The Playboy's Proposition(23)

"Depends on the question," he said, joining her at the table.

She nodded. "During one of my breaks today, I was reading the newspaper." She lifted a French fry to his lips and he ate it.

"And?"

"Well, you remember that community center we were painting, the one that blew up?"

"Yes," he said and took a bite out of one of the hot dogs. "This is really good."

She shot him a conspiratorial smile. "I agree. Back to the newspaper.  There was an article about how the community center is going to be torn  down and a new one is going to be built in its place."

"That's good," he said, continuing to eat his meal.

"An anonymous donor has made this possible," she said, regarding him  with deep suspicion. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this  donor, would you?"

"I suspect if the donor is anonymous then he-" He swallowed another bite. "Or she prefers to remain anonymous."                       
       
           



       

She slumped. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Tell you what?"

"If you are the anonymous donor," she said.

"Me?" he asked, injecting shock into his voice. "Why would I part with  my money to fund a community center that could very well end up doing an  inefficient job helping the children who need the services?"

She looked away. "True. You're not the type to have a soft spot for a  cause, especially after you've suffered burns from rescuing a child at  the community center."

"Right," he said.

"Rescuing a child like that wouldn't have an impact on you. You wouldn't  be concerned about that child's future in a community center."

"The old building was a fire hazard," he said.

"A terrible one," she agreed.

"They'd damn well better make sure the new one isn't," he muttered.

Bella looked at him and held his gaze for a moment then slid the milk shake to him.

"I didn't tell you who the anonymous donor was," he said.

"That's okay. I have an idea of my own. Want me to describe him?"

He shrugged. "If you want."

"He's hot," she said.

"Oh, really?" he said, lifting his brow at her.

She nodded. "He's the kind who pretends he doesn't care."

"Pretends?"

She nodded again. "He's all about the bottom line."

"What other line is there?"

She leaned toward him and took his chin in her hand in a surprisingly  aggressive move that he liked. "You're such a faker," she whispered and  kissed him.

The more time he spent with Bella, the more he wanted her. This wasn't  going the way he'd planned. He'd expected to get his fill of her then  both of them would move on. The next two evenings, he even came home  early so he could spend more time with her.

In the morning, he rose early as he always did and exercised in his gym.  When he returned to his bedroom, he found her reading from a folder.

She quickly set the folder down beside her and smiled. "How was the elliptical?"

"You're awake. What were you reading?" he asked, but he already knew. He took a quick, sharp breath to control his anger.

She cleared her throat. "Um, it was on the nightstand. I knocked it off when I went to the bathroom."

"You didn't notice the label said Leo," he said, clenching his teeth.

She seemed to catch on that he was displeased. She bit her lip and  looked away. "I'm sorry. I know this is important to you and you won't  discuss it with me. It's hard for me to feel shut out on this. I want to  help you."

"You can't," he said. "It's a matter of patient, resilient research by a  knowledgeable investigator. I'm going in the shower. If you want to  read it while I'm in the shower, go ahead. When I get out, I'll be  putting the report away and we won't discuss it."

"But," she began.

"This is nonnegotiable, Bella. Don't push it," he said and went into the  bathroom to try to wash the guilt about his brother from his skin, from  inside him. He knew, however, that it wouldn't work. He also knew that  he couldn't, wouldn't discuss Leo with Bella. Her empathy would be  harder to bear than his own self-condemnation.





"You're late," Charlotte said as Bella returned from her lunch on  Saturday. "I can't keep up with you. One week you're working overtime.  The next week you're spacey and late.""I'm sorry," Bella said, pulling  on the jacket that bore the name of her aunt's business. "I have a lot  on my mind."

"Does his name start with M?" Charlotte asked. "What's going on between you two?"

"It's complicated," Bella said. Her heart and mind were still reeling  after reading the P.I.'s report. It hit her again that all the Medici  brothers had suffered terribly. Knowing how much Michael still grieved  brought tears to her eyes. She took a deep breath. "There's more to him  than meets the eye."

"That can be good."

"I can't talk about it yet. He would be furious," Bella said. "Just trust me that I want to help him. I need to help him."

Charlotte frowned. "It's nothing illegal, is it?"

Bella shook her head. "Nothing illegal."

Charlotte shrugged. "Okay, just try not to be late. Your client is  waiting for you to work your magic. Can you close up tonight? Fred is  taking me out for lobster."                       
       
           



       

"Hmm," Bella said with a smile. "Looks like you and Fred are turning into a regular thing."

Charlotte scowled at her. "Get to work."

Bella worked nonstop until 6:00 p.m., but the entire time she was  thinking about Michael and his brother Leo. If Michael was able to  answer his questions about Leo, she wondered if Michael would finally be  at peace. She wondered what kind of person he would be. She wondered if  he would be free to love and be loved.

Despite all his success and hard work, Michael felt unworthy of love.  She identified it because she had felt that way after her mother had  abandoned her. After all, if her own mother had dumped her, wouldn't  everyone else?

Stephen had made her believe in the possibility of love. She thought  he'd believed in her. She'd thought he'd been committed. She was the one  who'd left to pursue her dream and left her aunt and Stephen behind.  Even though Stephen had encouraged her, he'd needed her when he'd lost  his job and his confidence. She'd thought Stephen was the sweetest man  in the world. Lately, she wasn't as sure about Stephen as she once had  been. He just didn't seem as sincere.

She was sure that although Michael was as sincere as the day was long,  he also was not the sweetest man in the world. His background had given  him rough edges. He didn't love her. He wanted her. The more she was  with him, the more she wanted him freed from his demons. Without those  demons, he would be so much happier, so much more fulfilled. Free to  love and receive the love he deserved, even if she wasn't the one for  him.





Twelve



B ella whisked into Michael's home a bit later than she'd planned on Monday. "Hello? Any news?"

Silence followed. "I'm in the den."Bella felt a sinking sensation in her stomach and rushed to the den. "Is there a problem?"

"No." His gaze was shuttered. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you sound like someone has pushed your mute button," she said.

One side of his lips lifted in amusement. "I'm fine. No hot dogs?"

"No. I was slammed at work then had to run errands. I can fix some if you like," she offered.

"No. Gary can prepare something for us."

"I always feel guilty about that," she said. "We're just two people. We should be able to fix our own."

"I can afford it," he said.

"Still," she said.

"What do you want for dinner?"

"I'll fix a peanut butter and honey sandwich with bananas and potato chips," she said adamantly.

He chuckled. "He's planning shrimp creole for me."

"Oh, that sounds delicious," she said, her mouth watering.

"Wouldn't want to keep you from your peanut butter sandwich."

"You're an evil man," she said.

His face hardened. "You're not the first to know that."

The self-contempt in his gaze took her breath away. "Michael, you have to tell me what happened. Something happened."

"Another dead lead," he said and shrugged. "Nothing new."

"I've been thinking about this," she said eagerly.

"Thinking about what?" he asked, his gaze cold.

"Thinking about Leo," she said. "After I read the investigator's report,  I wondered if you should put an ad in some of the Pennsylvania  newspapers."