“You’ll have a sleepover tonight at my house.” Cameron leaned closer, tried not to start when he smelled Caitlin’s perfume. “I promise it will be an experience you won’t soon forget.”

  Cameron straightened, trying to keep his breathing even, his lower body from responding. “I’ll get the luggage.” He walked away, telling his usually disciplined body to behave. The only thing between him and Caitlin was their son. Forgetting that would be a mistake he and his silly heart couldn’t afford to make.

  Cameron lifted a brow at the two suitcases. Caitlin obviously thought the stay would be a lengthy one, and she had no intention of leaving Joshua. She’d been afraid, but she’d stood up to him for Joshua. She’d fight for the son, just not his father.

  Picking up one piece of luggage, he grabbed the handle of the large rolling suitcase and left the room. He found Caitlin and Joshua by the door. She held a large leather-bound folder; Joshua held a small wooden case.

  “What are those?”

  “Mommy’s pencils to do her drawing for the comic strip. She has her sketch pad,” Joshua explained, and looked up at his mother. “Being Joshua is named after me.”

  “Do you really need that?” he asked.

  “My work is important to me,” she told him. “And I have a deadline.”

  “Wouldn’t want to interfere with your work.” Crossing the room, he opened the door.

  “You—” She stopped, pressed her lips together when she saw Joshua closely watching them.

  On the porch, Cameron turned. “Did you find someone to look after the place while you’re gone?”

  She glanced up from locking the front door’s double lock. “Yes. My neighbor.”

  “Mr. McBride, I’ll take those and store them in the trunk.” The driver quickly came up the walkway and reached for the luggage.

  “Wow,” Joshua said. “We’re gonna ride in that long car?”

  “We sure are.” Cameron reached for the sketch pad, but Caitlin shook her head.

  Pressing his lips together, Cameron took Joshua’s hand and started down the walk. “Come on, Joshua.”

  “Joshua, wait!” cried a little boy’s voice.

  “Stephen! Here he is!” Joshua pulled away from Cameron and started running toward the little boy heading in his direction. Laughing at his son’s enthusiasm, Cameron followed, stopping beside Joshua in the middle of Caitlin’s immaculate green lawn.

  “This is Cameron,” Joshua introduced.

  The little boy looked up at him with wide eyes, saying nothing. Cameron had seen that stunned look before. He hunkered down and stuck out his hand. “Hello. I hear you and Joshua are great friends.”

  Stephen nodded.

  “Stephen,” a woman called.

  Cameron looked in the direction the sound had come from and saw an attractive redheaded woman in her mid-thirties coming from the house next door. “Stephen, you know you’re not supposed to leave the house without telling me.”

  “But Mommy, you were on the phone,” Stephen explained, apparently finding his voice. “I’m not supposed to interrupt, and they were leaving.”

  “It was an emergency, Mrs. Howard,” Joshua said.

  Smiling, the woman wrinkled her nose. “I guess I’ll let it go this time.”

  Cameron noticed both boys looked relieved and bit back his own smile. He was about to introduce himself when he felt, rather then saw, Caitlin join them.

  “Cameron McBride, Diana Howard and her son, Stephen.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Howard, Stephen,” Cameron greeted them. The woman studied him closely, obviously weighing him. There was more than curiosity in her eyes. A quick glance at the flush in Caitlin’s cheeks, and he suspected Diana knew he was Joshua’s father.

  “Mr. McBride.” Diana kept her hand on her son’s shoulder. “Caitlin, have a safe trip and don’t worry about the house. I’m only a phone call way if you need me.”

  “Thank you. I’ll call.”

  Joshua had a friend, but it seemed Caitlin did as well. He shouldn’t care, but he found himself glad that she had someone she could count on. She just didn’t want to count on him.

  “Good-bye, Mrs. Howard. Stephen.” Catching Joshua’s hand, Cameron started back to the limo.

  Chapter 5

  Neither said anything in the limo or as they boarded the jet. Joshua’s excitement and all the questions he asked kept the silence from being obvious or strained.

  “My first ride on an airplane!” Joshua exclaimed, his eyes filled with wonder as he boarded the Learjet. “Wait until I tell Stephen.”

  “Let’s get you buckled up,” Cameron said, lifting Joshua and settling him in a plush leather seat.

  “Can I explore later?” Joshua asked, trying to look around Cameron.

  “Just as soon as we level off.” Finished buckling Joshua in, Cameron took a seat on the other side of him. He reached for his own seat belt, making a point of not looking at Caitlin, who remained standing. The flight attendant had taken her sketchbook. She looked alone standing there. Since Cameron knew she wasn’t afraid of flying since she’d flown so much in her previous line of work as a travel reporter and when they had been together, he reasoned her hesitation was due to not wanting to sit near him.

  Joshua strained to look out the window. “Mommy, look at the other planes.”

  Caitlin finally moved to take the seat beside Joshua. “I see them. It looks as if Joshua in the comic strip will have another adventure.”

  Joshua turned to her. “Maybe he can find his daddy.”

  Caitlin’s smile faltered, then firmed. “We’ll see.”

  “We’ll be taking off in a few minutes, Mr. McBride,” the flight attendant announced. “Would you or your guests like anything?”

  “Can I have a soda?” Joshua asked.

  “You know the rules,” Caitlin said to Joshua, then to the woman. “No, thank you.”

  “I’ll check with you again once we’re airborne,” she said, and moved toward the cockpit.

  Cameron watched Caitlin as she sat beside a talkative Joshua. Her smile was as fragile as spun glass. Joshua’s innocent words had cut her deeply. She might have thought she had done what was best for Joshua, but she was coming to realize she had also hurt him.

  He felt the plane begin to move, and caught Joshua’s free hand, not wanting him to be afraid. For the time being that also meant Caitlin had to stay with them. The jet picked up speed and lifted from the runway.

  “Wow!” Joshua said. “I’m flying! I’m flying, Mommy.”

  “Yes, you are,” she said, holding his other hand. “We’ll have to remember and put it in your memory book.”

  “Memory book?” Cameron asked.

  “It’s when I do something for the first time so I won’t forget when I get older,” Joshua said. “There’s lots of stuff in it from when I was a baby.”

  The way Joshua frowned when he said “baby” made Cameron smile. “I’d like to see it someday.”

  “You would?” Joshua asked.

  “I would,” Cameron said, “especially the baby stuff.”

  The little boy’s face saddened. “I left it at the house.”

  Cameron brushed his hand over Joshua’s head. “No matter, we can have your mother’s friend mail it to us.”

  Joshua brightened immediately, turning to his mother as far as the seat belt would allow. “Can we, Mommy? Can we?”

  Caitlin’s gaze flicked to Cameron, then centered on her son. “Things get lost in the mail. He can look at it when he takes us home.” She pointed out the window. “See how tiny everything looks?”

  Cameron stared at Caitlin. She might have thought she had outmaneuvered him, but she was wrong. It would be a long, long time before Joshua went home. He planned to talk with Hope about obtaining a tutor for now and a good school in the fall. Caitlin would fight, but she would lose.

  And she’d never forgive him. For his son, he could take it. She leaned over to whisper something in Joshua’s ear, making him smile, and Cameron couldn’t help thinking how beautiful she remained. It was hard to believe she’d been by herself, just as he had, all these years.

  As unobtrusively as possible, he twisted in his seat, glad he’d worn dress slacks as the fit of his pants changed. She was certainly making it hard on him to keep things impersonal.

  The problem with that was he was finding that the more he was around her, the more memories surfaced of them together, the more he noticed the softness of her lips, the swell of her breasts, recalled the haunting taste of her heated skin.

  Today she wore a simple cotton dress, but it was three inches above her knees and got his mind to thinking of the times he’d slid his hands under the fabric to caress the warm skin beneath.

  He twisted uneasily in his seat again and tried to get his mind off Caitlin and on to his son.

  “Mr. McBride, would you or your party care for anything to drink, a light snack?”

  Cameron looked at Caitlin. She shook her head. “You want some juice or a soft drink, Joshua?”

  “Ye—”

  “I don’t want him to have a lot of sugar,” Caitlin interrupted her son. “Do you have milk?”

  “Yes, I can also bring out a fruit-and-cheese tray,” the stewardess offered.

  “That’s fine, and bring me a Pepsi,” Cameron said. “And please ask the captain whether Joshua can see the cockpit once we land.”

  “Right away, sir.” The woman turned toward the cockpit.

  “Can I unbuckle my seat belt, and go look out that other window?” Joshua asked.

  “I—”

  “Sure,” Cameron said. This time she was the one cut off. She pressed her lips together, but she didn’t say anything as he unbuckled Joshua. As soon as he was free of the restraints, the little boy went to the other side of the plane and proceeded to go from window to window.

  “There’s a grocery store on the way to the house. We can stop and get whatever foods you like,” Cameron said.

  “Thank you.”

  Cameron blew out a breath and turned toward her. His voice lowered. “Look, this is difficult for both of us but we both want what’s best for Joshua. Pretty soon the excitement is going to wear off and he’s going to realize there is something wrong with his mother.”

  She glanced at him, then away. “You’re right, but this isn’t easy.”

  “You think this is for me?”

  She faced him, fire in her eyes. “No, but you can’t keep snapping at me. I did—”

  “What you thought was best,” he finished. “I’ve heard it before. But the fact remains, you considered only what you wanted, not what was best for Joshua or me.”

  She cut a glance at Joshua, his face and hands pressed to a window on the far end of the cabin. “From the second I knew I was carrying him, all I’ve thought about is his welfare. I won’t have him going though what Johnny’s son went through.”

  “NASCAR is a safe sport, getting safer every year,” he told her. “You hear of more career-ending injuries in other professional sports. You used that as an excuse to run out on me and keep my son. No more. If you want to live in fear, fine, but you won’t keep my son with you.” Pushing up from his seat, he went to sit with Joshua.

  Caitlin clamped her hands together in rising fury. He could go on about safety all he wanted, but the facts remained. Accidents happened. You couldn’t predict when or where, and some of the racetracks like Talladega were known for the high number of pileups. True, there had been no major injuries, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t happen.

  Cameron wasn’t afraid of anything. He’d never understand the paralyzing fear she felt when she saw him race, knowing a simple act of passing too close could cause a downdraft and the driver to lose control.

  She simply could not handle it. Some wives stayed away, some loved the danger and excitement as much as their man. It was safe to assume that not one of the women had lost their father in a racing accident. She knew too well the risk involved. She wouldn’t have that for her son or herself.

  Charlotte, North Carolina, was the site of the first official NASCAR race in 1949. NASCAR headquarters might be in Daytona Beach, Florida, but a good number of teams, and thus their drivers, resided in Charlotte. After the grueling season with only one weekend off, Cameron appreciated the slow, easy pace of Charlotte.

  As Cameron pulled into the long driveway of his house, he had never been more pleased that Pierce Grayson, his financial advisor and brother of his best friend, Brandon, had urged him to purchase a home for tax purposes. Or that he and Caitlin hadn’t purchased a home. After they because engaged, he’d been too busy wooing sponsors, doing public appearances and promotions during the week, for them to look for a house. They planned to do that after they returned from their honeymoon in Switzerland.

  He pulled up in front of the two-story house on a half-acre lot backing up to a man-made lake and stopped. “We’re here.” He tried to be casual as he said it, but out of the corner of his eye he watched Caitlin’s face.

  He’d thought all he wanted to do was show her he hadn’t let her ruin his life or his career. He’d succeeded, just as he’d always planned.

  She looked from the two-story white stucco house with a red-tile roof gleaming in the noonday sun to its well-tended lawn and then back to him. “You live here alone?”

  “Who else would live here?” he asked, his voice sharper than intended because he realized something. He’d thought of this moment when Caitlin would see the house for the first time and hoped she regretted her decision. To his utter annoyance, he had to accept that he hadn’t completely relinquished her memory.

  “I—nothing.” Opening her door, she got out of the truck and opened the back door. Joshua was already out of his car seat that Cameron had had Hope purchase and put in the truck that had been waiting for them when they arrived at the airport in Charlotte. “Joshua, please wait for me next time.”

  “I want to see the water,” Joshua said.

  “You’re not to go near the water unless I’m with you.” She pulled him into her arms. “Understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

  Cameron came up to them. “You all right, Joshua?”

  He nodded. “Is your car here?”

  “No, it’s at the garage. I’ll take you there tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s go inside and see if you like your room.”

  Going up the curved walkway, he opened the massive ten-foot door, then stepped aside for them to enter. He didn’t fool himself that this time he wasn’t watching Caitlin to gauge her impression.

  Caitlin stepped inside the two-story mansion and put Joshua on his feet. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Cameron’s apartment had been functional and neat. He’d laughingly told her his sister, Faith, was going to decorate it as soon as she had time. He added that he wouldn’t need her after all now because Caitlin could decorate his place. She never had.

  Standing in the foyer, she was swept away by the warmth and elegance of the house. Wooden floors gleamed beneath her sandaled feet. On either side of the entranceway were two large curio cabinets holding crystal glasses. The walls were covered with yellow silk. Past the entryway she saw the sweeping staircase to the second floor. The railing was black, the spindles white, the runner yellow and trimmed in white and black.

  She looked at him with obvious pleasure. “It’s beautiful.”

  Joshua took off for the stairs. She quickly caught up with him, taking his arm. Their home was one story, but Stephen’s was two stories. He and Joshua had tried to imitate an actor sliding down the balustrade. She pulled Joshua protectively to her side. “We can’t stay here.”

  Cameron merely arched a brow.

  “My home is childproof, this isn’t,” she pointed out and told Cameron about the incident on the stairs. “Fortunately, Diana caught them in time.”

  Cameron’s lips twitched. “He ever try it again?”

  Her lips pressed together in annoyance that he didn’t take the incident more seriously. “No.”

  Cameron hunkered down in front of Joshua. “Staircases aren’t for sliding on. I know you won’t forget again.”

  Joshua solemnly shook his head. “I won’t forget.”

  Cameron brushed his hand over the boy’s head, and stood. “He won’t forget.”

  “Your things are too valuable.”

  “Not as valuable as Joshua.” He caught Joshua’s small hand and started toward the stairs. “I’ll show you to your room and then bring up your luggage. I’ll go pick up takeout while your mother unpacks.”

  Caitlin was left to follow Cameron. Again. Her eyes widened even as she started up the stairs behind them. The yellow runner, edged with white and black, was obviously custom made. At the top of the stairs in an alcove was a beautiful tapestry of a villa perched on the side of the ocean. Unrepentantly, Caitlin felt a pang of jealousy that another woman had probably decorated his house.

  Her house was comfortable, but it wasn’t fancy. Certainly not elegant the way Cameron’s house was. The curved yellow upholstered sofa near the top of the stairs fit perfectly and had to have been custom made, as well. That one piece probably cost more than most of her furniture together. Any extra money she had was socked away for Joshua’s college fund.

  Cameron opened a door down a wide hallway to her right. “You can use this room. Joshua’s room is across from yours. If you get thirsty or anything, the kitchen is down the stairs at the end of the hall.” He turned away and then turned back. “There is a pool pavilion in the back. The door is locked at all times. There’s also a small, spouting fountain off the terrace. It’s about two feet deep. Do you think I should have it drained?”

  “No, one of our neighbors had a fountain,” she answered as Joshua wandered around the room. “Just make sure the pool pavilion is kept locked. He can swim a little.”

  “It has been ever since I came home to find the neighbor’s teenager daughters having a party with about fifty kids and not an adult in sight.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Called their parents, for all the good it did,” he said. “They offered to pay for damages and basically thought a check would fix things. They didn’t seem to get it that their fifteen- and sixteen-year-old daughters were breaking several laws, including underage drinking.”