King’s Million-Dollar Secret

by Maureen Child

  She gave him a slow, wide smile and shook her head firmly enough to have her short, silver hair lifting in the breeze. “You know what? I don’t think I will.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because, I’d rather watch you play out your plan,” she admitted. “My Katie can take care of herself, you know. That guy hurt her, but he didn’t break her. You know why? Because she only thought she was in love. You might want to remember that, Rafe.”

  Confusion rose up inside him, but he swallowed it back. “Fine, I’ll remember.”

  “Good. Now, I’ve got a hot date, so I’ve got to get a move on,” she announced and turned around to leave, only to whirl back to face him again. Pointing at him, she said, “Just one more thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  Her eyes narrowed and her voice dropped a couple of notches. There wasn’t even the glimmer of a smile on her face. “If you break her heart, I’ll hunt you down like a sick dog and make you sorry you ever set foot in Katie’s house. Sound fair?”

  Rafe nodded, admiration for the older woman filling him again. Family loyalty he understood completely. And he found himself again envying Katie for having someone in her life who loved her so much.

  He’d never known that himself. Oh, he had his brothers and cousins, sure. His mother, though, hadn’t loved him; she’d only used him as a bargaining chip, to squeeze Ben King for money. The elderly aunt who’d raised him hadn’t—she’d only done her duty, as she often told him. Rafe was pretty sure his father had loved him, as much as Ben King was able. Rafe wasn’t feeling sorry for himself. Things were as they were. And he’d done fine on his own.

  But he had to wonder how it might have been to be raised with the kind of love he saw now, glittering in Emily O’Hara’s eyes.

  “I hear you.”

  “Good.” She set her sunglasses in place, flashed him a quick smile and said, “As long as we understand each other, we’ll be fine.”

  Then she waved one hand and hurried to a bright yellow VW bug parked at curbside. She hopped in, fired it up and was gone an instant later.

  Scowling to himself, Rafe looked back at Katie’s house, quiet in the afternoon light. The crew was gone, she was gone and the old bungalow looked as empty as he felt.

  Talking to Emily had shaken him. Hearing his own plan put into words had made him realize that maybe it was as dumb as Katie’s grandmother clearly thought it was. The lie he’d spun and invested so much in suddenly felt like a weight around his neck. He had to wonder if he wasn’t doing the wrong thing in keeping it going.

  He’d started this as a way to win her affection and respect without her knowing who he really was. But if he pulled it off, what did he really gain? She wasn’t caring for the real him if she didn’t know the real man. The sad truth was, Katie now cared about a lie. A fabrication. He’d done this to himself and couldn’t see a way out without risking everything he didn’t want to lose.

  Rafe didn’t like admitting it even to himself, but he suddenly felt more alone than he ever had in his life. And he wasn’t sure what the hell to do about it.

  Katie had deliveries to make bright and early the next morning. Any other day, she would have enjoyed being the one to drop off a surprise gift of cookies. She always got a charge out of seeing people’s reactions to the elegantly frosted and wrapped creations. Since she’d become busier, she didn’t normally have time to make deliveries herself anymore.

  Usually, she had a teenager from down the street deliver her cookie orders. It helped her out and Donna made more money than she would babysitting. A win-win situation all the way around.

  But Donna was on vacation with her family, so despite being so tired she could barely stand up, Katie had no choice but to load up her car with the week’s orders. Specially made boxes lined her trunk and she carefully stored away the cookie bouquets and cookie towers and cookie cakes that she’d spent the last two days making. Each of them were frosted, some personalized and a swell of pride filled her as she looked at them.

  She’d built this business out of nothing and she had big plans for it, too.

  “And that,” she told herself firmly, “is just one more reason to stay away from Rafe.”

  He was too male. Too overwhelming to every sense she possessed. She couldn’t afford to be distracted from her goals, not even by a man who had the ability to sweep her off her feet with a single glance. And, if she hadn’t already surrendered to her own hormones, he wouldn’t be taking up so much of her thoughts. So she deliberately stopped thinking about Rafe—though it wasn’t easy.

  For now, she would devote herself to her burgeoning business. She wanted to make an even bigger name for herself. Move Katie’s Kookies into a shop down on Pacific Coast Highway. Have several ovens, hire more help, expand her client list and maybe even go into online orders. She had big plans. And nothing was going to stop her from making them come true.

  The scents of vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate filled her car and made Katie smile in spite of the fact that she was running on about three hours sleep. But she couldn’t blame her sleeplessness entirely on the fact that she’d been baking half the night. Because when she finally did get to bed, she’d slept fitfully, tortured by dreams of Rafe. Of the night they’d had together.

  And there he was again, front and center in her brain. Seeing him every day wasn’t helping her avoid thoughts of him. Especially since her own body seemed determined to remind her, every chance it got, of just what she’d experienced in his arms.

  “Need some help?”

  Katie jolted and slapped one hand to her chest as she turned around to look at the very man she had just been thinking about. “You scared me.”

  “Sorry.” He grinned. “I called out to you, but you didn’t hear me, I guess.”

  No, she hadn’t. She’d been too busy remembering his hands on her skin. The taste of his mouth. The slow slide of his body invading hers. Oh, boy. She blew out a breath, forced a smile and said, “I’m just preoccupied.”

  “I can see that,” he said, glancing into the back of the SUV. “You’ve been busy.”

  “I really have,” she admitted, and turned to pick up the last box, holding a dozen pink frosted cookies shaped like baby rattles.

  “Let me get that,” he said and reached for it before she could stop him.

  Truthfully, even though it was a little uncomfortable being around him at the moment, Katie was glad he was there. She’d spent the last few days avoiding being alone with him, allowing herself only a glimpse of him now and then. Having him close enough now that she could feel his body heat was a sort of tempting torture. He looked great in his worn blue jeans and blue T-shirt with King Construction stenciled across the back. And he smelled even better, with the scent of soap from his morning shower still clinging to his skin. She wanted to go to him. To kiss him.

  She caught that thought and strangled it. She was so tired, she was nearly staggering. Way too tired to trust her instincts around a man she already knew she wanted. Katie gave herself a quick, silent talking-to. Besides, she still had a full morning of deliveries. “Thanks.”

  He set the box in the trunk, then shot her a look. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Just tired.”

  He frowned and shifted his gaze to the mass of cookies. “You’re delivering all of these yourself?”

  She yawned and nodded. “Sorry. Yes. My usual delivery girl is camping in Yosemite with her family so…”

  “You can hardly keep your eyes open,” he accused.

  As if to prove him wrong, Katie opened her eyes as wide as possible and pretended not to notice that they felt like marbles rolling in sand. “I’m fine. Really. I’ll have these done in an hour or two and then I’ll come home and take a nap.”

  From inside the kitchen, a saw buzzed into life.

  “Well, maybe I’ll take a nap,” she said with a wry smile.

  He didn’t return the smile. Instead, he glowered at her, crossed his arms over his chest and said
flatly, “You’re not driving anywhere.”

  She blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

  Shaking his head, Rafe said, “Katie, you’re practically asleep on your feet. You try to drive and you’ll end up killing someone. Or yourself.”

  “You’re overreacting,” she said and closed the trunk lid. “I can take care of myself.”

  “Sure you can,” he agreed amiably. “When you’re awake.”

  “I’m not your responsibility, Rafe,” she argued, fighting the urge to yawn again. See? Just another reason why they wouldn’t have worked out as a couple. He was too bossy and she was too stubborn.

  God, she was tired. Another yawn sneaked up on her before she could stifle it and she saw his eyes narrow dangerously. Perfect. She had just given him more ammunition for his argument. To head him off before he could say anything, she spoke up quickly. “Look, I appreciate the concern, really. But I’m fine and we both have work to do. Why don’t we just get on with what we were doing and let this go?”

  “I don’t think so.” Rafe grabbed the keys from the trunk lock and held them out of reach. “I’m not kidding about this. No way am I letting you drive.”

  “Letting me?” she repeated incredulously as she stared up into his implacable expression. “You don’t have a vote in it, Rafe. This is my car. My business, and I say I’m fine to drive.”

  “You’re wrong.” He looked over his shoulder at the house. “Wait here.”

  He might as well have patted her on the head and ordered her to stay. As if she were a golden retriever or something. And of course she would wait there. What choice did she have? Katie wondered in irritation. He’d taken her keys.

  Anger churned inside her and mixed with the fatigue clawing at her. Probably not a good combination. Okay. Fine. Yes, she really was exhausted. But she wasn’t a danger to people on the road for heaven’s sake. She wasn’t a complete idiot. She wouldn’t drive if she didn’t think she could.

  The longer he was gone, the more irritated she became. She paced—in the garage, muttering to herself, rubbing her gritty eyes. One night with the man and he became territorial. Probably a good idea she’d decided to keep her distance. Imagine what he’d be like if they were actually in a relationship.

  Then that thought settled in. Instead of making her angrier, it gave Katie a soft, warm glow. Who was she kidding? She’d love for someone to be that worried about her. Oh, not that she was some mindless woman to take orders from anyone. But the idea that a man would care enough to worry about her safety sort of dulled the edges of her anger. Of course, she thought wryly, that could be the exhaustion talking.

  So when he finally came back, her tone hadn’t softened by much as she said, “Give me my keys.”

  “Not a chance.” He took her arm in a firm, no-nonsense grip, steered her to the passenger side of her car, opened the door and said simply, “Get in.”

  Stubbornly, Katie pulled free of his hold and took a determined step back. Standing her ground, she lifted her chin in defiance and met him stare for stare. “This isn’t funny, Rafe.”

  His blue eyes narrowed on her. “Damn right it isn’t. You’re too self-sufficient for your own good.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that you’re so focused on doing everything on your own you don’t know enough to ask for help when you need it.” He scowled at her as if expecting her to quail before his impeccable logic. She didn’t.

  “I don’t need help, and if I did, I wouldn’t come to you.”

  He took a quick, sharp breath. “Why the hell not?”

  “Because, we’re not together and you’re supposed to be working on my kitchen.”

  “We could be together if you weren’t so damn hard-headed,” he pointed out. “And as for working on your kitchen, I can do that when we get back.”

  “We aren’t going anywhere,” she argued and felt another yawn sneaking up on her. She twisted her mouth together and clamped her lips shut rather than giving into it.

  “Nice try, but I saw that yawn anyway,” he pointed out.

  “Doesn’t mean a thing,” she told him.

  “Damn it, Katie,” Rafe said, his voice quiet, his gaze locked on hers, “Even if you don’t want my help, you could at least admit that you’re too damn tired to think straight, let alone drive.”

  He was leaning on the open passenger door, just an arm’s reach away from her. His blue eyes were locked on her and his dark blue, steely stare told Katie he wouldn’t be giving up easily.

  So she tried another tactic.

  “Rafe,” she assured him in a calm, rational tone that completely belied the irritation still spiking inside her, “I’m completely fine. Really.”

  Then she yawned again.

  “Uh-huh,” he said, “I’m convinced. Get in. I’m driving.”

  “You?” She looked from him to the kitchen, where the crew was busy doing heaven knew what to her house and asked, “You can’t just walk away from your job.”

  “I told the guys to let Joe know I was helping you out and that I’d be back in a couple of hours.”

  “You can’t do that.” Wouldn’t he be fired? She couldn’t let him lose his job over this.

  “Yeah,” he said, “I can. Consider us a full-service construction company. Whatever the boss—that’s you—needs, we provide.”

  Katie hadn’t gone to him, he’d come to her. And there was the slightest chance that he was right and she was too tired to drive all over town. But at the same time, that didn’t make it okay for him to ride in and take over.

  She thought about it, her mind racing, arguing with itself. Yes, he was being a jerk, but he was also being nice, in a roundabout, tyrannical sort of way. He was glaring at her, but he was worried about her. He was supposed to be working on her kitchen, but instead he was willing to drive her around town making cookie deliveries.

  And she would be alone with him in the car for an hour or more. That appealed to her on so many levels it was scary. But could she really be with him and not with him at the same time?

  Oh, she was so tired, even she didn’t understand her any more.

  “I can practically hear you arguing with yourself,” he said after a long moment.

  “It’s easier than arguing with you,” she told him.

  “True. And before we start in again, you should know that I don’t quit. I don’t give in. Never surrender.”

  She tipped her head to one side and looked up at him. “I don’t quit, either.”

  He shrugged. “Hence the trouble between us.”

  “Hence?” she repeated, smiling in spite of the situation.

  Rafe blew out a breath. “Are you getting in, or do I pick you up and put you in?” he asked.

  Katie sent him a hard glare. “All right, fine,” she confessed. “I might be a little too tired to drive.”

  He smiled and Katie’s toes curled in her comfortable flats. Oh, boy. For all of her fine notions about keeping her distance, about not letting herself fall for a guy, she was certainly doing a lot of stumbling around him.

  “Now that we’re on the same page, so to speak,” Rafe said, “will you please get in the car?”

  Her mouth twitched into a smile at the way he’d changed his command to a request. She nodded, climbing up into the passenger seat. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He closed her door, walked around to the driver’s side and slid her key into the ignition. Then he looked at her and said, “So, how does it feel to be going on our second date?”

  Her eyebrows winged up when she turned her gaze on him. “Delivering cookies is a date?”

  “If we say it is, yeah.” He fired up the engine and looked at her again. “So? Is it?”

  Katie stared at him and remembered that night. Then she remembered the last few days, being so close to him and so far away all at the same time. She remembered every haunting dream she’d had and how she would wake up, aching for his touch.

  Was she being
an idiot by shutting out the first nice, normal guy she’d met in way too long? Okay, yes, he was a little bossy, but she could handle that. Would it really be so bad to take a chance? To spend some time with Rafe? To see if what she already felt for him might grow? After all, she could concentrate on her business and have a life, couldn’t she? Isn’t that what Nana and Nicole both had been trying to tell her?

  Memories of Cordell rose up in her mind, but Katie fought them down with determination.

  Watching Rafe, she finally said, “It’s not a date unless you spring for a cup of coffee at least.”

  He grinned at her, clearly victorious. “One latte, coming up.”

  Eight

  An hour and a half later, Katie looked a little more alert and Rafe was enjoying himself immensely. “No wonder you like doing this,” he said, sliding into the driver’s seat after making the last of the deliveries. “People are excited to see you when you bring them cookies.”

  She grinned. “How did the pink baby-rattle cookies go over?”

  He laughed and held up a five-dollar bill. “I got a tip!”

  He looked so pleased with himself, Katie had to laugh, too. “Congratulations, you’re a delivery person.”

  “She cried, too,” he said, handing Katie the five. Shaking his head, he remembered the expression on the woman’s face when she opened the door and saw him standing there, holding the basket of pink frosted cookies. “The woman? The new mom? She took one look at those cookies her friend ordered from you and burst into tears. She was laughing and crying and for a minute.” Then he added, “it was terrifying.”

  Katie reached out and patted his arm. “Not what you’re used to as a carpenter?”

  “No,” he said simply, looking into her green eyes. She was so pleased with him, having so much fun, he couldn’t help but suddenly feel like a first-class rat for lying to her.

  He thought back to his conversation with Katie’s grandmother and realized that she had been right. Ever since talking to Emily, he’d been rethinking this whole keep-the-lie-going thing. His lies hadn’t seemed like such a big deal when he had started out on this job. But now, every day with Katie made him feel that much more like a jerk. He should have told her the truth before now.