“It all sounds very mysterious.”

“It’s not. It’s just…a big misunderstanding.”

Their lives seemed to be full of big misunderstandings. Samara sighed inwardly. “Big enough that Travis had to move to L.A.?”

“Well, I always wondered if there was more to that decision than even I knew about.” Mom’s eyebrows drew down. “I suppose that might be something to talk to Travis about.’

“Yeah, right. I tried that. He’s pretty tight-lipped about it. Which I guess is understandable, if it was all his fault.”

“I’m not saying it was all his fault,” Mom said carefully. “Parker can…could be very stubborn.” Her lips lifted slightly. “That might be where you get it from.”

Samara shook her head. “Whatever it was, that’s what I overheard, and I know I jumped to conclusions…”

Mom looked conflicted, as if she wanted to say more, but she reached for the bill their server had brought. She waved away Samara’s offer to pay, and they left the restaurant and went home.

After carrying all their purchases into the house, Samara surveyed the goods and said, “Mom, you’ve spent way too much money.”

“I can afford it,” Mom said. “You heard your father’s will.”

“I know, but...” Samara hesitated. “Mom...did you know Cedar Mill is in financial trouble?”

Her mom lifted her chin and her lips compressed briefly. “I did know there were problems, yes,” she said. “Your father was confident he could turn things around. And I had faith in him.”

“But he’s gone.” Samara opened a shoe box and stared at the sandals inside.

Mom drew in a long breath. “Yes. He’s gone. But I have faith in Travis too. That company is his life, and he won’t let anything happen to it.”

A knot of anxiety tightened in Samara’s stomach. She looked up. “What about me? Do you have faith in me? Because I want to help turn things around.”

She’d confessed her stupidity to her mother, apologized, let her mother buy her a truckload of shoes and clothes, and let her enjoy doing that. But her mom was pretty pissed about that whole mess. Would she support her on this?

“Of course, I do, Sam. Some day you’ll be a great leader for Cedar Mill Coffee.”

Samara swallowed, and her fingers curled tightly around the shoe box she held. “Not someday, Mom. Now. I want to do it now.”

Her mom sank down onto a chair. “Oh, Sam. I know you do.”

“I know I can do it. I want to pick up where Dad left off. I want to make sure the company is run the way he would have wanted.”

“Your father would be so proud of you.”

Samara smiled. “So if it came to a vote… you’d vote for me to run the company, wouldn’t you?”

After a short pause, Mom said, “No.”

Samara froze then blinked, the cardboard box digging into her fingers. “No?”

“No. I’m sorry.” Dayna’s voice was as soft and silky as the lingerie they’d just bought. “You’re smart, and you’re educated, and I know you love the business. If Travis weren’t here, that might be the logical move. But compared to him, you’re so young, and you still have so much to learn. He’s been involved in the business for years.”

Samara stared at her. Her eyes burned, and she wanted to scream. “He talked to you, didn’t he?” she demanded, voice shaky. “He convinced you of that.”

Dayna’s forehead creased. “No. he didn’t have to convince me of that. It’s―”

Samara slapped the lid on the box and shoved it back into the shopping bag. Insides churning, she stood. “Fine. That’s fine. I know you’re still mad at me.”

“Samara. Wait. Don’t do this again. Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

She gathered up as many bags and boxes as she could carry and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. There she sank onto the side of the bed.

That old familiar burn of jealousy and sting of rejection heated her. Even though she believed both of them when they said nothing had happened, the fact that they were siding against her hurt like a bitch. Her heart tightened, and she pressed a hand between her breasts. She closed her eyes. For so long she’d kept her emotions closed off, focused on school and work and career. Now holes were being ripped in that tight restraint, and she was losing control. She was letting people in when she knew all that would happen was more hurt.

How could it be anything else?

She shouldn’t have had sex with him. She shouldn’t have let her emotions get involved again with him, dammit. She’d opened herself up to him and told him her deepest, most humiliating secret, and now he and her mother were still plotting against her.

When she finally got her emotions under control, she ignored the bags of clothes and shoes cluttering the floor and pulled out her father’s laptop. When Travis had found her with it yesterday, her heart had missed a beat, but he hadn’t recognized it as her father’s; in fact, he’d barely seemed to notice it.

Because all his attention had been focused on her.

She was so damn confused! One minute she was pissed off at him, the next she was all melty inside over him. How could she really know what was going on in his head? They’d both agreed that, even though they were sleeping together, nothing had changed in their little competition to see who would run the company. Her mother said he hadn’t convinced her to vote against Samara. So why did she feel like they were ganging up on her?

She blinked and refocused on her father’s computer. Her father was the only person who had never let her down. Except for now. Now, he was gone too.

Her eyes stung with tears of missing him, wishing things had been different. There had to be information in there that would help get them out of the financial mess they were in. She had to have faith that her father had a way to save the company. That had to be why he’d been in Matagalpa.

As she went deeper into files, she found documents—more than she’d seen on the other computer. As she read, her eyes grew wide, and her body tightened with rising excitement.

Parker had been meeting with Javier Alvarez because of a coffee bean he was growing in a small valley at the high end of his farm. A very special bean that produced an extraordinary cup of coffee—Paquita. The description of it made Samara’s mouth water—a sweet-toned aroma with a distinct honey character; a syrupy mouth feel, lush with cherry fruit; Cognac-chocolate notes; and a long, honeyed finish. It was apparently comparable to a coffee that had sold at auction earlier in the year for a wicked high price, coveted by the best coffee connoisseurs. That particular coffee had a very low yield, which also accounted for the high price.

Wow. If Dad had found something equivalent to that...or even better...wow. She read on.

Parker’s plan was to assist the farmer in expanding growth of this extraordinary coffee, in exchange for the exclusive right to purchase all the beans. They were also going to have to make changes to the co-op arrangement to be able to pay the price that kind of bean was worth. Based on the numbers projected in a spreadsheet she located, this special bean could potentially bring in millions of dollars to Cedar Mill coffee, although the numbers seemed a bit off. She nibbled her bottom lip as she studied them. Surely it would cost more than that for the equipment Alvarez would need to produce that kind of yield? That kind of profit? Even so...she recalculated in her mind, adjusting the figures. Yeah.

She’d studied the financials Travis had given her. That amount of money would make a big difference in the bottom line.

She sat there, hands in her lap, and stared at the computer screen. Holy Godfrey. That’s what her father had been doing. No wonder he’d been interested in the quality of the beans in that area. No wonder he was willing to pay more. No wonder he’d been so secretive. She could imagine that if other importers were to find out about the deal, there’d be savage, cut-throat competition for those beans. So, it was no wonder he’d kept quiet about it. Even to Travis.

Her mind raced with the new knowledge as she tried to sort everything out in her head and figure out what to do about this.

If her father had thought this could be the answer to their financial problems, then it had to be worthwhile for her to pursue it also.

She’d been considering a trip to Matagalpa before, but now it was certain. She was going to Matagalpa. No one else thought she could run the business—not Travis, not the other executives, not even her own mother. But she could do this. She could go there and pick up where Dad had left off and complete this deal.

A knock on her door jerked her head up. Her hands froze on the laptop. “Who is it?”

She clicked the computer shut and shoved it under her pillows just as the door opened and Travis walked in.

Oh. Her breath left her all at once. He was so big and gorgeous and sexy. Her heart tripped, and her tummy fluttered down low at the sight of him, at the memory of him doing her up against the wall right over there.

“Hey. How’d it go?”

She sighed and looked down at her bare feet. “Not so good.”

He walked over and sat beside her, the bed shifting beneath his weight. “She kicked you out?”

She looked up and saw the hint of a smile on his mouth. Her own lips curved in response. “No.”

“Ah.”

“She was pretty upset though. She...needs time.”

“I guess that’s fair enough.”

“Yes.” She wasn’t going to tell him about the conversation she’d had with her mother about the vote. Damn him. Let him stew about that, although he and her mother had probably already talked about that, even though Mom said they hadn’t.

“Looks like you did some shopping.” He lifted a brow as he took in all the shopping bags.

“Oh. Yeah. My mom insisted on taking me shopping. I only needed a few things, I have lots of clothes back in San Francisco. But she wanted to do it. Then we had lunch. And we talked.”

“That must have been hard.”

It was, dammit, and she hated even talking about it. Surprisingly he wasn’t all condescending and judgmental. Just...understanding. And...his hand was on her ankle, rubbing the sensitive skin on the inside of it. Tingles were traveling up her leg and coalescing right at the apex of her thighs.

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. Too much. Dealing with Travis and her feelings for him and all the emotion and uncertainty had her mind reeling. The uncertainty of wanting him, having sex with him, then wondering what she really had with him...and then on top of that, the disappointment of her mother taking his side, and the shocking news she’d just discovered...too much. Disoriented, dizzy, she couldn’t think and didn’t know how to react to him.

But her body knew how to react to him.

And the truth was her heart was pretty helpless to resist him too.

* * *

After spending another night of muffled passion in Samara’s room, Sunday morning Travis murmured against her hair, “Come with me. To look at apartments.”

She rolled over in her bed to face him. “Seriously?”

“Sure. I have to find a place and quick. I’ve got a few lined up to look at this afternoon.”

“I have work to do.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “You don’t have to work all day.”

She gave him a look that held a hint of suspicion, and he sighed.

“Fine. Work all day.”

It was her turn to sigh. “I can take a few hours off. I just want to be ready for the meeting next week.”

“I know.” He didn’t think she could ever be ready, even though she was busting her cute little ass trying. She was just too inexperienced, not to mention young. She had a passion for coffee and the coffee business, and he had no doubt she had some leadership abilities that had helped her move up in the company, but that in no way prepared her to lead the entire organization. She thought she was going to tell the other executives, some old enough to be her father, what to do?

But he wasn’t going to say that again. They’d tried to keep their agreement that work stayed at the office. That conversation never went well with her. She was so damn stubborn.

And hot.

He moved over her and pressed her down into the mattress. Her arms came up around his shoulders as she kissed him back, and her thighs parted to cradle his body. He buried his hands in her hair and slid his tongue into her mouth. So many times they came together frantically, hot and desperate, but not now. Now, he kissed her with long, lush kisses, his hips moving against her body in slow pulses, sliding into a warm half-awake dream.