Читать книгу The Man She'll Marry - Susan Fox, Susan Fox P. - Страница 9

TY HELPED himself to a taste from the wine flute. While he did, he walked into Tracy’s kitchen, saw the wine rack, and glanced around for the trash can. As he’d suspected, there were two empty wine bottles inside, but little trash besides. A glance into her refrigerator told him there wasn’t much to eat. No wonder Tracy was so thin. He put the wine bottle on a shelf and closed the door.

He figured his intrusion might as well be total, so he picked up the kitchen phone extension to call information. He got the number he wanted right away, then punched it in and ordered a delivery. Once he hung up, he carried the wine flute back to the living room and chose a place to sit.

The generous rooms of Tracy’s penthouse were immaculate. Everything was decorated in pristine white, with vivid pastel colors here and there, and tasteful wall decor to give it all life and interest. The effect was classy and feminine and more warm than he would have expected with all the white. The huge armchair he settled into was plush and comfortable.

The time it took Tracy to finish in the bathroom and dress seemed long, but Ty wasn’t displeased with the wait. The nagging instinct that had brought him back to town had annoyed him until he’d walked into her bathroom and seen the wine bottle and steamed up windows. People drank too much and drowned in hot tubs when they either passed out or fell asleep. It might be the same with Jacuzzis.

Tracy had been startled and angry those first moments, but then she’d been frightened. And because he knew she’d surely witnessed the lust that had hit him like a lightning strike, he damned well knew what had frightened her.

No, not frightened. Terrified. She’d been terrified. He couldn’t have mistaken that. Maybe she was nothing like the promiscuous vamp her mother was. It surprised him to realize that he hoped Tracy was as virginal and untouched as she looked.

Tracy fretted over her hair and a light application of makeup. She didn’t pay such rigid attention to those things to attract men, but to camouflage herself. Though the sleek, shoulder-length pageboy haircut and the faint enhancement of cosmetics gave her a natural look, it was somehow a veneer of concealment and a denial of what had happened all those years ago.

The khaki slacks and tailored long-sleeved yellow blouse she chose looked prim and no-nonsense, especially since she’d added a belt to the slacks and buttoned the blouse all the way to the top to help restore her almost obsessive modesty.

A glamorous prude. Her mother called her that and disparaged her for it. But more for being a prude, because whenever Ramona said the word prude, the look in her eyes said hypocrite.

The reminder almost made her lose her nerve to face Ty again. It was bad enough that he’d brashly walked in on her when she was naked in her bath. Now she had to face him with the memory of this new shame between them.

And fear. Ty Cameron was so domineering. There were no obstacles in life for a man like him, nothing that could stop him if he didn’t want to be stopped. Invading her penthouse was proof of that and now her comfortable retreat from the world no longer felt safe.

It shocked her now to remember how safe she’d felt that morning when she’d woke up in his house. The vivid memory slowed her racing heart. And now she realized that although Ty had barged in on her, he hadn’t harmed her.

Despite those terrifying moments when she’d seen lust in his eyes, he’d done nothing about it. He’d ordered her around, taken her wine away, but he’d not touched her nor threatened to. She felt a glimmer of trust toward him then that calmed the agitated flutter of her heart even more.

She hadn’t answered her phone that day or her door, and he’d hinted that he’d come here because he’d been concerned. Though she knew he couldn’t possibly care that much what happened to her, she was deeply affected. It’d been a long time since anyone had shown a speck of concern for what happened to her. The trick would be to not take his concern seriously.

Tracy again checked her appearance in the mirror, took a steadying breath, then started for the living room to get this over with.

Ty thought Tracy looked as crisp and neatly pressed as a picture out of a fashion magazine. She held herself rigidly and had trouble looking him in the eye when she walked into the living room. She didn’t sit down. Instead, she stood behind the sofa that was on the other side of the coffee table from his chair. It was as if she was wary of coming too close and needed to keep a large piece of furniture between them for protection. And that blouse was buttoned up so tight it was a wonder she wasn’t choked.

She looked a lot healthier than she had that morning. Her pale skin was flushed from the heat of her bath and maybe from embarrassment. It had been rude and disrespectful for him to walk in on her bath. He’d had reasons that satisfied him, but he doubted prim little Tracy saw it that way.

And that doubt got his attention. He’d discounted Tracy as being as worthless and immoral as her mother, but it amazed him suddenly to realize that he’d judged Tracy so harshly and written her off so completely. Tracy LeDeux was a lot more complicated than he’d expected, and the more time that passed since he’d first seen her in the nightclub last night, the more he sensed it.

“I apologize for walking in on you, Tracy,” he began and frowned when her gaze shifted to his then flinched away. “Just so you know, I usually wait for an invitation before I go that far.”

The mild sexual reference made her stiffen. “You had no business coming here. I’ll have a lawyer contact you about the damage today.” As if to underscore her words, her gaze moved to meet his as she said, “If I don’t answer your calls or respond when you knock on my door, it means I don’t want to see or speak to you.”

Tracy watched as Ty’s brows went up. “We have business to settle. You seemed eager to make restitution for the wreck, then you refused to meet my conditions. I figured you’d had time to reconsider, so I thought we should talk again.”

Tracy lifted her chin. “Is there a reason you have to blackmail people to work for you?”

He took the jibe in stride, but the stern line of his mouth softened. “People like working for me. I pay fair wages and give generous benefits. I value good workers and show my appreciation with cash bonuses from time to time.”

Ty reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a couple folded papers. “I got estimates on the car and the garage door this afternoon.”

Tracy eyed the folded papers, then walked reluctantly around the sofa to take them. The dollar amounts listed made her nauseous. Oh, God, so much money. More than she’d thought. She made herself look at him.

“Please…there’s no reason I can’t write a check to cover this and settle it today.”

Ty was already shaking his head. Now his face was stern again. “You asked—no, begged— to know what would make it right with me. I gave you my answer.”

His tenacity rattled her. It was beyond comprehension. “I was hysterical and frightened of what you’d do. I don’t know how everything got steered away from monetary compensation to—to—indenturement.” She shook her head. “Why are you doing this?”

He gave her a searching look. “Damned if I know. Maybe one of us will figure it out as we go along.” His gaze sharpened. “What else are you doing with your life right now, Tracy?”

The question took her by surprise though she shouldn’t have been. Ty Cameron meant to have his way, so his question was a means to undermine her reasons for refusing him.

The impulse was to make something up, to make her life seem important and busy. Productive. But as she stared helplessly at him, she suddenly knew he’d sense it if she lied. It occurred to her that Ty’d had a whole day to investigate her life. For a man with his connections and money, it would be simple. And if he hadn’t done it yet, something told her he would. She tried a new tack.

“What do you get out of this? Revenge?” She’d tried to provoke him with the bold question, but he took it seriously and his voice was mild and reasonable as he answered.

“Maybe nothing if you refuse to work for me. But if you agree, maybe I’ll get a temporary worker to fill in doing small jobs not worth hiring a permanent employee to do.”

“It will take months to pay off the damage this way,” she argued cautiously, certain he’d given her a way to talk him out of this. “Long enough for you to hire a full-time employee.”

Once again, Ty’s calm answer was proof of his single-mindedness. “I’m not looking for someone permanent. When the damage amount is met, the job’s over. I won’t be obliged to keep someone employed, and you can get back to your…life.”

Tracy turned away and paced across the room, frustrated. He hadn’t said, You owe me because you took advantage of my trust and goodwill and wrecked my car. She might have been able to refute that accusation.

But Ty was more crafty than that. He didn’t say those words because he could probably tell that guilt was already eating her up. Instead, he made it sound as if her working for him solved a problem for him. She was concentrating so hard on finding a way to counter the subtle tactic that she jumped a little when he spoke.

“You asked me about revenge. Does that mean you think I’ll mistreat you if you work for me?”

Tracy hesitated, then turned to look over at him. “You’ve made no secret of your feelings toward me. How do I know this isn’t just a huge opportunity for you to belittle and embarrass me?” She swallowed thickly as his expression started to harden, but she forced herself to go on and verbally acknowledge the thing that was on both their minds.

“I know you despise me because of what I did to Rio and Kane. You probably think I didn’t do enough to make it up to them or that I wasn’t punished enough, but it might surprise you to know that I agree with you. They let me off easy.”