Seven days to reclaim the only woman he’s ever needed

Graedon Clegg has misgivings about a weeklong retreat at a remote country estate organized by his estranged brother. One, his brother can’t be trusted. And two, it’s hosted by his ex-wife, Tielle. Grae was forced to walk away from Tielle for the sake of the family advertising business. But he still burns for the vibrant woman who could always bring out the very best in him.

Tielle stubbornly refuses to believe that the Clegg brothers can’t work things out, and she’s delighted to finally help heal their family. Having powerful, handsome Grae around again is painful yet exciting and tempting. Grae and Tielle honeymooned at this same hideaway before. Will their new time together rekindle the romance they once shared, in the place where it all began?

“But you said I wasn’t your business anymore.”

Grae brought his full weight down upon her. “When will you stop taking everything I say so literally?”

Tielle relished the brunt of his body against hers and savored the sensations he stirred.

“Don’t do that.” Grae bowed his head, whispering the order when she moved against him in a slow, needy grind.

“Do what?” Tielle bit down on her lip and moaned close to his ear.

He grunted what sounded like a curse. Loosely cupping her neck, he used his thumb to tilt back her chin. Tielle followed through on giving him her tongue and didn’t know which one of them whimpered first when their tongues tangled, engaging in a sultry duel.

Tielle had lost her cap during the unorthodox trip through the house, freeing her coarse locks. Grae gathered a fistful of the dark mass, using his hold to keep her mouth crushed beneath his. She kept her hands filled with the material of his shirt, eager to take him out of it and paying little heed to what she was doing. She only wanted this—wanted him.

AlTonya Washington

has been a published romance novelist for ten years. In 2013, her Mills & Boon Kimani Romance His Texas Touch won the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Series Romance of 2012. In addition to being an author, AlTonya also works as a college reference librarian. Her Mills & Boon Kimani Romance Provocative Passion was nominated for an AMB Ovation Award for Outstanding Interracial Romance and is the follow-up to Provocative Territory.

Indulge Me Tonight

AlTonya Washington

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Dear Reader,

Graedon Clegg and Tielle Turner are about to celebrate the worst milestone ever: the anniversary of their divorce. What’s worse? The ex-spouses are set to spend a “fun-filled” week with Grae’s family at Tielle’s retreat for a little bonding time. Did I mention that the family hates Tielle for going through with the divorce even though Grae was the one who initiated it? I love to display the family dynamic in my work. Usually, the families get along—not the case in this particular tale.

It was a treat to portray Tielle—strong, self-sacrificing yet oh-so-much in love with her ex—and Graedon, the protective alpha male who bows down to no one…except Tielle. Peeling back explosive issues and working with such an outspoken secondary cast in such an intimate environment as Tielle’s lavish retreat was especially delicious. I hope you’ll enjoy indulging yourself….

Blessings,

AlTonya

altonya@lovealtonya.com

www.LoveAlTonya.com

To Lost Loves and Loves Rekindled…

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Dear Reader

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Copyright

Chapter 1

Vancouver, British Columbia

Tielle Turner looked away from the multicolored planning calendar that was projected on the farthermost wall of her office. The small plasma screen in the corner of the room’s living area had droned on softly, offering no real cause for interest until Tielle’s keen hearing picked up on the word snow.

She groaned.

“Is she kidding?” Tielle’s round, coffee-colored face twisted into a glower, which she directed toward the woman who was delivering the midday forecast.

“It’s only a prediction, Ti.” Laura Cooper didn’t bother tugging her dark eyes away from the wall projection she was studying. Laura had worked for her in some form or fashion for almost five years and was seemingly used to her mood swings whenever a discussion of the weather’s quick change conditions was on the table.

“Sounds like it’s for later in the week, too. No worries.” Laura’s eyes moved away from the projected calendar. “Besides,” she called to the tiny woman standing in front of the TV with her fists perched defiantly against her hips, “it is autumn.”

The reminder encouraged Tielle to turn her back on the television. “Autumn,” she parroted with a smirk. “You know, when I think of autumn, I imagine leaves changing color and dropping from trees, the air turning a bit brisk, and the time changing. I imagine all kinds of descriptions. Ones she could give—” Tielle cast another tiresome look at the meteorologist “—but rarely does.”

“It’s Vancouver...” Laura turned back toward the wall.

“And that’s why I live here. Because it’s Vancouver.” Tielle’s vibrant eyes, the color of chilled cognac, glistened, and she seemed more appreciative of Laura’s reminder that time.

“Vancouver autumns are supposed to be awesome.” Tielle used a green dry-erase marker to point past the office’s bay windows along the back wall of the office. The spotless glass offered a stunning, colorful array depicting the glory of the season.

“Well.” Laura had pulled her attention from the wall again and was tapping her own dry-erase marker to the curve of her jaw as she treated herself to the view. “Since we do have such awesome autumns, aren’t we entitled to have a few not-so-awesome ones?”

“Being cooped up with a group of execs isn’t going to be fun for long if it snows, you know?” Tielle gave a conceding smile.

“I don’t think it’ll come to that. The Korman Group will be gone in two days,” Laura said with a half shrug.

Tielle slipped the marker into a back pocket of her skirt and looked back to the wall projection she’d abandoned for the weather report. “After Korman, we’ve got offers from four more corporations for weeklong retreats. And if this snow hits...” She let the word carry while glancing across her shoulder in the direction of the television. When she turned back to Laura, the woman was finally gazing fixedly at the screen.

Laura looked to Tielle. “Yuck.”

Tielle’s smile was grim. “You catch my meaning?”

“Loud and clear.” Laura tapped her index finger against her cheek as she considered the mounting issue. “We need something to mix things up, you think?”

“Not necessarily.” Tielle leaned on the credenza and worried the end of the French braid she’d used to tame her coarse, lengthy hair that day. “All we really need is a break between sessions. Give the weather a chance to stabilize and if it gets the better of us—” she shrugged her shoulders “—at least we tried.”

Laura scrunched her nose. “I don’t know, Ti...that’s a lot of time to be off the clock. We usually close down for the holidays well into New Year’s. Do we really want to do more than that?”

“We’ve had a good year.” Tielle cleared her throat when her heart suddenly seized over what, for her at least, was a lie.

“Ah, Ti, I’m sorry.” Laura had easily sensed the change in her boss’s mood. “It’s the anniversary, isn’t it?” She closed her eyes while her palm went to slap her forehead over the gaffe.

Tielle’s round, pretty face had recaptured a measure of control. “Not quite an anniversary.”

“Have you talked to him?” Laura’s voice sounded hushed.

Tielle looked to the fall foliage beyond the window. “Not since the day we signed the papers.” She thought about crossing the room to take a closer look at the view but reconsidered when a light sheen of tears blurred her gaze.

“Still too soon to think about it all?” Laura guessed.

“Still too soon.” Tielle’s reply was monotone.

Laura turned back to the projected calendar. “That’s what I told him.” Her words were faint, absently delivered.

Still, they were amplified enough to catch Tielle’s ears. “Told who?”

“You had a call last week from Faro Clegg.”

Silent, Tielle returned to sit behind her wide walnut desk where she repeated the name of her ex-brother-in-law in her mind. It was a name she’d not allowed herself to think of since she’d signed her divorce papers one year ago that day.

“What’d he want?” she finally asked her assistant, her voice still harboring the same monotone.

“We didn’t cover many details.” Laura watched her booted foot swing idly back and forth. “The gist of the call was about him wanting to talk to you about arranging a weeklong stay.”

“For Clegg Marketing?”

Laura looked uncomfortable, her booted foot swinging a bit more vivaciously. “For the Clegg family.”

Portland, Oregon

“Is this fact or gossip?”

The voice coasting from behind the massive walled bar space instilled a spine-tapping tingle beneath Leonard Cartright’s skin. Nevertheless, as he’d already come to the table with his suspicions, he knew it’d be pointless to play the cautious role then.

“What I just told you was hearsay.” Despite his resolve, Leonard exercised care in handling what he knew to be a highly sensitive issue.

“I.e., gossip.”

Leonard cringed. “Gossip has got such an ugly ring to it.”

“Mmm...and yet I keep on hearing it.” Graedon Clegg’s movements could easily be described by any variation or synonym of the word sleek. Artful, really, given his striking build, easily mesmerizing when partnered with other attributes.

Graedon moved from behind the bar and passed a drink to his late father’s oldest friend. “Calm down, Leo,” he urged.

Leo Cartright didn’t care if the man he reported to was a kid beneath him. Only a fool would come to deliver unsavory news to Graedon Clegg and be on anything other than heightened alert. This stood whether Graedon was offering a drink or a challenge to a brawl.

“Come on, Leo, I need you to talk to me here.” Grae allowed his concern to show, hoping it’d urge Leo to speak freely. Grae let his uncle in name only glimpse his concern and hoped it’d urge the man to speak freely. Anticipating the moods of his associates was one of the things that made him such a formidable opponent at work and play.

Leo downed a bit of the gin and tonic he’d requested. “Working for your brother’s become too volatile,” he admitted once a few sips of the crisp drink had bubbled on his tongue.

“In what way?” Grae appeared the image of maddening cool as he eased behind the no-nonsense blackwood desk in the stark corner office.

Leo’s jaw dropped, his eyes growing wide.

Graedon shrugged, a smile narrowing an unexpected bronze stare. “Humor me,” he urged, his palm stroking the sleek stubble shading his jaw and adding something rugged to an otherwise pretty face.

“Something’s got him...changed. Something subtle but it’s strong. I don’t know...” Leo reached for the drink, downed another hearty swig. “He’s still the same ol’ Faro—dictating, strutting around like a little Napoleon.”

Grae let slip a soft chuckle as the image of his older brother came to mind. Leo had captured Faro Clegg perfectly.

“Sorry,” Leo said, yet the grin remained on his attractive, dark face.

“So what’s changed?” Grae asked.

“Well...” Leo expelled a perplexed sigh. “He’s still got the little-big-man complex, but it’s like he’s not as...I don’t know...pressured by all of it as he used to be. Hell if I know, Grae...” Leo leaned back in the deep armchair he occupied and smoothed a hand across the soft salt-and-pepper hair tapered at his nape. “It’s like he’s got the skinny on somethin’ the rest of us don’t. I don’t want to find myself on the evil side of his bad personality if what he knows is that I’ve been feeding you info on how he’s running his side of the business.”

Grae leaned forward a bit in his own chair. “Are you trying to tell me you confirmed the suspicions you came to me with last month—ones in addition to what you gave me six months ago?”

“What can I say? Your brother is one long, consistent train wreck, but this part is still hearsay.”

“Hearsay,” Grae groaned. He angled his gaze toward the low file cabinet that ran the length of the rear wall when the phone there buzzed. He ignored the sound. “Anybody willing to name names? Names bold enough not to hide behind the gossip, but to defend their words.”

Leo didn’t seem hopeful. “Come on, Grae, nobody wants to brush up against Faro, especially when it could mean getting caught between something with you on the other side of it. Everyone knows what a fierce position that could be,” he muttered, rolling his eyes.

The phone buzzed again. Grae answered, primarily to get thoughts best left alone to venture out of his mind.

Leo took advantage of the break in conversation to enjoy the rest of his drink. He’d finished it off before Grae’s rich rumble of a voice became a veritable rasp as he next addressed the unfortunate soul on the other end of the phone line. When he apologized to the caller, Leo realized he was talking to his assistant, Emily Claude.

“I don’t need to see it, Em. Hold on to it till I get out there, all right?” Grae set the phone to its receiver, studied it for an extended moment. “What do you know about a retreat?” he asked before swiveling his desk chair back to face Leo.

“Somethin’ to do with Faro?” Leo asked.

“No idea.” Grae stood, rounded his desk and went to refill the drink for the man who was more like a brother to him than his own. “Sounds like he’s trying to put together some kind of retreat for the family.”

Leo watched Grae slosh more gin into their stout glasses. Silently, he considered the event. Family retreats and reunions usually had the makings of a lot of unnecessary drama. “Is that it?” He reclaimed the glass Grae handed over. “A retreat made you scare Em that way?”

“He’s already handing out invites to the damn thing.” Grae set aside his drink and went about rolling the sleeves of a navy shirt over wide forearms corded with muscle. “Dropped mine off a few minutes ago. It’s waiting on Em’s desk. Location? Turner Estates and Gardens.”

“Lord.” Leo slumped down into his chair. “Is it confirmed? The place? I just can’t imagine—” Leo paused over speaking Tielle’s name. He knew that wound was still raw, too fresh, even for Graedon to hear without being affected.

Grae needed no additional clarification at any rate. “Em says there’s an asterisk next to the location name designating that it’s ‘subject to change,’ so...”

“You think it will?”

Grae shrugged off Leo’s soft inquiry. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not going anyway.” Out of frustrated habit he fingered the dark curls that covered his head in a halo of glossy black.

Leo didn’t bother disputing the comment. He wondered if Grae heard the doubt in his voice as clearly as he did. “Why do you think he’s organizing a lovefest for the family?” he asked instead.

“Besides the fact that we could really use one?” Grae smirked.

It was relatively true. While a measure of goodwill existed among the various cliques within the Clegg family, overall, there was still a measure of bad blood that could at any time erupt into a smelly mess. Such problems among the Clegg brood had been well covered over the decades, ever since Kenneth Clegg’s advertisements for African-American products and businesses began to appear in national magazines.

Faro and Graedon Clegg’s father had continued to outdo himself. The man’s accomplishments had boosted Clegg Marketing from one plateau to another. Sadly, Ken Clegg’s successes were matched all too greatly by the dramas in his personal life. Most unfortunate was the fact that the greatest portion of that drama originated in his family.

Nevertheless, Ken’s bright spot had been Clegg Marketing—his baby, his brain child. The visionary had even welcomed his family to share in what gave him such joy. The man’s heart was as big and robust as the man had been himself. When he died, family, friends and business rivals alike had all mourned his passing.

Yet when Graedon Clegg assumed the role as CEO of the company, few argued the virtually unarguable; Ken Clegg’s tenacious persona and dogged work ethic tempered by compassion and good humor seemed to have been reborn in his youngest son.

“Maybe Faro’s motivations for this retreat have something to do with your gossip.” Grae finished rolling his sleeves and reached for his drink.

A bark of laughter leaped from Leo’s heavyset frame. “It’s rumored that your brother might be ready to jump a ship he set ablaze and leave a ruined kingdom in your capable hands, and you think he’d throw a party at some ritzy resort to celebrate?”

“The place isn’t a resort,” Grae muttered into his glass before drinking from it. “Do you really think he’d do that ever? Leave? Leave it all to me, besides? ’Cause I sure as hell don’t.”

Leo shook his head.

“There’re often faint orbs of truth in rumors,” Grae said. “Whatever Faro’s doing isn’t being done in preparation for Faro leaving, but for me leaving.”

Leo barked another laugh. “But that’s crazy! He’d be a fool to think anyone would side with him to make that happen.”

That much was also true. At thirty-six, Grae had secured his place at the helm of his family. It wasn’t predestined. Most of the Clegg family had believed they’d had the next great football superstar instead of the next powerhouse ad exec. He was massively built and athletically talented to boot, so it was a logical assumption. Alas, Grae had inherited his father’s business savvy and passion for the ad game, as well.

Regrettably, the prodigy Ken Clegg had found in his youngest son wasn’t a hit with everyone in the Clegg family. Faro wasn’t of a mind to relinquish his birthright to his baby brother, no matter how much natural talent the man had.

It was of little consequence, however, given the fact that the rest of the Clegg family believed that Grae had what it took to make Ken Clegg’s legacy flourish and keep them all on the positive side of wealth for the foreseeable future. When the board of Clegg Marketing unanimously decided to place Grae in the top seat, many thought Faro would be too humiliated to remain— including Grae, who had been as surprised as anyone when his brother had chosen to stay aboard.

Unlike the rest of the family, who figured that Faro had come around to the majority’s way of thinking, Grae had a different feeling entirely regarding his brother’s motives. He believed the man was just biding his time, waiting for Grae to royally screw up or to throw in the towel.

Grae knew that a year ago that day, Faro had almost gotten his wish.

“So what now?” Leo asked. “Are you going to try and find out what he’s up to this time or just wait and let the chips fall where they may?”

“There’s an invitation out there with my name on it.” Grae rolled back one shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Chips will probably fall anyway.”

“And what about that invite?” Leo balanced his emptied glass on the perfect crease of one black trouser leg. “The venue? You gonna put a stop to that?” Leo frowned in a playfully curious manner when Grae responded to his question with a slow smile.

* * *

Tielle was halfway to the midmorning breakfast meeting she had only ten more minutes to get to when she realized she’d forgotten the presentation she’d prepared for the counseling center that was scouting Turner Estates for an upcoming summer retreat. Her brain had been so mushy by the time she’d left the office the day before that she had totally forgotten it. It was what she got for spending such late nights at the office instead of going home like a regular woman.

Her thoughts drifted as she edited her silent realization. All the regular women she knew had reasons to go home—family, a husband or special man... Until little over a year ago, she’d had that. She could say that losing Grae had hit her out of nowhere, but that wasn’t true.

She’d seen their issues turning into more serious problems down the road. She’d done nothing to stop them, but he’d given her every chance to, hadn’t he?

He’d given you his...ultimatum—

Tielle shook off the thoughts. She didn’t need them that day, not when business called so strongly. Mind refocused on the presentation, Tielle barely shut the door before she parked the car in the grand horseshoe drive before the main house.

Dashing inside, she was taking the various corridors toward the administrative offices when her mobile hummed. She fished the phone from her bag, answering as she rounded another corridor.

“Good morning, this is Tielle.”

“Well, Tielle, I must say it’s good to hear you sounding so chipper.”

The trail Tielle blazed to her office came to an abrupt stop on the blocky heels of her chic boots. “Faro,” she said, hearing her ex-brother-in-law chuckle over the surprise in her voice.

“Sorry for jumping the gun and not waiting on you to return my call, sweetness, but you know I’ve never been the patient sort.”

“I remember.” Slowly, Tielle put her feet in motion, resuming the journey to her office. “And I haven’t made a decision about your event. but I’m leaning toward a ‘no.’ I don’t think it’s a good idea, and you know—” she turned his words around on him “—half your family can’t even stand me.”

“But your place is the best, Tielle.”

“Lots of places are just as good.”

“I need the group in high spirits and they have such...happy memories of your place.”

Tielle forced more life into her feet, lest she settle to the floor right there in the middle of the corridor. Faro’s mention of “happy times” at Turner Estates promised to do just that.

“Listen, Faro, I appreciate the nudge and the business, but I really can’t spare time to talk about this now. I, um—I’m on my way to a meeting.” She sighed, pulling steel into her voice. “Now would you rather a slow yes or a fast no?”

Tielle listened for a response, only hearing Faro take his turn at sighing. Her thumb hovered over the end button on the mobile, prepared to shut down the call.

“Guess I have to wait. This means a lot to me, Tielle.” His authoritative voice drifted through the line then.

“The wait won’t be long.” Tielle rolled her eyes, silently criticizing her need to offer reassurance, especially to Faro Clegg. “But I’m swamped right now, so it won’t be today.”

“Yes, yes of course, Tielle, and thank you. I hope you’ll accept my apologies for my impatience and insensitivity.”

Once again, Tielle’s steps slowed. “Insensitivity?”

“Wasn’t it today? Or sometime this week that you signed the papers to divorce Grae?” Faro’s voice sounded heavier, stressed. “I’ll always hold myself to blame for that, Ti.”

“Thanks, um, I really do need to be going.” The present topic was one Tielle was certainly in no state to discuss, and especially not with the man on the other end of her line. “I appreciate your concern...” She quickened her pace en route to the office.

“Certainly, Tielle, I’ll let you get on with your day.”

Tielle pressed the end button without further ceremony. She rushed past the beveled glass doors leading into Turner Estates’s administrative wing. The hem of the blue-gray dress she wore flipped with more intensity with the somewhat frantic nature of her pace. Faro’s call had her more agitated than she wanted to admit.

“Morning!” She tossed a blanket greeting over the room, not bothering to make eye contact with her staff or any waiting visitors.

“I only need to grab the rest of the counseling center presentation,” she told Laura on her way past where the woman stood speaking with her assistant, Marisol Estes.

Tielle slammed her office door, effectively silencing what Laura was calling out to her just then.

Finding the storyboard mock-ups where she’d expected them was enough to improve Tielle’s mood a bit from Faro’s unexpected call...and the apology that followed. She was giving the presentation a final thumb-through when a single knock sounded on the door.

“Sorry, Laura. I just needed to grab this. I’m already crazy late...” Eyes still focused on the portfolio, Tielle opened the door, waiting for Laura to walk in with conversation.

There was only silence, which eventually drew her gaze. The portfolio slipped from her fingers when she discovered that the knock hadn’t come from her colleague but her husband.

Ex.

Graedon Clegg filled the doorway with shoulders that threatened to brush the frame.

“Spare a little time for me, Tel,” he said.

Chapter 2

He didn’t give her the option to accept or decline. Of course he wouldn’t. Any man who had to angle sideways to clear a doorway didn’t wait for permission to enter any room. When he knelt before her instead of entering, though, Tielle jumped as if she’d been scorched.

Grae bent to retrieve the portfolio Tielle had dropped. He offered her the folder, smiling so slightly that it may’ve been missed when she didn’t reach to take it.

Grae hung on to the portfolio, using it as an added excuse to move deeper into the office. There, he set the presentation on the desk and took a seat on its edge.

“Close the door.”

He was asking if she would close the door. Again, there was rarely another answer besides yes when Graedon Clegg asked a question. Tielle had always considered it an annoying habit. That was before time in her husband’s—ex-husband’s—presence had clued her into the fact that it was purposefully done. He asked questions in such a manner that to respond in the negative seemed strange.

Close the door. Spare a little time for me, Tel.

Tielle closed the door, leaning back against it in hopes that her stance would seem easy as opposed to wilting.

“You’re a little early, aren’t you?” She forced herself to speak with the same ease she was hoping to perpetuate in her stance.

“Meaning?” He smiled at her query.

“I haven’t even given an answer yet.”

“Answer.” He frowned. “Answer for what?”

Tielle pushed off the door, not completely closing the distance between them but moving just close enough for her to study his expression.

Good one, Ti, she silently admonished herself.

Studying Grae Clegg’s expression was only a sidebar to the real intent, which was just...studying. Marveling, actually, over the combination of features that created a divinely constructed face. She blinked, having caught the faint smile that he was never quite fast enough to hide from her. He revealed it whenever he knew he had achieved whatever it was that he sought.

“I told your brother I needed time to think on it.” Tielle coolly added distance between them, moving behind her desk. “But I told Faro I didn’t think it was a good idea.” She didn’t sit, merely stood tapping her fingers to the semicluttered surface of the desk.

“Tel.” Grae spread his hands in sync with his grin while pretending to come clean. “I got no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s impossible.” Suspicion clouded the clear cognac hue of her eyes. “You know every move he makes.”

“That was only when he tried to make them with you.”

She bristled. “He never tried to make them with me.”

“You never realized it.”

“Which brings us back to why it’s impossible for you not to know what he’s up to.”

“Not exactly.” Grae smoothed the back of his hand across the dark shadow of whiskers on his cheek. “The moves you make are no longer any of my business, are they?”

The outright question put Tielle in her seat, yet she managed to make the move appear graceful enough.

“Faro says he wants to book the estate exclusively for one week. He wants to hold a Clegg family retreat.” She shared the explanation politely enough. Admirably, she subdued the wound his words had opened. She wanted to maintain eye contact. Sadly, all she could focus on, as Grae sat there stroking his jaw, was his sleek beard, which added an intimidation factor and needed no additional emphasis.

Those inky whiskers contrasted so richly against an otherwise flawless palette of light caramel. They felt like mink against her skin when he kissed her...wherever he kissed her—used to kiss her...

“He told you what prompted such a great idea?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t know, Grae. Maybe he thinks he can fix your family.” With a laugh, she stood and left the desk. Silently, she reiterated the conversation she’d just had with Faro. “I’m pretty sure a fast no is the right answer here. Listen, Grae, I have a meeting I’m already late for.” Hastily, she rounded the desk and began collecting her things.

Grae was blocking her way before Tielle even moved from the desk, causing her to swallow around her heart in her throat.

“I’d like for you not to do that, Tel.”

The urgency in the canyon depth of his voice gave Tielle pause. “Tell me why?” It was her chance to mask command in the form of a question.

Grae clenched his jaw, revealing the defeat he felt. “I honestly don’t know, Tel, but going through with this thing might bring it all out.”

Tielle dismissed the voice warning her not to ask and asked anyway. “Can’t Faro want to retreat for exactly what retreats are meant for? To fix things?”

Graedon smiled, but the gesture held no humor and very little softness. “Still blind when it comes to my brother,” he accused.

“So are you.” She smiled and shrugged. “I guess we’re a perfect pair then.”

“We used to be.” A more pronounced element filtered the bronze of his stare.

“Is it refusal or acceptance you want, Grae?”

When he smiled, Tielle wondered if he was confused about what she should have been refusing or accepting.

“Acceptance.”

Confusion crept in on her then. He was frowning in that way he did when seeking to relay the importance of what he was saying. Tielle refused to get lost in his very capable ability to spellbind her.

“Why would you want me to accept Faro’s request? Wouldn’t that make him a little too happy?”

“May be the only way to get to the bottom of what he’s really up to.”

“Grae...” Tielle rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “What does all this suspicion get you?”

“Not nearly as much as it’s lost me.”

“And yet you continue to pursue it.”

His jaw clenched again. “I pursue it so that I can crush it.”

A soft spurt of laughter rippled past her lips.

“What?” His eyes raked the length of her, focusing on Tielle’s bottom when she turned away.

She set her meeting materials back on the desk. “Just that your...pursuit might be self-defeating, is all.”

“Okay,” Grae prompted.

“It didn’t lose you anything. You did.”

Grae bowed his head and shook it as though he wasn’t surprised by her point of view. “He’s not what you think, Tel. He never has been.”

“It must be so sad to live your life only seeing the worst in everyone.”

“Not everyone, Tel. Just him.”

When she turned away with a submissive sigh, Grae came down off some of his anger. “Tel—”

“Don’t, okay? The quicker all this gets started, the quicker I get all of you out of my hair.” She distanced herself again. “I’ll give Faro a call after my meeting...”

Grae was barely listening. The reference she’d made to her hair had his eyes fixed upon the fluffy mass. Coarse-textured and flowing, it framed her round face like an enchanting dark cloud. He knew she usually tamed the wild tresses into a thick ball, only leaving it wild about her face when she was heading out for the evening or going to bed...

Who did she say she was meeting again? he wondered.

Something to do with business, but it mattered little. Tielle could capture a man’s eyes and stir his appraisal—no matter the venue. Her curvy proportions, untamed hair and baby-doll allure had anchored him with an invisible yet irresistible hook since the day he’d met her.

He was still anchored to her. Of course he was, with only his anger and suspicion to hold on to. She was right—what he’d lost, it was all on him.

“Grae?” Tielle waited until he’d focused on her. “Is that it?”

He watched her so meaningfully in that moment that Tielle was forced to glance down at her dress to see if it was still clinging to her body.

“For now.” He pushed off the arm of the chair. “Thanks, Tel.”

She managed to stay on her feet until he’d pulled the door shut behind him.

* * *

“I’m so sorry, Ti.” Laura offered her apology while adding more of the ginger dressing to her salad. “He was already here when I got in this morning.” Done with the dressing, she blew at a tuft of her bobbed hair. “And we must not forget our helpful man-crazy staff. They’d already given him your full itinerary for the day.”

“Our man-crazy staff?” Tielle gave Laura a look of mock reproach. “Are you trying to suddenly distance yourself from the bunch?”

“Well, hell, Ti, I mean, can you blame us?” Laura was crunching around a mouthful of salad by then. “Especially when it’s Graedon Clegg who comes a-callin’? What woman wouldn’t drop everything to...help him?” She closed her eyes over her word selection and winced. “Sorry.”

“No...” Tielle was giggling a mite helplessly. “I need the laugh.”

“So?” Laura pretended to be focused on the wide salad bowl she clutched. “You gonna tell me what happened in there? Every woman out here was falling all over the man when he got here. He was polite enough.” She shrugged beneath the lime-green cropped neck sweater she wore. “He really was pretty sweet, but he didn’t really come alive until you walked in. You were ranting so...didn’t even notice him following you to your office like you were dragging him along with a leash. Humph...pretty amazing to watch.”

It was pretty amazing to hear, and Tielle listened to the recap in awe.

“It’s been a year and I still can’t quite wrap my head around what happened.” A shiver touched her arm, and she began a slow rub to rush warmth to the limb. “We loved each other—wanted each other all the time.” Tielle let her lashes drift downward and swallowed with effort as emotion promised to close her throat while memories set her arousal mounting. She shook her head in a poor attempt to ward them off.

“What went wrong between us didn’t have to.” She looked out at the sunny environment beyond the long windows running past the tables in the staff cafeteria where she and Laura had their lunch.

“I’m sorry, Ti. It—it’s none of my business.”

“It’s okay.” Tielle leaned over to warm her fingertips against her teacup. “Maybe talking about it will help. Nothing else does.” She looked at Laura squarely then. “Grae wanted me to stop talking to his brother and I wouldn’t. I thought I could fix whatever was wrong between them.” She considered the shade of the blueberry tea then. “I didn’t know how impossible that was until I lost him—until I lost my husband. It’s not like I didn’t see it coming, but helping people find their way back to one another is what I’m supposed to be best at, right?”

Laura replied with a sympathetic smile. Yes, if anyone had a knack for fixing things between people, it was Tielle Turner. She got it honest. It was, after all, in her blood.

Named for her grandmothers, Tina and Danielle, Tielle had continued the women’s legacy for helping mend relationship fences. Tielle had never met a lost cause she turned away from. She had continually found great success in helping people—families, especially, through their trials.

That was before she’d taken on the task of trying to fix what was broken between her ex-husband and his brother.

“He wanted you to go against who you are,” Laura noted.

Sighing, Tielle raised her brows in a resigned fashion. “I’m just as much at fault. I should’ve left it alone...at the very least I should’ve suggested that they talk with someone else, and then I should’ve just let it go.”

“But what was wrong was hurting him, and that’s hard to turn away from,” Laura argued gently.

Tielle finally gave attention to the chef salad she’d ordered. “I thought it was hurting him—” she sprinkled on pepper “—but it was just the way things were between them. The way they’d always been. No need to be fixed—Grae had accepted it long ago and had accepted it so much that I didn’t get how serious he was when he told me to leave it alone or we were done.”

Laura munched through her salad for a time and then looked up at Tielle. “Do you think he’ll come to the retreat if it all goes through?”

“Sounded like he was fishing for something...” Tielle’s voice had a faint introspective quality. “He’d need to be here to get what he’s after, right?”

“And what does that mean for you?”

“You know I never stay around for the retreats.” Tielle favored Laura with a wink. “That’s what I pay my team of savvy fixers to do.”

“But aren’t you curious?” Laura’s voice was hushed.

“I’m not even a little curious.” Tielle gestured as though she were wiping her hands. “I plan to call Faro, hash out the details for the event and then get the hell out of here before the first Clegg arrives.”

“And what’ll you do if you’re one of the Cleggs he wants here?”

Tielle only hesitated momentarily before saying, “I’m not a Clegg anymore.”

“Because of him,” Laura reminded. “What if he wants to fix what he broke between you and Grae?”

“Faro didn’t break anything, Laura.” Tielle shook her head defiantly. “The prize for all that goes to me and my ex-husband.”

* * *

Though the decision was already made, Tielle gave herself a couple of days more before making things official with Faro. His unexpected call the week before had better prepared her to hear his voice when his assistant patched him through. Yet memories stirred of the good and bad times comprising her old life and made getting through the call more of a chore than was expected.

“My assistant, Laura Cooper, will be your facilitator for the event. We’ll be forwarding an information packet for you to review and sign,” she said as the call rounded out. “You can give her a call with any questions.”

“And can you be reached at this number, or is your cell still the best?”

“No, they’re both fine, but you won’t need to talk to me since Laura will be handling it all.”

“Smart move. That way you’ll have the chance to enjoy the retreat as a guest.”

“Guest?” Tielle stopped the idle tap of a pump-shod foot against the bottom drawer of her desk. “Faro, I’m no longer involved once the initial organization of the event is handled. I never take part in the retreats—least of all as a guest.”

“Understood. But I will need you to make a special exception in this case.”

“Faro...I—”

“This is your family, too.”

“Faro, not even when I was married to Grae. It was never my family.”

“Don’t you think it’s time to change that?” he challenged.

Tielle puffed out her cheeks, her taps to the bottom desk drawer gaining force. “Faro, considering the fact that your brother and I are divorced—”

“For only a year.”

“Divorced is divorced.”

“He still loves you, Ti.”

“Don’t do this, Faro. It’s long past time. I’m as done with this as Grae is.”

“Humph. Well, Ti, that’d mean you aren’t done at all. Honey, Grae...well, he’s changed a lot since he lost you.” Faro’s sigh carried on a defeated breath. “That...bad side that people hope they never see, much less have directed their way, is pretty much all they have to work with these days.”

“That’s got nothing to do with me.” Tielle gave a nervous tug to the end of her low ponytail. “That bad side is pretty much all I saw toward the end and that was before he lost me, Faro.”

“He lost you because of me—”

“Faro—”

“That kind heart of yours won’t let you admit that, but you know it’s true. I need to fix things with you as much as I do with my blood relatives.”

“Faro, listen to me.” She kept her tone measured as though she were speaking to a recalcitrant child. “I have no anger that I’m holding on to toward you. I need you to accept that.”

“All right, Tielle, all right. But I need honest emotion from everyone. I won’t get that from Grae unless you’re there.”

“So Grae is coming?” Tielle tried to sound airy, but merely came off as nonplussed.

“I’m still working on it, but my chances would be better at encouraging him if you—”

“I don’t want to play those games, Faro.”

“Tielle, I need you guys there if I plan to start mending those fences. That’s all. I’d think you of all people could appreciate that.”

Tielle pushed out of her chair and gave the air a frustrated kick when she stepped from behind her desk.

“Ti?” Faro called when long silence had held the line.

“I’ll do my best to be there and that’s the best answer I can give you right now.”

“Understood.” Faro sounded as though her words translated into a flat yes to his request.

Tielle heard the glee loud and clear, but she had no energy to stifle it then. “Goodbye, Faro.” She disconnected without waiting for a farewell from his end.

* * *

Back in Portland, Oregon, Faro Clegg’s smile mirrored his inner glee. That emotion, however, was short-lived when a knock hit the door and his brother walked into the office without waiting on permission to enter.

“Got all your RSVPs in place?” Grae asked, giving Faro’s desk an assessing bronzed stare.

“As usual, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Right.” Grae waved the invite to the retreat he’d received and watched Faro’s tired smirk transform to one of knowing.

“All RSVPs received, but one,” Faro admitted, nodding toward the one his brother waved. “Thanks for coming to reply in person.”

“Tell me more about it,” Grae urged.

Faro pushed his chair back a little from his desk. “Just a family get-together. Thought we could use it, and who better than the two biggest troublemakers to set it all in motion?”

“So you expect me to be there, why? Because of Tielle?”

“I thought she’d be the best motivator, yes, but no one, no place is better at giving folks what they need to fix their issues than Tielle and her people there.”

“Is she helping you with this?” Grae’s voice had taken on a leaden quality. One that sent more menace into his bottomless voice.

“No.” Again, honesty shone in Faro’s dark face. “I’ll be lucky if I can even get her to stick around for it.”

Grae’s stirring eyes fell to the invite. “Did she say she wouldn’t?”

Faro scooted his chair back toward the desk and made a pretense of shuffling papers there. “I think she’ll try.”

A glimmer of intrigue sharpened Grae’s expression when he regarded the invite again.

“So? Do you think you’ll try to make it?” Faro was still feigning interest in the contents of his desk.

“Don’t try to con me, Faro.” Grae’s steely demeanor instantly redefined itself.

“It’s no con.” Faro reared back in his chair and made eye contact with his brother. “I only want the family strong—united.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re family!”

“Bullshit.” A muscle flexed devilishly along Grae’s jaw so powerfully that the movement was visible beneath the sleek whiskers shading his face. “Tielle isn’t family.”

“Please, Grae, you haven’t believed that since you let her go.”

Graedon pushed a hand into the pocket of his dark trousers in order to hide a fist he’d clenched. “You want to fix our family yet you pick my ex-wife’s place as the venue to do it?”

“Ex-wife? Is that what she is to you?” Faro smiled when Grae staggered back. Quickly, he moved from his desk and left his brother alone in the office.

Chapter 3

Located just outside Vancouver, Turner Estates and Gardens was a remote spread of property that had once been a successful dairy farm until the farm’s owners decided to live out their days relaxing instead of working.

When Avery Turner and his wife, Danielle, proposed purchasing the farm from the elderly growers, there was, of course, great concern. The Turners, after all, were a young black couple, and such business arrangements, especially in those days, were rare. Still, the aged farmers obviously saw something they liked in the couple, for they ordered their sons to sell to Avery Turner and give him what he needed to succeed.

What Avery needed most was his best friend, Lucas Mayes. When Lucas arrived with his wife, Tina, in tow, the foursome ran the farm in a manner no one could fault. The couples eventually decided to sell off the cattle and make their profit opening the breathtaking and expansive gardens to tourists.

Vancouver and neighboring Victoria were often visited by artists, musicians and hosts of academics. Such venues as the Turner and Mayes Gardens were especially popular. In later years, wedding bells resounded between the Turners’ son, Aaron, and the Mayeses’ Vanessa. The older generation entrusted their life’s work to the new, and Turner Estates and Gardens was born.

When both Avery Turner and Lucas Mayes passed on, their wives embarked on a new venture—inviting small groups to meditate in the gardens for extended periods. During that time, Tina Mayes and Danielle Turner held time for fellowship and scripture reading. The women found they had a love for it upon witnessing the transformation it made among their guests.

When the family business fell to her to control, Tielle decided to move things to a larger scale. Turner Estates and Gardens became an exclusive retreat for families, executives, social groups...the list was long, diverse and distinguished. Tielle’s therapists were respected for their abilities as well as their discretion.

The business venture had been a smart and lucrative one. Tielle had never regretted continuing what her grandmothers had started. During the last year, however, the picture perfection of her business had shown signs of wear around the edges. Every room, every tree or garden path, it seemed, held a memory that reminded her of Graedon Clegg.

They’d been married there. Spent part of their honeymoon there. The place had always been a magical one for her. In spite of what had happened between her and Grae, it was still a magical place. Nevertheless, memories definitely took their toll.

How was she to function when the most potent aspect of those memories was there in the flesh? Faro could forget it, she decided. Tielle stared out from the corner of her office that looked toward the hill that led in from the dirt road and would transport guests on or off the property. The Clegg clan would be arriving at any time. What to do, what to do...

“Still time to make a run for it...” Laura must have been reading Tielle’s mind when she arrived in the office singing the possibility.

“Don’t think it hasn’t occurred to me...” Tielle sang back, toying with the paisley-print tie of her wrap shirt.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, you know.”

Tielle puffed out a thoughtful breath. “I know that, too...”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning...” Tielle turned to sit on the windowsill. “I’m out of here the minute those people have visions of gumdrops dancing in their sleepy heads.”

Laura leaned against the doorjamb, folded her arms over her middle. “What about Grae?”

“Humph.” Tielle leaned back against the window. “I doubt he’ll miss me.”

Silently, she recalled what he’d said about her not being his business anymore. Looking out the window again, she noticed two SUVs coming down the hill and leaving clouds of dust in their wake.

She smiled. “And the drama begins.”

Laura joined Tielle at the window to observe the procession. “Why don’t you let me greet the gang? You can receive your guests in the sunroom.”

Tielle squeezed the hand Laura had clasped over her forearm. “Thanks, girl.”

A serious look stole across Laura’s honey-toned face. “You don’t owe these people anything.”

With that reminder, Laura left the office.

Alone, Tielle turned her gaze beyond the window, watching as the two SUVs drew closer to the main house. Several yards behind them were a trio of cars.

Yes, she thought, the gang was all here.

She was sure none of the gang would want to miss out on the chance to tell her what they thought of her. Not that they hadn’t made a career of doing so during her marriage to Grae. Tielle rolled her eyes as more vehicles traversed the dirt road leading in.

Resolute, she stood and walked across the office to give herself a once-over in the floor-length mirror on the door to her private bathroom. Satisfied, she set out.

* * *

Tielle was certain that Faro would want to make an entrance and bask in the accomplishment of bringing his family together under one roof for the purpose of healing. Instead, he walked in among the group laughing and talking as if his family’s close bonds had never been tested and that he hadn’t been the one who had tested them the most.

Laura must have told Faro where to find Tielle. He was first to arrive in the sunroom that faced the enormous and professionally manicured rear lawn.

“Ti!” The short, dark man greeted his ex-sister-in-law with open arms. “Thanks for agreeing to this,” he said while squeezing her in his welcome embrace.

“Faro, I—”

“Well, well, isn’t this a familiar sight? The two best buds cozied up.”

The unmistakable female voice reached Tielle’s ears before she could complete her response to Faro. She looked around the man’s slender frame to see his cousins Ranata and Asia. It was Asia who had spoken. The statuesque lovely sauntered into the sunroom. Her stiletto boots intermittently clicked and quieted as they moved from the hardwood flooring to the plush, ornately designed throws in the expansive room. She took inventory of the breathtaking spot as though there was little truly impressive about the area.

Late-afternoon sunlight was beginning to cascade into the room, sending spectrums of color through the cut-glass lamp bottoms and bathing the healthy potted plants and deep, cushioned furnishings in liquid gold.

“Another expensive retreat on the books, Ti-Ti?” Asia’s voice was husky yet with a distinctly nasal element. “Aren’t you already getting enough of Grae’s money in the settlement?”

“Nice to see you, Asia,” Tielle somehow managed.

Asia’s glossy, full lips twisted into a nasty smile. “No need to lie.”

“All right, then.” Tielle tried not to appear too gleeful when Asia’s smile froze.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Laura arrived then with two of the retreat’s baggage attendants in tow. “We’re about to take a look at the sleeping quarters, if you all would be so kind as to join us?”

Asia had recovered somewhat from her embarrassment. “Come on, Ranata,” she ordered the silent, petite woman at her side.

Faro looked apologetic and rubbed Tielle’s shoulder when the women had gone. “I know this won’t be easy,” he said.

“Smart man.”

Faro grinned. “I am thankful that you agreed to all this.”

Tielle folded her arms. “Looks like Grae didn’t accept your invite. Maybe you won’t need me here for this after all.”

“Mr. Clegg?” Laura called to Faro before he could respond to Tielle. “Would you mind joining the others for a moment?”

Tielle caught Laura’s eye with a glance of gratitude when Faro obliged without comment. Alone in the dazzling room, Tielle hid her face behind her palms and groaned. Once her emotions began to settle, she went back to the windows to take stock of the cars lining the yard and prepared herself for the next round of guests.

* * *

Tielle had thrown herself into taking care of busywork for most of the afternoon. Following the warm reunion with Asia and Ranata, Tielle was better prepared for the rest of her ex’s chilly female cousins. She received even less warmth from the older Clegg women and had taken to checking her watch often in hopes of finding that dinner was served or that the much anticipated bedtime had arrived.

She’d stopped off to check on things in the kitchen—a place that usually soothed frazzled nerves. Especially true now, because she saw works of edible art being created when she arrived. That evening, the cook staff was in their element and ready to boast about their efforts. They offered Tielle samples of what they had planned for the evening’s meal.

The plate of spinach and cream cheese pinwheels, bourbon and scallion chicken strips and vegetable sautéed rice put a small but welcomed coating on Tielle’s stomach. The treat gave her the strength—she hoped—to handle the remainder of her hellacious evening.

“That was fantastic, guys! Can’t wait for dinner!” Tielle was in high spirits as she took the kitchen exit. In the corridor, she ran into an unexpected guest.

Laughing as much from relief as happiness, Tielle fell into the open arms of yet another Clegg family member. She greeted Desree Clegg, the eldest of the Clegg family and Ken Clegg’s sister.

“What are you doing here in all this madness?” Happier than she’d been in a long time, Tielle pressed a kiss to the woman’s cheek.

Desree Clegg’s plump caramel-toned face was even lovelier than usual thanks to the brightness of her smile. “I could ask the same of you, miss,” she scolded.

“Faro asked me to stay.”

The explanation dimmed Des’s smile a little. “What’s that boy up to?”

Tielle laughed. “You sound just like Grae.” Instantly, she regretted the slip when a knowing light crept into Desree’s dark eyes.

“Is that a...recent insight?”

“Des...I’ve only seen him once and that was only so he could ask me to go along with Faro having the retreat here.”

Desree snorted. “Now what’s that boy up to?”

Tielle linked an arm through the crook of Desree’s. “Maybe they’re finally trying to come together.”

Rich laughter tumbled from a still shapely mouth when Des threw back her head. “The only thing those two have ever come together over is nothing.”

Tielle laughed again, feeling ever more peaceful in the presence of her favorite Clegg.

“You know you don’t need to be here.” Desree’s reminder held a warning.

“I’m jumping ship as soon as everyone’s safely tucked away in their beds.”

“And what will you do if Grae personally asks you to stay?”

“Is he coming?” Tielle felt as though lead was weighing her down and keeping her pinned to her spot.

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Desree’s dark eyes sparkled as vibrantly as the small row of sequins lining the pocket of her lavender smock blouse. “I mean, he did make a point of asking you to help this event happen.”

“I can’t see him again.” Tielle refused to give in to the shiver creeping up her back.

“Lord, child, was it that awful?”

“No, Des...that’s the problem.” Tielle pulled her arm free of Des’s. “I should’ve turned him down flat when he asked me to do this but as usual, Grae snaps his fingers and I fall in line whenever he wants me. The man doesn’t know what it sounds like to hear me say no.”

“So teach him then, child.” Desree bumped the younger woman’s shoulder with her own.

Tielle’s smile lost its glee to recapture despair. “The last time I tried that, he divorced me.”

* * *

Tielle waited until after midnight to make good on her plans for escape. The word coward resounded in her head like a chime, but she didn’t begrudge it. One day she was running her business, trying and failing to forget Graedon Clegg had ever been part of her life. The next day he was there talking to her as though the past year had never happened. Not to mention the fact that she was once again, and all too soon, surrounded by almost the entire Clegg clan. What was she supposed to do with all that? What could anyone do with all that?

Silently, she raged while making her way out by one of the many secluded staircases that wound through the big house. While she assumed most of her guests were asleep, or well on their way, she decided there was no sense using the most highly traveled areas to make a run for it.

None of this was necessary, Tielle knew that. She’d handled much tougher crews than the Clegg family while manning her business, yet the memories those people instilled only dredged up deeper ones of herself and Grae—memories she’d forced herself to shut away when what they’d had fell apart.

Tielle gave a quiet, triumphant sigh when she worked her way through the large, industrial-equipped kitchen. The staff garage was attached just off the area. She efficiently secured the door leading into the garage and headed through it to where she’d left her car parked outside earlier that day. Tossing her purse on the passenger seat of the Audi, she prepared to plant herself behind the wheel.

“Jeez, all this cloak-and-dagger stuff just to get out of spending a few days with my family, Tel?”

The wind had picked up, masking her gasp when Grae’s rich octave cut through the air. She helped herself to a few deep breaths before closing the car door and turning to face the man, who was slyly grinning down at her from beneath a toboggan as dark as the whiskers shading his face.

“Don’t try telling me you were doing anything other than making a run for it.”

“Can you blame me?” Tielle shrugged, swatting at a lock of hair that slapped her cheek.

“It’s that hard for you to be around them. Around me,” he asked in that question-non-questioning way of his.

“What are you up to, Grae? Why would I want to be around any Clegg at all? Especially you?” She didn’t raise her voice, yet the temper that had become increasingly difficult to manage over the past year came through as though amplified. “We’re divorced, in case you forgot,” she tacked on.

Aside from the erratic dance of a jaw muscle, he was utterly still. “Yeah, Ti, I forget that all the time.”

“Well, it may be something you’ll want to remember the next time you end a marriage.” Her temper was on a slow simmer then.

Grae’s own temper skipped simmer and dashed straight to boil, something it had done excessively during the past twelve months.

“Dammit, Tel.” He invaded her space with an impressive swiftness for someone his size. “You weren’t supposed to leave me.” His voice was a gravel rumble that effectively unsettled most.

“I left you?” Her laughter was short, ill-humored. “That’s good, Grae. Do you happen to recall that ultimatum of yours? ‘Stop trying to fix things in my family, Tel. I’m the only one you should concern yourself with satisfying. Forget that one more time and consider us finished.’” The wind whistled as she recited the speech verbatim and then raised her hands defensively. “What was I supposed to do with that, Grae?”

Her words—his words—eased the rigid set to his shoulders. “You weren’t supposed to let me get away with that ultimatum, dammit.” His voice held its steely resilience. “You were supposed to tell me to go screw myself. You were supposed to lock me out of the bedroom, give me the silent treatment and then—”

“Do what you wanted me to anyway?” The anger left her voice to be replaced by a weak bewilderment.

“Don’t leave, Tel.” He crowded in a bit more.

The pressure of tears emerged. “We aren’t going to fix things, Grae. Not here of all places, you know that.”

“And you know I can’t do this without you.”

Curiosity added more sparkle to her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I need you, Tel. I’m not—” He wasn’t quite ready to admit that he wasn’t strong enough. “I’m sorry for making you a part of the very thing I once ordered you to stay out of. As much as I don’t want to do this with you, I can’t do it without you.”

Tielle considered him a moment and then shook her head. “I’m sorry, Grae. I’m not doing anything except getting the hell out of here unless you tell me what it is you can’t do without me.” Determinedly, she folded her arms across the teal sweatshirt she wore. “I want to know all of it, and I’ll know if you’re holding anything back.”

Amen to that, Grae acknowledged and then went to lean against the side of Tielle’s car.

“I don’t have many details—”

“Grae...”

“I swear it.” He spread his hands. “But Faro is up to something and—”

“This again...” Tielle muttered along with a curse. She reached for the driver’s-side door handle, but Grae slid over before the door, effectively blocking the handle and absorbing her slight frame when she bumped into him.

Grae had unintentionally crushed Tielle against him, and she couldn’t resist taking an unnecessarily deep breath. She thought of her nipples grazing his pecs and drew virtual pleasure from the memory. Tielle both celebrated and mourned the position. While it supported her—a thing her legs were incapable of just then—it sparked a potent tingle throughout her body, targeting her every nerve ending.

He proceeded to tell her what he knew, but Tielle could hear only the blood rushing through her ears. Her pounding heart provided accompaniment.

She sent a message to her brain. In it, she begged her eyes not to shut, thus clueing him in to how much his nearness affected her.

Cautiously, she curved her fingertips into the fabric of his shirt. The layers of clothing did relatively little to mask the unyielding plane of muscle that was his chest.

“I’m sorry, what?” she blurted when he called her name to recapture her attention. As she’d demanded, he’d given an explanation and was awaiting her response.

“When I figure all this out, I know I won’t be able to confront my brother without you there with me.”

Tielle hated herself for laughing, but her ex-husband’s thought process prompted the action. “Have you thought about how well that’d go over? Your family doesn’t need another reason to hate me, Grae.”

“They don’t hate you.” His hands flexed on her arms at the notion.

“The women in your family would rather kick me than kiss me.”

“None of the men feel that way.” He sounded hopeful.

When she laughed and bowed her head, Grae dropped his easy expression to replace it with a tortured, needy one. Deeply, he inhaled the soft, floral scent of her hair. He could smell it through the fuzzy cap she wore. Taking further advantage of her closeness, he applied a subtle massage to her hips, cupping them faintly and then closing his eyes as though ordering himself not to do more.

“Can’t you be wrong?” Her eyes were fixed on a fine strand loosed at the tip of his shirt’s collar.

“I hope to heaven that I am wrong.” He shrugged when her eyes flew to his face. “I want to feel what you do about Faro. I always have.”

“Maybe if you told Faro—” She cut herself off when he shook his head.

“You know I won’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I can only even consider that when you’re around me. Later, I won’t even remember I said it.”

Tielle shook her head. “Being around me didn’t help much before, did it?”

He gathered her closer; the temperature had dipped several notches during their time outdoors. “When a man loses a lot, he starts to see things differently.”

Grae trailed his fingers down her neck, across her collarbone. The tingles already affecting Tielle began to heat. Her lips parted, and she felt ready to offer him her tongue when the first sprinkle of snow landed on the tip of her nose.

“Damn you, Shanti Dillon.”

Grae frowned playfully. “Who’s that?”

“The weather lady.”

“This may not be the best weather to drive in.” He laughed.

Tielle gave the falling sprinkles a tired look. “I can still make it.”

“Not if I take you inside first.”

Her eyes narrowed as she read his thoughts. “Don’t you dare. We’ll wake the whole house.”

“Not if you don’t laugh the way you always do. It’s a blow to my ego when you do that, you know?”

“Then don’t—Grae!” Tielle shrieked when he bent and pulled her over his shoulder.

“My bag!” she screamed when he made a start for the garage door.

Grae carried her back to the car, setting her down so she could reach inside the car to grab the bag. He hooked a finger through a belt loop on her jeans to keep his possession secure. When Tielle grabbed her bag and tried to make a run for it, Grae slung her across his shoulder and carried his laughing ex-wife inside the house.

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