One Baby, Two Secrets

“So, sentimental value.”

“Sentimental value,” he agreed as he poured the coffee.

The revelation surprised Kate. Brody didn’t seem like the sentimental type.

“You need anything in it?” he asked.

“Black is fine.”

He held out one of the mugs, and she moved to take it. In addition to a movie-star-handsome face, he had the most extraordinary eyes. They were dark and deep, slate gray in some lights, shot with silver in others. Right now they seemed to shimmer with contemplation. For a second she worried he saw right through her disguise.

“Want some help?” she asked, more to break the silence than anything else.

“Help?”

“To find your watch.”

“Oh. Sure. It has a black face and a platinum band.”

She couldn’t help but grin at that. “To help me distinguish it from all the other watches lying around the mansion?”

“It was a great party.”

“Yes, it was,” she lied.

She simply couldn’t understand the appeal of such a rowdy event. It was impossible to carry on a conversation over the loud music, music that grated in her ears. The guests were all drunk or high and only interested in gossip and fashion and bragging about their money or their connections.

“You don’t say that with a lot of conviction,” Brody observed.

She covered her expression with a swallow of the coffee. It tasted fantastic. “I guess I’m still recovering from the fun.”

“You do look a little rough around the edges.”

“Aren’t you suave.”

“You want me to lie?”

“Sure. Why not?”

His dark eyes warmed with humor. “You look fantastic this morning.”

“Lukewarm delivery. But I’ll take it.”

His gaze moved downward, noting her one-shouldered, jeweled, sea-foam cocktail dress. It was tight and stiff and terrible to sleep in.

“I like the dress,” he said.

“It’s too late for you to try to flirt with me.”

“I disagree.”

“Then it’s too early for you to flirt with me.” She took another satisfying swallow of the coffee. “Chat me up later, when my brain is fully functional.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Kate knew flirting with Brody was a mistake. She needed to keep him and everyone else at arm’s length.

“Where did you last see it?” she asked him.

“See what?”

“Your watch.”

“Oh, right.” He glanced around. “I don’t know. I’m not sure. I was going to start with the great room.”

She polished off her coffee. “Lead on.”

Kate decided that looking for Brody’s watch was a plausible reason to hang around the mansion a while longer. She might get another chance to see Annabelle or a chance to talk to Quentin. Thus far, she hadn’t managed to get the man to stand still long enough to have more than a ten-second conversation.

Brody pulled up the sofa cushions, checking behind each one. Kate took the opposite end of the room, scanning the floor, the tabletops, the windowsills, eventually making her way into the dining room and hunting around its corners. The cleaners were still working and nodded politely to her as they passed. They seemed used to encountering leftover party guests.

It occurred to her they would assume she’d had a companion last night. After all, that was the most common reason for a woman to be dressed in a cocktail dress in the early hours of the morning. She told herself not to care. But then she found herself wondering if Brody thought the same thing.

Had he believed her when she said she’d fallen asleep? Did he think she’d had a one-night stand? He might even think she spent the night with Quentin.

She shuddered at the very idea.

She told herself again not to care what Brody thought. What Brody thought of her was completely irrelevant. Still she found herself retreating to the great room to set the record straight.

He wasn’t there.

She listened, but she didn’t hear anything. So she headed down the hall, toward the main staircase, glancing into the rooms with open doors. She found Brody in an office, standing behind a desk plunking the keys of a computer.

“Find anything?” she asked.

He looked guiltily up, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing.

“Nothing,” he answered.

She waited to see if he’d elaborate.

“I was taking a quick check of my emails.” He hit a couple more keys. “We’ve got a big tour in the works.”

“Sounds exciting.”

He shrugged. “Fairly routine. But you know rock stars.”

“Big egos?” she guessed.