One-Click Buy: November Harlequin Presents (17 page)

“They're all upset now,” she protested. “We should take them back to the kindergarten and settle them down.”

Peter switched his attention to Erin whom he found looking straight at him, a curious wonder in her lovely, luminous green eyes. Desire hit him hard and fast. Close up to her like this, any lingering doubt about pursuing this woman completely disintegrated. The adrenaline rush in his blood, the tingling in his groin—nothing jaded about these feelings. He wanted her and he was going to have her.

“Tell them another story,” he suggested, smiling to push the connection that had to be made. “You're very good at it. I was listening to you while I ate my lunch. I'm sure you can make any trauma fade away.”

A twitch of a smile back. “Thank you. I think that's a good idea.”

“Erin…” the other woman chided, obviously afraid of consequences with the situation taken completely out of her control.

“He
is
big enough, Sarah,” she stated confidently, waving away any further protest.

No rings on her left hand.

“Besides, you can always call the police if things don't turn out right,” she added to appease ruffled feathers.

Triumphant pleasure surged through Peter. Erin was on side with him. Whether it was over this issue—fathers who got a raw deal when it came to divorce—or more a positive response to his presence on the scene—the man he was—he didn't know, but a step had been made and he could exploit it.

Erin re-engaged with him, appealing for his co-operation. “We'll have to collect Thomas on our way back to school.”

“Understood. Better make it you who does the collecting,” he pushed. “Thomas is less likely to cut up rough if he's taken from his dad by the princess.”

She had pale creamy skin and it suddenly bloomed with colour. Peter couldn't remember any women of his acquaintance ever blushing. He found it quite entrancing.

“All right,” she quickly agreed, then turned away to gather the children into a happy little group again.

The officious Sarah frowned disapprovingly at Peter but she clucked around her flock, not quite prepared to keep fighting his plan but still fretting over being thrust into the position of trusting a stranger. Nevertheless, having to call the police and deal with legal issues was not an attractive idea, either.

Having successfully manoeuvred a second meeting with Erin and won some time for the distressed father and son, Peter virtually scooped Harper along with him to the designated park bench, encouraging his compliance with a spate of sympathetic talk. “I know it's all got on top of you, mate, but just fall in with me now and let's see if we can find a better way to get you back with your son.”

There was no fight left in Harper. It seemed to Peter the man was completely at the end of his tether, almost collapsing onto the bench and rocking his little son in a kind of desperate love, having no hope at all for the future. When he was composed enough to speak, he looked at Peter with anguished eyes and said, “She told her lawyer I was an abusive father. It's not true. Not true…”

Peter believed him. Far from showing any fear of his father, Thomas was clinging to him as though he'd missed his dad as much as Harper had missed his son. The caring was obviously mutual.

“A good lawyer should be able to set that straight,” he advised.

“I can't afford one. Lost my job. Couldn't give it the energy it needs…”

“What work do you normally do?”

“Salesman.”

“Okay. What if I find you another job, set you up with a lawyer who's an expert on custodial rights, ensure you have the best advice on how to handle what's happening now…”

“Why would you do this?” His eyes reflected confusion, an agitated mixture of uncertainty and mistrust. “You don't even know me.”

It made Peter pause for a moment to sift through his motivation. Because a father shouldn't be forcibly separated from his son? Because he hated seeing a man destroyed by a woman who took everything from him? Because of the sheer injustice of what was happening?

Or because impulse was ruling his life today!

Erin…

Connecting himself to Thomas's welfare gave him a step into her work-place, a follow-up point for pursuing a connection with her. Harper didn't know it, but he was a heaven sent opportunity for Peter to further his acquaintance with a woman he wanted.

However, the simple answer was, “Because I can. And I want to help you, Harper. I want Thomas to have his father in his life. It's important.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “You're promising a hell of a lot.”

“Trust me. I can and will deliver on what I'm offering.”

A searching look, wanting to believe, hoping for a miracle, then the question…“Who
are
you?”

The same question Erin had asked.

Peter knew he had to answer this time. It would give instant credence to what he'd promised. He pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his trousers, opened it and showed Harper his driver's licence for identification.

“Peter Ramsey,” the man read. The shock of the well-known billionaire-tag name hit him almost instantaneously. His eyes widened as he stared at the face that had been regularly displayed in the media for years—the squarish jawline, dark blond hair, blue eyes, strong arrowed nose, prominent cheekbones, a sprinkle of freckles from boyhood years in the sun—recognition sinking in. “What are you doing here?” spilled off his tongue.

Alone in a common park without the entourage that usually accompanied his public appearances…Peter shrugged it off. “Just taking a bit of time out of
my
life.”

“Like a chance in a million,” Harper muttered dazedly.

Which raised an ironic little smile. “Guess your luck was in for once.”

“You really mean it? You'll help me like you said?”

“Yes, I will. You can come with me and we'll get things moving in a positive direction for you right after Thomas has to go back to the kindergarten. In the meantime, why don't you have a chat with your son, find out how life has been going for him since you've been separated?”

Harper thrust out his hand. “This is mighty generous of you, Mr Ramsey.”

“No problem,” Peter assured him, shaking his hand.

“I'm Dave. Dave Harper.”

“Good to know you, Dave.”

It
was
good—listening to the man reassuring the little boy that Daddy was okay now and they would get to see each other again soon.

Erin was weaving her magic with the kindergarten children, telling them another fairy tale in rhyming verses. Not one of them looked away from her to check on how Thomas was doing with his father. Disturbance over, Peter thought.

Nevertheless, the older woman, Sarah, would undoubtedly feel obliged to report this incident to Thomas's mother when she came to pick him up later this afternoon. Which could cause Dave more grief. Although the kidnapping had been averted, the threat of it could be used against him. Better to fix that possible problem before it got rolling.

Besides, the fixing would give him the chance to meet Erin properly.

He would have to use the power of his name to get past Sarah's objections to his interference, but he couldn't remain incognito with Erin indefinitely anyway. He grimaced over the necessity for his identity to be revealed, knowing it would inevitably be a factor in how much she would want to know him.

It was always a factor.

But right now he didn't care.

The desire to have her was far too strong to care about any other factors.

W
HAT
a man!

Part of Erin's mind kept buzzing over him even as she carried through his suggestion of concentrating the children's attention on another story.

A big man in every sense, she decided—strength, compassion, authority, as well as having a fabulous physique emitting so much male power, her female hormones were leaping around in a frenzy of interest. Definitely a prince of a man, and I'd just love to be his princess, she thought dizzily.

She'd caught a glimpse of him strolling through the park earlier and instantly liked what she saw—very impressive. When he'd settled on the bench seat in easy earshot of her story-telling, it had been impossible to resist the impulse to show off to him, pouring much more vitality into her performance than she usually did. Which was really silly because he was an absolute stranger with no chance of their meeting, given that she was caught up with a group of children.

Then had come his amazing intrusion when Thomas's father had been about to make a terrible mistake. Generally people did not involve themselves in problems that were none of their business. Yet this man had, taking firm control of a very scary situation and producing alternative courses of action right off the top of his head, which demonstrated a mind used to cutting through to the heart of the matter in no time flat.

He'd even flummoxed Sarah with his air of commanding authority and Erin had never known Sarah to surrender her own authority to anyone else. It was good that she had on this occasion, though. Thomas's father obviously needed help, not a stint in jail, which would defeat any hope of getting visiting rights with his son. Erin felt sorry for him. Having his wife desert him for a richer man and taking their son with her…he was in a bad place right now.

Apparently Sarah had decided
they
were in a bad place, too. As soon as the story ended, she was urging the children to pick up their lunch-boxes and form a crocodile line, ready for their return to the kindergarten. She picked up the traffic Stop sign herself, and directed Erin to collect Thomas. “And don't be put off by the guy who took them over,” she instructed emphatically. “The boy's mother could sue us for negligence.”

“I'm sure he'll see that the agreement is kept,” Erin replied confidently.

“Didn't your mother ever teach you not to trust a stranger?” Sarah grumbled.

By their actions you shall know them,
Erin recited to herself as she set off to approach the big man and the father and son he had taken under his protection. This guy was good. In fact, with his tall, muscular build and thick mass of blond hair, he was the perfect image for a splendid Viking warrior, wielding his powerful sword to fix wrongs. She could already see him being the hero in her next story.

He stood up when he saw her coming. Mr Harper remained seated on the park bench, speaking anxiously to Thomas who was on his lap, soaking up being cuddled by his father.

Erin was conscious of her pulse leaping into a gallop as she met the steady gaze of the self-appointed intermediary. There was a riveting quality about his blue eyes, giving her the weird sensation of a laser-probe straight to her heart.

Her skin tingled as though hit by an electric charge. She'd met a lot of different men in her globe-trotting, literary career. Not one of them had made this kind of impact on her. She wanted to say, “Don't walk out of my life,” but such a plea seemed too embarrassingly presumptuous.

“Time to go,” she said, feeling a sickening irony in having to act on those words instead.

“It's okay,” he assured her. “Your name is Erin, right?”

“Yes.” She hesitated, wondering if he would recognise her much published author name and all it now stood for, whether it would mean something positive to him, enough to spark an interest in knowing her. In a self-conscious burst, she added, “Erin Lavelle.”

“Lavelle,” he repeated, rolling it off his tongue as though tasting it.

But she could see it hadn't made any impact on him. He didn't know of her. He was probably more a man of action than a book person. They were simply passersby, not occupying the same world, only this bit of park on a summer day.

He smiled, the flash of perfect white teeth reminding her of the smile of the BMW driver, but this couldn't be the same man, could it?

“Sarah is the one in charge of the kindergarten?” he asked.

“Yes. Sarah Deering. She's my aunt.”

Why she'd given this information, she didn't know. It was irrelevant.

“I don't suppose Ms Deering will let this go—not report it to Thomas's mother,” he probed.

Erin shook her head. “I think Sarah will feel the need to cover herself in case of a repeat occurrence.”

He nodded and handed her a business card. “Tell your aunt I will personally ensure that the right avenues for custody will be pursued.” The blue eyes hardened with intimidating purpose as he added, “She might like to pass that on to Mrs Harper.”

For some reason he was assuming he spoke from a position of power. In fact, power radiated so strongly from him, a little shiver of trepidation ran down Erin's spine as she glanced at the name on the card.

Peter Ramsey.

It meant nothing to her.

She looked up, frowning her puzzlement. “Who are you? Why do you think this carries some weight?”

Surprise at her ignorance was swiftly followed by twinkles of amusement. “Just show the card to your aunt, Erin. It tends to influence people, believe me.”

She heaved a rueful sigh. “Guess I'm out of the general loop.”

He grinned. “Charmingly so. May I ask a favour of you?”

“Ask away,” she invited, dazzled into ready compliance by the grin that seemed to say he found her attractive, too.

“My cell phone number is on that card. Call me after Mrs Harper has been and gone this afternoon.”

Excitement zinged through her. This might not be the end for them. “You want to know how it pans out?”

“I'd like to hear your impressions of the mother's reaction to what happened here.” He grimaced. “Truth tends to get lost when it comes to divorce and the best interests of a child are not always served.”

“You're right about that,” she said with feeling, having been the child of divorced parents herself.

“So you'll call me?” he pressed.

“I will,” she promised, blithely uncaring about whether it was appropriate or not. The call might lead to another meeting with this amazing man.

“Good!” Satisfied that a pact had been sealed, he turned to the father and boy. “Got to let Thomas go with Erin now, Dave.”

There was no argument.

“I'm sorry for the scene I caused,” Mr Harper offered as he handed Thomas over to Erin.

“I hope you have good times together in the future, Mr Harper,” she replied with genuine sincerity, then quickly led the boy away, seeing that Sarah had the crocodile line in order and was anxiously waiting for them to join it.

She was incredibly conscious of her body as she walked away from Peter Ramsey. It was as though she could feel him watching her, assessing everything about her. It made her shoulders square up to a straighter carriage, caused her bottom to feel twitchy, and her knees actually threatened to wobble. She didn't look back, telling herself to maintain some dignity and not moon over the man like some star-struck teenager. His card was in her hand. That guaranteed another connection with him.

Once back at the kindergarten, Erin helped settle the children for their afternoon nap. She had intended to leave at this point, having done the favour her aunt had requested. A story-telling session from Erin Lavelle was great PR for the preschool, backing up the much-dropped fact that she was, indeed, Sarah's niece. However, the intriguing encounter in the park demanded a change of plan.

Having taken the precaution of copying the essential details from Peter Ramsey's card into the notebook she always carried with her, Erin slipped into the administrative office to have a private conversation with her aunt who was sitting at her desk, hunched over a newly made cup of coffee and looking as though she needed a shot of caffeine to stitch frayed nerves back together.

“That could have been nasty. Really nasty,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Thanks for helping out, Erin. I don't know how I would have handled it…” Her voice trailed into a heavy sigh as she shook her head over the frightening incident. “The children could have panicked…”

“It was lucky Peter Ramsey was there,” Erin quickly put in.

The name jolted Sarah out of her fretful train of thought. Her eyes sharpened to a wary alertness. “Who? Who did you say?”

“The big man. His name is Peter Ramsey. He gave me his business card…” She placed it right in front of the coffee cup, hitching her bottom onto the front edge of the desk's large surface as she explained the card's purpose. “He said for you to mention his name to Mrs Harper if she gets ugly over what her husband did.”

Sarah picked up the card and stared at it disbelievingly.

Erin carried on with her job as messenger. “He also gave his personal assurance that Mr Harper would seek legal help to get some custody rights, so you shouldn't be afraid of him going off the rails again because of not being able to see his son.”

“Peter Ramsey,” her aunt said with almost breathless awe. Her eyes were goggling when she looked up at Erin. “I should have recognised him. But why on earth would he be in that park?”

Erin honed in on the most pertinent point. “Why should you have recognised him?”

“Because of who he is, of course,” her aunt brushed off impatiently, then caught Erin's grimace of frustration. “Don't tell me you haven't heard of him. He's Lloyd Ramsey's son and heir.”

This stunning revelation was a blow to the fantasy that had been building up in her mind. “You mean the multibillionaire, Lloyd Ramsey?”

“The one and only,” her aunt confirmed.

Lloyd Ramsey was virtually an Australian legend, making so many headlines over so many years, even Erin who'd always lived in the world of books, was not ignorant of the man's power and how he wielded his wealth. He'd been nicknamed “the shark” because he went after a bite of just about every big business enterprise going. From Sarah's reaction to Peter's name, apparently his son had also carved out a prominent position in Australia in more recent times.

Erin had the queasy sense he was way out of her league, occupying a far, far different world to hers. “Is Peter Ramsey a business whiz, too?” she asked.

“Very much so on the international scene,” came the heart-sinking reply. “All high-tech stuff. I'm not up with that but he's always in the social pages, being photographed with other celebrities. Every time he changes women it's big news.”

Erin's stomach did a dive, too. “You mean…he's a playboy.”

The macho BMW sports car popped back into her mind. Had he been the driver?

Her aunt shrugged. “Well, he's still playing the field. Hasn't married anyone yet. Probably doesn't give much time to his relationships. Always on the go. And let's face it, a man in his position can get any woman he wants when he wants.”

Yes. He probably could.

The excitement that had been fizzing through Erin's bloodstream completely flattened out. The possibility of Peter Ramsey being
her prince
was looking dim if not downright dead.

Yet he had certainly played knight to the rescue in the park and she
had
felt a strong connection with him. On the other hand, their shared empathy for Mr Harper's situation could have accounted for that feeling, plus, of course, her instinctive response to his very dynamic sexual appeal.

“Why do you think he's involved himself with this?” Erin asked, wanting more input from her aunt.

Sarah shrugged. “Why was he in the park? Maybe the two are connected.”

“What do you mean?”

“There must have been a trigger for his action.” She paused to think through what had happened. “Maybe he overheard Mr Harper yelling out that he'd been ripped off by his wife. That could have hit a sore spot with Peter Ramsey.”

“Do you know that some woman has just ripped him off?”

“No.” Sarah leaned back in her chair, a cynical little smile tugging at her mouth. “But it has to be always on the cards with that much wealth on the table. Remember what happened with his sister.”

Erin shook her head. “I don't know anything about his sister.”

Sarah looked surprised. “The story ran in the media for weeks. It was huge.”

“When?”

“Oh—” she waved her hand as though trying to grasp the time element “—must be almost three years ago.”

Erin thought back. “I was travelling through Asia then.”

“Always off somewhere,” Sarah remarked with a sigh of exasperation at her niece's footloose life. “You should stay home more often, Erin.”