Sloan knew the minute Trent returned to The Towers. Even in the library at the end of a long corridor he could hear the high happy yaps of the dog, the shouts of children and the mix of laughter. Setting aside his notebook, he strolled out to see his old friend.
Trent had gotten no further than the foyer. Jenny was hanging on his legs as Fred circled and danced. Alex was jumping up and down in a bid for attention while Coco, Suzanna and Lilah all fired questions at once. C.C. only stood beaming, held snug against Trent's side. At a shout from above, Sloan looked up to see Amanda bolting down the stairs. Her laughter glowed in her face as he'd never seen it before. Squeezing through her sisters, she took her turn at a hug.
"If you hadn't come back today, I was sending out a team of mercenaries," she told Trent. "Four days before the wedding and you're down in Boston."
"I knew you could handle the details."
"She has miles of lists," Coco put in. "It's frightening." "There, you see?" Trent gave Amanda a quick kiss.
"What did you bring me? What did you bring me?" Jenny demanded.
"Talk about mercenary." Laughing, Suzanna scooped her daughter up. When she spotted Sloan in the hallway, her easy smile faded. She tried to tell herself that it was her imagination that his eyes changed whenever he looked at her. It had to be. What possible reason would he have for disliking her on sight?
Sloan studied her another moment, a tall, slender woman with pale blond hair pulled back in a pony tail, a face blessed with classical beauty and sad blue eyes. Dismissing her, he looked back at Trent His smile came naturally again.
"I hate to interrupt when you're surrounded by beautiful women, but time's wasting."
"Sloan." His arm still around C.C., Trent stepped forward to grip Sloan's hand. In all of his varied groups of acquaintances, associates and colleagues, this was the only man he considered a genuine friend. "On the job already?"
"Getting started."
"You look like you've just gotten back from a long vacation in the tropics instead of six weeks in Budapest. It's good to see you."
"Same here." Sloan sent a quick wink at C.C. "It's really good to see that you're finally developing some taste."
"I like him," C.C. said.
"Women tend to," Trent said. "How's your family?" Sloan's gaze flicked to Suzanna again. "They're fine."
"You two must have a lot to catch up on." Feeling awkward, Suzanna took her son's hand. "We're going to take a walk before dinner."
Amanda waited until Coco had urged everyone along toward the parlor before she put a hand on Sloan's arm. "Wait."
He grinned at her. "I've been waiting, Calhoun."
She wasn't even tempted to rise to the bait. "I want to know why you look at Suzanna that way."
The humor faded from his eyes. "What way is that?" "like you detest her."
It annoyed him that those particular and very private feelings showed so clearly. "You've got more imagination than I gave you credit for."
"It's not my imagination." Baffled, she shook her head. "What could you possibly have against Suzanna? She's the kindest, most good-hearted person I know."
It was difficult not to sneer, but he kept his face bland. "I didn't say I had anything against her. You did."
"You didn't have to say it. Obviously I can't make you talk about it, but - "
"Maybe that's because I'd rather talk about us." Casually he set both hands on the banister behind her, caging her between.
"There is no us."
"Sure there is. There's you and there's me. That makes us. That's real basic grammar."
"If you're trying to change the subject - " "You're getting that line between your eyebrows again." He lifted a thumb to rub at it. "That Calhoun line. How come you never smile at me the way you smiled at Trent?"
"Because I like Trent"
"It's funny, most people figure I'm an amiable sort of guy."
"Not from where I'm standing." "Why don't you stand a little closer?" She had to laugh. If there had been a contest for persistence, Sloan O'Riley would have won hands down. "This is close enough, thanks." More than close enough, she added silently when she had to fight back an urge to run
her fingers through that untidy mane of reddish-blond hair. "Amiable isn't the word I would use. Now, cocky, annoying, tenacious, those might suit."
"I kind of like tenacious." He leaned closer to breathe in her scent. "A man doesn't get very far if he caves in every time he runs into a wall. You climb over, tunnel under, or just knock the whole damn thing down."
She put a hand to his chest before he could close that last inch of distance. "Or he keeps beating his head against it until he has a concussion."
"That's a calculated risk, and worth it if there's a woman behind the wall looking at him the way you look at me."
"I don't look at you any particular way." "When you forget that you want to be professional, you look at me with those big blue eyes of yours all soft, and a little scared. A lot curious. Makes me want to scoop you up right there and carry you off to someplace real quiet so I can satisfy that curiosity."
She could imagine it all too clearly, feel it all too sharply. There was only one solution. Escape. "Well, this has been fun, but I've got to go change."
"Are you going back to work?"
"No." Agile, she swooped under his arm and swung up the steps. "I've got a date."
"A date?" he repeated, but she was already racing across the second floor.
He told himself he wasn't waiting for her, though he'd been pacing the foyer for a good twenty minutes. He wasn't going to hang around like an idiot and watch her go strolling off with some other man-rafter she'd tied him into knots by just standing there and looking at him. There was plenty for him to do, including enjoying the dinner Coco had invited him to, talking over old times and new. plans with Trent, even sitting down at his drawing board. He wasn't about to spend the evening mooning over the fact that some obstinate woman preferred someone else's company to his.
After all, Sloan reminded himself as he paced the foyer, she was free to come and go as she pleased. The same as he was. Neither one of them was branded. Just because he had a hankering for her didn't mean he was going to get riled up when she spent a couple of hours with another man.
The hell it didn't.
Turning, he took the steps two at a time.
"Calhoun?" He strode down the corridor, banging on doors. "Damn it,
Calhoun, I want to talk to you."
He was at the far end of the hall and starting back when Amanda opened her door.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
He stared a moment as she stood in the stream of light that spilled out of the room behind her. She'd done something fancy to her hair, he noted, so that it looked sexily rumpled. Played with her face, too, in that damnably sultry way some women have a talent for. Her dress was a pale icy blue, full at the skirt, nipped at the waist with two skinny straps slinking over her shoulders. Chunky stones in a deeper blue glittered at her ears and throat.
She didn't look efficient, he thought furiously. She didn't look competent. She looked as delectable as a pretty white cake on a fancy tray. And he was damned if any other man was going to take even one small nibble.
Her foot was already tapping when he started toward her.
Amiable? she thought, and had to resist the urge to bolt back into her room and lock the door. No one would call him amiable now. He looked as though he'd just finished chewing a mountain of glass and was raring for the second course.
"What kind of date?" he snapped at her, and found himself further incensed by the fact that her skin smelled like glory.
Amanda inclined her head slowly. The hands she had fisted on her hips slid carefully to her sides. When you were facing a raging bull you didn't wave a red flag but tried to ease yourself over the fence. "The usual kind."
"Is that the way you dress for the usual kind?"
Irked, she glanced down and smoothed her skirts. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"
For an answer, he took her arm and swung her around. He'd been right, he thought as his stomach clutched up. Those two little straps were all that were covering her back. Right down to the waist. "Where's the rest of it?"
"Rest of what?" "The dress."
She turned back, still cautious, and examined his face. "Sloan, I think you've gone around the bend."
She didn't know how right she was, he thought. "I've got as much sense as any man can hang on to after ten minutes with you. Cancel."
"Cancel?" she repeated.
"The date, damn it." He nudged her none too gently toward her bedroom.
"Go in and call him up and tell him you can't make it. Ever."
"You really are crazy." She forgot about bulls and red flags and cut loose. "I go where I please and with whom I please. If you think I'm going to break a date with an attractive, charming and intelligent man because some overbearing baboon tells me to, then think again."
"It's the date," he warned, "or that pretty stiff neck of yours."
Her eyes narrowed down to two slits of righteous blue fire. "Don't you threaten me, you pinhead. I have a dinner date with your antithesis. A gentleman." She elbowed him aside. "Now get out of my way."
"I'll get out of your way," he promised. "After I give you something to think about."
He had her back against the wall with his mouth covering hers before she could blink. She could taste the anger. That, she would have fought against to the last breath. But she could also taste the need, and that, she surrendered to. It was such a perfect echo of her own.
He didn't care if it was unreasonable. He didn't care if it was wrong or stupid or any of the other terms that could so easily apply to his actions. He wanted to curse her for making him behave like some reckless teenager. But he could only taste her, drowning in the flavor that he was coming to understand he would always crave. He could only pull her closer against him so that he could feel the instant heat that pumped from her body into his.
He could sense each change as it flowed through her.
First the anger that kept her rigid and aloof. Then the surrender, reluctant then melting so that her bones seemed to dissolve. And the passion overlapping so quickly it stole his breath. It was that he understood he couldn't live without.
Her arms went around him as if they belonged there. Strained against his, her body throbbed until it was one sweet ache. This was an ache that once felt could never be forgotten, would always be craved. Eager, she nipped at his mouth, knowing in another moment delirium could overtake her. Wanting it, wanting that liberating mindless whirl of desire only he could ignite inside her.
Only he.
In one long possessive stroke his hands ran from her shoulders to her wrists, holding there a moment while her pulse scrambled under his palms. When he lifted his head, she leaned back limply against the wall, watching him while she struggled to catch her breath. While she fought to break through the torrent of sensations and understand the feelings beneath them.
The thought of another man touching her, of looking into her face and seeing it flushed with passion as it was now, of seeing her eyes clouded with it, terrified him. Because he preferred good clean anger to fear, he gripped her shoulders again, all but lifting her off her feet.
"Think about that," he told her in a low dangerous voice. "You think about that good and hard"
What had he done to her to make her need so terribly? He had to know, just by looking at her, that he had only to pull her inside her room to take everything he claimed to want. He had only to touch her again to have her desperate to give. He wouldn't even have to ask. It shamed her to realize it, destroyed her to understand that anyone would have such complete power over her pride and her will.
"You made your point," she said unsteadily, infuriated that tears were stinging the back of her eyes and throat "Do you want to hear me say that you can make me want you? Fine. You can."
The sparkle of tears in her eyes did what her fury couldn't. It beat him soundly. There was regret in his voice when he lifted a hand to her face. "Amanda - "
She stiffened and shut her eyes. If he was gentle - she knew if he showed her even a scrap of tenderness, she would crumble. "You've got your conquest, Sloan. Now I'd appreciate it if you'd let me go"
He let his hand slide to his side before he stepped back. "I'm not going to tell you I'm sorry." But the way she looked at him made him feel as though he had just shattered something small and fragile.
"That's all right. I'm sorry enough for both of us."
"Amanda." Lilah stood at the top of the stairs, watching them both with her sleepy-eyed curiosity. "Your date's here."
"Thanks." Frantic for escape, she turned into her room to grab her jacket and purse. Being careful not to look at Sloan, she hurried out again to rush downstairs. Lilah glanced after her, then walked down the hall to rest her hands on Sloan's shoulders.
"You know, big guy, you look like you could use a friend."
He couldn't begin to put a name to any of the emotions currently running riot through him. "Maybe I'll just go downstairs and throw him out a window."
"You could," Lilah agreed after a moment, "but Mandy's always been a sucker for the underdog."
Sloan swore then decided to work off some of the frustration by pacing the corridor. "So, who is he anyway?"
"I've never met him before. His name's William Livingston." "And?"
Lilah gave a gentle shrug. "Tall, dark and handsome as the saying goes. Very faint, very charming British accent, Italian suit, upper-class manners. That patina of wealth and breeding without being ostentatious."
Sloan swore and considered punching a hole in the wall. "He sounds just dandy."
"Sounds," she agreed, but her look was troubled. "What is it?"
"Bad vibes." Absently she ran a hand up and down her arm. "And he had a very muddy aura."
"Give me a break, Lilah."
With a little smile, she glanced back at him. "Don't knock it, Sloan. Remember, I'm on your side. I happen to think you're just what my take-itall-too-seriously sister needs." In her easy way, she hooked a friendly arm through his. "Relax, Mr. William Livingston doesn't have a chance. Not her type." She laughed as she walked with him to the steps. "She thinks he is, but he's not. So let's go eat There's nothing like Aunt Coco's Trout Amandine to put you in a good mood."
Pretending she had an appetite, Amanda studied her menu. The restaurant William had chosen was a lovely little place overlooking Frenchman Bay. Since the night was warm, they could enjoy the terrace service with candlelight flickering in the gentle sea breeze, and the fragile scent of spring flowers.
Amanda left the choice of wine up to him and tried to convince herself that she was about to have a delightful evening.
"Are you enjoying Bar Harbor?" she asked.
"Very much. I'm hoping to get some sailing in soon, but in the meantime, I've been content to enjoy the scenery."
"Have you been to the park?"
"Not yet" He glanced over at the bottle the waiter offered, perused the label, then nodded.
"You shouldn't miss it The view from Cadillac Mountain is stupendous."
"So I'm told." He tasted the wine, approved, then waited for Amanda's to be poured. "Perhaps you'll find some time and act as my guide."
"I don't think - "
"Hotel policy's already been bent," he interrupted, and touched his glass lightly to hers.
"I wanted to ask you how you managed it."
"Very simply. I gave your Mr. Stenerson a choice. Either he could make an exception to his policy, or I could move to another hotel where it wouldn't be an issue."
"I see." She took a thoughtful sip of wine. "That seems a bit drastic just for a dinner."
"A very delightful dinner. I wanted to get to know you better. I hope you don't mind."
What woman could? she asked herself, and only smiled.
It was impossible not to relax, not to be charmed by his stories, flattered by his attentiveness. He did not, as so many successful men did, talk constantly of his business. As an antique dealer he'd traveled all over the world and, throughout the meal, gave Amanda glimpses of Paris and Rome, London and Rio.
When her thoughts drifted now and again to another man, she doubled her determination to enjoy herself where she was, and with whom.
"The rosewood chiffonier in your foyer," he commented as they lingered over coffee and dessert. "It's a beautiful piece."
"Thank you. It's Regency period - I think."
He smiled. "You think correctly. If I had run into it at an auction, I would have considered myself very fortunate."
"My great-grandfather had it shipped over from England when he built the house."
"Ah, the house." William's lips curved as he lifted his cup. "Very imposing. I half expected to see medieval maidens drifting about on the lawn."
"Or bats swooping out of the tower."
On a delighted laugh, he squeezed her hand. "No, but perhaps Rapunzel letting down her hair."
The image appealed and made her smile."We love it, and always have. Maybe the next time you visit the island you'll stay at The Towers Retreat."
"The Towers Retreat," he murmured, tapping a finger thoughtfully against his lips. "Where have I heard that before?" "A projected St. James hotel?"
His eyes cleared. "Of course. I read something a few weeks ago. You don't mean to say that your home is The Towers?"
"Yes, it is. We hope to have the retreat ready for occupancy in about a year."
"That is fascinating. But wasn't there some legend attached to the place? Something about ghosts and missing jewelry?"
"The Calhoun emeralds. They were my great-grandmother's."
With a half smile, he tilted his head. "They're real? I thought it was just a clever publicity gimmick. Stay in a haunted house and search for missing treasure. That sort of thing."
"No, in fact we're not at all pleased that the whole business leaked out." Even thinking about it annoyed her so that she began to drum her fingers on the table. "The necklace is real - was real in any event We don't know where it might have been hidden. In the meantime we're forever bothered by reporters or having to chase erstwhile treasure hunters off the grounds."
"I'm sorry. That's very intrusive."
"We hope to find it soon, and put an end to all the nonsense. Once renovations start, it might turn up under a floorboard."
"Or behind the ubiquitous secret panel," he offered with a smile and made her laugh.
"We don't have any of those - at least that I know of."
"Then your ancestor was remiss. A place like that deserves at least one secret panel." He laid a hand over hers again. "Perhaps you'll let me help you look for it...or at least let me use it as an excuse to see you again."
"I'm sorry, but at least for the next few days I'm tied up. My sister's getting married on Saturday."
He smiled over their joined hands. "There's always Sunday. I would like to see you again, Amanda. Very much." He let the subject, and her hand slip gently away.
On the drive home he kept the topics general. No pressure, Amanda thought, grateful. No arrogant assumptions or cocky grins. This was the kind of man who knew how to treat a woman with the proper respect and attention. William wouldn't knock her to the ground and laugh in her face. He wouldn't stalk her down like a gunslinger and fire out demands.
So why was she so let down when they stopped in front of the house and
Sloan's car was nowhere in sight? Shaking off the mood, she waited for William to come around and open her door.
"Thank you for tonight," she told him. "It was lovely."
"Yes, it was. And so are you." Very gently he placed his hands on her shoulders before touching his lips to hers. The kiss was very warm, very soft - an expert caress of lips and hands. And to her disappointment, it left her completely unmoved.
"Are you really going to make me wait until Sunday to see you again?"
His eyes told her that he had not been unmoved. Amanda waited for the banked desire in them to strike some chord. But there was nothing.
"William, I - "
"Lunch," he said, adding a charming smile. "Something very casual at the hotel. You can tell me more about the house."
"All right. If I can swing it." She eased away before he could kiss her again. "Thanks again."
"My pleasure, Amanda." He waited, as was proper, for her to go inside. As the door shut behind her, his smile changed ever so slightly, hardened, cooled. "Believe me, it will be my pleasure."
He walked back to his car. He would drive it well out of sight of The Towers. And then he would come back to do a quick and quiet tour of the grounds, to note down the most practical entrances.
If Amanda Calhoun could be his entry way into The Towers, that was all well and good - with the side benefit of romancing a beautiful woman. If she didn't provide him with a way in, he would simply find a different route.
One way or the other, he didn't intend to leave Mount Desert Island without the Calhoun emeralds.
"Did you have a good time?" Suzanna asked when Amanda came in the front door.
"Suze." Amused but not surprised, Amanda shook her head. "You waited up again."
"No, I didn't." To prove it, Suzanna gestured with the mug in her hand. "I just came down to make myself some tea."
Amanda laughed as she walked over to rest her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Why is it that we Irish-as-Paddy's-pig Calhouns can't tell a decent lie?"
Suzanna gave up. "I don't know. We should practice more." "Honey, you look tired."
"Mmm." Exhausted was the word, but she didn't care for it. Suzanna sipped the tea as they started up the stairs together. "Springtime. Everybody wants their flowers done yesterday. I'm not complaining. It looks like the business is finally going to turn a real profit."
"I still think you should hire on some more help. Between the business and the kids you run yourself ragged."
"Now who's playing mama? Anyway, Island Gardens needs one more good season before I can afford anything but one part-time helper. Plus I like to be busy." Even though fatigue was dragging at her, she paused outside of Amanda's door. "Mandy, can I talk to you for a minute before you go to bed?"
"Sure. Come on in." Amanda left the door slightly ajar as she slipped out of her shoes. "Is something wrong?"
"No. At least nothing I can put my finger on. Can I ask you what you think of Sloan?"
"Think of him?" Stalling, Amanda set her shoes neatly in the closet.
"Impressions, I guess. He seems like a very nice man. Both kids are already crazy about him, and that's an almost foolproof barometer for me."
"He's good with them." Amanda took off her earrings to replace them in her jewelry box.
"I know." Troubled, she wandered the room. "Aunt Coco's set to adopt him. He's slipped right into an easy relationship with Lilah. C.C.'s already fond of him, and not just because he's a friend of Trent's."
Pouting a little, Amanda unclasped her necklace. "His type always gets along beautifully with women."
Distracted, Suzanna merely shook her head. "No, it's not a man-woman kind of thing at all. Just a kind of innate relaxation."
Amanda had no comment for that as she recalled the fevered tension in him a few hours earlier.
"He seems like an easygoing, friendly man." "But?"
"It's probably my imagination, but whenever he looks at me, I get this wave of hostility." With a half laugh, she shrugged. "Now I sound like Lilah."
Amanda's eyes met her sister's in the mirror. "No, I sensed something myself. I can't explain it. I even called him on it."
"Did he say anything? I don't expect everyone to like me, but when I feel a dislike this strong, at least I want to know why."
"He denied it. I don't know what to say, Suzanna, except that I don't think he's the kind of man who would react that way to someone he doesn't even know." She made a helpless gesture with her hands. "He can certainly be annoying, but I don't think he's a man to be deliberately unfair. Maybe we're both being oversensitive."
"Maybe." Suzanna pushed the uncomfortable feelings away. "We're all a little crazed with CC's wedding, and the renovations. Well, I won't lose any sleep over him." She kissed Amanda's cheek. "Good night."
"Night." As she eased down onto the bed, Amanda let out a long sigh. It was unfortunate, she thought. It was infuriating. But she already knew she'd be losing sleep over him.