Marla smiled. “With your mother’s permission.”

  Caitlin didn’t have a doubt that the woman knew who Cameron was. She was being diplomatic and cautious. “After you’ve eaten.”

  “But they might be gone,” he said.

  Cameron took him into his arms. “Then we’ll have them bake some more.”

  Joshua grinned. “Then there will be more for me.”

  “Exactly.” Setting Joshua on his feet, Cameron picked up the suitcases.

  “Do you need assistance finding your room?” Marla asked

  “No, thanks.” Cameron passed the service desk and turned to the left.

  “You’ve stayed in the suites before?” Caitlin asked.

  “Yes.” He stopped and opened a door at the end of the hall. “Only then, the connecting door was locked.”

  Caitlin didn’t know what to say so she took Joshua’s hand and entered the suite. A large bouquet of fresh flowers stood on the coffee table. There was also a fruit basket and a small tray of crackers.

  “This must be your suite.” She started for the connecting door.

  “Nope. It’s yours.” He handed her the key.

  She looked from the long-stemmed yellow roses to the artful basket of fruit and the cracker tray Joshua was examining. “I don’t understand.”

  “They’re late, but the flowers are for Joshua’s birth. You were probably the only woman there with no one.”

  She was and had never felt lonelier . . . until the nurse had entered the room with Joshua. “Holding Joshua, healthy and in my arms, was enough.”

  Cameron nodded. “Just the same. Thank you.” Dropping a casual kiss on her cheek, he went into the connecting suites with their son.

  Caitlin stared after him, her heart melting. What had she gotten herself into?

  Chapter 8

  “We need to talk,” Caitlin whispered, keeping an eye on Joshua as he watched a cartoon on the wide-screen TV.

  “We sure do,” Cameron agreed. “You go first.”

  “I think it’s best if we stay here.” Caitlin didn’t want to imagine what might have happened if they’d gone to a restaurant to eat. “Joshua called you ‘Daddy’ while we were waiting for you. I don’t want this getting out.”

  Cameron’s relaxed pose stiffened. “I want the whole world to know he’s mine.”

  “Think, Cameron. What will happen when the circumstances surrounding his birth become public gossip? People can be cruel.”

  “Believe me, I know,” he said tightly.

  Caitlin didn’t want to go there. “I realize you want him with you just as much as he wants to be with you, but how did you plan to introduce him or me?”

  By the frown on his face she knew he hadn’t thought that far. “You said it’s a photo shoot with a mock-up of your car. I’m sure you won’t be in and out. Joshua might be fascinated for a little while, but then he’s going to get restless.”

  “He didn’t get restless when I showed him around the shop,” Cameron told her.

  “Because you were with him.”

  His mouth tightened. “So you’ll be with him this time. He’ll be fine.”

  “Cam—”

  “He’s going.”

  Caitlin looked at Cameron’s stubborn face and knew it was useless trying to reason with him. Cameron could be stubborn. One of the many reasons he did so well at racing was that he didn’t give up, no matter how far behind he might be. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “I’ve had a lot of practice dodging questions.”

  She stiffened. “I guess the truce is over?”

  “Nope, just pointing out fact.” Spinning on his heels, he went to where Joshua sat on the floor and hunkered down. “You ready to go, now?”

  Joshua scrambled up. “Yes, Daddy.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Cameron had an advantage over Caitlin in that he knew the photographer in charge of the photo shoot was a man in his late forties who apparently knew a great deal about filming, but who was a perfectionist, high strung and unfazed by the popularity of his subjects. He didn’t like to be watched while working and allowed few people not connected with the shoot.

  More concerned with lighting and angles, the photographer had dismissed Caitlin and Joshua the second after Joshua introduced them as “friends of mine.” Since he was so exacting, those working with him had pleasing the thin, gray-haired photographer on their minds more than who might be with Cameron.

  She was right about Joshua. Twenty minutes after they arrived, he was asleep in Caitlin’s lap. During a break for light adjustment Cameron told her to go back to the hotel. She was up and out of there in a flash.

  The filming for the commercial took another two hours before the director was satisfied. Cameron had left as fast as Caitlin had earlier. Downstairs, he’d instructed his waiting driver to take him back to the hotel. In the heavy Chicago traffic it had taken thirty minutes to reach his hotel several blocks away.

  Now staring down at the two of them asleep, her arm thrown protectively around Joshua, Cameron wondered if there was a place in her heart for him. There were so many obstacles facing them.

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and took several photos to add to his memory book. Toeing off his Italian loafers, he climbed into the bed, wrapping his arm around Caitlin.

  “Cameron.”

  Cameron had heard the sleepy voice before on many occasions. Sometimes he’d have to work late at the garage and would come to bed with her already asleep. Always, always, the moment he slipped his arm around her, pulled her snugly against him, she’d murmur his name.

  He absorbed the fact that she hadn’t forgotten him, wished he could nip her on the ear as he had done so many times before, wished he could kiss her everywhere his mouth and hands could touch, slip into her waiting heat. His body stirred, remembered, hungered.

  Not now, but soon. Kissing her head, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with his family in his arms, just where he planned on keeping them.

  Caitlin came awake by degrees. She felt Cameron’s strong arm around her, the hard outline of his body pressed against her backside, his arousal against her hips. She didn’t open her eyes, she wanted to hold on to the dream fantasy as long as possible. It was the warmth of her son’s body that finally pulled her completely from sleep.

  In an instant she realized it wasn’t a dream. She stiffened. Unable to scramble out of bed without waking Joshua, she looked over her shoulder and straight into Cameron’s dark gaze. The look seared her. With his arousal pressing against her, there was no denying he wanted her.

  She opened her mouth to tell him something, but his lips, warm and tender, touched hers and she forgot the words, only remembered the pleasure. In the shelter of his arms she always would.

  “Mommy,” Joshua said slowly, stirring. Caitlin stiffened, pulled her mouth away, and looked down at Joshua.

  “We’ll finish this later.” Cameron rolled from the bed and headed for his connecting room.

  Her body on fire, her mind in a turmoil, she watched him open the connecting door and close it softly after him.

  Caitlin was nervous. After they’d awoken, they’d ordered room service and eaten in. Now it was past eight and time to get Joshua ready for bed. Perhaps she should have insisted on another room.

  The kiss had made her more aware of Cameron, more aware of her body’s wanting something it couldn’t have. Make that shouldn’t have. From the sizzling looks Cameron kept giving her, and his arousal pushing against her hips when they were in bed, he was more than ready to give it to her.

  “Aren’t you going to sleep in the same bed?” Joshua asked, staring up at them from the sofa where they were all seated. “Stephen’s parents do.”

  Cameron looked at Caitlin, as if the problem lay with her. “You’re sleeping with your father tonight,” she said before he could say anything. “I’m going to do some work on the next strip. I don’t want to disturb your father when I come to bed.”

  A half-smile curved Cameron’s lips upward. “You wouldn’t bother me.”

  Caitlin frowned at him. “Your father is just being courteous. I’ll be in the other bedroom. He’s going to sleep with you.”

  “It will be another memory,” his father said, but he was looking at Caitlin, his gaze hot and intense as if he were remembering another time with just the two of them in bed creating their own memories, living out their fantasies.

  Her throat dry, Caitlin swallowed. Would there ever be a time when Cameron didn’t make her want and shiver with desire? She hoped so, but she wasn’t taking any bets.

  Joshua got up to look around the room. “Where is your sketchbook?”

  Caitlin stood and did the same. She distinctly remembered putting it in the truck. “Oh, no. It’s still in Cameron’s truck.” She shoved her fingers through her hair. She’d been so annoyed with Cameron about the fur coat that she’d forgotten it.

  “There’s an all-night drugstore a block away.” Cameron picked up his black baseball cap, put it on his head and snagged his leather coat. “I’ll go see if they have some type of sketch pad you can use until we can get what you need tomorrow.”

  She was so stunned by his suggestion that for a moment she didn’t say anything.

  “Can I go with you?”

  Cameron placed his hand on Joshua’s head and smiled down at him. “It’s getting late. You stay here and take care of your mother.”

  “Cameron, it can wait until tomorrow,” she told him. She didn’t like the idea of him out at night in a strange city.

  “You need to be able to work.” He opened the door. “I should have checked to make sure we had everything.”

  “Cameron, it was my responsibility. Not yours.” She walked over and closed the door. “You are not going out.”

  He lifted a dark brow. “Trying to protect me?”

  “Call it what you like.” She placed her hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “Let’s get you ready for bed.”

  As usual he resisted, but with a different ploy this time. “You know, Stephen said his mommy and daddy let him sleep with them one night.”

  Caitlin jerked her gaze to Cameron. He wore that slow sexy smile that made her stomach feel as if she had just taken a plunge on a roller coaster. “Well, er . . .”

  “You’ll have to settle for just me tonight.” Cameron scooped his son up and set him on his shoulder, heading to the connecting door, then turned. “But your mother should feel free to join us if she’d like.”

  Needing to help Joshua get ready for bed, she followed them into the bedroom. As if he’d done so a thousand times before, Cameron helped Joshua with his bath, then into his pajamas and helped him brush his teeth. Back in the bedroom, Joshua knelt to say his prayers. Finished, he climbed up into the king-sized bed. He looked expectantly at his parents. “It’s big enough for all of us.”

  Caitlin tucked the covers under his chin. “Go to sleep. Your father will join you soon.”

  “I wish you were coming to bed with us.”

  Caitlin fussed unnecessarily with the covers. Her stomach did a jitterbug. “Not tonight, sweetheart.” Leaning over she kissed him on the forehead. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Mommy.”

  “Now go to sleep,” she told him.

  “Good night, son.”

  “Good night, Daddy.” Yawning, he blinked several times before his lids remained closed.

  Sitting on the side of the bed, Caitlin watched Joshua fall asleep. She didn’t want to face Cameron, but after Joshua kicked off the covers and turned over on his stomach, signaling he was halfway to settling in for the night, she had no choice. Rising, she tiptoed across the plush carpet out of the bedroom suite and into hers. Cameron followed, leaving the door partially open.

  “He and Stephen must be a handful.”

  “They are,” Caitlin agreed, feeling restless and afraid she knew the reason. Trying to be nonchalant, she went to the desk and pulled several sheets of hotel stationery from the drawer. “I was lucky to find good neighbors. Diana is my best friend.”

  Cameron followed, leaning against the side of the desk mere inches from her. If she got up, it would be too obvious that he disturbed her. “How long have you lived there?”

  “Three years. I bought it the year my comic strip syndicated and I was sure I could pay the mortgage.”

  “You’re doing something you love.”

  “Yes.” She picked up one of the hotel’s black ballpoint pens and made sure, quick strokes across the paper. “It allowed me to stay at home with Joshua.”

  “Guess you won’t be happy doing anything else?”

  Her head came up. The question wasn’t an idle one. “My work isn’t dangerous.”

  “I keep telling you NASCAR is one of the safest sports around, and will be even more so by next year with the Car of Tomorrow,” he said, mild annoyance in his voice. “How would you feel if someone said you had to give up what you love?”

  “That’s not going to happen.” She stood, recognizing her mistake immediately. He was closer to her than before. “Good night.”

  Cameron looked at her a long time, then straightened to his full height. “You want to tuck me in?”

  He’d said the words teasingly, but there was nothing teasing about the heated gaze. Or the sudden tightening of her nipples, the undeniable quiver in her lower body. “Cameron, don’t do this.”

  “I just asked a simple question.” The back of his knuckles brushed down the side of her face.

  Shivers raced over her body. She wanted to go into his arms, press her lips against his, taste the exposed column of his strong throat. She couldn’t because it wouldn’t stop there. “Good night, Cameron.”

  “Good night, Caitlin.” Leaning over, he brushed his lips against hers, then he was gone.

  Caitlin watched until the door closed. That made two nights he had kissed her. She couldn’t let it happen again. Each touch made her crave more, made her remember how good he felt against her body, how happy she’d been with him.

  Biting her lip, she plopped down in the chair and stared at the drawing of Joshua. Her trembling fingers traced his smiling face. Their love had created him. She wouldn’t allow it to put him in danger. No matter how she felt, somehow, someway she’d see that Joshua didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps.

  Caitlin woke up tangled in the top sheet. No wonder. She’d had a very erotic dream. Cameron had done delicious and wicked things to her body. She’d gladly returned the favor. She groaned. It had been difficult to get over Cameron years ago. She’d ached for him. She wouldn’t fall into that trap again.

  They had to be friends for Joshua’s sake. Just friends, she repeated to herself. Now if her heart would just listen.

  Blowing out a breath, she rolled over and glanced at the bedside clock radio. Seven forty-five A.M. So much for beating Cameron up and being dressed. Throwing back the covers, she went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She’d finished and just reached to turn on the faucet for her bath when she heard a knock on the connecting door. She started for the robe on the end of her bed. She didn’t make it.

  The door opened and in rushed Joshua, a smile on his face. “Good morning, Mommy. We have a surprise for you.”

  Stunned, Caitlin’s gaze went to Cameron’s. He had a breakfast tray in his hands. His gaze swept over her like silent caressing fingers. She had on a long, sleeveless cotton gown. She thanked what foresight she’d had to keep on her bra and panties. Joshua barreled into her, throwing his arms around her. “Me and Daddy ate.”

  “Good morning, Caitlin,” Cameron greeted, setting the tray on the desk. “Joshua was getting anxious to see you.”

  “Daddy let me order for you all by myself,” Joshua said proudly. Taking her hand, he led her back to bed. “It will be just like Stephen and his daddy did for Mrs. Howard on her birthday.”

  Her lips trembled. She had no idea he paid that much attention to the Howards. He wanted that loving relationship for him and his family. With Cameron in his life, he was finally getting it. But what would happen when Cameron was gone?

  “Having you hug me is just as good as breakfast in bed.” She hugged him and kissed the top of his head. “Thank you,” she mouthed to Cameron. Whatever their problems, he was enabling their son to live out the things he thought a family did together.

  Releasing Joshua, she returned to bed and scooted back against the headboard. “It smells good.”

  Joshua put both hands on one side of the tray to “help” his father place the tray on her lap, then he climbed onto the bed. “Do you like it, Mommy?”

  She lifted the lid. “It’s perfect.” There was bacon, sausage, French toast, fruit, jams, breakfast breads. There was enough food for two people. And Joshua was bursting with pride that he had ordered by himself.

  Cameron sat at the foot of the bed. “A car will pick us up at ten to take us to the airport.”

  Caitlin was glad. It must have showed.

  “I’ll be glad to get home, too.” He stood. “Come on, Joshua, and let your mother eat her breakfast. You can help me pack.”

  Smiling, Joshua piled off the bed and hurried to his father. He was happy. He had a father. And she had to take that away.

  Cameron couldn’t contain his excitement. He’d been planning this since the night he found out he had a son. He couldn’t be more pleased that it had happened sooner than he had expected. They’d no more arrived at his house in Charlotte than he caught Joshua’s hand and headed for the great room. “Joshua, I’ve got a surprise for you.” Grinning, Cameron opened the door.

  His family was there, just as he’d known they would be. His mother stood with Faith and her husband and Cameron’s best friend, Brandon, while his father was on the other side of Duncan. If Cameron needed a reminder that love hurt and that it could turn sour in the blink of an eye and bite you on the backside, he was getting it up close and personal.

  His parents were standing as far apart as possible. Growing up, he thought they had a great marriage. Apparently so had his father. It had taken him a lot of years to finally get over his wife divorcing him, then marrying another man. She’d surprised them again a month ago by filing for divorce from her second husband.