Sutton, on the other hand, uncoiled slowly from the vehicle, her eyes trained on his truck. After speaking with the driver, she took the um- brella from the man and walked over, heedless that she was ruining her high- heeled shoes.

Edward put the window down as she approached" and tried to ig- nore the scent of her perfume as she came up to him.

Get in, he said without sparing her a glance.

Edward"

As if Im going to discuss what you signed with my father in your own house? Or even in your front yard?

She let out a very unlady- like curse and then marched around the front of the truck. With a grunt, he tried to reach over as a gentleman should and open her door, but she got there first" and besides, his body wouldnt let him stretch that far.

As she settled into the seat, she froze as she saw her purse.

Putting the truck in gear, he muttered, I figured youd want your drivers license back.

I have to be at the ball in forty- five minutes, she said as he started down her hill.

You hate going to those things.

I have a date.

Do you. Congratulations. A quick fantasy of kidnapping her and keeping her from going at all played out in a very Lifetime Movie sort of way" said fantasy culminating in her going Stockholm syndrome and falling in love with her captor. Who is he?

None of your business.

Edward took a left and just kept driving. So youre lying.

Check the society pages tomorrow morning, she countered in a bored tone. You can read all about it.

{ 334 }.

I dont get the Charlemont Courier Journal anymore.

Look, Edward"

What the hell are you doing? Mortgaging my goddamn house?

Even though he wasnt looking at her, he could feel her icy stare nailing him in the face. Number one, your father approached me. And number two, if you take that tone with me again, Ill foreclose just on principle.

Edward shot a glare in her direction. How could you do that? Are you really that greedy?

The interest rate is more than fair! And would you have preferred he go to a bank, where it would be recorded for the public? Im going to keep everything private, assuming the payments are made.

He jabbed a finger at the documents on the seat between them. I want you to make that go away.

You are not a party to this, Edward. And apparently your father needs the money or he wouldnt have come to me.

That is my mothers house!

You know, if I were you, Id be thanking me. Im not sure whats going on under that roof of yours, but ten million should be nothing for the likes of the grand and glorious Bradford family!

Edward took a hard left and pulled into one of the public parks that dotted the Ohio River. Crossing the empty parking lot, he stopped when he got to the boat launch and put them in park. By now, the storm was really heating up, and the bursts of light from the sky fueled the anger inside of him.

Wrenching around in the seat, he swallowed a groan at the pain.

He doesnt need the money, Sutton.

It was a lie, of course, however the last thing the family needed was talk: As much as he was frustrated with Sutton, he knew he could trust her, but there had to be other people involved on her side. Lawyers, bankers. At least she could refute their conversation if it came up.

Then why did he sign that document? she demanded. Why did your father go out of his way to divert me from a business meeting and put this on the table.

As she confronted him, he had a quick mental image from the night { 335 }.

before of her straddling his hips, riding him, being gentle with his bro- ken body.

Then he remembered his father reaching for her in the office.

Could this get any messier, he wondered as hatred for William Baldwine surged.

Edward focused on her lips and thought about his brothers wife.

Has he ever kissed you?

Excuse me.

My father. Has he ever kissed you.

Sutton shook her head in disbelief. Lets stick to fighting about the mortgage on Easterly, shall we?

Answer the goddamn question.

She threw up her hands. You saw me in his office with him. What do you think.

So he had, Edward thought on a surge of fury.

Look, Sutton said. I dont know whats going on in your family, or why he wanted to do this. All I know is that its a good deal for me . . .

and I thought it would help you out. Stupid me, I thought the fact that I would keep this discreet might actually benefit you.

After a moment, he muttered, Well, youre wrong. And thats why I want you to rip that up.

Your father has a copy, too, she pointed out dryly. Why dont you go talk to him.

He made that deal with you because he hates me. He did it because he knows damn well that the last person on earth I would ever want my family to be indebted to is you.

At least that wasnt a lie, he thought as she gasped.

God knew he already felt like half a man around her anyway . . .

A s Edwards words sank in, Sutton jerked in her seat"and couldnt catch the reaction in time to try to hide it.

Pride made her want to hit back at him hard, but the angry words { 336 }.

log jammed in her head, and all she ended up doing was staring out at the choppy, muddy river.

The windshield wipers were on, and periodically, they made a swipe that gave her a momentarily clear view of the opposite shore.

And it was funny, life was a bit like that, wasnt it. You went along, doing your thing, not really seeing the full landscape of where you were for all the daily minutiae you had to take care of" when suddenly, things crystallized and you got a brief picture that left you going, Ah, so I am here.

Sutton cleared her throat" but it didnt really do much, because as she spoke, her words were hoarse, You know, I dont think Ill ever understand why you think so little of me. Its really quite . . . its a mystery to me.

Edward said something, but she talked right over him. You must know that I fell in love with you a long time ago.

That shut him up.

You must know it. How could you not? Ive been following you around for years" is that why you hate me? She glanced over at him and couldnt see much of his eyes because of that baseball cap" probably a good thing.

Do you look down on me for that? I always figured you strung me along because you assumed my feelings could be useful to you at some point" but is it sicker than that? I know I despise myself for the weakness. She nodded at the papers. I mean, that document there is a perfect example of how pathetic I am. I wouldnt have done a deal like that, under the table, for anyone else. But I suppose thats my problem, not yours, isnt it.

She went back to staring out the windshield ahead of her. I know you dont like to talk about what happened to you in South America, but . . . I didnt sleep for the entire time they had you, and for months afterward, I had nightmares. And then you came back to Charlemont and wouldnt see me. I told myself it was because you werent seeing anyone, but that isnt true, is it.

Sutton"

No, she said sharply. Im not going to let you all out of that mort- { 337 }.

gage. That would be just another part of this stupidity I have going on with you.

You have it all wrong, Sutton.

Do I? Im not so sure. So how about we end this right now" you can fuck off, Edward. Now, take me home before I call the police.

She expected him to argue with her. After a moment, though, he put the truck in reverse and turned them around.

As he headed back out to the road, she measured his grim profile.

You better pray that father of yours makes those payments in a timely fashion. If he doesnt, I will not hesitate to put your family out on the street" and if you think thats not going to get people in this town talking, youre out of your goddamn mind.

That was the last thing either of them said on the return trip to her house.

When he pulled in front of the mansion, she made sure to get her purse and take it with her this time" and the truck barely rolled to a stop before she leaped out.

She was pretty sure he said her name one last time as she took off, but maybe not.

Who cared.

As she ran through the rain to her front door, the butler opened things up for her.

Mistress! he exclaimed. Are you all right?

She hadnt bothered with the umbrella, and a quick glance in the antique mirror by the door showed that she looked as worn- out and worn- down as she felt.

Actually, Im not feeling well. No lie there. Will you please let Brandon Milner know that Ive taken ill and am going to bed? I was supposed to go to the ball with him this evening.

He bowed. Shall I call for Dr. Qalbi?

No, no. Im just exhausted.

Ill get you a tray and some tea.

That sounded perfectly nauseating. How lovely, thank you.

As the man strode off for the kitchen wing, she went over to the el- { 338 }.

evators paneled doors. Fortunately, the car was on the first floor and she was able to take it up right away. The last thing she needed was to run into her father or her brother.

Getting out, she took off her shoes and padded down the long hall- way, slipping into her bedroom and closing the door behind herself.

Shutting her eyes, she kept hearing Edwards voice over and over again in her head.

He knows damn well that the last person on earth I would ever want my family to be indebted to is you.

Unbelievable.

And it was funny. Even with all the money she had, all the position and the authority, the respect and the adulation . . . she was still capable of being reduced to a devastated child.

All it took was being in an enclosed space with Edward Baldwine.

For ten minutes.

No more, she vowed. This unhealthy obsession she had going on with that man needed to stop right now.

In the back of her mind, she had sometimes wondered if he might be fighting an obsession with her of his own, their centuries- old family competition keeping him from making a move. But that had clearly been an unfair projection on her part, some kind of romantic fantasy born out of her own feelings.

The only nice things hed said to her were when hed thought she was a prostitute that he had bought and paid for.

Reality had now been clearly established, however: He had just put up a billboard in her proverbial town square. Set her straight with no room for misinterpretation.

She might be pathetic.

But she was not stupid.

{ 339 }.

THIRT Y- NINE.

P unched in the head.

As Lizzie slumped to the side in the crushed cabin of her Yaris, she felt like shed been punched in the head.