She supposed she should’ve called to give him some warning that she was coming. She wasn’t sure exactly why she hadn’t. Maybe she was afraid he’d act as if he didn’t want to see her after all the gossip.

  “Sorry to bother you,” she said. “But James Deerborn—”

  His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Who?”

  She took a deep breath because her heart was hammering so hard she could hardly speak above it. “The yearbook guy. He’s been bugging me to finish up the pictures I was supposed to give him last week, so…I was hoping I could take that photograph we talked about the other day.” The day she’d brought Ashleigh to his house. The day he’d insisted she join the party on Saturday and everything between them had changed….

  Gabe studied her for several seconds but didn’t move back or invite her in. “What happened to your cheek?”

  “Oh.” She laughed, hoping he wouldn’t press. “I ran into the door in the middle of the night. It was dark,” she added quickly.

  He didn’t smile in return. “When?”

  “Sunday.”

  “After you left here.”

  She nodded.

  “Let me look at it.” He motioned for her to lean closer.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Hannah bent down so that they were at eye level. Lazarus tried to lick her face, but Gabe nudged him away and held her chin firmly as he examined her injury. Meanwhile, she could see the long sweep of his dark lashes, the soft lips that had grazed her skin in so many places….

  “It’s almost gone,” she said, pulling back before the longing could grow any worse.

  He seemed oblivious to the instant arousal flooding her. “You want to tell me again how you got it?”

  What did he mean? She just had! “It was stupid, really. I—”

  “Didn’t walk into a door,” he finished for her.

  She wasn’t sure how to respond. No one else had challenged her story. “Well…”

  “Well?” he repeated.

  She swallowed hard and knelt to pet Lazarus. “I need to take your picture, Gabe.”

  “Was it Russ?” he asked.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “It’s not going to happen again.”

  The line of his jaw hardened. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I have the situation under control.”

  “Do the boys know?”

  When she stood, Lazarus whined as though disappointed to lose her attention. “Of course not. No one knows. It wouldn’t matter anyway. I could announce it from the rooftops right now and no one would even notice. The only thing anyone seems to care about is the fact that we slept together last weekend.”

  At her reference to what had happened between them, his gaze swept over her, letting her know that the arousal she’d experienced wasn’t as one-sided as she’d thought. Still, he wasn’t willing to let the subject go. “Is that why he hit you? Because he found out about us?”

  It hadn’t taken even that much. The flowers had done it. But she didn’t want to spell out the details. “He got jealous, that’s all.”

  “I think he and I need to have a talk.”

  “It’s fine, Gabe. I filed a police report.”

  “Good. So you’re going to press charges?”

  “No. At this point, taking it that far would only succeed in making the boys and everyone else feel sorry for him. I can already hear what he’d say. I barely hit her. It only happened once. She threw Gabe in my face. I only wanted to document the incident in case I need to go back to court someday.”

  “You’re considering filing for full custody of the boys?”

  “I’ve tried that several times already, but it never works. Russ’s family always marches into court and makes it sound as though I’m uptight and worried about nothing. It’s frustrating for me, and all the anxiety and fighting only makes life more difficult for the boys.”

  “Having this on record should help.”

  “Russ took one impulsive swipe. Because he’s never done it before, the court might decide I provoked him. Bottom line, I doubt it’ll be enough. But I’m ready, just in case it happens again. One isolated incident he might be able to explain away; two, he wouldn’t.”

  Suddenly Lazarus barked and tore off in pursuit of some small furry animal. Hannah caught only a brief glimpse of it as it scampered into the trees, but she thought it might be a skunk.

  When Gabe whistled, the dog immediately halted, but he swung his head between his target and his master as though he was still tempted—until Gabe added a sharp command to the whistle. Then Lazarus reluctantly returned. “He could hurt you a lot worse next time,” Gabe said, looking back at her.

  “I honestly don’t think there’ll be a next time,” she said. “He seemed pretty upset by what he did.”

  Gabe rubbed his chin for several seconds, then finally rolled back. “Want to come in?”

  She nodded and stepped past him. Lazarus followed her inside and cocked his head curiously as she started retrieving the camera from her bag.

  “You’re not going to take a picture of me like this, are you?” Gabe asked.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I need to shower first.”

  “Oh, right.” To her, he looked good just the way he was. “You want me to wait here?”

  “Is it my choice?” he asked.

  Too late, Hannah realized how he’d interpreted her question. Their gazes met and held, and she knew things between them could never be the way they used to be. She knew too much. She knew the salty taste of his skin, the woodsy scent of his body, the gentle play of his hands when he touched her in places only Russ had touched her before. She even knew the intimate sounds he made when he abandoned all restraint and drew her as close to him as a woman could get….

  “Hannah?” he prompted when she didn’t respond right away.

  She knew she should still be fighting the good fight, for self-preservation if nothing else. She was going to be destroyed when he finally broke things off with her. But her boys didn’t seem to object to her seeing Gabe, and the entire town was already buzzing with the news. She had nothing else to cling to. Her attraction to him seemed bigger than she was, almost beyond her control. In any case, deep down, she knew it was no use fighting—she’d already lost the battle.

  Setting her camera aside, she knelt between Gabe’s legs, lifted his shirt and pressed her lips to his warm, flat stomach.

  Gently pushing Lazarus away, Gabe took hold of her upper arms and lifted her enough that he could reach her mouth. Then he kissed her as though she’d break if he pressed too hard, coaxing her lips open and her tongue into a rapid response until they were kissing as hungrily and breathlessly as last Sunday.

  “There you are,” he breathed, rubbing his thumb over her wet bottom lip. “Welcome back.”

  * * *

  GABE KNEW he should’ve told Hannah that his days in Dundee were numbered. He’d meant to. But their lovemaking had progressed too fast and become too powerful to think of anything else. They’d started in the shower before moving to the bed. The past hour had been a heady experience, almost better than before, because of the relief he felt at having her with him again, responding so readily, so eagerly.

  He supposed he could tell her about New York now that she was lying, completely spent, across him. He had to do it sometime. But Lazarus had finally quit whining at the door, and he didn’t want to break the contented silence.

  Unfortunately, the phone intruded.

  When he didn’t move, Hannah lifted her head to look at him. “Aren’t you going to answer it?”

  He gave her a challenging grin. “Why don’t you?”

  Her eyes darted to the phone, and he knew she had to be thinking of the big stir they’d already caused. Obviously, if she answered his phone, they’d be making a statement. “You don’t think I’ll do it,” she said.

  “I think you should. People lose their power if we don’t care about their opinion. If they say we’re sleeping together, we say, ‘Damn right, as often as possible.’ Where can they go after a response like that?”

  It was bold, she had to give him that. But Gabe had always been larger than life. “True,” she mused and returned his smile as she reached for the handset. “Hello?”

  Gabe could tell she’d tried to clear the sleep from her voice, but he thought the person on the other end would have to be deaf not to hear the huskiness in it.

  “No, it’s Hannah.” She made a face to indicate she didn’t like whoever it was, which piqued Gabe’s curiosity. “What did you say? Yes, he’s here. Just a minute.”

  “Deborah Wheeler wants to talk to you.” She handed him the phone, then licked his nipples to distract him when he tried to answer.

  Laughing, he hooked his arm around her neck and pulled her down on top of him so she couldn’t torture him anymore, reveling in the feel of her breasts as they pressed up against him. He should have gotten to know Hannah much sooner, he decided. “Hello?”

  Deborah didn’t answer for a moment.

  “Hello?” he said again. He was about to hang up when she finally spoke.

  “If you can pull yourself away from your new lover for a few seconds, I’ve got something to tell you.”

  “I’m not sure I want to hear it,” he said frankly.

  “I’m pretty sure you do.”

  He frowned as he ran his fingers through Hannah’s silky hair. “What?”

  She hesitated, but when she spoke again the tone of her voice had changed. “Never mind,” she said briskly and hung up.

  “What did she want?” Hannah asked in surprise.

  Gabe stared at the receiver for a few seconds, then slid over to return it to its base. “I don’t know. She never said.”

  “I guess she wasn’t too happy to find me here.”

  “Evidently.”

  “She’s a pretty devoted admirer.”

  He grimaced. “Are you kidding? She hates my guts.”

  “Only because she can’t have you.”

  He didn’t want to talk about Deborah. “You hungry?” he asked, rolling her onto her back and leaning over her to nuzzle her neck.

  “A little. What’ve you got?”

  “Champagne and sandwiches.”

  She grinned as he rubbed his nose against hers, butterfly fashion. “Nice combination.”

  “I’m thinking if I can get you drunk, I might be able to take advantage of you again.”

  “Yeah, I put up such a good fight last time,” she said sarcastically.

  He smoothed the hair off her face. “Maybe not, but you didn’t come here planning to sleep with me. And you didn’t call me all week,” he added sulkily.

  “I told you I wasn’t going to.”

  “You knew I wanted you to come back.”

  “I was still trying to save myself.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “Good thing you needed that picture, or I might have had to stoop to drastic measures to get you out here.”

  “Such as…”

  “Such as offering you another piece of furniture.”

  “I like your furniture.”

  “I know.”

  “I like you, too,” she said. “A lot.”

  He could tell by her expression that the words had slipped out, that she wasn’t sure whether she should’ve made the admission. “But as far as bribes go, your furniture will always work,” she added quickly.

  A fissure of guilt made Gabe uncomfortable enough that he started moving away from her, so he could get dressed. “I’ll give you your choice of it all before I leave for New York, okay?”

  “Leave for New York?” she echoed, leaning up on her elbows. He’d thought he might be uncomfortable around a woman, especially in such an intimate situation, having to maneuver the way he did. But he saw nothing in Hannah’s face that led him to believe his handicap bothered her.

  “I have to fly out on Saturday,” he said.

  She sat up, but he felt the sudden strain between them when she pulled the sheet up to cover herself. “What for?”

  “A job offer.”

  “Oh.” She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she absorbed this news, then, “Is it a good one?”

  “Most people would think so.”

  “What is it?”

  He felt reluctant to tell her. “ESPN wants me to host their NFL Sunday Countdown.”

  “What?” Her jaw dropped before she could recover and clamp her mouth closed. Then, “That’s huge, Gabe. How…how exciting for you.”

  The false cheer in her voice told him she was putting a lot of effort into acting pleased.

  “So will you be moving to New York for good?” she asked.

  Lazarus started whining again at the door.

  “Not for good,” he said. “Just for a year or so.”

  She slipped out of bed and began pulling on her clothes. “A year or so,” she echoed.

  “I’ll go make some sandwiches,” he said.

  “Actually, that’s okay. I’ve got to leave.”

  He scowled, cursing his conscience for making him speak up when he did. “What, do you have something against eating with me?”

  She kept her focus elsewhere, mostly on her clothes. “No, of course not. I just, I need to take your picture and get it back to Mr. Deerborn for the yearbook. And I have some appointments this afternoon.”

  “Russ pays you child support, doesn’t he?” he asked. He didn’t care if the question came out of nowhere; he had to know she’d be okay when he left.

  “Oh, yeah, of course,” she said. “He…he’s really good about it.”

  “Do you mind if I have a talk with him before I go?”

  Her delicate eyebrows drew together. “Please don’t. There’s no need. Aside from the incident on Sunday, we’ve been getting by on our own for years. I’m sure I’ll manage.”

  Finally dressed, he shifted into his chair, and she put her back to him. He suspected it was so that he couldn’t see her expression.

  “What about the team?” she asked as she pulled her lightweight sweater over her head.

  “Their new coach arrived yesterday and attended practice. His name is Buzz Smith. I think you’ll like him. He’s a great guy, has coached a lot of college ball.”

  “So the players know?”

  “Not yet. I told everyone Buzz was a consultant. I haven’t decided for sure that I’ll take the job.”

  She turned, but a brittle smile had replaced all the warmth and happiness that had shown in her face a few minutes earlier. “Of course you’ll take the job. I want you to take the job. How do you turn away an opportunity like that? It’s perfect for you.”

  “It’s not completely about the opportunity, Hannah. It’s more like—” he took a deep breath and shoved a hand through his hair “—I’m trying to figure out where I belong in the world now that…things have changed, you know?” He wished he could explain it better, but he wasn’t sure how to tell her that he’d lost part of himself when the accident injured his back and the rest when he realized he couldn’t overcome it. He certainly didn’t want to make her feel any worse about the accident. “I hope you understand.”

  She nodded. “Of course. I—I knew it’d come to this sooner or later. I guess…today…I just let myself believe—” she shrugged and gave a humorless laugh “—that it would happen later.”

  “Do you want me to put them off?” he asked.

  “No, never. I—I want whatever’s going to make you happy.”

  He believed that. Hannah was one of the few people he’d met who didn’t ask for anything. “Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night, after the game?”

  “If I can,” she said with a noncommittal air. “I don’t know what Russ has planned for the boys.”

  “Isn’t it his weekend?”

  “It is, but I haven’t heard from him since…” she finished with, “since last weekend,” but Gabe knew she’d been about to say, “since he hit me.”

  “I wish you’d let me talk to him,” he said because he knew he was going to do it anyway and would prefer to gain her permission. He couldn’t leave without putting Russ on notice that there’d be serious trouble if he ever hurt Hannah again.

  She opened the door to the bedroom, and Lazarus rushed inside, acting as though he hadn’t seen Gabe for several weeks. “You have enough to handle,” she said, giving Lazarus a preoccupied pat as she headed past him. “Your first game is tomorrow, you’re heading to New York after that. I’ve already dealt with Russ. Everything is under control.”

  He followed her into the living room, where she grabbed her bag and started outside.

  “What about the picture?”

  “Oh, right.”

  She paused long enough to remove her camera. He whistled for Lazarus to calm down and sit still, and she snapped a few shots.

  Gabe wasn’t certain what he looked like. He knew his hair had to be rumpled after their lovemaking, but he didn’t really care. Hannah had distanced herself from him again, thrown up that protective shield she’d tried to use on Sunday. But this time he couldn’t blame her.

  “I’ll call you later,” he said.

  She nodded and managed a brief smile as she put away her camera and hurried out.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  HANNAH PULLED OFF the road as soon as she was out of sight of Gabe’s cabin. She was shaking too badly to continue driving. God, she was a fool. First she let herself get involved with Russ, a man she didn’t love who would never go away. Because of her boys, she couldn’t even allow herself to hope for his disappearance from her life. Then she’d let herself fall in love with a man who was bound from the beginning to leave her.

  What was her problem? Was she one of those women who purposefully sabotaged her own happiness?

  She glanced at her camera bag, remembered seeing Gabe through her lens, with his hair mussed from her hands and his smile still making her heart thump, and groaned. She’d never be able to look at that picture without thinking of today.