“Do you think they followed me to Chicago?”
“It’s a strong possibility.”
“I think you should set a trap. Waiting is nerve-racking,” Regan offered.
“Liam will have some information soon,” Alec promised. “Be patient.”
“I am being patient,” Cordie protested.
Alec grinned. “I was talking to my wife.”
Cordie left them to their discussion and went into her bedroom to fetch a couple of magazines she was going to offer Walker. When she returned to the living room, her friends were wrapped in each other’s arms and kissing passionately. Being married for more than a year certainly hadn’t dampened their enthusiasm; they didn’t even notice her walk out the door. There was a different security guard standing in front of the elevator, but he was wearing the same suspicious frown. She nodded to him and continued on to Walker’s suite. The guard rushed ahead to open the door for her.
Walker was alone, sitting on the sofa with his broken leg in its stiff white cast propped up on a round ottoman. He was wearing clean clothes, gray sweats and white shirt, and had his laptop out.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked.
He looked up and smiled. “Come sit with me. You can be my good-luck charm when Aiden and Spencer come back for round two.”
Cordie was happy to see there were signs of the old Walker, the one she liked, returning. He moved a stack of papers from the sofa so she could sit.
“How’s the arm?” he asked, nodding at the sling holding her left arm at a right angle in front of her.
“Fine.”
“Tell the truth, Kane.”
She smiled. Walker always called Sophie and her by their last names. “It hurts,” she said. “I can’t straighten it and I feel so . . . useless. How’s your leg?”
“It hurts off and on,” he admitted. “I don’t like taking pain pills, though. I don’t like the way they make me feel.”
“I don’t either.”
“Beer helps,” he said, grinning. “Want one?”
She laughed. “No, thanks.”
Walker turned back to his laptop. “I just watched a press conference with Congressman Mitchell Ray Chambers. A reporter e-mailed it to me. The guy’s a real blowhard. Want to watch it?”
“Okay.”
“I bought some land from him and his cousin. Struck a good deal, too,” he bragged. “But Aiden is fighting me on it.”
Cordie didn’t usually take an instant dislike to anyone, but the congressman turned out to be an exception. As soon as he smiled into the camera and started talking, she was disgusted. He went on and on about how he had negotiated the deal of the century with Madison and how he had been working on it for more than a year. He stressed that Mayor Green had tried to ruin the sale of Rock Point and then blame him. He wanted his constituents to know he hadn’t allowed that to happen, and he was now thrilled to announce at long last the Hamilton Hotel and Resort was going to be built on Rock Point. It was all thanks to him.
As soon as the conference ended, Cordie asked, “Is any of what he said true?”
“Some of it,” Walker answered. “The congressman did come to me and we worked out a figure to buy the land. I thought it was too good to pass up. It was half the amount Aiden and Spencer had agreed to pay. Half,” he stressed.
“Why do you suppose that is? Why would he take so much less?”
“He’s up for reelection, and Mayor Green is challenging him in the primary. Her poll numbers are sky-high, and his are in the basement. He’ll do anything to get reelected.”
“You said the cousin owns the land with the congressman. He went along with taking less money?”
“Yes, he did,” Walker said. “Maybe Chambers is giving him his half to make up the difference. I don’t know.”
“What does Spencer think about all this?”
“When he talks about the town adjacent to Rock Point, I can tell he wants the hotel. He said the town’s drying up because there’s no work, and a new hotel and resort would change lives, but he’s with Aiden and doesn’t want to do business with Chambers. Aiden damn well better get behind this.”
Walker was digging in and ready for a fight. Cordie wasn’t about to get in the middle, but she couldn’t help pointing out the obvious. “I can understand why Aiden and Spencer might be cautious.”
“You’re taking their side?”
“That question is something one of my high school students would ask. No, I’m not taking sides. I’m merely pointing out that you have never, ever shown any interest in the hotel business. Isn’t that true?”
“I’m an equal partner.”
“Who always abstains when there’s a vote.” She nudged him in his side. “Admit it. Until now you’ve not been that interested, have you?”
“No, I haven’t,” he admitted with a sigh of resignation. He leaned back against the cushions, closed his laptop, and dropped it on the seat next to him. “I’ve decided I want to be involved in the family business. They’re not going to let me.”
“You’re wrong,” she said. “I know they could use the help.” When he appeared to be about to argue, she rushed on, “And everyone knows you’re a born negotiator.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re the charmer in the family, Walker,” she said. “But do you really want to be a permanent part of the business, or are you doing this until you can go back to racing?”
“I’m through with racing. It’s time for me to retire.”
He sounded as though he meant what he said. He’d been racing cars for so long she didn’t think he’d ever stop, yet she hoped his declaration was sincere. At his core, Walker was a good man. He just needed to slow down long enough to see it . . . and to let others see it.
Cordie spent the rest of the day making calls to contractors in Boston, and by the time the nurse helped her shower and put on her blue silk nightgown, she was ready to curl up in front of a television and zone out. Aiden came in around eleven. He locked the door and, without saying a word to her, went into his bedroom. He was probably sick of having her around, she decided. Did he think he was stuck with her? She thought about asking him that very question, then decided he wouldn’t tell her the truth. He was a gentleman. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t kick her out.
What was the matter with her tonight? She was feeling restless and out of sorts and having ridiculous thoughts. She knew what was wrong, but it took her a good five minutes to circle around to the truth. She wanted him. She hated being this close to him and being ignored. Cordie was desperate to get out of town. She hated feeling vulnerable and knew she should protect herself. The problem was she didn’t know how.
A detective show was playing on television. She hadn’t been paying enough attention to be interested and was reaching for the remote to turn it off when Aiden walked in. His hair was wet. He was bare chested and wore a pair of old sweats. He looked good enough to eat. She self-consciously pulled her hair forward, realized what she was doing, and stopped. If a few bruises repulsed him, it was his problem, not hers.
His expression wasn’t giving anything away. She didn’t have the faintest idea what he was thinking. No wonder he never lost at poker.
“Did you want something?” Why she’d whispered the question was beyond her.