“Then you should go back.”
He shook his head. “Not at the cost of destroying our marriage.”
“Working at Halloran Industries could only destroy our marriage if we allow it to, if we attach some symbolic significance to it the way we did before,” she said with a trace of impatience. “I think we’re both past that. The important thing is to keep a balance in our lives, to keep the priorities straight. I don’t want you obsessed with our marriage, any more than I want you obsessed with work. Isn’t that what you were saying to me earlier?”
“Yes, but—”
“No,” she said softly. “No buts, Kevin. This is about what you think is right for you.”
“But I can’t decide that in a vacuum. What do you need? What will make you happy?”
She turned to stare out the window as she searched for a way to explain what she was feeling, all the discoveries she’d made.
“I think maybe I actually have an answer to that,” she said, finally turning back from the window and meeting his gaze. “I came back here so I could run it by you.”
“So, tell me,” he said.
Lacey drew in a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking, maybe we could form a Halloran Foundation, something we could work on together.”
“Give away Halloran money?” Kevin teased, pretending to be scandalized by the very notion.
“Stop,” she said. “I’m serious. You and your father have always been very generous, but this could be something we do in a more organized fashion.”
Kevin’s gaze was suddenly more intense. How many times had he looked just that way when they’d bounced ideas back and forth long ago? Her confidence had grown simply by seeing the way he respected what she thought.
“Go on,” he said, the first hint of excitement in his voice. “I think I see where you’re going with this.”
Now, with that slim bit of encouragement, Lacey couldn’t keep the enthusiasm out of her voice. “Okay. The way I see it, we’d set up a trust, an endowment, whatever. That would become the basis of the Foundation. That’s where you and Brandon come in. You have to make the commitment to set aside the money to do this.”
“And where do you fit in?”
“I thought I could evaluate applications, seek out the organizations and individuals that really need help, help establish programs. All those committees I’ve served on have taught me a lot about fund-raising and grant proposals and effectively run charities. I think I could weed out those that are poorly operated. I’d handle all the day-to-day things, the paperwork. The Halloran board would okay the grants.”
Even as she talked, the tiny seed of an idea took root and flourished. She could see from the excitement in Kevin’s eyes that he shared her enthusiasm.
“Yes,” he said and added his ideas to hers until the Foundation seemed more a reality than a sudden inspiration that had come to her only hours ago.
“Don’t you see, Kevin? The best part would be that we’d be doing it together, we’d share the same focus again, even if it’s only one small aspect of what you do at Halloran.”
He got up and moved to the window to stand behind her. His arms circled her waist. “I think it’s the most wonderful, generous idea I’ve ever heard.”
She turned in his arms until she could study him. She searched his face. “Really?”
“Really,” he said, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. Lacey felt her heart tumble.
“Do you think Brandon will go for it?” she asked, unable to keep the anxiety out of her voice.
“I think he’ll love it.”
“Kevin, I know this doesn’t take care of everything. I know it’s not some magical solution for us, but it’s a start.”
His lips touched hers then, capturing all the excitement and adding to it. Anticipation and joy touched off a spark that sent fire dancing through her veins.
“God, I love you,” Kevin murmured, when he finally pulled away. “There are so many things I want to say to you, so many things we can do together, now that we know our marriage is here to stay. That is what you want, isn’t it?”
“More than anything.”
“What about the house?” he asked.
“Which house?” she asked, thoroughly puzzled by the change in direction.
“The one in Boston. Jason told me there’s an interested buyer.”
Lacey just stared at him. “You put it on the market?”
He nodded. “Before I left the hospital.”
“Why?”
“It was awfully cold and lonely without you. Frankly, I kind of like it here. You and me, walking on the beach, warming up in front of a fire.”
His hands swept over her, slowly stroking until she could imagine those nights of loving in front of the fire as vividly as he could. Then it didn’t matter at all that she’d worn paint-spattered clothes, because he was sliding them off her, kissing every inch of her bare flesh until the fire in the hearth was nothing compared to the one deep inside her.
“Oh, my beautiful Lacey,” he whispered, his gaze locked on hers. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t come back, so afraid that my stupid pride would keep me from coming after you.”
“Would you have come after me?” she asked, her voice breathless as he skimmed his fingers over her breasts.
“Yes. I realized finally that I have no pride at all where you’re concerned. You hadn’t been gone fifteen minutes when I knew that I was wrong to let you go. The only way to work things out was to do it together.”
“Of course, I did do some pretty incredible thinking while I was away from you,” she taunted.
“But look how much more clearly you’re thinking now that we’re back together.”
She moaned as his fingers slid lower, over her belly and beyond to the precise spot where she yearned to be touched. She arched into the teasing touch. “This doesn’t have anything to do with thinking,” she told him when she
