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“No, uh, she had an appointment, I think.”
Max nodded, but the speculative look remained in his eyes, and Reed wondered if he suspected what had really happened between them. “Which reminds me, there are some phone calls I need to make,” Reed added.
Walking out of the stable, Reed put on his sunglasses and headed for the office. In the distance he glimpsed the taillights of a silver SUV heading away from the farm. Felicity’s vehicle, he realized ruefully. Getting away from him as fast as she could.
And yet…
She certainly hadn’t shoved him away when he’d kissed her. In fact, he thought, she had responded rather enthusiastically. Just remembering that response and how good her slender curves and warm body had felt in his arms, he could feel himself growing hard again.
Maybe Felicity was just what he needed right now. If they were to get together, the gossips would have something new to talk about, and they’d stop feeling sorry for him. The idea was appealing, but after a moment or two he pushed it away. He couldn’t do that to Felicity. It simply wouldn’t be fair to use her that way. Especially when he knew, from comments Emma had made, that Felicity had been badly hurt by her former husband’s betrayal.
Belatedly he looked at the check she had shoved into his hand. A twenty-thousand-dollar refund of the deposit he’d given her when he and Emma had first begun planning their wedding.
That was generous of her. As it was, he’d lost the thousands he’d paid for the honeymoon he wouldn’t be taking. Not to mention the cost of the expensive diamond Emma had returned to him—a ring that he was sure the jeweler wouldn’t take back, or if he did, would give Reed only a fraction of what he’d paid for it.
He hoped Felicity wasn’t out any money because of the canceled wedding. Surely she would have deducted any expenses she’d incurred before making out the check. He made a mental note to ask her about that.
Reaching his office, he walked inside and smiled at his brother Daniel’s daughter, Colleen, who promptly handed him three pink telephone slips.
“Julianne Foster, Dr. Finnerty and Gram called,” Colleen said. “Gram just wanted to know if you’re coming to dinner tonight.”
“Thanks, honey.” Reed looked at his watch. It was after one. “Shouldn’t you be heading home by now?” Colleen was working half days for him this summer.
“I just wanted to finish up the newsletter,” she said as Reed headed into his office. “Then I’ll be off.”
Reed sent a monthly newsletter to his clients, who numbered in the hundreds—some living as far away as Texas, for Reed’s thoroughbred horses were renowned and commanded top prices. Rosedale Farms was a full-service facility providing the highest-quality care and environment for all boarding, foaling and bloodstock management needs. It sat on six hundred acres of rolling hills and pastures in a gorgeous setting that was the envy of many other horse breeders. Reed was justifiably proud of the farm named after his paternal grandmother, Rose Moran Kelly, who, along with her husband, Aloysius, had owned and run a successful horse-breeding farm in their native Ireland, and he hoped to pass it down to his children.
Children. At the rate he was going, he’d never have any. Too bad he couldn’t just arrange a marriage the way they had in the old country. Make it a strictly business proposition and pick a wife who wanted children the way he did. Of course, he wouldn’t want just anyone. She’d have to be smart, attractive and agreeable. Unwanted came the thought Someone like Felicity.
He grimaced. Oh, sure. As if Felicity would be interested. She’d made her feelings about marriage known to anyone who would listen. She’d been burned once and had no intention of being burned again. He and Emma had often talked about Felicity’s attitude, because Emma really cared about her best friend and wanted her to be happy.
“She told me,” Emma had said, “that from now on she’s devoting herself to her career and only her career. When I tried to tell her she could have both a successful career and a successful marriage—all it would take is the right man—she said she was happy for me if I felt that way, but marriage was not for her.”
Remembering that conversation, Reed told himself to put Felicity out of his mind. She was not a candidate to be Mrs. Reed Kelly.
Determinedly clearing his thoughts of everything but work, he sat down at his desk and picked up his phone to return the calls.
Felicity couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened between her and Reed. Dear heaven, what had she been thinking? Why had she permitted that kiss? And permitting it, why had she responded like a bitch in heat?
You know why. You’ve been lusting after Reed for a long time….
And now he knew it. Or if he didn’t exactly know it, he sure as hell suspected it.
Damn.
Her face burned just thinking about her wanton, out-of-control behavior. She couldn’t imagine what Reed was thinking. How could she ever face him again?
And Max. Why, she’d nearly run him down when she’d rushed out of the stables that way. She could just imagine what he’d been thinking. She’d muttered an apology and some nonsense about being late for an appointment and avoided his eyes. Oh, God…
She was still mentally berating herself when she got back to her office. Trying to regroup and forget what had happened out at Rosedale Farms—so Reed had kissed her, so what?—she entered her office.
Rita Dixon, her diminutive assistant, looked up from her desk. Her brown eyes sparkled with the boundless energy that made her such a valuable employee. “So how’d it go? Did he agree?”
Felicity froze. Oh, my God. She had completely forgotten her main reason for going out to Rosedale. Sure, she’d intended to return Reed’s deposit, but her most important goal was to get him to agree to allow Portia Newhouse’s wedding photos to be taken there.
And she’d forgotten to ask him! Thinking fast, she said, “He’s going to get back to me.”
“Oh, fudge,” Rita said. “I was sure you could persuade him. Should I call Bo? He’ll be disappointed, but maybe he’ll have another idea that Madame Newhouse will go for.” Bo Harrison was the photographer Felicity always used unless her clients specified someone else.
“Don’t call him yet. I mean, Reed didn’t say no.”
Rita shrugged. “Okay. I guess if anyone can get a yes out of him, it’s you.”
Felicity told herself she hadn’t really lied to Rita in implying that Reed was thinking about allowing the use of Rosedale for the photos. Her mind whirled as she escaped into the relative privacy of the War Room—so named because it was used to plan the strategy for their large events.
Now what? she thought, trying not to panic.
But she knew the answer.
She would have to get over her embarrassment, pick up the phone and call Reed.
Now.
Two
Reed had the phone in his hand. He’d just finished talking with Jack Finnerty, who wanted to buy a broodmare, and was about to call his mother to say that, yes, he’d be there for dinner tonight, when the phone rang.
Glancing at the caller ID, he saw Weddings By Felicity. He hesitated only a moment before pressing the talk button.
“Reed Kelly.”
“Reed? This is Felicity.”
“Hey. I’m glad you called. Beat me to the punch. I’d planned to call you later to thank you for returning my deposit.” Would she say anything about what had happened between them earlier?
“You’re welcome.”
“You gave me too much, though. You must have had some expenses connected with our canceled wedding.”
“My expenses were negligible. You don’t owe me anything. However, I do need a favor.” Her voice was crisp and businesslike.
He finally realized she wasn’t going to mention the episode in the stables. Good. That made things easier. They could both pretend it hadn’t happened.
“What do you need?” he said, equally businesslike.
“I’m handling Portia Newhouse’s wedding, and she and her mother have set their heart on having her photos taken at Rosedale Farms. Would you consider that? They’re willing to pay whatever you would want to charge.”
Normally, Reed would have refused this kind of request. But he did owe Felicity, and there was something to be said for creating goodwill with the Newhouses.
“What are we talking about?” he asked. “I don’t want tons of people tramping about, and absolutely no TV cameras or paparazzi.”
“No, of course not. It would only be the wedding party, the parents and immediate family, my photographer and his assistant, and me and my assistant.”
Reed thought for a minute, finally saying, “That sounds okay.” He made a swift calculation. “The fee will be five thousand dollars. Will they go for that?”
“They’ll be happy to pay it. Thank you, Reed. Portia will be thrilled.”
“When’s the wedding taking place?”
“In three weeks. Um, one more thing. Bo—that’s my photographer—and I will need to stop by as soon as possible to scout out different locations. Is that okay?”
“Sure. You can come out tomorrow, if you like.”
“Great. I’ll call Bo to see what his schedule is like. Ten o’clock tomorrow morning would be best for me. Would that work?”
Reed looked at his calendar. Nothing urgent was penciled in for the morning. “That’ll be fine. We can meet at my office.”
Thanking him again, she hung up.
Reed didn’t immediately call his mother. Instead, he sat there and thought about the conversation with Felicity. He knew creating goodwill with the Newhouses wasn’t the only reason he’d agreed to Felicity’s request.
The truth was, despite all the reasons he’d told himself she was not for him, he wanted to see Felicity again.
“Dinner was wonderful, Mom.”
“Thank you, darlin’.” Maeve Kelly beamed at Shannon, one of Reed’s two older sisters. “There’s nothing I enjoy more than feeding my family.”
Wednesday-night dinner at his mother’s was a weekly ritual in Reed’s family. Not everyone could always attend. Shannon was a nurse anesthetist and her husband, John, was a lawyer with a busy practice. The same was true of Reed’s other sister, Bridget, and her husband.
If everyone in the family, including brothers Daniel and Aidan, their spouses and children, came to dinner, the total count was twenty-three. Tonight only Reed, Shannon and her family, and Daniel and his family were there, making a total of eleven.
Normally, Reed enjoyed these gatherings. With everyone’s busy schedules, he didn’t get to see much of his siblings and their families, even though they all lived in Eastwick or its environs. So he made an effort to attend the Wednesday dinners. Today, however, he’d just as soon have skipped it, because everyone, but most especially Shannon, had been giving him furtive looks filled with pity. He knew they all thought he was miserable over the breakup with Emma, but he also knew if he made a big deal of denying his misery, they’d think he was protesting too much.
Once again he realized the best thing he could do to stop all the gossip in Eastwick and the unwanted pity of his family would be to start seeing someone else…and fast.
Felicity.
Jeez! No matter how he tried, he couldn’t get the sexy blonde out of his mind. Nor could he stop thinking about the way she’d looked earlier. He knew some people thought Felicity had ruined her hair when she’d chopped it all off after her divorce, but he liked the short, spiky style. In his opinion, she looked sexier than the other Debs, the tight-knit group of friends that she ran around with. They tended toward more conservative styles, whereas Felicity looked as if she could have been one of the trendy actresses on television.
Today she’d worn some kind of sparkly butterfly clip in her hair and one of her trademark short black dresses that showed off her rather remarkable legs.
He grinned, thinking of those legs and the completely inappropriate shoes she’d had on, all pointy toes and spike heels. She definitely hadn’t looked as if she belonged in the stables, but she’d certainly gotten him thinking in terms of throwing her into the hayloft.
“Hey, Reed, you doing okay?”
He turned to Shannon, who had scooted over next to him now that her two teenage girls, along with Daniel’s kids, had begun clearing the table.
“I’m fine. Why?”
Shannon, who had the Kelly blue eyes and dark hair, shrugged. “You know…” She lowered her voice, although no one else at the table was paying any attention to them.
Reed stifled a sigh. “Trust me. I’m fine.”
She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but instead bit her lip. Her eyes held concern.
Reed reached over and squeezed her hand. “Thanks for worrying about me, Shannon, but I’m really okay. In fact, I’m relieved.”
“Well, I think the whole thing stinks. What’s wrong with that woman, anyway?”
“There’s nothing wrong with Emma. She was just more honest than I was. Our breakup is for the best.”
“You’re not just saying that? You’ve been awfully distracted today.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not just saying that.” Shrugging, he added, “There was always something missing between us. I felt it, but I didn’t want to face it. I’m glad Emma did.”
Now Shannon gave him a real smile. “You know, I never thought she was right for you, either.”
He couldn’t help grinning. Her loyalty warmed him. He could always count on his family.
“What’s going on over there?” Daniel said.
“Who wants to know?” Shannon said cheekily, winking at Reed.
After a few more lighthearted remarks, Daniel’s wife, Anna Lisa, turned to Shannon and said, “Hey, guess who I saw coming out of Goldman’s Deli this afternoon.”
“Have no idea,” Shannon said.
“Alex Newhouse.”
“Really?”
Alex Newhouse sightings were rare in Eastwick, for even when he was home and between films, he usually stuck close to his gated estate, especially during the height of tourist season.
“Yes. You should have seen the tourists gawking at him.” Anna Lisa giggled. “Of course, I wasn’t much better. God, the man’s gorgeous! Those eyes…” She sighed. “Did you know Felicity Farnsworth is doing his daughter’s wedding?”
Shannon nodded. “I’d heard.”
“Wouldn’t you kill for an invitation?”
“I know I would,” Reed’s mother said. “I’ve loved Alex Newhouse from the moment I first saw him in a movie.”
“He is magnetic,” Shannon agreed.
Reed wondered if he should mention the fact that the Newhouse wedding pictures were going to be taken at Rosedale. And that Alex would be in them. Best not to, he decided. The Newhouse family wouldn’t want an audience, especially at a photo shoot that was costing them five grand.
“Felicity’s done quite well for herself, hasn’t she?” Anna Lisa said.
“Surprisingly so,” Shannon said.
