braid. Not his type, but appealing in her own way. And her eyes were glorious—the shade of warm, gold-shot brandy; he could spend hours watching the play of emotions in those fascinating eyes.
And he knew without a doubt that Bethany Cox wasn’t going to be easy to deal with. Between her stubborn chin and the way she’d instantly tried to retreat behind a polite facade, she practically screamed “difficult.” He normally avoided difficult women in his personal life—it was complicated enough without the aggravation.
Damn. Why couldn’t she have said she was getting married instead of “not dating”?
“Please…call me Kane,” he said, trying to give her a charming smile. At least, it was the smile his youngest sister said was charming, though it didn’t seem to be having any impact at the moment. “And may I call you Bethany? Or do you go by Beth?”
“It’s Beth, but I don’t see any point to being on a first name basis since we’ll never see each other again.” Her chin lifted an inch.
Patience. That’s what he needed.
Beth Cox might be royally stubborn, but he didn’t think she intended any harm; there was something straightforward and honest about the way she looked at him.
“Who knows, we might end up being friends,” he said slowly.
“No, I don’t think so.” Beth shook her head.
Kane lifted his eyebrows. He’d practically invited her to become part of his life and she was saying no. No seemed to be the woman’s favorite word, he thought with wry annoyance.
No to a date.
No to friendship.
No.
He’d gotten spoiled over the years; he wasn’t used to hearing no. From anyone.
But why was she saying no? Beth Cox was young and apparently unmarried, surely she must have been interested in the prize to enter the contest. And he’d recognized a healthy flash of awareness in her brandy eyes when they’d first met, so she wasn’t completely disinterested, no matter what she might say.
“You sound pretty sure about that. Is there something you don’t like about me?” Kane asked.
“N-no.”
“Then why?”
Her shoulders lifted a scant inch, then dropped. “Let’s just say I’m not in your league. Look at you, wearing an expensive suit on a warm Saturday afternoon. I mean, it’s Saturday for heaven’s sake, and you look like you’re going to a funeral.” All at once Beth bit her lip. “Uh, sorry. It’s a very nice suit.”
“A funeral? That’s a fine thing to say.” Kane scowled, trying to decide why he was still sitting in a strange woman’s kitchen, getting insulted. Okay, so he was wearing a suit. The fact that his own family had taken to calling him a stuffed shirt did not mean he needed someone else accusing him of the same thing.
Still, he had to admit that compared to Beth, in her comfortable T-shirt with the Mariners’ baseball team logo on it, he must seem pretty stuffy.
“I’m really sorry,” Beth said, sounding genuinely penitent. “But you asked, and I didn’t think before I opened my mouth. Curt used to say it was my biggest fault.”
“Who’s Curt?”
Her eyelids flickered, almost imperceptibly. “My…fiancé. He died several years ago in a mountain climbing accident. He was part of a search and rescue team, and things went bad.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Anyway,” Beth said quickly, “I’m sure I look like a wreck to you. It just shows we live in two different worlds.”
Accustomed to feminine wiles and not-so-subtle demands for compliments, Kane’s gaze narrowed thoughtfully. But if Beth was fishing for a compliment she had to be the greatest actress in the world. He couldn’t help being intrigued—it had been a long time since he’d met a woman who wasn’t trying to impress or beguile him.
“You look fine. In fact, you have the right idea.” Kane unbuttoned the jacket of his suit and shrugged out of it. He heard her swift intake of breath and cocked his head. “Something wrong?”
“Of course not,” she said quickly.
The color in her eyes shifted, turning dark, all traces of gold erased, and Kane sighed. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties, which made her ten to twelve years younger than himself. Perhaps he made her nervous, and that’s why she’d decided to refuse her prize. Or it could be the loss of her fiancé, though it had happened a while in the past.
“Miss Cox—Beth,” he said after a moment. “If you’re worried about the arrangements for the trip, I can assure you there have always been plans for separate hotel suites. It’s very respectable and aboveboard. Both KLMS and I have a reputation to maintain.”
“Heavens, I never thought that,” she said quickly. “I’m the last woman you’d ever be interested in…in that way.”
I’m the last woman…
Frowning, Kane shook the ice in his glass. He didn’t understand her vehement denial. Most of the women he knew had an invincible confidence in their ability to attract a man.
“Why do you say that?” he asked finally.
She lifted her shoulders in another small shrug. “Your taste in women isn’t any secret.”
“You don’t seem the type to read the society page, or what passes for it around Crockett.”
“No, but people talk.” Beth looked down at her faded T-shirt and shorts. She wasn’t the “type” for a lot of things. She didn’t really mind, but she was realistic—she was far from pretty, and even Curt had looked at more generously endowed women with appreciation. Kane O’Rourke was accustomed to dating the most beautiful women in the world; she’d look ridiculous standing next to him.
Kane lifted her hand and she shivered. Her skin was stained and rough from working in the garden all morning, yet compared to his hard fingers, she felt small and delicate. It was an ironic contrast, especially with a man she’d expect to have professionally manicured nails and soft hands from pushing paper for a living.
“Maybe I am a little stuffy, but I’m a decent guy,” he said quietly. “My family will vouch for me. You can phone them if you’d like. Of course, my brothers and sisters will probably claim that I boss them around too much.” Kane gave her a self-deprecating smile. “I’m the oldest child, so it’s an occupational hazard. My sister, Shannon, says I’m not always right—I just think I am.”
I’m the oldest.
Beth’s heart gave an odd lurch. She would have loved being part of a large family—youngest, oldest, or in the middle, it wouldn’t have mattered. “How many in your family?” she asked.
He grinned. “Four brothers and four sisters. And my mother, but she thinks I’m perfect. Naturally.”
“Naturally,” Beth echoed, though
