A Heart Decision (5 page)

“What else would you call it?” He shrugged. “When a
beautiful woman lays a wet one on me, my brain stops functioning
and my body goes on autopilot. You’re lucky I didn’t toss your
skirt up and nail you right here. Or maybe that’s exactly what you
wanted. Were you tryin’ to get me to shove you up against your
sister-in-law’s car and bang you hard enough to rattle your
teeth?”

“You don’t have to be crude.” She swiped away the
tears glistening in her eyes.

Yeah, he did. The kindest thing he could do would be
to make her hate him. And, if he told her how much he wanted to
make love to her all night long, she’d know how he felt about
her.

“I’m sorry. I forgot who I was with. That happens
when a woman I respect comes on to me like a two-dollar
hooker.”

Sabrina’s perfect features twisted into a anguished
facsimile of her beautiful face. His arms ached to hold and comfort
her. But he couldn’t. If he apologized, it would undo everything
he’d just accomplished. His only recourse was to plow full speed
ahead into destroying her feelings for him.

He slammed the rear hatch on the SUV and opened the
passenger door for her. “I guess you forgot all about your fiancé
and the yard full of guests who showed up to celebrate your
birthday, huh?”

“Oh, no.” Her head hung as she buried her face in
her hands. “Annie will be so disappointed. She worked so hard, and
Tyler and she spent so much—”

“They’ll understand.” His bad cop persona slipped a
little as his resolve to disillusion her momentarily weakened. He
strode around the vehicle and slid behind the steering wheel.
Swallowing hard, he glanced over at her downcast head and turned
the key.

Once the engine roared to life, he shoved the
Navigator into drive. “You know, my conscience will force me to
tell Ben what happened.”

She turned and stared out the window, “Don’t bother.
I have every intention of telling him myself.”

“Good. Don’t forget to mention I made you cry.”

With any luck, his friend would ease Luke’s guilt by
giving him the ass-kicking he deserved.

~*~

Ben studied Sabrina’s red-rimmed eyes and the
tension in Luke’s jaw as they climbed out of Annie’s SUV.

Oh, dear God, the little girl must have
died
.

Ben hugged her and murmured into her hair, “She
didn’t make it?”

“Huh?” Sabrina stared up at him, confusion twisting
her brow. “Ohhh, you mean Jillian.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I
think she’ll be fine. She regained consciousness before we even
left the subdivision.”

“Good.” Ben heaved a relieved breath, knowing how
tough it was for her to remain detached. The fact she was now good
friends with several of her previous patients’ mothers testified to
her difficulty maintaining her perspective as a nurse. He would
never admit it to Sabrina, but her tendency to become too involved,
was part of the reason, he’d asked her to quit her job and travel
with him. “So, if Jillian is okay, why do you look as if you’re
heading to a funeral?”

“I’ll tell you later.” She patted his arm and a
strained smile stretched her mouth. “We have a party to
finish.”

Ben’s stomach clenched. Something must have happened
between her and Luke.

A loud cheer swelled from the crowd as Ben escorted
Sabrina to the table holding the huge sheet cake. Annie handed him
a large knife and indicated they should make the first cut
together. When Sabrina removed the piece and placed it on a plate,
he cringed.

Damn. Carrot cake. The party had turned into their
engagement celebration, and he was stuck with Luke’s favorite
dessert.

“I suppose I’ll have to eat this whether I like it
or not,” Ben muttered.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Annie will feel terrible if
you don’t. She didn’t know any better.”

Tyler’s wife must have assumed Sabrina loved carrot
cake, since she brought one every time they got together—for Luke.
Of course, she usually made sure there was some other dessert
available for Ben. Which was a good thing, since Luke could devour
a whole cake by himself.

“Someday, I’d appreciate it if you’d casually let it
drop to Annie that I prefer chocolate cake with whipped cream
icing.”

“Oh, hush, it won’t kill you to eat a little.” She
picked up a small piece and held it to Ben’s lips, posing for a
dozen people’s cameras. “Take a bite and smile.”

Once they finished the traditional cake feeding
ceremony, Ben swept her into his arms and diluted the dessert’s
flavor with Sabrina’s luscious mouth. As he drew back from a
lingering kiss, his gaze landed on what looked like a strange mix
of blatant envy and pain twisting Luke’s face. His tortured
expression mirrored exactly what Ben felt every time Sabrina smiled
at his buddy.

Could the poor son-of-a-bitch actually be in love
with her?

When Ben had shamelessly tempted Sabrina to accept
his ring by suggesting it might goad Luke into declaring he had
feelings for her, he hadn’t really believed his friend felt
anything more than deep affection. Even Tyler thought Luke
pretended not to notice Sabrina’s obvious romantic signals to spare
her feelings.

Ben didn’t know how or when it had happened, but as
sure as he had more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes, he
was certain the agony in Luke’s eyes meant he’d fallen in love with
the woman Ben was about to marry.

So why the hell didn’t the ass do something about
it? Did Luke think he owed something to him?

Damn. Maybe Sabrina had made a valid point about his
motives when she claimed he assisted people because he needed
approval. That might be true on occasion, but whenever he helped
his friends, it was because he cared. He ascribed to Francis
Bacon’s
Money is like manure
school of finance—both are
useless until they’re spread around.

When he supported charities or bestowed endowments,
he was genuinely trying to pay forward some of the blessings life
had given him.

Luke sauntered over to them, his mouth curved in a
strained smile. “Hey, I hate to cut out on you so early, but I’m on
duty again tonight. I have to get a couple of hours sleep.”

“What about a piece of cake?” Sabrina held out a
plate with a huge slab cut from the corner with extra cream cheese
frosting.

“Thanks, but I’ll take a rain check.” The distress
in Luke’s voice suddenly made Ben feel as if he’d poached something
precious when he’d proposed to Sabrina.

He could claim ignorance. However, if he was truly
honest, he’d have to admit he’d suspected Luke had feelings for her
back in college. But that had been years ago, and Luke had never
made a single move toward her.

As Tyler strolled by, he stopped short.
“
You’re
passing up carrot cake?” He held his hand to Luke’s
forehead. “You feelin’ okay?”

Luke shoved Tyler’s hand away. “I’m fine, damn it. I
just need to get out of here.” He rushed off, as if he had demons
chasing him, and called over his shoulder, “Thank Annie for
everything for me.”

Tyler’s puzzled gaze bored into their buddy’s back.
“What the hell’s wrong with him?”

“I’m not sure.” Ben turned to Sabrina and raised his
eyebrows. “But I have a feeling your sister knows.” And if his
suspicion was even remotely accurate, he doubted he’d be marrying
her anytime soon.

Sabrina smiled as Mopsy sniffed her way around the
luxuriously large living room before passing out in the corner of
the thick, silvery-white carpet. The puppy had exhausted herself
playing with the children all evening. At least, if she shed, her
light gray fur wouldn’t show on the rug.

“Can I get either of you anything before I say
goodnight?” asked Thomas, Ben’s silver-haired manservant.

Ben waved him off. “No, we’ll take care of
ourselves, Thomas. But, remember, I need to lift off by seven
thirty tomorrow morning. I have a nine o’clock breakfast meeting at
Tyler’s office in Princeton.”

She frowned at the phrase
lift off
and then
remembered the helicopter tethered to the roof over Ben’s
ten-thousand square foot penthouse.

“Will you need me to go along?” Thomas asked.

“No, I’ll pilot the chopper myself. You can stay
here and drive Sabrina crazy.”

Which Thomas, no doubt, would. As much as she
appreciated that the sixty-one-year-old butler cared enough to fuss
over her, she wasn’t used to being waited on hand and foot.

Once Thomas retired to his quarters, Sabrina ran her
hand along the back of one of the three pale gray sofas arranged in
a U in front of the windows. The leather upholstery felt as soft as
a pair of kid gloves. She wandered through the French doors to the
terrace and rooftop garden that overlooked the East River. The
lights from Roosevelt Island and the opposing borough of Queens
shimmered on the water in an upside-down mirror image.

Ben’s home on Park Avenue was elegant and
prestigious, but she couldn’t envision raising a family among the
beveled glass tables, marble and crystal sculptures, and the dozens
of original masterpieces and tapestries hanging on the walls.

“Gorgeous view,” Ben said crossing the terrace and
stopping behind her.

“Mmmm, it is.” She shivered as he kissed her bare
shoulder and nibbled his way to her neck.

“I was referring to the scenery right here.”

“Thank you. I noticed your dad and Luke’s mom seemed
pretty cozy at the party,” she said, changing the subject.”

“I know. In the twenty years since my mother died,
plenty of gorgeous women have tried to attract my dad’s attention,
but this is the first time he’s ever noticed one.”

“I can’t imagine a man not noticing a woman who
looks like Teresa Marino. I hope I look that good in my
fifties.”

“You’ll look even better.” He whispered, into her
neck. “Did I mention how much I like this sundress on you?”

“Only half a dozen times.” She turned in his arms
and lifted her gaze to his intense blue eyes. “Ben, you know I love
your penthouse, but I was wondering....”

“About?”

“Since you have the helicopter to get back and forth
to Manhattan, couldn’t we live away from the city?”

“Where’d you have in mind?” he whispered, brushing
her lips with his.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I’ve always imagined
raising a family in a big old house with lots of character and
charm. Maybe someplace closer to my brother’s place.”

“Uh-huh.” He drew back, the muscles in his jaw
tightening. “Sort of like that haunted white elephant Luke’s
renovating?

“His house may be big and old, but there are
absolutely no ghosts living there.”

“Maybe not, but it’s still creepy looking.” He
whistled the theme song from the
Addams Family
, snapping his
fingers in time.

Luke had purchased an enormous handyman special on
the outskirts of Redemption. In the last two years, he’d spent most
of his free time gutting the Second Empire Victorian and restoring
its ancient interior to its former glory. In the process, he’d
installed all new plumbing, wiring, and dual-zone central air
conditioning along with every other modern amenity anyone could
want.

“Oh, stop it.” She smacked Ben’s forearm to stop his
finger snapping. “You haven’t seen the place since he had it
professionally landscaped. The shrubs and flowers he had planted
along the wraparound porch have made it look very homey.”

“I don’t care how many bushes he plants, the place
will still remind me of a house straight out of a horror film.”

Sabrina stared down at her feet. “I’m sorry you feel
that way, because that’s more or less the kind of home I’d like.
Not necessarily the same style.”

“Good, because Thomas is much too short to
impersonate Lurch.”

“Ha-ha. It can’t be all your way, Ben. It’s not fair
to ask me to give up a career I loved so I can travel with you and,
in between trips, expect me to sit on my behind in this museum
while Thomas waits on me. I want a home I can make my own.”

“You’re right. As soon as we get back from our
honeymoon, we can start looking for a house.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, both surprised and relieved
by the excitement she felt at the prospect of going away on a
lavish vacation. With any luck, it would help bring them closer to
each other. “By the way, where are we going?”

“Unh-uh, it’s a surprise.” Ben tipped her chin up
and stared down at her for several silent moments before he asked,
“So what happened at the hospital today?”

She rubbed her bare arms as a cool breeze raised
goose bumps on them. “It’s a long story. Let’s go inside.”

After they settled on one of the leather sofas, Ben
listened quietly while she gave him a blow-by-blow account of what
had transpired between her and Luke.

“So today was the first time you’ve ever
kissed?”

“Other than a platonic peck.”

He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “Well,
that explains why Luke’s been able to keep his feelings hidden so
well until today. Now that he’s finally gotten a taste of what
he’ll be missing, it’s probably eating him up inside.” Ben gently
combed his fingers through her hair. “As much as it kills me to say
it, sweetheart, I think he might actually be in love with you.”

“Yeah, right.” She looked away, attempting to hide
her pain. “That’s why he accused me of coming on to him like a
cheap tramp.”

Ben gathered her against his chest and pressed his
lips to her forehead. “I doubt he meant that. It was probably just
a smoke screen to cover how he feels.”

She wiped the tears on her cheeks. “If that’s true,
why wouldn’t he just admit it?”

“I’m not sure. But I’m wondering if it’s because the
doofus thinks he owes me or something.”

“You mean because you paid his hospital bill back in
college?”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “Luke has always had
an overdeveloped sense of loyalty. I think it’s why I resented your
brother so much when we first met. I’d never had a buddy who
watched my back the way Luke covered Ty’s. I wanted that kind of
friendship so much I could taste it.” His mouth twisted for a
moment as if he was undecided about something.