“Somehow, he’s in on all this. He wanted me to annul my marriage to you and stand by his side at the meeting tomorrow.”

“Did he touch you?” Cole’s arms were held rigidly at his sides, his hands clenched.

She shuddered deep inside. “He kissed me.”

“And you just let him?”

The words were almost toneless, no accusation was reflected in his voice. But Darci felt herself getting angry, anyway. She shouldn’t have to defend herself. “I’d fallen asleep at my desk and he let himself in. I didn’t wake up until it was too late.”

Cole nodded, acknowledging her words, but not releasing the anger she could see building inside him. His warning about locking her office door hovered between them, but Cole had the good sense not to remind her.

Finally, he spoke. “I guess he didn’t take my warnings seriously. I’ll have to make myself clearer the next time we talk.”

“We gonna rumble with someone?” Todd came out of the kitchen, a white apron tied around his waist and a big wooden spoon clutched in one hand.

Cole gave him a tight smile. “Just a little personal matter that needs my attention.”

Todd looked disappointed. “Haven’t had a good fight in months.” He turned to Darci with a smile. “Get that city-slicker suit off, young lady. Your dinner’s about cooked and I’m starved.”

Darci saluted him with her wine glass, anxious for an excuse to escape Cole. He was too angry, and she wanted him too badly. A few moments of privacy might give her a chance to get her defenses back in place.

Comfortable and secure in her jeans and an old sweatshirt, she joined the men in the kitchen, looking for a harmless topic. “So, Todd, you’re also a master chef?”

“I’m just an old cowboy who likes to eat. Cole did the cooking, I’m doing the stirring.”

She turned to look at Cole, trying to hide the amusement tugging at the corners of her mouth. “When you lived at home, you could barely pour yourself a glass of water. What happened?”

“I got hungry,” he said simply. Tasting the chili boiling on the stove, he added more spices and turned away from her. But she wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. The need to tease him, to lighten the tension between them, was irresistible.

“And it’s edible?”

“This boy’s chili’s won contests all over the West. It’ll steam your sinuses and put hair on your chest.” Todd’s already ruddy cheeks deepened in color, and he muttered, “Or whatever it does for you gals.”

Cole laughed. “Stuck your foot in it again, huh, Todd?”

“Shut your mouth, boy, and serve dinner before I eat it all right here.”