Page 7 of Taming a Heartbreaker

He rounded the corner of Westmoreland House. The surrounding area was lit by beautiful torches, but the yard was empty. He figured most people were inside attending the party. From the sound of things, it had already started. Those Westmorelands and Outlaws were definitely in a festive mood. Well, he was in one hell of a horny one.

“It’s kind of late for a picnic, isn’t it?”

He rolled his eyes, figuring it had been too much to hope he could avoid seeing Sloan again tonight before the midnight card game. Smiling humorlessly, he said, “It’s never too late to do anything you’ve set your mind to doing.”

Sloan frowned. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Redford.”

“I always know what I’m doing when it concerns a woman, Sloan.”

Shaking his head, Sloan walked off and Redford was glad that he had. Carmen was an adult. As long as he kept things honest and didn’t make promises he didn’t intend to keep, there was no reason for him to feel guilty about anything.

Redford looked at his watch when he reached the gazebo, and when he glanced back up at the yard, he saw Carmen walking toward him. Like he’d requested, she kept on that dress, although she’d replaced her stilettos with more comfortable shoes.

He was intensely aware of everything about her, especially the way she was looking at him. Suddenly, feeling somewhat weak in the knees, he propped against one of the gazebo posts. Why did seeing her do that to him?

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting, Redford,” she said, cheerfully, when she came to a stop in front of him.

“No, you didn’t keep me waiting,” he said, fighting to regain control of his senses and his body. “Ready for our picnic?”

“Yes. Since you got the basket, I can carry the blanket,” she offered.

“That will work,” he said, handing the blanket to her. Their hands touched in the process and he heard her sharp intake of breath. As they walked toward Gemma Lake, he thought about what Sloan had said earlier... “I hope you know what you’re doing, Redford.”

At that moment Redford hoped like hell that he knew what he was doing as well.

As they walked the length of the yard that led to the lake, Carmen tried switching her thoughts away from the man beside her. That wasn’t an easy thing to do. In fact, she doubted there was anything about Redford St. James that was easy. Except for falling in love with him. Even with his less than desirable reputation, she truly believed he was the man she’d been waiting for.

When she’d gone back to her cottage to change shoes and freshen up, she’d given herself a serious pep talk. If she could feel the strong sexual vibes between her and Redford, then she was certain he could, too.

The last thing she wanted was for him to think that was a cue for sex since it wouldn’t be happening. Granted, she was curious to find out if all those wild and passionate stories she’d heard about, read about in romance novels, and even dreamed about a time or two, were anything close to the real thing. But she refused to be a notch on any man’s bedpost, even the man she intended to marry one day. There was more to a relationship than the physical. If no other woman had gotten that point across to him, then she didn’t mind being the first.

Deciding to kick-start conversation between them, she said, “I understand you own a number of successful resorts.” According to Leslie, his business was a multi-billion-dollar enterprise consisting of fishing, hunting and ski resorts spread out from the Gulf of Alaska to the Yukon.

He glanced down at her. From his expression she could tell she’d caught him during a moment of deep thought, and it took him a second to process what she’d said. “Yes, that’s right. People would be surprised at the number of tourists that visit Alaska each year. And that number is increasing tremendously.”

Why did the sound of his voice caress her skin? Every part of it. “I can believe it. Although I’m not a fan of cold weather, I’m glad I get to visit Alaska to see Sloan, Leslie and Cassidy. It’s amazing how much land there is in Alaska. Developed and undeveloped.”

“I heard your first time to Alaska was when you attended Tyler and Keosha’s wedding with Leslie as her plus-one.”

It happened again, his voice and her skin’s reaction to it. She had controlled it while they danced together but was having a hard time doing so now. “Yes, it was. When Leslie lived in DC, her father would come spend most of the holidays with her and her aunt, so she wouldn’t have to return to Alaska.”

“And run the risk of her path crossing with Sloan’s,” he said.

Since it was a statement and not a question, she figured he knew firsthand about Sloan and Leslie’s breakup in college that had sent her from the University of Alaska at Anchorage to finish college at Howard in DC. For years, Sloan hadn’t known where she’d gone. It had taken ten years for their paths to cross again and for Sloan and Leslie to discover their breakup had been based on a lie, one deliberately orchestrated by her ex-roommate. Now Sloan and Leslie were back together and happily married.

“I understand that you, Sloan and Tyler were roommates in college.”

“Yes, we were. Those were the good old days. Tyler and Sloan had steady girls, namely Keosha and Leslie. I was the odd man out—their fun-loving, nonserious, won’t commit to any woman friend.”

Was he telling her that for a reason? Had she read the signs he was putting out tonight all wrong? Although a leopard couldn’t change his spots, she wanted to believe the right woman in Redford’s life could make a difference, and she intended to be that woman.

“I think this is a good spot, don’t you, Carmen?”

Instead of looking at him, she glanced around. The last thing she needed was to get caught up in the beauty of his dark eyes again. “Yes, it’s perfect.”

Carmen spread out the blanket and then eased down onto it and stared out at the beauty of the lake. Like she’d told Redford, this spot was perfect. It was far away from Westmoreland House where the noise from the after-party could not be heard, but the lights from all those torches around the property, as well as the full moon in the sky, were a shimmering glow across the waters.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Redford placed aside the basket and eased down onto the blanket beside her. When she had left her cottage to meet him at the gazebo, she debated the idea of going through with sharing a moonlight picnic with him. However, in the end she had pushed her misgivings aside. What harm would being alone with him cause?

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