The Letter (4 page)

Of course, even if she had the time, she certainly didn’t have the money, but she would not share that thought with him.

“
Perhaps you will decide to find the time. There is a great deal to see and enjoy in this beautiful city.” He paused, his eyes searing into hers with a thousand messages that had nothing to do with sightseeing. In that instant Victoria felt something intangible moving closer, circling her.
Trapping her.

“
Well, I really have to get back home to M -- my family.” Victoria said hesitantly.

Worthington’s gaze never left her face, confining her like a bird fluttering inside of a cage. Perhaps she should she just tell him the truth before it was too late.

Or was it already too late?

“
Let us go to lunch then. At least that will give you the opportunity to see a small part of my city,” he said, then stood up and came around the desk.

Lord was he tall.

“
Lunch?” she asked, bewildered and doing little to hide it. They had barely spoken about the store and he was acting as if this was a social call. Caught off guard again by his unexpected invitation, Victoria stood on shaky knees.

“
Of course. This is my lunch hour. It was the only time I had free to meet with you.” His dazzling smile made her heart skip a beat. He moved close to her chair and her gaze locked with his.

It was a reasonable explanation for his sudden desire to want lunch with her and devised to give her no choice.

“
Of course I should have realized that,” she said. She didn’t want to go anywhere with this man. “But I really hate to waste your time.”

“
Oh, but indeed, it would be my pleasure.”

“
It is too kind of you,” she murmured, starting toward the door and knocking around in her mind for an excuse not to go with him.

He touched her elbow, his touch scalding her to the bone. Then he smiled down at her as if he knew he exuded this strange and potent power.

“
I think you will like where we are going for lunch, it is one of my personal favorites.” Deep and husky, his voice held temptation.

They strolled from his office, down the hall and descended the stairs. Where she held his arm, she felt intense heat. Victoria resisted the urge to pull her hand away.

“
That is a beautiful gown, Miss Riley,” William said as they touched the last step and began making their way into the hustle of the bank. All of the bank employees stared at them curiously as they passed.

“
Thank you,” Victoria answered, a lump forming in her throat. He must know the gown is out of date. How could he not? Embarrassment flooded her.

However, his eyes were sincere and his dazzling smile was not mocking as they swept appreciatively over her.

Maybe men didn’t keep up with such things. Victoria blushed and smiled. It was like being hit with refreshing, cool water on a very hot day.

Her own gaze fell to her hand still resting on William’s arm as they walked out the door of the bank. Thank goodness for her mother’s gown and gloves.

The gloves. Oh goodness, when she took off her gloves he would see her hands, she thought dismally.

Distracted by her thoughts, Victoria faltered on the marble steps outside the bank and gripped his arm to stop herself from falling.

With lightning speed, William caught her with his other hand and helped her regain her lapsed balance.

“
Are you all right, Miss Riley?” William paused on the step for a moment looking down at her. His magnetic, silver eyes searched her face.

Intense heat flowed into her cheeks. He must think her a complete ninny, not even capable of walking down a flight of steps.

“
I am fine, Mr. Worthington. However, I really don’t want to waste your time. I am sure you are very busy, it isn’t necessary for you to take me to lunch. Maybe we could just discuss our business now, and be done with it.” When she tried to pull her arm away he covered her hand with his own.

“
What I mean is, I don’t need lunch, I am not hungry really. . . you know . . . I never eat much lunch.”

Amusement turned up the corners of William’s sensual mouth. Victoria’s heart fluttered in her chest in instant reaction.

“
Miss Riley, please,” he said in a soothing tone that served to make Victoria feel ridiculous.

Her gaze met his and she was tempted to plead with him to let her go.

“
This isn’t at all necessary,” he said. “I want to take you to lunch, it will be a pleasure for me, and I insist.”

Her eyes slid from him to the street. I don’t want to eat with you, she thought fretfully. You’re going to see my hands.

Victoria bit her lip. It wasn’t that her hands looked so terrible really but they were certainly not the hands of a lady.

“
I have to eat sometime, Miss Riley, and I can’t think of more charming company. First, you tried to run from me, and now you are avoiding my invitation to lunch. I must be losing my touch.” His smile was blinding and his eyes burned into hers tempting and demanding that she fall into his plans.

Power, he had so much power, Victoria thought gazing helplessly at him. His very deadly charm would capture even the worldliest of women.

He was every woman’s dream and private fantasy. Losing his touch? Not a chance! His touch should be classified as a mortal sin, she thought as his intense gaze scalded her.

With a gentle coaxing tug on her arm, William led her down the steps. He was too dangerous by far, Victoria decided, allowing herself to be led to the street.

William looked down at Ms. Riley.

She was instantly utterly fascinating. Her unlikely combination of innocence and strength made her utterly intriguing.

He was still trying to fathom that the demure young lady on his arm had written that impertinent letter.

Certainly, of all the things William had anticipated about Miss Riley, the reality was utterly stunning. When he had turned his chair around to face her, time suspended and he ceased to breathe.

Those exotically tilted eyes, as blue as a midnight sky, would be the undoing of any man. She had the most beautiful dark, lustrous hair – hair that he instinctively knew would fall wildly down her back were it not pinned up in a proper bun.

Her full red lips now turned down in a worried frown, begged to be kissed.

When she had started to flee, he had reacted immediately and instinctively. Unbelievably and uncharacteristically, he chased her right to the door. He was completely shocked and utterly undone by the innocence in her eyes and the fear and the honesty of her reaction.

She had blushed immediately. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw a woman blush. He recognized and admired her soft strength in those few seconds. She had guts coming here, facing him. Her spirit must be what scared the men away. Men who didn’t know how to handle her, that is...

Wealth and power attracted all kinds. He had known every form of liar, con-artist, and cheat. They came in every shape, size, and many had tried to fool him. But none ever fooled him, no matter how well they could act.

He easily dealt with them all, time and again, in a clean, meticulous way. He had to be smarter and faster than all of them. That was the only way he had survived in the world his father had left for him.

But he had known instinctively that Miss Riley wasn’t like all the others. The instant he saw her she touched something within him that he didn’t recognize.

Of course she also feared him, just as she should. And would have kept running if she knew his true thoughts.

When she rambled on about not eating lunch, he prudently held back the urge to laugh at her innocent pretense.

Her beautiful, flawless skin had bloomed pink as if she guessed his reflections.

He wanted her very badly.

The thought lodged itself in his mind and bloomed swiftly. He was a man used to getting what he wanted and had acquired an endless number of objects and people. Typically he put more thought and consideration into his acquisitions. But this one required no contemplation. It was obvious she would be his.

Anticipation and heat lit his blood and spread through him like fire.

To have her, all he had to do was find out what she wanted most in the world. Everyone had a key — a weakness — something that could be used to get them to do what you wanted. The trick was just finding that key.

He would get his shares back, he would get to the bottom of this embezzling and he would have Miss Riley in his bed.

It was a splendid plan.

CHAPTER 5

When they emerged from the bank, they fell into step with a bustling San Francisco. Busy San Franciscans on the street surrounded them when they emerged from the bank. William greeted those he knew as he passed and even some he didn’t know. Of course, they all knew who he was.

“
Miss Riley, you do not chatter.” He leaned down to her as they walked.

“
Is that a compliment?”

“
Indeed it is.”

“
Thank you,” she said, and looking around her to avoid his gaze. “I think.”

He laughed and looked at her closely. “A beautiful city, is it not?”

They turned down the street, giving Victoria a glorious view of the sparkling blue bay at the bottom of the hill.

“
It is truly beautiful,” Victoria whispered with wonder, sweeping her hand out indicating the city. “I am near overwhelmed by the city...the steep hills are fantastic.”

“
Miss Riley I very much wish for you to leave your heart in the city…perhaps it would help convince you to stay for a while.”

“
That isn’t possible, Mr. Worthington.”

“
Perhaps.”

William took his time walking at a strolling pace. “The restaurant that I am taking you to is called the “Black Swan” and is not very far from my office.”

As they walked across the street, there was a clear breathtaking view of winding streets and the harbor down to the Bay. The houses that lined the streets were painted in a rainbow of colors, their window boxes overflowing with flowers.

San Franciscan’s promenaded up and down the hilly streets, the women dressed in sleek, fashionable gowns, and the men handsomely attired in their well cut coats. An ensemble of barouches, curricles and gigs rambled by in a chaotic symphony of clatter.

“
I think you belong here,” he said quietly.

Victoria looked at him swiftly then said, “It is impossible for me to consider staying here even more than a few days, really, but San Francisco does make me feel excited. It is alive and moving.”

“
Maybe in Fort Worth you are trapped by burdens of the store and .... your family. This is just the time away that you need.” His intense, knowing gaze captured hers.

“
Indeed, with a store, there is always work to be done. I have so many other obligations too.”

Mandy was young and needed time with Johnny. Victoria spent most evenings alone cleaning up the store or pondering the finances. There just wasn’t enough time for fun. Even if she had the time, Victoria didn’t want to socialize and, most certainly, she wanted no part of men. And of course men were an unavoidable consequence to barn dances, so she seldom attended.

“
I admit, sometimes I do get the feeling that the world is passing me by,” she said.

While she worked in a rundown store in Fort Worth, San Francisco was a frenzy of commotion. A deep sadness coursed through Victoria taking root inside of her heart.

“
No, Victoria, the world is happening, here and now in San Francisco, and you are here,” he said softly as if understanding all the thoughts and feelings behind her words.

What would it be like to live in such a place? Of course, she couldn’t stay, it could not even be considered. She could never live far from Mandy, and this was not her home, let alone that she had no money anyway. It had never seemed a bleak life before, but suddenly Victoria felt very old and very tired.

A cold wind abruptly blew up from the bay catching her mother’s pink, taffeta gown whipping it around her body.

Whatever was to come, she was here right now. The thought made her heart young and carefree. The wind blew William’s hat off and he saved it with his quick reflex. Victoria giggled with the exhilaration of the moment. He laughed with her as they walked and her heart lifted and soared up and away.

“
Here we are,” William’s quiet voice whispered over her.

Victoria smiled at William as he opened the door of the restaurant for her and let her pass.

The Black Swan was an elegant establishment, tucked off of Market Street. Candles, fine china and silver shimmered and glimmered on pristine, white tablecloths. An extraordinary chandelier swept down from the ceiling, sparkling and gleaming like raindrops in sunlight. Finely dressed ladies and gentlemen framed the elaborately garnished tables. Many of the patrons glanced up and nodded to William while others stared at them with undisguised curiosity.

“
I don’t think I am dressed for this kind of place,” Victoria whispered, feeling her cheeks go hot under the hungry assessing eyes that followed her.