Found: One Secret Baby

She disappeared down the hall that led toward the back of the house, but he wasn’t left alone. The two cats he’d seen in the window before, one white with black splotches, the other black on top and white underneath, crept from behind the broken armchair.

The mostly black one jumped on the sofa and sat down next to him, eyes alert, tail twitching. The inner guard, he decided, now he was past the pink sentinels outside.

The mostly white cat jumped up beside him in a more leisurely fashion. It sat very close and put one front paw, then the other, on Morgan’s thigh. Daintily it lowered its coal-black nose and sniffed his crotch.

Strangely uncomfortable at the cat’s inspection, Morgan managed not to push it away, intrigued with what it might do next. He’d never been allowed to have pets as a kid.

The initial part of the procedure complete, the animal walked its front paws up his polo shirt, claws out enough to gain some purchase, but not enough to scratch. Reaching Morgan’s face, it sniffed again, then butted its head against his cheek.

He refused to flinch, or to follow the instinct that made him want to run his hand down the animal’s sleek body.

Was the creature purring?

“Smudge!”

The cat turned to give its owner the look of someone doing his duty, then dropped its paws to the sofa cushion and assumed the same position as its comrade.

The pink on Ms. Walker’s cheeks when she rushed over made his mind wander to other ways he might make the prim lady lawyer blush.

“I hope you’re not allergic. He’s never done that before. All I can think of to explain it is that Aaron has a beard, so he’s not used to clean-shaven men.”

Aaron? And the cat was only familiar with one man? Morgan’s mood went sour again.

“Guys.” Both cats looked at her. “Off the sofa.”

They both jumped down and sauntered away, tails high.

“Smudge and Sylvester. Rescue cats. Brothers. Neutered.”

“Where did you set up the paintings?” he interrupted gruffly. “In your mother’s studio?”

A shadow flickered in her eyes. “You can only display one or two at a time in there. I picked out a dozen and put them in the dining room.”

She led him across the tiled entry to where she’d leaned the larger paintings on the chairs that went with the undistinguished dining table and split the smaller ones between the buffet and sideboard. He could see at once that the prospect of selling dozens of these paintings would make the art dealer’s heart pound with avaricious delight.

Rosalie stood in the archway between the entry and dining room while Morgan Danby wandered from painting to painting, occasionally picking one up to hold it to the sunlight.

With an effort, she managed not to fidget with the stress of having this man within yards of Joey’s bedroom, despite the fact that Joey himself was safely down the street on his playdate.

At least she wasn’t afraid of Mr. Danby, even if he did claim Charlie for a brother. Maybe it was because the change from suit and tie to a blue shirt that accented those killer eyes and jeans that hugged his admirable physique made him look like the proverbial guy next door.

If the guy next door was a movie star. Too bad such an attractive package was wasted on such an arrogant, and for her, dangerous man. When he’d tried to be friendly, to act like the careless charmer he appeared to be, the effect had been pretty devastating.

At the same time, the melancholy she sensed under all the charm made her want to know more about him. He’d tolerated her cats, who tried even Aaron’s patience. Mr. Danby seemed to care about his stepmother. And he’d understood how Rosalie felt about her mother’s paintings.

Reality jolted her back a step. Being physically attracted to Morgan Danby was bad enough. She didn’t dare allow herself to like the man.

Finally he picked out one of the smaller paintings, an iris in vivid purple. “This will be a good sample, and that.” He pointed to one of the larger ones, a hillside of poppies and lupins with a single scrub oak to one side. “Do you have any more with children in them?”

She shook her head. “Just the one in my office. My mother gave it to me as a Christmas gift one year. She wasn’t interested in people as subjects. She thought it was intrusive to try to show what someone ‘really’ looked like. She preferred flowers.”

“Luckily flowers sell well.”

“I’m not doing this for the money.”

He nodded absently and handed her the smaller painting. “Would you mind carrying this out to the car for me while I get the larger one?”

For a moment her body quivered with relief that he was leaving. She took the painting and followed him out to the shiny black sports car.

Mrs. Peterson across the street was making a show of raking her already perfectly manicured lawn, eyes fixed on the stranger’s expensive car.

“Nice day,” she called with a wave.

Rosalie waved back. Once Morgan clicked the car’s locks, she opened the door and bent to set the smaller painting on the passenger seat.

“How’s Joey?” Mrs. Peterson asked.

Rosalie straightened so quickly out of the car’s narrow doorway that she hit her head hard enough to make her ears ring. “He’s fine.”

Morgan’s face twisted for a moment, then went bland and cold.

She didn’t dare do anything that might lead to a conversation between him and her neighbor, so she stood there, holding her breath.

Mrs. Peterson gave her a long look. “Well, give Joey a hug for me,” before she gave up the pretense of raking and disappeared around the side of her house.

“Joey? I thought his name was Aaron.”

Ordinarily the disdain in Morgan’s voice would have annoyed Rosalie, but under the circumstances she could have kissed him for his mistake.

Relief slumped one hip against the car. Or maybe it was the idea of kissing Morgan had made her knees so wobbly.

“Mrs. Peterson gets confused,” she said.

“Humph.” He put the larger painting behind the seat, slammed the passenger door shut, and went around to the driver’s side.

She stepped away from the car. “Thank you for showing the paintings to your friend.”

“I’m an art lover, what can I say?”

His smile made her heart want to burst into sappy, sentimental songs.

This man was the enemy, she reminded herself. Even if he was a spectacularly gorgeous enemy.

“I’ll let you know what the dealer says.”

She sighed when he drove off, unsure whether it was from relief or longing.

Morgan realized too late it was a mistake to call Lillian from the condo that afternoon before he called Rosalie to report back on his visit to the art dealer.