A Date With a Billionaire

by Julianna Morris

  Beth might be young, but she could teach him a few things about living.

  “I suppose you want children,” he said lightly, only to see some of the amusement fade from her face.

  “I used to want a dozen. But that was before…you know.”

  Yeah, he knew. Before her fiancé died.

  “I’ve thought about taking some foster children,” Beth murmured. “Except kids need both a mother and a father, and I can’t provide that.”

  “I think any child would be lucky to live with you, father or not,” Kane said sincerely.

  The color rose in Beth’s cheeks. “Thanks.”

  “I mean it.” He lifted her chin and looked into her golden-brown eyes. “You could do anything you wanted. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like you.”

  The compliment made Beth warm all over, but she couldn’t be foolish. Kane O’Rourke was a charming man, and compliments were stock-in-trade for charming men. And he’d already proven she was vulnerable to him, so she needed to be particularly careful.

  “You…let’s go down to the fountain,” she suggested, albeit breathlessly. “It’s beautiful.”

  Kane agreed and they drifted down the various paths until they reached the viewpoint for the giant fountain. It appeared to be coming from a natural lake, but it was actually part of the old quarry.

  “It’s amazing this was once a quarry,” Beth mused.

  Kane wrinkled his nose. “It was?”

  “Yes. Didn’t you know?” She leaned on the railing and watched the complicated spray of the water as it rose from the green lake. “The family wanted to beautify the area, so they established the gardens. It’s amazing what a little hard work can do.”

  “And money,” he added.

  She turned and looked at him curiously. “Do you always think about money first?”

  “Sometimes I think about other things.”

  There was a subtle shift in Kane’s gaze and Beth fought the urge to squirm. Her bustline had never drawn much attention, so she didn’t know why he’d be interested, yet he seemed awfully preoccupied with that part of her anatomy.

  Most likely it was just curiosity, plain and simple. No doubt he’d never been with a woman with so little to offer in the chest department. If he’d gotten a good feel he would have lost interest plenty quick. The thought was depressing, so she shoved it away and flipped her hair away from her face.

  “Let’s have high tea up at the restaurant. We didn’t eat much at lunch and I’m hungry.”

  A slow smile crinkled Kane’s eyes. “About lunch, we—”

  “High tea is a tradition in Victoria. It’s very English,” Beth said quickly, annoyed she’d forgotten and reminded him about…well, lunch. It was a Freudian slip. She’d never be able to eat hot dogs again without remembering the feel of his body across hers.

  She deliberately kept things light, sipping her way through the tea offered by one of the garden restaurants, admiring the flowers, the landscaping, and keeping things on an impersonal level. When Kane finally said he’d call a taxi to take them back to Victoria, she shook her head and sweet-talked their way onto a tour bus returning to the city.

  The late-afternoon sun shone through the open window and she swayed sleepily, listening to the chatter of the over-sixty crowd on board the bus. It was a senior citizen tour group, dressed in golf clothes and the odd straw hat.

  “You two married?” asked one cheerful lady with determined carrot-red hair. It was an eye-popping color, especially since she wasn’t a day under eighty.

  “Uh…no.”

  “Just dating, so far,” Kane said cheerfully, shaking hands with the lady. “But you never know.”

  “Yes, we do,” Beth muttered beneath her breath. “And dating is all there is to it.”

  The redhead patted her hand. “Never give up hope, dearie. I brought five husbands around to a proposal. And I’ve got my eye on another.” She motioned with her head toward a gentleman sitting in a dignified pose, his hand on a cane. “Ain’t he a keeper?”

  “He’s great,” Beth agreed. “But he does seem a bit starched, if you know what I mean. Maybe you’d be better off with someone more easygoing.”

  “Nope.” The woman leaned forward and whispered in a conspiratorial tone. “Those are the best ones in the bedroom. Take my word for it, hon. Once you’re alone with them, watch out! I’ll bet your fella handles like a stick of dynamite.”

  With an effort, Beth kept from looking at Kane. A few days ago she would have described him as starched, now she didn’t know. The last thing she’d expected was for him to kiss her the way he’d kissed her during their “picnic.” Or to say he wanted to do it again.

  “We don’t know each other that well,” she said.

  “Sure we do.” Kane slung his arm across her shoulder, a devilish expression on his face. “And I’ve got a short fuse when it comes to Beth.”

  “Didn’t I know it?” the elderly woman cackled. “You look the type. I bet you could have given Elvis a run for the gold, and that man was fine.”

  “Really?” Kane was inordinately pleased. It had been so long since he’d thought much about his appeal to women. He engaged in occasional liaisons, but he couldn’t remember the last time it had really mattered. Or if it ever had. As for being attractive, there hadn’t been time to think about it since he was a teenager.

  “Do I remind you of Elvis?” he breathed into Beth’s ear.

  She shivered and shifted away as far as the seat would allow. “Elvis is dead.”

  “The King won’t ever die,” cried someone from across the aisle.

  To Kane’s disappointment, the entire bus began discussing Elvis Presley, so he couldn’t tease Beth any further…or hear any confessions of breathless attraction to him. Of course, breathless attraction might be a little much to expect, but he was willing to hear any concession. She was a damned stubborn woman. Fortunately she did have some soft spots.

  He watched from the corner of his eye while she chatted with the assorted senior citizens and thought about how she’d sweet-talked the driver and group into letting them ride back to Victoria. It was her basic goodness that people responded to, her concern and genuine interest in what they were saying.

  By the time they’d arrived in the inner harbor of the city, Beth had collected more than a half dozen addresses and promises to write. The lady with the carrot hair gave him a broad wink as they disembarked, then made her way to the distinguished gentleman she’d singled out as her next husband.

  “I think she might actually catch him,” Kane murmured, watching the white-haired man break into a smile.

  “She might be just what he needs,” Beth said. She turned her head and smiled herself, and a crazy thought crossed Kane’s mind. Crazy, because it occurred to him that Beth might be just what he needed, the sweet and generous spirit lacking in his sterile world of high finance.

  But even if he had time for a wife, it wouldn’t be fair to her. He was too much older, too tangled in his business, unable to be the kind of man she deserved…too different from her heroic fiancé.

  The realization was sobering, though he’d known it before.

  “Let’s go up Government Street,” Beth suggested, tugging on his hand. “I’d like to get some spices and stuff at the tea store.”

  They joined the stream of visitors mingling on both sides of the busy shopping street. T-shirts were offered at two-for-one prices, and racks of postcards vied for attention with every imaginable souvenir. The sidewalks were so crowded they were jostled back and forth. Kane finally locked his arm around Beth’s waist, grateful for the excuse. Aside from her faint start of surprise, she didn’t object.

  He grinned.

  It had been so long since he’d gone shopping for himself, he’d forgotten some of the benefits.

  Inside the store, he noted a tea and coffee bar, and suggested Beth select her items while he got them some coffee.

  “Tea, please,” she said. “Apricot, if t
hey have it.”

  “They’ll have it,” he assured firmly.

  She gave him a look that said she knew he’d pay extra to get what she wanted, and that it wasn’t necessary. “If it’s not on the menu, don’t make them go to any trouble.”

  Kane sighed, exasperated. “You just don’t appreciate how much money can smooth things along. Why not give it a chance? You might like it.”

  The laughter in Beth’s face stilled and she shook her head. “I’m going back to my own world tomorrow, remember? Besides, money is nice, but there has to be a balance between wanting and getting.”

  Kane waited in line and watched Beth wander through the store, looking at some items, shaking her head at a few, and picking up a small selection.

  It frustrated him. He could buy the contents of the shop for her and it wouldn’t make a dent in his wallet. Why wouldn’t she let him do the one thing he was good at?

  “Damn,” he muttered softly.

  The more she turned down the gifts and the luxuries he was accustomed to providing, the more he wanted to give them to her. He liked how unspoiled Beth was, yet how did he handle a woman like that?

  “Sheila trouble, is it mate?” asked someone in a heavy Aussie accent.

  Kane looked at the man and raised his eyebrows. “Sheila?”

  “Lady trouble,” he clarified.

  “Oh. Yeah, plenty of trouble.”

  “She belong to you?” the tourist asked, motioning toward Beth.

  “Absolutely.” Kane nodded, at the same time hoping Beth wouldn’t get wind of this particular conversation. She wasn’t the type to appreciate the idea of “belonging” to anyone. Of course, women didn’t understand the way men talked. It didn’t mean they thought they owned someone, just that they had rights that other men didn’t. Not that he had rights with Beth, but Kane wasn’t going to admit it.

  “Good luck, mate. She’s a right fair Sheila.”

  “Yeah, she is.”

  Kane kept his gaze fastened on Beth. The more he looked at her, the more he liked what he saw. Despite the busy day, she still looked great. Her hair was a little rumpled, but that just meant it caught the light better. Her legs were long and slim, her sweet bottom was neatly outlined by her shorts. And it annoyed him to realize another man had immediately appreciated what it had taken him longer to recognize.

  He ordered their beverages and arranged to pay for Beth’s purchases, then waited at a small table for her to finish.

  A few minutes later she came over, her face flushed from an argument with the cashier.

  “He said you already took care of this.” She motioned with the bags. “I didn’t want to go shopping so you’d buy me something.”

  “I never thought you did.”

  “Kane, you can’t just buy everything for people.”

  “Why not? I’ve got to be good for something.”

  “You…”

  Beth sank into a chair and regarded him gravely. Is that what Kane thought? That he had to buy things for people because he wasn’t “good” for anything else? It wasn’t true, yet it also wasn’t as unbelievable as she might have once thought. He’d talked about his father’s death and she’d seen the guilt he hadn’t admitted to feeling. Maybe he’d gotten the idea that money was the only way he could make up for a sin he hadn’t really committed.

  “I’d much rather have you carry my bags, than pay for them,” she said slowly.

  “That’s nothing. Of course I’ll carry them.”

  “It isn’t nothing, and I knew you’d offer. You’re the truest gentleman I’ve ever met.”

  “I’m sure that isn’t so. Your fiancé must have been pretty special.”

  She took a sip of her tea. It was apricot, just like she’d asked. “Curt was a fine man, but he was young and sometimes thoughtless.” Beth had never admitted it to herself, but it was true. There were times Curt had stomped on her feelings without even knowing he’d done it.

  “But he died saving other people.”

  Beth nodded, her thoughts drifting back to the day of Curt’s death. Her world had fallen apart so thoroughly, so terribly, she’d barely functioned for weeks. It had always seemed disloyal to remember the times that weren’t so great, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was just part of living and loving.

  “He was a good man, but not perfect,” she murmured. “And I never knew when he’d risk everything to help someone, or just for fun. It didn’t matter how chancy it might be. He was a volunteer fireman, as well as being a member of that mountain rescue team. He loved danger.”

  Maybe more than he loved me.

  It was the one thing she couldn’t say aloud.

  And it wasn’t the truth, even if she’d sometimes felt that way. He’d just thought he was invincible and could do it all. In the beginning, his boundless confidence was one of the things she’d found most attractive.

  “Danger, huh?” Kane’s face was thoughtful. “I can see how that would be hard to live with.”

  You have no idea.

  Once again the question of loyalty rose in Beth’s mind. “I…I sometimes wonder if I could have taken it, wondering what was going to happen next,” she admitted. “At the time I didn’t have any doubts, but now I realize how hard it would have been. Especially after starting a family.”

  “You would have stayed,” Kane said. “You’re too stubborn to give up. You would have worked it out somehow.”

  Beth laughed. “I’m not sure that was a compliment.”

  “Oh…it definitely was a compliment.”

  The warmth in his eyes made her swallow. She hadn’t intended to invite anything, just to let him know that she saw more in him than just his wallet. A man like Kane O’Rourke didn’t need her respect, but it couldn’t hurt to know she thought he was a nice guy.

  “You’re a busy man,” she said slowly, “but you helped your brother by agreeing to the radio contest. That was pretty great of you. A lot of people wouldn’t have done it.”

  “I hated being a prize,” Kane grumbled.

  “But you still said yes.”

  “Of course I said yes. I couldn’t say no when Patrick needed something.” He looked puzzled, as if not helping his family was a concept too foreign to understand. “I told you Patrick got into trouble when he was a teenager. He’s really made something of himself, but it hasn’t been easy. And he never asks for anything, so I knew it was important. For that matter, the family never asks for anything.”

  Beth hid a smile at the faintly aggrieved tone in Kane’s voice. He’d become the “man of the family” at a young age, with even younger siblings. He’d supported them, helped raise them, and now couldn’t understand why they wanted to fly on their own. It was part and parcel of being a parent—the part she’d never looked forward to herself.

  Letting go was never easy.

  “I know I didn’t act grateful about winning the prize, but I’m glad you agreed to do it,” Beth said, gathering their cups together and tossing them in a nearby trash can. “I’m enjoying the weekend.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes. And I’m glad you talked me into going.”

  Laughter grew on his handsome face. “I didn’t exactly talk you into it.”

  She thought about the check he’d given to her, then decided he wasn’t talking about the money he’d donated to the family crisis center.

  “Right, you browbeat me into going.”

  “Some people have to be convinced to do what’s good for them.”

  She grinned. “I suppose fun is good for everyone, and I haven’t been to Victoria in a long time.”

  They walked outside and paused a moment, their eyes adjusting to the longer rays of light.

  “There’s a nice Italian and seafood restaurant not too far from the hotel,” Beth suggested when Kane asked where they should have dinner.

  “Sounds good.”

  They returned to their suites and changed, then walked down the waterfront toward the restaurant. Beth was consciou
s of Kane’s warm glances, and for the first time in her life felt really desirable. It was an illusion, of course. She wouldn’t compare well to the type of woman he normally dated, but apparently her strapless green silk dress had been a good choice.

  “Where do you suppose the news crew is?” she asked as Kane held the chair for her at the restaurant.

  “Who cares.”

  “What about the publicity for your brother’s radio station? I’m not fond of reporters, but I can see how it helps advertise the station.”

  Kane grimaced. “They’ll find us in the morning, and I can’t think they need that many pictures of a man and woman on a date, walking down a street or admiring flowers.”

  Maybe, but Kane wasn’t just any man, and this wasn’t just any date—something she was supposed to remember. But it was hard to keep those barriers up. He was far more…real than she’d expected. Far more interesting.

  Beth was still thinking about it as they took a walk after the meal. There wasn’t any moon, and in Thunderbird Park the air had a heavy blackness. Kane had laced their fingers together, and with their free hands they explored the textures of the various carved totem poles, lingering at one Beth remembered was from the Haida tribe.

  “It seems to me the Haida had a comfortless view of the universe,” Beth said. “But I don’t know a lot about Native American cultures—certainly not as much as I should.”

  Smiling to himself, Kane tugged Beth into the farthest, darkest corner of the small park. “I know something they have in common with everyone else.”

  “What’s that?”

  “This.”

  Dipping his head, he found her soft lips with unerring accuracy. She jumped as he gathered her closer, but she didn’t protest. His body pulsed. He’d needed this, needed it more each time Beth touched something deep inside his soul. He just didn’t need to think about what it meant, because that would be dangerous.

  “You feel so good,” he muttered between kisses.

  With excruciating slowness, she lifted her arms and put them around his neck. It arched her small breasts into his chest, and he backed her against a solid surface so he could explore their roundness.

  Beth sucked in a breath as Kane’s fingers circled her breasts. A part of her didn’t want him to touch her. It would be incontrovertible proof she was less than generous where other women were better endowed, but she also ached in a way she’d never known. A wonderful, awful, needing ache she didn’t understand.