The Westmorelands

“Why? Are you saying the only reason you got to know my family was because of me?”

“No, if you’ll recall, I knew Megan and your sisters long before I met you. However, considering our history, I thought distance was best.”

Zane stared at her. “I don’t understand why you would think that now when you had no problem attending Megan’s wedding and bringing ‘Roving Eyes’ with you.”

Channing’s frown deepened. “First of all, Megan is a good friend of mine, and I saw nothing wrong with being there to share in her happiness. And, for the second time, my fiancé’s name is Mack.”

Zane leaned back against a table and kept his gaze fixed on hers. “Didn’t it bother you that Mack was checking out other women with you right by his side? And don’t say you weren’t aware of it, because you’re too astute not to have been.”

She shrugged. “All men check out other women. Big deal. Are you saying you never looked twice at another woman while we were together?”

He sputtered out a harsh laugh. “Hell, yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I might be an ass when it comes to some things, Channing, but I would never have disrespected you that way. While we were together, I never once looked at another woman. You were everything I needed.”

The next words were out of her mouth before she could call them back. “Evidently not, Zane. Had I been everything you needed then I wouldn’t be engaged to marry another man.”

She saw the anger that flared in his eyes and knew she’d made a direct hit. She might have been everything he needed in the bedroom, but she hadn’t been in all the ways that mattered.

“Goodbye, Zane.” She walked around him as she headed for the door.

A few days later, Zane stood on the porch of his cousin Dillon’s home. It was Friday night chow-down, when all the Westmorelands in Denver got together. The women cooked, and the men came hungry. Although they all lived in what was considered Westmoreland Country, they didn’t get to see each other every day. The chow-down was a way to bring everyone up to date on what was happening with each family member.

Seldom was anyone outside of family invited, but Zane hadn’t thought twice about making Channing a regular during the nine months they’d dated. His family liked her, and she’d gotten along with everyone—especially the womenfolk. After a while, they’d begun to consider her one of them. That was when his troubles began.

Channing had gotten ideas about them sharing a future. Somewhere along the way, she’d figured he had fallen in love and was rethinking his position on marriage. She’d found out the hard way that Zane Westmoreland didn’t change easily.

“You’ve been pretty quiet all evening.”

Zane glanced over his shoulder as his brother Ramsey stepped outside to join him. After dinner, the women retired to the family room to watch a chick flick, and, like usual after such a delicious meal, the men gathered in the game room for drinks and poker. But Zane hadn’t been in the mood. He had come out to get a breath of fresh air.

“I’ve had a rough week with the horses,” he said, knowing that was only part of the reason for his mood. “Sugar Plum had to be transported to Casey, Visa Girl got loose and ran wild for a few hours, and Born Free had a difficult delivery.”

Ramsey chuckled as he came to stand beside Zane. “That’s all?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

Ramsey didn’t say anything for a minute and then, “Not for Zane Westmoreland, who thrives on challenges and difficulties. Why don’t you tell me the real reason for your surly mood?”

Zane didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Channing’s back in town.”

“So I heard.”

Zane flashed an accusing gaze at his brother. “And you didn’t tell me, either?”

“I only heard she was back this morning. Chloe mentioned it over breakfast. I understand she was invited to dinner tonight but declined.”

“Nobody told me she was back. I should have been prepared,” Zane muttered.

Ramsey lifted a brow. “Prepared? Why? You saw her last month at Megan’s wedding.”

“That was then. This is now.”

“What makes ‘now’ different, Zane?” Ramsey asked. “I assumed you’d pretty much made up your mind two years ago when you let her go. You said you didn’t want Channing in your life.”

“That’s not true,” Zane snapped.

Ramsey lifted a brow, not anticipating such a strong response. “Then what is true?”

Zane paused and then said, “She wanted more than I could give.”

Ramsey frowned. “Did she want more than you could give, or was it that you refused to give her more?”

Zane heaved out a deep, frustrated breath. “Channing knew the score, Ram. Love is not in my vocabulary. She knew that and accepted my terms. Then, months later, she tried changing the game, but there was no way I was going along with it.”

“So, in other words, you wanted her as your lover but had no intention of ever allowing her to be more than that. You would have been satisfied to keep a casual arrangement for another two, three, possibly four years? Forever? Damn it, Zane, how would you feel if Rico would have wanted that kind of relationship with Megan, or Callum with Gemma? Yet you had no problem wanting one with Channing.”

“I don’t love her like Rico loves Megan and Callum loves Gemma,” Zane said, narrowing his eyes. “And I wasn’t going to lie to her and say I did.”

Ramsey shook his head. “Then I don’t blame Channing for leaving. You let her know she was nothing more than another notch on your bedpost.”

“She accepted my terms like all my other lovers,” Zane snapped. “She knew the score. We couldn’t have the kind of future she wanted because I didn’t love her.”

“If you really didn’t have feelings for her, you wouldn’t have moped around for months after she left, and you wouldn’t be all tied up in knots about her being in Denver now,” Ramsey muttered. He shook his head and added, “Well, it doesn’t matter now since she’s engaged.”

“He doesn’t deserve her,” Zane said in a voice sparked with anger.

“At least the man is willing to give her something you wouldn’t—to make her a permanent part of his life.”

“Damn it, Ramsey. You saw how he was looking at other women at Megan’s wedding. He’s going to end up hurting her.”

“And you didn’t?” When Zane didn’t respond, Ramsey didn’t say anything else for a minute and then said, “I wasn’t going to mention this to you because it’s really none of my business, but …”

Zane raised a brow. “What’s none of your business?”

“I overheard a conversation between Megan and Chloe yesterday.”

“About what?”

“Channing’s fiancé. Tara called from Atlanta and told Megan she saw the man last week and remembered him from the wedding as Channing’s fiancé. He was out on the town with women in intimate settings on two separate occasions.” Tara was married to their cousin Thorn and they lived in Atlanta.

Zane swore through gritted teeth. In a way, he wasn’t surprised about what Tara had seen. But what did surprise him was the fact that Channing refused to accept that her fiancé was a womanizer.

“Like I said, he doesn’t deserve her,” Zane said. “I might not have loved her, but I would never have betrayed her the way he’s doing.”

Ramsey nodded. “I’m going back inside. Are you coming?”

Zane shook his head. “No, I’m calling it a night. Think I might even sleep in late tomorrow. I haven’t done that on a Saturday in a long time.”

“All right. But you’ll be joining us for Sunday’s dinner, right? Susan’s going to be upset if she doesn’t see her uncle Zane there,” Ramsey said, smiling.

Zane thought about his niece, who would be turning four soon. The niece he adored. “I won’t disappoint her. I’ll be there,” he said, moving down the steps. “Tell the others good-night for me.”

“Hey, babe, are you missing me? All you have to do is say the word and I’ll fly out there and give you all the attention you deserve.”

Channing rolled her eyes, bristling at Mack Hammond’s words. “Cut it out, Mack. Need I remind you what happened last month at Megan’s wedding? You couldn’t keep your eyes off the women. Now you have everyone thinking I’m engaged to a womanizing jerk.”

“Hey, you didn’t warn me there would be so many beautiful women there. It was quite obvious your ex-boyfriend didn’t like the fact that you returned to town an engaged woman.”

Mack was right. Zane hadn’t been happy about it. If their conversation at the hospital was anything to go on, he still wasn’t. “But did you have to check them out so obviously? You don’t believe in the word subtle, do you?” she asked, trying not to smile.

She had met Mack within weeks of arriving in Atlanta two years ago. They had dated a few times, but when he saw she would not put up with his playboy foolishness, they had become good friends instead. A few months ago, when he’d been invited to a cousin’s wedding, he’d asked her to pretend to be his fiancée to keep his matchmaking parents and grandparents off his back. Then, when Channing had received the invitation to Megan’s wedding, Mack had returned the favor. The last thing she’d wanted was to return to Denver alone and looking pathetic.

The only person who knew the truth about her fake engagement was Megan, who had found the entire ploy hilarious. She’d said there was no reason for Channing to end the charade since it really wasn’t any of Zane’s business.

“So, have you seen Zane Westmoreland yet?” Mack asked.

Catching her lower lip between her teeth, Channing eased down onto the sofa and curled up in a comfortable position. “Yes, he stopped by the lecture hall a few days ago. He figured I would be dropping by his family’s place for dinner while I was in town, and he said we needed to clear the air so things wouldn’t be uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable for whom? You or him?”

“Both, I imagine. But I told him he didn’t have to worry about that. I have no intention of attending any of his family’s gatherings.”

“Was he relieved to hear it?”

Channing shrugged. “Not sure, but it really doesn’t matter. He’s moved on and so have I. I’m over Zane.”

“Are you?”

Channing frowned. “Yes. Why would you doubt it?”

“I’ll give you my answer the next time I see you. Have you decided when that will be?”

“Not yet. Class enrollment here is high. I’ve been here almost three weeks already and Dr. Rowe wants me to consider doing another three-week class. I haven’t decided on anything yet.”

“Well, I know whatever decision you make will be the right one,” he said. “Take care and be good.”

“Same back at you, Mack.”

Channing clicked off the phone and tried to force the conversation with Zane out of her mind. Nothing about him had changed. He still wanted to be footloose and fancy-free, and she still wanted the whole shebang—love, marriage and family.

She had lied just now to Mack when she claimed that she was over Zane. She’d honestly believed she was, but all it had taken was seeing him again to be proved wrong. Just being in the same room with him had stirred memories and emotions she knew were better kept undisturbed.

The most she could hope for was that her path and Zane’s wouldn’t cross again.

Megan caught hold of Chloe Westmoreland’s arm and pulled her into the kitchen. “Do you think Ramsey took the bait yesterday?”

A smile touched Chloe’s lips. “I’m sure he did. You and I were talking loud enough. And tonight was the perfect time for him to tell Zane just what he overheard. In fact, Ramsey just came back inside from being out on the porch with Zane, and when I asked where Zane had gone off to, Ramsey said Zane went home, calling it an early night because he’d had a bad week.”

“I bet,” Megan said, chuckling. “Especially since he found out Channing is back in town.”

“I hope you’re right about how Zane feels about her,” Chloe said in a low voice. “What about Channing? Will she be upset when she finds out we stuck our noses into her affairs?”

“In the end, both Zane and Channing will get what they truly want, which is each other. Zane moped around like a sick puppy when Channing left for Atlanta, but he was too darn stubborn to recognize his true feelings. If he loves Channing like I believe he does, then the one thing he won’t stand for is someone hurting her. Zane is very protective of those he cares about. He’s going to come up with a plan to save her from Mack.”

“What do you think he’ll do?” Chloe asked.

Now that was a good question, Megan thought. Zane was the brother who was usually too logical for his own good. The same one who made it his business to know everything there was to know about women. The family should have known they would be in trouble when Zane decided to major in psychology in college. “I’m not sure. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Three

The next morning, Zane sat on the edge of the bed, holding the locked box. After looking at it for a long moment, he slid it back underneath. He had been tempted to go through its contents once again.

He rubbed his hand over his face, feeling tired, although he had gotten into bed way before midnight. But he hadn’t gotten much sleep, and upon awakening this morning, he had lain there, gazing up at the ceiling and thinking about Channing.

The thought of any man betraying her twisted his gut with anger. No woman deserved that, which was why he was always up front with any woman he was involved with. Channing hadn’t been an exception. He had set the same ground rules with her as he had with other women, and, like he’d told Ramsey, she had accepted his terms.

He truly hadn’t meant for their involvement to last as long as it had, and more than once he’d considered breaking it off sooner instead of later. But each time he felt pressed to do so—whenever he was getting too comfortable and relaxed—he would change his mind.

He enjoyed Channing both in and out of the bedroom. She had been fun to be with. Unlike others he’d dated, she wasn’t a hard woman to please, which somehow made him want to please her more. She’d gotten next to him in a way no other female had: the way a smile could tease across her lips, her special scent that could drive him wild with lust or just plain spending time with her. She’d had a way of making him smile when he didn’t want to be amused, a way of bringing him out. She was someone he could talk to for hours. One thing he missed more than anything else was their late-night phone conversations.

On those nights when she’d stayed late at the hospital, he would come home, shower and wait on her call. When it came, they would chat well into the night. She would tell him how her day went, and he would tell her about his. Then they would move into a number of other topics. It had been a special connection, one he’d hated losing.

And then there were those hot and sexy text messages she would send him during the day. They had come up with their own code, and she would tell him what to expect next time he saw her. And she would deliver.

Now she was engaged to marry someone else.

He should wish her well. She was just one woman, and he had dated others since her. But he would be the first to admit that his time with those other women just hadn’t been the same. He had been enchanted by Channing from the beginning. She was a softhearted and passionate woman who brightened up any room. She was in a class by herself, and it bothered the hell out of him that she planned to marry a man who thought nothing of betraying her.

He stood and headed toward the kitchen. “Leave it alone, Zane. It’s not your problem,” he muttered to himself. He’d tried convincing himself of that very thing on his drive home from the family dinner last night. But as much as he told himself he wanted to wash his hands of Channing because she didn’t matter, he knew she did.

Seeing her again a few days ago had reignited feelings he had tried to deny. He had missed her, and damn it all, he still wanted her. He’d never invaded another man’s territory when it came to a woman, but this was different. Like he’d told Ramsey, the bastard didn’t deserve her.

If he knew where she was staying, he would pay her a visit and try to talk some sense into her. But he didn’t know, and he would not ask Megan. That meant he had to show up at the hospital again—with a plan.

Channing stopped when she saw Zane standing in the hospital parking lot, leaning on a light pole with his legs crossed at the ankles and his Stetson positioned low on his head. What was he doing here? Was he waiting for her? Why?

There had been a time when the sight of him would have had her heart jumping in her chest, and she was feeling annoyed with the fact that nothing had changed as far as that was concerned. She had been gone for almost two years, and at Megan’s wedding, he’d gone out of his way to ignore her. Now she was back in town, and in only a week’s time he had sought her out twice. And each time he’d done so, she was reminded just how deeply she had fallen in love with Zane.

She was finding it harder and harder to put aside her emotions when dealing with him. No one had ever warned her that falling in love would be so painstakingly complicated.

“Zane.”

He straightened to his full six-foot-three-inch height. “Channing. I’ve been waiting for you.”

She stared up at him. “Obviously.”

“We need to talk.” He pushed his hat back from his face, fully uncovering his eyes.

She wished he hadn’t done that. Now she was staring into the eyes that had haunted her on so many nights. The eyes that would darken whenever they made love. The eyes with the intensity to turn her on with one heated glanced.

Channing drew in a deep breath when she felt a tingling sensation stir in her stomach. “We have nothing to talk about, Zane.”

His brows creased in a thoughtful expression as he stared down at her. She couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. It had been rumored that when it came to women that Zane was all knowing, and she’d pretty much discovered that to be true. He could tell each and every time she’d wanted him to make love to her, saying he could read her like a book. She wondered if he was trying to read her now. Lord, she hoped not. The last thing she needed was for him to know that just standing here with him made her nipples harden against her bra and threaded a tingling sensation through her bloodstream.

“I think we do,” he said in a deep, husky tone that set her nerves on edge.

Bitterness tightened her lips. “Why?”

“I prefer to talk over a meal.”

Her gaze lifted. “A meal?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Yes, a meal. You haven’t had dinner yet and neither have I. There’s no reason why we can’t share one together. If nothing else, I’d like to think we’re still friends.”

Friends? Boy was he wrong. “Look, Zane, I don’t know what this is all about, but the last thing you and I need to do is rekindle any friendship.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Why? Are you worried what good old Mack will say if he finds out you had dinner with me? Seems to me that he probably trusts you a lot more than you should trust him.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “I’m not going to bother asking what you mean by that.”

“No, you won’t, but maybe you should.”

Channing stared down at her shoes. She desperately needed to break eye contact with him. Zane was starting to wear on her last nerve. Thinking she had herself together, she returned her gaze to his. “Why are you so concerned about my relationship with Mack, Zane? You had your chance.”

Zane sighed and dropped his hands to his sides. “Look, will it kill you to have dinner with me?”

“To talk?”

“Yes, to talk.”

Channing studied her shoes again. What harm could come of her having dinner with him? Although he might not like Mack, the one thing Zane would not do was trespass on another man’s territory. He assumed she was an engaged woman, so that would keep him in line. Besides, she was curious about what he wanted to discuss.

“Fine, we’ll talk,” she said, looking back up at him. He still carried a chip on his shoulder because of how she’d left. Maybe it was time they hashed things out once and for all.

“We can go in my car, and I’ll bring you back here,” Zane said.

There was no way she would say yes to being alone with him in a car for any length of time. “No thanks, I can drive my own car and follow you.”

He looked as if he wanted to argue, but she figured her expression made him think twice. “Fine, we’re going to McKays,” he said.

She went still. McKays was a well-known restaurant in town, and she had once considered it their place since they dined there often.

She lifted her chin. “I’ll follow.”

The moment they walked into McKays, Zane knew he should have suggested another place. Denver wasn’t a small city by any stretch of the word, but the people who frequented McKays were regulars, and the Westmorelands were well-known in these parts.

The majority of these people had known Zane, his siblings and his cousins all their lives. And Zane figured most remembered him and Channing coming here together quite a few times. That was probably the reason the two of them drew so much attention as the waitress led them to a table in the middle of the restaurant.

“We need something a little more private, Tasha,” he told their waitress when he saw they would be sitting across from a woman who was straining her neck to stare at them.

“No problem,” Tasha said, smiling as she led them in another direction. “I have the perfect table for you two.”

Channing glanced over at him and said nothing, althougth he knew what she was probably thinking. Tasha had been their regular waitress two years ago. No doubt Tasha saw some great significance with them eating together again after so long. And the engagement ring on Channing’s finger was probably giving Tasha further misconceptions.

He smiled his approval when Tasha led them into a private room in the back. Although it was larger than what they needed, it was perfect. He would be able to hold a conversation with Channing without fear of being overheard. However, he could tell from the look on Channing’s face that she didn’t particularly like the intimate setting.

“I’m not going to bite, you know,” he said, pulling out the chair for her after Tasha had left them alone.

Sitting down, she glanced over her shoulder at him, and he saw a fragment of a smile touch her lips. “Promise?”

Instead of moving away, he leaned down and whispered close to her ear, “Um, I don’t know now. You do look good enough to eat.”

A shiver passed through Channing when Zane moved away to take his seat. Erotic images flooded her brain, and she achingly remembered a time or two when he’d done exactly that—practically made a meal out of her.

She placed her napkin in her lap and noticed him staring at her. It didn’t help matters that he had the most arresting eyes, and at that moment, they were filled with intensity. Zane was a powerfully sensuous man, and there was no doubt in her mind that he knew it. Men didn’t draw women to them in droves the way he did and not know about their own magnetism.

Tasha returned and placed water, a bottle of their usual choice in wine and menus in front of them, said something about coming back later to take their order and then left them alone again. Zane continued to stare as he opened the wine bottle and poured them a glass, and—unable to do anything else—Channing stared back at him. She could feel the heat of his gaze touching every part of her, even parts he couldn’t see.

Raw emotions she’d forced away for two years slowly returned. She felt her skin grow warm under the goose bumps forming on her arms. Then there was the smell of his cologne. She recognized the fragrance. It was one she had purchased for him as a Christmas gift. The masculine scent drove sensuous shivers up her spine.

What was he trying to do to her? What was he trying to make her feel? She was assailed with sensations she only felt while around him: that sinfully seductive consciousness washing passion through her, intense degrees of longing pulsating through her body.