign to him, but he wasn’t stupid by a long shot. There was something going on between the two of them, something more serious than the “lovers only” agreement they’d made.