Losing Control - By Robyn Grady Page 0,52

my head, my brother Dex has managed to get himself tangled up in some blackmail scheme."

"Since when?"

"Dex mentioned it last night when he called. He clammed up when I asked questions. But that's not enough. He's kindly informed me that the finances over there are dangling by a bare-assed thread."

"He actually said that?"

Cole's jaw shifted. "Well, no. Not in so many words. But I can hear in his voice that he's worried." His chin went up. "Add to that the fact Liam Finlay informed me that he's still an inch away from accepting another network's deal. That's where I'm headed now, if you care to know. To try to avoid that last looming disaster from falling on our heads."

Not only were his irises dangerously dark, the half-moons underneath his eyes were dark, too. Not nearly enough sleep. Taryn knew what that was like. But she didn't have the weight of the future of at least two multimillion-dollar enterprises riding on her back. She was simply trying to survive an ill-fated love affair. Get her show the time on air she believed it deserved.

"I didn't know," she muttered. "You didn't say."

His tone dropped. "I could have come to you and whined and moaned, but that's not what I do. I fix things. I take responsibility."

All the emotions she carried around trapped deep inside of her these past days began to bubble up and spill over. If he'd made her feel insignificant before, now she felt as inconsequential as a gnat. Her gaze dropped to her shoes. Her vision blurred. God, she wanted to die.

She heard him exhale and a moment later two fingers were under her chin, lifting her face until, her throat thick, she was peering into his eyes.

"I'm sorry I haven't had two minutes to spare lately," he said. "That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy our time together. But pizza and rerelease DVDs are out of the question right now." His fingers slid down her arm until he was holding her hand. "You understand, don't you?"

Taryn sagged into herself. She'd started out wanting to corner him and yet she'd been the one who was crowded back and bombarded until her head was left spinning. But at least now she had an explanation for his lack of interest. If she looked at it logically rather than emotionally, he had a good reason. She supposed.

She found the wherewithal to nod.

"I guess I understand."

"Will you be all right getting back to your office?" She nodded again. "Okay." He pressed a lingering kiss on her cheek. "I really have to go."

He strode away, leaving her alone, numb, and the door wide-open for everyone to see.
Chapter Seventeen
Taryn usually enjoyed seeing her aunt. But tonight's visit she could have done without. Not because Vi had done anything disagreeable. They hadn't had an argument since high school when Taryn had decided she had more important things to do than keep her room halfway clean and suffer regular homework.

But when Vi had rung and invited herself over for dinner, Taryn wanted to postpone. She wouldn't make good company. She only wanted to sit around alone and keep rehashing in her mind whether or not she ought to have forgiven Cole for his recent behavior.

Her stronger self wanted to tell him to take a hike. Who needed to feel like a convenience? She also wanted to give Cole the benefit of the doubt. Maybe when this particularly tough time in his life was over, he would miraculously revert to the charming, at times sensitive man she'd discovered on that island.

Passion. Desire. A constant need to be close. Until now she'd never been able to comprehend how a woman could get so caught up in those kinds of emotions that she could act in ways that would normally make her retch. She understood better now. It was as if she were infected by him. Her blood, her heart, her mind.

When she'd confronted him yesterday, she'd held out hope that he would at least make a small effort and drop by her office today. He hadn't. And tomorrow...? Hell, he had to talk to her sometime. They worked together, for Pete's sake.

As Taryn sat with her aunt in her living room, with Vi nattering on about how gorgeous the new kittens were, she realized her aunt had asked a question. Realigning her thoughts, Taryn smiled over.

"Sorry. What was that?"

"I was asking if that man at your work had gotten any closer to letting you know whether your show will go