Summer Mahogany (19 page)

"That's not true!" Gina protested angrily. "I've never—"

"Now, now," Pete interrupted, his hands spread to halt her indignant rush. "This situation isn't going to be helped if the two of you start shouting and calling each other names."

Rigidly Rhyder turned his back to her, moving to the far side of the room and the bar. His wounding words still stung, but Gina pressed her lips together.

Glancing from one to the other, Pete smiled briefly in satisfaction. "Good. Now let's start tackling this situation one step at a time. The immediate problem is your apartment, Gina. I'll go over first thing tomorrow morning and get the lease straightened out. As soon as it is, I'll have your belongings moved back. In the meantime, you'll have to get a motel room for the night. Agreed?"

"Yes," she nodded, achingly aware of Rhyder slowly pacing the confines of the living room.

"The next order of business would be the separation papers." Pete took a small notebook and pen from an inside pocket of his jacket. His head was bent as he started to make notes. He flicked a quick, confirming look at Gina over the top frame of his glasses. "I presume you will be the one filing the divorce papers?"

Her heart constricted as she nodded again. "Yes."

"No!" Rhyder barked stopping near her chair.

"On what grounds?" Pete continued.

"I don't know." Gina shook her head, her pulse racing in the crackling atmosphere as she tried to ignore Rhyder. "Incompatibility, I suppose," she shrugged.

"You are not filing for a divorce," Rhyder stated in a threatening tone.

His nearness seemed to almost crush her. In agitation, Gina rose to her feet. Seated, she had found his height advantage had been too overpowering. Her knees trembled with traitorous weakness as she stood before him, trying to summon a defensive anger.

"Then you file for the divorce!" she retorted. "It doesn't matter to me."

"I'm not giving you a divorce!" he snapped.

Frozen by his declaration, Gina couldn't elude the hands that reached out to grip her shoulders punishingly. His rugged features were carved in unyielding lines, the piercing blue of his gaze impaling her.

"You're not getting rid of me as easily as you did nine years ago." His warning was a promise. "There will be no divorce."

Gina breathed in sharply. "No!" Tears welled in her eyes, shimmering with emerald brilliance.

The sight of them tightened his mouth, snapping something inside of him. She was jerked roughly to his chest, her hands raised instinctively to press against the solid wall in protest even as her flesh melted to the hard feel of his length.

His head bent near her ear, his face partially buried in the soft raven hair. Gina had to close her eyes to the seating longings his touch evoked.

"You're my wife, Gina," Rhyder muttered harshly. "I'm not letting you go."

The torture of loving him and having to deny the love was revealed in her expression. She didn't try to hide it because she knew Rhyder couldn't see it. Pete did. Closing his notebook, he settled back in his chair as Gina found the strength to twist free.

"I'm filing for a divorce, Rhyder." Gina repeated the statement to reassure herself of her intentions. She kept her face averted from Rhyder until she felt a semblance of control return.

"I'll fight it," he stated.

"Let's not be hasty, Rhyder." Pete tipped his head to one side in a considering gesture and felt the thrust of Rhyder's gaze.

"You are my lawyer, Pete," Rhyder said tautly, "and I'm ordering you to contest any action Gina takes in the divorce courts. When I want your advice, I'll ask for it. Don't give me any of it until I do."

"I'm just suggesting that I think we should sit down and discuss this rationally instead of continually getting sidetracked by emotions," Pete replied, letting the outburst slide over him. "I'm sure Gina agrees with me, don't you?"

"Yes," she agreed shakily.

Turning away, Rhyder seemed to grimly dissociate himself from the talk. Hands twisted in her lap, Gina sat on the edge of her chair.

"What were you thinking of in terms of a divorce settlement?" Pete asked.

"I want a divorce, nothing more," Gina insisted huskily.

Rhyder exhaled a short, contemptous breath. "That's a first!"

His stinging words prompted a low retort. "I never wanted any money from you before. You wanted to pay it to clear your conscience and I took it because I thought you owed it to me. We were both mistaken."

"The court will probably award a token settlement to you," Pete commented, and sighed. "It could have all been very simple."

"It won't be," Rhyder snapped. "Whether there's a settlement involved or not, I'm fighting the divorce."

"I was referring to the fact that it would have been simpler if it hadn't been for your reconciliation, however brief it was," Pete explained, quietly studying Rhyder's back. "It would have been a matter of mere paperwork."

But Gina was being ripped by Rhyder's adamant insistence that he would contest any action to dissolve their marriage. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded desperately. "I'm only asking to be free of you, nothing more. Why? Tell me why."

"Yes, Rhyder." Pete unexpectedly endorsed her question. "Gina is being more than cooperative about the divorce. Tell us why you aren't."

"Damn it, Pete! You know the answer to that!" Rhyder pivoted to face his friend, obviously angry that the question had been asked.

Her shoulders drooped slightly as Gina sighed, "So do I."

Pete eyed her curiously. "If you do then why did you ask?"

"Because—" she lifted her chin, but her gaze remained on the whitened knuckles of his twisting hands "—I thought that under the circumstances Rhyder would have given up his plans to use me to get the property."

"What property?" came Rhyder's low demand, ominously soft and swift.

"You know very well what property." She flashed him a look of irritation.

"Would you mind telling me?" Pete glanced from one to the other, settling finally on Gina.

"Justin's property, of course," she answered tightly.

"
What
?" Rhyder's voice was tautly thin with angry astonishment.

Pete's sandy head was drawn back, the light in his eyes thoughtfully remote as he studied her defiant expression. "What were his plans?"

"I'm sure he discussed it with you," Gina retorted in a caustic tone.

A sound started to come from Rhyder, low and angry, but Pete flicked him a silencing look and returned the focus of his attention to Gina.

"No, I don't believe he did," he replied calmly. "Would you fill me in?"

"He was hoping to charm me into persuading Justin to sell on his terms." Her lips were compressed tightly for an instant. "Now I suppose he's going to make it a condition before he'll agree to the divorce."

"Of all the—" Rhyder's explosion was halted by Pete's upraised hand.

"Are you sure about this?" Pete studied her intently.

"Yes, I'm sure." Gina wished she wasn't. "He admitted it when Justin was here a half an hour ago."

"That's a lie!" Rhyder denied savagely.

Gina flinched at his angered and false disclaimer and continued. "It's true. You told Justin your decision to buy the property would depend on me," she reminded him coldly. "Besides, I overheard you talking to Pete this morning."

"What has that got to do with it?" Pete asked in surprise.

"Have you forgotten?" she retorted bitterly. "Rhyder told you he could practically guarantee my cooperation, regardless of whether Justin liked it or not. He even called his father to prematurely give him the news that he was about to get the property on his terms, even though he hadn't talked to me."

"And you thought—" Pete began, a smile widening his mouth.

"Never mind!" Rhyder snapped the interruption. "Give me the land contract proposal Gina drew up."

The smile didn't fade as Pete reached for the briefcase resting against his chair. Opening it, he leafed through the papers and handed a stapled set to Rhyder. Gina watched, waiting for the tanned fingers to tear the papers in two now that Rhyder realized she wouldn't be coerced into agreeing with his scheme.

Her green eyes widened in confusion as she saw him affix his signature to the proposal. Immediately he thrust the papers and pen toward Pete.

"Witness it," he ordered curtly. When it was done he shoved it into Gina's hands. "Here's your precious agreement, accepted, signed and witnessed—on Justin's terms!"

"I—" numbly she lifted her gaze to the thunderous mask over Rhyder's features "—I don't understand." It didn't make sense.

"I'm not surprised, you blind little fool," Rhyder growled. "The conversation between Pete and myself that you overheard this morning concerned having the annulment officially overturned. I knew Justin wanted you and he wouldn't be happy to find that you'd come back to me. As for the telephone call to my father, he knew about us and that I'd met you again and discovered I wanted you for my wife. The news I was referring to had nothing to do with the property. It was to tell him we'd been reconciled."

Her dark head pivoted stiffly from side to side in disbelief. "No," she protested, but he sounded so convincing.

"And a few moments ago with Justin," he continued without acknowledging her protest, "I did say that my decision about the property would depend on you. If you didn't come back to me, I wasn't buying the land. Because if I couldn't have you, I didn't want to set foot in Maine again for business or any other reason."

Gina's fingers closed around the agreement, unconsciously crumbling it into a ball. She wanted desperately to believe what he was saying, but her heart was afraid it was yet another trick.

"Why did you want me back, Rhyder?" she breathed, searching the hard planes of his face.

"What other reason is left, Gina," he demanded bitterly, "except that I love you?"

"You never said so. You only said you wanted me."

"Because I love you," he repeated grimly. "It's probably always been because I love you."

Her heart gave a leap of joy, no longer afraid to believe him. The deep abiding love she felt blazed in her eyes, but Rhyder didn't seem to see it.

"Come on, Gina," Pete prodded softly. "Tell him you love him so I can break out the bottle of champagne!"

Rhyder's head jerked at the words, his gaze narrowing. A tremulous smile curved her lips, a wild song singing through her veins.

"Do you remember something you told Justin?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, trembling with emotion. "You said our relationship was an equal amount of anger and passion. It's true. Even when I hated you, I loved you, Rhyder."

The arrogance seemed to leave him along with the bitterness. His hand reached out to tentatively trace the line of her temple. Her dark lashes fluttered in response to the caress.

In the next instant his arms were around her and his mouth was hungrily possessing her lips. Gina returned the insatiable need with all the pent-up longing of her heart. Neither heard the explosive pop of the champagne cork or the hiss of bubbling liquid being poured into a trio of glasses.

Pete smiled, picked up one of the glasses and quietly left the room. The champagne would be flat when Gina and Rhyder finally drank their toast.