"We're back!" Matt's eyes narrowed, looking from one to the other. "Is something the matter?"
"No, of course not, darling." Olivia composed her face with an effort, pasting on a saccharine-sweet smile. "We were just – catching up."
"Okay." Matt didn't look convinced but he said nothing further. "Shall we go, then? Olivia, I'll drop you off at your place on the way."
Her place? Candy could not help but feel relieved to hear that Olivia was not living with Matt as she followed them out of the office to Matt's car.
"Sarah, sit in the front. Olivia, you can ride in the back because you're getting off soon anyway," Matt said, taking a baby seat out of the boot and adjusting it in the back.
"WHAT??" Olivia glared at him but he was too busy strapping Josh in.
Candy glanced at her livid face before slipping into the front seat, next to Matt. The ride to Olivia's house was quiet, only Josh's little-boy chatter breaking the uncomfortable silence. Olivia's home was a huge mansion where she lived with her parents. She got off sulkily, hardly stopping to say good night to Matt before flouncing off, ignoring Candy and Josh completely.
They drove for a few minutes in silence before Candy spoke. "Um…I'm sorry I ruined your plans," she said quietly. "Olivia's right – I should have just taken a cab."
Matt glanced at Josh in the rear-view mirror. The little boy had fallen asleep, tired out by the day's events. "Don't ever apologize for anything concerning Joshua," he said quietly. "My life is screwed up in more ways than you can know, but Josh will always be my first priority."
Candy's heart swelled with joy at his words. Whatever happened, she could at least trust Matt to take care of Josh's future. Just as she was wondering about the rest of his sentence, Matt glanced at her. "You seem to care a lot for Joshua," he said. "Do you have experience working with children before?"
Candy's throat closed up at his question. It was an innocent query, one anyone might ask, but what could she answer? She couldn't tell Matt the truth, yet lying to him was anathema to her.
"I – I like kids a lot," she said, truthfully enough. "And Joshua is so adorable anyone would fall in love with him." Candy mentally crossed her fingers, hoping Matt wouldn't probe any deeper into her history. She knew that Melinda and Rich had given him a story that she had had a troubled past and that it still bothered her to discuss it, so she hoped fervently that Matt would steer clear of any detailed discussion of her life before she came to the Kanes.
"Hmm."
Matt's eyes slid sideways to her, taking in the prim, proper way she was sitting in his car, her hands folded in her lap. Sarah Kent intrigued him as no other woman had, and the conviction that she was hiding something from him made the mystery she posed all the more irresistible to him. His gaze fell to her soft, full lips, remembering his body's reaction to the thought of kissing her. He felt his body tighten again and wondered what would happen if he were to simply park the car at the side of the road, take her in his arms, and ravish her. Of course, the little boy sleeping in the back ensured that the idea remained a fantasy, nothing more, but it started a train of thought in his mind that he found difficult to dislodge.
"So, Sarah…" Of their own volition, his eyes returned to her again. Sarah wore very little makeup or jewelry, he noticed, save for a thin silver necklace around her neck, a heart-shaped pendant dangling from it. Matt felt a sudden pang of recognition, almost as though he had seen that necklace before. His gaze slipped down to her hand. She wore a delicate, beautifully cut ring with a pink diamond in the center and a cluster of small diamonds around it. His heart rate accelerated, making him swerve sharply to the side of the road and quickly park the car.
"Mr. Kane? What happened? Are you okay?" Candy looked worriedly at him as he sat there, clutching the wheel, his eyes riveted on her hand. His face was pale, a fine sheen of sweat on his brow. "Oh!" The color rose in her cheeks as she saw what he was looking at. She fidgeted uncomfortably, clasping and unclasping her hands.
"May I -?" Matt took her hand in his without waiting for her reply, lifting it up to study the ring more closely. As soon as he touched her he felt a tingling in his body, an AWARENESS that he could not explain. Her hand trembled in his and he could feel her pulse fluttering frantically like a trapped bird. He studied the ring but his attention was now on its owner. "Are you engaged, Sarah?" he asked casually, running his thumb lightly over her wrist. "This looks like an engagement ring."
He saw the quick flash of pain on her face and immediately regretted his question. Melinda and Rich had told him she had a painful past, so maybe it was linked to this ring. "I'm sorry if my question bothered you," he said, letting go of her hand and turning back to the wheel after a quick glance to ensure Josh was still asleep.
Candy's pulse raced as Matt took her hand in his big, warm one. As always, his very touch made her skin hum and her heart beat faster. A big part of her wanted him to recognize the engagement ring he had given her, but some part of her also feared his reaction to any flashback from the past after the day he had blacked out on seeing her at the window.
Then he asked, "Are you engaged, Sarah?" Her heart clenched painfully in her chest as she looked into his beautiful blue eyes.
"Yes!" her mind screamed. "To you!" Before she could say anything, he let go of her hand and started the car. She could sense him withdrawing from her, physically and mentally, and immediately regretted losing the tenuous bond they had forged.
They drove in silence after that. Matt seemed abstracted in his own thoughts, rousing himself only when they reached the Kane mansion.
"I'll carry him in," he said, before Candy could pick up the sleeping baby.
"I – I can -" Candy began but Matt was already striding off with Joshua, leaving her to hurry along behind. In the nursery, Matt handed him to Candy and stood watching as she tucked the little boy in his cot. She looked up awkwardly at Matt when she finished. "Thank you for the ride, Mr. Kane." Candy licked her lips unconsciously, feeling a little nervous as he watched her, an unreadable expression on his face.
His brilliant blue eyes turned smoky as they followed the movement of her tongue. Then he turned abruptly. "Good night, Ms. Kent," he said before hurrying out without a backward glance.