with the camera?” he asked without bothering to answer her question.
She lifted her prized piece of equipment before letting it fall back around her neck. “I’m working. What’s your excuse? Because if you don’t mind my saying so, it seems awfully coincidental that we’d both end up in the same neighborhood.”
He met her gaze, which was a good sign that he wasn’t hiding anything, but she didn’t know him well enough to read him…yet.
“Don’t get yourself worked up, Gracie.” His voice softened and she couldn’t help melting like ice cream on the hot sidewalk. “I was just concerned to find you hanging in a neighborhood like this.” His arm swept the air around him.
She figured that was as much of an apology as she would get from the man. “Well, I admit it’s not as fine as most, but the people here are real.” Considering concern was behind his attitude, she didn’t mind explaining. “And they deserve the same little joys in life the rest of us have.”
She waved the camera. “That’s what these pictures are for, to help raise money on behalf of the kids in this neighborhood—and the mothers love them. Pictures of their kids are the least I can give back.” She silently cursed the insecurity she hadn’t meant to reveal.
He stepped forward. “And why is that?” His soft voice wrapped around her like a warm caress. “Is your background more privileged than most?”
“How’d you guess?” she asked, suddenly wary. Because they’d met once and she’d never revealed her background to her neighbor. Of course her apartment decor reeked of wealth, but his tone held more than a hint of certainty that he knew her well.
He lifted her chin with his hand, holding her face up to daylight. Heat having nothing to do with the sun skittered across her skin. “That cultured voice is a dead giveaway. And besides those sculpted cheekbones speak for themselves.”
So he’d pegged her from day one. But to Ben, she didn’t want to be the spoiled rich girl, she wanted to be just Grace. And she believed she still had that chance.
She inhaled deep. The air held Ben’s raw scent and if Grace thought she’d been swept away by the sight of him before, she was on fire now. “What makes you such a good judge of people?”
“In my line of work, being observant is second nature.”
She shot him a questioning look.
“Private investigator,” he explained.
His occupation surprised her, but she appreciated the insight. “Is that what you’re doing down here? Working on a case?”
She glanced over her shoulder, hoping the kid Ben had been coaching wasn’t the subject of some undercover investigation that would get him in trouble. Drugs, the illegal sale of fake merchandise—she saw too many kids in danger and hoped the money from CHANCES would help kids like these. Not only would it open the door to her career, but she’d ease the guilt she felt for having so much when others had so little.
“Now, Grace, are you avoiding the question about your background?” He not-so-subtly turned the subject back to her.
She grinned. Apparently, with their interest in each other running high, neither one was willing to give without receiving in return. “No, Mr. Private Investigator. Let’s just say I’m leveling the playing field. You answer my question, I’ll answer yours.”
He fingered the camera strap between his thumb and forefinger. “I didn’t know this was a game, but I’ll play. Since I’m new to the building, I asked the landlord which areas to avoid and he mentioned this neighborhood. High crime, drug trafficking…kids in need.” He pointed to the game of basketball that had resumed behind them. “So here I am.”
She’d found this neighborhood in much the same way, but she was a permanent resident. Ben was a temporary neighbor, which made his actions that much more generous and giving.
She wondered again what was behind his presence here. “Why, Ben, I’d never have suspected you had an altruistic streak.”
He laughed. “I don’t go around advertising it, but I grew up in a place like this. Whenever I go in to a new neighborhood, I like to go back to my roots. Like you, I give back in return.”
Her chest constricted at the admission. So not only was the man of her dreams sexy, but he had a heart.
“No welching. It’s your turn. Is your background more privileged than most? Is that why you feel the need to hit these areas without backup?”
She laughed. “I don’t think I need backup. Who’d be interested enough to bother with me?”
“Don’t underestimate your worth, Grace.”
She shivered, realizing he’d struck her one weakness with deadly accuracy. Though she hadn’t meant to imply she wasn’t worthy of interest, it was her greatest fear. That her worth lay only in her money and family name.
“I meant who’d give me a second look? I’m dressed in rags.” She pointed to her ripped jeans and paint-splattered T-shirt. “No makeup, no jewelry to attract attention.” She shrugged, hoping she’d covered any hint of insecurity she might have revealed.
“Just a fancy camera worth good money in a pawn shop, for starters. Then there’s those cheekbones I mentioned earlier.” His finger slipped down her face, whisper-soft but with enough electricity to light this neighborhood in a blackout.
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know you believe that, but…”
“I know that.” She grasped his finger in her hand. The desire to feel the rough glide of his skin over her aching breasts was overwhelming. Somehow she found the ability to speak. “I appreciate the concern but I really need to get going. I want to shoot a few pictures before I have to get back to work.”
He stepped backward and the distance gave her breathing room. “You owe me some answers, Gracie.”
She laughed, grateful to be off the hook for now. “That’s okay. I’m not going far.”
Before he could answer, she turned and headed for the playground. Little did Ben know, she wasn’t kidding.
He was the key to her sensual self-discovery and she planned to get very close to him, very soon.
BEN SHOOK HIS HEAD, watching as her behind swayed gracefully in tight denim. Her name suited her perfectly, Ben thought. Which was why Grace had no business being in this neighborhood.
Hell, he didn’t like being back in an exact replica of his old stomping grounds. With little money growing up, the basketball courts had been his escape. The harder he’d pounded the ball, the more he’d thought he would forget that he’d be coming home to an empty apartment. No father, a mother who was working too hard, and neighbors screaming at each other on both sides of the paper-thin walls.
He related to the kids he’d met this morning when he’d stationed himself here to wait for Grace. If Ben could get one in particular, Leon, to keep his focus on the game and not the streets, the kid could
