The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake

“Very annoying of him.” Vicki shifted her position on the couch. “Were there still sparks between you?”

Not unless anger counted. Or maybe it never went away. It had been hard, but ten years ago she pulled herself together and patched the hole Linc left in her life. There was a good possibility that anger had filled up that empty space. “Nope. No sparks.”

“So, he came to personally inform you that your divorce never happened.” Her friend tilted her head. “That means your tenth wedding anniversary is coming up soon.”

“Since we haven’t lived together, I don’t think there will be an exchange of gifts.” Sarcasm was good, Rose thought. It was a sign that she was rebounding.

“I wonder what you give for ten years of marriage.”

“A divorce, hopefully.” Yay her. A pithy comeback. She was on a roll.

Vicki shook her head, still trying to take in the situation. “How could you never tell me about all this?”

“Haven’t you ever done something that is so completely mortifying and humiliating that you didn’t want anyone to know about it ever?”

“Of course.” Her friend grinned. “But nothing this spectacular. And you know all of my mortifying and humiliating escapades. Yet you kept this to yourself.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no. Don’t give me those big, blue Kewpie-doll eyes. You’re only sorry you got caught. I want to know why I didn’t hear about this until crisis time.”

“At first I just wanted to forget. Start college and put it behind me.” She’d thought not talking about it would make the pain go away but she’d been wrong. Time had been the cure. “You and I met, and clicked, but I didn’t really know you that well. Then the longer I didn’t say anything, the more I didn’t know how to bring it up. Besides, I thought I was quietly divorced and no one ever had to know.”

If no one knew, it wouldn’t hurt as bad, right?

“Speaking of that... It’s probably a good thing that you found out. Otherwise, when you and Chandler went to get a marriage license, that could have been a shock,” Vicki commented.

“That’s what Linc said.”

“Good. He knows you haven’t been pining for him.”

If she’d never seen him again Rose would accept that as true. But the rush of emotions when she’d answered her door and instantly recognized him stirred memories of that brief, shining moment when she’d had everything she ever wanted. Had there been pining going on and she wasn’t aware of it?

Vicki set her empty glass on the coffee table. “How did Chandler take this ‘being married and not divorced’ thing?”

“He doesn’t know.”

“You haven’t told him yet?” Her friend looked more shocked about that than any revelation so far.

“No.”

“Keeping important details to yourself is starting to form a disturbing pattern. Why haven’t you told him?”

“It just happened a few hours ago,” Rose protested.

“You called me. It’s not a stretch that you could have clued Chandler in on this.”

“I needed to wrap my head around it before dumping this kind of news on him. And—” Rose loved her friend, but this rational side could be annoying. Mostly because Vicki was right. “The situation got even more complicated.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Linc offered me a job decorating his condo. A very high-profile project that will generate a lot of attention and publicity.”

“There’s more, right?” her friend asked suspiciously.

“If it goes well, there’s a chance I could get more work in the area. These guys—the Holdens—are building a hotel and resort, all of which will need decorating. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Obviously you didn’t say no.”

“You’re a lawyer. If someone offered you a case that was the equivalent of this, would you walk away from it? No matter who was doing the asking?”

“I see your point,” Vicki reluctantly agreed.

“This could be really lucrative. A career maker.” She filled in even more details about the development and the area with luxury homes cropping up. “We both know if I don’t get a break Tucker Designs is finished.”

“Maybe not—”

Rose’s look stopped the words. “I’m going down, Vee. You’re my attorney. You’ve seen my financials. I don’t even want to think about that loan from the small business association. And then there’s my mom. She raised me completely by herself and worked so hard all her life to take care of me. Waitressing isn’t easy and I’d like her to be able to cut back. Enjoy herself more. You know?”

“Yes, but—” Vicki stopped and shook her head.

“How do you think Chandler would take it?” Rose asked.

“Let me think about this.” Vicki hummed the Jeopardy theme. “You tell the man you’re all but engaged to that you’re going to Montana with the man you married ten years ago and aren’t quite divorced from to do a job in order to save your business.”

Rose nodded. “Yes.”

“I think any man’s head would explode given that scenario.”

“That’s what I figured, too.” This was what Rose really wanted to talk to her friend about. She’d revealed her history with Linc because it had a direct bearing on her decision. As Linc would say—context. “What do you think I should do?”

It didn’t take Vicki very long to come up with an answer. “Tell Chandler and don’t take the job.”

Rose nearly choked on her wine. That’s not what she’d expected. “What? I thought you understood.”

“I do. But I also saw your face when you talked about Lincoln Hart.” There was sympathy in her friend’s expression. “I’ve known you for a long time and you’ve never looked like that before. Tell me I’m nuts but whether you’re willing to admit it or not, you have feelings for the man.”

“Of course I do. All of them bad.”

“Take it from me. Accepting that job will dredge up more feelings and all the crap comes up, too. Just leave it alone. You’re doing fine. Don’t give him a chance to hurt you again.”

“He can’t.”

“Okay.” Vicki’s tone was full of “if you say so but I think you’re wrong.” “For what it’s worth, my advice is to talk this over with Chandler. I’m sure he’ll tell you the same thing. Do not take this job.”

“Wow, don’t hold back. Tell me how you really feel.”

“I always do.” Her friend smiled. “And just so you know, I want to look over those divorce papers before you sign anything. This time things will run smoothly or you’ll know why.”

“Thank you, Vicki.”

“So you’re not mad at me?”

“Why would I be?” Rose protested.

“For telling you what I thought. I know you didn’t want to hear that.”

“I count on you.”

“So we’re okay?” her friend asked.

“Absolutely.”

That was completely true and Rose valued this woman’s opinion more than she could say. But she was going to break the unbreakable rule about automatically taking your best friend’s advice. Rose just hoped there wouldn’t be an “I told you so” in her future.

Chapter Two

“So you’re really moving to Blackwater Lake, Montana?”

Linc was standing by the side table in his office, where there was a bottle of exceptional single malt Scotch, and glanced over his shoulder. It was precisely six thirty and Mason Archer, his attorney, stood in the doorway. Right on time.

“Would you like a drink?” Linc asked.

“Yes.” The other man walked closer, passing the desk piled with papers, and went directly to the conversation area with its leather furniture and sleek glass-and-chrome coffee table.

After handing Mason the tumbler of Scotch, Linc said, “You know my sister, Ellie, lives there, right?”

“I do.”

Linc grinned because there was no missing his friend’s clipped tone. “Don’t take her rejection personally.”

“How do you take it when a woman says there’s nothing that could compel her to have dinner with you?”

“That was a bad time. She’d been burned and swore off men,” Linc said. Mason had worked for Hart Industries while Ellie was still there. The man once had a thing for her but that was before she met her husband. However, bringing it up never failed to get a rise out of his friend. Linc liked to get a rise out of him because it almost never happened. “Trust me, it wasn’t personal.”

“Okay.”

“That’s it? You’re a lawyer who makes arguments for a living. It’s like air to you.”

“Knowing when not to argue is just as important. Ellie is happily married and has a child. I’m glad for her.”

“So you’re over her,” Linc persisted.

“There was never anything to get over.”

“If you say so.”

Mason sighed before taking a sip of his drink. “There are many, many other clients I could work for.”

“You’d lose a lot of money if you left me,” Linc reminded him.

“The peace and quiet would be worth it.” Tough words but the other man was smiling.

“You’re going to miss me when I’m in Montana.”

“Tell me again why it is that you’re going,” his friend said.

“I’m buying in to my brother-in-law’s construction company. It needs an infusion of capital to expand in Blackwater Lake. The town is one of the fastest growing places in the country and there’s a lot of opportunity.”

The one at the top of his list was getting out of the Hart family shadow. He’d insisted on being treated as an employee of the company and not an heir apparent, like his half brothers. In the last ten years he’d worked his ass off, partly to prove himself to them and partly to stay too busy to think about how his personal life had imploded. The other day he’d seen the anger and resentment in Rose’s eyes but that was better than having her grow to despise him because he wasn’t a Hart.

He didn’t tell her because she would have said she fell in love with the man and not his last name. But the truth was it would have been like marrying the prince who would be king, then finding out he’d been switched at birth for the peasant who owned a pigsty. Walking away saved her from having to deal with that. It was the right thing to do but that didn’t get him off the restitution hook for how he’d treated her.

The upside of keeping too busy to brood over lost love was making a lot of money. And he was going to take that money to Blackwater Lake and build more success on his own terms.

Linc remembered telling Rose that it was about to be on the “rich and famous” radar. A place for her to build success too but he had yet to hear from her. It was amazing how much that bugged him. And it’s not like he hadn’t known there was a better-than-even chance she would tell him to stick his offer where the sun didn’t shine.

“Opportunity in rural Montana?” Mason drained the rest of the Scotch in his glass. “There’s nowhere to go but up when you’re in the sticks.”

“It has an airport now.” A thought popped into Linc’s mind. “You should think about opening a law office there.”

“I’m not licensed to practice in Montana.”

“You could be. It’s probably not a big deal to make that happen.” Linc sat on the leather love seat. “There’s no competition right now. Could be a good move for you, my friend.”

“Not so bad for you, either.” The attorney’s tone was wry.

This man was an outstanding lawyer. Principled, meticulous, conscientious and smart. They’d met while working for Hart Industries, then Mason had opened his own law firm. When Linc’s personal attorney passed away Mason was the guy he wanted. “I’ll admit having legal counsel close by would be convenient, but your success and happiness are a concern.”

Mason laughed. That was worth mentioning because it didn’t happen often. He was far too serious. Linc figured a woman would find him good-looking and wondered what Rose would think. For a split second there was a white-hot flash of jealousy. Not unlike the feeling he’d experienced when she’d mentioned dating someone and that it was getting serious. Again he had a flicker of annoyance at her not getting back to him about the job offer.

“Seriously?” The other man set his empty glass on the silver tray beside the Scotch bottle. “My happiness?”

“Blackwater Lake is a great place. Nice people. Beautiful scenery. Lots to do all year round with the lake and the mountains. You could have a hand in shaping its growth in a positive way. And do something good for yourself at the same time.”

Mason’s eyes narrowed. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you once call it Black Hole, Montana?”

“That was a different time.”

Linc remembered it well. Ellie had called him, upset because she was pregnant and things were not going well between her and the baby’s father, Alex McKnight. The man had eventually won over Linc as well as Sam and Cal. He married Ellie and they had a daughter, Leah, who was two. Moving to the small town in Montana was the best thing ever, she often said to him. Now he was going to see whether or not she was right.

“So, Mason, before we grab dinner, you’re probably wondering how the meeting went.”

“I’m assuming you’re talking about the one with your wife,” the attorney clarified.

That took Linc by surprise. The wife part. It had been ten years and as Rose had pointed out, they were married for fifteen minutes. Not nearly long enough to think about her being his wife. Regret about that coiled inside him. And in the decade that had passed no woman had gotten close to him again. Ellie had said more than once that he used women like cocktail napkins and threw them away because he’d never fallen in love. The truth was exactly the opposite. Because he’d loved so deeply and had to let her go he wouldn’t ever risk it a second time.

“Linc?”

“Yeah. Right. How did it go with Rose.” He shook his head to clear it and thought for a moment. “Better than I expected.”

Mason waited, then finally said, “Care to give me the highlights?”

“She didn’t throw anything.”

“You were at her place.” It wasn’t a question.

Since Linc hadn’t given him the when and where, he asked, “How did you know?”

“She didn’t want to break any of her stuff.”

“Ah.” He hadn’t thought of that when picking the venue for his bombshell. His only thought had been that the last thing she’d ever said to him was that she never wanted to see him again. There wouldn’t have been a meeting if he’d tried to set one up. Surprise had been the only option. And it worked, sort of. He’d expected to feel nothing and got a surprise of his own at the flood of emotion, the explosion of memories that was like being pelted with hail.

“And after she didn’t throw anything?” Mason prompted. “What did she say?”

“She didn’t believe it.” Linc had revealed everything to his attorney, including the fact that Hastings Hart was not his biological father. “I explained what happened and convinced her it was true. Of course she wanted to know how the divorce screwup happened.”

“You get what you pay for.” There was an ironic tone in the other man’s voice.

“I already told you that was before your time. Rose seemed...sympathetic after I told her about what happened.”

Sympathy was so much more palatable than pity. And he would never be sure whether or not his standing in a financial dynasty mattered to her because he’d taken that choice out of her hands. It was impossible to know for sure if she fell in love with him, or the him that was part of the Hart family fiscal package. But in the last ten years he’d learned women were attracted to money even when it came from a bastard.

“What did she say?”

Linc met the other man’s gaze. “That I should have told her what was going on.”

“You have no idea how hard it is for me not to say ‘duh.’”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you just did.” Linc sighed. “No one is disputing the fact that I’m an ass.”

“It’s not too late to change.”

“Sometimes it is.”

“You’re ten years older and wiser,” Mason reminded him.

“True. But age and wisdom can’t undo what I did to her. Only reparation can do that.”

“It’s true that I haven’t worked for you long, but I’m sensing something.” Mason’s attorney expression returned. “Did she mention retaining legal counsel?”

“No.”

“She should,” Mason pointed out. “To protect her rights.”

“I have no intention of treating her unfairly in the divorce settlement.”

The other man’s eyes narrowed. “Then what did you do?”

“I offered her a job.”

“Doing what?”

Linc hadn’t shared his research on Rose. “She has an interior-design business and it’s not doing well. She needs some help.”

“So, you’re giving her money?” There was no approval or judgment in the other man’s voice, he was just seeking clarification of facts.

“No. I want to hire her to decorate my place in Blackwater Lake. With the possibility of future high-profile projects to strengthen her résumé and get more work.”

Mason thought that over, then nodded approvingly. “Smart move. Keep her happy to avoid an ugly and public divorce. In the long run a goodwill gesture could be less expensive than a lawsuit for retroactive alimony. Alienation of affection.”

“This has nothing to do with dodging back–spousal support. She’s entitled to a generous settlement.” Pain and suffering came to mind and Linc winced. He hated that he was the one who’d hurt her. “But you should know that she hasn’t agreed to my offer yet.”

It had been long enough and Linc was beginning to wonder if Rose planned to ignore his proposition. He wasn’t sure what constituted a decent length of time to allow her for consideration, but time was almost up. He’d give her another twenty-four hours, but if there was no word, he planned to make good on his promise to contact her.

“You’re a good man, Linc.”

“Don’t tell anyone. No one would believe you but it could be bad for my business reputation if that rumor got out.”

“There’s this handy thing called attorney-client privilege and it means I’m not allowed to reveal your confidential information.”

Even if Mason swore on a bible, Linc was pretty sure Rose wouldn’t believe him. Leaving her had ripped out his heart and if she hurt even half that bad it made what he’d done unforgivable. So, the longer it took for her to get back to him, the more determined he became to hire her. If necessary he would sweeten the deal. Somehow...

His cell phone rang and he picked it up, checking the caller ID. What a coincidence. Before it sounded again, he answered. “Rose.”

“Hello, Linc. I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

Her voice was businesslike with just a hint of sultriness in the slight lisp. It took a lot of self-control to hold off on a hard sell. “And?”

“I’d like to discuss it in more detail.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you for dinner. In say...” He looked at the watch on his wrist. “An hour?”

“Tonight?” She sounded surprised.

“Yes. I’m free.” He met Mason’s gaze and shrugged.

“Tomorrow at my studio would be fine,” she said.

Did she have a date? With the guy she was “almost engaged” to? A knot tightened in his gut. “Do you have plans?”

“No, but—”

“Then I’ll pick you up in about an hour,” he said. “What do you say?”

There was hesitation on the other end of the line that was just about to turn awkward. Then she said, “I’ll meet you at the diner. There’s only one in Prosper so you can’t miss it.”

“Okay. See you then.”

After he ended the call Mason cleared his throat. “So, I get bumped for dinner with your wife. Should my feelings be hurt?”

“Come on, Mason. We both know lawyers don’t have feelings.” He grinned at the other man. “You said yourself this was a smart move. I have to close the deal on my goodwill gesture.”

And if this was a little more than goodwill that would just be a secret not even his attorney knew.

* * *

Rose didn’t know what to make of the fact that Linc was able and, dare she say it, eager to have this meeting on such short notice. She hesitated to say he dropped everything but it kind of felt that way.

She’d intended to be at the diner first but got a call about a potential job and had to take it. She wanted to be the one watching him make the long walk past the counter and swivel stools to the booths and tables at the far end. In a perfect world they would both have arrived at the same time, but why should her world start being perfect now? A world where she was in control and not nervous about what the man who’d walked out on her was up to.

Now she was late and moving toward a table in the back, where he was sitting and staring at her.

If only she knew what he was thinking. On the upside... She was ten years older and less likely to give a rat’s behind what Lincoln Hart was thinking. It had taken her a long time to get to a place where she didn’t care and no matter what Vicki thought, she really didn’t.

She slid into the red-padded booth seat and met his gaze across the gray Formica table. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem.” There was a nearly empty coffee mug in front of him. Apparently he’d been here long enough to drink it.

Rose waited to feel guilty about keeping him waiting, but couldn’t quite manage. “I had to take a work call.”

“Of course,” he said reasonably. “I hope it wasn’t a crisis situation.”

As opposed to sitting across from the man who once broke her heart and trying to pretend that same heart wasn’t pounding so hard it might give out?

She shook her head. “No crisis.”

“Good.”

Again she cursed the unfairness of him looking even better than he had ten years ago. She didn’t remember his eyes being such a dark shade of blue or that his shoulders were quite so wide. Could be the white dress shirt he was wearing, with the long sleeves rolled up to midforearm. It was a look she’d once loved on him and that thought didn’t do much to slow her pulse.

“So I’m glad you called,” he said.

“Hmm?” She blinked, suddenly realizing she’d been staring at his chest while her mind skipped down memory lane, very close to the point where she wondered how he looked without a shirt now. “Right. My call. Thanks for meeting me.”

“You wanted to discuss the job offer.”

“Yes.”

Before she could say more, the waitress came over to take their orders. Rose had been hungry until seeing Linc put knots in her stomach the size of a Toyota. But she figured a half-sandwich-and-salad combo would work. He asked for a burger and fries so obviously his appetite was totally unaffected by seeing her. That was irritating.

When they were alone again she asked, “Where is this condo again? The one you need decorated?”

“Blackwater Lake, Montana. It’s a picturesque town that’s being compared to Vail and Aspen in Colorado.”

“And what are we talking about? Paint? Furniture? A theme?”

He nodded. “Everything. Flooring, fixtures, carpet. Right now it’s just a shell and the builder left it that way at my request.”

“It’s my understanding that you can’t get a mortgage unless the flooring is installed.”

“I don’t have a mortgage.”

Of course he didn’t. His family had buckets of money. Whether or not he was a Hart by blood, clearly Linc was one of their own. Rose refused to wonder what it would have been like to be married to him and not have to worry about the money to pay her rent. It would be dishonest to say she hadn’t been dazzled by the glitz and glamour of the Hart name and all it represented, but that’s not why she’d fallen in love with him.

“So you’re talking about cupboards, sinks and everything?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re not living there yet.”

“No,” he replied.

Rose waited for him to fill in the blank of where he did stay but that didn’t happen. “Are there accommodations in this picturesque place?”

“I’ll handle that and pay all of your expenses.”

There was a question she just had to ask because it would be stupid not to. “What’s in this for you, Linc?”

His easygoing expression didn’t waver. “I get a beautifully decorated condo. What else would there be?”

“That’s what I’d like to know. You led me on once and even married me to get what you wanted, so I’d just like to know if I should be worried.”