Chapter Five

“Most men don’t understand that a kiss, if done properly, can satisfy a woman even more than making love.” Teddy’s voice lowered to a sexy baritone.

“It can?” she whispered. Her nipples peaked behind her light sweater. Already the unexpected flames of desire for him were lit and slowly dancing through her.

He nodded and lowered his head. Susan’s legs trembled. Her stomach pitched and rolled as anticipation built inside her.

The years faded away. She was sixteen and Teddy was seventeen, rehearsing some new song by the creek bed. He’d leaned over and kissed her without any warning. She’d been shocked, but not at all unhappy, for she’d fantasized about kissing him since she was way too young to have such thoughts.

As warm lips brushed her cheek, all memories of the past flew away and it was only the very adult man of the present on her mind. A rough, solid hand, so unlike the soft, manicured hands of the men she dated, caressed her cheek before dropping to rest lightly against the side of her neck. When his mouth trailed feather-light kisses to her lips, she shuddered.

The tip of his tongue was hot and deliciously soft on her skin as he tasted her. Goose bumps sprang up on her skin and hot, white longing grew deep inside.

His lips hovered a breath away from her mouth and lingered for a heart-dropping second before slipping away to nuzzle the sensitive skin beneath her ear lobe.

Her mouth slipped open on a sigh and she lifted her hands to rest them on his forearms. Taut muscles contracted beneath her touch and she curled her nails into them. Teddy traced her ear with his tongue before kissing his way back toward the corner of her mouth once more.

“A woman’s lips should be stroked and loved as much as any other part of her body. She needs to be tasted, savored, treasured.”

The husky, whispered tones caused her heart to somersault.

He settled his lips against hers for the most fleeting of seconds before slipping off them again. Her knees quivered when he traced both her upper and lower lips before shifting away, once more leaving her wanting his kiss so bad she bit back a plea.

One of his hands left her face to smooth down over her bare shoulder, molding it beneath his palm and massaging the skin before sliding down to the curve of her waist. “Most men dive right in, shoving their tongue into a woman’s mouth and getting all sloppy. Who likes that?”

Once more, his lips lightly brushed hers in a feathery caress. Susan couldn’t stop the groan that escaped as her stomach clenched with need and moist heat pooled between her thighs. She clutched at his arms, wanting him to touch her, taste her…and more.

“You have to allow the anticipation to build before you give in to what you both want. Once you part her lips and slip inside, you want to know that she wants you every bit as much as you want her.”

The double meaning in his words spoke directly to what she needed. She trembled against the cool metal wall. She ached in a spot deep inside and her hips gyrated against him, inviting his touch. Teddy responded and left no doubt that he was enjoying the interlude. His chest eased into her aching breasts. Susan swallowed hard and drew a deep, shuddering breath.

“A woman needs to invite you in. She needs to long for your tongue against hers, to truly need you to kiss her before you ever do it.”

His mouth slid over hers once again without settling and she whimpered with frustration. His words had her in a sexual trance, drawing her mind and all her senses into his power, making her desperate for what he could give her. This was the most erotic experience of her life, and he hadn’t even kissed her yet, not to mention touched her. She ached, throbbed, wanted, and still he continued his painfully slow seduction.

“If you take the proper amount of time, it should only take one touch for her to shatter in a million pieces.”

Oh, God, she wanted that one touch. Just a brush from his fingertips on her breasts and he’d be proven right—she’d go up in flames. Wound so tight right now, she feared she might explode just from his kiss.

Was that what all his whispered mumblings were about? Did he really think he could make her come just by kissing her? Was he that full of his own sexual experience? Was such a thing even possible? His fingers moved down her arm and brushed the side of her breast. Oh, God, she desperately hoped so.

Needing more of his touch, she twisted, hoping he’d take the invitation, but he didn’t. His hand slid back up her arm and over her shoulder again. She almost screamed with frustration; every nerve ending in her body was on full alert.

Teddy’s roughened fingertips on her inner arm tingled. He teased her lips, brushed them once, twice with his, and then pulled back. She couldn’t help it and clutched at him, her nails digging into his forearms. If he didn’t kiss her soon, she was going to push him to the floor and attack him!

She wiggled her lower body against his and slid her hands up to his shoulders, trying to pull him tighter against her.

“I think it’s time.”

Without any other warning, his mouth fully covered hers. The tongue she craved so desperately parted her lips and slipped inside.

Susan’s eyelids sank shut. Their tongues danced together, stroking and tasting as if desperate to be together. Teddy’s kiss was nothing short of amazing. Her entire body was one big nerve ending as she waited for even more. Flashes of color went off behind her eyes. Her mind went blank with any thought other than this man, this moment and how much she needed his hands on her body. When his hips gently pressed her harder up against the wall, she all but lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist.

His large hand covered her breast through her sweater and palmed her nipple.

Susan couldn’t stem the cry that erupted from deep in her throat even as his kiss continued to hold her mouth captive. Teddy lifted her breast into his hand and cradled the weight of it before brushing his thumb across the tight, hard peak. When he gently pinched her nipple, even through the material, she felt lightning bolts shoot through the center of her body. His tongue continued to explore her mouth, sucking and stroking hers as she wiggled her hips against him—half-crazy with wanting him. As Teddy’s mouth continued to make love to hers, his tongue dipped in and out, his fingers continued to tease her breast through her sweater and made her want his touch on her bare skin the way an addict craves drugs.

Her desire peaked and, unbelievably, the first waves of release began to wash through her. Susan whimpered and clung to him as her need exploded and she trembled against him. Without the weight of him against her, she would have slid to the floor of the elevator. She held on, not caring how bad it looked, and kissed him back with a fevered passion that should have left him in no doubt that she was more than willing to go even further. She slid her hands down until she covered the bulge behind his jeans with her palm.

Teddy continued to stroke her breast and kiss her without pause. There was no way he didn’t know what had just happened, but it almost seemed as if that was sort of an appetizer and the real meal was still to come. Most men, in her experience, at this point would be shoving up her skirt and seeking their own satisfaction or hinting, none too gently, that it was his turn. There was none of that with Teddy, simply a continuation of the same.

That wasn’t enough for her. Without breaking from the kiss, she reached for his zipper. The button on the top of his fly flipped open just as the elevator jerked and began to climb once more.

Teddy’s mouth slowly lifted off hers. “I guess I don’t have to ask if the earth moved, huh?”

Susan gazed up at him, wondering immediately how bad she looked. If anything she was feeling was revealed on her face, then he would have to know how much she desperately wanted him right now.

Her brain was still trying to wrap itself around the fact that he’d made her lose complete control with basically a kiss and a few tweaks of her breast. Nothing that erotic had ever happened to her before, not to mention her complete loss of control. Teddy Weston, the man who, for the last ten years, hated the very thought of her had just rocked her world with one…single…kiss.

As reality came back, warm heat filled her face. Her lips felt swollen and she lifted her hand to brush against them, but his hand caught hers and brought it down.

His eyes burned into hers as if he too was shocked at what just happened, but he didn’t say anything. Her body wanted more, lots more. But her mind was starting to function again; she was grateful the elevator had started before anything else had happened.

It stopped at the roof, where she’d initially been heading before, well, everything. Without a word, Teddy quickly exited the car. She watched him go, not knowing what to say to him.

Craving the fresh air, though, Susan followed and drew long deep breaths. The early evening air was cool on her heated skin and she welcomed the shiver it caused.

Teddy walked ahead of her and stopped at the wall. No wonder the man was a legend. He deserved every bit of his reputation. With only a kiss, he’d managed what some men couldn’t do all night. What on earth would it be like to spend a night with him? Her belly pitched at the very thought, and her mind raced through images that she’d loved to play out.

Swallowing hard, she followed him to the chest-high wall and looked out over the lights of the city.

“Nothing to say for once?”

His smug tone lifted her chin. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she turned back to look at him. He shifted until he leaned his back against the wall.

Swallowing back her pride, she shrugged and tried to look casual. “I will be the bigger person and concede that you are indeed a very good kisser.”

He whistled low and long. “That’s huge, coming from you. Do you think maybe I could get one of those little statues like you have on the mantel?”

Her lips twitched. She couldn’t help it. He was good and he knew it. In fact, he took great pleasure in knowing it, but then, after what had just happened, how could she blame him. Teddy was like a savant or something of kissing.

He held out his hand to her and, without thinking, she took it, not wanting to break the peaceful moment they were sharing.

His thumb stroked the back of her hand. “Thanks.”

Her brow furrowed. “For what?” Laughing self-consciously, she pulled her hand free. “I think I’m the one who should say thanks. I mean, after all, you didn’t…”

Teddy laughed, and before she knew what he was about, he dropped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his side. “Thanks for distracting me in the elevator. I was kind of freaking out there for a while.”

“Did it work?” she asked softly.

“Everything worked,” he answered huskily.

In the dusky sky, she could see his gaze fall to her mouth. Her heart rate picked up. Tipping her head up toward him, she hoped he’d pick up on her unspoken invitation to kiss her again.

His dark head lowered. “That kiss in the elevator started because you dared me, and I knew it would at least help take the edge off being trapped.”

She wet her lips. “Yeah…”

“Yeah, but this one is because, for some weird reason, I just have to.” He cupped her face in his hands and captured her mouth with his.

Susan slid her fingers into his thick, dark hair as, without any shame, she went up on tiptoe to press against him.

This kiss was the complete opposite of the one in the elevator. It wasn’t slow or steady, but hot, hungry, and needy, and she thrilled to his unleashed hunger.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she hoped it wasn’t simply unsatisfied urges causing him to kiss her again, but a real desire to want to kiss her. Her body, which hadn’t stopped throbbing even after the climax earlier, pulsed even more for him.

His hands shifted to cup her rear end and haul her harder against him. She moaned her pleasure as his erection pressed into her.

The sounds of New York and the night air on her face vaguely reminded her of where they were. What she was thinking of doing was out of the question. George was bound to come up and start looking for them, especially after the elevator issue. But she couldn’t seem to put up even a token of resistance. If he hiked up her skirt at any second and took her against the wall, she wasn’t entirely sure she could stop him…or would want to.

She’d never been like this before. Ever. There was never a moment in her life when she lost her head and didn’t care about anything but the satisfaction she craved. But this was Teddy. That alone made everything different.

As much as it annoyed her, as much as it infuriated her that he was here, she couldn’t help but thrill to the fact that he was here. He’d been putting up with New York, crowds, elevators, and all, to protect her.

His fingers danced along the bare skin of her midriff under her sweater. She shivered and waited impatiently for those wonderful hands to slide up and cup her breasts. She was all but ready to unhook her bra herself when the heavy clang of a metal door slamming broke the moment.

“Miss Susan?” George’s voice rang out across the darkened rooftop. “You okay? I saw the elevator was doing that thing again and thought I’d better check.”

The elderly security guard would never leave until he was assured she was fine.

Reluctantly, Susan stepped out of Teddy’s arms and walked toward the center of the roof. “We’re fine, George. I was showing Teddy the view from up here.”

“Oh, I see. That’s real nice. You young folks take your time. There’s nothing better than…gazing at the city from up here.” The older man chuckled leaving Susan with no doubt he knew exactly what they’d been up to.

“I think we’re all done here,” Teddy said.

She raked a shaky hand through her hair. Her nipples were hard pebbles, but she knew without even turning around that the moment was gone.

Knowing he would never get back in the elevator, she glanced around for the stairwell door. “The stairs are over there if you want to walk down.”

When she didn’t follow him, he turned to look at her. “What are you doing? Come on.”

She was about to argue that she’d take the elevator, then decided for this one time it might be better to simply do what he wanted. Shrugging, she joined him and began the long walk down from the roof to the lobby.

Without asking her, Teddy pulled out his cell phone, asked George for the address, and called Maxwell to come get them.

Once in the car, Teddy didn’t even look her way or chat with Max, he simply stared out the side window. It was more than obvious that he regretted everything that had just happened. That, or it had meant so little to him that he wasn’t thinking about it at all.

Susan spread her fingers on her skirt, smoothing the material and brushing at a smudged dirt spot.

What had she expected? That they’d go back to her place and roll around in her large bed the rest of the night? Was that really what she wanted? With her body calming down and her mind in control once more, she knew better. Then again, if he reached for her tonight, would she turn him down? She wasn’t fool enough to believe that everything was fine between them; if something more happened tonight, it would simply be two people with the same physical need coming together and that would have to be all it was. Did she want that? Did he?

Susan glanced at him from under her lashes, unable to stop thinking about his kiss in the elevator. Her conscience chided her—no matter how good it might be sleeping with Teddy, it was not a good idea, plain and simple. It was a recipe for disaster. Besides, she’d only be another woman in his bed, and she didn’t think she could be that casual about it. Teddy was a part of her life; it wasn’t like he’d simply leave and she’d never see him again. How would she feel sitting across from him at Christmas dinner knowing they’d spent the night together. Worse, knowing it meant nothing to him.

All of a sudden, she remembered his phone call from earlier and his relationship, or whatever he called it, with the twins. Heat flamed back to her cheeks.

This wouldn’t mean anything to him. Kissing her, touching her. Even if they spent the night together, sex to Teddy was no big deal. He was a master at making love and made no excuses for how much he enjoyed the opposite sex. She wasn’t able to be that casual about her lovers.

Susan pursed her lips and turned to stare blankly out the side window. If for some reason, when they got back to her apartment, Teddy made a move to continue what she had started, she’d have to say no. There wasn’t any other thing to do.

But turning him down wasn’t even an issue. Once settled inside her apartment, Teddy went into the bathroom, emerged in a pair of track pants, commandeered the remote, and basically ignored her. Not having any interest in giving him the satisfaction that what had happened earlier affected her, she wished him goodnight and closed the door to her room.

In her bed, she watched TV by herself and tried not to remember the touch of his hands on her body, the feel of his mouth on hers. It was better that he had gone cold. Much better.

****

Teddy stroked the guitar softly, not wanting to wake up Susan. The only light filtered through the tiny slit in the draperies that concealed the balcony terrace.

His mind wouldn’t shut off. After tossing and turning, he’d finally given up trying to sleep. It wasn’t just the kiss from earlier, although that certainly was something that could easily have kept him up. He’d been angry with Susan for so many years that he had pushed back the chemistry that had always been there. She had been turning him on since she first began to change from an awkward kid to a teenager. While they’d shared a few kisses and even fooled around a little bit the summer he was seventeen, that had been all that happened. Even back then, he’d been smart enough to hold back, and it hadn’t just been the respect he had for her father—although that was something to consider. Beau Sampson stepped in after the accident and raised his partner’s four boys as if they were his own. Together with Flo and Sammy, the three adults had kept the four orphaned boys in line and taught them right from wrong.

Fooling around with his daughter wasn’t the way to repay that kind of generosity, so Teddy made sure to keep himself well occupied with other girls, and then other women, to ensure that Susan wasn’t the one he practiced his budding manhood on.

By the time they were both adults and the chemistry got harder to ignore, she’d screwed him, and not in the way he’d wanted.

He glared at the bedroom door, trying to draw on his old anger, but all he could see was the way she looked in that elevator. Teddy grinned. Susan had put all her acting skills to the test to seduce him and try to get his mind off his fear. She was a hell of a woman.

But at one point, all acting had stopped and she’d responded to him as herself; he could feel it. Should they have finished what they started? Should he be in there right now, in that enormous antique bed, holding her, maybe even waking her up for round three?

He glanced down at his guitar and strummed a few more chords. Nope, he’d made the right decision. But for how long could he deny it? He knew if she walked out of the bedroom right now in some silky excuse for a nightgown and climbed onto his lap he wouldn’t say no.

Teddy shifted as his desire returned. This was ridiculous. He needed to get home and back to his life. It had been almost two weeks since he got here, and other than the one sheet incident there’d been no sign of her stalker, nothing. How much longer did they have to wait?

The guy hadn’t been seen anywhere around. But Teddy wasn’t letting his guard down; that might be what he was waiting for, too.

Frowning, he strummed the same notes again. The song had been stuck in his head for months. He couldn’t get it past a certain spot. Over and over he’d tortured himself trying to figure it out.

Next weekend he had to be home. He wasn’t about to let the kids down. No matter what Susan had to say about it.

He smiled, thinking about the girls and their little brother, Ramon. They’d made Teddy cross his heart that he’d come back for the picnic. He wasn’t about to be another adult who made promises and didn’t keep them. He told the twins and their brother he’d be there and, come hell or high water, he would. And, if all went as planned, this would be their last picnic as residents of the Children’s Home.

Susan’s door opened, casting soft light into the room. Teddy looked up and his body flared to life. Rumpled from sleep, she groggily moved into the living room. His gaze took in a well-worn yellow nightshirt with Texas Rose faded across the front. Her breasts swayed gently behind the thin cotton. She looked hotter than anyone he’d ever slept with, and she didn’t have a scrap of satin, lace, or high heels, which was always his own personal favorite.

In his fantasy, she’d walked over to him, lifted the short hem of her nightgown and straddled him. He’d buried his face between her breasts and carried her, wrapped around his waist, back to bed.

He swallowed hard and forced his mind to reality. “Did I wake you up?”

Susan shook her head and settled next to him on the couch, tucking her bare feet under her drawn-up legs. “What were you playing?”

He stared at her bare toes. She looked so young and vulnerable, so unlike the sophisticated actress/singer she really was. He shifted the guitar across his lap and plucked the strings some more. “Nothing, a new song I’ve been working on is all.”

She yawned.

“Go back to bed. I’ll stop playing.”

Susan shook her head. “I want to hear the rest of it, I liked it.”

“There isn’t any more. That’s it.”

“It isn’t finished?”

He sighed and plucked the strings again. “That’s as far as I get each time and then it stops.”

She leaned her elbow on the back of the couch, rested her head in her hand and closed her eyes. “Play it for me again.”

For a second, Teddy stared at her, then returned his gaze to his guitar and played the song from the start. When he stopped, she didn’t say anything. Had she fallen back to sleep?

Her eyes flew open and she shifted, moving closer to him. Her breast pressed into his arm as she leaned over. The scent of her shampoo assailed his scenes, her hair ticked his nose and he went on full alert—behind the lounging pants he wore, he sprang awake, hard and ready.

Her hands were soft on his. “What if you did this?”

She plucked at a few strings but shook her head. She pushed her hair back, tipped her head and looked at him. His breath caught and for a second, their gazes locked.

A tongue darted out to wet her lips as she blinked. “Can I hold it?”

Teddy’s groin jerked. His eyes widened and his mouth went dry. She furrowed her brow when he didn’t answer and tugged gently on the guitar. Suddenly realizing what instrument she wanted to hold, he practically shoved the guitar at her.

Susan situated the curved wood on her lap and played the same notes he had just finished. He loved the way her smaller fingers looked dancing along the strings of his guitar and imagined what they’d feel like on his skin.

She paused and looked up. “Okay, right here. What about if you went this way?” The strings vibrated beneath her fingers.

He curled his lips. “No, I don’t...”

But she ignored him and went on. Suddenly, he stopped shaking his head as excitement filled him. It was exactly right! It was what the song needed right where it needed it. Slowly he nodded. “Yeah.”

They smiled at one another, and over the next half hour, worked their way through the entire song.

“Did you write the lyrics yet?”

Teddy didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure he wanted to share more of this, especially with her. The song had become important to him, and he wasn’t entirely sure why.

“I know you did, so you might as well tell me,” she said.

He shrugged and took the guitar back from her. “Some of them, but not all. I’ve been playing with it for a long time.”

“A long time? You used to write a song in an hour.”

“Yeah, well, I was younger then, and some of those were pretty bad.”

“Some were pretty good, too,” she said.

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t go there.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Yeah, you were. You always do.”

“We used to do some incredible work together,” she urged softly.

Agitated, knowing what she was about to bring up, he pushed away from the couch. Across the room, he settled the guitar in the corner and turned back around, mentally bracing himself against her potency. He wasn’t going to sleep with her, and he wasn’t going to talk about that song. Ever again.

“Don’t you ever miss it? Working with me?”

He did, of course he did, but not for all the oil in Texas was he admitting that to Susan Sampson. It was a long time ago, and best left back in their past. Before he knew he’d spoken the words, he said harshly, “I miss the innocence I once had in trusting you.”

Her head reeled back as if struck. “How many more times can I apologize before you’ll stop punishing me?”

“I’m not punishing you.” At her look of disbelief, he raked his hand through his hair in frustration. “Okay, maybe I am. But you stole something that was mine, and sold it. I don’t just mean the damn song, either—you sold me out!”

Susan stood, anger darting from her eyes. He couldn’t care less; she was wrong and he knew it.

“I told you that I would have told the world it was your song. I would have spoken up, but you wouldn’t let me.”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“That’s your own stupid stubbornness, then. It’s your fault he made millions on that song.”

“My fault?” Teddy’s temper hit the ceiling. “You stole my song, some jackass records it as his own, it hits number one…and somehow you turn this around to be my fault?”

“It could have been your name up there at number one.”

“That song meant more to me than any top forty hit and you know it. You of all people in this world. Damn you, Susan! We were like this.” He crossed his fingers and held them up in front of her face. “I loved...” He slammed his jaw shut. Man, he had to shut up before he said things he was going to regret.

“You loved what?”

Her gaze searched his face as if she already knew but needed him to say it. She put her hand on his folded arms. He jerked from her touch.

“You loved what?” she repeated.

“That song! You sold your own family out.”

“You’re not my family,” she screeched at him as if the very thought made her angry.

Teddy’s eyes widened with her reaction. He never knew she didn’t think of him as family. That hurt. If he wasn’t family, then what were they to one another?

“That’s right,” he finally conceded. “We’re not. No blood involved. It’s a good thing, too, because if you were my family, I’d feel obligated to finish out this tour of duty, but since you’re not. I’m free to leave you to whichever wacko wants you!”

He heard her gasp behind him as he stormed to the door and began to unlock the five deadbolts in place.

“Where are you going?”

“Out.”

“You’re leaving me?”

“You got it. I’ll send for my stuff. Or you can keep it and sell it. You’re good at that.”

Teddy yanked open the door.

“It’s three in the morning!”

“So what? This is the city that never sleeps; I’m sure I won’t have any problem finding something else to occupy my time.”

Teddy slammed the door with a force that shook the hinges and made Susan jump. Her hands crawled to her mouth as she stared at the closed door, unable to believe he wasn’t going to walk back through. He was angry, she knew, but never had Teddy walked out on her, and certainly not on his responsibilities, which, as much as it chafed, she was right now.

He had promised he’d stay with her. He’d never break a promise; it was a code of honor with the Weston men. They always kept their word. She was panicking for nothing. Teddy was more than likely standing in the hall waiting for her to come out and beg him to come back.

Susan dropped her hands to her hips. Oh, bother. Why did she always have to be the bigger person?

Marching to the door, she flung it open expecting to see him leaning against the wall. But the hall was empty. She glanced toward the elevator, but it was quiet, the light on top indicating it was down in the lobby. Fear trickled up her spine as she realized she was indeed all alone. Heart thudding loudly, she quickly shut the door and relocked the deadbolts.

After two weeks living with Teddy, the apartment seemed quiet as a morgue. Had it always been like this? She used to equate quiet with private and that’s how she liked it. Right?

Knowing she’d never sleep anyway, Susan strode to the kitchen and flicked on the bright lights, trying to convince herself she didn’t care that he was gone. He was a big boy; he could certainly take care of himself. But she couldn’t help worrying about him all alone in New York City. Teddy hated everything about the place.

She brewed herself some tea, went back to the living room, and sank to the side of the couch he’d recently vacated. Her eyes shifted to his old guitar. Tears clouded her vision. When they were kids, they used to play and sing together by the hour. They were so in tune with one another. All he had to do was play a couple notes and she would take off with it. They were so much alike when it came to their music. Yet, at the same time, it was the one way in which they were different, which eventually led to the fight.

To Teddy, music and singing was a hobby. Something he loved but didn’t want anything beyond what it was. For her, it was a passion. Her life’s purpose. All she ever wanted was to get to New York and be a star.

Susan sipped her tea and took a long, deep breath. If only she had stopped and really listened to what he was telling her back then, they wouldn’t be where they were now—wherever that was.

The past couple of weeks, they’d laughed together and moved in together so easily she thought maybe, just maybe he’d come to terms with her mistake and was willing to let it go. And then there was what happened earlier tonight. Was it really only a few hours ago that they’d shared that intimate rooftop kiss?

Deep inside she wondered if maybe there was something more between them. I loved…, he’d said. Loved what? His guitar? His song? She didn’t think so. She might have been innocent and naïve, but she somehow knew back then feelings were starting between them. Chemistry that almost refused to be ignored had been imploding.

A heavy sigh clogged her throat. She could play the what-if game all her life and would never know the answer. If she hadn’t insisted on going to New York, if she hadn’t tried desperately to get Teddy a record contract he didn’t want, what would have happened? Would they have ended up together? Would she have given up her dreams of becoming a famous Broadway singer to be a rancher’s wife, content to sing next to him at the LoneStar on weekends?

Setting aside her tea, she knew without a bit of doubt that she wouldn’t have been content doing that. She was born to perform, she was a natural. How many times had she heard that? And she’d reached all her goals…so now what? She found it was incredibly lonely at the top, and the one thing she wanted most of all was completely out of her reach…

Susan woke with a start and glanced around, frantically wondering what was happening. The sunlight streamed in through the slit in the curtain, and she blinked. She must have fallen asleep.

Standing, she cringed at the crick in her neck. The clock on her fireplace said it was eight. Remembering why she’d been sleeping on the couch, she ran to the door and peeked through the peephole. Maybe Teddy had come back and couldn’t get in, maybe that was the noise she’d heard.

She didn’t see anyone outside her door, so she cautiously opened it to glance down the hall. There was no sign of anyone, no movement, no elevator noises. With a deep sigh, she started to shut the door.

Something grabbed her bare ankle and she screamed.