The Seduction Request (11 page)

The truth must have been plastered all over her face. It would explain the look of disbelief plastered all over Matt's.

“Don't you dare think for a minute that I was saving myself for you, or something pathetic like that,” she said firmly.

“You mean, you really haven't been with anyone else?”

“What happened between us was just so…special. Everyone says the first time is awful. For me it was perfect. It was everything I'd hoped it would be. I guess I didn't want to ruin that.”

“For me, it was never the same as…” His brow furrowed deeply.

“The same as what?”

He shrugged. “I don't know.”

The same as being with me? she wanted to ask. It was what she desperately wanted to hear.

A cool breeze kicked off the water and Emily shivered. She gathered herself closer to Matt, sinking into his warmth. Then she had a sudden revelation, and the shiver turned into a shudder of fear. “Tell me we did use birth control.”

Matt grinned. “Yeah, we did. I brought a condom with me when I came out and left it under the corner of the blanket.”

Her entire being sighed with relief. “I'm glad one of us was thinking ahead.”

Matt lifted his head, eyes scanning the tree line.

“What's wrong?”

“I'm hoping no one is out there with night-vision goggles.”

“Or a telephoto lens?”

His eyes widened. “Jeez, I never even thought about that. I didn't tell anyone where I was going. I doubt the tabloids would ever think to look for me here.”

Apprehension slid down her spine. “I was only kidding. The tabloids actually follow you?”

“Occasionally. It was particularly obnoxious after the
People
article. But my secretary knows not to give out personal information. Like where I'm staying.”

“Maybe to be on the safe side we should go back to the cottage. I don't even like looking at my bare behind in the mirror. The last place I want to see it is on the cover of a magazine.”

“What about our clothes?”

She looked over in the direction of the dock. It was too dark to find much of anything out there. “We'll get them tomorrow.”

“You want to walk through the woods
naked?
”

“What's wrong?” she teased. “Are you afraid of the dark?”

“Actually, I'm afraid of certain protruding parts of my anatomy getting caught on a low-hanging tree branch.”

She winced. “Yeah, that would be bad. How about if we wrap up in the blanket?”

“That'll work.”

Emily shook out the blanket while Matt tossed sand on the fire to douse it. Since walking through the woods barefoot was a health hazard, they put their sandals on, wrapped themselves in the blanket, and stumbled back to the cottage, laughing at how ridiculous they would look to anyone who might see them that way.

When they reached the cottage it was nearly 3:00 a.m. As soon as they were inside he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and dropped kisses across her shoulder.

“We're supposed to be up in an hour to fish,” Emily reminded him.

“I choose making love all night and sleeping till noon over fishing any day. In fact, I wouldn't be opposed to spending the entire weekend in bed. How about you?”

She slipped her arms over his, lacing their fingers together. Two weeks ago, if someone had told her she would be standing naked in her parents' cottage with Matt, she would have said there wasn't a chance in hell. Yet here they were, Matt leading her to her bedroom. Matt lying down next to her in her bed. Matt making love to her until hints of dawn crept in through the open window. Until they lay sated and limp, yet too awake to sleep.

Unbelievable.

“What are you thinking about?” Matt asked.

“How different my life was a week ago.” She gazed up at him through the hazy light, idly traced
the line of his stubbled jaw with her index finger. “How unexpected this has been.”

“Unexpected good, or unexpected bad?”

“Unexpected good, as in, I'll be really sorry to see it end.”

“Maybe it doesn't have to.”

“We'll always be friends, but we both know it can't be more than that.”

“Maybe it could.”

She dashed the tiny kernel of hope that began to grow inside her. “How many serious relationships have you been in since you left Michigan?”

A frown slashed across his face. “None.”

“Have you
ever
had a serious relationship?”

“That doesn't mean I'm incapable. California is a nice place to live. You would like it.” There was so much hope in his voice, she ached inside.

“What about work? You said before that you had no time for a relationship.”

“I can make time.”

“How much time, and for how long? Are you talking a month? A year? A lifetime? You're still going to feel like something is missing, and you're going to want to find it. You'll start working crazy hours again. Eventually I'll get tired of being alone all the time, and you'll get tired of me complaining, until our relationship is nothing but a burden.”

He looked hurt by what she knew to be reality. Even if he didn't want to admit it. “It doesn't have to be that way.”

“I have dreams, too, Matt. Things I want to do with my life. You're asking me to sacrifice it all. To move to a strange place where I know no one, where I have no family.”

“Emily, I can take care of you. I can give you anything you want.”

“Your time, Matt. Can you give me that?”

He didn't answer. As she'd expected, it was more than he was willing to give.

She lay beside him, resting her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heart. “You're asking me to sacrifice so much, yet you're willing to give practically nothing in return. How long do you think we'll last that way?”

He tightened his arms around her. “You make it sound hopeless.”

“It is what it is. We're together now. Let's just enjoy each other's company while you're here and not worry about what we'll be doing a month from now. And who knows, by then, we could be tired of each other.”

“You can be a real pain in the behind,” he said, humor in his voice. “And incredibly stubborn.”

“And you can be sexist and overbearing.” And perfect in a million other tiny ways. And she would never get tired of him. But some things simply weren't meant to be.

She lay in his arms drifting off to sleep, realizing she was living out the second half of her fantasy—exactly what she had wished would have happened that night eleven years ago. To fall asleep in Matt's arms. There were no parents to walk in on them, no schedules to follow. No businesses to worry about. For the entire weekend, it was just her and Matt.

“E
mily! Matt! Where are you?”

Emily bolted up in bed, jolted awake by a nightmare. She looked dazedly around until the room came into focus, grateful to find it empty. She'd dreamed her mother called to her, that she was there at the cottage. If her parents saw her and Matt this way, naked, rumpled and sleeping in her bed, they would freak. Or even worse, they would think this meant something. They would think she and Matt were in love. Heaven knows they would like nothing more than to have Matt for a son-in-law, and half a dozen mini-Matt grandchildren running around.

If her parents had even a hint that something was brewing between Emily and Matt, they would relentlessly hound them to get married. That would
really
be a nightmare, considering their conversation last night.

Beside her, Matt mumbled in his sleep and rolled onto his side. The initial horror of her dream behind her, she yawned and lay back down, curling up behind him.

“Emily! Matt! Are you here?”

At the sound of her mother's voice, she shot up in bed again, clutching the sheets to cover herself. It wasn't a dream. Her mother was really here.

She muttered a curse and jumped out of bed, taking the sheet with her. She slammed the bedroom door shut and flattened her body against it.

This could not possibly be happening.

Matt sat up in bed, bleary-eyed, rumpled and unbelievably sexy. “What happened? Where did the covers go?”

“Shh,” she hissed. “Don't say anything.”

There was a loud rap on the door, then her mother's worried voice. “Emily, are you okay?”

“Fine, Mom, I'm just not dressed yet.”

“What happened to Matt? His vehicle is here but we can't find him.”

She cringed and said nonchalantly, “He's probably out jogging or something. Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll help you find him.”

“We'll wait in the living room,” her mother called, then Emily heard her receding footsteps.

“I guess this rules out morning sex,” Matt mumbled from behind her.

She turned to him. He was sitting up in bed, his hair disheveled, his eyes cloudy from sleep. And sexy. Lord, did he look sexy. This was so unfair. She wanted her morning sex. “We have to get rid of them.”

He raked a hand through his rumpled hair and yawned. “Okay.”

“You'll have to jump out the window,” she said.

“
Naked?
All my clothes are in the next room.”

“Wear this.” She tossed the sheet at him and rummaged through her bag for a pair of shorts and a top. She tugged her shorts on and wrestled the shirt over her head.

Matt cursed under his breath and climbed out of bed, wrapping the sheet around his waist. What a way to end one of the hottest nights of his life. “I am not jumping out a window.”

“We can't let them see you.”

Didn't he know it. He could just imagine it now. Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas, I did violate your trust, and your daughter, who I don't happen to be in love with. Oh, and by the way, I have this favor to ask…

Talk about slitting your own throat.

“Take them outside and pretend you're looking for me,” he said. “Tell them you think I'm down at the beach. While you're gone, I'll get dressed, head through the woods on the other side and circle around to the beach.”

“I'm so sorry about this,” she said, her eyes apologetic. “I didn't want our night to end this way.”

Amen to that. “Just go distract them.”

Emily paused by the door, then turned and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I'll make it up to you when they leave.”

With a smile that promised she would live up to that statement, she slipped out the door. And all Matt could think about was getting rid of her parents. But not before he talked to them about the property. That
was too important to put off. He had the entire weekend to lose himself in the wonders of Emily's body.

He pressed his ear to the door and listened, heard the anxious tone in her mother's voice and the disappointed edge to her father's, but he couldn't hear what was being said. A minute later he heard the screen door slam shut and figured the coast was clear. He slipped out of Emily's bedroom and into his own. He threw on some clothes, combed his fingers through his hair, and headed for the door. As he was reaching for the handle he heard voices, then Emily pulled the door open and stepped inside, followed by her parents.

He stood there, mouth hanging open, too surprised to speak.

“See, I told you I heard the door,” Emily said to her mother, then turned to Matt. “We've been looking for you. How was your walk?”

“Great,” he said, following her lead. “It was good.”

“There you are, Matt,” Mrs. Douglas said, looking distressed. “We were so worried about you. We got your message and you said it was urgent. We tried to call but you never returned our messages and your office said they couldn't reach you either. Then we couldn't get a hold of Emily. We thought something was wrong.”

“Ty said you were coming here,” Mr. Douglas said, an identical look of concern on his face. “We thought something had happened to one of you.”

“And of course Emily refuses to carry a cellular phone,” Emily's mother said, shooting her daughter a stern look, as if Emily not owning a phone was some sort of slight against her mother.

“I'm sorry to have alarmed you and made you drive all this way,” Matt said. “The urgent issue I had with you was business-related.”

“Oh, I'm so glad.” Mrs. Douglas fanned herself dramatically, as if she might pass out with relief.

“What kind of business?” Mr. Douglas asked.

Emily took her parents by the arm and ushered them toward the door. “You've had such a long drive and it's so hot in the cottage. Why don't you two sit on the porch while Matt and I get some cool drinks together, then you can talk business.”

When they were settled outside, Emily hooked an arm through Matt's and pulled him toward the kitchen. Her skin was damp and sweat beaded her brow. She said in a hushed tone, “Phew, that was close.”

“Why did you bring them back? I barely had time to get dressed.”

She opened the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of lemonade. She pressed it to her forehead, closed her eyes, and sighed. “We got halfway through the woods when I realized we'd left all our clothes on the dock. And probably a condom wrapper in the sand. I almost had a coronary.”

Matt took four glasses down from the cupboard. He'd never even considered the mess they'd left. Thank goodness for Emily's quick thinking. “Sorry I caused all this trouble. When I called your parents I never imagined they would take my message so out of context.”

“That's my mother, the drama queen. To hear her talk when we were walking down to the beach, you would have thought she was disappointed we were both intact and breathing.” Emily dropped ice into
the glasses and poured the lemonade, curious about the nature of this business Matt needed to discuss, and even more curious to know why he hadn't mentioned it to her. And maybe just a little hurt. “You never said anything to me about business with my parents.”

He regarded her with a raised brow. “Would you have wanted me to talk about business this weekend?”

Good point. “You're right. It probably would have annoyed me.” She picked up two glasses, and Matt took the remaining two. “Ready?”

“The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we'll be alone,” Matt said, and the hungry look in his eyes made her heart lurch with anticipation.

They walked out to the porch and distributed the drinks, then took seats next to her parents.

“So, what kind of business do you need to discuss?” her father said, in his typical, no-nonsense way.

In that instant, Matt's demeanor changed. It was subtle, but unmistakable. He sat a little taller, his back straighter, and his expression was serious. This was the all-business Matt she'd wondered about. The one she'd had only a glimpse of at the restaurant the other day.

“I don't know if you've heard,” Matt said. “Construction on the restaurant has been stopped.”

Emily's mother let out a gasp. “But why?”

“There are certain people in town who don't want me building this restaurant. People in positions of power who have a grudge against me. They don't like that I've come back to town and they've fought
the restaurant every step of the way. And this time they might have won.”

Emily could see the passion in his eyes, and the hurt as he explained his dilemma with the square footage. Somehow it didn't surprise her. There were a lot of people who resented Matt's accomplishments.

She was ashamed to admit, she'd been one of those people.

“So you see,” he concluded. “If I have to tear the restaurant down and rebuild, we would go way over budget and I could lose backing from my investors. They're already shaky.”

“We could invest in the restaurant,” Emily's father said, but Matt shook his head.

“I could never ask you to do that. It would be too risky.”

“There has to be some way we can help you,” Emily's mother said.

The business facade slipped and Emily could see a hint of desperation in Matt's eyes, and she suddenly understood how important this was to him. He needed to do this for the same reason she needed to build her shop.

“There's a simple way to solve this. You could sell me the vacant lot next to the restaurant.”

Emily's parents exchanged looks, and she cringed inwardly. Matt was asking for something her parents just couldn't do. They had promised that property to her. And if it weren't the absolute perfect location for a flower shop, she might have sacrificed the property and built elsewhere. But Chapel already had two other flower shops, both on the opposite end of town.
This was the best spot for her. As a businessman, Matt would understand that.

Her mother leaned forward and patted Matt's knee. Here it comes, Emily thought. The big disappointment.

Her mother gave Matt a thousand-watt smile. “Of course we'll sell you the property.”

For a full minute, Emily was too dumbfounded to form words. They must have forgotten they were saving the property for her. That was the only explanation. They wouldn't sell it out from under her. Not when she'd worked so hard for so long.

“We'll settle on a price and I'll have my attorney draw up the contracts,” Matt was saying, to which her father readily agreed.

She had to put an end to this before it went too far. She cleared her throat and said, “Excuse me.”

All eyes were suddenly on her.

“You can't sell the property to Matt. You promised to sell it to me. Remember?”

There was a moment of dead silence. A sick feeling of dread filled Emily's heart. They wouldn't. They wouldn't dare pick Matt over her. Their own daughter.

Her parents exchanged a look, then her mother turned to her and sighed. “Emily, honey, be reasonable. Where are you going to get the money for that property?”

“I've earned it. I've almost got it all. I just need another six months.”

“Then how do you plan to pay for the building?”

“A business loan.”

“Honey,” her father reasoned in the same voice he would use with a temperamental child. “You have
no collateral. No bank in their right mind would loan you money.”

A slap in the face couldn't have hurt any more. “The property
is
the collateral. That's why I have to buy it outright.”

“Emily,” her mother said in her “be reasonable” voice. “Chapel doesn't need another flower shop. I think we've entertained this silly little idea of yours for long enough. Matt is a
real
businessman. He
needs
the property.”

“You promised,” Emily said, her voice quivering. “You said you would sell the property to me.”

“Soon you'll be married and having children. You won't have time to work. Then what will happen to your little shop?”

“Your mother is right, sweetheart. It's just not reasonable. You know nothing about the intricacies of running a business.”

She was almost too stunned to reply. “I have a business degree. I've been running the nursery for three years now.”

“And isn't the nursery in danger of going bankrupt?” her mother snapped.

With the accusation, Emily's heart cracked in two. What she should have realized long ago was now painfully clear. Her parents had no faith in her—no respect for her dreams whatsoever. They had never intended to sell her the property. They were only humoring her.

Nothing had changed. It had never been about what she wanted. Her entire life, all they had ever done was try to change her, to mold her into the kind of daughter
they
dreamed of having. And now they
saw her as nothing more than a baby machine, put on this earth to give them grandchildren.

She felt completely and utterly defeated.

Tears burned behind her eyes. With trembling hands she set her lemonade down, stood on wobbly legs and walked into the cottage.

“Emily, wait,” Matt called.

She continued on to her bedroom and began shoving her clothes into her duffel bag.

Matt appeared in her doorway. “Emily, I had no idea you wanted that property. You never said anything about a flower shop.”

“You're right, I didn't.”

“I need that property, Em. If I have to tear down the restaurant and rebuild somewhere different, I'll lose my investors. If I put up all of my own money, and it fails…I can't take that chance.”

It all boiled down to money, and him not having enough of it. She zipped her bag shut and slung it over her shoulder. “Then you should be very happy. You got exactly what you wanted.”

“There are other lots available.”

“That's really not the point, is it?”