No matter how she tried, she couldn’t forget their growing closeness. It was as though Blake’s challenge had imprinted the sensations permanently in the forefront of her thoughts. She could be swimming, cooking or shopping, and the feelings would suddenly swamp her, returning her to the intimate moments they’d shared, away from children, away from their usual roles.
Deliberately she tried to block those feelings, but then others just as treacherous would intrude—like how touched she was by Blake’s unending generosity to her children. Katherine Ann had been in a constant glow since Blake financed her trip. And Jim was fulfilling the promise she’d always known he had, blossoming in his advanced classes, excelling scholastically, and finding his own group of friends. He was a world away from the small town he’d left behind. While part of her was saddened by the ease with which he’d left behind his roots, the other part of her knew Blake had been right. Jim had needed the challenges and opportunities they’d found in L.A. She was torn, having to admit to herself that Blake had seen her children’s needs better than she.
“Daydreaming?”
Startled, she twirled around, unable to believe she was actually hearing Blake’s voice. “What are you doing here?”
Mild amusement flavored his words. “I live here, remember?”
As though she could forget. “Sure. I meant what are you doing home now?”
He picked up an apple and polished it against his trousers. “Tonight’s the big night, right? I figured I’d give the boys a hand.”
“They’ve got everything pretty much under control,” Cassie replied, then saw a flash of disappointment cross his face. “But I’m sure they could use your help.” Crossing two fingers behind her back to offset the coming fib, she made herself look thoughtful. “In fact, I was wondering how we were going to manage the campfire.”
“Something I’m pretty good at,” Blake replied, just managing not to brag. “I’ll change into some jeans and go help them.”
Cassie smiled as he left, whistling. All boys, no matter what their age, wanted to be in the thick of things. As soon as Blake was gone, she raced out the back door. She had about three minutes to tear down the perfectly constructed campfire base. Good thing the boys hadn’t planned on lighting it until dark.
BLAKE AND CASSIE both raved over the beanie wienies. The boys swaggered a bit, accepting the compliments as though they’d cooked a full-course French dinner. The first round of s’mores was now melting and congealing in the base of the fire. But D.J. and the twins, undaunted, were putting another batch together. The foil-wrapped vegetables had gone from well-done to charcoal before Todd dug them out.
Todd held out a charred pack of foil-wrapped vegetables. “You want some, Dad? Cassie?”
“If I do, I won’t have room for those wonderful-looking s‘mores,” Cassie explained, putting some regret into her tone. As she watched another s’more bite the dust, she realized the regret might be very real.
“I could eat a potato,” Blake offered.
Todd grinned as he passed his father the blackened potato. “You can have more than one, Dad.”
Blake patted his stomach. “I’d better not. I ate two big servings of beanie wienies.”
Cassie slanted him a sidelong glance as Todd moved away. “Brave soul.”
Blake gestured at the new round of melted goo that D.J. was trying to scrape off a charred stick. Most of it landed in the fire. “You’ll eat those words...if you can get a s’more down first.”
“I’m tough,” she replied airily.
“Not so that it shows,” he responded.
Seeing the warmth in his glance, Cassie self-consciously straightened her posture.
“Let’s tell stories,” D.J. suggested, losing the battle with his s’more and reaching for another.
“Yeah!
Scary
ones,” Mark agreed.
“
Real
scary ones,” Todd added. “None of those baby kind.”
Blake quirked his eyebrows, and Cassie groaned inwardly. She hated to think what story he’d dream up to rise to his sons’ challenge.
“It’s good and dark,” DJ. added. “Time for the spooks to come out.”
“And there’s a full moon....” Mark said, in a deliberately shaky voice.
Unconsciously Cassie drew her jacket a little closer. Something about frightening stories told in the dark still gave her a few shivers. “So, who’s got a story to tell?” she asked, forcing enthusiasm into her voice.
“Dad!” The twins said in unison.
“Yeah!” D.J. agreed immediately.
Blake shrugged. “You don’t want one of my stale old stories.”
“Sure we do,” Todd replied tactlessly.
Philosophically, Blake sent Cassie a wry grin. “Okay, boys. Which one will it be? ‘The Headless Horseman of Riddle Ridge’?” The eyes surrounding him widened. “Or ‘The Blood-Filled Crypt’?” Already widened eyes blinked before widening even further. “Happened in a place a lot like this one.” Blake lowered his voice. “It could even be this place....” He continued the story, deliberately adding drama to his inflection. The boys and Cassie drew a shade closer.
“...the lights stopped flickering and it was suddenly pitch-black. As the boy tried to see in the darkness, he heard screams, then he felt the blinding pain in his head and grabbed—”
Pitching forward, Blake grabbed Cassie, who promptly screamed and then launched herself into his arms. Her screams set off a chain reaction, as the boys all echoed her cries.
Taking full advantage of the situation, Blake held Cassie’s trembling body close in his arms. Feeling the whisper-silk of her hair feather past his chin, he luxuriated in her feel, her quick vulnerability, her utter femininity. Gently he tucked her hair behind one ear and whispered, “Boo.”
She clutched at his arm for a moment. “I’m not scared.”
He kept his grin contained. “Of course not.” He pointed to the boys, who were hiding in their sleeping bags. “Neither are they.”
She released him only long enough to glance at the boys, and then a reluctant smile tugged at her lips. “Bunch of sissies, aren’t we?”
He shrugged modestly. “Not everyone can be a big, brave, tough guy like me.”
That did it. She swatted him as she eased out of his arms. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I hope so, ma’am. It’s not an easy act to follow, but I work hard on my material.”
“I’ll just bet you do.” Disengaging his arms, she moved forward enough to tug on the sleeping bags. “It’s okay, guys. Just a story.”
D.J. was the first to emerge. After glancing at the surrounding trees to make sure none of them hid an axwielding murderer, he sat up. “Of course it is, Mama. You didn’t believe it, did you?”
“Guess I’m just not as perceptive as you are.”
Todd and Mark were both peeping out of the cover of their sleeping bags, looking for all the world like a pair of reluctantly emerging groundhogs.
They stared between their dad and Cassie as Todd spoke up. “So who’s telling the next one?”
Cassie groaned. “That’s all for me, folks. I’m going inside to my nice warm bed.”
Squawking protests filled the air. “Stay, Cassie!”
“Yeah, Mom. Stay!”
“Sorry, guys, there’s no room at the inn.” She pointed to the larger of two small tents. “Your tent only holds three.”
“But Dad’s tent will hold another sleeping bag,” Todd protested.
“You dope,” Mark said, addressing his twin.
“She can’t sleep in the same tent with your dad,” D.J. informed them, rolling his slightly older eyes in disgust.
“Sure she can,” Todd insisted.
“They aren’t married,” Mark informed his brother.
“Yeah, but she’s family,” Todd retorted.
Blake watched Cassie, saw her expression mist suddenly, and then met her unguarded eyes as they watched the twins. Gratitude, hope and something that looked strangely like love flooded her expression, crowding out any evasiveness. His son was right. Cassie had come to mean more to them than any of them had dreamed possible. She
was
more than just the nanny, and in that moment he decided to find out just how much more. Not with three children a few feet away. But...soon.
Chapter Fifteen
C
assie knew she was crazy. She’d decided the night before, after a long, sleepless night imagining herself in Blake’s tent, that it was time to stick to her resolution. She had to refuse any more extracurricular activities with Blake, to ensure that she wasn’t endangering her children’s future. And here she was at Venice Beach with him.
True, Blake had said he needed her help. And, true, she was in his employ. But how much help could he need scouting a location for one of the restaurants in his new chain? The words
trumped-up excuse
flew into her mind, then nagged at her. If it was just an excuse, why?
Having parked in one of the tightly packed lots at the beachfront, now they walked past stalls of T-shirts, purses, jewelry, electronics and more. Hawkers competed with street musicians, artists, and performers. Performers who ranged from the captivating to the bizarre. One daring man juggled a chain saw while roller-skating, and another limboed beneath a cane pole. Between them all, in-line skaters whooshed along the sidewalks. Shoppers and strollers were torn between all the choices. And Cassie was no exception. Especially when they stopped at Muscle Beach.
“Even though I haven’t been many places and I don’t have much of a point of reference, I’ve really never seen anything like this,” she said finally, her eyes riveted on the hulking young men performing on Muscle Beach.
“It’s an eyeful,” he agreed ironically, watching the younger men pumping iron.
Dragging her gaze away from the lineup of blond Mr. Universe candidates, Cassie reached out to teasingly tug at Blake’s dark hair. “You’re not comparing yourself to them! Although I
did
think
everyone
in California was supposed to be blond.”
He waggled his brow at the young men in front of them. “And muscle-bound?”
Cassie felt her throat dry suddenly. Blake was both muscular and far more appealing than the obvious hulks strutting on the beach. But it wouldn’t do to let him know just how appealing. She cocked her head instead. “California’s just full of surprises.”
He laughed then. “You’re too smart to get tripped up in semantics, aren’t you?”
She pretended to consider his words. “I’ll leave the tricky stuff to you.”
“Uh-huh.”
But Cassie was scarcely listening, her attention caught by the psychic she’d just spotted. That was something that had always fascinated her. Imagine knowing the future... the possibilities...
Blake caught the yearning look on her face and gently touched her shoulder. “Why not have your cards read?”
“It’s an expensive bit of foolishness,” she replied, not sounding very convincing.
“I guess it’s not very practical,” Blake agreed.
“No.” Still, she didn’t move away, watching as the psychic carefully laid out a circle of exotic-looking cards, far more unusual than tarot cards.
“But then, everything doesn’t have to be practical. Besides I can write it off as a business expense.”
“Oh, in that case...”
Blake hid a smile. Normally, she would have protested, or at least been suspicious of such a feeble excuse. So, he’d found one of practical Cassie’s weak spots. He wondered how much luck he’d have discovering others. Although one particularly vulnerable spot on her neck jumped to mind.
After Cassie slid into the folding chair, the psychic picked up her hand. “Hmm.”
“Oh, I thought you were going to read my cards,” Cassie said, her eyes following the woman’s fingers as they traced the lines in her palm.
“I am,” the woman answered briefly. “But first I must acquaint myself with you. Hmm...with you I should have a sand tray reading, but the cards will do.” Black, inscrutable eyes stared at Cassie for a long moment before the woman dropped her hand and reached for the haphazard stack of cards. With meticulous precision, the psychic dealt the cards, then studied them.
As the woman interpreted the cards, Blake studied Cassie’s reactions, seeing that she was almost childlike in her enthusiasm. He couldn’t resist being captivated. It was such a far cry from her normal practicality. And today he wanted to move them past the norm, past the barriers she usually kept firmly in place. The psychic zeroed in on Cassie’s love of children, although initially guessing that she had more than three children. From that she moved on to Cassie’s love of sports, her own special abilities. And through it all, Cassie was spellbound.
“You have many thoughts that are not shared.” The woman met Cassie’s eyes. “Many things, past and present, are still in the shadows. But that will change. Because the future depends on it.”
The psychic’s face softened unexpectedly as Cassie began to rise from the chair. “But you are a strong, wise woman. The future will be kind to you.”
A sudden smile transformed Cassie’s face into a burst of sunshine, and Blake was reminded of the day he’d taken her to Little Tokyo, how she’d embraced all the foreign sights and sounds, enthusiastically tried the sushi and loved each new and different experience. If he could bottle her enthusiasm, he would be the wizard of Wall Street.
Blake picked up Cassie’s hand as they walked away from the psychic’s table. “I couldn’t help noticing your rather unusual shade of nail polish. What do you call that—‘fabulous fuchsia’?’
She grinned. “Actually it’s called asphyxia—I think fuchsia is a little outdated for this cool color.” Cassie held her hand up as though examining her polish. “You think
this
is wild?” Her grin grew as she pointed downward and wiggled her toes.
His eyes widened. She wore at least ten outrageous colors, one on each toe, ranging from blue to green to crimson to gold to black.
Her grin grew. “Katherine Ann talked me into it. It’s what the kids are all wearing. But I insisted on having just one color on my fingernails. But it’s tamer than ‘acid rain’ or ‘oil slick,’ which are Katherine Ann’s favorites.”
Blake shook his head.
Practical Cassie?
“You have anything else on that’s wild?”
A slight flush tinged her cheeks as she averted her face, making him wonder, and also making him itch to discover her other wild secret.
“You’re going to think this is silly,” Cassie began, scrabbling to fill the silence. “But this isn’t what I thought Venice Beach would be like at all. I mean, I loved the psychic—that was great—but I always thought that Venice would be like the one in Italy, and it’s nothing like the pictures I’ve seen.” She stared pointedly at a street performer who was riding a unicycle while strumming a banjo.
“Ah, but you haven’t seen all of Venice Beach.” Blake took her arm, feeling a ripple of pleasure in the contact. Then he turned her toward the streets of houses. “I want to show you something.”
It didn’t take long to reach the charming neighborhood filled with palm trees, oleander and bougainvillea. The streets arched upward, curving in a bridgelike fashion. “See, it’s a canal. Venice was originally designed like its namesake city in Italy, with vacation bungalows built along the canals.”
Cassie swung her head upward, immediately looking for the bungalows.
“Only nine of the original cottages are still standing,” Blake explained.
“You could imagine you were about to take a ride in a gondola,” she breathed, obviously caught up in the fantasy.
“You don’t have to pretend. There are gondola rides not far from here. Would you like to go on one?”
Temptation tripped across her face, then faded. He wondered what had suddenly bothered her. “I don’t think so. We’re supposed to be scouting a restaurant location. I don’t imagine you’re planning to put one in the canal.”
“Why the sudden change, Cassie?”
She met his gaze evenly. “I don’t think it’s wise for us to spend any more time as anything but employer and employee.”
Blake purposely stepped closer, eliminating her safe distance. “You don’t?”
She nervously waved her hands, tried to back up, and found herself out of road, with Blake blocking her escape. “No, I don’t. After all, we live in the same house—”
“And the proximity is driving me crazy.”
“I can’t help that,” she replied, as primly as possible with him breathing literally down her neck.
“What am I supposed to do?
Live
in a cold shower?”
The sound of water rushing beneath the street jolted them both.
“Cassie Hawkins!” A voice rang out behind them.
While Blake turned in surprise, he didn’t expect the shock he saw on Cassie’s face.
“It
is
you. I told Ray Don it was you, and he didn’t believe me,” the large, gaudily dressed woman shouted as she held on to her floppy brimmed hat. “We saw you on the beach and I tried to catch up to you, but those dancers got between us. I thought we’d missed you for sure.”
“Madeline, Ray Don,” Cassie answered weakly. “I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“It’s a long way from Twin Corners, that’s for sure,” Ray Don answered, his florid face further reddened by the sun.
“We didn’t know where you’d gone to—your mother hasn’t said a word.” Madeline’s gaze took in Blake’s good looks and expensive clothing. A more thorough gaze settled on Cassie, noting her upgraded clothing, as well. “Looks like you’re doing real good, Cassie.” Her gaze flicked over Blake’s Rolex. “Real good.”
“It’s nice seeing you, Madeline, Ray Don. But we were just headed home.”
Madeline’s eyebrows rose a fraction. “Aren’t you going to introduce your
friend
, Cassie?”
Blake held out his hand. “Blake Matthews.”
Ray Don accepted the handshake, vigorously pumping his hand. “Ray Don Gardner. Nice to meet you.”
“We’d like to see more of you, Cassie,” Madeline hinted.
Seeing Cassie’s distress, Blake stepped in. “Unfortunately, Cassie’s leaving the country tonight.”
“She
is!
” Madeline exclaimed.
“Yes, she has a date on a gondola.”
“In
Venice?
” Madeline choked out the words.
“That’s where they keep the gondolas,” Blake replied, taking Cassie’s arm and guiding her in the opposite direction. “You’ll have to forgive us for rushing away.”
“Nice to meet ya,” Ray Don hollered after them.
“You too, Ray Don,” Blake muttered, resenting that the couple had interrupted what could have finally been a moment of truth. “You too.”
CASSIE HEARD the distinct slamming of the phone from Blake’s study. Although grateful to him for rescuing her from Madeline and Ray Don, she’d kept her distance, not wanting to continue their own aborted conversation. She was still reeling from his revelation. Cold showers? While she knew she’d been fighting a losing battle with her hormones, she hadn’t realized she’d pushed Blake right to the edge. That didn’t bode well for an extended contract as his children’s nanny.
Hearing his footsteps coming closer, she stiffened. Knowing she could lose everything if they crossed that invisible line, fearing she’d lose even more if they didn’t.
Disgruntled, Blake threw a notepad on the kitchen counter as he came in. “That’s where you can reach me for the next week.”
“Oh?” She hadn’t meant to sound so disappointed.
“I have to fly out in the morning.”
Cassie knew she should be relieved, but it wasn’t relief she felt. “Problem?”
“More than one.” He pushed his hands through already disheveled hair, knowing he could discuss his work problems with Cassie. Also knowing that, with her keen intelligence and insight, she’d proved to be a valuable sounding board in the past. But he also knew she was uncomfortable tonight. Still, he couldn’t resist pushing one more button. “I’ll count on you to keep the home fires burning.”
Unable to reply, Cassie met the message in his eyes, along with the burning frustration he didn’t bother to hide. When he turned away, she couldn’t resist trailing down the hall to the stairway, pausing near the top step. From the direction of Blake’s suite, she heard the bathroom door slam and the distinct sound of water running. Cold water?
CASSIE KEPT HERSELF BUSY, certain that the time would pass quickly and that she would barely notice Blake’s absence. It amazed her that she could be so wrong. She looked forward to his daily phone calls with little more patience than a kid waiting for school to end and summer to begin. When one week turned into two, she had more time than she needed or wanted to examine her feelings. It had been far too long since a man stirred her so. It was deeper than the passion he’d resurrected, more complex than the gratitude she felt for his generosity to her children. No, it was the man himself, the man she knew she could never have.
Checking her watch for the hundredth time, she realized it was still too early for his call, yet she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. When the phone finally shrilled, she leaped toward it, yanking it up before it could ring twice.