Her First Vacation (29 page)

He walked up to the front door and heard the sound of music
coming from inside. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was as he lifted his
hand to ring the doorbell. He was trying to figure out what he’d say when the
door was pulled open and he was faced with a curvaceous blue-eyed blonde who
gave him a smile bright enough to blind him. Her gaze slid over him intimately,
before coming back to his face and the smile turned instantly inviting.

“Well, I don’t know who you are, but I certainly hope
you’re in the right place.”

Colin couldn’t quite manage to make himself return the
smile. There was a definite predatory gleam in the woman’s eyes, and he had no
intention of encouraging her in the least.

“Is this the Abernathy house?”

Her smile widened. “You are here on purpose!” She reached
out and grabbed his arm, dragging him into the house before he could say
anything else. She was slipping her arm through his when another female walked
into the foyer. He blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the similarity of
the newcomer to the woman clinging to his arm. They had the same eyes, the same
hair, the same killer smile and generous curves. On closer inspection, he
guessed the newcomer was older.
Quite a bit older, though she
held her age very well.
She gave the woman at his side a sly smile.

“Why you devious little minx.
You’ve been holding out on me.”

Colin immediately began to shake his head, but the woman at
his side spoke up.

“No, I simply got here first. He was just standing out
there on the stoop like some early gift from Santa.”

The older woman’s gaze lifted to him. “And who is this
magnificent gift?”

The younger woman shrugged. “Who cares? I just intend to
enjoy him.”

It hit Colin right at that moment that he knew who this
woman was. Diane. Claire had mentioned her to him. This was Claire’s sister.
Which meant the other woman must be her mother. A thousand different little
pieces suddenly fell into place in his head. Things he’d seen hinted at in
Claire’s gaze when she spoke of her sister and mother made instant sense. The
woman at his side was pure seductress, a talent he suspected she’d learned from
her mother. They were beautiful women who no doubt were accustomed to using
their beauty to get whatever they liked. These were the people Claire had been
raised with. These, he suddenly understood, were the people who’d helped to
convince her she was somehow inferior.

The truth was
,
she didn’t look
anything like her sister and mother. They were fair and built with the kinds of
curves men no doubt drooled over. Hell, if he were being honest, he’d have to
admit that before Claire had turned his world upside down, he’d have taking
more than a second look if this pair had walked into the room. They had the
kind of sly wisdom in their eyes that made a man feel like they would probably
rock his world if he could just get close enough to them. And maybe they could.
Beside them, Claire would stand out in too many ways to count. He didn’t have
to work hard to imagine what her life must have been like living in their
shadows.

Decades of being in a profession where his life depended on
his ability to make fast, accurate assessments of people, made it all too easy
to see straight through the polish and shine on both women. Even if he didn’t
know Claire, if he’d never seen the flashes of pain in her eyes when she spoke
of her family, he’d have known the truth about these two. They were so
self-absorbed that they cared less about the fact that he was a complete
stranger than they did about establishing which one of them got to stake the
first claim on him. It was no wonder Claire had been so unsure of herself.
Obviously, neither one of them had made any effort at all to help her overcome
her skewed self-image. More likely, they’d both contributed to it.
 

Colin stiffened as Diane began to tug him toward the
doorway her mother had come through only seconds before. When she lifted her
gaze to him, he carefully pulled away from her. He saw the frown on her face
and the confusion in her eyes. Probably no man had ever refused her before. He
gave her as cool a look as he could muster, which was pretty damn cold
considering his past.

“Actually, I’m looking for Claire.”

The surprise on Diane’s face was almost enough to make him
smile. It also ticked him off even further. Damn the woman, she looked like it
was beyond comprehension that any man would want Claire at all. It was her
mother who spoke.

“Claire isn’t here. Is there something we can do for you?
I’m her mother, Margaret Abernathy.”

Colin took the hand she offered, giving it a perfunctory
shake before dropping it as if her touch made him sick. She noticed, as did
Diane.

“When will she be home?”

Diane shot him a frown.
“Home?
But
Claire doesn’t li-“

Her mother interjected. “I’m afraid I have no idea when
she’ll come in. She often gets tied up at work. Why don’t you come on in and
join the party? I’m certain she’ll be home any time now.”

He shook his head. “No, thank you.” He paused, unsure of
what to do next. He wasn’t even remotely interested in spending any more time
with these two than he had to. On the other hand, he wanted to be there to
speak to Claire the moment she came through the door. He was still debating
when Claire’s mother gave him a studiously puzzled look.

“Forgive me for being curious, but how exactly do you know
Claire. You don’t work with her at the school.”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t. We met several months ago,
while she was on vacation.”

Both women’s brows went up. Her mother gave him a
questioning look.
“Really?
She never mentioned meeting
anyone.”

Of course she hadn’t. She wouldn’t dare risk these two
finding out that he’d seduced her then walked away without a backwards glance.
No doubt they’d greatly enjoy throwing it into her face. His dislike of the
pair climbed another notch. Colin shrugged again and lied with well-practiced
skill. “There was no reason for her to mention me. We met in a rather official
capacity. At the time, I was one of the agents involved in the case she got
tied up in.”

He knew the moment he’d spoken that they had no clue what
he was talking about. Diane shot him a frown.
“Case?
What are you talking about?”

He shot her an incredulous look.
“Garret
Palmer?”

He could see that neither woman recognized the name. Claire
hadn’t told them anything. Not even about how close she’d come to getting
killed.

“You did know she was in the hospital at the end of the
cruise, right?”

Diane nodded. “She hit her head.” Her expression turned
mocking. “Claire never did have any real grace.”

He felt his fury threaten to bubble over. Diane must have
seen it because she took a quick step back. He fixed her and her mother with a
baleful glare.

“You two really are something. No wonder Claire spent half
her life thinking she wasn’t good enough. With two heartless vipers like you
constantly telling her she didn’t measure up, it’s a wonder she didn’t wind up
crazy or suicidal.”

Margaret gave him an imperious look. “I beg your pardon!”

He shot her a look that he knew would keep her quiet. “It’s
Claire’s pardon you need to be begging. For your information, she was
instrumental in bringing down Garret Palmer and, ultimately, the organization
he was connected with. Think very hard and I’m certain you can remember the
case I’m speaking of. It got national attention as one of the largest illegal
drugs and arms busts in history. A major source of drugs coming into the States
and guns going out was shut down thanks to Claire. And she did not simply bump
her head. She was damn near killed by Garret Palmer when he finally realized
he’d been caught.”

Margaret and Diane Abernathy were staring at him as if he’d
lost his mind. He didn’t care. It infuriated him to no end that they had so casually
ignored Claire’s brush with death. Garret would have killed her if Colin hadn’t
stopped him. And Colin never would have had a chance to take that shot if
Claire hadn’t had the courage to duck out of the way. He shook his head as a
feeling of disgust rushed over him.

“I can’t believe Claire is related to you. It doesn’t seem
possible that such a warm, intelligent, caring woman could share any genes with
a pair of self-involved social wasps like the two of you. In my entire life,
I’ve never known anyone with the kind of courage and strength that Claire
possesses.” He locked his gaze on Diane. “As for her grace, she is without a
doubt the most gracefully beautiful woman I’ve ever had the good fortune to
meet. And if I wasn’t such a damned fool, I’d have told her so five months
ago.”

He saw Diane’s gaze shift to something over his shoulder,
and he spun around to see Claire standing just inside the door. He hadn’t heard
it open, hadn’t even felt the cold rush of air that came swirling in around
her. Peripherally, he saw the dress she wore and the heels and the cascade of
her hair as it curled around her face and shoulders. He felt his breath still
in his chest as her beauty washed over him. But his eyes were locked onto her
startled gray gaze. He saw the surprise in her eyes, the shock at finding him
standing in the middle of her foyer, giving her mother and sister a dressing
down he had no right to give. He saw the flash of pain in her eyes, the raw
hunger she hid almost as quickly as it had appeared. Then he saw her gaze go
carefully blank, and it cut him far worse than any knife. She stiffened her
spine a moment before turning on her heel and walking right back out the door.
Colin didn’t even wait for the door to close before he went after her.

“Claire!”

She ignored him. She had to ignore him. She had to ignore
the words she’d heard him say to her mother and sister. The beautiful, angry
words he’d used to tell them just how much he despised them for what they’d
done to her. He understood.
All of it.
Somehow, he’d
figured it all out, and he’d defended her like some avenging angel. She felt
tears gathering in her eyes as she ran for her car. Damn him, why hadn’t he
just stayed away? Why did he have to come back now and make her believe her
dreams might be possible after all?

Colin caught her long before she made it to her car. He
spun her around and gripped her arms so she couldn’t escape him.

“God, Claire, I’m sorry. Sorry for walking away from you
five months ago. Sorry for making a scene in your home. Sorry for not making
sure Garret never got anywhere near you.”

She shook her head. “Let me go, Colin. I don’t want to hear
this.”

“I don’t care if you want to hear it or not, you’re going
to. More than anything, though, I’m sorry for not telling you how much I loved
you. I think it started that first morning we talked up on deck. The morning I
told you it was too beautiful to be sad. The moment you smiled at me I felt
something inside me shatter, and I’ve been scrambling to pick up the pieces
ever since.”

She was crying fully now.
Almost sobbing.
But she’d stopped fighting him. Colin let go of her arms and wrapped his hands
around her face. He slid his fingers into her hair, feeling an electric jolt of
pure need as he remembered the feel of her hair fanned out across his body. He
forced her to look up and meet his gaze.

“I’ve been a jackass, Claire. I know that. Believe
me,
I know exactly how flawed I am. But I also know that I
love you, and that’s not something I’ve ever felt for any other woman. I need
you. I want you with every breath I take. I ache for you even in my sleep. I
want to spend my life by your side. I want to give you babies.
Our babies.
I want to give you everything you deserve and
more. Please. Tell me you’ll let me try. Just give me a chance to love you.”

Claire could feel her heart breaking again. She wanted to
believe him. She wanted it more than her next breath. But he’d lied before.
He’d made her believe him when he’d joined their bodies. He’d made her feel
like it was so much more than sex. And he’d done it all while lying about who
and what he was. She couldn’t stop the tears, or the trembling. She couldn’t
pretend that his presence didn’t disturb her profoundly. She could, however,
choose not to surrender to her own weakness. She reached out and gathered the
tattered edges of her composure, pulling it tight around her like a shroud. She
forced herself to meet his gaze, to hold it as she shook her head.

“I can’t, Colin. I...won’t. You’re far too good at making
me believe the lies. It would destroy me completely to believe you now, only to
find out I’d been fooled again.”

She started to pull away, but he cupped his hand around the
back of her head, refusing to let her go. “I know I hurt you. I’ve been kicking
myself every minute of every day since. But I never, ever lied to you in your
bedroom. What we shared there was utterly real. If you look at it closely,
you’ll know I’m telling the truth. What happened between us that night was pure
magic. I’ve never given that much of myself to anyone, and I know you haven’t
either. If I live to be a hundred, I know I’ll never feel that kind of
connection with anyone else. Don’t just throw that all away.”

She laughed then, a harsh, bitter laugh that twisted the
knife in his gut a little more. “You’re talking about sex, Colin. You said it
yourself. That’s all it ever was, all it could ever be. How far do you think
we’d go on that alone?
A month, a year?
How long
before you got bored with me? Before you started noticing how beautiful Diane
is and decided she’d be more entertaining?”

He got it then. The man who’d taken Claire’s innocence had
also broken her trust. He’d used her,
then
dumped her
for her sister. He again fought the urge to track the bastard down and beat the
hell out of him. But then he’d have to beat himself as well, wouldn’t he?
Because he’d hurt Claire at least as much as her former lover. Maybe he’d even
hurt her more. He shook his head.