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thirty

BEN

I drove back to my cottage with a smile on my face. For the first time since Daniel had left, I felt happy. Dylan’s wedding suit was perfect, and he loved the necklace I’d made for his mom.

I still couldn’t believe Paul and Liam were adopting a baby. The new addition to their family would be loved beyond measure. Not only would it have two doting parents, but a very proud older sister. Amy would teach her new brother all the things she thought were important—like how to draw and what to do in the princess castle at the library.

I turned into my driveway and sighed. It was wonderful spending time with my friends, but I had a lot of work to do. With Dylan’s wedding only a little over a week away, I needed to make sure I used every minute productively. Dylan’s brothers were arriving tomorrow. As well as helping with any last-minute details, I had until Friday to finish three necklaces and a bracelet for different customers.

At some stage, I’d have to employ a part-time assistant. I couldn’t serve in my store as well as create jewelry. My website orders were keeping me awake until after midnight, and I still had to complete all the invoicing and paperwork needed to run a business.

It was okay working long hours for a few months, but it couldn’t continue.

I slowed and stared at the white SUV parked in front of my house. No one I knew had that type of vehicle, and my next guests weren’t arriving at Acorn Cottage until after the weekend.

When a familiar figure rose from the veranda, my heart pounded. Daniel? What was he doing here?

He slowly walked toward me.

I caught my breath. After not seeing him for nearly two weeks, I should have been immune to his handsome face and broad shoulders. Unfortunately, I wasn’t, and that worried me.

This time, instead of a suit, he was wearing jeans and a ski jacket. He could have been anyone about to start their vacation, but his grim expression told me he wasn’t here to enjoy the scenery.

I parked my SUV and stood beside the driver’s door.

Daniel stood a few feet away, his brown eyes filled with concern. “I should have called, but I was worried you wouldn’t want to see me.”

“Why have you come back?”

“There’s something important I need to talk to you about.”

I took a box of half-finished jewelry off the back seat. “If it’s about the properties Pastor Adam wants to buy, you should have called him. I don’t know anything about them.”

“It’s not about the houses. It’s about you.”

I held the box close to my chest. “We don’t have anything to discuss.”

“I shouldn’t have used the properties as a way of getting you to work with me. It was wrong.”

I closed the back-passenger door and fought the urge to tell Daniel it didn’t matter. “You could have called to apologize.”

“I wanted to say I was sorry in person.”

I wasn’t sure I believed him. In my books, anyone who tried to manipulate another person once would do it again. “I appreciate you coming all this way. Thanks for the apology but, if you’ll excuse me, I have at least four hours of work ahead of me.”

“I’m only staying in Sunrise Bay for two nights. While I’m here, I’d like to discuss something else with you. Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night? If you’ve already made plans, we could meet for coffee instead.”

I frowned. My traitorous body was telling me to take pity on the gorgeous man standing in front of me. “I’m busy tomorrow. I want to be in my studio by eight-thirty and I won’t be home until late. In the evening, I’m doing lots of wedding things with Dylan and his brothers.”

“What if I saw you before work? I could bring breakfast with me.”

I didn’t like the way my heart softened at the hopeful expression on his face. Daniel Devlin had stooped to bribery and corruption to make me change my mind about working with his company. I didn’t owe him anything, least of all my time.

“If breakfast won’t work, I could bring you lunch.”

I stepped onto my veranda. “I don’t have a lunch break.” Daniel must have been working while he was waiting for me. His laptop and a brown folder were sitting beside one of the wooden chairs. “How long have you been waiting?”

“About an hour.”

I frowned. Most people wouldn’t have stayed that long. Whatever was on his mind must be important. I placed the box of jewelry on another chair and picked up his laptop. “I don’t know what you want to talk…” I reached for the folder. Written on the outside, in bold letters, was my name. “What’s this?”

Daniel’s gaze dropped to my hands.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between us.

“I asked Owen to do a background check on you. The folder contains everything he found.”

I started to speak, but the words stuck in my throat. I returned the laptop and folder to the chair. “You had me investigated?”

Daniel crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Before I came to Sunrise Bay, we ran a background search on B.J. Davis. All we found was information about the jewelry you’d made in the last twelve months. When you told me your legal name, I asked Owen to learn more about you.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.” My voice shook with anger. “What’s happened in my life is no one’s business except mine.”

“Before Wilson Enterprises presented you with the award, I wanted to know everything about you.”

“Why?”

“I manage a high-profile company. Any surprises can have an impact on my company’s performance.”

I glanced at the folder. “What did Owen discover?”

Daniel ran his hand around the back of his neck. “You seemed to have a normal, happy childhood in Los Angeles. It wasn’t until your dad was accused of copying another jeweler’s designs that your life changed. Tony lost his job and the cost of going to trial made him bankrupt. After the trial, you moved to San Francisco with your parents.”

I waited for what came next.

“A few months later, your mom died.” Daniel paused. “I’m sorry, Ben. It must have been a difficult time.”

My eyes filled with tears, but I didn’t say anything.

Daniel picked up the folder. “You moved to Sunrise Bay about two years ago and opened your jewelry store six months later. A few months ago, you moved into a new store on Main Street and haven’t looked back.”

Relief swept through me, leaving my legs weak and shaky. Daniel’s brother hadn’t discovered my family was homeless, that we’d lived in shelters until we had enough money to pay rent.

Even though we’d had to rely on the kindness of strangers to survive, my mom didn’t have a bad word to say about anybody. She’d continued her chemotherapy regime and took large handfuls of drugs each day. When she died, my dad and my world had fallen apart.

Daniel handed me the folder. “You can keep this.”

“I don’t want it. I never…” My voice broke. I wouldn’t cry, not when I had so much to lose.

Taking a deep breath, I thought carefully about what I wanted to say. “I never wanted to go to the award ceremony. I gave your secretary all the information she requested.”

“I want you to be there.”

“I can’t go. I can’t risk someone discovering who I am.” I took another deep breath. “If I stay away, there’s less chance anyone will link B.J. Davis with Ben Harper.”

“It doesn’t matter how low the risk might be,” Daniel said softly. “I need to make sure any individual or company who supplies products to my customers is beyond reproach.”

A wave of nausea rose in my throat. “You think I’m less worthy because of what happened to my father?”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think any less of you, but my customers might. The artist who said his designs were copied never stopped pleading his case to the media.”

I picked up my box. “I’m not accepting your award, so you won’t have to worry about what your customers think. Goodbye, Daniel.” Holding my head high, I walked toward the front door, determined not to cry until I was safely inside.

“Ben, wait.” Daniel touched my shoulder.

I flinched. Embarrassment and fear brought me to a standstill. I didn’t want anyone to know what my family had gone through, especially Daniel.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to upset you. I want to talk about how we can work together to fix your dad’s reputation.”

I blew my nose and turned around. “Nothing can change what happened. Dad’s happy. Whatever you want to do could make everything worse.”

“Will you at least listen to what I have to say? If you don’t think it’s a good idea, I won’t do anything.”

I studied the frown on Daniel’s face. “How do I know I can trust you?”

“You don’t,” he said sadly. “But I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”

Even as I opened the front door, I didn’t know if I was doing the right thing. “You’d better come inside and tell me what you have in mind.”

Daniel’s plan would have to be foolproof. My dad had been persecuted by the media once, and I wouldn’t let it happen again.