by Sara Orwig
While Caroline sat quietly, Ava remained still, waiting to give Caroline a chance to participate. After five minutes had ticked past, Caroline pulled Princess Eileen and placed it in the row.
“Excellent,” Ava said. “I’ll do the next. Here’s Princess Fiona. We can mix these all up and play a matching game.”
She slowly went through the simple rules as they began to play. She had wondered whether Caroline would play or not, but the girl began to respond, her mind quick and her memory good.
From the game they went to books, and Ava read to Caroline, but once again, she let Caroline turn pages and knew that Caroline was reading along with her. They worked on letters and numbers through books and games until almost noon.
“Want to swim before lunch?”
Caroline was always slow to respond if she did at all. She gazed back at Ava with huge brown eyes and nodded her head.
“Great. I’m ready for a swim. Let’s put on our suits. Do you know where your swimsuit is?”
Caroline slid off the small chair where she sat and disappeared into the next room. Ava followed to see Caroline reaching into a dresser drawer and taking out a pink swim bottom and purple top.
“Great. Put yours on and then we’ll get mine,” Ava said.
Soon they were in the pool with Ava splashing and laughing. Caroline never laughed, talked or smiled, yet Ava had the feeling that she enjoyed the water immensely.
Rosalyn materialized for lunch and took Caroline to help her dress before they returned to eat.
The afternoon went as swiftly as the morning. Late in the afternoon, Ava swam again with Caroline. This time Rosalyn showed up and said she would watch Caroline while Ava swam.
Ava did laps, constantly checking on Caroline. She ate dinner with Rosalyn and Caroline in the kitchen alcove and spent a quiet evening getting ready for the next day. It wasn’t until after ten that she received a text from Will asking about the day. Shortly after her answer, her cell phone buzzed.
“Hi,” Will said in a husky voice. “How’s it going?”
“We had a good day. She’s a bright little girl.”
“So how are you doing in the new situation?”
“She’s delightful in her own quiet way and it’s a challenge. One I never dreamed I’d have.”
“Yeah, amen to that one. Adam and I talked about my being guardian, but I never expected the day would come when I really would be. I’m still at a loss.”
“You seem to be doing a lot for her,” she said, settling in a comfortable chair and kicking off her shoes.
“I wish I could do more. Ava, I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to be home this weekend to take you to dinner. I have a large sale pending and I need to be here part of the weekend, and then early Monday I have to be in Fort Lauderdale for a week, so I’ll just have to bypass coming home.”
Gone two weeks? “We’ll manage.”
“Don’t sound so cheerful to be rid of me,” he teased. “I have opera tickets for the next Saturday night. Some people don’t like opera, so if you’re one of those, I know the performance will not appeal. If you like opera, attend with me.”
“Will, that’s the Fourth of July. Caroline should see fireworks.”
“She doesn’t like them at all. The noise scares her. They have a great display at the country club, but she hated it last year and we left.”
“Well, I guess fireworks are out. I doubt if she’s changed in one year’s time.”
“The opera is The Marriage of Figaro.”
“Now you’re twisting my arm, because I do like opera and haven’t had a chance to go while I was in school.”
“Then it’s settled. Saturday we’ll go to the opera.”
“You get your way most of the time, don’t you?”
“When it’s important I try to. You’ll like this performance. I’ll try to make the evening enjoyable, maybe memorable.”
“You better stop while you’re ahead. We’re going out, which is what you wanted.”
“I can’t recall getting a pretty woman to go out with me being as difficult before.”
“I don’t imagine you do. I have an agenda to follow and I intend to stick to it, but I will go to the opera. Dinner here at your house before the opera.”
“Fine. I’m looking forward to it, and to being home.”
She rested her legs under her and sat talking to Will for the next hour before she said she would have to go.
Deciding Will was ruining her peaceful nights, she lay in the dark, remembering his kisses and missing him. She was doing all the things she had intended to avoid, yet it was becoming more difficult each day to resist Will’s charm. The barriers she had kept around her heart were melting away faster than she would have thought possible, and in truth, she wasn’t altogether sorry to see them go.
She thought of each of his features, the wavy black hair, his thick eyelashes framing lively midnight eyes, his broad shoulders, muscled body and long legs. He was wickedly attractive and sinfully wealthy, a devastating combination. On top of that, he cared deeply about Caroline, going above and beyond his duty to try to help her thrive.
* * *
The two weeks he was gone passed quickly, but by Friday, Ava had a subject she wanted to discuss with Will. She felt Caroline became even more distant when Will was not around. It was so slight, she wondered if she was imagining it, yet Caroline became a silent, unresponsive child during the time.
Though he called Ava every night after getting in from dinners and appointments, by the time he tried to get Caroline on Skype, she had already fallen asleep. Ava intended to change that. When he was home, Will gave his time and attention to Caroline, but when he was away, he had little contact with her. Ava felt at this time in Caroline’s life, she needed Will’s presence more.
She wondered how he’d react to that.
Saturday afternoon Ava swam with Caroline, as she had every day. They played water games and swam for over an hour. Finally Ava climbed out and sat on a chaise longue until she was dry. She watched Caroline continue to swim. At four, Ava let Rosalyn take her place while she went to bathe for the evening. Will had called to say he was running late getting home and she should go ahead and have dinner without him.
She was surprised to find herself disappointed. She ate with Rosalyn and Caroline and then left to dress. Will called once more to say he was turning in the drive and he would spend the time left with Caroline until he had to dress to go to the opera.
As she bathed and dressed, Ava thought about what she would say to him when they were together. She wanted him to make some changes, and she intended to get her way on this one.
She slipped into a dark blue dress with simple lines and a deep V neckline. Her hair was piled on her head with locks falling in the back.
By the time seven o’clock rolled around, she went to tell Caroline good-night. Gazing solemnly at Ava, Caroline held the brown teddy bear. Her dark eyes roamed over Ava, and Ava wondered what ran through Caroline’s thoughts. “Your Uncle Will and I are going to the opera. He’ll come see you before we go. Later, when we get home, we’ll check on you.”
The girl just stared her, so Ava smiled, told Rosalyn goodbye and left, going down to the front room to wait for Will. She looked at the leather-bound collection of books on the shelves and wondered whether Will had them for show or actually read them.
“I’ve looked forward to this all day,” he said, sauntering into the room.
Her heart missed a beat when she heard his voice. She turned, and the impact of the sight of him was even stronger than it had been before. Her pulse raced while she smiled at him. In his dark tux, he looked more handsome than ever—or did he seem that way because she hadn’t seen him for a while?
“You look gorgeous,” he said. “I missed you the past two weeks and I’m glad to be home. I spent about thirty minutes with Caroline and told her we would spend tomorrow together.”
“That’s good. I’m sure she likes having you here.”
“I don’t suppose anything changed with her while I was away?”
“No. There’s no change, but she seems happy enough. She likes her books, likes to swim.”
“I’m sorry I got delayed and couldn’t have dinner with you. I’ll make up for that, but there were big storms between here and Florida, and it was best not to take the chance.”
“That’s fine.”
“Don’t sound so cheerful that I couldn’t get home,” he said, and she smiled at him.
Will took her arm and they left to ride in a limousine. Will looked relaxed, confident and appealing.
“Soon now I intend to talk to Caroline about getting a puppy,” he said. “I spoke to a veterinarian, and he recommended a bichon frise—a lovable small dog.”
“That’s great. We had a dog all the years I was growing up. A cat, too.”
“We’re not getting a cat because I know nothing about them. One animal at a time for now. This is a big deal to bring a dog into the house.”
“You don’t exactly have a pet-friendly house,” she said with amusement. “She’s going to love a puppy, I feel sure. Will, while we have a chance, I want to talk to you about something I’ve noticed during the short time I’ve been here.”
“Sure. What’s that?”
“Caroline seems slightly more responsive when you’re around. She doesn’t talk or smile, but she’s less withdrawn. For the coming month, if you can possibly rearrange your schedule, I think you should travel less and try to be home more. A lot more.”
While he sat in silence, his dark gaze bore into her. “I’ll try if you think it will help.”
“I could be wrong, but I’ve spent over two weeks with her now and she’s more remote when you’re away.”
“No one has ever told me that before.”
“It’s not a real obvious thing, but that’s the way it seems to me. It’s worth it for you to make a change and see if that helps to have you around.”
“My schedule is really busy right now. I’ve got important appointments for the next three weeks and my work entails a lot of travel. After we lost Adam, I stayed home a lot that first month. Nothing I did seemed to make any difference so I picked up my life as much as I could and went on with it. I can’t just cancel everything scheduled. I’ll have to rearrange appointments and flights…but if you think this may help her, I’ll do it.”
“I know you can do this. You have people who work for you who can cover for you. You’re not trying to avoid her, are you?”
Again she got an intense stare. “No. I’ll arrange it so I’m in town. Or are you saying I should work at home?”
“Not at all. Just try to be there in the evenings. I think it’ll help, even though it may be a gradual thing. This kind of situation probably takes time to heal. I don’t know much about it, but I’m giving you my opinion from the last weeks’ observation.”
“Okay, I’ll be there more of the time,” he said, still studying her. “We’ll try that for a while and see how it goes.”
“Good,” she said, thinking it might be good for Caroline, but it wasn’t going to be better for her. Will’s presence would be temptation, and the more he was around, the more intense the situation would become. Her pulse raced now and she couldn’t get her breath around him. What would it be like to have him around constantly?
“Now if I thought you were asking to get me to be near you,” he said in a husky, deep voice, “that would be a different view of this request.”
His statement made her hot with embarrassment. To her chagrin, she felt her face flush and wished she could do something to distract him or get out of his view. Instead, he kept watching her, a flicker of amusement in the depths of his eyes.
“Maybe this will be a far more interesting week. I should have thought of this myself. A new dog. Home with you and Caroline each night. Home early if I can manage it.”
“You’re back to flirting again,” she said, looking out the window. The sun was still high. There was no merciful darkness to hide her blush. “Stop teasing me. All I had in mind was Caroline. I can go to my room and leave you two to bond.”
“Oh, no. This was your idea, and part of the deal has to be that you stay.”
“Sometimes. But part of the time it would be good if just the two of you were together. She needs you, and the more you’re together, the more she’ll bond with you.”
“How about you? The more we’re together, will it be the more we will bond?”
“That’s entirely different and you know it,” she snapped. “Stop your flirting. Get back to some impersonal level. Tell me about this opera. I can’t recall seeing a performance of this one,” she said, knowing full well she had seen it before, but not recently.
“Ah, it’s beautiful. You’ll like it,” he said, summarizing the story quickly as the limo slowed and stopped. A crowd had gathered, and she wondered if her picture would show up in a magazine with her entering the opera on Will’s arm.
The chauffeur held the door. Will climbed out and turned to help her.
While they moved through the crowd into the building, he held her arm lightly, yet with Will it was as disturbing as a caress, far from impersonal. During the performance she struggled to avoid glancing at him. After a time the music overrode her awareness of Will.
During intermission, she was introduced to friends of his. Several women gave her frosty stares, turning their smiles on Will.
“Will,” a deep voice called, and Ava turned to see a tall, ruggedly handsome man approaching. A stunning blonde with her arm linked through his walked beside him.
The tall man’s thick brown hair had unruly waves with a lock falling on his forehead. He was noticeable in the crowd because of his height plus his hawk nose, high cheekbones and pale gray eyes.
As Will shook hands with him, he turned to her. “Ava, meet my friend and right-hand man, my main advisor, Garrett Cantrell. Garrett, this is Ava Barton.”
Her hand was enclosed in a firm grip as he smiled at her with a flash of snowy teeth. His smile softened his rugged features, and she smiled in return.
“Will is given to exaggeration, probably because we’re longtime friends who have been together since too far back to recall. Let me introduce Sonya Vicente. Sonya, this is Ava Barton and Will Delaney.”
“I’m glad to meet both of you,” Ava said as the house lights dimmed.
“I think that’s our call,” Will said. “Nice to meet you, Sonya. See you, Garrett.”
“So Garrett is single?” Ava asked as they walked away.
“Yes. Very available, but not marriage material. He’s almost as leery as I am just because he doesn’t want to be tied down. Garrett’s ambitious and a workaholic. I think he’d really like to be on his own, but I pay him enough that his salary diminishes the temptation to go into his own business. All that plus our long-standing friendship and family closeness. I can’t replace him with anyone as loyal, good, intelligent and fun to be with all rolled into one person.”
She glanced back over her shoulder, spotting Garrett’s dark hair easily. “You make him sound superhuman.”
“Nope. Garrett’s human, but exceptional and vital to me. Besides such a close friend.”
“You haven’t even mentioned the stunning blonde.”
Will grinned. “I did notice her. Garrett finds the lookers, but they never last.”
“Somehow that’s the image I had of you until I met you. As you know, my opinion changed and continues to change.”
“Thank goodness,” he said as they reached their seats. “Although you’re right—I appreciate beautiful women, and I’m out with a ravishing one tonight.”
“Thank you, but enough of that. This color hair isn’t ravishing.”
Surprising her, Will drew her close against his side and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“Oh, yes it is. We can argue that one later tonight,” he said, his breath warm on her ear.
Her heart jumped and beat rapidly. “You
r attention should be on the stage.”
“It is. Somewhat,” he added. “I’d really rather look at you.”
“You will see me plenty this summer. Tonight and this moment, shift your attention to the stage. I’m enjoying the performance immensely.”
“Good. So am I,” he said, settling back, taking her hand and lacing his fingers through hers. “So am I,” he repeated, smiling warmly at her.
As the house lights dimmed they became quiet, and while still aware of Will, she was caught up in the music until it was over.
When the applause finally died, they turned to leave. “That was wonderful. Beautiful voices,” she said.
“Let’s go have a drink. The evening is still early.”
“Hardly early,” she replied, amused that he would say so when it was almost midnight. “A drink is fine,” she replied, unable to resist accepting.
As usual.
Six
He took her to a private club where they had a window table with a panoramic view of the city lights below. After ordering brandies and talking while they sipped, Will stood and took her hand. “Would you like to dance?”
“Yes,” she answered, knowing this was turning into the type of evening she had tried to avoid and should keep from allowing to happen again. As she stepped into his arms, all her caution and guilt disappeared. Will was breathtakingly appealing and she danced with him as if floating on a cloud. An old ballad played softly while Will held her lightly. They danced, legs brushing, her arm on his shoulder, her hand high on his back, the soft wool of his coat beneath her fingers. He was warm, close, his aftershave enticing. His dark gaze was on her as they danced, fanning desire into flames.
She was at a loss for conversation, wanting to dance away, just the two of them, and kiss him, knowing he wanted the same. She barely noticed when he danced to a darkened area, pushed open a door and stepped onto the terrace, taking her in his arms to continue dancing.
A breeze caught strands of her hair, blowing a few against her cheek.
“Beautiful,” he whispered and her heart beat rapidly.
“It is beautiful out here,” she replied without looking around. She still couldn’t tear her gaze from his. Her heart continued to race while they moved slowly in time to the music. Will danced around a corner to a more secluded place on the terrace where there were no other couples.