Wanted by Her Lost Love (Pregnancy & Passion #2)(21)

She was…beautiful. And this time when she looked at him, he didn’t see the dark anger that had sparked so often since their reunion.

The moment came to a shrieking halt a second later.

“Ryan! What are you doing here?”

The feminine voice rang out over the secluded area, making him wince and Kelly jump in surprise. He glanced up to see Roberta Maxwell bearing down on their table and he muttered an appropriate expletive under his breath.

As she approached the table, he rose to return her greeting. He brushed a polite kiss over her cheek when she presented it to him and tried to extricate his hand from hers when she grabbed on to it.

“I’m here on business. The question is, what are you doing here?”

Her laughter tinkled out like fine china. “Oh, this is one of my favorite places to visit. The food is just divine, and the accommodations can’t be beat.” She turned to Kelly who was eyeing Roberta warily. “Who is this, Ryan?”

Like hell she didn’t know who Kelly was and like hell she just happened to be here. He’d lay odds that Roberta Maxwell had never been to St. Angelo in her life. She was shockingly transparent and didn’t seem to give a damn. That could only mean she was here to cause trouble. His mother’s name was written all over this and he was so furious he wanted to strangle Roberta’s skinny neck. And then move on to his mother. He never should have informed his mother that he’d be out of town and he damn sure shouldn’t have told her where he was going. He’d hoped… Well, it didn’t really matter what he’d hoped. Roberta was here and it was apparent it wasn’t some damn coincidence.

“Roberta, meet Kelly Christian. Kelly, this is an acquaintance of mine, Roberta Maxwell.”

Roberta’s smile was dazzling and she playfully fluttered her fingers at Ryan. “Oh la, darling. Surely I rate higher than an acquaintance.”

Kelly’s eyes narrowed and Ryan decided that politeness was overrated.

“We’re having a private dinner, Roberta. If you’ll excuse us, please?”

Undaunted, Roberta entwined her arm in his and her voice dropped to a low purr. “We must get together while you are here. Perhaps have dinner ourselves. I was so sorry to have missed you the last time I had dinner with your mother. I do love her so.”

He extricated himself from her grasp and stepped back a few paces from her. “I’m afraid my time here is spoken for,” he said. “Perhaps when we return to New York, Kelly and I can have you over for dinner.” He said the last pointedly, not that he really expected it to deter Roberta. It wasn’t his fault she was as thick as a brick.

Roberta’s eyes flashed with annoyance and her finely painted lips formed a full pout. “Really, darling, when did you decide to take back the little cheater?”

Kelly’s face blanched and she threw down her napkin. Ryan’s hand shot up to silence Roberta. “You know, I’ve had about enough. It’s time you left. Give my regards to my mother, and while you’re at it, tell her to stay the hell out of my affairs. Advice you’d be well advised to take as well.”

She twisted her pouty lips and ran a well-manicured set of nails down the lapel of his suit. “No need to get huffy, darling. I know you have to be polite to her since you don’t know whose baby she carries.”

With a careless wave, she walked gracefully away, leaving Ryan so furious that he wanted to hurl his chair across the room. But his anger had nothing on the fury flashing in Kelly’s eyes when he turned to see her standing in front of her seat, her fists clenched and pressed to the top of the table.

Seven

Ryan gripped the back of his seat with one hand and ran a hand through his hair with the other. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ve lost my appetite,” she stated flatly as she pushed away from her seat.

“Kelly, don’t,” he protested. “You have to eat. Don’t let that cat ruin our dinner.”

Her lips tightened in fury. “That cat seems to know an awful lot about our situation, wouldn’t you agree?”

She turned from the table and stalked toward the entrance of the restaurant. As soon as she hit the lobby, she turned down the long corridor leading to their suite. Angrily, she jammed the card into the lock, swearing when the light didn’t immediately flash green. She slammed the card in again and yanked at the handle when the telltale whir sounded.

Once inside, she bolted the door behind her and went into her bedroom. She perched on the edge of the bed, and in the distance she heard knocking and then Ryan’s angry voice through the door.

She was too angry to give a damn that he’d have to walk all the way around to the patio glass doors to gain entrance.

She’d had enough of this farcical…hell, she didn’t even know what to call it this time around. Whatever it was, she wanted out.

It was enough that she’d been humiliated by Ryan and his brother, but now she had to put up with some brainless airhead piling on as well? They could all go to hell.

Her head came up when her bedroom door flew open, revealing a livid Ryan. Yeah, well he wasn’t the only one, and she wasn’t backing down. She got to her feet and faced him head-on.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Kelly? It isn’t like you to go to such extremes. What do you hope to accomplish by locking me out? Ignoring our problems isn’t going to make them go away.”