Family Secrets

  * * *

  “I’d been hoping to get you alone,” David murmured as he and Ivy wove through the crowded dance floor.

  Ivy gave him a dazzling smile. “I’m all yours.” She felt the dancer beside them stiffen, and found herself looking into Caine’s gray eyes.

  “I want to show you some of the countryside before you go back to New York. What have you planned for tomorrow?”

  They turned, and the couple in front of them did the same. Over David’s shoulder, Ivy faced Caine’s dark look.

  She licked her lips. “I really don’t know yet, David. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what Aunt Tru has planned.”

  “I hope we have some time alone. There’s so much I’d like to show you. Besides, I’d like to find something a little more private, so we could get to know each other better.”

  Caine’s lips curled into the barest hint of a smile. But his eyes, she noted, were as cold as steel.

  “Your friend, Emery Norton, said you were an important artist. I’ve always been interested in art. Maybe we could spend some time talking about it.”

  Ivy was beginning to find the evening interminable. When would it end?

  “That would be nice, David.”

  His smile grew. “My grandfather has a fabulous collection of exotic automobiles. We drove up in an Excalibur in mint condition. Would you care to see it?”

  “Now?”

  “No. Tomorrow. I thought it would be a luxurious way to see the countryside. Of course, I’ll have to ask my grandfather for the keys. He keeps a tight rein on them.”

  And the money, Ivy thought. And the law practice. And the people around him. She forced a smile. “Let’s wait until tomorrow.”

  He drew her closer. “Fine, I can hardly wait.”

  When the song ended, Ivy saw Caine whisper in the ear of his partner. Ivy turned away, unaware of the cold, gray eyes that watched her as she stopped to laugh and chat with a cluster of friends.