Blazing Love: A Hot, Romantic Suspense Series, Book 2 (The Carlisle Sisters) (3 page)

“I’m happy for you, Grey.  I’m really happy for you,” Blaze smiled.

“What about you and Tracy?  I thought you were into her,” Grey asked.

“I am.  I just haven’t had the time to develop a relationship with her.  Hopefully that’s about to change,” Blaze said.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I intend to see her while I’m here,” Blaze grinned.

Grey laughed.

“She’s not here.”

“What?  Where is she?”  Blaze asked perplexed.

“France.  Saint-Tropez to be more exact.  She was invited to show her paintings at the Art de Magnifigance exhibit.  She and Beth took off a few days ago,” Grey explained.

“You’re kidding me?  Well, good for her.  That’s great.  So I guess I’ll be going to France,” Blaze said causally.

“She’ll be happy to see you,” Grey said, not surprised at all by Blaze’s willingness to travel at a moment’s notice.

“We’ll see about that.  I’m not going to assume anything.  Especially considering that I haven’t exactly kept in touch,” Blaze grimaced.

“You didn’t even
call
her?”  Grey asked in astonishment.

“Only once.  I’ve been undercover and unable to contact her.  My assignment only just ended now; which was why I was able to come see you,” Blaze defended himself.

“You better hope she’s as understanding as I am,” Grey grinned.

“I can only hope,” Blaze said fervently.  “So, why the urgent call?  What’s happened now?”

“I received a strange call that has me worried,” Grey began.

“What kind of call?”  Blaze inquired, entering interrogation mode.

“A threatening one,” Grey returned.  “Threatening me.”

“Threatening you?  How?  What did they say?”  Blaze insisted.

“That my responsibility can no longer be shirked.  Trying to do so would be costly to those I loved,” Grey repeated the message verbatim.

“Was it a man or woman?”  Blaze asked.

“They tried to disguise their voice but I’m pretty sure it was a woman,” Grey said soberly.

“A woman?” Blaze confirmed, surprised.  “Well, then, what women can you think of that you’ve pissed off??

“None.”  Grey said.

“Come on, Grey.  Even I can think of a few,” Blaze remarked.

“No, seriously.  I mean, there have been flings that maybe didn’t go according to plan but nothing that should warrant threats,” Grey insisted.  “And there haven’t been a lot of women of late, anyway.  Even before Beth my only focus has been The Sea View.”

“OK.  So, if it isn’t a woman seeking revenge for a relationship-gone-bad then who could it be?”  Blaze asked.

“That’s for you to figure out.  This is your new assignment.  Interested?”  Grey asked.

“Of course.  You know that I wouldn’t turn you down.  What kind of friend would I be?”  Blaze grinned.  Blaze lifted his glass to toast Grey.  “To revealing the secret.”

Grey clicked his glass and drank.

“You think there’s a big secret in all of this?”  Grey asked.

“Of course!  When a woman makes a threat she always has ammunition to use to get her way,” Blaze mused.  “There’s a secret alright.  And the sooner we discover it, the sooner we can take the wind out of her sails.”

“What do we do first?”  Grey asked.

“We wait,” Blaze said calmly.

“Wait?”

“Yep.  We don’t have enough to go on to make a move,” Blaze said.  “She’ll call again; she has to.  She knows she didn’t give you enough information.  She just wanted to rattle your cage; which tells me she is a spiteful individual.”

“Well, she achieved her goal,” Grey muttered.

“How long ago did she call?”  Blaze inquired.

“Three days ago.”

“She’ll call soon.  My guess is that you will hear from her tomorrow,” Blaze said.

“So soon?”

“Yes.  She wants something from you and she can’t get it if you don’t have a clue about her situation,” Blaze said.  “She will call to get the ball rolling.”

“I guess I’ll just sit tight,” Grey grumbled.

“And I think I’ll go to bed.  My last assignment whipped me good,” Blaze mumbled through a yawn.

Blaze stood and moved to pick up his travel bag that he’d set by the door on the porch.  Grey hadn’t noticed it before now.  He smiled.

“And I supposed you want to stay here?”  Grey chuckled.

“Of course.  Where else?”  Blaze grinned.  “It sure beats that multi-million dollar resort down the road!  Goodnight, buddy.”

“Goodnight, Blaze and thank you,” Grey said sincerely.

Blaze only smiled and saluted his farewell.  Then he disappeared  into the cabin.  Grey swallowed the rest of his drink and looked up at the stars.  He wished Beth was with him and they could gaze at them together.  He missed her more than he would have guessed.

*****

Tracy and Beth were having a blast at the Art de Magnifigance.  Tracy’s paintings were receiving praise from the most influential and prominent collectors and dealers.  And they were selling at a rapid pace.  Tracy had sold all but two of them and was thrilled. 

She and Beth were standing in front of one of the last remaining paintings.

“I love this one so much.  The ocean is so blue and inviting.  And the rays of the sun are warm and enticing.  It makes me want to walk right into the water,” Beth said.

“I’ll take this one.”

The girls spun around and gasped.

“Blaze!”  Tracy exclaimed.

“In the flesh,” he grinned.

“What are you doing here?”  Tracy asked in surprise.  She couldn’t believe he was standing there.

“I’m here for the exhibit.  You didn’t think that I would miss one of your greatest achievements, did you?”  he smiled.

“Yes!  I…I mean…uh….I don’t know…I…”  Tracy trailed off.

Beth was amused by how flustered Tracy was.

“Of course Tracy expected you to be here, Blaze,” Beth intervened.  “We are both so happy that you are, aren’t we, Tracy?”

Tracy looked at Beth with chagrin.  Actually, she wasn’t sure if she was happy to see Blaze or not.  He had been MIA for over two months and she’d begun to think that he wasn’t interested after all.  Beth could see Tracy’s indecision and knew that Tracy and Blaze needed to talk.  She needed to make herself scarce.

“I’ll go make the arrangements for your purchase, Blaze,” Beth offered.

She ran off before Tracy could stop her.

“Beth!”  Tracy called but Beth disappeared among the throng.

Tracy heaved a deep sigh.  The last thing she wanted was to be alone with Blaze when she didn’t even know how she felt about him.

“You are a huge success.  Congratulations,” Blaze said sincerely.

“Thank you,” Tracy mumbled.

“I knew you were a wonderful artist,” he said.

“You’ve never seen my work,” Tracy countered.

“But I saw
you
.  Only precious works of art could stem from these hands,” he said softly as he grasped her hands.

She tried to extricate her hands from him but he held them securely.  Not too tightly but firmly enough that she couldn’t remove them.  She looked up at him in frustration.

“Release me.”

He shook his head negatively.

“Not until you let me explain my absence,” he returned.

“It doesn’t matter.  Actions speak louder than words,” she snapped.

“In this case it does not.  You know the type of work that I do.  I was undercover on assignment.  I had infiltrated a drug ring and I couldn’t call you without risking blowing my cover,” he explained.  “When my mission was completed I received a call from Grey which brought me to The Sea View.  I was thrilled to go because I thought that I would see you.  Do you have any idea how disappointed I was to find that you were gone?  Grey may have been the one who called me but it was always my intention to come back to The Sea View to see
you
.”

“So you traveled across the Atlantic just to see me?”  Tracy asked in wonder.

“Yes.  Of course.  I’d travel anywhere for you,” he confirmed.

Tracy saw the sparks glittering in his merry golden eyes and couldn’t help but melt.

“You sure know all the right things to say, Blaze Hartford,” she said.  “Is that something you learned in spy school?”

“No.  They’re only right because they’re true,” he grinned.  “Am I forgiven?”

She stared into his twinkling eyes.  The longer she gazed at him the harder it was to be mad at him.  Tracy didn’t hold grudges and she really didn’t want to in this situation.  She wanted to forgive him and start over.

“Yes.  You are forgiven.  I’m going to trust your words.  Please don’t make me regret doing so,” she said softly.

“You have my vow.  I will never lie to you, Tracy.  Always know that,” he said solemnly.

She smiled and nodded.

“There you are.  I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Tracy turned toward the sound of the familiar voice.

“Jen!  What are you doing here?”  Tracy gasped.

“Why, to support you, silly.  I decided that I had to be here so I hopped on the private plane with Blaze,” Jen said brightly.

Tracy turned confused eyes to Blaze.

“Grey asked me to come to The Sea View.  When I found out that you were in France I decided to come.  Jen had the same idea so she traveled with me,” Blaze explained.

“I see,” Tracy said.

“So do I,” Beth said as she joined the group.  She turned to Blaze.  “I’ve secured the painting for you.  They’re just waiting for you to make it official with your little, black credit card.”

Blaze smiled.

“Well, then I’ll be right back.  Perhaps we can have dinner after the showing,” he said.

Beth knew that his invitation was for Tracy only.  She had a handy reason on her tongue to excuse herself.  But she didn’t get a chance to use it.

“That would be marvelous,” Jen exclaimed.  “Tracy, I know you and Beth have discovered some fabulous restaurants since you’ve been here.  You can escort Blaze and me to one of them.”

Her wording was outrageous.  Jen spoke as though she and Blaze were a couple and it infuriated Beth.  She could only imagine the rage that Tracy was feeling.  Blaze said nothing and walked away.  Tracy turned to face Jen.

“Blaze and I will have dinner
alone
, thank you,” Tracy said firmly.

“Why would he want that?  He extended the invitation to include you and Beth.  I would think that you would be thankful.  He didn’t have to do that,” Jen said.

Tracy looked at Jen as if she had a screw loose.  Jen was acting as though
she
was Blaze’s girlfriend.  Had she lost her mind?

“He came to see me, Jen.  You were just a piece of luggage on the plane; nothing more.  Blaze and I will be dining alone tonight.  Accept it.  He’s not your personal belonging nor will he ever be,” Tracy said firmly.

“We’ll see about that,” Jen said.  “After all, we spent a delightful fourteen hours on the plane together; just the two of us.  A lot can happen in that amount of time.”

Blaze returned to the group.

“It looks like the event is breaking up.  Shall we go?” he asked.

“I have to say goodbye to Phillippe,” Tracy said.

“I’ll go with you,” he offered.

“Jen and I are going to sightsee for a while then have some supper.  We’ll see you two tomorrow,” Beth said.  Grasping her arm, she pulled a defiant Jen across the room.

Blaze looked down at Tracy and extended his elbow.

“Shall we?”  he smiled.

“Yes,” she said softly but confidently.

She laid her hand lightly on his arm and they went in search of Phillippe.

Chapter 3

“
H
ow dare you!”  Jen tore into Beth.  Jen had been quiet while they rode in the cab but as soon as they were inside the villa she exploded.  “Blaze was expecting
me
to accompany him.  Now he’s stuck with Tracy.  I’m going to call him right now.”

Jen took her cell phone from purse.  Beth snatched it from her hand.

“You will do no such thing.  And if you even attempt to ruin things for Tracy I will break this over your petty, empty little head,” Beth said, holding the cell phone up.  “What is wrong with you, Jen?  Why would you try to steal the man that your own sister is interested in?”

Jen tried to grab her phone back but Beth ran across the room with it.

“Give me my phone, Beth….now!”  Jen yelled.

“No!”  Beth said angrily, hoping she wasn’t actually going to have to deliver on her warning.  “How can you arrive here acting as though you and Blaze are an item?  He has no interest in you and you know it.”

“He invited me to travel with him.  He must have some interest,” Jen shouted.

“If, and that’s a big
if
, he invited you onto the plane he was only being polite and generous.  Can’t you see that?  Or have you lost all touch with reality?”  Beth retorted.

Jen turned her back on Beth to hide her red face.  Beth was right but she was not about to admit it.  She had invited herself onto Grey’s plane and had done everything she could to draw Blaze’s interest but he’d remained politely distant.  Eventually he’d even fallen asleep, leaving her as humiliated as when Grey had denied her advances.

But she wasn’t about to give up.  Her sisters seemed to be getting everything they wanted handed to them on silver platters.  Beth had Grey, who obviously had terrible taste in women if he preferred Beth over her, and now Tracy was getting global recognition as an artist.  It was time that Jen received what she wanted; and that was a man.  Any man, really.  And Blaze would do nicely.

“You don’t know what took place on that plane and neither does Tracy.  Only Blaze and I know and that’s all that matters,” Jen smiled sagely.

“I’d bet my last dollar that
nothing
happened. It’s all in your head, Jen,” Beth said in bewilderment.  “And for the life of me I can’t understand why you would act this way with Tracy.  She’s been so good to you.  From the time she left home and went to live with you in LA, she’s been nothing but kind and loving to you.  Why have you turned on her, Jen?”

“Spare me.  She left me and went to New York,” Jen said flatly.

“To pursue her dreams!  You can’t fault her for that.  Everyone deserves a chance to chase their destiny,” Beth reasoned.