her all over again. It was one thing to decide she could put up with him for a weekend excursion, another to actually do it. He wrote out the check and she hastily put it in her purse. Even if the money was for a good cause, she was still being paid off.
“If it’s all right with you,” Kane said. “I’ve arranged for the limousine to take us to Port Angeles on Saturday morning, where we’ll take the ferry over to Victoria. We’ll do some sight-seeing, stay the night at the Empress Hotel and return home Sunday afternoon.”
She gave him a funny look. “Why not drive ourselves?”
“The contest rules said we’d go by limo. My brother thought it would sound more exciting to the contestants.”
“I don’t care about the rules. It’s too extravagant.”
“The station is footing the bill. Patrick insisted. He’s stubborn about things like that.”
“But—”
“Humor me.” Kane chomped down on his sandwich. He obviously didn’t enjoy being thwarted, even on something so minor. Maybe he hoped to use the time in the limo to work, since cell phones and laptop computers made it possible to do anything, almost anywhere.
It couldn’t be easy for a busy billionaire to drop everything for a weekend in Victoria, especially with a woman like her. If she was sexy and exciting like Julia Roberts or Marilyn Monroe it might be different and he wouldn’t mind so much. But she wasn’t.
Beth sighed, unaccountably depressed.
It wasn’t as if she actually wanted Kane O’Rourke to like her that way, even if her body was all for the idea.
“Beth?”
She realized he’d said something and she’d been too distracted to hear. “What?”
“I asked if you have any particular likes or dislikes I should know about. That is, about restaurants or things to do?”
“Anything is fine.”
Kane’s eyes darkened to the color of midnight. “A little cooperation would be nice. This is a two-day date, and I want you to enjoy it. We should plan things you’re interested in doing.”
Beth put down her plastic fork and shoved the remains of her sandwich and coleslaw to one side. “Let’s get something clear, this isn’t a date, it’s…it’s…”
He looked amused again. “It’s what?”
“Well it’s nothing like a date,” she snapped. “I’m only going to Victoria to help the family crisis center, and you’re only going to help your brother. That’s all.”
There. She’d established the ground rules. Kane couldn’t possibly think she had any interest in him as a man, and she’d made it clear she knew he wasn’t interested, either. There wouldn’t be any embarrassing misunderstandings to make the weekend uncomfortable.
That is…any more uncomfortable.
Because even if her head and heart weren’t interested, her body had gone over the fence. You would think after everything she’d experienced in her twenty-six years—including the death of her fiancé—she wouldn’t respond to such an unsuitable man. But Kane O’Rourke was so gorgeous he was knocking her hormones on their heels.
“Look,” she said. “I have to go back to work.”
“Yes, to your store in Crockett.”
Beth blinked. “How did you know about that? Did you have me investigated?”
Shaking his head, Kane motioned to the newspaper laying on his desk. “That last article was very thorough.” He waited, then let out a breath. “You do know there’ll be photographers going with us to take pictures in Victoria? Maybe even a television crew. The whole point of the contest is publicity for Patrick’s station. And I’ll have to announce you’ve decided to go after all, so you might have reporters bothering you again.”
She rolled her eyes. “Like they ever stopped?”
“Er…right. I’ll walk you down to your car.”
“No,” Beth said hastily. “I’m fine.”
He ignored her, of course, and all the way down to the parking garage she was aware of curious glances from Kane’s employees. He didn’t seem to notice and she wondered how you ever got used to being the center of attention. It was probably something that happened gradually, until you didn’t even realize that everyone was watching.
As Kane held the car door for her, he smiled. “I’ll see you Saturday morning…we need to leave by six to be sure of catching the ferry.”
She forced a smile of her own. “Great. Six sharp. Do me a favor, though.”
“Sure.”
“Don’t wear a suit.”
Kane laughed as Beth pulled from her parking space. To his surprise, he was actually looking forward to the weekend. There were worse things than spending time with a woman who wasn’t marriage hungry and anxious to score with a man simply because he had a hefty bank account.
In the meantime he had a hell of a lot of work to do. Somehow, the more money he made, the less freedom he seemed to have. Weekends were just two more days to get things done, and taking one off would mean lots of catching up.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had lunch without reading reports at the same time—it seemed a waste to just eat when he could be getting something done.
Still, it was rather nice eating with Beth like that. Between her stubborn attitude and that blasted contest she should have been a thorn in his side, but it wasn’t turning out that way.
The alarm went off at five on Saturday morning and Beth opened a bleary eye. “Shut up,” she growled.
The clock kept blaring and she stuffed a pillow over her head. She didn’t like morning at the best of times, but especially not after failing to sleep more than a couple of hours the night before. Then the phone rang, joining the noise from the radio. Beth moaned and grabbed it, succeeding in knocking the radio to the floor. It made a squawking noise, then fell into blessed silence.
“Yes?” she mumbled into the receiver.
“You’re still in bed, aren’t you?”
“Uh…Emily.”
It was her business partner at the clothing store. They got along great except for her being one of those annoying morning people who woke with the sun. Of course, she had incentive—a husband who worshiped the ground she walked on, along with a darling daughter and another baby on the way. Most of the time Beth managed not to envy Emily, but for the last several days she’d found her heart aching more than usual.
It didn’t make sense, because she didn’t want something from Kane. She just wanted…something. Beth dropped her head back on a pillow and wondered when her comfortable life had become inadequate.
“Yup, it’s
