“The same way you’re willing to give up your chance of happiness because it might cause Maverick’s family embarrassment and pain. I want to see you happy even if it means you’re with someone else.”
Adrian drained the last of her coffee, stood and put the mug in the sink. “Thanks for the support. I’ll think about it. If the photos are all good, I really have no excuse to stay.”
Marie nodded. “I suppose you’re right.” She also rose from the table. “I have to finish lunch. Would you mind showing me some of the photos when you’ve sifted through them?”
“Not at all. Another opinion is always welcome.”
Once in her room, Adrian booted up her laptop and extracted the memory cards from the cameras. Before the laptop had finished booting, Wade strode into her room, his face drawn in a serious mask. She swallowed the sudden dryness in her throat and blinked to prevent tears from spilling again. She loved him so much it hurt.
Her heart contracted at the mere sight of the man. She blinked as she stared at the laptop screen. This was stupid. How could
she
, who prided herself on being able to remain emotionally unattached, fall for a man in a matter of days?
Wade grabbed a chair, dragged it closer to her and straddled it. He plonked his hat on the bed and ran his hand through his dark hair. “What’s going on? And don’t tell me it’s nothing or work related, because I’ll know you’re lying.”
She took a deep breath to calm her raging nerves. “It really is just work.” She pointed to the laptop screen. “I told you how important this project is to repair my career and reputation. If I can finish it earlier, it would count in my favor.”
He stared at her for a long time and Adrian squashed the urge to squirm in her seat. She’d never been good at lying, but today he had to believe her. When he touched her arm, she forced herself to remain impassive, though the contact sent want straight to her heart.
“All right, but don’t shut us out. We care about you more than we care about the project.”
With her throat clogged up, she managed a nod and pretended to look at the screen. Together they flipped through the photos of the day. They were perfect and she had enough to finish the presentation. She had no legitimate reason to remain on the farm.
“Come, lunch should be ready.”
He pulled her from the chair and hugged her to him. Flattening her breasts against his chest, he lifted her chin and captured her lips in a tender kiss. When he tangled his fingers in her hair, deepened the kiss and ravished her mouth, she gave herself up to the utter bliss of being in his arms.
Clinging to him, she started saying goodbye. If only they’d met under different circumstances… His mouth traveled along her chin to her neck and she tilted her head to give him access, rejoicing in the fires he lit in her body.
“God, you drive me mad. I can’t get enough of you.” He sounded as breathless as she felt.
Her legs refused to carry her weight anymore and she clung to his shoulders, committing every feature of his face to her memory. She traced the outline of his face with her fingertips—his strong chin, the laughter lines next to his eyes, the little bump on the bridge of his nose…
“Adrian?”
She met his gaze.
“Why does this feel like goodbye?”
She shook her head and dropped her hands. “Let’s go eat.”
The smell of food had her stomach rebelling, but she straightened her back and marched to the dining room. The video crew already sat at the table and were peppering Maverick with questions about the locations suitable for video. Upon her arrival, Maverick stood and held out a chair for her.
“You should ask Adrian here. She’s the one with the creative streak. We just followed orders.”
“That’s not the only streak she has,” Rory mumbled under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Marie touched his hand with the dish she placed on the table and Rory jumped.
“Can’t you watch what you’re doing? God, why the company insisted on hiring incompetent people, I will never understand.”
Marie’s hand stilled on the lid, but then she lifted it and stood behind Rory, her head tilted to one side. “Incompetent people?”
Seated two chairs away from Rory, Maverick turned in his seat to look at Marie and he inhaled sharply. She moved to him, shook her head slightly and placed a hand on his shoulder. Adrian frowned. Some form of silent communication passed between the two, but Maverick held his tongue.
With all eyes on him, Rory sat up straighter. “I’m not naming anyone, but women tend to be unreliable at best.”
“Hmm, maybe you should try the food before you make snap judgments, don’t you think?” Marie said in an even voice.
Rory grinned. “Oh, I’m sure it will be fine. That’s about all women are good for, isn’t it? To cook and to fuck.”
“Jeez, Rory. Can’t you keep your mouth shut just for one simple meal?” the leader of the crew scolded. “If this is going to be a problem, I’ll ask that you be reassigned.”
Marie shook her head and Adrian frowned.
Did Marie just wink at the speaker?
“Oh, I don’t think he has a problem with the food. So it must be Adrian bothering him,” Marie observed.
Eight pairs of eyes gazed at Adrian and she fidgeted with her cutlery. What was Marie thinking? She’d just made matters worse by focusing all the attention on Adrian.
Rory smirked. “She
does
have a tendency to abandon her projects.”
“You bastard.” Maverick tried to rise, but Marie’s hand on his shoulder held him in place.
“Says the one fucking our princess’ brains out,” Rory taunted.
“Enough.” Marie’s voice boomed with authority over the table and Adrian jumped. In the stunned silence, Marie strode around the table—her gait almost regal. She stopped when she faced Adrian, pointing at Adrian and Rory respectively. “You guys won’t be able to work together. Adrian, do you still have a lot to do?”
Adrian shook her head to try to process the transformation in Marie. “I have all I need. I’m done.”
If only they knew how true her statement was. She was not only done with her photos but also with the cowboys. She just wished it didn’t hurt so much.
Marie nodded. “Good. Then you don’t have to stay for the full three weeks and the project won’t suffer.”
“What’s it to you? You’re only the cook,” Rory grumbled at her.
She cast Rory a syrupy smile. “Why don’t you ask Maverick here to fill you in while I go see to the dessert?”
All eyes turned to Maverick while Marie exited the room.
Chapter Ten
Maverick shrugged and reached for the dish with the meat. “She’s the daughter of the owner of the Groundhog Saddle Company and she also holds the title of Chief Executive Officer.”
A stunned silence followed wherein Rory lost all the color in his face and shrunk in his chair. If she wasn’t so shocked herself, Adrian would’ve reveled in his misery. As it was, several questions raced through her mind. Had she got this job because she’d had sex with Marie? Was that why Marie was here—to pick up where they’d left off that night? Had Marie known Rory would be part of the video crew, or had he been hired after Marie had learned that Adrian wasn’t into women?
How could her life have become such a mess in the space of a week? As if falling for her models wasn’t bad enough, her ex-husband had to anger the one person she’d thought was on her side. Maybe this was Marie’s way of helping her get away from the farm without losing face. The next couple of minutes should be interesting.
The silence in the room was only broken by the clinking of cutlery against the plates. Adrian’s appetite had completely deserted her. She sipped on the juice and wished she could excuse herself. It didn’t make her feel any better that Rory also just glared at his food.
All heads turned toward the kitchen when Marie opened the door. The ceramic dish she carried wafted the sweet scent of cinnamon into the air and Adrian’s stomach rebelled when Marie leaned between her and Wade to place the dish on the table.
“Relax, will you. I’ll handle this,” she whispered into Adrian’s ear as she straightened.
Marie strutted to the head of the table, her manner confident and screaming authority. Adrian had a hard time keeping her jaw from dropping at the transformation. How could she ever have thought Marie was younger than her? Adrian’s mind struggled to reconcile the fluffy-headed, immature chef with the full-blooded businesswoman with her chin raised in an unspoken challenge.
“I see Maverick told you who I am. I’d hoped to finish this assignment without anyone being any the wiser, but with both Rory and Adrian present, I would be neglecting my duties to the company if I didn’t step in.”
Several people around the table nodded and Marie continued. “Professional that she is, Adrian finished her photos today, so in order to maintain the level of excellence I expect from the video, I think it would be best if she didn’t remain on location any longer.” She stopped to take a deep breath and glanced around the table, her eyes lingering a fraction of a second longer on Maverick and Wade. “Anyone have any problem?”
Everyone shook their heads, but nobody spoke.
“Good, it’s settled then. Adrian, I’ll see you in a bit to finalize the arrangements for the presentation.” She turned toward the kitchen. “You better enjoy the dessert. I haven’t spent all morning preparing it so you guys can just glare at it.”
Although it could hardly have been more than fifteen minutes later when everyone finished eating, it felt like hours to Adrian. She forced her legs to keep a steady pace on the way to her room when all she wanted to do was run as fast and as far away as possible. She’d never been so humiliated in her life. It was no use trying to convince herself she was silly for feeling betrayed—her heart refused to listen.
Maverick and Wade followed her into her room and shut the door behind them.
“You’re leaving today?” Wade’s voice sounded gruff behind her.
“Yes, as soon as I can get my gear together.”
“What about us?” Maverick demanded.
“You guys will be fine with the video crew. Judging by the photos, you don’t need anyone to hold your hands to make this project a raving success.”
Maverick shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.” He indicated the three of them. “Us.”
Adrian swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn’t afford to waver now. She had to be strong though it tore her heart out. “There
is
no us. We agreed from the beginning this would be recreational sex. Nothing more.”
Maverick inhaled, but Adrian placed a finger on his lips. “When this assignment is finished, you’ll return to Houston and rise further to stardom on the rodeo circuit, and I’ll stay in Johannesburg trying to salvage my career. Our lives would never have intersected if it hadn’t been for this campaign.”
A muscle worked in Maverick’s jaw, but he remained silent.
“We had great sex, fantastic sex, but it was just sex.”
Maverick straightened and held his hand out to her. “Then let’s get you moving. I don’t want you to drive that atrocious road in the dark.”
An hour later, Adrian blinked as tears streaked her cheeks. In the rear-view mirror, she could still see Wade and Maverick standing at the gate, watching her progress over the rutted road. She’d almost faltered when they’d hugged her, told her how they wished she’d change her mind and stay. The pain of leaving them weakened her resolve and threatened to convince her that they could somehow work it out, but she kept her grip on the steering wheel firm. They had no future together. Never had.
After a month, her fascination with the men would fade and her life would return to normal. As soon as she’d finished with the presentation, she would deliver the files to the company, collect her payment and start forgetting all about the two cowboys who’d given her the magic of sex, but also a glimpse at the woman she could be.
Maverick watched the Land Cruiser disappear along the dirt track. For the first time in his life, settling in one place with a woman he loved held more appeal than his success on the rodeo circuit. Visions of him teaching Adrian to ride over the wide expanse of a Texan ranch dislodged a sharp longing in his heart.
“I’m not ready to let her go.” Wade’s gruff admission intruded on Maverick’s thoughts and he turned toward his friend.
“Neither am I.”
“God, this is a mess.” Wade hooked his arms over the wooden post next to the gate and stared out over the veld.
Maverick watched Wade’s jaw clench as Wade tried to get his emotions under control. He’d never seen his friend so smitten with a lady before and he ought to be happy for him. If only it wasn’t Adrian.
“What are we going to do?”
Wade glanced at his friend. “You’re willing to share?”
He nodded. “If she’ll have us both.”
“You realize I don’t want her for just a casual fuck every now and then. I want her to be part of my life—every day.”
“So do I.”
Wade turned and leaned against the gatepost. “She’ll have to sacrifice her life here to come with us. Do you think it’s fair?”
“Oh, hell, I don’t know. Let’s first get this video over and by then we’ll hopefully have a better plan.” Maverick pointed toward the house where the video crew was still busy unloading some of their equipment. His gaze zoomed in on Rory. He’d like to test his brawling skills on the prick. “What are we going to do with Rory?”
“Nothing. Let him be. Marie’s warned him to behave. If he heeds the warning, we leave him alone. If not…”
Maverick nodded and slapped Wade playfully on his shoulder. “I pray he doesn’t heed the warning.”