Destiny’s gaze narrowed. “Are you suggesting I’m lying?”
“Just a little fib,” he said. “You’re not all that great at it, you know. You should give it up.”
Destiny turned to Kathleen. “See what I have to put up with. I get no respect from this man.”
“Oh, you get plenty of respect,” Ben countered. “I’m just on to you.”
Destiny sat back contentedly. “If you know why I’m here, that’ll save me the trouble of asking all those pesky questions. Just tell me how you two wound up here.”
“It was an accident,” Ben claimed at once. “We bumped into each other.”
“Alexandria is a long way from Middleburg. How did you just happen to be on the streets around here?” Destiny asked. “Were you coming to see me?”
“No,” Ben said at once.
Destiny chuckled. “I see. Then it was the thought of seafood that drew you?”
“Something like that,” Ben said.
Destiny regarded him smugly. “Something like that, indeed,” she said, a note of satisfaction in her voice.
Kathleen stole a look at Ben. He did not look happy. In fact, judging from his expression, she figured their gooses were pretty much cooked. Destiny would never give up now.
6
Ben spent two days kicking himself for choosing to take Kathleen to that particular restaurant for dinner. He knew perfectly well that Destiny had sources there. That was where Richard had met Melanie, and his aunt had had every detail of that meeting before they’d finished their first cups of coffee. Ben knew because she’d gloated about it.
Since he should have guessed the risks, did that mean some part of him had wanted to be caught? Was he hoping in some totally perverse way that Destiny would keep meddling until both he and Kathleen were firmly on the hook?
Surely not, especially after just a couple of brief encounters. He might be in lust with Kathleen, but it certainly didn’t go beyond that, and beyond that was just where Destiny wanted him to go. He didn’t believe for one single second that this was about art, not from his aunt’s perspective, anyway.
But any relationship was doomed. He and Kathleen had discussed the situation and viewed it through clear eyes. It simply wasn’t meant to be. Period.
That didn’t mean he was having much success in ignoring the attraction. Goodness knows he was tempted to drag her into his arms about every ten seconds, but that was another thing they’d agreed on. Sex was a bad idea.
Not that they’d hold out forever, he concluded honestly, especially if they kept on seeing each other on one pretext or another. Proximity was about as dangerous for the two of them as holding a match near the wick on a stick of dynamite and simply hoping there wouldn’t be an explosion.
He was still pondering the entire situation over his morning coffee when he looked up and spotted Richard coming up the front steps. First Mack, now Richard. His brothers were apparently determined to get an unprecedented amount of enjoyment out of watching him squirm.
Richard rang the bell, then used his key and came on in. No one in the whole damn family ever considered that he might be busy or might not want to see them, Ben thought gloomily. Maybe Middleburg hadn’t been quite far enough to move when he’d wanted solitude. Ohio might have been better. Or maybe Montana.
“You in here?” Richard called out.
“If I weren’t, would you go away?” Ben replied, not even trying to hide his sarcasm.
Richard strode into the dining room, picked up the pot of coffee and poured himself a cup without bothering to respond.
“I’ll take your silence as a no,” Ben said. “If you’re here to make something out of the fact that I had dinner with Kathleen, don’t bother. I’m in no mood to discuss it.”
Richard regarded him with seemingly genuine surprise. “You had dinner with Kathleen? When was that? You certainly didn’t waste any time, did you? I thought you were made of tougher stuff than that.”
“Very funny,” Ben said, then frowned at his brother. “You mean Destiny didn’t tell you? I thought she’d announce it to the wire services.”
“Nope, and apparently she didn’t see fit to tip off her favorite gossip columnist, either,” Richard said with an exaggerated shudder. “Be grateful for small favors.”
“I’m not feeling especially grateful,” Ben told his big brother. “Okay then, let’s change the subject. Why are you out here on a weekday morning, if not to gloat?”
“I needed a sounding board,” Richard said.
His tone was so serious, his expression so gloomy, that Ben stared at him in shock.
“Is Melanie okay?” he asked at once. “There’s nothing wrong with the baby, is there?”
“Aside from being annoyed with me for hovering, Melanie’s perfectly fine. So is the baby,” Richard said. “This is about business.”
“And you came to me?” Ben asked, astonished. “Why not Mack? Or Destiny?”
“I didn’t go to Mack because he’s out of town,” he admitted with typical candor. “And I didn’t want to discuss this with Destiny, because the last time I brought up this particular subject, she got really weird on me.”
“Then I was third choice? That’s a relief,” Ben said. “I thought the business had to be close to collapse if you were desperate enough to seek advice from me.”
“Actually, in this instance, you really were first choice. You know Destiny better than Mack or I do.”
Ben groaned at the frequently-made claim. “That’s ridiculous and you know it.”
“Come on, Ben. It’s no secret that the two of you are tighter than the rest of us. Maybe it’s because you were the youngest when she came to live with us, so she was even more like a mother to you. Or maybe it’s the art thing, but you’re her favorite. I figure she’s bound to share things with you that she doesn’t confide
