Adversaries and Lovers (19 page)

Ben walked around the bed and took her by the shoulders and said, "Sorry, honey, but I can’t let you do this. When we make love in this bed, I want it to be as husband and wife.”

Kate stood looking at him while digesting his words. “Me as your wife?”

“I didn’t make that bed for anyone else.”

Her gaze moved slowly across the headboard, taking in the intricate web of giant twisted roots, sanded and hand-polished to a satiny luster, and she didn’t know whether to be honored that she was so important to him that he’d gone to those lengths, or miffed that he’d assumed she’d marry him without question if he made a bed for her. The latter making her feel slightly annoyed, she said, “Aren’t you jumping to conclusions? Marriage is something we’ve never discussed, never even considered. It’s far into the future, if it happens at all.”

“It doesn’t have to be," Ben said. "We could get a license today and be married in a week.”

“But, we’ve known each other barely over three months," Kate said. "We should know each other at least a year before making a lifelong commitment.”

“How would another year make a difference? I’ll still be the man you’ve saved yourself for. You can’t save yourself more than once.” He looked into her eyes and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “Marry me.”

Kate looked at him steadily, and said, “We still have the zoning issue coming up.”

Ben dropped his hands from her shoulders. “So that’s it,” he said dryly. “Everything we have now or might have in the future is based on what happens at the zoning meeting.” He folded his arms and waited in silence for her response.

Drawing in a long breath, Kate said, “Yes, I suppose it is.”

“I can’t believe you’d base our whole relationship, and even our future together, on a business decision I made months before we met.”

“It makes no difference
when
you made the decision, Ben. I could never marry a man with such callous disregard for the feelings of others.”

“
Callous disregard
?! You make me sound completely cold hearted.”

Kate propped her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You said it, not me. But yes, you could be construed that way
if
you go through with your plans.”

Ben stared at her. “Then that’s it? You won't marry me unless I change my plans?”

Kate shrugged. “Yes, I suppose so."

When Ben said nothing, Kate knew there was nothing more she could do to change his mind about location of the corporate office. She also knew she came second to his business, and that's the way it would always be with men like Ben. The reality of it finally getting through, she said, "I'd like for you to take me home now," then walked around him and headed out the house.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Ben adjusted Kate's painting, which he'd hung on his bedroom wall earlier that day. A dozen times since he’d hung it he stood before it. And a dozen times he’d dismissed the idea of going to Kate. It had been over a week since she all but gave him an ultimatum, and his only wrongdoing had been to tell her he loved her and ask her to marry him—not something that should have sent her rushing away from the bed he’d crafted solely for her. The fact that she could so easily toss him aside still grated. In the time it had taken him to ask her to marry him he’d watched her love turn to puzzlement, then to agitation, then to anger.

He resumed his restless pacing. Maybe she wasn’t the woman he’d imagined her to be. Maybe she was simply a woman looking after her own interests and he was the means to that end, and nothing more. Well, if she ended what they had over a zoning change, then so be it. He would not to go crawling back to her as he’d done before, and he refused to let her manipulate him in his business decisions.

He stopped in front of the painting again. He could still see Kate's face when she gave it to him, bright and eager. Her unfinished painting and painting supplies were at Cooper's Landing, and he had no idea when they'd be returning to collect them. Nor had Kate called to inquire about doing so. But even in its unfinished state, he'd put the other painting on his wall. The image of Kate sitting at her easel, eyes narrowed in concentration, lower lip caught between her teeth, was still fresh. He’d been impressed by her powers of observation and her ability to capture the scene in a few strokes of her brush, and he'd anticipated watching her again. Until life turned on him. If his physical desire wasn't tied to one face and one body it would be simple. Any willing female could take care of his need, but he had no desire for anyone but Kate in his bed, or in his life.

Chloe took that moment to jump from the window sill to his shoulder and settle in an arc around his neck, as if to let him know that there was at least one female who loved and needed him. He stroked her soft fur and she purred contentedly. Feeling her raspy tongue against his cheek, he said to her, “If that could do it for me, princess, I’d be the luckiest man alive.”

Deciding he was getting nothing productive accomplished by hanging around the house, he set Chloe back on the window sill and left for Sellwood and the Hayden building. The purchase of the Sellwood properties was contingent on the zoning change, which was almost certain, and he had contractors lined up to begin demolition as soon as he got word. But before the Hayden building with the Corner Cafe would come down, he'd cull and mark the items and materials he wanted to salvage. The old relic of a building held too many eclectic nuggets to pass up.

Forty-five minutes later, he stood near the back wall of the
Corner Cafe
, looking up while studying the embossed metal tiles that covered the ceiling of the old restaurant. Judging from the looks of them they should pop off relatively easy. After estimating the lengths of the elaborate ceiling moldings and the fine, but scared wainscot that covered the lower half of the walls, he went to check out the old bar. So far, the lively seniors lunching at the opposite end of the room hadn’t noticed him, and he hoped to keep it that way. Fortunately, neither Gramps nor Rose were there, so he expected to complete his inventory and leave without incident.

He was crouched behind the massive bar trying to determine the feasibility of removing it in one piece when he heard Kate saying to the bartender, “Are you sure she and Henry haven’t been in today, Charlie? They were supposed to be here at noon.”

“Sorry, Kate. Not today.”

Ben stood, and when Kate saw him, her lips parted in shocked surprise, and she blinked several times before saying, “Hello, Ben. What are you doing here?” as if he was nothing more to her than a casual acquaintance.

Another time, another place, he would have dragged her into his arms and kissed her, knowing she’d respond. Instead, he looked at her, and replied, “Deciding what to salvage before the building comes down.”

The look she gave him was like the touch of a cold hand. “And can you salvage the lives of those people sitting over there, laughing and enjoying another day together in the place where they’ve been meeting for lunch for fifty years?”

In the prolonged silence that hung between them, the sounds of elderly voices drifted around them, the joy of their laughs and chatter mocking him. All he could think to say was, “I’m sorry, honey, I wish it could be different.”

Kate's eyes flashed like shards of glass. “Don’t you honey me, Ben, not while you’re standing in this building adding up your assets.”

“That’s not what this is about," Ben said, in a weary voice. "Like I told you before, this was a business decision, plain and simple, and it was made long before you came into my life.”

“And if I’d come along sooner," Kate said, "would I have been able to convince you to choose another location?”

Ben held her unwavering gaze and said, in a weary voice, "Not unless you were a member of the board. I can’t let you tell me how to run a business I started from the ground up."

Kate's eyes darkened. “And I can't marry a man who puts me second to his business.”

She had a way of twisting things out of all proportion. The fact was, everything she wanted came first in his life... That is, everything but the one thing she wanted most right now, and which he refused to give her. “Do you really understand what you’re asking me to do?”

“I’m asking you to build somewhere else and let this building be.”

Ben was almost willing to tell her he would, just to watch the worry lines vanish from her face and see her smile again. That's all it would take to hold her to him, to make her his wife. Instead, he said, “That’s not an option now.”

Kate drew in an extended breath, and said, “Then, I guess that’s it for us.”

Ben set his clipboard on the bar and walked around to where she stood, and said in a sober voice, “Is it so easy for you to walk away from what we have, to never know how it could be making love together?” He paused for a moment, then added in a cynical tone, “Or maybe after waiting twenty-four years and saving yourself for your perfect mate your expectations are so high I could never meet them and I’d be a disappointment.”

She looked up at him, eyes bright with unshed tears. “Don’t do this, Ben. You know that’s not so.” She blinked several times to clear the tears, then pinned him with a steely gaze, and said, “But I’ll never come to terms with what you’re about to do, just send all those old people packing, then tear down this building and discard it like it was an old worn out shoe.”

Ben looked at her solemnly, and when her gaze didn’t waver, he said, “It seems you’ve made up your mind.”

For a few moments Kate stood silently staring at him. Then she lifted her chin, and said, “Yes, I suppose so. I’ll see you at the zoning meeting,” then turned and walked away.

***

Ben's determination to level the block of old buildings helped Kate make a decision that would include obtaining a passport and contacting her cousin in Paris about staying with her while she studied landscape painting at the Academy of Art there. It was something she’d wanted to do ever since she’d graduated from college, but had put aside until the time was right. Well, now the time was right. Even the job of art director seemed less important, if not irrelevant. And by the time the classes at the academy would begin, the zoning hearing would be behind her, and Grandma and Henry would be married and off on their honeymoon. And she had enough money in her savings to coast by for the six months she’d be away.

Unfortunately, all of her painting supplies were still at Cooper's Landing. And that's where they'd stay. She'd buy new supplies when she got to Paris. She had no intention of going back to that place now. Ben could do whatever he wanted with her unfinished painting—put it on the east wall of his bedroom so the setting sun would fall on it, like he'd suggested, or use it as a dart board in memory of her. She really didn't care which.

Six days later, Kate entered the courthouse where the city planning council would be holding the meeting that would determine the fate of the old Hayden building and all the other buildings on the block. Along with Kate were Grandma, Henry, Thelma, Dora, Frank and an entourage of elderly people, some navigating with walkers, a couple in wheel chairs, some hobbling with canes, and many walking unaided. En masse, they marched into the anteroom and sat down. Whisperings and shifting glances among the crowd brought Kate's head around and she saw Ben standing in the doorway. Kate was at once aware of was how incredibly handsome he looked, his tall frame clad in brown slacks, a white dress shirt open at the collar, and a sport coat. The coat stretched across his broad shoulders, and the snug slacks made her vividly aware of how lean his hips were, how powerful his thighs, how very male he was…

She held his gaze, aware of murmurs rustling through the crowd. As he moved forward, he scanned the faces of the men and women sitting at a long table at the back of the room, and said to them, "Sorry I’m late," then lowered his large frame into a chair and returned his gaze to Kate. She squared her shoulders, raised her chin, and looked away.

The meeting convened, and after a summary of the proposed zoning change was read aloud by a committee member, Ben was called forward. Kate willed herself to look at him objectively, but even with the anger roiling inside she couldn’t separate the imposing presence of the man standing before the panel with the man who’d held her in his arms. She hated it when her body refused to follow her will. Even now, if Ben were to turn and open his arms to her, she knew she’d rush into them. The image of making love with him in the bed he'd made just for her had taken root, and she couldn't block it from her mind. But that was the physical side of what she wanted from him. He could not satisfy her emotional side now.

Ben addressed the panel, then went into detail about the nature of the entire block of old buildings. “The Hayden building has serious structural weaknesses from the last earthquake and there are wide cracks along mortar lines in the bricks and the entire building is in danger of toppling if even a minor quake hits. Dry rot is undermining all but one of the other old structures, and that one has such extensive termite damage, repair wouldn't be cost effective. In addition, the neglected old wooden buildings are like kindling, a fire waiting to happen. If it took hold, it could raze the entire block and spread to the adjoining neighborhood and beyond.” He continued with his litany of reasons, concluding with, “On the other hand, the new, three-story Stassen Building with its walkways, park-like grounds, waterfall and attractive pond would not only clean up the neighborhood and the surrounding area, but enhance it as well."

Whisperings among the councilmen and women brought heads darting back and forth and nodding in agreement. Ben concluded, and when he turned from the panel to take his seat, his eyes locked with Kate’s. At first, Kate saw triumph in his dark gaze, but as their eyes held, the triumph faded, replaced by concern and perhaps... compassion?

The panel opened the meeting to those wishing to object, and Kate was the first to stand. With all the confidence she could muster, she presented her opposition. “As Mr. Stassen said, the buildings do need repair, but that doesn’t mean they have to come down. The fact is, they should not come down because they possess a certain old-world charm that adds to the ambiance of the neighborhood. This is an old, established neighborhood that goes back over one hundred years. The modest, picturesque homes have been there over half that time, many of the occupants still living in houses they built as newly weds over fifty years ago. These people, many of them in this room, have been meeting for lunch at the Corner Cafe in the old Hayden Building for almost that same amount of time. The building that Mr. Stassen proposes would strip them of that joy. And it would not be an asset to this neighborhood, but a detriment. It's an architectural monstrosity barren of charm.” She scanned the faces of the men and women on the council, hoping to see some sign that they supported her view, but saw only staid, unaffected faces. Drained of words and emotion, she sat down.