Chapter 18

Kyle woke to an empty bed, already missing the warmth of Pepper's body and the feel of her nestled into him. He knew she'd probably gotten up while it was still dark to get ready for breakfast. He smiled as he remembered the soft feel of her, the touch of her lips on his, the feel of her luscious breasts in his hands. And, most of all, her wet warmth when he buried himself inside her.

He had two more days here and already he hated the thought of leaving. The last thing he'd expected when he took this trip was to find a woman he could fall in love with. Could? He was already more than halfway there. But what good did it do? They lived worlds apart. She would never move to Dallas, and he certainly could not see himself living in Bayview. Maybe spending some weekends here, but Pepper was obsessed with Hibiscus House, so prying her loose was most likely impossible.

He tried to study it the way he saw other problems, weighing pros and cons. The trouble was, with other problems, he was not emotionally involved. He'd thought he was. He'd thought he was in love with the business, that it fulfilled all his emotional needs. When he wanted sex, he had his choice of any number of women. Yet, when he thought about it now, it shocked him to see how cold and calculating that was.

He had never believed in the concept of love at first sight, except maybe for his parents. It didn't seem logical to him. People met, and if they were attracted to each other, had similar interests and enjoyed everything from barbecue to sex, there was a real basis for a relationship. But not this, where his heart was engaged almost from the beginning. Where he was so besotted with a woman he hated to ever let her out of his sight.

He dreaded the thought of Pepper's reaction if she ever learned the underlying cause of his trip here. He'd be out on his rear so fast he'd leave skid marks on the floor. She was an incredible woman, smart and funny and feisty and giving. But no matter how she might feel about him, she'd never forgive him for what she'd see as an attempt to trick her. A betrayal.

Damn.

How had he gotten himself in this situation, anyway?

Well, he had two more days to figure it out, and he didn't plan to waste any of it. He was a very smart man. Surely he could come up with something. Sometime today or tomorrow he'd find a way to explain the situation and hope she didn't throw him out.

He glanced at his watch and realized it was almost ten o'clock. Good lord. Between the day on the water and the incredible sex, he'd worn out his body. He had no idea how Pepper was able to handle it, but he knew she'd be downstairs cleaning up after breakfast and tending to her guests. He hoped Cilla had shown up to help her.

Pushing himself out of bed, he took a quick shower, shaved, and pulled on jeans and a polo shirt. Slapping on a little aftershave, he opened his door and headed downstairs. The first floor was very quiet. That must mean breakfast was over and the guests had left for their day's adventures. He hoped whatever the muffin of the day was Pepper had saved a couple for him.

When he walked into the kitchen, he saw Pepper and Cilla sitting on stools at the island counter. They were hunched over a laptop, probably researching new ideas for Hibiscus House. Pepper was a fanatic about the place.

"Morning, ladies." He reached for Pepper. "And an extra good morning to you, darlin'."

She lifted her head, an expression on her face that froze his blood.

Uh-oh!

He lowered his head and tried to place a soft kiss on her lips, but she turned her head away. Now, he really had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn't want to ask what was wrong. Maybe he could prolong it as long as possible.

"No kisses?" He tried to make a joke of it. "Okay, how about an espresso?"

"We're through serving," Pepper snapped. "Roger."

Kyle froze. How the hell had his cover been blown? Then he looked at the laptop and a sick feeling bubbled up in his stomach.

"That's right." Cilla's voice was as cold as Pepper's. "We got curious about you, Roger Kyle Montgomery. You sure didn't seem like the kind of guy to hang out in Bayview at Hibiscus House for a four-day weekend with no plans and no woman on your arm. I was worried about my friend, Pepper, who seems to have developed feelings for you, although I have no idea in hell why."

"Because I was s sucker," Pepper muttered.

"I googled Kyle Montgomery," Cilla went on, "and guess what came up. Yup, you know it. You should quit using your middle name on anything that can be made public. You were so easy to find."

"No wonder you were so quick to fall in with my plan." Pepper's voice had icicles dripping from it. "It gave you a good cover, although I don't know for what. Hibiscus House has no relationship to any of your existing properties. No glitz, no metropolitan glamour."

"But then," Cilla said, "I thought about the possibility of a new Montgomery division. Bed-and-breakfasts. But what, I wondered, had brought us to your attention in the first place?"

"So, I started going through all the back registrations," Pepper told him. "Lo and behold, five months ago we had another Montgomery couple from Dallas. I figure they're your parents, right? But they were so low-key I thought they were nothing more than a nice older couple enjoying a holiday. Did it take all this time for them to convince you to come down here? This type of facility isn't even in your wheelhouse."

Kyle could not seem to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth. He hadn't felt this sick since he'd had the flu last year, only this was worse. His heart was involved, and right now, it hurt so badly he was afraid it might stop beating.

"I can explain everything," he began, "if you'll just - "

"Oh, I'm sure you can." Cilla looked as if she wanted to cut his broken heart right out of his body. "But nothing you can say will be sufficient to explain this betrayal."

"Okay, I know how you feel, but - "

"But nothing. I've prepared your bill and run your credit card. You need to pack and get yourself out of here right now."

"I hear you, Pepper. If you'll give me fifteen minutes of your time to talk to you, then, if you still want me to, I'll pack and get out of here."

Pepper glanced at Cilla who studied Kyle for a long moment then nodded.

"Okay. Fifteen minutes. Cilla's keeping time."

He gestured toward the back door. "Can we go outside? Maybe down by the water?"

For a moment, he thought she was going to insist they do it right here, but then she nodded. Okay, he had fifteen minutes to try and convince her how he felt about her and see if he could repair all this damage.