A Flower for Angela (22 page)

"It contrasts with your hair and your skin." He took the robe and held it up to her.

"It's so…” She hesitated as she eyed the garment.

"Sexy." He said it for her. "I bought it for our trip to Sedona." He searched her face for her reaction.

She tried to smile but her lips trembled. "I don't know what to say.”

"You don't like it?"

"It's lovely." She searched his face for a clue to his feelings. Men gave their
lovers
gifts like this. Was that all she was to him?

"What's wrong
mi
amor
? You look so sad." He reached up to trace the curve of her cheek with his finger.

She pressed her face against his hand. She wanted to ask, “Do you love me?" but instead smiled and said, "I'm sorry about Sedona."

"
Querida
. It's done. We'll go some other time."

Her smile faded before she spoke. "The reasons we didn't go are still there."

He cast her a puzzled glance. "What are you saying?"

"We have this weekend." She lowered her lashes, unable to meet his gaze. Rubbing her arms to ward off the chill inside her, she continued, "After Sunday, we'll each go our own way until this is over."

"You're wrong." He placed his hands on her shoulders. Extending his thumbs, he lifted her chin. "Look at me."

Focusing on his eyes, Angela felt his power and confidence. With tremendous effort, she forced herself to remember her vow. “We can't—”

"Shhh." He planted a kiss on her lips to shush her.

Heat surged through her veins, making her forget everything but him.

"Don't you see I need you? I'm not letting you go."

Frightened of his ability to dissuade her, Angela pulled away from his grasp.

"Don't make it more difficult for me." She turned and cast him a pleading look.

"I thought you loved me." He stood, legs apart, with a determined expression on his face.

"Ricardo." Blood drained from her face. She should deny it. Her throat dry, she tried to speak, but couldn't.

"Are you saying now that you don't?"

"No, no." Unable to bear lying to him, she threw herself into his arms. "I do love you."

The security of his embrace surrounded her. She needed him. Would he ever speak the words of love she longed to hear in return?

Suddenly he broke away and began to pace. "You're right. This isn't going to work. We can’t go on like this."

Hearing Ricardo’s agreement made her shiver with apprehension. It wasn't going to be easy to let him go.

"I'm glad you understand." She wasn't, really, but she should be. "After what happened to me in Yuma, I couldn't bear to go through that again."

He paused at the sliding glass door, his form framed by the desert scenery in the distance. The light that poured in around him from outside was so bright she couldn't see his face. It was just as well. She didn't want to see his response to what she was going to tell him about that painful period in her life.

"What exactly did happen there? All I know is that you were fired. Didn't they understand your whole-language program?"

"I wasn't involved in the program until I came here. Losing my job had nothing to do with my teaching." Quickly she told him what had happened.

"Didn't you go to the board and protest? You had a good case to get that b—I mean, get him fired instead of you."

"Legally, I had a case, but there was no way I was going to stay there and be the brunt of gossip. The other teachers didn't like me—which is understandable, now that I know the reason for it."

She had just wanted to get as far away from those miserable memories as possible.

"Do you want that to happen again? You love your job! You can't let this chase you away. We've got to fight it."

"No. I'm not going to be seen with you and risk both our careers. Do you know what it's like to have people talk about you behind your back? I can't face it again."

"Your love for me isn't strong enough to fight for?"

"It's strong enough that I’ll sacrifice it so that you aren't hurt," she insisted.

"I've got news for you; I intend to fight for our relationship."

Relationship
. Not love?

"You've ruled out the professors,” Ricardo went on. "I've ruled out an attack on me."

"What else could it be?" She shook her head as she searched her mind for clues. "I've never had any problems before this at school."

"The person who wrote the letter to the board is the same one who wrote letters to me discrediting you as a teacher. The type print matches."

Her mouth opened in disbelief. A nightmare… this was some kind of terrible dream. Who would want to hurt her?

"What did your letters say?" she asked after a moment.

"That you were incompetent, a lousy teacher who had no control over her classroom."

"You know I'm not."

"Of course not." He resumed his pacing. "That's why they want to get rid of you. Your success must be a threat to them."

She pounded her fists against the wall as Lupe and Cathy came to mind. The two teachers might be jealous, but surely they weren't that malicious. "It doesn't make sense to attack a teacher who is doing well."

"Yes it does." He stopped pacing and stood, arms crossed in anger. "Maria and Ken found out that Lupe and Cathy are just below you on the R.I.F. list. If you're out of the way, their names are closer to the top."

"That's absurd! One teacher off the list isn't going to make any difference."

"It could, if you're on the drawing line."

"You don't suppose they've done this to others?"

"The letters I received pertained only to you. But who's to say they haven't found ways to attack other teachers?"

How politically naive she had been all these years. Ricardo knew what he was talking about, but to destroy a good teacher's reputation was criminal. Livid, she began to pace.

"We must stop them. We can't let them destroy all the work Maria and I have done."

"We'll stop them,” he promised. "We're going to plan a strategy this weekend—together."

"That's why you came to the conference?" She searched his face for more.

"
¡Madre
de
dios!
I couldn't let anything happen to you."

Angela pressed her forehead against his chest. Glad that he would fight by her side, she still ached with disappointment. She'd hoped his presence here was out of love for her, not just sympathy.

"I didn't want to tell you like this,” he murmured, his breath fanning strands of loose hair. "I wanted to tell you later, on Sunday—after we'd had a chance to—”

"It's good to know now,” she interrupted. At least she would not make a bigger fool of herself by issuing more words of love. They would only pressure him to commit, and he obviously didn't want to.

"But, come." He lifted her chin with the tip of his finger and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Let's put this mess aside and order our dinner. We have time first for pleasure."

She lowered her lashes, not wanting him to see how his words hurt. What would they ever have together? Physical delight and companionship were wonderful, but Angela wanted more in a relationship. She wanted commitment, love, and a lifetime together.

CHAPTER 14

"DINNER WILL BE HERE in a few minutes." Ricardo turned, but his smile disappeared after he noticed her wounded look. "
Querida
, what's wrong?"

Cursing her inability to hide her feelings, she backed away from him and tried to maintain a cool detachment. "I think we should return to Phoenix."

"You're really that shaken by this? I expected the anger, but not the hurt."

How could she tell him that her anger masked her disillusionment over a letdown caused by
him
, not by Lupe and Cathy's attack on her.

"Tell me you're going to help me fight." He lifted her face to his. His glance dared her to be strong.

Fortified by his courage and spirit, despite her underlying disappointment, she straightened.

"They won't do this to us. We'll stop them, Ricardo."

"I promise you, sweetheart." He kissed her with fervor.

Angela returned his kiss with passion. Desperation fired her hunger for more of Ricardo, and she demanded every ounce of his passion in return. Rough hands held her with eager possession and she reveled in the power of his caress. An insistent knocking on the door brought them both thudding back to earth with a crash.
Dinner
. Angela pushed away from Ricardo.

Swearing under his breath, he went to the sitting room of the suite to answer the door.

Angela watched him leave and took deep breaths to clear her head. One kiss, and she forgot everything.

Control yourself,
she silently chided as she marched into the bathroom and rinsed her face in cool water. One look in the mirror at the desire in her eyes and she shook her head.
Why not enjoy the weekend
? she decided. She loved him.

Tantalizing odors drifted into the room, accompanied by the clink of cutlery and crystal. Hunger pangs tugged at her stomach, and she realized how long it had been since she had eaten last.
One pleasure at a time
, she told herself.

While Ricardo tipped the waiter, Angela tugged a brush through her hair and applied a light coat of makeup. When she emerged moments later, Ricardo rewarded her efforts with an admiring glance before he popped the cork of the champagne bottle.

Angela took one of the cool crystal flutes and brought it to her lips, maintaining eye contact with him. Hiding the love she longed to show, she smiled seductively. "To our battle,” she toasted.

"To our plan," he said, raising his glass to hers.

She sipped the tangy bubbles and lifted her goblet again. "To the weekend." Her tone held promise.

"To you." His tone held something she couldn’t quite read.

ON THE AFTERNOON of the board meeting, Ricardo waited in front of the school, cursing his bad luck. Of all the times for the Copperville miners to stage another demonstration against the ongoing strike. Fortunately, he’d been able to deal with his part of his plan for Angela before leaving on assignment. But Angela didn't know that. Furthermore, he had no clue how her role in the plot had gone. She must be frantic with worry that he hadn’t shown up.

How many days had it been since he'd seen her? Their weekend in Tucson seemed months ago. Several teachers entered and left the building before his hungry eyes focused on the one he most wanted to see.

Angela. "
¡Madre
mio!
She sent his blood pressure soaring. She walked toward him with that long-legged stride he loved so well. The full skirt of her dusty rose dress swirled around those beautiful legs with each step.

He slid out of the car, wanting to gather her into his arms and kiss her senseless.

"You made it, after all," she called and quickened her pace when she saw him lounging against the Ferrari.

"You bet." He smiled with assurance, unwilling to tell her he had moved heaven and hell to get here. "I'll take you to dinner while you update me on what happened."

"Did everything go well with you?"

"It's taken care of." He moved toward her, conscious of the scent of her perfume. His arms automatically stretched out for her, his need to touch much stronger than any concern for propriety.

"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" An irritated voice sounded behind Angela. Ricardo looked over her shoulder to see Maria.

"Maria and I were going out to eat before the board meeting." A flash of apology, quickly hidden, alerted him to her regret. "We didn't know if you'd be back in time."

"I was afraid I wouldn't make it." In spite of Maria's presence, he felt relieved that he had gotten here. Angela needed him now, and her friend would be added support.

"I'll take both of you to dinner then. Two beautiful women—I’ll be the envy of the crowd."

"Good. Are you going to tell me what's happening?" Maria pressed.

When Angela cast Ricardo a questioning glance, he nodded his assent. "Sure thing.” He chuckled. "The master plot is about to be revealed."

He squeezed Angela and Maria into his car. The tight fit didn't bother him and he suspected Angela didn't mind, either. She sat on the console and each time he shifted gears, he enjoyed the silky feel of her legs. With every turn of the steering wheel, his elbow pressed into the soft curves at his side. During the trip to the restaurant they exchanged glances of private yearning. He longed to kiss her.

Due to the early hour, the popular Spaghetti Company wasn't yet crowded. Ricardo escorted the two teachers into the restaurant and secured a private table for the three of them. The aroma of garlic, herbs and spices set his mouth to watering. He’d skipped lunch.