Hearts in Motion (20 page)

At his house, Cara set the table for the takeout he’d picked up on the drive home. He spooned out half the sweet and sour shrimp for her, while he piled Mongolian pork on a plate for him. They both dug in. So far, he’d held himself from pumping Cara for information, but if she didn’t tell him soon...
 

She was about one-eighth through the sweet and sour shrimp when he asked how her day was.

“Lots happened today,” Cara said.

“What’s that?” he asked. “Did Abby say anything about the painting?”

“Uh-uh. Right after Ogden left, Abby got a call from an angel.” Her voice rose, and she peered at him with an expectant smile.

“An angel? I didn’t know they used phones.”

Cara giggled. “Not a real angel. He’s really a man with money.”

Holden set down his fork. “Is that what she said?”

Cara nodded vigorously. “She didn’t want me to feel bad when I saw he didn’t have wings. But I already knew he couldn’t be a real angel.”

“Why?”

“Because real angels are ladies.” She stared at him, the expression on her face telling him that she couldn’t believe he didn’t know this. “And they have wands, too.”

“That’s good to know. In case I ever come across one.”

She frowned. Clearly doubting that an angel would ever come to him. He suspected she was right.

“He came to see the furniture. His mom came with him. She was old.” Her eyebrows rose. “Really old. She used a walker to help her walk.”

“What did the angel decide?”

“I don’t know, but Abby wants him to invest in her business. Then they can make the cat furniture in a nicer place, and they can pay someone to help Sam. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

He nodded glumly. Abby deserved to catch a break.

“Abby was happy on the drive home. She laughed a lot.”

“That’s nice.” He looked down at his Mongolian pork and decided he was never going to order it again.

“Daddy?”

He looked up at her and saw her forehead was puckered, and he knew she was going to ask a question he wouldn’t want to answer.

“You have money. Why don’t you be Abby’s angel?”

“It’s not as simple as that.”

“Why not? You can even have her work in your place. I heard you and Uncle Ryan saying there was an empty building. Why not let Sam work there?”

“It’s complicated.”

She pushed her plate away. “I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Don’t you want dessert? I have ice cream.”

She looked at him for a long moment then shrugged. “Okay,” she said, as if she was doing him a favor by eating ice cream.

“Has she said anything about my paintings?” he asked as he got to his feet.

She sighed. “If you want to know what she thinks, Daddy, you should just ask her.”

His movements slow, he gathered their plates and silverware. Cara didn’t understand that asking questions was even more complicated. And as for investing in Abby’s business, that would multiply the complications.

But if he didn’t...

He might be making the biggest mistake of his life.

***

When the phone rang, Abby was celebrating with mint chocolate chip ice cream. But she jumped up and left it on the table. Grace was at a friend’s house and would be home later tonight, and she wanted to talk to someone who would share her happiness. Her lips already forming a smile, she looked at the phone and saw Holden’s name.

She froze and stared at it as it rang again then three more times. She stood there, unable to pick it up.

This man had made love to her. Wonderful, amazing love. More than that, he’d made her feel cherished. Cared for. It had been so long since someone had made her feel like that. Much too long.

And then he’d turned cold on her. He’d run scared.

And now he was sending her the paintings every day....

And they were so...amazing. As if he’d infused love into every brushstroke.

Yet he’d walked away from her. Acted as if she were just a babysitter and he her employer.

She couldn’t handle that, and she didn’t need to handle it.

The voice mail clicked on, and her body jerked. At her sides, she curled her hands into fists.

“Abby,” he said, “this is Holden.”

A choked laugh came out of her mouth. He was so formal. So...proper. How insane was it that she found it sexy?

“Cara told me about your angel. I just called to congratulate you. If you need any business advice, I’ll be happy to help you.” There was a pause. “Call me,” he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. Then he hung up; her voice mail stopped.

Her shoulders slumped, and she closed her eyes so tight she felt dizzy. A noise made her open her eyes and look down into a pair of Siamese-blue eyes. She scooped up Minnie, who draped herself against her, as if she knew that a hot rush of loneliness smoldered inside her. Knew that a longing clawed at her heart.

With Minnie marking her jaw, she headed into the living room and sank onto the couch. Quigley hopped up on one side, and Lion hopped on the other. He wasn’t supposed to sit on the couch, but she knew he did when she was gone. She’d seen the evidence in his short, golden hairs on the green couch, often accompanied by bits of leaves and grass and sometimes pieces of dried mud.

Right now, she didn’t care. Right now was the right time to break that stupid rule. Right now, he was putting his head on her thigh and making a sad noise in his throat, empathizing with her.

Quigley was rubbing his head on the other side of her jaw. She petted both cats then managed to pet Lion while still holding Minnie.

“I love you,” she said. “Why do I need a man when I have all of you?”

Minnie immediately started meowing in various tones and syllables, staring into her eyes, obviously saying something important. Quigley joined in, louder, but saying less than Minnie. He’d always been more of a doer than a talker.
 

Only Lion looked at her with those sad, brown eyes and didn’t need to say anything more.

She petted them for a long time before she remembered her ice cream. She let go of Minnie and headed back to the kitchen. By that time it had melted, but she ate it anyway. When she was done, she set it on the floor and let Lion lick out the bowl. It gave her a sense of satisfaction to realize that if Holden were there, he would disapprove. He might even be horrified.
 

Good thing she didn’t have to worry about the way he felt about anything.

23

Holden stood inside Abby’s kitchen. It was messy this morning, with her laptop and the newspaper on the table. So was her checkbook, and he guessed that was the reason for the frown on her forehead.

“We need to talk,” she said as Cara ran into Grace’s bedroom to play a game on the computer with cats and dogs.

Holden breathed easier, relieved that Abby brought it up. “About your business, yes.”

“No, about Cara. She’s staying with you now, right? Our arrangement was for two weeks. Have you found a place for her next week?”

“This arrangement seemed to be working so well. I thought—”

“You may have thought a lot of things, but you haven’t told me any of it.”

He rubbed the back of his head. “Can you take care of her?”

She stared at him, her mouth rebellious, which wasn’t a good sign. “We’re getting an investor. I’ll be busy finding a new place to make the furniture. I’ll need to hire people. An IT person. A marketer. A—”

“Don’t.”

“What?”

“Don’t go with him.” He spoke with his voice low so Cara wouldn’t hear him in Grace’s bedroom...and so Abby wouldn’t hear the torture in his voice. “I talked to Portia last night.”

She raised her eyebrows, clearly not impressed.

“Sam had told her that your angel is Simon Finbar,” he went on, feeling like a clumsy elephant about to be jumped on by a sleek lion. “I know Simon. He’s a womanizer.”

“A what?”

“You know. A horndog.”

Her eyebrows went up, but she didn’t say anything.

“Ask Portia. She’ll tell you he put the moves on her, too.”

She crossed her arms. “Apparently Portia and I have had the same experience with more than one man.”

He grimaced. “I deserve that.”

“I’ve had men make passes at me before, and I know how to say no.” Her eyes narrowed. “If I want to.”

“Abby—”

“Stop.” She held up her hand. “You don’t get to warn me about other men. Not after what happened last week.”

“I didn’t handle it well.”

“Whatever you’re thinking of saying, don’t. In the first place, I don’t have to be
handled
. In the second place—”

“I was stupid. We were going too fast, and I just wanted to take it slower. But I didn’t want to stop it.”

“You don’t seem to know what you want. I can’t handle your indecision. I want a man who knows what he wants.”

“I do know. I want
you
.”

“That’s what you’re saying now, but how do I know what you’ll say tomorrow?”

“I’ve been saying it all week.”

“That’s funny. I didn’t hear you say anything.”

“I didn’t say it.” He heard the torture in his voice. “I
showed
you how I felt. With the paintings.”

She put her hand over her mouth. Instead of looking pleased, she looked stunned, as if he’d socked her in her belly.

He put his hand on the side of her face, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. “Give me another chance.”

She stepped back from him, crossing her arms again. “You’re right. It was too fast. Maybe we can...see each other again. But not now. Now I have to...” She sucked in her lips and looked away. “Concentrate on my business. This is something I’ve been working for, hoping for. And maybe Simon’s not the ideal person to go with.”

“Because he’s a horndog,” he said.

Her laugh sounded choked. “I told you I can handle that. It’s because of the terms he wants. It’s more than Sam and I wanted to give a backer. Sam and I will talk about it again today, but I don’t think we can say no. We might never get this chance again.”

“Yes, you can. With me.”

“What?” Her eyes widened.

“We have an empty building.” He laughed and gestured toward the office. “We could rent you the space and equipment.”

“We can’t afford it.”

“I can afford it.”

She took another step back. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I’m not proposing this out of lust for you. I’ve seen your work. I believe in your business. And I know your passion. Ryan does, too. He’s the one who originally thought of this.”

“Really? When was this?”

“Last week.”

“And you’re first mentioning this to me now?” She crossed her arms again.

“I should just take off my shoe,” he said, wincing, “and shove it in my mouth and keep it there.”

“Sounds good to me.”

He raked his hand through his hair. “When Ryan said it, I knew how I felt about you already. I was engaged, and if I was around you all the time, I knew I wouldn’t be able to...” He stopped, watching her face freeze more with every syllable. “Nothing I can say will make this better, will it?”

“No.”

“I didn’t pull back because I wasn’t sure about my feelings. I was unsure about yours.”

“Then you should ask me.”

“Maybe now, but you don’t know me.” His throat closed up, but he swallowed, opening it. If he wanted to move forward—and he did—there were things that needed to be said. “No one has loved me in my life. Not my parents, not my grandparents, not my first wife, not Portia.”

Her lips parted, her face stricken. “None of that’s
your
fault.”

He wanted to touch her but held back. “I thought maybe we could do this slowly—”

She gave a laugh that held tears. “Too late for that.”

Once again, his throat closed, and he swallowed again. “I’m not sorry.”

“Me neither.”

“I don’t want to lose you. I have to say it now. I’m crazy about you.”

“Or just crazy,” she said.

She was breaking his heart, but he wanted to laugh. “I’ve been too sane for too many years,” he said. “Maybe it’s time I went a little crazy.”

Her eyes moistened again. “And I’ve been too crazy for too many years, and maybe it’s time I started to think like you do. Maybe we should take it slow. And I don’t know if I should mix business and pleasure.”

“You haven’t seen what I could offer you.”

Her gaze flicked down then up. “Oh, I thought I’d seen everything you had to offer.”

Cara’s laughter came from down the hall. He peered over Abby’s head, and as Abby turned, too, Grace’s laughter joined Cara’s, but neither showed in the hall. When Abby turned back to him, he could see the softening in her mouth and eyes. He felt the same melting feeling inside him.