He hadn't called ahead, deciding to take his chances rather than be turned down. Now he wondered whether to wait in his car for Kevin to get home and greet him before he went inside his house, or to knock on the upstairs unit and see if Caryn was there. He needed to talk to both of them, but not necessarily together. And just because Kevin got out of class at five o'clock didn't mean he would come straight home-which made James's decision for him. He would ring Caryn's bell.
She didn't keep him waiting, but didn't look surprised, either, so maybe she'd seen him coming.
"Hi," he said, in a moment of rhetorical brilliance.
She crossed her arms. "Hi."
Obviously she wasn't going to make this easy on him. "I came to apologize."
"For what?"
"For disturbing you at work. Did you get in trouble?"
"Yes."
He winced. "I'll fix it."
"No, thank you."
"But-"
"It wouldn't help, trust me on that. Is that it?"
Startled, he didn't say anything for a few beats. "No, that's not it. I'd like to talk to you, to get to know you. How about inviting me in?"
"I have company."
He was caught off guard. A boyfriend? He hadn't considered that possibility, probably because of the way she'd followed him that night, and the attraction she'd admitted to.
"Venus is here," she said into his silence.
He had no right to feel relieved, but he did. "Then maybe this is a good time. I should check her out a little more thoroughly so that I can advise Kevin properly."
Her lips twitched in an obviously reluctant smile. "She thinks you're an ex-boyfriend of mine."
"Why does she think that?"
"It's what I told her."
"Why-"
"My point is, you can come in, but I don't want you telling her what our relationship is."
"She won't think it's strange that an ex-boyfriend would show up and be let in?"
"She'll be curious. I have no problem with that."
"Your call." He followed her up the stairs and into a roomy living room with large windows overlooking the street. Her furnishings had probably come from her house; the rustic style suited a horse ranch, although it was not out of place here. She obviously had an eye for decorating, as the colors and accessories blended and complemented-words he'd learned from his decorator.
"Well, hi," Venus said coming into the room from what appeared to be the kitchen. She looked back and forth between Caryn and James.
"You already know each other," Caryn said.
"Not his first name."
"James," he said, extending a hand. "Jamey, if you prefer." He realized that Caryn never called him by his first name and wondered about it.
"You used to date?" Venus asked.
"We go way back," Caryn said, her smile wry. "Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?"
"I'm fine," he said, sitting on her tan-colored sofa. He wasn't sure what to say in front of Venus, who sat at the other end of the sofa and tucked her legs under her. Both women had changed from their uniforms. Caryn into jeans and a sweatshirt amazingly free of anyone's logo, and Venus into jeans and a soft pink sweater that made her look like cotton candy.
"I'm home!" Kevin called out, cutting through the tension in the room. James could almost hear a collective sigh of relief.
Footsteps bounded up the stairs, then the boy appeared. Three entirely different expressions crossed his face when he spotted each person in the room. His mother hadn't taken a seat yet, so he saw her first and grinned. Then he saw Venus and took a step toward her, then he came to an abrupt stop when he realized James sat on the same sofa.
If it hadn't been so awkward, it would've been funny.
Almost as one, everyone looked to Caryn.
Eight
The silence felt like a vise crushing Caryn. What had she been thinking, letting James in while Venus was there? No one could talk freely. Caryn wanted to talk to Kevin. Kevin would rather talk to Venus. Venus looked like she had questions for James. And James seemed to want to talk to everyone-and no one. Plus there was something different about him. She couldn't put her finger on it.
Kevin took charge. "You wanna come downstairs for a while? Listen to some tunes?" he asked Venus.
"Sure." She looked thrilled, in fact, to leave Caryn's apartment.
Caryn didn't blame her. She wanted to know how things went with James's mother, though. "Everything work out okay?" she asked her son.
His gaze shifted to James then back. "Great. Really great. I'll tell you later."
"Before you go, Kevin," James said, standing. He pulled a business card from the pocket of his shirt, the same plaid shirt he'd worn at lunch … with that woman … who wore the diamond engagement ring.
Caryn had temporarily forgotten that detail.
He passed the card to Kevin. "Your mom said you were looking for work. This guy's a friend of mine. He'll be around until ten o'clock tonight, if you're interested."
Kevin read the card. His eyes went wide. "Can I go right now?" he asked.
"You might want to change into something appropriate for a job interview," James said.
"A suit?"
James smiled. "No. A clean and ironed shirt would be good, though. And a less ratty pair of jeans."
"What's the job?" Caryn asked, feeling like a fifth wheel. She'd known James would take over. Known it without a doubt. He had that kind of pushy personality.
Kevin showed her the card. "A shooting range. How'd you know that's something I like?" he asked James.
"Thank your mom. She told me."
Kevin hugged her, then he hurried out of the room, Venus on his heels. She'd been silent during the entire exchange. Caryn wondered what she thought-that they were all crazy?
The downstairs door banged shut, followed by Kevin's door. They could hear his voice filtering through the floor, the words indistinct but the tone overrun with excitement.
"Thank you," she said to James. "I haven't seen him that happy in- Well, you know how long."
"It's up to him now."
"You're not paying your friend to hire him, are you?"
He smiled slowly, an utterly sexy, irresistible- No. Totally resistible. He apparently had a fiancée. Caryn had watched them laugh and talk, their heads close, then they'd hugged in the parking lot. She'd seen it and tried to ignore the twinges it brought.
"Wouldn't have occurred to me to subsidize him," James said. "It's hard to get a first job. All I did was provide a possibility. Caryn-" he moved a little closer "-I really am sorry you had trouble at work because of me. If Cassie hadn't set me straight, I would still be ignorant of what I'd done. You should've said something."
"Cassie?"
"The woman I wanted you to meet. We work together."
Did that mean they weren't a couple? They'd hugged. Male and female coworkers didn't usually hug. "She's very attractive," Caryn ventured.
"She's scary."
"What do you mean?"
"A highly competent investigator, and almost fearless. But not reckless, which is a good thing. She got engaged about a month ago. I wonder how long she'll stay in the business. She loves kids. I figure she'll get pregnant on her wedding night-or make a valiant effort, as much as she wants a kid of her own."
Caryn's relief took a nosedive, rooting her in place. She hadn't let herself acknowledge precisely how attracted she was to James until that moment-that moment when she thought he belonged to someone else.
Although he still might belong to someone else, for all she knew.
"You didn't," James said, then hesitated. "You didn't think Cass and I were a couple, did you?"
"Of course not." She turned away and headed for the kitchen without knowing why, except that she didn't want him to see the truth on her face.
"You did," he said, following her. "I invited you to have dinner with me, Mysterious. And I didn't know you were Kevin's mother then, either. I was attracted-to you, the woman."
"Okay."
"Hey." He put his hands on her shoulder and turned her toward him. His gaze held hers captive. "I figure trust is a real issue with you, and I understand that. But believe me when I say if I'd been involved with any woman, I wouldn't have asked you out."
She had two choices, believe him or not. With him so close to her she realized what was different about him. His beard was gone. "You shaved," she said, touching his cheek without thinking. He was an incredibly handsome man … .