For her mother’s sake, she had to let Sebastian try. Somehow she’d find the money to pay for consultations with these new specialists. Putting her hand over his on the steering wheel, she looked straight into his eyes, held him there a long moment even though the light changed. “Yes. Let’s try.”

But the new worries about money were already twisting inside her by the time he said, “I’d like to help with Magnolia Gardens too—see if I can grease the wheels to get your mom in earlier.”

It wasn’t his fault that a chill ran down her arms. Sebastian was the kind of man who would always offer help when he thought it was needed. But he’d already given her a humongous check. She couldn’t take any more. Even her mother wouldn’t approve if she took money from him she hadn’t earned.

“The check you gave me will more than cover her move.” And only a few months after that, but she’d somehow figure that out too. “You’re doing enough already.”

As it was, she didn’t know how she’d ever pay him back.

CHAPTER TEN

Charlie clearly hated seeing her mother in pain, hated Shady Lane, hated that she couldn’t take care of her mother herself. But Sebastian could help her with all that. If she let him. Maybe he’d pushed too hard about her mother’s condition, but what good was his money if he didn’t use it to help a woman in pain? Especially when it meant a great deal to him that for one afternoon, she had made him feel he was part of their family, for a little while at least.

That evening, after Charlie politely turned down his request to have dinner together again, Sebastian returned to his drawing. In fact it was that politeness that told him she’d shut down on him, just put up a wall to all the heat and sparks between them.

In his workroom, he downloaded the app she’d shown him. He was up on most of the latest technologies, but this one had slipped by him. Easy to use, it took only a few tries before he had it figured out. Charlie imported photos she then manipulated, but the app simulated just about any medium for drawing. He chose charcoals with a textured background.

He started with her eyes, those beautiful, expressive eyes. They could have been her mother’s eyes—bright, laughing, with a hint of pain always lingering behind them. But Charlie had her pain too, springing from an emotional well deep inside her. On the iPad, he filled in her cheekbones, the slope of her nose.

Unfortunately, an hour of drawing still didn’t bring the insight he needed. He’d had the stupid hope that the app itself would somehow reveal her in a way his sketchbook hadn’t. He shut it down in frustration.

At least there was one thing he knew for sure he could do right. He hit Will Franconi’s number on speed dial, knowing his friend would answer if at all possible.

It took two rings. “Hey.” Will’s voice was almost drowned out by a blast of noise around him.

“Where the hell are you?”

“Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The Edgar Winter Band is doing a free concert on the beach. It’s a madhouse here. Jeremy wanted to come.”

There was a loud shout, but Sebastian couldn’t make out a thing.

“He says free fun is the best kind,” Will translated. “He gets that from Harper.”

Jeremy was Will’s soon-to-be brother-in-law. He was a great kid, though at eighteen, he wasn’t exactly a kid anymore. Jeremy’s older sister Harper was a special woman, and she fit Will even better than a finely made suit. His friend was finally happy after all these years, so happy that Sebastian had added them to his exceptions list. No toxic love between them, that was for sure.

“What do you need?” Will asked.

“That new venture you’ve got going with the British company. The signature bone china. I need three china mugs and three matching plates.”

For two beats, all he heard was the crash of music. Until Will said, “Do you need to have your testosterone levels checked?”

“No more than you for putting the deal together with them in the first place. It’s for a friend.”

“A woman friend?” He could actually see Will’s raised eyebrow.

“Her mother.”

“Her mother? Whoa, man, if you’re getting a gift for her mother, that sounds like some serious stuff.”

As Will said it, Sebastian felt the truth deep in his core. He’d never been more serious. “Can you order it for me ASAP?”

“Hold on a minute. When do we get to meet her?”

Sebastian knew that Charlie would love Harper, Jeremy, and Will. “I’ve got to convince her to spend time with me first.”

“She’s not yet convinced?” Will made a considering sound. “Now that I hear she’s not just slavering at your feet like all your other women always have, I really want to meet her.”

Sebastian laughed. “You going to help me or not?”

“You want ultrafeminine, flowery, or classic?”

Will was trying to gauge the type of woman Charlie was. “All of the above.” She was the perfect combination of tomboy meets feminine. There was Francine to consider too.

“We just received the first shipment, so I’ll courier the pieces to you tomorrow. And if the china convinces her to fall for you, you owe me big time.”

“Thanks,” Sebastian said to the dead air, but the silence was golden. Charlie wouldn’t have to drive back to her place to pick up the china she’d forgotten, and she and her mother would have a one-of-a-kind tea set.

There were so many things he could do to make Charlie’s life easier. All he had to do was convince her to take them.

Tea cups. His money. And him.

* * *

Charlie hadn’t been sure whether Sebastian would show up at her workshop this morning after the way she’d refused his offer of dinner last night. But here he was, looking sexier than any man had a right to be in his dark slacks and crisp white button-down shirt. A billionaire’s uniform, she found herself thinking, and one he wore exceptionally well, despite having been born into extreme poverty and despair.

All night and into the early hours of the morning, the incident with her mother had wedged itself somewhere between her throat and her heart. Incident wasn’t the right word. Nothing had actually happened. She’d accepted his offer to try to help with her mother’s medical condition while turning him down on Magnolia Gardens, then lain awake berating herself for not having done enough to take care of Mom in the first place. Lack of funds was a sorry excuse.

But neither of them mentioned her mother’s illness as he entered her workshop bearing warm blueberry bagels that tasted as if they might have been fresh out of the oven.

“I can’t wait to watch you work.” He sounded like he was talking about a strip tease instead of metal cutting. Boy, could he switch on the sizzle, heating her up like plasma, turning her into molten metal.

She took a bite of the bagel, then began to pull her hair up into a knot. The next thing she knew, he was helping her put on her smock and work apron, his fingers lingering on her skin. Her breath went, her skin tingled, and even though she really did have a ton of work to get started on, she couldn’t resist twining her arms around his neck and going up on her toes to steal a kiss.

A sigh of pleasure fell from her lips as they touched his, gentle spinning to desperate in less than the span of a breath as he tangled one hand in her hair and used the other on the curve of her hip to bring them close. So close that she could feel his heart beating against hers as he deepened the kiss. Taking. Giving. Delighting.

When she finally drew back, his eyes were dark with desire and she was breathless from the feel of his hard muscles pressing into her, his strong arms holding her tight. It wasn’t even ten in the morning, yet the atmosphere was positively sultry. Honestly, she was glad that Sebastian made her forget every thought that had kept her awake last night, at least for a little while. There was only the sweet anticipation of his kiss, his touch, even the way he looked at her with those dark eyes of his, as though he could taste her.