“Can I help you?” Katie knew that her actions were erratic, but that was exactly how she felt right now. Who the heck was this guy? She didn’t have time to deal with whoever this was. Cain would be here any minute.

The stranger covered his shock at her strange behavior, drew himself upright and replied in a dignified manner. “The car is here for Ms. Wallace.”

Katie looked at him suspiciously. “What car?”

The uniformed man, who looked to be in his late fifties, took off his hat and tucked it under his arm. He raised his head for a moment and Katie couldn’t be sure if he was asking for divine intervention or was studying the cracks in the ceiling. She thought it was the former. She took the moment to check him out. He was few inches taller than her and built like a bulldog with short graying hair and a nose like a beak. The artist in her noticed that his eyes were almost the exact same shade as his gray hair.

His eyes twinkled with humor as he looked back at her. “Mr. Benjamin has sent a car for you. Please feel free to call him and confirm.” He rattled off a phone number that she assumed was Cain’s.

“Just a second.” She closed the door in the man’s startled face for the second time in under a minute and hurried to the phone. Dialing the number the stranger had given her, she tapped her foot and waited as it ran three times before it was abruptly answered.

“Benjamin.”

Katie was taken aback by the harshness of his answer and it took her a moment to find her own voice. Cain lost patience with the silence and snapped again. “Who is this?”

“Katie.”

“Why aren’t you here?” She could hear the impatience in his voice and her own temper snapped.

“I’m running late and I’ve got some strange guy at my door saying he’s here to pick me up and I’m not ready yet.” She stopped when she realized not only was her voice getting shriller, but she was rambling. Rubbing her fingers across her forehead, she hoped that this wasn’t going to become the date from hell. It was certainly starting out that way.

There was silence on the other end for a moment before the sound of Cain’s booming laughter filled the line. She’d never heard him laugh in quite this uninhibited way before and she had a feeling that it was something he didn’t do very often. Even though it was at her expense, she found she didn’t mind at all. Just listening to his unrestrained laughter made her smile.

“I’m sorry, honey.” He coughed and sputtered as he obviously did his best to get his wayward humor under control. “I thought I was the only one panicking over this evening. It’s nice to know otherwise.”

She was both mystified and charmed by his answer. He seemed so self-assured all the time and so curiosity prompted her to ask, “What do you have to worry about?”

“The better question might be what don’t I have to worry about? What if you don’t like dinner? What if you don’t enjoy yourself? What if this evening makes you never want to see me again?” There was laughter in his voice as he answered her and although Katie thought he was only teasing her, it was nice of him to put her at ease. Because that was what his banter had done.

Feeling more relaxed than she had all day, she brought his attention back to her original question. “Cain, who is the guy at my door?”

“That’s Quentin. I use his services sometimes and I sent him to pick you up. Listen, you take your time and get ready. I’ll call him on his cell and tell him to wait for you.” His voice was husky and made her shiver as he continued. “Take as long as you need. We’ve got all night.”

That very thought gave her goose bumps, and her voice was shaky when she replied. “All right.”

“See you when you get here.” The line went dead and she hung up the receiver. A second later she heard the faint ringing of a phone in her hallway and heard a male voice respond.

Unable to stop herself, she padded back to the door and removed the chain before opening the door again. He was startled to say the least and eyed her warily as he finished his conversation with Cain. She waited until he was finished and then stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Katie Wallace. Pleased to meet you.”

He stared at her hand for a moment before his bemused eyes met hers. Slowly, he took her hand in hers and gently shook it. “James Quentin at your service.”

Katie smiled at him and motioned him inside. “You might as well come in and sit down while I finish getting ready.”

He dropped her hand and stepped back. “Ah, no thank you, miss. Mr. Benjamin would not approve.”

“Who cares? This is my home and I say please come in out of the hallway. I’ll never get ready if we stand here arguing about it.” When he still hesitated, she reached out and grabbed him by the uniform sleeve and tugged. Reluctantly, he allowed himself to be pulled inside.

“Have a seat, I’ll just be a couple of minutes.” As she headed back down the hall, she turned and called over her shoulder, “And call me Katie.”

Closing her bedroom door, she flung off her bathrobe and tugged on the brown wool pants she’d laid out last night. Her favorite silk shirt in a beautiful shade of oatmeal followed. She topped the outfit with a long-sleeved beige cardigan made of raw silk that she’d picked up at the thrift store for a song. The outfit not only made her look good, it made her feel good.

She sat on the bed and tugged on a pair of brown leather boots. They had little zippers on the sides and were more for fashion than for function, but for five bucks at the thrift store she had been unable to resist. She lovingly referred to them as her “kick-ass” boots because when she wore them she felt as if she could take on the world.

Slipping a small pair of silver hoops in her ears, she surveyed her appearance. Turning first one way and then another she smiled in spite of herself. “Not bad, girl. Not bad at all.” She gave her reflection a wink before she snatched up her purse and left the room.

Quentin was standing in the corner of the living room. His attention was fixed on the painting on the easel. He turned when he heard her and gazed at her with something in his eyes that looked like respect. “You’ve captured him perfectly.”

“Thank you. Do you really think so?” Katie hated feeling unsure about her work, but Cain was such a hard subject.

Quentin nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

Feeling a little uncomfortable, she grabbed her coat and tugged it on. Quentin hurried across the room, but she had her coat on by the time he reached her. “Shall we go?” He opened the door and held it for her. Katie stopped long enough to lock the door behind her and then Quentin led her to the car waiting below.


Cain was pacing impatiently when he finally heard the mechanical hum of the elevator rising. Everything was ready, and now that she was finally here his evening of seduction could begin. If everything went according to plan, and he had no reason to think that it wouldn’t, then Katie would not be leaving here this evening.

The last few days had been hellish for him, and he needed her. He wanted to lose himself and his problems in her body. All night in bed with Katie was just the therapy he needed.

The elevator finally came to a halt and the door slid open. Katie stepped out, looking more beautiful than ever, but a frown covered his face when he realized she wasn’t alone. Chatting away with Quentin, she hadn’t even noticed him standing there in the shadow of the open apartment doorway. Quentin noticed him before Katie did and came to an abrupt halt in the hallway.

“You really didn’t need to escort me all the way to the door…” Her voice trailed off when she realized James was no longer beside her. Halting abruptly, she turned and saw that he’d stopped several steps behind her. Quentin’s gaze was focused on something behind her. Following his gaze, she pivoted slowly and could make out a large shadow standing in an open doorway. Cain.

“That will be all, Quentin.” Cain’s voice was quiet, but he feared the underlying anger could be heard.

“Very good, sir.” Quentin gave Katie a rueful smile before turning back towards the elevator.

Katie looked confused, having caught the underlying tension between the two men. She gave Cain a quick glance before walking back towards Quentin. “Thanks for the ride, James. I had a lot of fun on the drive over in the limo.”

A soft smile crossed his rugged face. “You’re more than welcome.” Shooting Cain a defiant look, he reached into his pocket and produced a white business card. Reaching out, he tucked it in the pocket of her jacket. “Call me anytime if you need a ride. Day or night.”

Katie reached out and squeezed his arm. “Thank you, James.” Her voice was as gentle as the smile that crossed her face, and she stood there watching as the elevator door opened and Quentin stepped on board. He tipped his hat to Katie as the door closed.

Finally they were alone together, but the smile left Katie’s face and she turned to him with a scowl. “What was that all about?”

“What was what about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Cain. Why are you angry? I couldn’t help running late, you know. I do have a job. Maybe we should just forget the whole thing.” Katie turned and flounced back towards the elevator and stabbed at the button.

“I was jealous.” The quiet admission seemed to startle her.

“Of what?” She looked completely baffled and Cain realized then that her innate charm was part of her personality and that Katie would draw people to her simply by virtue of being herself. There was a genuine quality about her. Her interest in people was real and everyone around her sensed that and responded to it. Him included.