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  He’d said she was his right hand and she supposed that was true. She made the trips with him and together with the manager they went over every minute detail for improvement. This was a system implemented by Reed. Richard Preston rarely visited his stores unless it was an emergency, such as a store not showing a profit.

  She usually enjoyed the trips, but this one suddenly took on a feeling of gloom and doom. Spending two hours with Reed in a plane would be pure torture.

  He was marrying someone else.

  A painful knot clenched her stomach. The fall was the excuse she needed to avoid the trip and she was going to use it.

  Coward.

  The word ran through her system like the cheap moonshine she and her cousins had gotten drunk on as teenagers. It had made her sick then and she felt sick now.

  But she’d never taken the easy way out and she wasn’t about to start.

  “I’m fine and I’ll be ready.”

  With as much dignity as possible, she walked out of the room.

  REED STARED after her. Cari looked upset and he wondered why. She couldn’t be upset about the engagement, could she? It was probably just her fall. He should cancel the trip, yet Cari would have a fit if he treated her with kid gloves. She was direct and honest and he had to take her at her word.

  His sister, Marisa, had really hoped he and Cari would become a couple, but they had never made that connection. Cari was a bundle of energy, determined to succeed in the business world. With sheer grit and guts, she had climbed the corporate ladder at Dalton’s.

  Her confidence and drive sometimes threw him. He was used to women fawning over him and going out of their way to please him. Cari had done none of those things. She taunted him by calling him Junior and her dark eyes dared him to reprimand her, which he often did.

  They had that type of relationship, vocal and explosive. Sparks always seemed to fly when they were together. It was a great working relationship. That was the most important thing to both of them.

  The situation had changed somewhat last Fourth of July and he still cursed himself for his momentary lapse. Marisa and her husband, Colter, had thrown a big party at their ranch and Cari and Reed were invited along with a lot of their friends. Everyone else there was part of a couple, so they were paired together. The evening had been fun, with a lot of laughing and ribbing. In the backyard they popped fireworks and watched the glittering sparks light up the sky.

  Standing in the moonlight, Cari had smiled at him and without thinking he’d kissed her. It lasted a mind-blowing split second before he realized what he was doing and pulled away. Cari had never shown a romantic interest in him. Her career was her life. She gave Dalton’s one hundred percent of herself and he wasn’t jeopardizing that. They had a business relationship. Period.

  In a rush he’d said, “Happy Fourth of July.”

  She’d smiled and wished him the same.

  Her reaction was a relief. No way was he dating a woman who worked for him even if his sister wanted him to. He steered clear of setups. His parents were constantly trying to fix him up with the perfect woman. Their attention to his marital status made him feel pressured and restless. It was important to him that he make his own choices, especially in women.

  At times, though, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped kissing Cari.

  “Darling.” Daphne laid a hand on his arm. “Is everything okay?”

  He looked into her beautiful eyes and was so grateful he’d finally found the woman for him. It had been a whirlwind courtship and at the end of four weeks he’d proposed.

  Marriage had never been on his list of top priorities. His parents had a marriage from hell and his friends were all playing marriage roulette. He had to admit that Marisa and Colter were happy, and as he grew older he realized he wanted that—to find the perfect woman, if there was such a person, to share his life and to raise a family together.

  His parents had manipulated him and Marisa all their lives and the last thing Reed needed was a woman his parents had picked for him. Ironically a business acquaintance of his dad’s had been invited for dinner and his daughter was in town. His mother was a fanatic about her dinner parties and the proper seating. She’d begged Reed to attend so the young woman wouldn’t feel out of place.

  To his surprise he and Daphne had hit it off from the start. She was independently wealthy, so she wasn’t after him for his money. She was a ballet dancer and had just returned from touring France. That threw him at first because his mother had been a dancer, but Daphne was different. She donated a lot of her time to children’s charities and put on special shows to entertain many of them. He admired everything about her. Also, she wanted a home and family like he did. They were perfect for each other.

  The date hadn’t been a setup. His parents hadn’t even known Mr. Harwood’s daughter was in town until the last minute. So it was a nice surprise for all of them.

  “Yes.” He kissed her cheek. “Everything is fine.”

  For some reason though he couldn’t stop himself from staring at the doorway where Cari had stood.

  CARI RUSHED through her secretary’s office to reach her own, not bothering to go through her private entrance. “Get me a tall mocha frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso, please,” she said to Heather.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Heather was instantly on her feet.

  “I already have it.”

  Cari whirled around to see Marisa standing there with two coffees. She quickly reached for one. “I knew I loved you for a reason.” She took a sip and glanced at Heather, who was staring at her with wide eyes. At twenty-four she looked like a teenager. Cari knew she must have looked the same years ago.

  “Please get me the itinerary for the El Paso trip.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Marisa followed her into her office. “I see you’ve heard the news.”

  Cari took a big swallow of coffee. “If you mean about Reed and the debutante, yes, I just heard.”

  “I’m sorry. I tried calling but you didn’t answer.”

  “Oh.” Cari patted her pockets with one hand. “I’m not sure where my cell is. I guess I left it at home.”

  Marisa gave Cari’s disheveled appearance the once-over. “What happened?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  “Okay,” Marisa said slowly, watching her. “I tried to get here earlier, but it’s a mad rush to get the kids off to school, and this morning Ellie was having a fit about her hair. Since she’s become a teenager, the naturally curly hair has become more of an issue. We seem to spend every morning taming it.”

  “No big deal,” Cari replied with a wave of her hand.

  She could feel Marisa’s eyes on her. “I know how you feel about Reed.”

  Her eyes flew to meet her friend’s. “That’s just between you and me.” With a sigh, she sank into her chair and took another gulp of coffee. Setting the paper cup on her desk, she asked, “Where did she come from? Has he been dating her long?”

  Marisa sat in a rose chintz chair, placing her purse on the floor. “My parents hosted a dinner for them last night and Colter and I met her for the first time. She’s a daughter of a business acquaintance of my dad’s.”

  “You’re kidding.” Cari sat up straighter. “I would have thought Reed would have avoided her like toxic waste.”

  It was a well-known fact that Richard and Vanessa Preston had ideas about who Reed should marry—someone with their social standing and assets. But since the fiasco with Marisa, Reed ignored his parents and chose his own women.

  “Me, too.” Marisa crossed her legs and took a sip of her coffee. “I think it was love at first sight. One of those wham-bam things.”

  “Mmm.” Cari twisted her cup, feeling the warmth against her thumb. She thought that strange when she felt so cold inside.

  “Cari, I’m sorry.”

  Cari looked into her friend’s honey-warm eyes and saw all her concern and caring. Marisa was one of those women who was beautifu
l on the outside as well as within. Looking at her delicate features and curly hair, one would think she was fragile and weak, but Marisa was one of the strongest women she knew.

  “Hey, don’t feel sorry for me,” she told her. “Reed and I weren’t meant to be together. We’ve had a number of years to connect and we haven’t.”

  Marisa glanced at her over the rim of her coffee cup. “I wonder why?”

  “Incompatible,” Cari joked.

  “But you work so well together.”

  They did, but Cari didn’t know how much longer she could continue to do that.

  “We don’t let our personal feelings get in the way of business. Dalton’s is always our top priority.”

  Marisa looked straight at her. “You care more about Dalton’s than I ever did.”

  “When you have to earn something, it means so much more.”

  “I think that’s it.”

  Cari blinked. “What? What are you talking about?”

  “Reed and I were born with the proverbial silver spoon in our mouths. By birth, everything was given to us. We earned nothing, but you’ve had to fight your way up. The first thing I noticed about you was your determination and confidence.”

  “So?”

  “I never think of you as being afraid, but I think you’re afraid of my parents and their social status and expectations. You’re afraid you won’t fit in or live up to their ideal mate for Reed. In your mind, you’re still that farm girl from Hillsboro, Texas.”

  “That’s—”

  “It’s true.” Marisa didn’t give her a chance to voice a protest. “If you had gone after Reed, you would have been a couple a long time ago.”

  Cari bit her lip, not bothering to lie to her friend. “Your mother ties my nerves into tight knots, and after a meeting with your father I have to rush to my office and put my head between my legs to catch my breath again. I don’t know why I’m always trying to fit in.”

  Marisa got up and came around the desk. Sitting on the edge, she placed her cup behind her. “Why do you have to try at all? You’re an intelligent, kind, beautiful, funny and compassionate woman. I’m lucky to have you for a friend and I’m so grateful you’re in my life. Just be yourself. My parents are just people and sometimes they haven’t been very kind or understanding. So don’t ever think you’re less than them.”

  “You don’t know what it’s like to be raised poor and to never have anything. People look down on you and that’s hard to overcome.” Suddenly Cari remembered the homemade hand-me-down clothes, food stamps and welfare. Her past was like a scar on her soul that would never heal.

  “Cari Michaels, I’m going to shake you. Look at all you’ve accomplished. From a saleswoman you’ve risen to a high-paying position in a billion-dollar corporation. That’s no small feat.”

  Cari lifted an eyebrow. “It helps to have friends in high places.”

  “Who?”

  “You, of course.”

  Marisa frowned. “I had nothing to do with you getting this job.”

  “When you left, you suggested—”

  “No, I didn’t,” Marisa quickly interrupted. “I was busy planning a wedding and getting to know my daughter. Dad and Reed always fill the top positions. Your job performance was miles above the rest. I’m sure there was never any doubt about moving you up. My father’s not an idiot. He knows who’s best for Dalton’s.”

  Cari was stunned. She’d thought Marisa had gotten her the position. Suddenly she was feeling so many things and each one was labeled stupid with a capital S. Confidence was always her strong suit…yet at times it was her weakest.

  “Okay.” She ruffled her hair with her hands. “I’ll admit I have a problem in that area, but I really thought you put in a word for me.”

  “Please.” Marisa slid off the desk. “You don’t need a word from me. Everything you’ve accomplished you’ve done on your own. You can stand toe-to-toe with my parents and Reed. I don’t understand why you get so down on yourself at times.”

  “I guess I love the misery.”

  Marisa pointed a finger at her. “Repeat after me—I am terrific. I am a woman and there’s not one damn thing I can’t do. Even recover from a broken heart.”

  Cari smiled and stood, hugging her friend. “Thanks. I needed that today.”

  “We have to find you a boyfriend,” Marisa said, her eyes twinkling. “My rodeo husband knows a lot of cowboys. How would you like to date a cowboy?”

  Her smile broadened. “I saw on a billboard somewhere ‘Save a horse, ride a cowboy,’ so I’m game. If you find a good-looking cowboy in tight jeans who doesn’t chew tobacco, I’ll go out with him. I’ll put a hitch in his giddyup and a grin on my face.”

  They burst out laughing and Cari felt a whole lot better.

  Marisa sobered. “You have to come for dinner tonight. The kids would love to see you and we can ply Colter for viable candidates.”

  “Why didn’t you think of me when Tripp and Brodie were available?” They were Colter’s incredibly handsome best friends who were now happily married.

  “Because you were hung up on you know who.”

  “Not anymore.”

  After a long pause, Marisa asked, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” she replied, but she hesitated. She hated herself for that.

  “If you’re not, this is the time to let Reed know how you feel.”

  Cari gasped. “Marisa Kincaid, I can’t believe you said that.”

  Marisa walked around the desk and reached for her purse on the floor. “I just don’t want you or Reed to make a mistake.”

  “Don’t you like Daphne?”

  Marisa brushed back her blond curls and appeared thoughtful for a minute. “Daphne is who I would be if I had continued living with my mother in New York, adhering to the strict regimen she had planned for me. Daphne is structured, disciplined and perfect, but in the two hours I spent with her last night I never heard her laugh. That bothered me.”

  “Why?”

  “I never laughed until I met Colter. He opened doors to emotions I didn’t know existed and I know with all my heart that a person has to laugh to be really happy.”

  “Maybe she was just nervous.” Cari didn’t understand why she was defending the blond beauty. “Meeting your parents can be traumatic for anyone.”

  “She’d already met them.”

  “Okay. Daphne doesn’t laugh, but Reed loves her.”

  Marisa shrugged. “I’m being catty and that’s all I’m saying. What time do you want to come out for dinner?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. We’re flying to the El Paso store today.”

  “We? As in you and Reed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mmm.” Cari could almost see the plans tripping through Marisa’s head, but she didn’t voice them. “We’ll do it when you get back then.”

  “Sure.”

  Marisa paused and looked into Cari’s eyes. “Remember what I said.”

  “Marisa—”

  Marisa held up a hand, stopping her. “This is your last chance.”

  Cari knew her friend had good intentions, but Marisa didn’t know everything.

  Marisa stared at Cari’s heels on the top of her desk. “I’m not even going to ask what your shoes are doing on your desk or why one heel is broken. The less I know the better. Call me when you get back.”

  “I didn’t use it as a weapon if that’s what you’re thinking,” Cari called to her retreating back.

  Or on your brother’s head.

  Chapter Two

  Cari sank into her chair, rubbing her throbbing elbow, her thoughts wandering into treacherous territory. She and Marisa shared a lot, but there was one thing she hadn’t shared. It had happened on the Fourth of July and Cari was still struggling to understand it herself.

  Marisa and Colter had thrown a big barbecue for all their friends. Everyone laughed and visited and had a great time. In the evening Colter had a fireworks display for the kids.

  Colt
er had a couple of water hoses hooked up in case sparks caused a fire. Jack thought the hoses were for fun and started squirting the kids and then letting the hose run all over him. Colter quickly had his son under control and Marisa had taken Jack into the house to change his clothes. She and Reed were laughing at Jack’s silly antics, and then suddenly he was looking into her eyes in a way he never had before. It wasn’t businesslike.

  The moonlight was intoxicating and everyone else faded away. Reed had bent his head and gently kissed her lips. It had been exciting, exhilarating and everything she’d ever imagined. For a moment she’d returned the kiss with years of pent-up yearnings.

  In the split second it had taken those feelings to take hold, it had taken half that for him to pull away. Suddenly a wall of fear and insecurity blindsided her. He’d never kissed her before. From his “Happy Fourth of July” she knew it was only a friendly gesture. Had she made a fool of herself?

  She’d said something and she couldn’t even remember what. Reed left soon after. From then on, their relationship had changed. It was all business now. They didn’t joke around the way they used to and she didn’t call him Junior anymore.

  In the past two months she’d wanted to talk about the kiss, but she could never get up enough nerve to even broach the subject. She’d hoped and prayed he’d bring it up, but he hadn’t.

  When the kiss had ended abruptly, she had been both disappointed and relieved. She still wasn’t sure what the relief was really about. Was she afraid if he continued with the kiss she would reveal her true feelings? Would Reed tell her he could never become involved with someone who wasn’t in his circle of accepted friends?

  At her age it seemed almost impossible that she would allow herself to believe such a thing. She was Marisa’s best friend and the Prestons had accepted her as such. Mainly because they knew Marisa wouldn’t allow anything else.

  Reed had those same ethics. Her roots and blue-collar family would make no difference to him.

  So why was she so afraid to take a chance? Why was she so afraid to confront Reed about her feelings?