The Billionaire's Touch (The Sinclairs #3)(41)

“Grovel?” Jared suggested.

“Talk to her. Tell her the truth about everything,” Grady remarked.

“Make her realize that you care about more than just getting laid,” Dante replied sensibly. “You do care about her, right?”

Evan looked at Dante and nodded slowly. There was no reason to deny it anymore. Just thinking about the fact that he had obviously hurt Randi with his comments made his gut ache so much that he reached into his pocket and popped a few of his ever-ready antacids. He was getting to the point where he didn’t go anywhere without them.

Yes, he’d wanted to fuck her, but there was far more to how he felt about her than just that. Emotions were tangled with his desire, and she hadn’t understood his obvious distaste at the idea of fathering a child.

She didn’t understand that it wasn’t her; it was him.

Dante added, “Because if you aren’t serious about her, a couple of the detectives have been asking about her. Every single guy at the station thinks she’s hot.”

Evan saw red and slammed his fist down on the table. “She’s mine. Tell them to back the fuck off or I’ll crush every one of them, officer of the law or not.”

He flew completely off his rocker at the thought of Randi being with anyone but him, and his fury blinded him to the fact that he never lost his temper completely. Not that he would have given a damn even if he was rational enough to think about it.

His brothers just grinned.




“Did you see Elsie’s article in the paper today, dear?”

Randi had popped into Natural Elements to see how Beatrice had weathered the blizzard. Obviously, she was doing fine. The elderly woman’s enthusiasm was infectious.

“She’s got an article out today?” Randi asked curiously as she looked at the eclectic collection of items for sale in the store. “I’m surprised, since the snow just stopped last night.”

Beatrice’s head bobbed excitedly. “Yep. She titled it ‘Blockbuster Movie Star Coming to Amesport.’”

Randi laughed as she listened to the drama in Beatrice’s voice as she relayed the title of Elsie’s article.

“He’s single,” she reminded the self-proclaimed matchmaker with a wink. Julian Sinclair coming to Amesport really was a big deal because he’d become a box-office sensation, but Randi supposed his family was trying to keep his presence as quiet as possible. Elsie Renfrew—or Elsie the Informer, as most of them called her when she wasn’t present—was Beatrice’s bosom buddy, and still wrote for the Amesport newspaper. Randi wasn’t sure how either one of them had known about the Sinclair cousins coming into Amesport, but somehow they had. No doubt they had finagled the information from one of the family. Beatrice and Elsie might look like two sweet little old ladies, but they were merciless when it came to getting the scoop on town gossip. Randi had known them both long enough to ignore their seemingly innocent probing questions.

“I know, dear, but he won’t be single for long,” Beatrice told her confidently. “His destiny is here.”

Randi fingered the Apache tear in her pocket, thinking how wrong Beatrice had been in her prediction for her. The only man Randi really wanted was totally unavailable to a woman like her. Her anger with Evan was already diminishing. What had she expected? Had she wanted him to tell her that it didn’t matter if she got pregnant? That wouldn’t have been logical or reasonable. In truth, she didn’t want to be a single mother, but she did want children someday.

She had gone into the sexual relationship knowing nothing more could ever happen with Evan. It was her that wanted something more; not him. She really had no right to expect any other reaction than one of relief. Randi knew she should feel the same way. Oddly, she didn’t.

“You think he doesn’t care about you?” Beatrice asked as she ran a feather duster over the shelves.

“I know he doesn’t,” Randi agreed, leaning back against the counter of the store.

“You’re wrong,” Beatrice chirped. “He hides a lot, but the truth will come out eventually.”

“He’s not for me, Beatrice.”

“This isn’t one of my errors. My spirit guides seem to be strong with the Sinclairs,” Beatrice said firmly.

Randi smiled. She wasn’t about to break the news that she thought Beatrice’s spirit guides had dementia.

“I have to run,” she told her warmly. “Lily is in the car.”

She hadn’t been home, so she was still carrying her dog around with her.

Beatrice turned and speared Randi with a pointed look. “Don’t give up. He’s worth the wait. He was always going to be a tough nut to crack.”

Randi nodded even though she wasn’t a believer in Beatrice’s predictions. At least not this one. “What about the cousins?” she asked, wondering what Beatrice was likely to predict for them.

“They all belong here, and I’ve already had dreams about the first one.”

Poor guys. The Sinclair cousins have no idea what’s coming.

She highly doubted any of the cousins were going to move to Amesport. Micah was into extreme sports, Julian’s place was in Hollywood, and Xander the bad boy had to be out painting a big city red to remain happy. Not a single one of them belonged here.

“Take care of yourself, Beatrice,” Randi said fondly as she reached for the door.