they’ve got six boys. Not a girl in either family.”
At the mention of children, Grier became quiet. He and his houseguest, Tippy Moore, a rising movie star, had lost their baby just before Tippy’s little brother was kidnapped and held for ransom. Tippy had traded herself for him, an act of courage that still made Grier proud. Their relationship was rocky even now, and Tippy was a potential victim of one of the kidnappers who’d eluded police in Manhattan.
Kemp glanced at him, aware of the older man’s discomfort. “Sorry,” he murmured. He knew about the baby because the story, a false and very unflattering one, had played out in the tabloids when Tippy had miscarried.
Grier let out a long breath. “I never knew I wanted kids,” he said quietly, not meeting Kemp’s gaze. “Hell of a way to find out I did.”
“Life evens out,” Kemp said philosophically. “You have bad days, then you have good ones to make up for them.”
Grier’s dark eyes twinkled. “I’m due about two years of good days.”
Kemp laughed without humor. “Aren’t we all?”
Grier’s attention was captured by someone behind Kemp. He pursed his lips. “Your ex-secretary sure has changed.”
Kemp was aware of his heart jumping at the statement. He turned his head and there was Violet. But she looked very different. She was wearing a neat little black skirt with a dropped-waist blue top that was cut modestly low in front. Her hair was around her shoulders, but it had frosted tips. She looked ten pounds lighter, and very pretty.
She noticed Kemp and her heart raced. Beside her Curt was watching the byplay with amusement, because Kemp couldn’t seem to help staring any more than Violet could.
“I need to talk to someone,” he told Violet. “Can you manage without me for a few minutes?”
“Yes!” She curbed her enthusiasm. “I mean, yes, that would be all right, Curt. Thanks.”
He chuckled, winked at her, and strolled off.
Kemp walked up to her. He was dressed in an open-necked shirt with a sports coat and navy slacks. He looked expensive, sophisticated, and good enough to eat. Violet could hardly keep her eyes off him.
He was having a similar problem. It was odd how much Violet had been on his mind lately. He saw her in the office even when she wasn’t there. He’d been uneasy since he’d seen her at her mother’s house, and they’d parted on a harsh note.
“Still like working for Duke?” he queried stiffly.
She shrugged. “It’s a job.”
His eyebrow jerked. “Your hair looks nice,” he murmured, reaching out to take a strand of it in his strong fingers. “I don’t like frosting as a rule, but it suits you. You’ve lost more weight, too, haven’t you?”
“It may look like it, but I haven’t really,” she replied, lost in a haze because of contact with him. “I’ve just been learning how to dress to make the most of what I have.”
His eyes slid up to meet hers. “That’s what life is all about, Violet,” he said gently. “Learning how to make do with what we’re given. You don’t need to lose any more weight. You look great.”
She flushed and smiled radiantly. “Do you…really think so?”
He moved a step closer, aware of pleasure centers opening all over his mind as he looked down at her. “Do you like trout?”
It was an odd question. She blinked. “Trout? Well, yes.”
“Why don’t you come over for lunch tomorrow? I’ll fry trout and make a pasta salad to go with them. You can take some home to your mother.”
Violet’s jaw dropped. She stood gaping at him while she tried to decide, quickly, if she’d lost her mind and was having hallucinations.
Chapter Four
Her lack of response made Kemp uneasy and provoked a sarcastic response. He’d thought she’d jump at the chance. “What’s the matter?” Kemp taunted. “Afraid to be alone with me outside the office?”
Violet gaped at him. “I am not…no…I don’t think…I didn’t say…” She cleared her throat. “I love trout. So does Mama.”
His eyes twinkled. So he hadn’t been wrong. She did still care about him. “So do I,” he replied. “I panfry it in butter and spices. I have my own herb garden, even in the winter.”
“It sounds delicious,” she said breathlessly.
He still had the strand of her hair in his fingers. They became caressing, and his deep voice dropped even lower. “Do you like cats?”
She nodded.
“You may have a little trouble with Mee and Yow at first, but they’ll get used to you.”
Violet felt as if she’d stepped off a precipice and solved the mystery of free flight. She was ecstatic. “I think cats are beautiful.”
“Mine are Siamese. They’re unique.”
She smiled slowly. “I’ll enjoy meeting them.”
He let go of her hair and touched her soft cheek with his fingertips. They seemed to tingle at the contact. “About one in the afternoon tomorrow suit you?”
She nodded, speechless.
“Know how to get to my house?”
“Oh, yes,” she said, and could have bitten her tongue for sounding so enthusiastic.
Kemp was eating it up. He knew it was a bad idea, encouraging her. At some point he was going to have to back away from her. He didn’t want commitment. Not yet. But Violet was soft to the touch and lovely to look at. He’d been without a woman in his life for a long time. He was lonely. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to have the occasional meal with her. Of course it wouldn’t. He was enjoying her rapt expression. She made him feel as if he could conquer the world. For once in his life he was going to jump in with both feet without counting the cost.
“Then I’ll expect you,” he added.
She smiled up at him, her blue eyes wide and soft and hungry. “I’ll look forward to it,” she said huskily.
“So will I,” he replied, and the smile faded for an instant as he searched her eyes for so long that she flushed and her breath rustled wildly in her throat.
“Kemp! Glad you could make it!” Tall, handsome Calhoun Ballenger moved forward to shake Kemp’s hand and greet Violet. “Kemp, there’s someone I’d like to introduce you to. Violet, you don’t mind?”
“No, not at all,” she lied.
“Tomorrow, at one,” Kemp added before he walked away with Calhoun.
“Tomorrow,” she replied.
Curt had to ask her twice if she was ready to leave. She hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to Kemp any further, and he’d been called away suddenly to meet with a man who’d just been arrested. Before he left, he’d looked back at Violet with pale blue eyes that absolutely smoldered. She was still tingling an hour after he’d gone.
“What?” she asked abruptly, facing Curt. She flushed when he grinned. “Sorry,” she began.
“Oh, I’m not upset,” he replied, chuckling. “I’m glad to see that your ex-boss finally realized what he was missing.”
She flushed even more. “It’s not like that.”
“I’m a man, Violet,” he reminded her as they walked out to his car after making their goodbyes to their host. “I know a smitten man when I see one. Kemp’s got it bad.”
“Do you really think so?” she asked hopefully.