Okay, so she wasn’t exactly an expert on women, seeing as how most of her friends were men. She could only imagine how she would feel if she found out that the man she’d loved had had another family secreted away somewhere. She’d be pissed. No amount of “smoothing things over” would make that all right. And yet, if anyone could do it, she believed Ford could.
“They must just hate each other,” she murmured.
“Surprisingly, they don’t.” Jonathon shrugged as if to say he didn’t get it, either. “They resented each other for a long time, but now they’re friends, strange as that sounds. Ford’s younger sister—his full sister, that is— Chelsea is about the same age as Beatrice. Ford managed to convince both Suzanne and Patrice that the girls all needed each other. Of course, it helped matters that his dad had died practically broke. So Ford was pretty much supporting everyone.”
“How old was he?”
“Twenty-three or so.”
She’d read somewhere that he’d made his first million by the time he was twenty-two. If he was supporting five women not long after that, he must have been highly motivated indeed to keep making money. From what he’d told her, his sisters were only now in college.
She glanced toward the door to her office through which Ford had disappeared. “This kind of thing, with the constant phone calls. This happens often?”
“Only when there’s some crisis they want him to solve. They tend to … um, disagree a lot. When they do, they all call Ford to sort it out for them.”
“So he solves all their problems, but he never lets them get too close, does he?”
Jonathon sent her a piercing look. “Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s what I would do.”
Seven
From where she sat, she could see Ford through the open door of her office. He stood with his back toward them. Tension radiated from him. She could see it through the lines of his shoulders, in the way he shifted them as he spoke, as if he were trying to stretch out the knotted muscles. But she could hear the tone of his voice, as well. Not the words, the tone. Quiet and soothing.
She wondered, did his family know he was lying to them? If not with his words, then with his intent.
She was watching Ford so closely that Jonathon surprised her when he said, “You say that because you think you’re so much alike.”
There was the faintest hint of condemnation in his voice. It made her chuckle. “Oh, God, no. Not at all.” Finally she looked back at Jonathon. “He’s so charming, isn’t he?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I saw it in Texas. The way he can manipulate people. Talking them into things. Get them to do things they normally wouldn’t.”
“You’re saying he charmed you into bed with him.”
She slanted a look at Jonathon, tilting her head to the side as she studied him. “Do you always do that? Willfully misunderstand what people are saying?”
“I’ve found most people say things they don’t really mean. And mean things they’re not willing to say aloud. I’ve found it’s best to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
She nodded. “Very well, then, maybe he did charm me into bed with him. But I certainly wasn’t unwilling, if that’s what you were asking. No, what I meant was that he has the ability to charm everyone. But I don’t think he lets many people close.”
No, like her, he kept everyone at arm’s length. His charm was as much a weapon as her sarcastic quips. She couldn’t say exactly why she knew that to be true, simply that she understood it on a gut level. The same way she knew that if fate hadn’t thrown them together again, she never would have seen Ford after that one night in Texas.
Somehow the thought made her sad. Ford wasn’t hers to keep, but she was glad she’d had this chance to see him again. To get to know the man he really was. Even if that man wasn’t someone she could let too close.
Jonathon didn’t respond, but studied her with that same steady gaze she found so disconcerting.
“Have I satisfied your curiosity?”
Kitty flashed him a cavalier smile. “You’ve certainly answered all of my questions.”
More to the point, he’d told her everything she really needed to know about Ford. If he found out he really was the father of her child, he’d do everything in his power to take care of her. But he’d never really let her or the baby in. He’d never love her or the baby the way she wanted to be loved. She’d just be another burden to him.
And wasn’t that just the last thing she needed? Another man to coddle her. Yippee.
Ford couldn’t tell how much progress he and Jonathon had made on convincing Kitty to accept their offer, but he sensed something had changed while he’d been on the phone with his sister. He’d come back to the table to find Kitty looking pale and withdrawn. To make matters worse, not much later, Jonathon had gotten a call, as well, and had to leave the meeting.
Now half a day had passed and they were no closer to signing papers. Kitty had vanished after lunch, leaving him to go over the quarterly financial statements with Marty, whose eager nervousness reminded him of a puppy with ADD.
To make matters worse, he’d wandered over to Kitty’s office. He hadn’t planned on coming there. That’s just where he’d ended up. As if he no longer had any control over where his feet took him.
A quick glance in her office told him it was empty. She better not have left early. He’d already turned to leave when he heard a noise from the other side of the office. The door to her bathroom was open.
“Kitty, are you there?” he asked, crossing her office.
He was a few steps from the bathroom when the door slammed closed. “Go away,” said her muffled voice.
He should have taken at her word, but he made the mistake of hesitating just long enough to hear the recognizable sounds of someone throwing up. He cringed.
“You okay?”
“Go a—” More retching.
That sounded bad. Not that hurling ever sounded good. He should definitely leave. He’d almost made it to the door when a voice in his head stopped him in his tracks. She’s obviously sick, and you’re running for the door. What kind of jerk are you? But she’d told him to go.
Of course she did. No one likes puking. You think she’s going to ask for your help? No way. But you can’t just leave her there.
He walked back to the bathroom, praying the door would be locked. That would be the perfect excuse to just turn and walk away. He tried the knob. And the damn thing wiggled.
He opened the door to see her wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Thick strands of dark hair had fallen down from its twist to hang in her face. Her gaze blazed with anger.
“I said go away.” But her hands trembled as she lowered herself to sit on the ground beside the toilet.
He’d done the right thing.
Shutting the door behind him in case anyone came in, he said, “You don’t have to be so proud.”
“Great. A lecture. Thanks.” She pressed her cheek to the tile wall. “Next time you’re throwing up, I’ll fly out to California to razz you.”
“Yeah, I’ll give you a call,” he shot back. He pulled a paper towel from the dispenser and ran it under the faucet before handing it to her. “Here.”
“Thanks.” She wiped carefully at the corners of her mouth, then folded that edge to