Experiment In Love (18 page)

“Why?”

“I want to open a ski shop.”

“Where?”
Her voice sharpened and she leaned forward.

“In
Snowhawk.” He named one of the better- known ski slopes.

“If I upped the ante, would you consider moving to another state?
Perhaps Colorado?”

His light brown eyes lit up with interest. “Why?” It was his turn to ask questions.

“Because I live in Utah and I would prefer that you didn’t.”

“Does that mean I have the ‘job’?” His grin turned into another smirk as he studied her slim body, obviously seeing her naked in his mind.

His crude ploy made her blood boil. He could use being taken down a peg! “It means that I’m still considering the remote possibility.” Her tone quelled him. “I’m not ready to hand over thousands of dollars to someone just because he has a nice, undiseased body. If that were the case, I would never have gotten to the point of interviewing you.”

He winced.
“Ouch, lady.”

“Think nothing of it” She barely contained the grin that threatened to curve her lips and show off her deep dimples.

He sighed, leaning back in the low red velvet chair. “Okay. What now?” His lounging form reminded her so much of a typical teenager that she almost wished she had cancelled this appointment. But he had all the qualifications and, just as important, no visible bad habits. Still. . .

“Now we both think about it.” She stood, all five feet three of her, and eyed him much as a mother would. “What does your family have to say about this? Have you discussed this with them?”

“Lord, no!” He stood, unwinding his lean frame from its casual position to tower over her.

She tilted her head sideways, staring up at him and wondering how long it would be before she got a crick in her neck.
“Why not?”

“Well, I did tell my sister, but she thinks I’m crazy anyway.” His grin told her that he liked his sister. His easy stance told her that he had suddenly relaxed as he began to talk about his family. That was a good sign.

Caro glanced down at the physician’s form. “And did you mention this to any of your brothers?”

“No.” Brandon’s voice turned low and flat and she looked up in surprise. “This has nothing to do with them.”

“I would think that this was just the sort of thing a bunch of men would talk about. After all, a man being hired—”

“What I do is my business,” he interrupted firmly, showing a streak of determination that she hadn’t guessed he possessed. She was pleased.

“And how will you feel three, five, ten years from now? Do you think you’ll have an urge to see the child you created?”

He shrugged. “Why should I? I imagine there are a lot of guys who go through life wondering if they’ve fathered any little brats along the way. I’ll bet it drives
them nuts, haunting them.” He grinned. “This way I’ll know for sure, and I’ll also know that you won’t let my secret out or allow any noble motives to get in the way when the kid gets big and wants to find his real parents.”

Caro’s voice hardened. “I’ll be the only ‘real parents.’ Make no mistake, this is my baby. You’ll just be a man with some extra money in his pocket.”

He grinned. “Fair enough,” he said. “When will I know your decision?”

“I’ll have my attorney call you by the end of the week with my decision.” She saw the gleam that immediately entered his eyes and quelled it with her next words. “In the meantime I’ll decide if I think we’re compatible. If I do, then we’ll discuss the next step.”

“I still have to work for a living, you know,” he countered.

“So do
I,” she answered, holding out her hand to demonstrate that the interview was over. “We’ll be in touch. Thank you for your time.”

The skirt of her silk dress swished against her sleek, nylon-encased legs as she turned and retraced her steps out the front door and stepped into a taxi. She never looked back, never waved; never saw that Brandon Cole watched her with narrowed eyes and an expression wiser than his youth. She didn’t see the calculated look that passed fleetingly over his face before it was quickly hidden from passing guests.

The cab drove around the city, following her instructions. They passed the gold-domed state capital and the high-walled Mormon Temple grounds. Caro gave Brandon Cole plenty of time to leave the hotel. Finally the driver stopped in a side street, allowing her to use another entrance to the hotel. Her steps were muffled by the carpeted hallway as she took a sharp right and pushed the elevator button. If he was still waiting in the lobby, he would wait a long time. If he asked the desk clerk for her room number, he would be told there was no “Carolyn” registered under any last name. Everything that could be done to retain her mysterious identity had been done. There would be no way for him to trace her, either then or later.

She opened the door to her suite and immediately slipped off her shoes, then stripped off her dress and slip. What she needed was a hot bath and a few hours of sleep before tackling any decision-making.

Her warm shower was soothing rather than invigorating. The triple-sheeted bed made Caro smile. Where else would one find a bottom sheet, top sheet and a sheeted blanket except in the finest hotels? Certainly not at home. She grinned, eyes closed and hand sensuously rubbing the top sheet, feeling the softness of the pristine material. She didn’t travel from home often, but when she did, it was marvelous to know that she could finally afford to go first class. Her mind was fuzzy with impending sleep and she felt as if she were floating in midair in the quiet room.

She thought over her conversation with Brandon Cole, and his knowing, cocky manner. She had met many men of his type during her years of traveling with a band. He and the others like him had the one thing she had always craved: family. And he didn’t even know how lucky he was! What a waste of such a valuable asset

All her life Caro had dreamed of having a family, someone to call her own. Even knowing that families had their share of problems and conflicts hadn’t detracted from her teenage daydreams in which she was loved and cared for by parents, sisters, and brothers. She longed for someone who would love her despite her faults. Once she had thought that her dreams of a home and husband were about to come true, only to find that the call of his family was stronger than his attraction to her. And when his family pressured him to give up his role as lead guitarist in the band that he and Caro had formed and come home to marry his childhood sweetheart, he had done so, strengthening her original theory that blood was always thicker than water. It was then that she had taken off the blindfold that love had tied over her eyes - and she had never replaced it.

Life had taught her a hard lesson and she had remembered it well. Caro wasn’t masochistic enough to try love again. In fact, she consistently withdrew from anything that remotely resembled an entanglement. She had no close relationships with anything or anyone, with the exception of Sam, her general manager and surrogate father. But his love, although sorely needed and appreciated, wasn’t enough.

Although loving someone else had been so painful an ordeal that she’d shied away from it ever since, something was missing in her life. Yet she’d never regretted the direction her life had taken, had she? She shoved her doubts aside. This was the path she had chosen and that was that.

Slowly her eyes closed and she slept.

The noise seemed to fit into her dream at first; then suddenly it pricked her unconscious enough to make her wake up. It was her barking cellphone phone.

“Yes?” Her voice was clipped and assured, but her mind was still wrapped in cotton gauze.

“Caro, I’m just checking in with you before the evening crowd starts storming the doors. Everything going all right?”

She grinned and wiggled back down into the soft covers. “Yes, Sam, everything’s fine. The final interview is over and I’m just going to have dinner in the dining room before relaxing with a good book.”

“No company to entertain you?” Sam’s gravelly voice sounded teasing as he covered his concern.

“I’m by myself, Sam,” she promised. “I’m not doing anything I’m not supposed to. In fact, I’m enjoying the fact that I’m not working. This has turned into a holiday.”

Caro could hear musical instruments tuning up in the background, letting her know that Sam was using the bar phone instead of the one in the office. His rough Western twang grew louder.

“Well, I was just
checkin’,” he drawled. “I didn’t want any surprises when I picked you up tomorrow.”

“No surprises,” she said firmly. “Was there any trouble last night?”

“Nope. And the take-in was very good. I’ll show you the receipts when you get back. We had a group in here from San Jose last night. They were loud but harmless.” Sam’s voice held a hint of laughter. That was what he liked best, a loud, but fun, group. It made the already excellent reputation of The Loose Noose bar and dance hall spread faster and farther than advertising could ever do.

“Good deal. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Two o’clock. Don’t forget.”

“I won’t. Just you be ready, little lady,” he admonished her, as he would a child. “And don’t be late. Some of us have to work for a living!”

She chuckled. “I’ll be on time.”

***

The hotel restaurant was one of the finest in Utah. Caro was shown to her seat by a host who had obviously been with them for years. He knew many of the customers by name, and she suspected that he could read the labels of the clothing of those he didn’t know. There was no random selection of seating; everyone was seated according to wealth, class, or social station.

Obviously her midnight-black designer dress and sleekly pulled-back hairdo put her in the “upper- class” section. He found a small table cozily situated in the comer of the room for her. It was perfect. She ordered quickly and competently, requesting a half-bottle of dry white wine to accompany her broiled filet of sole smothered with thinly sliced walnuts. Almost immediately the waiter returned, deftly pouring a full sip of her wine to allow her to approve the taste, then filling her glass with the golden liquid.

She gave a contented sigh and sat back, perusing the room. Her second favorite thing to do was people watch. Her first favorite was watching her club grow in prestige and profitability. Luckily, one gave her the opportunity for the other. Her club, The Loose Noose, had been in existence for seven years, over five of them under her ownership.

It wasn’t often that she left Park City and the club to come into Salt Lake City, so this trip was truly a treat People came to Park City to vacation and have fun. Skiing, drinking, and kicking up booted heels were the order of the day. But Salt Lake City people were businessmen and men and women relaxed quietly after a hard day’s work.

Her eyes were drawn to the table across from her. A young, dark-haired woman laughed throatily at her escort, one
beringed hand stroking the top of his wrist, her fingertips lazily outlining the circular gold face of his very expensive watch. Her eyes promised untold delights; her mouth pouted in readiness to be kissed. The man himself listened to her with tolerant amusement etched on his roughly hewn face. His thick, dark brows met across his forehead in a frown at something she said, his full, carved lips thinning as he shook his head in answer to her obvious pleading. Caro had the feeling that most women would have been put off if a man changed temperament as quickly as he seemed to have done, but it didn’t seem to daunt his date in the slightest.

Caro grinned. Women were such fools to play into a man’s hands like that! Thank goodness that childish part of her life was behind her and she could see men for what they were: necessary if the business world was to continue spinning, but totally unnecessary emotionally for any intelligent woman.

The man in question looked up to lock eyes with Caro, scanning her face and form before nodding in both acknowledgement and silent invitation. An intangible chill ran up her spine at the intimacy of his look, making her totally aware of his obvious draw and masculinity. Her lips pursed in disapproval. He had his hands full with one woman and yet he really thought he could handle another? Some men’s egos knew no bounds!

She paid her bill with a credit card, gathered her purse and shawl, and left the darkened restaurant. As usual, she ignored the appreciative male eyes watching her progress across the room, especially those of the dark-browed man. It was time to get a good night’s sleep before calling the doctor and attorney to verify the information that the young man had given her.

Caro fell asleep with an easy conscience, dreaming of a lovely, golden-haired child who called her Mother.

Early the next morning everything was packed, all her calls made, and Caro was ready to visit the doctor and her attorney, then leave, anxious to see her own home again. She’d been gone for three days, plenty of time for her to see the world before running back to the cozy nest she’d built for herself. Her nest meant security, money and roots she’d never had when growing up. With one exception, she had attained everything she had ever wanted, having worked hard and long to ensure her success. She knew she was lucky. Some people never achieved the degree of security she had.

The hotel telephone rang.

“Yes?” Her voice was cool, businesslike. No one in Salt Lake City knew she was in town.