The lights blinked again before finally going out, but the candles provided the cabin with plenty of light. Not sure if the temperatures outside would cause the pipes to freeze, she had run plenty of water in the bathtub and kitchen sink, and filled every empty jug with water for them to drink. She'd also found batteries to put in the radio so they could keep up with any reports on the weather.
"I saw the lights go out. Are you okay?"
Sienna turned around. Dane was leaning in the doorway with his hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans. The pose made him look incredibly sexy. "Yes, I'm okay. I was able to get the candles all lit and there are plenty more."
"That's good."
"Just in case the pipes freeze and we can't use the shower, I filled the bathtub up with water so we can take a bath that way." At his raised brow she quickly added, "Separately, of course. And I made sure I filled plenty of bottles of drinking water, too."
He nodded. "Sounds like you've been busy."
"So have you. I saw through the window when you put all that wood on the porch. It will probably come in handy."
He moved away from the door. "Yes, and with the electricity out I need to go ahead and get the fire started."
Sienna swallowed as she watched him walk toward her on his way to the fireplace, and not for the first time she thought about how remarkably handsome he was. He had that certain charisma that made women get hot all over just looking at him.
It suddenly occurred to her that he'd already got a fire started, and the way it was spreading through her was about to make her burst into flames.
Chapter 9
"You okay?" Dane asked Sienna as he walked toward her with a smile.
She nodded and cleared her throat. "Yes, why do you ask?"
"Because you're looking at me funny."
"Oh." She was vaguely aware of him walking past her to kneel in front of the fireplace. She turned and watched him, saw him move the wood around before taking a match and lighting it to start a fire. He was so good at kindling things, whether wood or the human body.
"If you like, I can make something for dinner," she decided to say, otherwise she would continue to stand there and say nothing while staring at him. It was hard trying to be normal in a rather awkward situation.
"What are our options?" he asked without looking around.
She chuckled. "An egg sandwich and tea. I made both earlier before the power went off."
He turned at that and his gaze caught hers. A smile crinkled his eyes. "Do I have a choice?"
"Not if you want to eat."
"What about those Girl Scout cookies I found in your car?"
Her eyes narrowed. "They're off-limits. You can have one of the candy bars, but the cookies are mine."
His mouth broke into a wide grin. "You have enough cookies to share, so stop being selfish."
He turned back around and she made a face at him behind his back. He was back to stoking the fire and her gaze went to his hands. Those hands used to be the givers of so much pleasure and almost ran neck and neck with his mouth...but not quite. His mouth was in a class by itself. But still, she could recall those same hands, gentle, provoking, moving all over her body; touching her everywhere and doing things to her that mere hands weren't suppose to do. However, she never had any complaints.
"Did you have any plans for tonight, Sienna?"
His words intruded into her heated thoughts. "No, why?"
"Just wondering. You thought I had a date tonight. What about you?"
She shrugged. "No. As far as I'm concerned, until we sign those final papers, I'm still legally married and wouldn't feel right going out with someone."
He turned around and locked his eyes with hers. "I know what you mean," he said. "I wouldn't feel right going out with someone else."
Heat seeped through her every pore with his words. "So you haven't been dating, either?"
"No."
There were a number of questions she wanted to ask him-how he spent his days, his nights, what his family thought of their pending divorce, what he thought of it, was he ready for it to be over for them to go their separate ways-but there was no way she could ask him any of those things. "I guess I'll go put dinner on the table."
He chuckled. "An egg sandwich and tea?"
"Yes." She turned to leave.
"Sienna?"
She turned back around. "Yes?"
"I don't like being stranded, but since I am, I'm glad it's with you."
For a moment she couldn't say anything, then she cleared her throat while backing up a couple of steps. "Ah, yeah right, same here." She backed up some more then said, "I'll go set out the food now." And then she turned and quickly left the room.
Chapter 10
Sienna glanced up when she heard Dane walk into the kitchen and smiled. "Your feast awaits you."
"Whoopee."
She laughed. "Hey, I know the feeling. I'm glad I had a nice lunch today in celebration. I took on a new client."
Dane came and joined her at the table. "Congratulations."
"Thank you."
She took a bite of her scrambled egg sandwich and a sip of her tea and then said, "It's been a long time since you seemed genuinely pleased with my accomplishments."
He glanced up after taking a sip of his own tea and stared at her for a moment. "I know and I'm sorry about that. It was hard being replaced by your work, Sienna."
She lifted her head and stared at him, met his gaze. She saw the tightness of his jaw and the firm set of his mouth. He actually believed that something could replace him with her and knowing that hit a raw and sensitive nerve. "My work never replaced you, Dane. Why did you begin feeling that way?"
Dane leaned back in his chair, tilted his head slightly. He was more than mildly surprised with her question. It was then he realized that she really didn't know. Hadn't a clue. This was the opportunity that he wanted; what he was hoping they would have. Now was the time to put aside anger, bitterness, foolish pride and whatever else was working at destroying their marriage. Now was the time for complete honesty. "You started missing dinner. Not once but twice, sometimes three times a week. Eventually, you stopped making excuses and didn't show up."
What he'd said was the truth. "But I was working and taking on new clients," she defended. "You said you would understand."
"And I did for a while and up to a point. But there is such a thing as common courtesy and mutual respect, Sienna. In the end I felt like I'd been thrown by the wayside, that you didn't care anymore about us, our love or our marriage."
She narrowed her eyes. "And why didn't you say something?"
"When? I was usually asleep when you got home and when I got up in the morning you were too sleepy to discuss anything. I invited you to lunch several times, but you couldn't fit me into your schedule."
"I had appointments."
"Yes, and I always felt because of it that your clients were more important."
"Still, I wished you would have let me know how you felt," she said, after taking another sip of tea.
"I did, several times. But you weren't listening."
She sighed deeply. "We used to know how to communicate."
"Yes, at one time we did, didn't we?" Dane said quietly. "But I'm also to blame for the failure of our marriage, our lack of communication. And then there were the problems you were having with my parents. When it came to you, I never hesitated letting my parents know when they were out of line and that I wouldn't put up with their treatment of you. But then I felt that at some point you needed to start believing that what they thought didn't matter and stand up to them.
"I honestly thought I was doing the right thing when I decided to just stay out of it and give you the chance to deal with them, to finally put them in their place. Instead, you let them erode away at your security and confidence to the point where you felt you had to prove you were worthy of them...and of me. That's what drove you to be so successful, wasn't it, Sienna? Feeling the need to prove something is what working all those long hours was all about, wasn't it?"
Chapter 11
Sienna quickly got up from the table and walked to the window. It was turning dark but she could clearly see that things hadn't let up. It was still snowing outside, worse than an hour before. She tried to concentrate on what was beyond that window and not on the question Dane had asked her.