Another Woman's Son (Harlequin Romance) (14 page)

“I like you, too.”

“I noticed,” he said.

She smiled, hiding her real feelings. She more than liked him. She couldn’t imagine ever letting him go back to everyday life alone. She might be falling in love with Ben.

The idea scared her. It could terrify him. They needed more time to be sure.

And they needed to settle the problems that waited outside this room—her parents, his son, her desire to find out if she could live on her own. She pushed those troubles away.

“What do you have in mind?” she asked. With only a smile for an answer, he scooped her out of
bed. She clung to his shoulders. “A hernia for you right now would be most inconvenient for me.”

He smiled, as uninhibited as she’d ever seen him. “You can walk on the way back.”

But when they reached the tub, he stopped. His face looked different to her, the angles the same, but her feelings for him had changed irrevocably. She’d never see him the old way again.

“Why are you staring at me, Isabel?”

“Just looking. Enjoying.”

His smile turned possessive again. She’d come back to Hartsfield, searching for her own way. She wanted no one to own her. But her life felt richer because Ben’s expression seemed to say she was his. Terrifying.

“Better put me down,” she said.

“I’m afraid I’ll drop you if I don’t.” He let her slide down his body.

“I liked that.” She stroked his buttocks. “We could do that again.”

“How about a bath first?”

“How handy the faucets are in the middle.”

She took one end, sinking into the bliss of bathwater at a perfect temperature, scented with something exotic. “You’re going to smell good later,” she said.

“I did this for you.” His embarrassment made her laugh.

“I know.” She laid her arms along the tub, wondering how she’d ever lived before tonight. “It’s the ultimate courtship move.”

“Ahh.” He climbed in at the other end, but he seemed so far away. “I’m glad you approve.” He curved his hand around her foot. “What’s wrong?”

“You could move closer.”

“I like you where you are.” With his longer reach, he stroked her thighs.

She sank down as his hands slid higher. Talk ceased. At last, reaching for her waist, he tugged her forward. She went, happy to give him whatever he needed. He pulled her onto his lap, whispering her name in her damp hair.

She had the feeling he was asking her permission.

Again she took over, to show him she wanted to be exactly where she was. The water sloshed gently, teasing her with its own touch as Ben’s hands ran restlessly up and down her torso. His clever touch raised her so fast she couldn’t wait for him this time.

But she made up for it, reveling in his gruff cries against her throat, in the pressure of his hands as he held her where her body felt best to him.

Finally, they washed and toweled each other dry and staggered back to bed to sleep in each other’s arms.

Could rebound love feel this intense? Or could this love be real?

“I
SABEL
? S
ORRY
, Isabel, but you have to wake up.”

She pried an eye open. Nothing romantic about morning. “Go away, Ben.”

“I can’t.” Kneeling again, he lifted a coffee cup from the nightstand. “I went downstairs and begged for caffeine.”

“You bring gifts?” She loved his eyes, begging her to wake up. She loved his ruffled hair.

It was damp.

“You’ve showered. What time is it?”

“Time to move if I’m going to make it home and get Tony to day care.”

She sipped the coffee, burned her tongue, swore and set the cup on the table before she crawled out of the bedclothes.

“Are you all right?” Ben asked.

“Laughing wouldn’t be your best option.” But then she ruined her warning, laughing at herself. She scratched her head and discovered her hair was standing up in spikes. “I’ll never look at water the same way.”

“You should look at it now.” He sipped her coffee, too. “If a cop stops us on the way back, and you look like that, we’ll both be taking sobriety tests.”

“Suave, Ben.” She wished she’d brought a hat. “Do you have a comb?”

“Yes, but shower first and comb in the car.”

“You’re not trying to get rid of me?”

He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. Sappy as it might seem, it was a moment she’d treasure forever. He swooped in for a kiss that convinced her of his regret at cutting their time short.

“We’ll manage this again,” he said. “We just have to be careful.”

“You’re right. I can’t even imagine explaining to Mom and Dad.”

After a shower, she found her bag and the clothes she’d packed. Ben had finished her coffee and was dressing hell-bent for leather, too.

“If you don’t have time to drive by my house, I could take a cab from yours.” She hopped into one pant leg, barely avoiding a tumble to the floor. “Except the sitter would see me.”

“I added in time to take you home.” He intercepted her curious glance. “Not because I care if the sitter sees you. I don’t want to send you home in a cab after last night.” He pulled a sweater over his head. “Last night I couldn’t believe how confident you were. This morning, I’m the one who’s sure.”

“Sure we did the right thing?”

“Over and over.” His wolfish grin went straight to her heart. There was something sensual in his bad, private joke.

“I’m seeing consequences I ignored last night,” she said.

“I promise we’ll talk.” He took her sweatshirt out of her hands and helped her put it on. With Will, she would have snapped that she wasn’t helpless. Ben eased her hair out of her hood, and his touch lingered. He brushed his lips across her forehead. “Let’s not forget that comb, though.”

They were the first guests out of the B and B, stopping only to thank Cleo. Isabel promised to call later.

Ben drove with awareness Isabel envied. She leaned into her door and nodded off, waking only when he touched her leg or reached for her hand. He walked her to the door at home and kissed her soundly.

“You’re all right?” he asked.

“Yeah. Are you okay to drive alone?”

A grin twisted his mouth as he turned. “Your snoring kept me awake, but I think I’ll get by.”

His tone wrapped her in affection. She’d rather follow him back to his house than do her own tasks today. “I never knew you were a morning person.”

“I never knew you weren’t.” He leaned over the roof of the car. “Come for dinner tonight.”

She nodded, hating the moment he drove away. She went inside, climbed her stairs and fell across the bed, praying no one would want to view the house.

Waking later, she showered yet again, restored her hair to a look most humans wouldn’t mind and culled her closet for the perfect interview suit.

Ben called at noon. “Getting ready for your appointment?”

“I just found clothes.” She closed her mouth, hoping to moisten the dry expanses. “I’m nervous.”

“You’ll be great. Any organization would have paid event planners a fortune for the work you’ve done.”

“That was good. I needed to hear that, but I’d better go. I’m practicing in the mirror.”

“Good,” he said, amused.

She didn’t remember entertaining Ben so much before. “It’s easy for you. You’ve had the same job since you graduated from college.”

“I’ve been promoted.” Just like a man. He had to point out he was climbing the ladder.

“I mean you’ve proven yourself. I’m worried I’ll fall flat on my face.”

“You won’t. Hold on a sec.” He covered his phone to speak to someone else. Then he came back. “I believe in you, Isabel.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m serious. I’d hire you if it wouldn’t be such a conflict of interest. And also, you don’t have a chemical engineering degree.”

His faith should have comforted her, but it felt too nice to trust. “That’s a drawback,” she said, trying to control her nerves. “I’m going now.”

“Good luck. Bring a change of clothes tonight.”

Her pulse banged around her body, but she yanked on the reins. Something had changed for him since last night. She still didn’t want to share a bed with him under Faith’s roof, and they had to consider Tony, too. “I can’t. Tony wouldn’t understand.”

“You’ve stayed here—who knows how many times?”

“Never the way you mean.” Confused, she tested him. “How would you like to stay here?”

Silence. Thick and unyielding. “I get it. But we’ll see you for dinner?”

He and Tony. And her parents.

She’d barely set down the phone when it rang again. “Ben?”

“It’s Ray.”

“Hi.” Ben wouldn’t like the arrangements she’d asked Ray to make. She’d almost forgotten. “It’s time to ask Ben to join us for a meeting?”

“As soon as possible. Let me check my calendar. You know, I never can work these electronic gadgets. Oh, there it goes. This is Friday— I’m busy till six this evening. How do you feel about Monday?”

“I feel good about it, but Ben won’t be enthusiastic.”

“He won’t turn you down, though.”

“I’m not so sure, Ray.”

“What you’re doing is good for Tony. Ben won’t deny his son.”

“You must know him better than I do.” Her hand trembled. She brought up the other one to help hold the phone. After last night, Ben would feel betrayed that she’d gone ahead with the trust fund without telling him.

A paper rustled on Ray’s side of the phone. “He’ll be all right once we explain.”

“I’ll talk to him tonight and then call back for an appointment.”

“Okay.”

“I’m grateful, Ray. I know all your clients don’t get so much of your personal time.”

“Happy to help.” He coughed with dignity and gruffness, at the same time. “Let me know what Ben says.”

“I will.” She hung up.

Money didn’t matter to Ben. He made plenty for his son. But falling for Ben had only deepened her feelings for the little boy who’d owned her heart since his birth. She wanted him to have the legacy that could give him an easy life.

Ben couldn’t see she was only trying to protect her nephew. He feared someone would guess the truth behind Tony’s birthright, and his pride stood between him and what was best for Tony—just this once.

“W
HAT DO YOU MEAN
Ray needs to explain Tony’s trust fund?”

The kitchen’s flat, shiny surfaces seemed to blind Isabel. Ben’s anger vibrated right through her. Without another word, she dragged him out to the deck.

Too late to remember coats. They both gasped in the frigid air.

“Stop, Isabel. You’ll freeze out here.”

“You were almost shouting.” Her mom and dad had taken Tony to play in the living room while Ben and Isabel cleaned up after dinner. Littered with Tony’s toys, the house was cozier than Isabel ever remembered it, but the rooms were too open to buffer Ben’s raised voice.

She urged him down the stairs, and they crunched through the snow, to the bare bones of Tony’s slow-growing tree house. Ben carefully extricated himself from her grasp.

“Tony takes nothing from Will. I told you that.”

“I thought you agreed he had the right.” She shiv
ered, the damp night and Ben’s irate attitude enough to ice her veins.

“If I agreed, I was out of my mind. Why haven’t you told me about this?”

“At first, I thought I’d give you time to calm down. Then I got busy and it mostly slipped my mind.”

“Mostly.”

“All right— I should have told you.” Isabel checked the kitchen windows for her parents. “Talk to Ray. Maybe you’ll be happier after he explains.”

The breeze lifted Ben’s hair. His unnatural stillness meant he didn’t trust himself to move.

Isabel took a step closer. How far could the wind carry their voices?

“Tony deserves Will’s money more than anyone alive, and I can’t move on until I deal with the estate. Keep it for school—for an illness. Tony may want it for his own family when he grows up. Let it rot in whatever accounts Ray sets up until Tony decides what he wants to do with it.”

Ben flattened one palm across his forehead and then rubbed, as if he were trying to peel off his own skin. “You’re forcing me. I don’t have a choice.”

“It’s what you always say. Tony comes first.”

The weary lines around his eyes expressed no pleasure and not a lot of resignation. “When do I have to decide?”

“I’m supposed to call Ray today.”

“Tonight.” He glanced at the black sky. “But I
guess an important client like you has his home number.”

She backed away from his sharp tone. “Ben.”

“I’m sorry.” He came after her, opening his arms.

“Don’t.” He looked hurt even before she held him off, but no one would ever take that condescending tone with her again. Slipping on an icy tuft of grass, she held up both hands between them. “Even you can’t talk to me like that.”

“I’m sorry.” He slid his hands behind his back as if to reassure her he wouldn’t touch her. “But I’d snap Will in two if he was standing in front of me instead of you.”

“I’m not Will.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “Even if I seem to have acted like him. And I’m sorry for that.”

“I’ll talk to Ray.” Ben pulled her to him. His mouth against her forehead offered an apology rather than passion. “I’m sorry I took it out on you.”

Forgiving Ben came easy. “I know how you feel. Nothing is under our control anymore, and I made it worse. Can you make time on Monday?”

He let her go, as if Monday was too soon. She felt colder, cast out of his warmth.

“They’re sympathetic at my office.” A question entered his eyes. “I’ve had things to do for Faith’s estate, too, but it was straightforward. She left some jewelry to you, Isabel. I’ve been wondering how to tell you.”

Repulsed, she turned on her heel, beating a path through the frozen grass. “Put it away for Tony’s wife.”

“Why are you allowed to turn down a bequest?”

“It’s different.”

“It is different. Will actually fathered my son.”

Her heart shattered like icicles hitting the ground. “Ben, I’m not your enemy. I know Tony will never be anyone’s child but yours. Will donated sperm and money. You give him love and care and protection. Will visited and played the uncle, but you’ve been here night and day. You’ve had more of the good times, but you’ve also done the dirty work.”

He tugged her close again, a man clinging for dear life.

And she tightened her arms.

“Don’t let go,” he said against her ear.

“What’s going to happen to us, Ben?”

“What’s wrong?” George asked sharply from the deck.

Isabel edged away from Ben, slowly so they wouldn’t look guilty. “Nothing’s wrong, Dad.”

“We had a small argument.” Ben met George halfway across the yard. “Everything’s fine now.”

“Fine? I heard you from the kitchen.”

“Voices carry, Dad.” She wished she could bite her tongue off, instead of furthering the story that was starting to smother her. “I have to make a phone call. I’ll use the guest room.”

She didn’t look back.

“W
HAT REALLY HAPPENED
, Ben? How did you upset my daughter?”

Ben took a deep breath. Lying was easier when he just had to keep his mouth shut. “We were talking about Tony. She thinks he already spends too much time in day care.” He’d have to remember to tell her, but it sounded like something she’d say.

“She’s always wanted a child of her own. I can see she might get too attached to Tony.”

“Too attached?” Before he knew it, he was angry on her behalf—believing his own lie. “Isabel can’t be too attached. She’s been Tony’s second mom since he was born.”

“Did he need a second mom?”

“That’s an odd question, coming from you. Something on your mind, George?”

“I’ve noticed how close you and my younger daughter seem to be.”

Images of last night tumbled through Ben’s mind, and he almost forgot George. “Isabel’s important to me.”

“And to Tony.” George reached for the deck banister and climbed the first step. “She’s a responsible woman, and I think she loves Tony as much as you say—as if she were in some way another mother to him. But I wonder if that’s healthy for her.”

What the hell? “Healthy?”

“How will she make her own life if she feels Tony needs her as much as a mom?”

“He’s my son.” And he didn’t care to think about Isabel making a life that didn’t include Tony and him. “But nobody tells Isabel what to do.”

“You sound as if you’d like to.” George opened the kitchen door. “But you shouldn’t take advantage of her soft heart. I want my younger daughter to have what her sister did. A husband who loves her and deserves her—and children of her own.”

Ben resisted a slow burn of jealous rage. “I won’t stand in her way.” Then he remembered he was the husband who’d loved Faith. At last, he felt a first tinge of empathy for his former wife. Neither of them had known the first thing about love in their marriage.

“I’
LL HOLD TEN
on Monday for you,” Ray said. “Call me back if Ben can’t make that time.”

“Okay. Thanks, Ray.”

“I have guests so I must go. I’ll check my messages tomorrow if you need to cancel.”

He hung up and Isabel did, too, staring at the four sand-colored walls of the guest room she’d used.

Last night’s contentment seemed a long way off. She and Ben had slapped a Band-Aid over their problems instead of talking about them. She wasn’t a sex-for-sex’s-sake kind of woman.

She dropped back, sinking her hands into the
heavy woven comforter. The cloth felt cool against her palms. And real. Not like last night’s break in a fairy-tale room, with a man who’d been as desperate for her as she still was for him.

Laughter drifted to her. Tony. His happiness pulled her upright. Why worry about tomorrow or yesterday? She didn’t have to solve any more problems this minute. For tonight she’d hang out with Tony and put all complications out of her mind.

Small snags like falling for Ben. She’d loved Will. Surely she’d loved Will. How could she love Ben now? How could she love Ben more? From the gut, from the center of who she was, as deep as the ten-dons and muscles that held her together.

Another shout of boyish laughter made her turn her head toward the door. She pulled herself together and stood, tired of her own confusion.

Her cell phone rang. She lifted the face and read Leah’s number. “Hello?”

“Hi, Isabel. Do you have a moment?”

Leah’s mainline Philadelphia manners irritated her more than ever tonight. “Sure. What’s up?”

“Well.” It was a commentary on Isabel’s lack of sophistication. “I’d like to see my son’s—grave. Will you come with me?”

Isabel closed her eyes. Last night’s sense of safety in Ben’s arms flooded back, but he wasn’t hers to keep. And last night had been a break from real life and the difficult decisions they both still faced.

“I’d be glad to. When are you coming down?”

“Tuesday? What would you think about that?”

“I’ll keep the afternoon free.” Maybe she could persuade her mom to come along. The two women had never been best friends, but her mom might remind Leah to be rational.

“I’ll call when I’m close to D.C. We can meet at the house.”

Not at “your house,” but at least not at Will’s, either. “Drive carefully.”

She hung up and went in search of her mother. Isabel found her mom in the living room, leaning over a small computer on the hearth rug with her Dad and Tony. Behind them, the fire flickered through a wrought-iron screen. Tony chuckled infectiously as he punched the correct button and the small machine played a tune.

“George brought it home today,” her mom said. “Tony loves the music.”

“Don’t we all?” Ben asked wryly.

“It’s better than a drum,” Isabel said, and he smiled, agreeing.

Tony patted the rug. “Sit, Iz-bell.”

He demonstrated a matching game. Every time he clicked on two identical tiles a chime filled the room.

Eventually, Ben groaned from behind the evening newspaper. “I hope we don’t lose that thing.”

George eased to his feet, muttering as his joints
popped. “It’s a grandparent’s prerogative to give a child a gift that drives his dad nuts.”

Ben shifted his paper aside again. “I’ll get my own turn when he grows up?”

Her father actually laughed, more present than he’d been since the day of the funerals. Isabel looked from face to face to face, each warmed by the mellow light of fire and lamp.

“Mom?”

“Hmm?” Her mom was too interested in her grandson’s brilliant memory to pay close attention.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

Amelia’s surprise startled Isabel. Didn’t she ask favors like any normal daughter? “What can I do for you, honey?”

Isabel explained about Leah. “She’s more moody than usual right now, and I’m afraid I’ll say something ugly if she doesn’t lay off. She might not be so—honest—if you’re along.”

“What time?”

“I’ll come, too,” Isabel’s father said.

“So will I.” Ben’s protective tone startled Isabel most of all. She avoided looking at him, hoping to keep her parents from noticing.

“We don’t all have to go,” she said.

“I think it’s a good idea.” Ben dropped his paper on the floor and went to Tony. “I don’t like the way she treats you.” He held out his arms for his son. “You—it’s time for bed. Let’s put your computer away.”

“I’ll do that,” Amelia said. She hugged Tony, who didn’t like being parted from his new toy. “Go with your daddy.”

“I’ll walk you to the stairs.” Isabel faked a big yawn. “I have another interview tomorrow.”

“Honey,” her mother said with regret, “I forgot to ask. How did today’s go?”

“Fine.” It seemed a long time ago to Isabel. “The office is new and nice. Up-to-date equipment, and they liked me. I’m supposed to go back for a second visit.”

“I’m glad to see you taking steps,” her father said.

“I had a job in Middleburg, Dad.”

“But it didn’t feel permanent. This is a choice, not a response to your unfortunate situation.”

What had come over him tonight? She didn’t miss the telling glance he shared with Ben. “Good night.” She kissed both her parents and ran after Tony and Ben.

They were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Tony kissed her, sharing some cracker crumbs and a whiff of apple juice.

“Night, buddy,” she said.

Ben pulled her close. She felt his lips in her hair and pulled away, awkwardly. “I’ve been trying to get your attention since I called Ray. He asked to see us at ten on Monday.”

“Ten.” His frown spoke volumes.

“We have to hear what he’s arranged.”

“For my son.”

She jumped, but her parents couldn’t have heard his reckless whisper. She took her coat off the banister and put it on, tugging her keys out of the pocket. “I know how you feel. I’d love to shut the door on Barker Synthetics and forget Will ever came near me, but his employees depend on their salaries, and any decisions I make there will affect Tony’s future, too.”

“At least you played some role in the company.”

“You’re wrong. Will made sure I didn’t.” She opened the door. “I thought some wrongheaded sense of being a provider made him shut me out, but now I wonder what else he was hiding.”

“Don’t drive yourself crazy. Even I don’t think he had time for any more games.” He pointed at her car. “Start the engine. Let it warm up.”

“I will, but you all go on upstairs. You must be cold.”

Again he lowered his voice. “I wish you’d stay and warm me like last night.”

“Maybe last night was a mistake, too.”

His tone roughened. “Now, who’s looking for excuses?”

“I am.”

“Because I got too close to you.” In an instant he became her lover again, his feelings naked on his drawn face.

“Yes,” she said. “Too soon.” Panic filled her at
the thought of committing to a man, especially the one who had an ax to grind with anyone named Barker.

“We’ve both been alone inside broken marriages for too long.” Ben glanced at the living room doorway. “I’m ready for you, Isabel, and I’m not turning back. I won’t let you turn back, either.”

His confidence frightened her. She headed into the frigid darkness.

“H
E WANTED
to talk about our relationship in the middle of the hall.” With a glance at her watch, Isabel turned from the forever-view outside Ray’s floor-to-ceiling windows. “With my parents in the next room, and my mom asking me questions all the time. And my dad’s obviously said something to Ben that I don’t know about.”