The Ashtons: Paige, Grant & Trace

“Yes,” Matt nodded. “Like I said, he’s never hidden anything from me. But—” he gave a rueful smile “—he’s been a little preoccupied since Tamra came into the picture and they began establishing the Sioux scholarship program. So what I know of the recent drama I’ve read in the papers or heard, if you’ll forgive the awful pun, through the grapevine.”

She laughed softly. “Grapevines are for wine, not gossip.”

The waiter, who also seemed to know Matt well, stopped by to light the candle and exchange pleasantries but didn’t even discuss the menu. Dinner at the Laundry was a lengthy, multicoursed affair dictated by the whims and moods of the world-famous chef.

A long, intimate affair. By candlelight. With wine.

Paige automatically reached for her leather binder when the waiter left. “I haven’t drawn up a specific theme for your event, yet—”

In one smooth move, he flipped the portfolio closed, making the candle flicker with the puff of air from the sudden movement. “That can wait.”

Paige gave him a sharp look. “We have business to discuss.”

“I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right.” He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and produced a silver pen. “Give it to me to sign and then we’ll be done.”

She hesitated and leaned back, the folder against her chest. “You’re too savvy a businessman to sign just anything without reading it first.”

“All that contract should say is that Symphonics, Inc. has reserved the reception hall of Ashton Estate for an event on October 31.”

Paige had to admit it really didn’t contain too much more detail. “There’s a lot of fine print,” she said, knowing by the look in his eyes that didn’t matter. Once they were done discussing business, this dinner went back to date status. For some reason that thought sent a tremor of trepidation straight through her.

She could handle Matt Camberlane on a business level—after all, she’d graduated from business school with honors, the youngest in her class. But as a date?

He reached over and gently wrested the portfolio from her hand. “We’ll go over the fine print and details next week,” he announced. “We can meet in my office on Monday.”

He opened the portfolio, shuffled through the pages and scribbled his name on the last one. With a satisfied smile, he handed the whole package back to her. “Now you can relax.”

Yeah, right. “I am relaxed.” She set the folder against the leg of her chair with an air of resignation. Well, he paid for a date.

He leaned forward, as though he’d like to eliminate the space and table between them. “I would imagine everyone in your family has strong opinions and volatile emotions where your father’s will and death are concerned. I’m intrigued by your levelheaded view of the situation.”

His demeanor said he was intrigued by more than that, but she played along and answered the question. “I believe there are two sides to every story. My half brothers and sisters are understandably crushed that my father had…” She tried to think of a less vicious word than abandoned to describe what her father had done to the four children he had with Caroline Lattimer, but couldn’t. There was no word other for it. “They—especially the oldest, Eli—are simply determined to get what they think is rightfully theirs.” And since the estate had been in the Lattimer family long before Spencer had renamed it Ashton and kept it in his divorce from Caroline, Paige couldn’t help but understand Eli’s position.

“Any progress on the murder investigation? The media seems to be reporting nothing.”

Paige closed her eyes for a moment, then blew out a slow breath as the image of her father, shot point-blank in his own office, darkened her mind. “Not really. At the moment, the police are honing in on some blackmail threats my father had received and a numbered bank account that he’d mysteriously kept well stocked.”

His eyes softened a bit at the crack in her voice. “I got the impression that most of the Ashtons were…” he paused and tilted his head as he obviously searched for his own euphemism. “Not that distraught over your father’s death.”

Most of them weren’t, she silently agreed. “He was my father,” she said simply. “Everyone deserves to be mourned.”

The sommelier approached their table, and the conversation turned to wine, and once again Matt Camberlane impressed her. Not only had he gracefully handled the issue of her last name, he knew an awful lot about wines.

“Not bad, for a computer guy,” she said with a smile once they were alone.

He laughed. “I can thank Walker. A wine expert is a good roommate to have in college. We never got drunk on anything but the good stuff.”

She seized on the chance to turn the conversation toward him. “Did you go to business school at Berkeley, as well?”

“I didn’t go to graduate school,” he said evenly. “I went into the Army.”

It was her turn to be surprised. “You did?”

“Didn’t Walker ever tell you? I was at Berkeley on an Army ROTC scholarship. I had to do my time for Uncle Sam to pay for the privilege.” She heard a note of defensiveness creep into his voice, making her heart clutch a bit.

“Walker’s only bragged that the boy wonder of Symphonics was his old college buddy. Did you like the Army?”

“I liked the discipline, the order of it. I got the opportunity to work on some amazing electronics, really cutting edge stuff. It all led me to where I am today, so I don’t complain.” He gave her a seductive smile. “By the way, I’m a wonder, but no boy.”

“You’re a flirt,” she responded, trying to ignore the tightening low in her tummy at his words and tone. “And I’m not.”

He slid a water glass to the left and closed his hand over hers, never taking his gaze off her. “That’s what I like about you, Paige Ashton.”

It was easy to believe him and very hard to ignore her body’s response.

Several hours passed as they sampled nouvelle servings of foie gras, red pepper crostini and sautéed moulard, complimented by a bottle of extraordinary Louret wine. By the time they’d finished sharing a champagne gellée dessert, Matt knew one thing for sure about Paige Ashton—besides the fact that she wasn’t a flirt:

He wanted her.

He liked her quiet spirit, her keen intelligence and the way her lower lip sort of trembled when he captured, and purposely held, her gaze. He liked her elegant table manners, her smooth ability to keep a conversation going, her enticing little cleavage when she leaned forward.

Yep. He wanted her.

“Let’s go for a ride,” he suggested as they stepped into the moon-washed patio, nearly the last of the customers to leave.

She flattened the portfolio against her chest again like thin leather armor. “Thank you, but I really have to get back to the estate.”

“It’s Saturday night, Paige.” He took her arm possessively and slid it into his elbow. “The stars are out, the moon is—” he squinted into the sky “—half-full and I have less than three thousand miles on a brand new sports car. You could be the first girl to ride in it.”

“But not the last,” she said quickly.

He feigned a wounded look. “You think I’m a cad.”

“A cad? Do people use that word anymore?”

He laughed as they reached his car. “You tell me. You’re a smart girl.”

“Smart enough to say thank you for the lovely dinner and your business. What time is our meeting on Monday?”

He considered how simple it would be to turn her in his arms, ease her against the side door of his Ferrari and pull her delicious little body into his.

The thought had its effect on him, so he did precisely the opposite and stepped away from her. No making out in a parking lot for this lady. Seducing Paige would take longer, and the place had to be perfect.

“I’ll clear my schedule for you on Monday,” he offered politely. “What time can you be in San Mateo?”

“Ten o’clock.”

“Ten it is. We’ll go up to San Francisco and have lunch afterward.”

She laughed softly. “How can you think of lunch after all that fantastic food?”

“You make me hungry,” he admitted with a teasing smile.

Her eyes darkened just enough to communicate that she got his meaning. “Matt…” She stepped back. “I don’t mix business and pleasure.”

“Then tear up that contract,” he joked.

She smiled and clutched the binder. “Not a chance. We’re going to have fun with this event. Everyone in costumes, fantastic music—”

“Costumes?” He choked a little. “I hadn’t thought of costumes.”

“It’s Halloween,” she countered. “Of course there’ll be costumes. I need to know all the details of the new product—the VoiceBox, is it? I’ll need to start thinking of a theme for the event.”

“Music. That’s the only theme I’m interested in.”

“Perfect. Come as your favorite musician. Who’s yours?”

“Sinatra.” He didn’t even hesitate. “I’m his numberone fan.”

That won him the sweetest smile. “Then you’ll come as Old Blue Eyes himself.”

He laughed at the thought. “Just don’t make me sing.”

“But you could play. I heard you last night. You’re very good.”

“Hardly. But I like the idea of musician costumes. The product is a computer karaoke, so we could have a lot of fun with that.”

“Great. I’ll work on it for Monday morning.”

He suddenly hated the idea of Sunday stretching out before him without her. “I’m staying at Auberge du Soleil, in Napa,” he said. “Let’s get together tomorrow and work on it then.”

Her eyes narrowed just enough to let him know she was thinking about it. “Another business meeting?”

“Call it whatever you want, Paige.” He couldn’t resist sliding his hands up her arms, over her narrow shoulders, letting her hair tickle his skin. He held her delicate face between his hands, his focus dropping to that lower lip he wanted so much to taste. “I happen to think business and pleasure is a great mix.”

One kiss. That was all he wanted. One quick, warm, good-night kiss.

As he leaned toward her, he felt her tense up, but as soon as their lips touched, she relaxed. He tilted his head slightly, tasting a whisper of sweet sorbet that clung to her lips.

No. One kiss was not going to be enough.

But it was all he would take now. “Tomorrow?” he asked, keeping his mouth just a breath from hers. “We’ll have a picnic in the olive grove at Auberge.”

Her little sigh of resignation warmed his lips and he fought back a grin. There was nothing Matt loved more than winning. “One stipulation, however,” he added.

She gave him a questioning look.

“Leave that binder at home. This won’t be work, I promise.”

As Paige tiptoed down the main stairs of the estate the next morning, she heard a few familiar family voices in the dining room, and caught a whiff of Irena Hunter’s incomparable eggs Benedict floating from the cavernous kitchen.

She slipped past the butler’s pantry and eyed the pot of fresh-brewed coffee tucked into the corner. After last night’s meal, coffee was all she wanted. And after a sleepless night of reliving one breathless kiss and imagining many more, she needed the caffeine.

“I didn’t hear you come in last night, honey.”

Paige winced at the sound of her mother’s voice coming from the dining room. She almost asked, “Since when did you listen for me?” but swallowed the retort. Lilah Ashton may not have been the model for motherhood, but in her own way she cared about her children.

Filling her cup, Paige simply called out a morning greeting.

“What time did you get in?” Walker’s question was pointed and direct, the way he always was.

Taking a deep breath and a sip of strong, black coffee, she made her way through the hallway into the dining area. As always the table was set with fine china, crystal and snow-white linens. For just a minute Paige longed to curl up at a cozy kitchen table, drink coffee from a chipped mug and skim the Sunday paper like normal people.

But they weren’t normal. They were Ashtons.

The thought made her smile, as she took her usual seat.

“What are you smiling about?” Tamra looked remarkably relaxed for a woman who, just three months earlier, had been rather overwhelmed by all that was Ashton when Walker had brought her home from the reservation. He’d gone to find his long-lost mother and had unexpectedly found the love of his life, as well.

Paige widened her smile for Tamra, happy that she and Walker, having built their own world away from the estate, had decided to stay for the whole weekend after the fund-raiser.

Tamra’s deep-chocolate gaze shifted pointedly to her fiancé, then back to Paige. “What are you smiling about?” she repeated. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Or mine,” Walker added.

Family. They certainly made her life…interesting. “We contracted a Halloween event to launch Symphonics’ new karaoke computer product, the VoiceBox,” she said. “Maybe you two will come back up here for it. A costume party—come as your favorite musician.”

Lilah reacted with a delighted coo. “How creative! Let’s see…” Her blue eyes twinkled as she looked fondly at Tamra. “You could be Cher.”

For a moment, Tamra’s cheeks darkened, then she grinned. “She’s a Cherokee, Lilah. I could never pull off Cher.”

“Plus she must be near sixty by now,” Walker added and held up his cup as Irena entered the room with a pot of coffee.

“I hope you’re not talking about me, Mr. Walker.” The housekeeper spoke quietly, but the comment elicited smiles all around.

“Not a chance,” Walker reassured her with a teasing wink. “You’re nowhere near sixty, Irena.”

“As a matter of fact I am, Mr. Walker,” she said as she poured coffee into his cup. “But you’re sweet to say that.”

Her warm smile was directed to Walker, but a sudden good feeling filled Paige as she watched the exchange. They had their quirks and problems, but this was her family. Extended and otherwise. And so, she remembered, were the virtual strangers at Louret Vineyards. Regardless of their father’s deceptions and dalliances.

Once again she vowed to visit her half siblings in the next few days, but before she could take another sip of coffee, she felt Walker’s intense dark stare return to her. When he wanted to know something, there was very little escaping.

“So,” he said. “I take it your client contact will be the CEO himself.”

She simply nodded and focused on the rim of her coffee cup.

“Be careful, little cousin,” he said. “You can get burned when you play with fire.”

Her head shot up. “I’m not playing with anything.”

Lilah smoothed a strand of Merlot-colored hair and attempted a concerned frown. The Botox made forehead creases a thing of the past for her. “What are you talking about, Walker? What is she playing with?”

Paige felt the blood rise to her cheeks. “Nothing, Mother.” She shot Walker a warning look. “Walker is imagining things.”

He said nothing, but pinned her with that impassive stare, his half-Sioux blood evident in the sheer power of his look. Tamra put a gentle hand on his arm. “We really have to be going if we want to be back in San Francisco before noon,” she said softly.

Walker nodded, his expression automatically softening at Tamra’s touch.

Paige thanked Tamra for the reprieve with a quick look of appreciation. But part of her desperately wanted to know why Walker thought she was playing with fire. She’d ask him…sometime.

In the meantime that “fire” had warmed and attracted her. More than anything—or anyone—she’d ever met. She kept remembering the gentle kiss and how she wanted to open her mouth and take him in. The way her whole body just tingled when he looked into her eyes. The sound of his voice, so deep and low it vibrated her every cell when he said her name. The way he made her laugh and all their verbal volleying. His strong, clever, musician’s hands. What they could do to her…

“Don’t you think, Paige?”

She looked up at her mother’s question and took a cue from her smiling face. Whatever they’d been discussing, it sounded like something she should agree to. She nodded and sipped, blessedly saved by Megan’s familiar voice in the hall, followed by the sound of their brother Trace coming down the main steps and greeting her.

In a moment the Ashton dining room was filled with more family, and Paige quietly watched the interplay between them all. Megan’s green eyes sparkled as she rubbed the rounded swell of her tummy. Walker and Tamra settled in to stay a few minutes longer and, without anyone seeming to intentionally steer the conversation, the talk automatically turned to Spencer Ashton’s will and the investigation of his murder.

“Stephen is confident the discovery of these letters will be a major turning point in the case,” Lilah said, referring to the family attorney who’d spent so much time at the estate lately. “He’s meeting with investigators every day and keeping me informed every step of the way.”

Paige’s brother Trace leaned against the wall, stoic and strong as always, and deeply unhappy about the situation. He ran a hand over his jaw and blew out a frustrated breath. “There’ve been a lot of dead ends.”

“There could be DNA on those letters, regardless of the fact that some are nearly ten years old.” Megan’s husband, Simon, held out a chair for Megan and casually brushed her long blond hair as he offered his opinion. “We need to give them time to run every possible test.”

“It’s taking too long,” Lilah said with such disdain Paige could imagine her making a tsking sound. “I’m going to ask Stephen to pressure the investigators for more attention on the case.”

“We need closure,” Trace agreed, his green eyes—so like Megan’s—narrowing. “Both families do.”

Paige listened, as always, hearing and weighing each opinion. As the youngest and the quietest, her voice was rarely heard, but when she spoke, her siblings and cousin gave her their attention.

“I’m going to Louret on Tuesday,” she announced, surprising herself with her definitive air. “I want to talk to Mercedes again.” And meet my little brother, she added in her head. She didn’t mention her father’s illegitimate child in front of her mother.

Her comment sparked a flurry of discussion, but Paige just stood and took her coffee cup back into the butler’s pantry.

Her mind wasn’t on family issues today, she told herself as the heated voices droned on. Her mind—and her body—were elsewhere.

Maybe Matt was sincere in his attraction, she thought for the fiftieth time that morning. She’d find out today. And if she trusted him, if she believed him, she was more than ready to—

“Why are you grinning?” Megan had come up behind her in the hallway and slid a sisterly hug around Paige’s waist. “These discussions usually get you tearyeyed or passionate about fairness, sweetie. I demand to know what—or who—put a smile on your face.”

Paige turned and gazed at her sister. Pregnancy had only made her prettier, but obviously it hadn’t dampened her controlling nature. “You demand to know?” Paige laughed lightly. “My mood seems to be of interest to everyone this morning.”

Megan leaned against the granite counter of the butler’s pantry and eyed Paige. “How did the meeting go last night?”

The emphasis was not lost on Paige. “Fine. We got the event.”

“You look a little—” Megan’s finger skimmed lightly under one of Paige’s eyes “—tired.”

Paige pulled back. “I’m doing the work of two people, remember? By the way, how’s the morning sickness?”

“Getting better,” Megan admitted, rubbing her tummy again. “I can keep down broth and crackers. Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not.” Part of her wanted to confide in Megan, to tell her the insane feelings that Matt Camberlane had evoked. But she held back. The rest of her family was twenty feet away, and she just wasn’t ready to share anything. Maybe after this afternoon.

“Simon and I are going to drive up to Calistoga this afternoon and look for baby furniture in the antique stores,” Megan said. “Come with us.”

Paige shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Work,” Paige replied, purposely vague.

“On a Sunday?”

“I’m meeting with the new client.” Paige turned to pour a cup of coffee she no longer wanted. “We’re having lunch at Auberge.”

Megan lifted a lock of Paige’s hair, as though she could whisper better into her sister’s ear. “Sounds serious.”

Paige laughed a little. “Misery loves company, huh?”

“Oooh.” Megan giggled. “Misery, huh? This is serious. You know, I’ve seen Matt Camberlane.”

Paige turned to read the expression that went with Megan’s obvious implication.

“What?” Paige demanded. “What is that look for?”

Megan lifted a wary eyebrow and crossed her arms. “I’ve seen him, that’s all.”

“And…?”

“He’s hot.”

“And I’m not.”

Megan shook her head. “You underestimate yourself, sweetie. You may be smart and have a string of degrees, but you’re young. And inexperienced. Be careful.”

She wasn’t that inexperienced, Paige thought with a flashing memory of her one lover in college. What a disaster. Still, her family’s warnings all pointed to the same truth: they didn’t think that she could attract a man like Matt, that he was just toying with her, that she was out of her league.

Well, maybe they were wrong.

Instead of confiding her thoughts, Paige just tapped the slightly swollen belly between them with a teasing smile. “Yeah. Look what happened when you got too friendly with an event client.”

They both laughed, remembering how Megan had provided the ultimate in event-planning service—pretending to be the bride. But her “marriage” ended up both real and happy.

“What’s so funny back here?” Walker’s booming voice broke their moment.

“Nothing, Walker,” Megan assured him. “Paige and I were just discussing client relations.”

Walker’s eyes flashed for a moment, but Paige managed to slip out of the butler’s pantry before he could say anything.

She’d been warned enough. She knew all about getting burned by fire. She also knew that fire provided heat and pleasure. And right now, she craved a little of both.

Chapter Three

“I’ve never seen anyone nibble an olive with so much precision,” Matt observed, watching the black calamata disappear in tiny increments into Paige’s delicate mouth. Lucky little thing.

“I don’t like to bite the pit,” she told him, leaning back comfortably on the blanket they’d laid out when they began their leisurely picnic more than an hour earlier. “I’m a very careful person.”

“Deliberate,” he corrected, noticing the way the sun dappled through the thick olive tree branches, highlighting the lovely angles of her face. He never knew what “dewy” skin was until he saw hers in the sunlight. Creamy, pure, flawless. “If you were careful, you wouldn’t be here. You’re just deliberate.”

She teethed around the pit some more and locked her gaze on him. Her ever-changing eyes had taken on an emerald hue in the shadows of the olive grove tucked away on a hillside beneath Auberge du Soleil. It matched the dark-green sweater she wore.

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” she said with a slightly uncomfortable laugh. “What do you mean, if I were careful, I wouldn’t be here? Are you dangerous?”

“I could be.” He grinned and inched closer to her, liking the way their lounging positions lined up their bodies. Really liking the way her jeans fit over her narrow hips and slender legs.

He’d picked a very secluded area of the grounds, but knew that hotel guests could still invade their private spot at any moment. So he forced himself to focus on her face and not her sweet little body. But that was just as appealing, he realized.

“Walker thinks you’re dangerous,” she told him. “But I think you’re…”

He looked at her expectantly, loving the way her gaze drank him up. “Yeah?”