The Billionaire Boyfriend Proposal: A Kavanagh Family Novel (20 page)

Yep, my instincts were right. He was a good
guy.

I thrust out my hand. "Hi. My name is
Kate."

He hesitated briefly. "Ben."

I introduced Jane and Molly. "Are you sure
you won't consider staying? Winter is a nice town, despite the
name."

"I like the name," he said.

Okay then. "So why won't you consider
staying? Just for a short time?"

"I can't. I shouldn't have got off the bus in
the first place." He nodded at Molly. "Thanks again for the coffee.
I have to go."

Jane started to say something, probably tell
him there were no more buses through town until the next day, but I
nudged her and she shut up. "Jane, is there any work around your
grandmother's place that Ben could do?"

"Um..."

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said. "I better
go."

"You said that already."

"You seem to need to hear it twice."

Was that his way of telling me I was talking
too much? Well, huh. Maybe he wasn't such a good guy after all.

"We'll let you go then." I gave him a little
finger wave. "You already know where the bus stop is."

"But—" Jane began.

I elbowed her in the ribs, and she closed her
mouth. Behind me, I could hear Molly chuckling. We all watched as
Ben picked up his duffle bag and slung it over one of those
impressive shoulders. He nodded once then left.

We watched him walk up to the bus stop in
front of the diner. "He won't come back here," Jane said. "Not
after this."

"She's right," Molly said. "He won't like
that you tricked him, Kate. It wasn't very nice."

"I didn't trick him." But they were right. I
don't know why I didn't tell him about the bus schedule. He'd riled
me a little, and I always reacted badly when people did that. I
felt like a total bitch. "I'll go apologize."

I didn't get the chance to leave the diner.
To my surprise, he strolled back in. "So, Jane," he said, easy as
can be, "seems I need somewhere to stay tonight after all." His
gaze slid to mine then quickly away. "
Does
your grandmother
need any work done around her place or was your friend just playing
some sort of game?"

"Um..."

"She does," I jumped in. I had to make amends
somehow. "Her place is falling apart."

"Really?" he said, lazily. Seems he didn't
believe me.

Bad start, Kate.
"Yes, really. Tell
him, Jane."

Jane nodded, but it was Molly who spoke up.
"Old Mrs. M will be very happy if someone could patch up a few
things. Used to be a picture, that place, but it's gone to ruin.
Poor Jane hasn't got the time for it, have you, dear?"

Jane shook her head, but looked a little
panicked. "I, I..."

Ben's lips flattened and he blinked at her.
He'd picked up on her nervousness loud and clear. "Maybe there's
someone else...?"

"No!" I said. Molly and Jane stared at me,
surprised by my outburst. "Mrs. Merriweather has a huge house, and
it really does need some work. The roof leaks, there's mold in the
bathrooms, and the hot water sometimes doesn't come on."

"Jane, you never said it was that bad," Molly
scolded. "Why didn't you say? Frank could have come up to take a
look."

"She wouldn't even let me tell Dad," I said.
"You know how proud Mrs. M can be."

"You mean stubborn," Jane said.

Molly clicked her tongue. "You must have been
freezing up there in winter."

Jane shrugged. "It's not so bad. It works
sometimes."

"Sounds like you need a new water heater," I
said. "What do you think, Ben?"

"Um..." he said in such a perfect imitation
of Jane that I thought he was making fun of her. But one look told
me different. He'd gone pale, his lips bloodless. Maybe he was
going to faint. I was about to ask him if he needed to sit down
when Molly interrupted.

"I'll get Frank onto it right away, as soon
as we close for the evening."

"No!" Ben blurted out. "I'll do it. If Jane
doesn't mind having a strange man around the house."

It was as if he'd seen right into her heart
to her fears. She swallowed hard, clearly not sure what to say at
this show of psychic powers. As for Ben, he no longer looked like
he needed a good lie down, thank goodness. Whatever was wrong must
have passed. He looked...hard. Determined. The change was odd and
piqued my curiosity.

"I'll stay too," I said. "Safety in numbers
and all that." It felt weird talking about Ben being an ax murderer
when he was right in front of us, but in a way it was good that he
knew we weren't blindly trusting him. If he
was
thinking
about doing away with us in the night, he might think twice
now.

"You don't have to," Jane said without much
conviction.

"I want to."

"I know who you are, young man," Molly said,
wagging her finger at him. "Everyone here can describe you to the
police if necessary."

I snorted. The other four patrons were old
Mr. and Mrs. Trotter, both nearly blind, and the Carmichael sisters
who couldn't hear. They were completely oblivious to our
conversation.

"I know you don't know me," Ben said. "But I
give you my word I won't hurt anyone. Inform the local police if
you like."

"Kate'll do that."

"I pass right by the police station on my way
home," I added quickly. No way did I want Ben to know my dad was a
cop. People had a strange way of reacting when they found out I was
a cop's daughter. I had stopped telling everyone within weeks of
starting at UMD. Before that, I might as well have walked around
with a sign on my head that said
Loser
.

"It's all settled then," Molly said.

"Yes," I echoed. "All settled." Now all I had
to do was work out a way to tell Mom and Dad that I was staying in
the same house as a complete stranger.

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