She didn’t want to put Joshua in the unwinnable position of choosing between his parents. Joshua was outgoing, affectionate, and lovable. He was too young to understand the reason for his parents’ bickering, only suffer the consequences. There would be no winners—only losers.

  He wanted a father.

  And as Diana had pointed out, he was one of the lucky ones to have a father who loved him, wanted to spend time with him. No one had to tell her that the last two days had been unusual. As a NASCAR driver, Cameron had a great deal of responsibility to sponsors and owners, yet he’d hung around the house and taken time for his son. He was putting him first.

  Just as she should have done.

  And that nagging thought made her feel small. Cameron’s capacity to be generous was larger than hers. She’d seen him watching her during the movie. Even after she’d kept Joshua a secret from him, he’d been able to feel sorry for her.

  Just like she was feeling sorry for herself now.

  A knock on the partially opened door brought her head up and around. Cameron peeked inside. “I didn’t want to disturb you, but I thought you might want to help me put Joshua to bed.”

  Joshua lifted his head from Cameron’s shoulder to yawn. “I’m not sleepy, Daddy.”

  Caitlin stood in an instant. She’d heard the same words from Joshua too many times to count. “Well, you will be when your head hits the pillow.”

  “Your mother is right,” Cameron said. “I used to tell my mother the same thing, and you know what? She was always right.”

  Joshua yawned. “But I’m not sleepy.”

  Cameron smiled down at her. Before she thought of a reason not to, she smiled back. “He’s my son, all right.”

  It hit her at once that if Joshua hadn’t looked like Cameron, he might have thought he wasn’t his. Their meeting in the emergency room might have ended differently. Then, she saw the way, even in sleep, that Joshua clung to his father, the gentle way Cameron held his son. She wouldn’t have wished it any other way.

  In Joshua’s room, Cameron handed their sleepy son to her. “You hold him while I pull back the covers.”

  She readily accepted Joshua, glad to have him in her arms. She suspected Cameron sensed as much. His willingness to forgive her and share Joshua made her feel even smaller. Why couldn’t Cameron have an ordinary, safe career?

  Cameron pulled back the covers and straightened. “He brushed his teeth in my bathroom, but he hasn’t said his prayers yet. He said you always said them together. If you don’t mind, I’d like to join you tonight.”

  “No, of course not.” Caitlin eased Joshua down by the bed. Cameron knelt beside him.

  Joshua yawned again, then noticed his parents on either side of him. For a long moment he stared at one then the other as if committing them to memory. Linking his small hands, he bowed his head.

  “God, thank you for letting my daddy find us. Bless Mommy, bless my daddy, bless Stephen and his mommy and daddy, and bless all the children in the world who don’t have a mommy or a daddy like we do.”

  Getting up, Joshua hugged Caitlin and Cameron and then climbed into bed. Caitlin tucked the covers around his neck, knowing he’d kick them off two seconds after he fell asleep, but she needed to fuss over him just a bit.

  Brushing her hand over his forehead, she pressed her lips there. “Good night, sweetheart. Mommy loves you with all her heart.”

  “So does your daddy,” Cameron said, his voice a thick, husky rumble.

  Joshua smiled up at them, then closed his eyes. In seconds he was asleep.

  “Come on.”

  Caitlin resisted Cameron’s hand on her arm for a split second, then reached over to turn out the lamp on the bedside table. Joshua didn’t stir. By the soft glow of the night lamp they slipped from the room, leaving the door partially open.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  Cameron read her better than anyone. He always had. Her mother had been so deep in her own grief and guilt she hadn’t paid any attention to the lonely, needy child who was just as devastated by the sudden death of her father. “I will be.”

  His knuckles brushed down her cheek, then his palm was gliding down her arm to her hand. Linking her hand with his, he started down the hall. Expecting him to release her when they reached her door, she didn’t resist. Just for a moment, she took the comfort he offered.

  However, when they passed her door she snatched her hand back. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  His eyebrow lifted. “What do you think I’m doing?”

  His calm question threw her. The last thing she wanted to do was overreact and let him know she was still very much attracted to him and not doing a very good job of fighting her emotions. “Why are we going to your room?”

  “To talk.” He took her hand and started walking again. “In case you didn’t notice, I have a sitting area that leads out to a terrace and a koi pond. I recall you mentioned you always liked seeing them at the Japanese restaurant we visited in Los Angeles.” He didn’t pause as he entered his room. “It also has a minifridge. You only nibbled at dinner. The same with the popcorn.”

  She tried not to let it matter that he had remembered such a small thing about her. They’d gone to the restaurant the first time he’d visited her. “I’m not hungry.”

  “We both know why.” Stopping in front of a small built-in refrigerator, he released her hand. Bending, he took out the cup of minestrone soup she hadn’t wanted with her dinner. Opening the microwave door, he set the timer.

  “Why aren’t we in the kitchen doing this?” she asked with suspicion.

  “Because neither of us want to be far from Joshua in the kitchen,” he answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

  It made sense, but his bedroom, although as large as her living room, felt too intimate with his bed in it.

  “If you’re going to keep up with Joshua, you need to eat.” Cameron smiled. “He has more energy than a bumblebee and moves about as fast.”

  “He’s very inquisitive.”

  “So I’m finding out.” The timer went off. Carefully removing the soup. Cameron took it to the small round table in the sitting area. “Come on, before your soup gets cold.

  “I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” she told him. The idea appealed too much to her.

  “That’s debatable.” He went to her, taking her arm and guiding her into a chair. “I’ll get you a napkin and a spoon.”

  He prepared the food so effortlessly, charmed her so completely, she idly wondered how many other women had been there before her. “Why is your room so well stocked?”

  Lifting her soup bowl, he spread the black place mat, then put her matching napkin and spoon beside it. “I get in late sometimes. I want to be able to shower, eat, and fall into bed without going all the way back to the kitchen.”

  She picked up her soup spoon and began to eat. She wasn’t going to let her mind get hung up on Cameron being naked in the shower. “The house is big.”

  “Yeah.” He crossed his long legs and linked his fingers over his flat abdomen. “Pierce and Faith’s doing. He said I needed a tax break and she picked out this one.”

  She returned the spoon she had lifted to the bowl and frowned. Selecting a house was personal. She had looked at over fifty before she found one she liked. “Why didn’t you pick it out?”

  He shrugged. “It didn’t matter that much.”

  A strange feeling came over her. She straightened, watching him closely. “How long have you lived here?”

  “Almost four years I guess.”

  What could she say? She’d said it all before. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “But you did,” he said, his eyes so intent they burned. “And you’d do the same thing again if given the opportunity, wouldn’t you?”

  There was only one honest answer. “Yes.”

  “Thought so.” Uncoiling, he picked up her almost empty bowl, placemat, and spoon. “I’m flying to Chicago in the morning to meet with one of my sponsors and do a photo shoot and commercial. I want Joshua and you to come with me.”

  The thought of refusing was fleeting. She owed him, and her debt was getting larger by the hour. “What time do you plan to leave?”

  “Eleven. It’s cold there, so we’ll stop at the store on the way to the airport,” he said casually.

  Obviously, he’d never shopped with a small child. “The stores don’t open until ten.”

  He shrugged. “They’re opening for me at nine. The shoot isn’t until four. If we run late, I’ll let the pilot know so he can file another flight plan.”

  The casualness of having a store open early and a jet wait for him was stunning. And it also reinforced how much his owner and sponsors valued him, and his income and power. The top NASCAR drivers made in the high seven figures, but Cameron hadn’t cared about the money; his focus had been on racing and winning. And a win or placement in the top ten meant more recognition and sales for the driver’s sponsors.

  The make of the winning car often meant increased sales for that auto maker. Since all the cars adhered to NASCAR specifications inside and out, the cars looked similar. To help spectators tell them apart, the makes of some cars were written on the hood.

  “We’ll take their corporate jet to Midway and spend the night at the Palmer House.”

  The downtown Chicago hotel was noted for its excellent service, rich architecture, and fantastic food. “Oh.”

  “I have two connecting suites. Joshua can sleep with me.”

  She felt her face heat. She kept jumping to conclusions. He didn’t want her. “We’ll be ready. Thanks for the soup.” She hurried to the door.

  “You can’t take care of Joshua if you’re sick.”

  He cared about his son. Not her. She mustn’t forget. “Well, good night.”

  “Not quite.” He moved so quickly she didn’t have time to evade him. Or perhaps she didn’t want to. She wanted his mouth, his hands on her. She was lonely, feeling more adrift with each passing hour. If only for a little while, in Cameron’s arms she wouldn’t feel that way.

  His mouth took hers. She opened for him, sighed into his mouth with remembered pleasure. Her arms went around his neck, deepening the kiss, enjoying the rush of passion zipping though her veins. It had been so long, and no one had ever kissed her the way Cameron did, all-consuming and all-powerful.

  His hand closed over her breast and she whimpered. They’d always been sensitive and he knew it. He also knew just how to caress, to mold them in his hand to give her the most intense sensations. He hadn’t forgotten.

  And she remembered too much, craved too much.

  His head lifted, he stared down at her, his breathing as off-kilter as hers. “Feel free to come back anytime.”

  She didn’t know what to say, not with her body still humming, unmet need clamoring to be fulfilled. He wasn’t immune to her. But making love with Cameron, although satisfying, would only lead to more problems.

  “We can’t stay here forever.”

  “You’re here now.” He stepped back. “Night.”

  “Night.” Turning, she went down the hall, aware that Cameron’s hungry gaze followed her all the way.

  And that she was just as hungry for his body. It was going to be a long, long night.

  Cameron watched Caitlin go into Joshua’s room to check on him. He wondered whether she would remain there, hiding from him. He felt a spurt of admiration when she came out of Joshua’s room, but she quickly went across the hall into her own room. Not once did she look in his direction.

  He blew out a breath. He shouldn’t have kissed her. Did he regret it? No. Would it complicate matters? His mind shouted a resounding yes. But she’d needed comfort and he hadn’t been able to resist giving it to her.

  He closed the door to his bedroom, striping off the T-shirt he’d used as a pajama top. Luckily he’d found bottoms. He had no idea where the top was to the set his mother had given him a couple of years ago after he’d dislocated his shoulder. Opening the hamper in the bathroom, he dumped the tee, reached for the pajama pants, then paused.

  Sleeping naked wasn’t a good idea with Joshua and Caitlin in the house. Cameron grinned. Although it might not be so bad if just Caitlin saw him. She’d certainly been checking out his body while she was eating. It had taken considerable willpower to remain seated and act nonchalant. But the kiss had singed him.

  She still had the power to reduce him to a quivering mass of need, but he was keeping that to himself. She was a bit off balance, feeling guilty, and scared as hell of losing Joshua. She’d go along with him on the trip, but race day was a different story.

  He just had to show her that her fears were unfounded. If he couldn’t, they were heading for a confrontation that neither one of them would emerge from victorious.

  The plane ride to Chicago Midway Airport was almost as tense as the one from California to Charlotte. Joshua’s happy chatter kept her silence from being so noticeable. She’d become annoyed with Cameron when he’d insisted on purchasing her a full-length ranch-mink coat. He’d become just as annoyed because she kept insisting that, living in Fontana, she wouldn’t need the coat.

  “There will be a car to meet us,” Cameron said, tired of the silence as they made their way down the concourse. “We’ll go straight to the hotel to check in and have a late lunch. Then the driver will pick us back up at three.”

  “Can I have a hamburger with that k-b meat?” Joshua asked.

  Cameron smiled at Joshua’s attempt to pronounce “Kobe.” The smile died as he saw people turning toward him, whispering. He increased his pace as much as Joshua’s short legs would allow. He would have picked him up if he hadn’t known it would put his son even more in the spotlight.

  “Cameron,” Caitlin said.

  “I know.” He heard the nervousness in her tense voice. “We’re almost to the escalator. The escort is at the bottom, waiting for us. His name is Gus. The sign he’s carrying will say ‘North.’ He’ll take care of you if things get a bit crazy. The limo can’t park, so the driver will circle until we come out.”

  Caitlin picked up Joshua and stepped on the escalator. Cameron stepped on behind her with Caitlin’s suitcase and his satchel. This part, when he slowed, was always tricky. With the slow ride, he was more likely to be recognized, and fans had time to go down the stairs to head him off. He hadn’t wanted Caitlin hurrying down the stairs in the long mink coat and possibly tripping.

  He saw two, then three people gathering just beyond the escalator and accepted that he wasn’t going to escape. NASCAR fans were loyal and intense. He loved them. It had taken a long time for them to accept an African-American driver, but they were equally verbal about their dislike of any driver, no matter the color of their skin.

  He’d won them over by being himself and winning races. It had helped that the big racing stars had good things to say about him, and supported him whenever possible. Fans had helped him get where he was. There was no way he’d refuse to sign the pieces of paper some had out already, while others searched for anything for him to write on.

  Caitlin saw the crowd growing, and looked back up at him. “Cameron, are you sure?”

  “There’s Gus just ahead. He’ll muscle his way through if necessary to get the luggage. You can wait in the car.”

  Seconds before Caitlin would have reached the bottom of the escalator, a security officer arrived to push the crowd back so the passengers on the escalator could step off. They did as directed. However, the second Cameron came off the escalator the crowd surrounded him.

  At any other time, he would have kept moving. He’d become adept at signing his name while walking, because once you stopped, like now, fans would surround you, making it impossible to move.

  “Mr. McBride, can I have your autograph?”

  “You’re a heck of a driver.”

  “My husband just loves you. I wish he was here.”

  Cameron listened and thanked everyone shoving a pen and a scrap of paper toward him, his gaze on Caitlin as she stood off to one side with others who just watched. As expected, Gus managed to get through the crowd to pick up the luggage. Cameron never stopped signing. As long as no one bothered Caitlin, he didn’t mind.

  “Ms. Lawrence?”

  Caitlin swung from staring at Cameron to see the driver Cameron had pointed out to her. With his wide shoulders, he had been easy to spot. “Yes.”

  “I have your luggage. Cameron’s instructions were for you to wait in the car if he was detained. I’ve already alerted the driver,” Gus told her.

  Because of Cameron’s height, she could see his head. He had on a plain black baseball cap. For some odd reason, she was loath to leave him.

  “I tell you what. I’ll take the luggage with me and see if the limo has made it.”

  “Why are all those people crowding around Daddy?” Joshua asked.

  Caitlin refused to look at the driver. “Perhaps it’s best if we go with you.”

  “Follow me, please.”

  Caitlin grasped Joshua closer to her and followed the man out the door. Joshua had called Cameron his father at the store while they were shopping, but it hadn’t been when anyone could hear. Neither of them had thought about that happening. They might have a problem.

  The Palmer House was an elegant hotel with impeccable service. Cameron, holding Caitlin’s arm and Joshua’s hand, went straight to the private elevator. Swiping his room card, he punched in their floor. He caught Caitlin staring at him. “You all right?”

  “Yes. We need to talk once we’re in the room.”

  He frowned, glanced at Joshua, then nodded. The elevator doors opened and he stepped off after Caitlin, who was holding Joshua’s hand.

  “Welcome to the Palmer House.” The receptionist at the concierge desk on the floor stood and greeted them. “I’m Marla. If we can do anything to make your visit more pleasurable, you only have to ask.”

  “Can I have a cookie?” Joshua’s gaze was glued to the service area just beyond the desk that was stocked with cookies, fruit, coffee, and soft drinks.