The Once-a-Mistress Wife

“It would.” He was a man used to having his way. Things happened for him because he refused to take no for an answer. But with Mary, this time he wanted to be more accommodating. If she didn’t want his company, he’d leave.

She rested her chin on her drawn–up knees, staring once again at the ocean and its endlessly cycling waves. “It’s a public beach, I can’t stop you from sitting.”

He dropped to his haunches in front her, his eyes meeting hers. “I’m not interested in the beach, Mary-Belle. I’m interested in your company.”

“Why? I thought we hashed this all out years ago,” she said, her hands going to her hair and trying to pull it out of her face.

“We didn’t,” he said, shifting to sink to the sand next to her.

She sighed and the wind carried the sound away from them. He wished that the breeze could as easily clear away their past, yet at the same time he wouldn’t give up those years they’d spent together for anything. Just the ending. If he could change the way things had ended he’d be a happier man.

“I can’t go back to what we once had,” she said.

“I’m not asking you to.” He couldn’t return either. He was no longer the man he’d been when he’d kept her as his mistress. Now he wanted…hell, he wasn’t sure what he wanted aside from Mary back in his bed.

“Oh, well, that’s—Why are you here, Kane?”

“Because you are.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“Even if they are true?”

“Especially if they are true. My life is complicated now. I have family obligations.”

“To whom?”

“Grandfather’s estate.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. It was ironic that now that he was free of family responsibility, she wasn’t. “What kind of obligations?”

“It’s complicated. I want to use my inheritance to establish a foundation that will help lower-income families. I definitely want to create neonatal units for areas that can’t otherwise afford them. And I’d also like to sponsor art programs in schools. I was also thinking to use some property that Grandfather has near the Finger Lakes in New York for a summer camp.”

“That sounds ambitious. Where are you going to start?”

“I have no idea. I mean, I’m an artist, not a businessperson. Channing sits on the board of two foundations, so he knows how they operate, but I can’t bring myself to ask him to help.”

“Why not?”

“Because he and I don’t get along. He’s hoping I do something outrageous so the money will go to him and Lorette.”

“Your inheritance has stipulations?”

“More than you could imagine.”

“What kind?”

She made a face at him. “Let’s just say that I have to be a model of social behavior.”

“Not exactly the Mary I remember.”

She tipped her head to the side and gave him a genuine smile that affected his ability to breathe. He’d never forgotten how beautiful Mary was, but his attraction to her had been more than her physical appearance. It had been the zest she’d had for life. The way her laughter and smiles had filled the empty spaces in his life.

“Why are you staring at me, Kane?”

“Because I love your smile.”

“My smile?”

He traced his finger down the side of her face, cupping her jaw and rubbing his thumb over her lips. “It’s the first thing I noticed about you that day in Harrods.”

“My mouth?” she asked, licking her lips, and he almost groaned out loud.

“Yes. Your lips are perfect for kissing.”

She flushed a little, nibbling on her lower lip. “Yours are, too.”

“Men don’t have kissable lips.” No one had ever said the things to him that Mary did. She didn’t fear his reputation and wasn’t intimidated by his wealth and family connections. She’d always treated him as though he were just another guy. And part of him liked the fact that with Mary he could simply be himself.

“Well, you do. Or maybe it’s that you really know what you’re about when you kiss me.”

Her lips parted and her warm breath brushed over his fingers. He leaned down to capture her lips with his. At the contact, she sighed his name, opening her mouth for him. He moved to cradle her head between both of his hands.

He took his time with the kiss, relearning the taste of her and reacquainting her with his taste. He swept his tongue languidly into her mouth, pulling her more firmly into his arms and into his embrace. This was where she belonged.

Kane had always had the ability to transport her from the real world into one where only the two of them existed. In that world she’d do whatever he asked of her and never count the cost. But she couldn’t afford to be that cavalier. Not now.

She pulled away from him, easily reading the signs of arousal in the man who’d been her first and only lover.

“Why did you pull away from me?”

“I can’t be seen engaging in public displays of affection.”

“That suits me. Let’s go back to my hotel and engage in private displays of affection.”

She shook her head. “Not today. I’m meeting with Grandfather’s lawyer at ten. Then I’m interviewing financial planners to find someone to help me establish my trust.”

“Who are you meeting with?”

“Someone from Merrill Lynch and someone from A.G. Edwards. I got their names from the phone book,” she said. Truth was, she wasn’t good with money and she didn’t have any idea how to make her dream into reality.

“Would you consider letting me help you?”

Kane was brilliant with investments. He’d carefully invested the money he’d given her during their years together and turned it into a small fortune. She had used that money to support herself before returning to Eastwick. “Do you want to?”

“I wouldn’t have offered otherwise,” he said with a hint of a grin.

Her question had been inane. “You make it hard for me to think clearly.”