Authors: Rita Clay
Wise Folly (8 page)
Panic made her slip into her dress and fumble with the zipper. She began searching the floor for her shoes. They had to be around somewhere! Then she remembered
.
They had dropped off her feet last night as Noah carried her through the hallway. If she could just find them
,
she could
leave quickly without seeing him! Perhaps he was still asleep? Dianna glanced at her watch and stifled a groan. It was two thirty in the afternoon. She had
slept
over sixteen hours!
Her heart continued to thump heavily with the strain of active movement so soon after her drug-induced sleep. She reached for her purse on the top of the dresser, only to turn and find Noah standing in the open doorway. He leaned against the door jamb with lazy indolence, an almost tangible male virility emanating from him. Her shoes dangled from his fingertips. His smile was mocking as he glanced around the room before focusing on her.
“Good afternoon. Feeling better?”
“Much better, thank you.” Dianna wet dry lips with the tip of her tongue
and forced a smile
. “I’m sorry for putting you out last night
.
I should have gone home immediately—then I wouldn’t have been such a trial.” She gave a shaky laugh, glancing at him through
her
lashes. “
I'm
glad I don’t have migraines often. I get into a terrible stew and say the silliest things!”
She waited for him to answer
--
move, shout—anything. But he just smiled enigmatically as he watched her run a comb through her dark tangled hair. When she felt as though her nerves would snap from the strain, Noah pushed away from the door and casually walked toward her
, shoes still hooked on his fingers
.
“Think nothing of it
.
I’ve never felt that sharing a bed with a beautiful woman was a hardship.”
Her thoughts tumbled in confusion. “Share . . . ?” Dianna tried to read the answer in his eyes before
glancing
over her shoulder to the
king-sized
bed. The fluffy pillows held definite imprints of two heads, and the sheets and coverlet showed signs of being disturbed on both sides.
Confusion turned to
realization
. Dianna pivoted and walked to the window, turning her face from his view
,
staring
unseeing
l
y at the patio beyond.
“Dianna.” He
said
, the teasing gone from his voice now. “
I
haven’t begun taking advantage of unconscious women yet
.
You were so drugged
,
I didn’t think you’d care where
I
slept.
I'
m sorry if
I'v
e upset you.” He moved to stand directly behind her, his voice low and apologetic. “Don’t you want to call Tabby and reassure her you’re all right?”
“No
.
I’ll explain when I get home.” She had forgotten completely about Tabby and June. They would be worried sick, but there was no amount o
f worry that would make her call in front of
Noah
. Her personal life was just exactly that-personal
"Just in case you
don't know
, this is your
new home, now,
Dianna
."
She felt her skin flush, but she looked him directly in the eye. "I still own a home, and I intend to keep owning that home."
He didn't blink. "
Do you spend the night out often then?”
She
tilted her chin
defiantly.
“Yes, often.”
“Liar,” he said softly, amusement invading his deep voice.
She shrugged.
“Believe what you want”
His gaze became thoughtful as he stared into large hazel eyes that held spirit “They say a woman raped
sometimes
becomes a whore or a nun.”
His
words stung.
“They also say that rapists run in the family.”
He
smiled, enjoying seeing her feistiness. Finally, she was willing to fight for herself.
“I’d say that since you left me, you’ve played the part of a nun.”
“It goes to show that even tin gods can make mistakes,” Dianna replied sweetly
before taking a sip of
water on the bedside
.
“Little tin gods are better than no gods at all.” He grinned. He was enjoying this!
She
stare
d
haughtily.
“Thank you for those words of wisdom, Mr. Weston. And now, if you’ll excuse me,
I'm not in the mood for a gunfight. But I would
like
to get the hell
out of
Dodge
,” she mocked. Buried memories returned to make the color rise like flags on her cheeks. His eyes told her he knew her intimate thoughts and she warmed even more.
“Not yet
.
You might like to know I saw your sister
last night
and explained the situation. She was very considerate of my feelings and thanked me for taking care of you. She expects you to call her later.”
Dianna felt heat flow through her veins like wildfire.
“You . . . you had no right!” she sputtered.
“I had every right Dianna, and there’s m
ore to come.” His
hands dropped to his side.
“
Please
stop having a tantrum
and finish getting dressed
.
I'll
fill you in while we eat lunch
. It’ll be served in five minutes
, and yes,
I expect you to join me.” He turned and
strode from
the room.
Dianna stood unmoving. He knew about Tabby, and June. He apparently knew everything. What would happen next? What did he want from her?
She was
unable to cope with the
myriad of
thoughts that
pushed
their way forward to be acknowledged.
She'd lived with extreme stress for the past six years, and until Tabby was able to have a normal child's life,
Diana would
be under this stress. It wasn't the ordinary every day kind, it was the life and death stress.
She couldn't sort through it all.
But for now
she would take one
day
at a time. Soon the whole nightmare would be over and she’d know what to do then.
After making her way to the oversized bathroom,
Dianna splashed water on her face and
touched up her
makeup
before
walking down the hallway
.
T
he dining room
was in an L-shaped alcove just off the living area and was d
ecorated
in the same
neutral-toned
contemporary style as the rest of the penthouse. Noah sat at
the
head of the rectangular glass-topped table
,
reading from a stack of mail at the side of his plate. A large white soup tureen sat in the center, with a basket of French bread, hot and buttered, on a small
sil
ver tray.
It was easy to tell where she was
sitting;
it was the only other place setting dressing the table.
She took the seat to his right and waited for his attention.
He glanced over several papers before looking up, a slight frown on his brow.
“Are you going to eat or
sit there and stare at me?”
She gave a slight smile. So she'd ruffled his feathers. Good
.
She widened her gaze as she stared at him.
“I thought I’d wait for you before I served myself.”
Exasperation edged his voice. “All right, let’s eat then.”
“
What? No
conversation
? No orders for the day? No pithy information that will make my day
?
”
His gaze narrowed.
“
Get something on your stomach first, Dianna.
There’s plenty of time for
war
later.”
Dianna
smiled sweetly, then
silently served up a bowl of thick
chicken
stew, the tantalizing aroma making her suddenly aware of how hungry she was. After having served
herself
, she
decided he could serve himself. After all, he was a big
,
strong
,
bossy
male. Dianna
tore off a small hunk of the steaming bread and spread creamy butter over its broken edge. It tasted as good as it looked.
“Everything all right, Mr. Weston?” A middle-aged woman with a topknot of wiry gray hair and sharp gray eyes
stepped out of the kitchen
, her eyebrows raised in question.
“Very good, Mrs. Frank. You’ve outdone yourself again.” He grinned disarmingly and
the
older woman beamed back. “Mrs. Hammond hasn’t been able to say a word, she’s been so busy sampling your
skills
.”
The older woman beamed.
“Well, that’s the way it should be. Good cooking deserves good appetites, and she looks like she could do with some good cooking. A mite on the thin side,
I'
d say.” Her sharp gray eyes glanced over Dianna’s
thin
form, drawing
confirming her
own conclusions.
Then she gave a wink to Dianna
“Should ha
ve her fattened up in no time!”
“
I'm
not a goose!” Dianna protested, to
rn
between indignation and
a grin
.
“Should say not! Mr. Weston don’t go for silly gooses!” she retorted, quickly s
cooting back inside
the kitchen.
Noah’s eyes locked with Dianna’s and grins spread across both faces before they broke into shared laughter. For an instant it was as it had been seven years ago
. Then,
the intimate moment
dwindled
by
Dianna's
overwhelming fear of the present
.
The rest of the meal passed in silence and when they were finished eating, Noah led the way into the living room for their coffee.
Seating himself on the leather couch,
he
punched
his cell phone
and left a message for his secretary, then sat back, giving a hefty sigh. His gaze zeroed to her.
“June gave me the name of Tabby’s doctor and I called him this morning,” Noah began without preamble. “He tells me he can operate next Friday.
Unlike you,
h
e doesn’t think there is any time for delay. The longer he waits, the weaker Tabby becomes. In fact
,
if an operating room can be reserved earlier, he’s taking it”
Her mind swirled with a thousand thoughts.
“You called Dr. Stom?”
‘Yes.”
“
You don't have
permission to do that.
”
“I take care of my o
wn, Dianna. And Tabby is part
my family too
."
She shook her head.
“Tabby is mine. I’m the one
who
birthed and
raised her!
I'm
the one who carried her for nine months, nourished her, worried about her,
cared
for
her! Not you! Not the formidable Westons!” She
placed the coffee cup on the low coffee table with trembling hand and
stood on shaking legs
.
H
e nodded assent.
“And you’
re
still the one
in charge
.
I'm
just making sure Tabby will be here for both of us to
love and
enjoy later.” His voice was even, but his gray-black eyes
narrowed, watching
her expressive face as if weighing
the
best way to convince her.
“Why are you doing this?” She flung her hands out beseechingly. “You don’t even know Tabby! Why are you suddenly taking such an interest in her?”
“I know more than you guess, Dianna,” he returned with a mysterious look. “I met Tabby
last evening
while you were
resting from your migraine
. You’ve done a wonderful job raising her, giving her a sense of belonging. I want to make sure you can continue to give her the love and stability she needs to mature into what she promises to be. Is that so wrong?”