“Leave these things be,” Jonah said, his tone serious. “And don’t go snooping around anymore in that stuff.”
“I will snoop around as much as I want. This property is one quarter mine, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“No one has forgotten that. But I’m warning you. Don’t go snooping. It’s none of your business anyway, and you might not like what you find.”
* * *
I lay in bed, unable to sleep. The clock ticked by. Midnight. One a.m. One thirty. I could get up, get a cup of tea from the kitchen, but Talon wasn’t home. He wouldn’t be sitting at the table with his glass of water.
Finally, as I was drifting off to sleep, my door creaked open. I sat up quickly.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s just me, blue eyes.”
My eyes adjusted to the dark, and I looked up. Talon stood a few feet away from my bed, looking mussed and fatigued.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“Grand Junction.”
“Why did you come back? Marjorie said you usually spend the night when you go to the city.”
“I wanted to see you.”
My heart jumped. “It’s the middle of the night, Talon.”
He raked his fingers through his gorgeous head of hair. “I know. I just…couldn’t wait.”
“I have work in the morning.”
“I know. I just…”
He looked so sad and forlorn that my heart went out to him. I patted my bed. “All right. Come on and sit down.”
He sat down and took my hand. He had never done that before. He stayed silent for several moments.
“So what is it?” I nudged him.
Again, he stayed silent. I squeezed his hand.
“I can’t do this,” he said.
As much as I needed to know what was on his mind, I knew better than to push Talon. We hadn’t known each other that long, but he would not respond well to pushing.
“All right,” I said. “Why don’t you lie down? You can stay here with me or go to your own room. Either way, you look like you could use some sleep.”
I lay back down, scooting over to make room for him in case he wanted to stay. I hoped he would stay. I couldn’t think of anything sweeter than sleeping in his arms.
“Could we have dinner tomorrow night?” he asked.
“Sure. You want to meet me after work?”
He shook his head. “Marj told me this morning that she’d be gone tomorrow evening.”
I nodded. “Yeah, she signed up for some kind of cooking class in Grand Junction. I’m so glad she’s finally pursuing her passion.”
“I want to have dinner here. Will you have dinner here with me?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Are you cooking?”
He smiled. “I wouldn’t subject you to that. I’ll have Felicia make something nice.”
I smiled. “That sounds great. Now if you’re not going to lie here with me, go to bed. You need to rest.”
He got up and left without saying another word.
* * *
I spent the next day at work on the computer, investigating. It wasn’t practicing law, but I was beginning to like the investigation portion of this job. I was learning a lot, and with the Internet and social media, I could track down almost anything.
Larry left at five and told me to go ahead and take off as well, so I did. I wanted to go home and shower and change before my dinner with Talon.
An hour later, I was combing out my wet hair and putting on a slinky sundress when a knock sounded on my door.
Talon was the only one home. “Yeah?” I said.
He opened the door. “Dinner is ready.” Roger panted happily at his feet.
“Okay. Can you wait a few minutes? I just need to dry my hair.”
“Your hair looks great.”
I laughed. “It’s wet, Talon. I just got out of the shower.”
“Are you kidding? It’s sexy as hell.”
Men certainly had interesting taste sometimes. “Okay. If you say so.” I smiled. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”
“We’re not eating in the kitchen.”
“In the formal dining room? Just the two of us?”
He shook his head. “We’re dining in my bedroom.”
My skin pricked. Obviously, he had more than dinner on his mind, and that was fine with me. He didn’t take my hand as he had last night. I simply followed him across the house to his suite.
“Oh!” A small table had been set up, complete with fine china and candlelight. “This is lovely. Did Felicia set this up for you?”
He shook his head. “No. I did it myself.”
“Wow.” I was stunned. “It’s really beautiful, Talon.”
He pulled out a chair. “Have a seat.”
I sat, and he poured me a glass of red wine.
“This is Ryan’s top-of-the-line Cabernet Sauvignon. This particular bottle has been aged ten years. I hope you like it.”
“Are you having any?”
“I will with dinner. I prefer a good strong whiskey as an aperitif. This is Peach Street, made in a bourbon style right here on the western slope.” He lifted his old-fashioned glass.
I took a sip of the wine. “Delicious. Berries on the nose, with some subtle black pepper and cinnamon.”
“Ryan taught you well.”
“I enjoyed working with him a lot. In fact, I miss it. Though I’m enjoying my new job as an attorney.”