He shrugged. “Would you rather we go back to your place and talk?”
“No.” Being alone with him wasn’t a good idea. Even knowing better, she might be tempted to—nope.
“There you go. So where are we headed?”
She sighed. The man was nothing if not determined. Rather than argue with him, she surrendered. “Business supply store,” she said. “I need a new laser printer and some other supplies.”
One eyebrow winged up. “Still working? What do you do now?”
“What I always did. I design toys, only now I freelance,” she said, turning her face to look out the window at Swan Hollow as it flashed past.
“For who?”
She thought about not telling him, but the minute she considered it, she let it go. The man could find out the truth easily enough if he did a little digging online. So really, it was pointless to try to keep it a secret even though she didn’t love the idea of allowing him even deeper into her life.
“Myself,” she said, keeping her gaze focused out the side window so she didn’t have to look at him.
“Right,” he said wryly, “because rich people can work, too.”
She whipped her head around to glare at him. “Why is it when you have your own company that’s okay, but when I do, I’m a rich dilettante just killing time?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” She took a breath and let it out again. “Besides, my life is not your business.”
“If that life concerns Caro, then you’re wrong. It is.”
“Where is this coming from?” She squirmed in her seat and wished she were on her feet so she could pace off the nervous energy pulsing inside her. “You never wanted kids, so why are you so fixated on involving yourself with Caro?”
“Because she’s mine,” he said and stepped on the brake for a red light. Turning to meet her eyes, he said, “I protect what’s mine.”
“So it’s just a pride thing?” she asked, trying to read his features, his eyes, hoping she’d see something that would reassure her. That would let her know they’d find a way to work all this out. But as usual, Wes hid what he was thinking, feeling, locking it all down behind an impenetrable wall.
“You hid my daughter from me, Belle. That’s not a pride thing, that’s a damn fact.”
His eyes flashed, a muscle in his jaw flexed and his hands fisted on the steering wheel. Staring into those intense eyes of his, Isabelle knew that he would be a formidable enemy. But was that really what they’d come to? Were they so obviously on opposite sides of this one issue that there would be no way to reach some kind of accord?
He couldn’t use his money against her, because she had plenty of her own. But she couldn’t use hers against him for the same reason—there, at least, they were on equal ground.
But what would a court say, she suddenly wondered. If he got a lawyer and sued for custody, would the judge punish her for keeping Caroline from him for years? Would he order her daughter turned over to her father? A way to make up to him for all the time he’d lost with Caro? God, that thought opened up a hole inside her.
“I did what I thought was the best thing for me,” she said softly. “For Caroline.”
“Well,” he snapped as the light turned green and he stepped on the gas again, “you were wrong.”
But she hadn’t been wrong at all, Belle thought. The only thing she’d done wrong was get caught.
“Your brothers came to see me this morning.”
“They what?” The change in subject was so startling, it completely threw her off. But a second later, Isabelle gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. This was her own fault. She had planned to tell her brothers today about Wes being in town. She should have known that they would hear the town grapevine buzzing long before that. Rubbing her fingers against her forehead, trying to fight a headache that seemed to have settled in permanently, Isabelle reminded herself that Chance, Eli and Tyler loved her. They were just being protective. They were looking out for Caroline.
Nope, trying to calm herself down wasn’t working, she thought. She was still furious. “What did they do?”
One corner of his mouth quirked in response to the tone of her voice.
“You think this is amusing?” she asked, stunned at the sudden shift in his attitude.
“I didn’t this morning,” he admitted. “When they pushed their way into my hotel room, my first instinct was to go a few rounds with them. But now, seeing how them interfering really frosts you, yeah. It’s amusing.”
“That’s great,” she said, nodding as her world tipped even farther off balance. “You’re bonding with my brothers. I should have expected that. You’re all so much alike.”
“Excuse me?”
She glanced at him. “Now you’re offended. That’s what I find funny.” Shaking her head, she said, “You don’t even see it. You, Chance, Eli and Tyler are all pushy, domineering, know-it-alls. You think you know what’s best for everyone and none of you are willing to listen to reason.”
“Reason?” he repeated. “I think I’ve been pretty damn reasonable so far.”
“Ah,” she said, lifting one hand. “So far being the key words in that sentence. How do I know you’re not going to suddenly decide to sue me for custody of Caro?” she asked, blurting out her deepest fear. “How do I know you’re not already planning to take her away from me?”
“Because I just found out about her two days ago?” he asked. “I’m good, but even I need more time than that.”
He parked the car in the lot and shut off the engine, and Isabelle shifted in her seat to look at him. “How much time, Wes? How long do I have before you come after me with all of your lawyers?”
Wes shifted in his seat, too, until they faced each other in the closed-off silence of the big car. Outside, people wandered in and out of the store and a few more clouds filled the sky, threatening more of the snow that still covered the parking lot. “Who said anything about lawyers?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to say it,” she admitted. “But just know, if you bring lawyers into it, so will I.”
“Yeah, I know.” He nodded grimly. “So no lawyers. We do this between us.”
Isabelle released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. For now, at least, she didn’t have to worry about Wes taking her to court. He might change his mind later, but she’d be grateful for today. “Okay, good. So how do we settle this?”
“To start? You get used to me being here. Being with Caroline. I’ll jet back and forth to Texas as needed for business, but I plan on being here. A lot. Don’t fight me on it, Belle,” he warned. “We’ll figure the rest out as we go.”
She didn’t like it. But why would she? Still, she liked this better than the idea of a protracted courtroom drama where they ended up at each other’s throats. That wouldn’t be good for Caro—or for any of them. It went against every instinct she had to let him into her and her daughter’s lives. But the way she saw it, she just didn’t have a choice.
Staring into those beautiful eyes of his, she felt that near magnetic pull that she’d always experienced around him. That was dangerous, but only to her. Isabelle knew she would have to be on guard—and never let him know what he could do to her with just a look. Her reawakened feelings aside, it would be easier all the way around if she could just get through this situation with Wes without slipping back into dangerous feelings.