Page 16 of Winter Vows

“You okay?”

She managed a watery smile. “Better now,” she said.

“Remind me not to tick you off.”

She gave him a full-fledged grin. “Oh, that. Sometimes yelling is the only way to get through to him. Delacourts tend to be stubborn.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I got that part.”

“Thank you for warning me about what was going on, so I could stop him from turning Los Piños into a circus.”

“Do you honestly think he’ll give up the search?”

“If he wants to see his granddaughter he will. And he knows I meant that, too. He may be difficult, but he’s not stupid. Now that he’s certain I’m okay, he’ll give me some space.”

“For how long?”

“Until he thinks it’s time to come charging after me,” she admitted. “I figure I’ve got a month tops to find a place to settle down and get my new life on track. I have to have every little piece in place or he’ll run roughshod over me until he gets his way.”

“What exactly does he want?”

“He wants me to come home and marry Laura’s father.”

Hardy was surprised by just how deeply he detested that idea himself. “And you disagree?”

“Oh, yes,” she said fervently. “It won’t happen. Not now. Not ever.”

Because relief flooded through him at her response, Hardy knew it was time to go.

“You going to be okay?” he asked, grabbing his jacket off a chair.

“Sure.”

He nodded. “Keep your chin up, darlin’. Something tells me everything is going to work out just the way you want it to.”

“Do you carry a crystal ball around in your pocket?”

“Nope, but anybody hearing you stand up for yourself just now would put their money on you.”

She seemed startled by the comment, but a smile began tugging at her lips. “Thanks, I think.”

“Oh, it was a compliment, sweetheart. Make no mistake about that.” He winked at her. “Tell Kelly if she checks, I suspect that horse of hers is just fine now.”

Trish stared at him blankly. “What horse?”

“Just tell her. She’ll understand.”

He took off then, before the yearning to stay became so powerful that he forgot all the million and one reasons he had for getting out before he landed squarely in the middle of emotional quicksand.

Five

Hardy had actually paid her a compliment, Trish thought, staring after him with what was probably a ridiculously silly grin. She’d finally been exposed to a sampling of that famed charm of his, albeit little more than a couple of softly spoken endearments. She could see how it might be totally devastating if fully unleashed.

There were the dimples, for one thing. For another, his eyes shot off sparks like a live wire, turning the amber color to something closer to an unusual glittering bronze. And there were the occasional glimpses of his wit. She could see how the combination could be wickedly seductive.

Of course, she was immune to all of it. She’d been down that path all too recently. She’d sworn off men with good looks and glib tongues. Since that was the case, why did she feel as if she’d finally passed some sort of a test?

She was still standing where he’d left her when Kelly walked in, a cup of coffee in hand.

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