I Knew You Were Trouble: A Texas Kings Novel (24 page)

“How’s the job going? You’re still loving it?”

“Yeah,” she said, not needing to lie or fudge the truth when it came to work. “I’m learning so much and they’ve offered me a full-time position as soon as I can start.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re the only person in the world who doesn’t realize how amazing you are,” Sam said.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that he sounded just like someone else she knew, but she didn’t. That last night flashed through her mind, between the sheets with Nate, lying in his arms, listening to him tell her things that had only made her want him more.

“I’m your sister, Sam,” she said instead. “You have to say things like that to me.”

They both laughed, even though she knew he meant what he’d said. Sam didn’t bother saying things for no reason, even when it was her.

“I texted you my new address the other day. Don’t be a stranger if you want to come by.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Sam grunted. “Still wish you were here.”

“Oh yeah, just what you need, your baby sister being the spare wheel and ruining your little honeymoon period with your girlfriend.” She laughed, lowering her voice as someone entered the gallery. “Kelly seems really nice, so I’d rather not be responsible for screwing it up. Anyway, I have to go; I have a client. Talk soon.”

Sam said good-bye and she flicked her phone to silent before slipping it into her pocket. She took a deep breath, reminded herself that she was in charge for the afternoon, that she was a capable, confident art consultant, and fixed a smile.

“May I help you, sir?” she asked, crossing the tiled floor.

“I’m interested in your upcoming auction,” the man said, returning her smile. She noticed his Louis Vuitton wallet and the Rolex glinting from his wrist. If there was one thing she’d learned fast it was identifying potential new clients, and she intended to make sure she developed a list of loyal clients that one day would make her an asset to the most prestigious galleries in the country.

“Is there a specific piece that caught your eye, or would you like me to talk you through the catalogue?” she asked.

“How about we start by you telling me which pieces I should be making sure I don’t miss out on,” he said with a chuckle.

She smiled and touched her hand to his forearm for the barest second, careful to make him feel important without sending mixed messages. “It would be my pleasure. How about you start by telling me about the pieces you already own, and I’ll make sure you continue to build your collection in the most profitable fashion.”

“I’m in this for the long term, but I like traditional pieces. Brushstrokes of scenes that suit my library, nothing too modern.”

“Some pieces we buy to appreciate every day until we need to sell them; others we buy simply to store in a safe place in the knowledge that one day we’ll make a small fortune on them,” she said.

“How about we consider both then?” he asked, chuckling. “Just don’t dupe this old man into buying a lemon, okay?”

Faith got a kick out of knowing more about art than most people she met, and she’d fast learned that she loved nothing better than making a sale, either. Maybe it was Nate’s business acumen rubbing off on her, or maybe it was just the fact that she was enjoying working in the gallery. Either way, she was happy doing what she was doing, being part of the art world, and she couldn’t wait for the day that she worked with some of the best collections and pieces in the world. She was reaching for the sky now, and nothing was going to stop her, not even her broken heart.

*   *   *

Nate finally pulled the phone from his ear and took a moment to catch his breath. He was exhausted. What he wanted to do was get back to the ranch and just roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty. Do the kind of work that took his mind off everything and reminded him of who he was and what he’d come from. Instead he’d been working at a frantic pace for the past three weeks, and if he didn’t slow down he was going to drop.

He turned to check he’d locked his car and headed inside to the hospital. He’d just gotten off a plane from California, a trip long overdue to personally check on a number of their real estate investments there and secure a new property, as well as do a surprise visit to their property managers. Nate liked to turn up unannounced to gauge just how well things were running and whether he was being bullshitted just because he lived in a different state. There was no pulling the wool over his eyes, not now and not ever.

Nate stopped at a coffee machine and made himself one in a cheap polystyrene cup. He could have gotten a decent coffee if he’d wanted to wait, but he just needed a quick shot of caffeine and he was here to see his granddad, not sit around sipping lattes.

Nate went to down it, burned his mouth, and cursed.
Damn coffee
. Everything pissed him off these days, and a stupid fucking coffee that scalded his mouth was one of those things, even if he should have known better.

Nate continued to walk, knew the way so well he could have made it with his eyes closed. He paused as he always did outside his granddad’s door, said a prayer like he only ever did when he was about to see the man he knew was slipping away from him, then entered.

And saw he was sleeping. Nate checked he was covered, made sure he looked comfortable, then sat in the chair beside the bed. He sipped slowly at the rest of the coffee even though the roof of his mouth was scalded, settled back until he finished it, and reached for one of the spare blankets, tucking it around himself. Seeing his granddad sleep was only reminding him how tired he was himself—it was about time he just shut his eyes for a bit and turned his brain off.

Nate did exactly that, letting himself relax for once. Until he thought about Faith. His jaw hardened and he went back to thinking about the ranch, to the oil they’d found.
This
was why he’d turned into even more of a workaholic than usual. Trying to keep his goddamn mind off the woman who’d gotten under his skin.

*   *   *

“I was starting to think you were never going to wake up.”

Nate blinked and rubbed at his eyes, realizing where he was and why his neck hurt like hell. His back was stiff and even stretching didn’t give him any relief.

“How long have I been out?” he asked.

“It’s light outside, if that’s what you mean,” his granddad said with a chuckle.

“Oh hell,” Nate muttered, glancing at his watch and seeing that it was almost 7:00 am. He’d slept the night. “I came by to check in on you and then I was supposed to meet up with Chase.”

“He’ll think you had a good night out with a beautiful woman. I doubt he’s reported you missing yet.”

Nate grimaced. “Not likely.”

“The woman or the missing persons report?”

“The woman.”

“We never forget the first one,” his granddad said, leaning back deeper into his pillows. Nate jumped up to help him adjust his position, pouring him a fresh glass of water and holding the straw to his lips so he could sip. “There’s something about enjoying every woman that so much as looks in your direction, then finding the one.”

Nate laughed. “First of all, she’s not the one. If she was I wouldn’t be pissed off at the world; I’d be with her.” He grinned at his granddad. “And secondly, tell me who she was, this first one who got to you?”

“Your grandma, you fool.” He started to cough and Nate held the water for him again, ready to call for help if they needed it.

“Of course it was Grandma. Who the hell else could have tamed you? Or put up with you for that matter.”

He reached for his granddad’s hand and held it until his breathing was less raspy and the coughing had passed.

“She made me work for it, but damn, was she worth it.”

They sat in silence, Nate smiling as he thought about his grandparents. When his grandma had died, they’d all been hit hard. She’d been the true matriarch of the family, the glue that held everything together and made everything good with the world. She’d been elegant yet at the same time able to sit down with the ranch hands and throw back a glass of whiskey with the best of them; and she’d been the one to tuck the boys into bed after their dad had left and make them feel as loved as they had felt when their mom had been alive and holding them in her arms.

Nate had known too much loss in his lifetime, of those closest to him, and it was only about to get worse.

“Don’t be a fool if she’s the one, son. But if she isn’t, then forget her. Simple as that.”

Nate only wished it
was
that simple, because one part of him told him not to stop until he had her back in his arms and the other told him that everything had turned out for the best. Nothing had changed, nothing that could make things work between them long-term, so it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

“Now tell me about that oil.”

Now that was something he was happy to talk about. “It’s better than we ever thought. I just wish you could be there to see that black gold spewing from the ground.”

Nate looked up when a nurse entered, let her go about her business and check the charts and dispense medication. He nodded when he was offered a spare plate of breakfast and coffee, offering his thanks, then turned back to his granddad.

“There’s something about oil that makes my pulse race,” he admitted, sitting back and grinning at the old man smiling straight back at him.

“It’s because you love the chase as much as I do, Nate. Being the one to make something big happen always gave me a kick.”

The chase
. It was the one thing Nate wasn’t used to doing when it came to women, beyond a point, and it was what made him uneasy about what had happened with Faith. Maybe he’d given up too easily. Maybe he needed to chase her, kick himself up the ass and just do it, to hell with being shit scared about having a future with her.

Or maybe he just needed to screw everything wearing a skirt to help himself forget.

Chapter 15

NATE was miserable. So fucking miserable that the only thing he could think to do was drown himself in alcohol. He went to Joe’s, something he wouldn’t have done if Faith’s asshole ex was still working here. It made one corner of his mouth turn up into a smile thinking how quick her ex had left town, something his investigator had advised Nate after a couple weeks of not being able to find the guy locally, but then it only reminded him of Faith again and he was back to scowling. His theory of fucking everything with a pulse that was wearing a skirt wasn’t even remotely appealing right now—what he wanted was to get good and drunk, then head to his apartment to sleep for at least ten hours straight. He was so jet-lagged he was ready to be comatose. He’d promised himself after his last trip that he was going to slow down, but it was easier to just keep going, stay so busy that he didn’t have time to think about how angry he was with the world.

“Turn that frown upside down, gorgeous.”

The overly sexy drawl made him look up and into a pair of heavy black lashes. Nate glanced down her body, liking her equally oversize breasts. Why the hell was he pretending to be a monk just because he couldn’t have Faith?

“Hey.” He pushed out his chair a bit, rocked back on the rear legs, then quit when he realized how unsteady he was. He needed to either slow down on the whiskey or switch back to beer.

“What’s your name?” she asked, dropping into the chair across from him and waving to someone else. He looked over his shoulder, saw another woman hurrying across to his table. He’d scowled so much all night that he’d as good as had a
Fuck off
sign on his chair, but these two weren’t so easily put off.

“Nate,” he finally said. He should have asked them theirs, but he didn’t really give a damn.

“I’m Sally and this is Essie,” she announced, leaning in closer to him, her perfume surrounding him. “You having a good time?”

Do I look like I’m having a good time?
He might be drunk, but he wasn’t a complete asshole, so he just smiled. “Yeah, sure.”

The woman she’d introduced as Essie reached for his hand, stroking hot-pink nails across his palm when she turned it over. “Feel like getting out of here and having double the fun?”

Nate’s head snapped back. They might be kinda trashy in a faked-tan, too-much-tits-on-display way, but they weren’t exactly hard on the eye. Both blond, Essie was tall and leggy, whereas her friend had a ton of curves. He retrieved his hand, grabbed his whiskey glass, and knocked the rest of it back.

“You wanna drink first or get out of here now?”

They looked at each other and giggled. “Let’s go, Mr. King.”

He grimaced. So they’d known exactly who he was. He’d had too much to drink, but he knew he hadn’t told them his last name. He never did announce it unless it was business or a different kind of company.

“Nate?” Sally purred, sidling up against him. “What’s wrong?”

Nate shook his head. “Nothing, sweetheart. Let’s go.”

He slid an arm around each girl, wondering why the hell he’d hadn’t just picked up a beautiful woman earlier.

“You gonna take us back to your ranch, sugar?” one of the women asked.

He dropped a kiss into blond hair that smelled like cigarettes and cheap perfume. He clamped his jaw, ground his teeth at the memory of Faith’s sweet, fresh-smelling shampoo.

“How about we go to yours?” he replied, not wanting to ruin the moment by thinking about what he didn’t have. And there was no way in hell these two or any other damn woman were going to be coming back to his ranch with him.

The woman pouted, but he wasn’t going to change his mind. He had rules for a reason, and look where breaking them had gotten him.

“I’m thinking a hotel room and champagne,” he said, laughing when his ass got grabbed. He slid his own hand down and caressed a perky butt.

“Nate?”

The soft, surprised voice made him stop dead.
What the hell?

“Hey,” he managed, staring at the woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his head since the day she’d left his house. He went to extract his arms, but one of the women giggled and slid closer, trailing wet kisses along his jawline, then nipping at his ear.