Ben rolled his eyes at the comment, but Kathleen thought she detected something else in his expression, maybe a hint of excitement. Not until they were finally in the car and on their way to her place did she call him on it, though.
“You had a brainstorm back there, didn’t you?”
He regarded her innocently. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, can the innocent act,” she retorted. “What’s your idea?”
“It occurred to me that since babies like things that stimulate them and that they spend a lot of time in their cribs on their backs, maybe this baby should have a mural on the ceiling.”
Kathleen stared at him in delight. “Oh, Ben, that’s a wonderful idea. And when he or she is all grown up, they can tell the world that the ceiling in their nursery was painted by a famous artist.”
He frowned at that. “We’re not talking Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel.”
“No, we’re talking about Ben Carlton and the Carlton nursery being painted with love.”
“Don’t make too much of this,” he said, clearly embarrassed.
“Of course not,” she agreed dutifully. “But is there time before the baby comes?”
“You hang the paper tomorrow and let me worry about the ceiling.”
“Fair enough,” she said happily. “What time should we get started?”
“I’ll pick you up at eight.”
“But that means you’ll be driving back into town in rush hour,” she protested.
He gave her a long, steady look. “You have a better idea?”
She knew what he was asking, but she wasn’t quite ready to say yes. Things between them were complicated enough without throwing sex into the equation. The occasional kiss was one thing, but anything more? Too dangerous.
The temptation was there, though. It was in the heat stealing through her, the quickening of her pulse. She forced herself to ignore all that.
“Absolutely,” she said at once. “You could stay with Destiny.”
To her surprise, he didn’t immediately scoff at the idea. In fact, his expression turned thoughtful.
“I could at that. It would give me one more shot at getting her to open up to me, since you won’t spill the beans about the conversation the two of you had.”
“I should have known you’d only stay there if you had an ulterior motive,” she said. “It’s not enough just to be there because she could use the company.”
“If there’s one thing we Carltons all have in common, it’s that we never miss a chance to seize an opportunity when it smacks us in the face,” he said.
“Sure you do,” she replied. “I’ve offered you an incredible opportunity, one many artists would kill for, and you’re ignoring that.”
“That’s not an opportunity, sweetheart. It’s a tangled web I don’t want to get drawn into, thank you very much.”
“Be careful what you say,” she warned him. “One of these days I might decide to believe you, withdraw my offer, and then where will you be?”
“Left in peace on my secluded farm?” he suggested hopefully.
“That’s not really what you want,” she said confidently.
“Yes, it is,” he said emphatically.
Kathleen studied his face intently, then shook her head. “No, you don’t.”
“You calling me a liar?” he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“No, I’m saying you’re a bit confused and misguided. It happens to people sometimes. They lose their way.”
His gaze caught hers and held it. “Like you lost yours?”
She trembled under the intensity of his scrutiny. The question called for honesty, so she gave it to him. “Yes,” she said softly. “Exactly like that.”
“Something tells me that tonight you came close to finding it again,” he said, his gaze still on her face. “You ran up against an old dream, didn’t you?”
She thought of the contentment she’d felt earlier, the sense that she was finally part of a group of people she could like, maybe even love. She glanced at Ben, then amended that—people she could trust. Because, she suddenly realized, it wasn’t the loving that was going to hold her back from finding happiness. It was the inability to trust.
She stole another glance in Ben’s direction. Maybe, just maybe, she was about to turn a corner on that.
* * *
Destiny was still up when Ben got back to her place after dropping Kathleen off. He found her in the den with the lights low, a seemingly untouched glass of brandy beside her.
“You okay?” he asked, taking a seat on the sofa opposite her.
She blinked as if she’d been very far away and hadn’t even heard him come in. “What are you doing back here?” she asked irritably. “If you came to pester me for more information, you’re wasting your time.”
“Actually I came looking for a place to spend the night. Kathleen and I are going to finish up the nursery for Richard and Melanie in the morning. We want to get an early start, so it made more sense to stay in town, if you don’t mind.”
Destiny’s expression brightened, then, as if she feared that too much enthusiasm on her part might spook him, she said cautiously, “You two seem to be getting closer.”
“She’s a nice woman,” he said just as cautiously. “Very thoughtful.”
“Yes, I like that about her, too.”
He gave his aunt a wry look. “She’s also damned discreet, in case you were wondering. She didn’t breathe a word of whatever you said to her.”
“And I imagine that’s driving you crazy,” Destiny said grumpily. “Well, too bad.”
“I’m not trying to pry. I’m really not,” he told her. “It’s just that if there could be a connection to what’s happening at Carlton Industries, I think maybe Richard has a right to know. Not even me,” he emphasized. “Richard.”
“I’m giving that some consideration,” she admitted. “And that’s all I intend to say on the subject for now. You might as well drop it.”
“Suits me,” he said agreeably. “So, can I stay here tonight?”
She regarded him with an impatient look. “Since when do you have to ask? This is the home you grew up in. You’ll always have a place here. You know that.”
“I
