His kiss was the same as it had been before, only more intense. More potent. Robin felt rocked to the very core of her being. Against her will, she felt herself surrendering to him. She felt herself forgetting to breathe. She felt herself weakening.
His mouth moved to her jaw, dropping small, soft kisses there. She sighed. She couldn’t help it. Cole’s touch was magic. Unable to stop herself, she turned her head, yearning for him to trace a row of kisses on the other side, as well. He complied.
Robin sighed again, her mind filled with dangerous, sensuous thoughts. It felt so good in his arms, so warm and safe … but she knew the feeling was deceptive. She’d seen him with another woman, one far more suited to him than she could ever be. For days she’d been tormented by the realization that the woman in the restaurant was probably the one he spent his weekends with.
“No, please don’t.” Once more she pleaded, but even to her own ears the words held little conviction.
In response, Cole brought a long slow series of feather-light kisses to her lips, effectively silencing any protest. Robin trembled, breathless.
“Why are you fighting me so hard?” he whispered. His hands framed her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. They were damp and she hadn’t even known she was crying.
Suddenly she heard footsteps bounding down the stairs. At the thought of Jeff finding her in Cole’s arms, she abruptly broke away and turned to stare out the darkened window, hoping for a moment to compose herself.
Jeff burst into the room. “Did you kiss her yet?” he demanded. Not waiting for an answer, Jeff ran toward Robin and grabbed her by the hand. “Well, Mom, what do you think?”
“About … what?”
“Mr. Camden kissing you. He did, didn’t he?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to deny the whole thing, but she decided to brazen it out. “You want me to rate him? Like on a scale of one to ten?”
Jeff blinked, uncertain. His questioning glance flew to Cole.
“She was a ten,” Cole said, grinning.
“A … high seven,” Robin returned.
“A high seven!” Jeff cried, casting her a disparaging look. He shook his head and walked over to Cole. “She’s out of practice,” he said confidingly. “Doesn’t know how to rate guys. Give her a little time and she’ll come around.”
“Jeff,” Robin gasped, astounded to be having this kind of discussion with her son, let alone Cole, who was looking all too smug.
“She hardly goes out at all,” Jeff added. “My mom’s got this friend who arranges dates for her, and you wouldn’t believe some of the guys she’s been stuck with. One of them came to the door—”
“Jeff,” Robin said sharply, “that’s enough!”
“But one of us needs to tell him!”
“Mr. Camden was just leaving,” Robin said, glaring at her neighbor, daring him to contradict her.
“I was? Oh, yeah. Your mom was about to walk me to the door, isn’t that right, Robin?”
She gaped at Cole as he reached for her hand and gently led her in the direction of the front door. Meekly she submitted, but not before she saw Jeff give Cole a thumbs-up.
“Now,” Cole said, standing in the entryway, his hands heavy on her shoulders. “I want to know what’s wrong.”
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong.”
“It’s because of Victoria, isn’t it?”
“Victoria?” she asked, already knowing that had to be the woman with him the day she’d seen him at the restaurant.
“Yes. Victoria. I saw you practically hiding under your table, pretending you didn’t notice me.”
“I … Why should I care?” She hated the way her voice shook.
“Yes, why should you?”
She didn’t answer him. Couldn’t answer him. She told herself it didn’t matter that he was with another woman. Then again, it mattered more than she dared admit.
“Tell me,” he insisted.
Robin lowered her gaze. If only he’d stop holding her, stop touching her. Then she might be able to think clearly. “You looked right together. She was a perfect complement to you. She’s tall and blond and—”
“Cold as an iceberg. Victoria’s a business associate—we had lunch together. Nothing more. I find her as appealing as … as dirty laundry.”
“Please, don’t explain. It’s none of my business who you have lunch with or who you date or where you go every weekend or who you’re with. Really. I shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t know why I did. It was wrong of me—very wrong. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this.”
Jeff poked his head out from the kitchen. “How are things going in here?”
“Good,” Robin said. “I was just telling Cole how much we both appreciated his help with your pitching.”
“I was having real problems until Cole came along,” Jeff confirmed. “Girls are okay for some things, but serious baseball isn’t one of them.”
Robin opened the front door. “Thanks,” she whispered, her eyes avoiding Cole’s, “for everything.”
“Everything?”
She blushed, remembering the kisses they’d shared. But before she could think of a witty reply, Cole brushed his lips across hers.
“Hey, Cole,” Jeff said, hurrying to the front door. “I’ve got a baseball game Thursday night. Can you come?”
“I’d love to,” Cole answered, his eyes holding Robin’s. Then he turned abruptly and strode out the door.
“Jeff, we’re going to be late for the game if we don’t leave now.”
“But Cole isn’t home yet,” Jeff protested. “He said he’d be here.”
“There’s probably a very good explanation,” Robin said calmly, although she was as disappointed as Jeff. “He could be tied up in traffic, or delayed at the office, or any one of a thousand other things. He wouldn’t purposely not come.”
“Do you think he forgot?”
“I’m sure he didn’t. Come on, sweetheart, let’s get a move on. You’ve got a game to pitch.” The emphasis came on the last word. The first game of the season and Jeff had won the coveted position of first-string pitcher. Whether it was true or not, Jeff believed Cole’s tutoring had given him an advantage over the competition. Jeff hadn’t told him the news yet, keeping it a surprise for today.
“When you do see Cole, don’t say anything, all right?” Jeff pleaded as they headed toward the car. “I want to be the one who tells him.”
“My lips are sealed,” she said, holding up her hand. For good measure, she pantomimed zipping her mouth closed. She slid into the car and started the engine, but glanced in the rearview mirror several times, hoping Cole would somehow miraculously appear.
He didn’t.
The game was scheduled for the baseball diamond in Balboa Park, less than two miles from Robin’s house. A set of bleachers had been arranged around the diamonds, and Robin climbed to the top. It gave her an excellent view of the field—and of the parking area.
Cole knew the game was at Balboa Park, but he didn’t know which diamond and there were several. Depending on how late he was, he could waste valuable time looking for the proper field.
The second inning had just begun when Heather Lawrence joined Robin. Robin smiled at her.
“Hi,” Heather said. “What’s the score?”
“Nothing nothing. It’s the top of the second inning.”
“How’s the neighborhood Randy Johnson doing?”
“Jeff’s doing great. He managed to keep his cool when the first batter got a hit off his second pitch. I think I took it worse than Jeff did.”
Heather grinned and nodded. “It’s the same with me. Kelly played goalie for her soccer team last year, and every time the opposing team scored on her I took it like a bullet to the chest.”
“Where’s Kelly now?”
Heather motioned toward the other side of the field. The eight-year-old was leaning casually against a tall fir tree. “She didn’t want Jeff to know she’d come to watch him. Her game was over a few minutes ago. They lost, but this is her first year and just about everyone else’s, too. The game was more a comedy of errors than anything.”
Robin laughed. It was thoughtful of Heather to stop by and see how Jeff’s team was doing.
Heather laced her fingers over her knees. “Jeff’s been talking quite a bit about Cole Camden.” She made the statement sound more like a question and kept her gaze focused on the playing field.
“Oh?” Robin wasn’t sure how to answer. “Cole was kind enough to give Jeff a few pointers about pitching techniques.”
“Speaking of pitching techniques, you two certainly seem to be hitting it off.”
Heather was beginning to sound a lot like Angela, who drilled her daily about her relationship with Cole, offering advice and unsolicited suggestions.
“I can’t tell you how surprised I am at the changes I’ve seen in Cole since you two moved in. Kelly’s been wanting to play in that fort from the moment she heard about it, but it’s only since Jeff came here that she was even allowed in Cole’s yard.”
“He’s been good for Jeff,” Robin said, training her eyes on the game. Cole’s relationship with her son forced Robin to examine his motives. He’d lost a son, and there was bound to be a gaping hole in his heart. At first he hadn’t allowed Jeff in his yard or approved of Blackie and Jeff’s becoming friends. But without anything ever being said, all that had fallen to the wayside. Jeff played in Cole’s yard almost every day, and with their neighbor’s blessing. Jeff now had free access to the fort and often brought other neighborhood kids along. Apparently Cole had given permission. Did he consider Jeff a sort of substitute son? Robin shook off the thought.
“Jeff talks about Cole constantly,” Heather said. “In fact, he told me this morning that Cole was coming to see him pitch. What happened? Did he get hung up at the office?”
“I don’t know. He must’ve been delayed, but—”
“There he is! Over there.” Heather broke in excitedly. “You know, in the two years we’ve lived on Orchard Street, I can only recall talking to Cole a few times. He was always so standoffish. Except when we were both doing yard work, I never saw him, and if we did happen to meet we said hello and that was about it. The other day we bumped into each other at the grocery store and he actually smiled at me. I was stunned. I swear that’s the first time I’ve seen that man smile. I honestly think you and Jeff are responsible for the change in him.”
“And I think you’re crediting me with more than my due,” Robin said, craning her head to look for Cole.
“No, I’m not,” Heather argued. “You can’t see the difference in him because you’re new to the neighborhood, but everyone who’s known him for any length of time will tell you he’s like a different person.”