Susan Mallery - Hot On Her Heels

Dana felt beyond stupid. They’d gone out. Of course. Why hadn’t she figured that out the first second she’d seen them together?

But Fawn was the opposite of her. How could he have been interested in Fawn and then want to be with her? Which brought up a whole lot of other questions she didn’t want to answer.

“We were engaged.”

“YOU DON’T WANT TO do this,” Lexi said, standing beside Dana’s chair.

Dana ignored her and typed in Garth’s name along with the phrase “and women.” The Internet responded instantly, producing over ten thousand listings. She picked one at random.

There was a picture of Garth with a tall skinny woman who had to be a model of some kind. No one normal had such bony knees and elbows. She clicked on other articles and saw Garth with plenty of heiresses, successful businesswomen and even an actress. There was a theme to his women-they were all beautiful and accomplished. They had style, possibly grace and moved effortlessly in his social circle.

She was a small-town deputy who, until a few weeks ago, hadn’t worn a dress in nearly ten years.

“What was I thinking?” she whispered.

“I can’t answer that until you tell me what’s going on,” Lexi said, then pulled up another chair and sat heavily. “My back hurts.”

Dana turned to her, the search forgotten. “Are you all right? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

“No. My back hurts. I’m seven and a half months pregnant and getting bigger by the second. Of course my back hurts.”

Dana drew in a breath. “Don’t scare me like that. I have enough stress in my life.”

“If you tell me what happened, I can help.”

It was a reasonable statement, especially considering Dana had shown up that morning with a suitcase, asking if she could stay.

To her credit, Lexi hadn’t asked a lot of questions, but instead had shown her to a guest room. Dana had gotten out her laptop and gone online to find out the truth about Garth. Something she should have done weeks ago.

Everything was right there, in the pictures. Woman after woman, smiling at the camera. Leaning against him or holding hands or linking arms.

She’d been a fool. Worse, for him, she’d been convenient. He didn’t even have to make a booty call. The booty was right there in his condo.

“I don’t need help,” she said. “I’m fine.”

“You are so going to tell me what’s going on,” Lexi said. “Dana, I mean it. What happened?”

Dana turned to her friend. “I’m sorry. Everything is totally screwed up and it’s all my fault. Well, his, too. Mostly his.”

Lexi covered her face with her hands and shrieked. “What are we talking about?”

“Garth was engaged.”

Lexi dropped her hands to her lap. “I knew that. It was a few years ago. Three or four. Rich girl. Then she sort of disappeared. What does that have to do with…Oh. You met the ex.”

“I more than met her.”

Dana told her what had happened, ending with Fawn’s father taking her away.

“She was stealing?” Lexi asked, sounding outraged. “And nothing happened. Why am I even surprised?”

“That’s what I said.”

Dana thought about Fawn in Garth’s arms. Jed had been right. She would never fit in.

“I don’t belong with him,” she said.

Lexi frowned. “What does Fawn have to do with you and Garth?” She held up a hand. “I know finding out about someone’s past is never easy. But I’d like to point out all you have to deal with is an ex-fiancée. Cruz didn’t tell me he had a teenaged daughter. We all keep secrets, Dana.”

“I don’t.” There wasn’t anything secret-worthy in her past. She wasn’t excited to talk about how her father had treated her, but Garth already knew the basic story.

“He’s not with her now.”

Dana logged off the Internet. “Lord, I know. Garth didn’t know she was going to be there, blah, blah, blah. But when it came down to it, he protected her. She was stealing. And he let her get away with it.”

He’d chosen Fawn over her.

Dana would never say that. She wasn’t sure she would admit to even thinking it, but that was the bottom line.

“Fawn obviously needs help,” Lexi said. “She needs to learn to take responsibility.”

“That’s not going to happen while everyone steps in to protect her.”

“I agree.” Lexi frowned. “I’m surprised Garth did that.”

“Why?”

“He’s pragmatic,” Lexi said. “Why would he get involved with someone like that then or now?”

“He probably didn’t know when they started dating. Besides, you haven’t seen her. She’s so beautiful, she doesn’t look real. Talk about a trophy wife.”

“Garth doesn’t need a trophy. He’s young and successful. He can have anyone he wants.”

Dana sighed. “This would be you making me feel better?”

Lexi smiled. “Do you need me to? Is there something you want to tell me?”

“No.”

“Are you falling for him?”

“No one says ‘falling for him’ anymore.”

“I do, and stop avoiding the question.”

Dana leaned back in her chair. Falling for Garth? Not possible. They weren’t anything alike. He was from another planet, while she lived on this one. He was…

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I want to tell you no. I want to tell you he’s just someone I know, but I can’t. It’s too confusing. We aren’t following any rules I know.”

“Then maybe it’s time to start breaking the rules.”

“Have you met me? I don’t break the rules, I enforce them.”

“How’s that working for you?”

Dana shrugged. “Good point. I just wish she hadn’t been there.” Or that she could forget seeing Fawn melt into Garth’s arms.

“You can stay here as long as you’d like,” Lexi said.

“Thanks.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk to Garth about this?”

“And be rational? No, thanks. I like wallowing in uncertainty. It’s a new experience for me.”

“Welcome to the real world.”

“When do I get to go back to the old one?”

Lexi smiled. “I have no idea.”

Later, Lexi went to her office, while Dana wandered through Cruz’s large house, feeling more uncomfortable than she did at Garth’s place. The only bright spot in her otherwise boring afternoon was a wild game of chase the string with C.C. the cat.

At three-fifteen, the doorbell rang. Dana opened it to find Garth standing there.

As always, the sight of him made her whole body go on alert. If only she could look into his dark eyes without imagining them bright with passion. She wanted to be able to look at his arms without seeing them around Fawn.

“You left me,” he said.

Why did he have to say it like that? “I needed to think. Wait a minute. It was just this morning, after you’d gone to work. How did you know?”

He shrugged. “I had a feeling. I went home and you weren’t there.”

“So you called Lexi?”

“No. I knew you’d be here.”

How? When she’d left his condo, she hadn’t known where she would go. She’d driven here without thinking.

She waited for him to ask her why. Or to get angry with her for walking out. Or to blame her for everything that had happened. Instead he stared into her eyes and said, “I’m sorry. Please come home.”

DANA WANTED TO TELL HIM it wasn’t home, that she had a home. A lovely little apartment where she was never confused. But she knew what he meant and what he was asking. As she had no answer, she held the door open a little wider, to let him in, then closed it behind him.

Emotion complicated everything, she thought grimly as she followed him into the large living room. If she wasn’t confused about her feelings, she could make a decision easily. Stay with Garth because right now it wasn’t safe to be on her own. Or move in with Lexi. Or hire a bodyguard and stay at her place. There were multiple solutions…until she started thinking with something other than her brain.

Garth stood in the center of the room, watching her.

She motioned to the sofa, but he shook his head. She shrugged. “This is your party. You should do the talking.”

“Fair enough.” He cleared his throat. “I met Fawn about five years ago. She was dating some European duke or prince or something back then. I can’t remember.”

“I have that problem all the time,” Dana murmured.

He ignored the comment. “I didn’t think that much about her until she called me the next day and invited me to lunch.”

Dana found it difficult to believe any man could be in the same room as Fawn and think about anything else, but stranger things had happened.

“We went out a few times,” he continued. “I liked her well enough. She was a fun date. A violinist, so we went to the symphony a lot. I wasn’t thinking about anything serious until her father came to see me.” He looked at her. “You met him last night.”

The tall, older man who had collected Fawn? Guessing was enough-she didn’t need Garth to confirm the information. “Go on.”

“He wanted Fawn married and I seemed like a good choice. He let me know there would be many advantages to being his son-in-law.”

“Did he mention her problem with other people’s possessions?”

Garth’s expression didn’t change. “No. He didn’t say anything. I thought about what he’d said, then I talked to Fawn about it.”

“How did she feel about Daddy trying to sell her off?”

“She wasn’t surprised. I sensed there was a catch, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. We went away together for a couple of weeks to see if we could consider marriage. When things went well, I proposed.”

“So it was a business arrangement,” she said, wishing she could believe him. It was all just a little too convenient.

“At first,” he said cautiously. “The more I was around Fawn, the more I liked her.”

Why didn’t he just say he was in love with her? That was the significant information. She didn’t want to hear the words, but once she did maybe the ache in her chest would go away.

“A few months later, I found out about her problem. She liked to take things.”

“You mean steal jewelry that didn’t belong to her.”

“Yes.”

“Does it help to make the words pretty?”

His gaze narrowed. “Does it make you feel better to make them ugly?”

She stiffened. “I’m not the one who did anything wrong here. I’m not the one who protected a potential felon.”

“You’re being dramatic,” he said.

“Do you really think the world is a better place because Fawn is free to steal at will?”

“Would it be better with her in jail?”

“Maybe it wouldn’t but it would be really nice if every now and then people were reminded there are consequences for their actions. Maybe the world can’t be improved, but maybe Fawn would take her problem a lot more seriously if she suffered a little instead of heading off to another five-star luxury rehab facility.”

He flushed slightly.

“So that’s it,” she said, telling herself not to be surprised. “Fawn will be readmitted to whatever program has already failed to help her.”

He nodded.

“Is that why you ended the engagement?” she asked.

“What makes you think I ended it?”

Because Fawn had walked into his arms with the certainty of a woman who knows she was going to be welcomed. And if she’d dumped him, she wouldn’t have been sure. Garth wasn’t the type to forgive and forget.

“Am I wrong?” she asked.

“No,” he said, looking away. “I found out about her stealing and I finally knew why her father was so anxious to marry her off. While I believe Fawn cared about me, I think she cared a lot more about finding someone to take care of her. She wasn’t big on taking responsibility.”

Dana wanted to say that she still wasn’t but that seemed like a cheap shot.

“I broke the engagement and she went away. I haven’t seen her since.”

Dana had so many other questions. Like did he still love Fawn? If she’d been cured would he want to be with her now? Did he have any regrets? Did he want another chance with her?

“So she’s the one who got away,” she said, hoping her voice sounded light and casual.

“That’s making it more than it was.”

“You weren’t sorry to see her.”

“No, but I wasn’t happy, either. I’m sorry she’s still having problems. She probably will all her life. It’s why she had to give up playing professionally. She couldn’t go on tour and not steal. Apparently the compulsion hasn’t gone away.” He stared at her. “If I’d known we would run into her, I would have said something. Warned you.”

“Why? Don’t you have ex-girlfriends at most of the parties you go to? There are dozens and dozens of them out there.”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

She tried to smile and wasn’t sure she succeeded. “Come on, Garth. I looked you up on the Internet. You’ve done more than your share of dating in the past dozen or so years. Models, actresses, women who come from money. I will say you don’t have a physical type. I guess that keeps things interesting.”