The Wilde Side (14 page)

Was she willing to pursue an arrest and take that risk? Having been down a similar path of extortion before, she knew how high the stakes could be – usually at her personal and emotional expense. She hated that her wealth and prominent name made her such an easy target for other people's greed.

I know what you're doing.

She swallowed hard as that statement echoed in her head. There was nothing specific about the comment, but the disturbing insinuation in that choice of words sent shivers of dread down her spine. Did James know about her affair with Scott? If so, how in the world had he discovered their liaison?

Familiar panic bubbled to the surface, and she shoved the note into the shredder, as if disintegrating the piece of paper would make the horrible nightmare disappear as though it never existed in the first place. But she knew better than to believe it would be that simple. Bribery and blackmail didn't just go away. If anything, the threats and demands would increase as time passed.

As she sat in her office trying to calm her rioting nerves, she realized she had two choices: to forge ahead with her promise to press charges against James if he didn't pay the debt and deal with the fallout of a possible scandal, or give in to his ultimatum and keep her secret quiet.

The latter definitely appealed, but Evan was following the case and fully expected her to contact the police in a month's time if James didn't hand over the money he owed for his theft. Because of that, if she let James off scot-free, without collecting the money
or
pressing charges, there would be suspicions raised and questions to answer. And those questions would most likely expose too many things she'd rather keep private and to herself.

It was a catch-22 situation, and she had no idea what to do, though she abhorred the thought of caving in yet again to another person's demands. She had a few weeks left to figure out a solution, to find a way to preserve her reputation and diffuse James's threat. In the meantime, she was more determined than ever to steer clear of Scott, to make sure she didn't give James any further information to use against her.

*

"Which ceramic tile color did you decide to go with for the café's flooring?" Scott glanced from the three sample tiles on the counter, to Liz, his cousin Steve's wife and owner of The Daily Grind café. There was a lull in business, and he took advantage of the break to encourage Liz to finalize the order so his crew could get started on the project.

Liz rested a hand on her very pregnant belly and contemplated her choices once more, which included Terra Cotta, Earth Tone, and Sienna Brown. "I had Steve stop by last night to get his opinion, too, and we both like the Terra Cotta the best."

"Great choice." Scott made a notation of the color and style on the order sheet. "Just let me take some final measurements and I'll put you in the schedule for the end of this week."

"I thought Steve said that you were starting the St. Claire Hotel project next week, and I don't want to interfere with that job at all."

"You won't." Pushing his pencil behind his ear to keep it close at hand, Scott gave her a reassuring smile. "Since we're only doing certain areas of the café and not the entire place, I can have a crew knock this out in a few days. And if we have to put in some extra hours over the weekend to get it done, then that's what we'll do."

She didn't look completely convinced. "Okay, just so long as this job isn't inconveniencing you in any way."

"Not at all." He winked at her and unclipped his measuring tape from the waistband of his jeans. "Getting this kind of special treatment is one of the perks of being in the family, so enjoy it."

"Thanks, Scott." She reached out and gave his arm an affectionate squeeze. "I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of such a wonderful family."

The sentiment was definitely reciprocated. From the moment that the Wilde family had met Liz for the first time at Steve's father's birthday party the previous year, everyone had taken an immediate liking to her. Liz was beautiful, inside and out – so generous and genuinely caring with a gregarious personality to go with the packaging.

While Liz helped a few customers who'd strolled into the café for a morning coffee drink and pastry, Scott picked up his clipboard and began measuring the front of the establishment between the carpeted sitting area and the front counter. He'd always thought that his cousin Steve was one hell of a lucky man to have found such an incredible woman who complemented him in so many ways – a woman who'd managed, amazingly, to change Steve's mind about giving marriage and babies a second try.

The two were happily married, along with his other cousin, Eric, who'd married Jill. Now, Adrian was set to get hitched to Chayse, another woman who'd found a way to tame the wildest one of the bunch. Scott couldn't help but envy his cousins, just a little bit, for having such solid relationships that had led to happily-ever-after for them.

Scott jotted down a few dimensions and continued on with his measuring task. He definitely wanted marriage and a family. He was thirty-three and at the age where settling down was beginning to appeal to him, more and more with each passing year. But he was beginning to wonder about his bad luck with the opposite sex thus far – first with Elaine, and most recently with Ashley, a woman in whom he'd seen the potential for a long-term relationship.

Unfortunately, she hadn't felt the same.

She'd made her feelings for him abundantly clear last Friday evening when she'd shown up on his doorstep with an intent to seduce. The whole situation had left him feeling angry and used, which accounted for his brusque attitude and behavior with Ashley that night. He'd given her what she'd wanted physically, but their relationship had undoubtedly ended on a very emotional note, with an ultimatum that had essentially severed their affair because of the choice that Ashley had made. After he'd laid his feelings for her bare, she'd walked away from him and any chance they might have together.

He had no idea what made her so leery and cautious or why she couldn't open up to him. He knew bits and pieces of her life, but it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the need to discover who she was beyond being
Just Ashley
. And she obviously didn't have enough faith in him to share such personal information. Yet without mutual trust, they had nothing but hot sex between them, and while physical attraction was what had initially brought them together, it wasn't enough of a foundation to build a relationship upon. He'd learned that lesson the hard way with Elaine, and it was an exercise in frustration and disappointment he didn't plan to repeat with any woman.

He wanted
everything
or nothing at all.

Refusing to let thoughts of Ashley invade his mind when he'd tried so hard to keep her out of his head, at least during business hours, he headed back toward Liz, who was standing behind the counter, where he'd yet to measure. As he watched, she shifted on her feet and pressed a hand to the small of her spine and arched her back, which made her belly protrude even more and look absolutely huge.

Despite her glowing complexion and how delighted he knew she was to be pregnant, she was obviously experiencing a good amount of discomfort. "By the way, how's junior doing?" he asked of the little guy she was carrying.

A few months ago she'd had an ultrasound and learned she was going to have a boy – much to Steve's excitement, since he already had a daughter by his first marriage.

"According to my last doctor's appointment, he's doing just fine. He's just been especially restless the past few days, and I feel like I'm carrying around an elephant in my belly who enjoys gymnastics," she said with a painful grimace. "But in a few more weeks it'll all be over and well worth the little pangs I've had to endure."

Scott set his clipboard back on top of the counter and frowned at her. "You should be at home resting, not here working."

She sighed as she refilled the muffin and pastry trays in the display case. "I know, I know. Steve keeps telling me the same thing, but I need to keep myself busy or I'll go crazy."

There was no sense arguing what she already knew, so Scott didn't even try. Instead, he brought up an amusing bit of trivia. "You do know, don't you, that there's bets being placed on who's going to have their baby first – you or Jill." Their delivery dates were only a week apart.

"So I've heard," she said wryly, and rolled her eyes. "And I'm guessing my husband is in on the bet, because every night he talks to the baby through my stomach, coaching him to make an appearance before his actual delivery date."

Scott chuckled and hunkered down behind the counter to accurately measure the floor from beneath the cupboards. "Of course Steve is in on the bet. And I'm sure Eric's doing the same thing to Jill."

"Those two are too much." She shook her head incredulously as she washed and dried her hands. "Worse than kids sometimes."

"It's called sibling rivalry, and it keeps them young."

"Well, that's a plus, because they're going to need to feel young and energized to keep up with the kids." She stepped up to the register to help another customer and greeted the person with a cheerful smile that belied her body's aches and pains.

"Good morning, Ashley."

"Good morning, Liz," came a soft, feminine reply.

Ashley
. Scott froze in the middle of measuring the width of the floor, his ears tuning in to the sound of the woman's voice – so familiar, so near. His body tensed, and his heart jolted hard in his chest. Then he shook his head, certain his imagination was playing tricks on him, especially since he'd spent the weekend thinking of little else but the woman who'd walked out of his life the previous Friday night.

"A regular vanilla latte for you this morning?" Liz asked, reaching for a Styrofoam cup next to the register.

The other woman laughed, and every fiber of Scott's being recognized the low, melodious sound that was too much a part of him. "God, am I that predictable?"

Scott squeezed his eyes shut, unable to believe that Ashley was there, a mere three feet away with only a counter separating them.

"Don't feel bad," Liz went on as she moved to the espresso machine and started on Ashley's order. "Most of my customers are creatures of habit and rarely stray from their favorite drinks."

"I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one." Amusement laced Ashley's voice. "By the way, can you add an extra shot of espresso to my latte, please?"

"You got it." Liz rang up the order and gave Ashley the amount before returning to the task of steaming the milk. "Rough morning?"

Ashley sighed, the exhalation rife with fatigue and weariness. "More like a long, rough weekend."

Scott let the measuring tape recoil and jotted down the final floor dimensions before he forgot them. As much as he hated to admit it, a part of him was gratified to learn that she'd suffered just as much as he had the past few days.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Liz said genuinely. "Let's hope things get better from here."

Scott didn't think that was likely – not when he was about to surprise the hell out of Ashley with his presence. Slowly, he straightened from his crouched position, and everything in that moment seemed surreal to him – especially the way Ashley looked, so sophisticated and elegant, with a graceful beauty that literally sucked the breath from his lungs.

She was absently perusing the baked goods in the display case while she waited for her drink and hadn't yet noticed him, giving Scott a handful of seconds to take in her polished appearance. Even though she'd tried to downplay her refined elegance from that very first night in the bar, he'd still been able to detect that she was a woman of class and wealth – from the car she drove to the expensive scent of her perfume and other subtle, telltale traits and clues he'd picked up on.

Her business attire today confirmed that notion, as well. Gone were her casually sexy clothes, and in their place was a designer skirt suit in a pretty shade of violet with a cream silk collared blouse beneath. Diamond studs adorned her ears, and a matching tennis bracelet circled her wrist and caught the overhead lights as she moved her hand. Her long, thick hair had been pulled away from her face and into a twist at the back of her neck, and it was all Scott could do not to reach out, pull the clips from the thick mass, and let the heavy strands fall around her shoulders in the soft waves he loved to sink his hands into.

His gut clenched, and his fingers tightened with such intensity around the pencil in his hand he was amazed that it didn't splinter and snap in two. "Ashley?" he managed in a strained voice that didn't sound at all like his own.

She glanced up with a friendly smile upon hearing her name, which immediately transformed into an expression of shock and stunned disbelief. "Oh, God," she gasped as the color drained from her creamy-smooth complexion.

Without waiting to claim her coffee drink, she grabbed her purse from the counter and headed back toward the entrance at a near run, seemingly desperate to escape him.

He should have just let her go as he had last Friday night, but something he didn't understand and couldn't define compelled him to at least try and make her see reason. "Ashley, wait!"

Of course she didn't heed his request, and with a low curse he started after her – except Liz with her big belly was blocking his path, and they spent the next few seconds sidestepping each other in an attempt to let him by. He would have laughed at the absurdity of it all, but every moment he wasted put him at a disadvantage and that much farther behind Ashley.