“I’m afraid to ask what that means.” He didn’t miss her sarcastic undertone.
“Kiss me, and I’ll tell you more.”
Her eyes flared briefly. “Whatever,” she muttered and went back inside.
Reece laughed. Fate dealt him a second hand, and he’d make damn sure this opportunity didn’t slip through his fingers again. Beneath that icy façade, lurked a whole lot more to Aria than only sex in a dress. He aimed to find out everything about her. His unwelcome visit to cold Wyoming just got undeniably hotter.
****
ARIA STOMPED INTO THEhouse. Her body shook in disbelief. Of all the things to happen in her life, this took the cake. How on earth had she slept with a guy and ended up meeting him in a town that didn’t even exist on any map, years later? He was right. Chance and serendipity were strange occurrences, and he proved its existence.Wait. What if it weren’t a fluke? What if someone sent him? While he hadn’t agreed to the accusation, he hadn’t denied it either. Was it a coincidence seeing as the divorce lay on the verge of finality? She bit her lower lip.Geez, woman, you're paranoid as usual.
Billy vouched for the man at Buck’s behest, and if she knew the older man well, he never took a chance on strangers, especially men.‘Thank your lucky stars; you’re a lady. I’m not so kind to men I don’t know.’Buck had auspiciously pointed out at their first meeting. Reece had to be the real deal, and whether she liked it or not, a manifestation of chance, of the worse kind.
“Mommy? I thought we mustn’t wear angry faces?” Prisha stood at the kitchen table, her chin resting in her cupped palms with a probing gaze on Aria.
“Yes, Sweetpea.”
“Then why are you, and why are you shaking? Is it freezing outside?”
Aria laughed. The mirth gave her some semblance of control over her frazzled emotions. The workings of sexual arousal weren’t a topic for discussion with a curious six-year-old. “No, it isn’t. Cold shivers when I touched the railing,” Aria lied with a straight face. She kissed Prisha’s brow then turned away. Distracted, she gazed at the contents in the freezer.
Hell, she’d experienced the shivers all right, but there was nothing cold about it. The intense arousal immediately reminded her she hadn’t seen any action between the sheets other than the battery-operated kind in the last three years. Her dormant vagina had just received a shudder of volcanic proportions.
“Mommy, why are you standing in front of the freezer? You said you were cold.” Prisha’s giggle jerked her out of her mental ramblings once more.
Aria laughed. It took five minutes for Reece to unnerve her. God alone knew what havoc his permanent presence here might unleash. Closing the fridge door, she turned. “I’m silly.” She scooped her daughter up in her arms and gave her a quick kiss before setting her down on the sofa. “Mommy needs to make a call, okay?”
“Okay, can we play scrabble after?”
“Later, Sweetpea.” Her frazzled brain resembled scrambled eggs. Scrabble required thought.
“You promised yesterday, Mommy.” Her daughter huffed and rolled her eyes as if she thought little of Aria’s forgetful behavior. She grinned, charmed by her daughter’s precocious mannerisms. “Can I ask Reece to play?”
Aria balked. The reminder the man remained a serious contender for her daughter’s affection, kicked her into gear. “No. I’ll play with you after we come back from the grocer, okay?”
After her daughter nodded her consent, Aria headed for the study and straight to the radio. She picked up the receiver and pressed the handle. First, she tried the plane’s radio. No answer. Next, she gave Buck’s office in Jackson a shot. Hopeful someone had gone in today.
“Meredith here,” answered the jaded voice of the office receptionist.
Aria imagined the rotund woman in her late forties drooped over the desk in her usual flannel shirt and one size too-tight jeans.
“Meredith, hi, it’s Aria. Is Billy in?”
“Nope.”
“Any idea what time he’ll drop by?”
“Nope. You know Billy doesn’t work on Mondays,” the woman replied, her tone filled with bored annoyance.
Aria shook her head in frustration. If it weren’t for the fact Meredith excelled at dealing with demanding customers, Buck would’ve sent her packing. Given he dabbled in more than just the lumber mill, the business had plenty of those problematic customers. Aria wasn’t expecting Billy to rock up at work today. A long shot really but more out of irritation.
“Thanks.” Aria switched off the radio and ran a hand through her hair.
It looked like Reece would be their guest for another night. Although Buck’s cottage stood less than a twenty-minute walk away, he’d secured his home with ridiculous gates. The locks required specific keys, and right now, the bunch sat in Billy’s plane. Buck was as paranoid as they come. He always took security to the next level.You should be the one to talk.With a resolute sigh, Aria dragged her feet outside. Reece had resumed chopping the wood, albeit half-naked again.
****
“REECE!”
