“And that’s why you drove like a bat out of hell?” he asked testily.
“No, I drove that way because I enjoy it,” she replied, undaunted by his disapproval.
“If you slowed down, you might enjoy the landscape.”
“I do enjoy it.”
“How? It must pass in a blur.”
She gave him an innocent smile. “All I have to do is think about that painting in your dining room and it all comes back to me.”
Ben shook his head at the sneaky way she’d brought the conversation right back to the same old point. “We’ve been over this more than once. Flattery, muffins and latte are not going to get you inside the studio, sweetheart.”
“What will?” she asked curiously. “Is there some trick I’m missing?”
“Just one. A sincere promise to forget about trying to talk me into selling what’s in there.”
She shrugged. “Sorry, no can do.”
“Since you knew that would be the outcome even before you asked that question, let’s not belabor it. Why don’t you tell me about this amazing thing that happened this morning.”
“My mother came to my gallery.”
He regarded her intently, looking for evidence of the simmering outrage that usually followed any contact with her mother. He saw none. In fact, her eyes were shining. “I take it that it went well.”
“Better than that,” she said excitedly. “I think we’re finally starting to communicate. For the first time in years, I can actually see a woman I could like, not just the mother I’m supposed to love.”
“What brought on this astonishing turnaround?”
“Believe it or not, your portrait had a lot to do with it.” She told him about their conversation, about her discovery that her mother had once painted, too. “And I never knew. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Amazing,” he agreed, enjoying the fire in her eyes and wishing somehow that he’d been the one to put it there.
“Well, that’s all I came to tell you,” she said. “Since you still won’t let me into the studio, I guess I’ll be off now. One victory is probably the best I can hope for in a single day.”
“Aren’t you getting tired of driving all this way just to have me rebuff you?” he asked curiously.
“Not really,” she said, then added with a wink, “Catching a glimpse of all that scenery is worth it.”
Ben shook his head. “I have no idea what to make of you.”
“I’m a pretty straightforward woman. When I see something I want, I go after it.”
Ben noted the accompanying gleam in her eye. It made him wonder once again if what she wanted was still his art...or him. There was one way to find out, a way he’d been avoiding for some time now, because he was terrified to go down that particular path again. Each time he had before had left him rattled and uneasy. He struggled with himself once more, told himself it would be foolish to tempt fate by taking his brother’s advice and plunging into a relationship that was bound to butt headlong into the brick wall around his heart.
But when he couldn’t stand it one second longer, he kissed her, a hard, demanding kiss that drove his senses crazy and made his heart pound.
Big mistake. No, huge mistake. If she’d been in his head all morning long, now she was in his blood. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
When he finally released her, she stared at him, clearly dazed.
“What? Why?” She shook her head, then asked more steadily. “What was that for?”
“It was a long time coming,” he said, then raked his hand through his hair.
“You’ve kissed me before,” she reminded him.
“I remember.”
“But not quite like that,” she admitted. “As if you wanted more.”
Because he couldn’t deny it, he said only, “I think you should probably go now.”
“Oh, no, you don’t. You don’t kiss me like that and then dismiss me as if nothing important happened,” she retorted.
He heard the exasperation in her voice and smiled. “Do you want to talk it to death?”
“Yes,” she said stubbornly. “That’s exactly what I want.”
To shut her up, he kissed her again. This time when he released her, she didn’t ask a single thing. Instead, she whirled around and headed for her car.
“Leaving?” he inquired.
She scowled at him. “Yes, I am.”
Ben thought he was home free, until she faced him.
“Come and see my gallery tonight. I mean really look at it,” she said in a tone that was less invitation than command. “You promised you would weeks ago and you’ve barely glanced around when you’ve been by there.”
It was true. He hadn’t wanted to look around. If he had, he might have been tempted to give her her way, to let her show his work.
“I’ll fix you dinner after,” she coaxed.
Ben regarded her doubtfully. “And spend the rest of the evening giving me your best sales pitch, I imagine. Or do you have more Christmas lights that need untangling?”
“Quite a few at the shop, as a matter of fact, but we’ll save those for another day. I’ve finished the decorating for this year, anyway. No, tonight will be all about you and me.” She grinned and held her fingers less than an inch apart. “And maybe just a tiny bit about your art.”
Ben gazed into her eyes. If he was going to get dragged deeper and deeper into this web she was spinning around him, then he had a far more intriguing way they could spend the evening, one that was every bit as long overdue as those heated kisses they’d just shared.
With Mack’s advice still ringing in his ears, he moved closer, then lifted his hand and swept a finger along her cheek. He felt the skin heat, felt her tremble. “Make love with me, instead,” he suggested, gazing into her eyes. “Then we’ll have something much more interesting to discuss.”
Color climbed into her cheeks, but her steady gaze never wavered. Then she politely held out her hand as if they were closing some very proper business arrangement.
“Deal,” she said, taking
