Wrangling the Redhead - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,47
elementary-school set. He’d better stake his claim fast.
As promised, he found her out by the pool, wearing a two-piece bathing suit that almost had his tongue falling out. It took everything in him not to grab a towel—or better yet a blanket, if only one had been handy—and toss it over her.
Instead, he drew a lounge chair up beside her. “Hey, good-looking, I have it on excellent authority that I have competition in this crowd.”
She slid her sunglasses down her nose and stared at him over the top. “Oh?”
“Jake is smitten. He says if I blow it, he’s waiting in the wings.”
“Jake, huh?” She smiled. “He’s a very smart boy. He takes after his daddy in that regard.”
Wade stiffened. “You and Cole had a thing?”
She frowned at the question. “Don’t be ridiculous. He never had eyes for anyone except Cassie.”
“Then why the hell did he abandon her and their son?” he blurted before he could stop himself.
Sudden understanding dawned on her face. “Oh, I get it. You’re comparing their situation to yours. It wasn’t like that,” she insisted. “Cole never knew Cassie was pregnant. It’s a complicated story, but their parents managed to keep them apart. When Cassie came back to town and Cole found out about Jake, he was furious. He insisted that Cassie marry him so he could be a real father to Jake. It was a pretty tense standoff for a while, but they were meant for each other and everything’s perfect now.”
She painted such a rosy picture, Wade thought, unable to squelch the bitterness that was always close to the surface when anything reminded him of his own past.
“I’m sorry,” Lauren said quietly. “I know hearing about Cole and Cassie and Jake must bring up a lot of bad memories.”
“Yeah, you could say that.” He met her gaze. “Would you mind if we got out of here?”
“Now?” she asked, regarding him with surprise. “We haven’t even eaten.”
“Suddenly I’m not all that hungry,” he said. “If you want to stick around, I’m sure you could hitch a ride back with Karen and Grady.”
“No,” she said at once, getting to her feet. “If you’re leaving, so am I. I’ll explain to Cassie.” She winked. “I’m sure I can make her understand how anxious we are to be alone.”
Not entirely sure whether she was serious, Wade regarded her with alarm, but Lauren reached up and stroked his cheek.
“I’ll tell her I have a headache,” she reassured him.
“Thanks.”
Her gaze captured his and held. “But I’m pretty sure I’ll be miraculously cured by the time we get home if you want to make it up to me for tearing me away from my friends.”
Despite his sour mood, Wade chuckled. “I definitely think we can work something out.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Get that truck started,” she said.
She said it with an eagerness that made his heart flip over. Somehow in the last couple of months, he’d gotten lucky. Experience had taught him that luck seldom lasted, but he was going to ride this streak for as long as he possibly could.
Chapter Ten
The barbecue at Cole’s had been a bad idea. Lauren could see that now. It had just reminded Wade of everything he was bitter about in his own life. Even though the circumstances were entirely different, she could see why hearing about Cole and Jake had just reconfirmed for him that wealthy, powerful men took whatever they wanted and to hell with everyone else.
Though it bothered her that Wade hadn’t been willing to stay and get to know Cole, even after she had explained that he wasn’t to blame for abandoning Cassie, she had been more than willing to go home and spend the afternoon in his arms.
Still, it had been a wake-up call, reminding her that Wade wasn’t going to take the news of her own economic situation in stride the way she’d hoped he might. Even though it was increasingly evident how he felt about her, she didn’t doubt for a second that could change in a heartbeat if he discovered she’d been deliberately deceiving him all this time. And that didn’t even take into account the whole superstar thing.
“‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive,”’ she muttered as she brushed down Midnight. The horse whinnied in apparent agreement.
In the last week, he’d been more and more docile, accepting her touch, allowing her to groom him without the slightest hint of trepidation. These sessions were less about the grooming itself and