Tea and Destiny (16 page)

Valentine’s Day.

Suddenly she remembered his whispered wish as she’d fallen asleep. Her heart thumped unsteadily as she picked the package up and studied it. The box was long and narrow and flat. There was a slight rustling sound when she shook it gently. It could be a gold pen, but somehow she doubted it. The prospect of what it might be made her very nervous. She didn’t want Hank giving her jewelry. It seemed too personal, too important, too committed. Especially on Valentine’s Day.

“Open it,” Hank said, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

The low rasp of his voice set her ablaze. The significance of the package fanned the flames. “I’m not sure I should.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think you ought to be giving me presents.”

Blue eyes twinkled back, his expression a mixture of amusement and indignation. “Who made you guardian angel over my finances?”

She glared at him as desire ebbed, replaced by more familiar irritation. She hated it when he decided to be deliberately obtuse. “I am not worried about your finances. You know what I mean.”

“You mean you are not in the habit of accepting gifts from men.”

It sounded a little silly when he said it. It was also an understatement. The last time she’d received a Valentine’s card from a male she had been in the sixth grade. “Something like that.”

“Maybe you should get used to it. You deserve presents, Annie. And I intend to see that you get them. Now open this one before I have to remind you that learning to receive is as important as learning to give.”

He had a point. She had been behaving ungraciously. It was only a small gift, after all. Unexpected excitement bubbled up inside her as she gently removed the ribbon. She was picking carefully at the tape, trying to prolong the anticipation, when Hank groaned and took the package from her.

“That’s no way to open a present,” he said. “This is how you open it.”

He grabbed an edge of the paper and gave one quick rip. Grinning, he handed her the box.

“My way gives you more time to savor it,” she grumbled as she caressed the velvet covering.

“Sorry. I’m not a patient man.”

“So I’ve noticed.” She snapped open the box before he could take over that as well. With trembling fingers, she lifted away the tissue paper inside. Nestled on the satin lining was a sparkling diamond heart dangling from a delicate gold chain.

Her own heart filled to overflowing with all sorts of unexpected emotions. She lifted her gaze to meet Hank’s. “I’ve never had anything so beautiful.”

He touched the diamond with a finger that seemed to shake. “It’s mine, Annie,” he said in a low voice that tugged at her senses. “The heart is mine and now you have it.”

Tears glistened in her eyes and clogged her throat as she whispered, “Oh, Hank.”

“Do you really like it?”

“I’ll treasure it always,” she said, fumbling with the clasp. Hank took the necklace from her and settled it around her neck. His fingers followed the chain of gold from her nape to the hollow at the base of her throat where the heart now nestled, warmed by her skin and fired by his touch.

Maybe it was just her weakened condition or maybe it was the magic of the traditional lovers’ holiday, but with Hank gazing so tenderly into her eyes, Ann almost believed in love.

For the life of her, Ann couldn’t remember actually agreeing to go to Miami. On Friday afternoon, though,
she came home to find that each of the kids had a bag packed and that they were all in the living room waiting for her. They looked so excited, she didn’t have the heart to protest. After a heated competition, Paul and Tommy won the right to ride with Hank on the trip up. Everyone else piled into her minivan.

“Now you’re sure you understand the directions?” Hank asked for the tenth time as he closed the door of the car. “I don’t want you getting lost.”

“Hank, it is a straight drive up U.S. 1. How could I possibly get lost?”

“Okay. Just remember, if we get separated in traffic, I’ll wait for you at the Suniland Shopping Center. I’ll park at the north entrance. Finding my place in Coconut Grove is a little confusing. I want to lead you in from there.”

“And if I get ahead of you?” she teased.

“You won’t,” he said with that familiar confident wink.

Before she could react, he walked away. She stared after him. As his taunt sank in, she was suddenly seized by doubts.

“Hank Riley, you be careful how you drive with my children in your truck,” she shouted. He waved back cheerfully.

“What are we going to do in Miami?” Tracy asked as they pulled out onto the highway. Ann smiled at the excitement in Tracy’s voice. More and more the past few days, her mood was lightening and she was allowing her natural exuberance to show. The barriers were slowly falling away. She’d even told Ann all about the date that had gone awry the night she’d called Hank in Miami. Ann knew she had Hank to thank for that. He’d been
encouraging Tracy to be more open with her and Tracy was listening, as she did to everything Hank said. She clearly idolized the man, though Ann was no longer worried that Tracy might be suffering from a crush. She’d made it all too plain that she was encouraging a match between Ann and Hank.

“This is Hank’s adventure,” Ann told her. “We’ll just have to see what he has planned when we get there.”

The possibilities made her increasingly anxious. She hated the long, tedious drive, hated the faster pace of Miami, worried about the crime and wasn’t crazy about allowing her children loose in that environment. She also had this nagging feeling that Hank’s patience was at an end and that he was plotting something for the two of them. That very nearly panicked her. It was what she’d claimed to want, but now she felt uncertain, as if taking that next step in their relationship would commit them to a direction in which she wasn’t at all prepared to go with her life.

“Well, I want to go shopping,” Tracy said.

“Me, too,” Melissa said.

“I’ve been saving up for a new outfit.” Tracy looked over at Ann, suddenly sounding shy. “Would you help me pick it out? You always look so great. You have your own sense of style. You don’t just follow everybody else.”

Feeling as though her heart would burst at the compliment, Ann smiled back. “I’d love to help you find something really special. With your coloring, you can wear all the hot new colors that are in this year. You don’t know how lucky you are.”

“Who cares about shopping?” David protested. “I
want to go to the basketball game and eat a dozen hot dogs.”

“Me, too,” Melissa chimed in, bouncing excitedly in her car seat.

Ann chuckled. “What about you, Jason?”

“I don’t see why we have to go at all.”

“Aren’t you excited about any of the things you could do in Miami?” she persisted.

“I’ve been there. It’s no big deal.”

“When did you ever go to Miami?” Tracy scoffed.

“Me and some guys went a couple of years ago, smart mouth.”

“Sure.”

“We did. It’s not so hot. Just a lot of people. I like it better in the Keys.”

“Well, don’t let Hank hear you say that,” Tracy warned. “You’ll hurt his feelings.”

“Nothing would hurt that guy’s feelings. He’s about as sensitive as a block of cement.”

“Jason,” Ann said very quietly, deciding things had gone far enough. “Hank wants this weekend to be special for all of you. Can’t you at least try to meet him halfway?”

The request was met by silence. Ann sighed. Fortunately Melissa, Tracy and David more than made up for Jason’s lack of enthusiasm. David made sporadic attempts to get Jason to talk about what he’d seen on his last trip to Miami, but eventually even he gave up and let Jason sulk.

Despite his teasing challenge about his driving speed, Hank never got too far ahead of them. She followed more closely as he led them off the highway and into Coconut Grove. Ann recognized part of the route. It was
the same way she had gone to see Liz after she and Todd had married. There was something wild and seductive about the dense foliage, the spread of banyan trees and thick undergrowth. Despite their proximity, the houses maintained their privacy. Although she preferred the wide expanses of sky and water in the Keys, the intimate atmosphere here had a certain primitive appeal to it that made her blood begin to race. It stirred fantasies of jungle adventures and sensual romance.

When Hank turned into a driveway that was practically hidden, she had to swallow hard against the strong emotions that were stirring in her. She felt like the uncertain heroine in some Gothic novel first arriving at the mysterious, secluded mansion of the hero, wondering what was in store for her future. She turned off the engine and sank back in the seat, trying to regain her composure as the kids scrambled from the car.

“Annie,” Hank said quietly. Her guilty gaze shot up to meet his questioning eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Just fine,” she said with forced bravado, getting out of the car. “The kids were wondering what you had planned for the weekend.”

“Tonight I thought we’d go for dinner and a little shopping, then to the Miami Heat game at the arena. How does that sound?”

“Busy.”

He laughed, then kissed her soundly. “We’ll find time just for us. I promise.”

She flushed as her pulse ran wild. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Maybe not,” he said with another of those damnable
winks. “But I meant it just the same. Now come on in and let me show you around.”

The house was spectacular. Ann recognized Todd’s architectural touch: clean lines, wide sweeps of glass and cool, Spanish-style tiles and stucco walls. There was a huge fireplace in the living room.

Amused, she glanced at Hank. “In Miami?”

He grinned. “It’s the one thing I’ve always envied from northern winters. It’s worth it on the few nights a year here when it’s cold enough to use it.” He slid his arms around her waist. “It’s also very romantic, don’t you think?”

Her heartbeat skipped at the seductive look in his eyes. An image of a dozen different women sipping wine in front of that fireplace made her shiver. As if he’d read her thoughts, his embrace tightened. “Never before, Annie.”

She gazed up at him disbelievingly.

“I swear it,” he said. “I know you think I’ve been quite a rake. To be perfectly honest, there’s some truth to my reputation, but there’s never been anyone in my life I cared about enough to bring into my home. When I come here, it’s my retreat from the world.”

Ann wanted very much to believe him, especially when his mouth covered hers persuasively. What began as subtle pressure quickly turned to hard, demanding hunger. All those feelings of warmth and contentment that she’d begun experiencing in the past few weeks swept through her as his tongue invaded. The deep, drugging power of the kiss claimed her, leaving her knees trembling and her head spinning. Hank’s strong hands were splayed on her hips, pulling her close. Fit
tightly against him, her body ached with longing. Heat flared, white-hot, all-consuming heat.

“I want you so badly, Annie. Feel what you do to me,” he said, pressing her hand against him. She pulled away, but like the moth drawn inevitably toward the flame, she was drawn back, fascinated by the evidence of her power over him. When he shuddered at the gentle sweep of her touch, her eyes shot to his face in wonder.

“We’re going to be good together, Annie. I know you’re still afraid, but I’m going to convince you just how right this is. Before the weekend’s out, I’m going to make you mine.”

The vow made her knees go weak again. The unspoken
forever
behind it made her heart pound so hard against her ribs, she thought she’d die from it. How had a man so wrong for her gotten to her so completely? How had he evaded her defenses, overcome her common sense and landed smack in the middle of her heart?

Thank goodness for chaperons, she thought as the sound of running footsteps intruded on their moment of privacy. She backed out of the embrace, her cheeks flaming with color. Hank seemed unfazed by the throbbing passion that had sparked between them. She saw that ability to distance himself so rapidly as more evidence of his jaded past and it renewed her qualms. He turned to the children with a perfectly calm look on his face. One arm, however, remained tightly curved around her waist as a determined reminder of what they’d just shared.

“So did you all pick out your rooms?” he asked.

“This place is really neat,” Paul said. “You gotta see it, Mom. There must be dozens and dozens of rooms.”

Hank laughed at the enthusiasm. “Not quite that many, but enough for this crowd.”

“There’s a pool, too,” David said.

“And one of those romantic hot tub things,” Tracy chimed in, casting a pointed look at Ann.

Ann did not want to hear about hot tubs, not when her body was still quivering with unfulfilled expectations. She looked hurriedly at Hank. “Isn’t it time we left for dinner?”

His amusement at her frantic appeal apparent, he nodded. “Okay, is everybody ready to get moving?”

He outlined the plans for the night. As she’d anticipated, they were met with wholehearted approval. The one thing he failed to mention was exactly when he intended to carry out his seduction of her. Though she was more than grateful for the omission, it left her with anticipation sizzling through her bloodstream. Visions of that hot tub danced through her head with all the dazzling temptation of Christmas sugar plums.

Anticipation, she noted with surprise. Not panic. What on earth was happening to her? Surely she couldn’t actually be falling in love with the man.

But she was, she admitted candidly as she watched his enthusiasm at the basketball game. Since she had no idea what was happening on the court and didn’t particularly care, she allowed herself to indulge her desire to watch Hank, to study the way he interacted with each of the children in a way that was uniquely thoughtful. He was crazy and indulgent, but he was also firm. He was interested, without fawning over them. Even with Jason, he kept his temper in check, ignoring
the sullen silences and continuing to make occasional efforts to make the boy feel part of the family fun.

On the way home, the younger kids fell asleep in the car, while Tracy, David and Paul continued to chatter about the game and the plans for the next day.