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  She had thought things through and had prayed about it. She needed to leave town, and whatever place Denmark sent her, she would make the best of it.

  Having made her decision, she placed the card aside.

  PART TWO

  I am radiant in joy because of your mercy, for you have listened to my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul.

  —Psalms 31:7

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Anchorage, Alaska

  Four months later

  The storm that had threatened to erupt all day finally broke, sending sheets of ice particles pounding down on everything in its path.

  Gabe Blackwell stood by the window and watched the turbulent downpour, glad he had returned from his five-day fishing trip to the Kenai River before the torrential rain had broken free.

  Moving away from the window, he crossed the room to the fireplace, thankful for the heat it generated. Sitting down on the sofa, he held a mug of the hot chocolate he had prepared earlier, laced with brandy to ward off the January chill. He took a sip and glanced around the house he had purchased a month earlier.

  It had been a business decision for the company to buy the huge multilevel log–cabin–style house instead of leasing it for the year he would be spending the majority of his time in Anchorage. He had fallen in love with the place as soon as the Realtor had shown him around. It was just what he’d wanted, something large, roomy and secluded. Another added plus was that it sat on fifteen acres of land, most of which was wooded, and had a panoramic view of several canyons and snow-capped mountains as well as a beautiful, huge stocked lake.

  The inside of the house was an architect’s dream, its unique design well worth the investment, although he had to admit that the forty-two hundred square-foot structure was more house than what he needed. During his first visit to Anchorage, he had made the decision not to live downtown in a condo but to escape civilization and enjoy the rustic beauty the rural area provided.

  Setting his mug down on the table, he rubbed his chin that was covered with a day’s growth of beard and couldn’t help but smile. His mother would have a hissy fit to see him looking so unkempt. But he was enjoying the final week before construction of the ski resort began. A shave tomorrow would be soon enough.

  The telephone rang, and he immediately decided to let the answering machine catch it. He wasn’t ready to discuss business with anyone, and if it was a family member, he would immediately call them back. He just wanted to kick back and relax awhile and enjoy the peace and quiet.

  He leaned back to rest his head against the back of the sofa when he heard the feminine voice that came across his answering machine:

  “Mr. Blackwell, this is Sage Dunbar, marketing manager for the Denmark Group. We met four months ago while attending a Landmark Industries business meeting here in Anchorage. I don’t know if you remember me….”

  Gabe lifted his head as immediate recognition hit. He definitely remembered the attractive, ultra-confident and very sexy woman. And one of the main things that stood out in his mind was the fact that she was engaged to be married … this coming June if he wasn’t mistaken.

  “As you are undoubtedly aware, the Denmark Group has opened an office here in Anchorage, and I’ll be working as the manager of that office. I’m looking forward to getting with you to create the marketing scheme needed for the ski resort, which has officially been named Eden. Please give me a call so we can schedule a time the two of us can get together, hopefully this week. I can be reached at the Denmark office here in town. The number is …”

  Gabe lifted a dark brow as he leaned forward. John Landmark had mentioned something to him about the marketing firm opening an office in Anchorage just to accommodate his needs. But at the time Gabe had thought it would be highly unlikely that Sage Dunbar would be involved in that venture since she was engaged to be married in a few months. She had mentioned that her fiancé owned a landscaping business in Charlotte, and Gabe couldn’t see the man relocating that sort of business to Anchorage for Sage’s career move. Did that mean she would be managing the office in Anchorage only on a temporary basis, and not for the full year that her services would be needed?

  Gabe settled back in his seat as a number of questions went through his mind. All of them would be answered tomorrow when he returned Sage Dunbar’s call.

  Out of habit, Sage double checked the locks on all her doors before going into the bedroom to undress. She smiled. No matter how horrid the weather was outside, she intended to have a pam-per-yourself night. She had already arranged the lit candles around the bathroom, and their flickering flames as well as their strong vanilla scent were transforming her condo into a working woman’s haven. There was nothing like taking a hot bubble bath in a room illuminated with soft candlelight and drenched with the fragrance of her favorite flavor to ease her weary, torn mind and rest her tired, aching body.

  Her first week at Denmark’s Alaskan office had gone well. She had an excellent staff that was dedicated to Landmark Industries’ needs. The first thing on her agenda had been to come up with a name for the resort, and earlier today John Landmark had embraced the one her team submitted, Eden, with open arms. Everything about the resort, down to the very minute details, would be nothing short of paradise. The architectural design of the resort was breathtaking and would put any ski resort presently in operation to shame. Even the cable ski lifts were state-of-the-art. There would even be a few private rooms, larger than the normal size and equipped with an elegant king-size air mattress and a compact bathroom for those individuals whose romantic fantasy included being suspended high in the sky in a cozy setting with snow-capped mountains surrounding them.

  Sage’s smile widened. She was glad she had been the one selected to head up this office and appreciated Mr. Poole recommending her for the job before he’d left. If it had been left up to the man who the company had transferred in as Mr. Poole’s replacement, she would never have gotten the recommendation. Larry Bakersfield had, in just the short time he had arrived at the Charlotte office, proved to be a male chauvinist of the worst kind. Sage hated that Rose was still in Charlotte working for the man and knew her friend was constantly completing transfer papers to be relocated elsewhere.

  The four months Sage had remained in Charlotte after her breakup with Erol had been pure hell. She had caught it from both her family as well as his. Everyone thought she had taken things to the extreme by calling off their engagement. Only a few of her family members understood. Luckily for her, Cinnamon and Ginger had given their full support and understood her decision. Her parents, although they claimed they were remaining neutral, still let it be known that they thought her problem with Erol was something the two of them could work out.

  The holidays had been the most difficult for her since her and her father’s relationship was still strained, and more than once her mother had questioned her as to why. Then it had been hard not to be weakened by the flowers Erol would constantly send or by his invitations to join him for dinner. However, she had held to her resolve and consistently prayed to God that her relocation request with Denmark would come through.

  For weeks after their breakup, she had felt totally alone and would be the first to admit she missed their friendship as well as the intimate part of their relationship. A soft sigh trembled from her as she was reminded that Erol was the first and only guy she had slept with.

  As far as Sage was concerned, her move to Alaska had come at a good time, and since she had gotten a promotion out of it, that made things even better.

  Neither of her parents had taken her decision to relocate to Alaska well, although she had assured them it would be a good career move. They, as did Erol, thought she was moving to get away from him, which was only partly true. She’d also needed to put distance between her and her father as well. He still had not told her mother about his affair, and each time the three of them were together, Sage found herself feeling like a willing party to his deceit.

  In the bathroom,
she began filling the tub with water while doing her daily stretch exercises. When she thought the amount of water in the huge bathtub was enough, she turned off the lights in her apartment with a special remote control she had purchased, stepped into the tub and sank down.

  She closed her eyes as a picture of Eden came to mind, just how she pictured it would look when everything was completed. An hour or so later after toweling dry and slipping into her nightgown, she heard the phone ring. Thinking it was probably her mother or Rose, she quickly crossed her bedroom to pick up the phone on the night-stand next to her bed.

  “Hello?”

  “Sage Dunbar?”

  Sage raised a brow, trying to place the deep, masculine voice and found that she couldn’t. “Yes, this is Sage.”

  “This is Gabe Blackwell. I’m returning your call.”

  Gabe finished his drink and glanced around the bar. He had frequented the place several times with business associates from Landmark Industries and found the one thing he liked about The Garden Club was its classiness. On top of that, the restaurant served the best salmon dishes in the world, prepared by the finest chefs and served just about any way you liked. When Sage Dunbar had inquired about a place the two of them could meet and discuss business, this place had quickly come to mind.

  He still wasn’t sure what had driven him to call her at home last night. She had left only her business number on the answering machine, and even then he’d had no intention of contacting her before the next morning. But after hearing her voice, something had compelled him to call her. Instead of reaching her at the office, he had gotten her secretary, who had readily offered him her home number. After thinking about it, he’d decided since she had felt comfortable calling him at home, he would do likewise with her. Their conversation had been brief and very businesslike, with them ending the call less than five minutes after making dinner plans.

  He glanced down at his watch. He’d arrived a good thirty minutes early, coming straight from the office. He and Parnell had met in an afternoon-long meeting to make sure they had all the necessary building permits in their possession. Eden would be the most beautiful ski resort to grace the face of the earth, and he was glad that the Regency Corporation had a major part in making it possible.

  He was just about to raise his hand to the bartender for a refill when his attention, like every other man’s sitting at the bar, was drawn to the woman entering the establishment. He felt a coiling heat, a deep burning sensation, flow from the base of his foot all the way to the crown of his head as his gaze took a leisurely sweep of her. Sage Dunbar was just as beautiful as he remembered. He hadn’t realized until that very second that somehow he had committed to memory everything about her, and now it was all coming back to him, with vivid clarity.

  He watched as she removed her overcoat and handed it to Rico, the maitre d’. She then whispered something to him, a question perhaps. Rico looked his way and pointed Gabe out to her. When she saw him she smiled—one as radiant and unpretentious as before—and began walking toward him. He stood, determined to meet her halfway while once again seeing the graceful sway of her hips which automatically worked in synergy with the supple movement of her body.

  As she got closer, he almost missed a step when he noticed something about her, something he found different. Although she was smiling, and it was a smile that played at the corners of her mouth, emphasizing soft, full lips, the look in her eyes wasn’t the same. That certain sparkle that had pulled him in, drawn him to her like a moth to a flame, was gone. And as she got closer, his gaze instinctively went to her hands.

  Her engagement ring was also gone.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “So, Gabe, what do you think?”

  Gabe studied Sage for a few moments. He doubted if she really wanted an answer to that question, although he knew she was asking what he thought of the marketing proposal she’d just presented for Eden and not what he thought of her.

  “I think,” he said, mesmerized by the dark whiskey coloring of her eyes that still captivated him even without their sparkle, “that Denmark knew just what they were doing by sending you here to handle things.”

  The radiant gleam in her expressive eyes told him that his comment had pleased her. But then there was another look in her eyes, one that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It was a look that had indicated she wasn’t sure she could completely trust what he’d said.

  “Thanks,” she said softly. “But my job is easy since I’m selling Eden as nothing short of paradise, which I know it will be. You and your work crew are the ones putting everything together. Every time I take a look at that miniature model of Eden that I have on display in my office, I’m spellbound. I can’t wait to see the finished product.”

  Gabe chuckled as he took another sip of his wine. “Just don’t tell Parnell that. We’re committed to finishing up in a year’s time, weather permitting. Alaska isn’t known for its kind weather, especially during the winter months, and January and February are the worst. But we’re determined to put as many man-hours into the project as we have to, even twenty-four/seven, in order to get the job done.”

  Sage nodded as she placed her fork on her plate and leaned back. The place Gabe had chosen for their dinner meeting was exquisite. Its décor was ornately elegant in a rustic sort of way, from the towering arched windows that displayed snowcapped mountains in the background, to the wrought-iron oil lanterns that hung on several of the walls. The furnishings came from a period in European history that was fit for a king, and a sheath of rich silk flowed from one corner of the room to the other, giving a startling effect to the fire that was blazing in the huge fireplace that sat in the center of the room.

  “I met some of the members of your construction team this week and was surprised to discover some of them brought their families with them,” Sage said, meeting Gabe’s gaze.

  He grinned. “Yes. Although it was their decision to make, Chris and I recommended that they do that.”

  Sage arched a brow. “Why?”

  “Because the majority of the men are married and between the ages of twenty-five and forty. A year is a long time for them to be away from the women they love.” Gabe’s smile widened. “Statistics have shown that you can get more work out of a happy, satisfied man.”

  He gently rubbed his smooth-shaven chin as he gazed thoughtfully at her. “I guess the same would hold true for a woman.”

  She met his gaze before taking a sip of her wine. “I wouldn’t know.”

  An invisible red flag suddenly went up in Gabe’s mind when he saw the despairing look that appeared in her eyes. Although the subject hadn’t come up, he had a feeling the reason she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring had nothing to do with the size of it no longer being a fit. Evidently, there had been, or presently was, trouble in paradise. He decided not to play games and to just go ahead and cross the boundaries of what was considered proper by asking the question that had been on his mind all evening.

  “And your fiancé?” he inquired quietly, watching the play of emotions that lit into her face—hurt and pain, another telltale sign which caused another red flag to go up.

  Several long moments passed before she responded. “I’m no longer engaged.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, with all sincerity, thinking he was really damn sorry and was thinking that for whatever the reason, and without even knowing the details of what happened, her fiancé was a fool for losing her.

  Sage shrugged lightly, remembering what Erol had done and how she was still trying to recover financially. “Don’t be sorry.”

  He smiled. “All right. Then, I won’t.”

  She smiled back and went one step further when her mouth tipped up into a dignified chuckle. “Are you always this agreeable?”

  He raised his chin and looked at her, suddenly thinking that yes, with her he could always be this agreeable. Another red flag went up. “No, not always. I guess tonight it’s the mood.”

  She tilted her h
ead and raised a brow inquiringly. “And what mood is that?”

  “The mood to not disagree.”

  Sage laughed then, actually laughed, and realized just how long it had been since she’d done that. “Thanks,” she said, her amusement subsiding.

  Gabe arched a brow, knowing what she meant but deciding to pretend not to. “For dinner?”

  She smiled. “Yes, that, too. But mainly for making me laugh. I’m surprised that I still know how to.”

  He lifted a brow. “It’s been that long?”

  She took a slow sip of wine before saying, “Yes, nearly four months.”

  Gabe nodded. Whatever had happened between her and her fiancé had taken place not long after he’d last seen her. And whatever had happened had left a look of distrust and sadness in her eyes. “Well, I’m just going to have to make it my business to see that you have a reason to laugh more.”

  She looked away, and he could feel her backing off, slowly easing some distance between them. “Don’t bother because it’s easier said than done.”

  A part of Gabe began questioning his sanity. The signs were all there; the red flags had gone up, all three of them. For whatever reason, the confident, self-assured woman he’d met four months ago now had problems, issues, was on the rebound. She was the last type of woman he needed to be interested in.

  At the first sign, the raising of the first red flag, he should have brought the evening to a close, an end, zilch. Yet he was still sitting at a table in an exclusive restaurant, across from a very beautiful woman who had excess baggage, namely an ex-fiancé who had probably done her wrong, and even worse, an ex-fiancé she probably still cared deeply for. Hell, he’d been there and done that and for the longest time had endured a broken heart as a reminder. A woman on the rebound was known to straddle the fence, not knowing which way her heart would go, and more times than not was nothing but trouble. He’d made a vow to steer clear of women whose hearts had been led astray and were having problems finding their way back. He didn’t have time to play Dear Abby. So why in heaven’s name was he still meekly sitting there? He should be halfway home by now. Good grief!