Free Adversaries and Lovers by Patricia Watters Page A

curiosity even more. “Should I have packed a lunch or will we eat there?” she asked, wondering if the town was large enough to support a restaurant. Cooper’s Landing couldn’t be very big. She’d never heard of it.
    Ben ceased his whistling to reply, “We’ll eat there--lobster tails dipped in truffle butter, sautéed mushrooms, rice pilaf. You do like lobster, don’t you?”
    Kate nodded. “I think I’ll like Cooper’s Landing,” she mused, imagining them eating at a cozy little pub where they served fine wines and lobster tails drenched in truffle butter...
    ...and this is supposed to be some kind of business meeting? I’d like to know what kind of business he’s conducting... Grandma’s words seemed uncomfortably on target.
    She looked at Ben, who continued whistling while tapping his fingers in rhythm on the steering wheel. He’d said nothing about the swim fin promotion, and she wondered when he planned to review her mock-ups, if, in fact, he intended to do so at all. She had not anticipated this to be a date, only a time to pitch her swim fin ideas, while also using the occasion to soften him up so he might consider building the corporate office somewhere other than Sellwood. But it was becoming increasing clear that business was not on his mind.
    Of the various facets of Ben Stassen, there was yet one she hadn't dwelled at length on: the rake with the cozy hideaway. Knowing her vulnerability where Ben was concerned, that was the facet that disturbed her most at the moment.
    Looking over at him, she said, with irony, “Between boating down the river, eating lobster, and who knows what else you have planned for this little business excursion, will you find time to review my swim fin ideas? Somehow I get the feeling it’s not on the agenda for today.”
    Ben gave her a one-sided smile. “We’ll get to it later. Right now I want to know all about Katherine O’Connor.”
    “Why?" His jargon smacked of a male come-on.
    Ben glanced at her, a tomcat-on-the-prowl look in his eyes, and said, “So I can decide whether it will be safe to jump her beautiful body when the time's right.”
    Kate looked at him, miffed. He wasn’t even trying to be subtle about his intentions. He’d clearly misrepresented his reason for their meeting, and she’d been incredibly naive to go along with him without asking questions. “I’ve changed my mind about all of this,” she said. “I want you to take me home.”
    “What happened to the plucky, gutsy woman who crashed the reception?”
    “That was a mistake. I’m not like that. Now, please take me home.”
    Ben patted her hand, and said in a sober voice, “Relax, Katie. I have no intention of seducing you. I just want to know a little more about you, that’s all. And we will get to your swim fin ideas. I give you my word.”
    ...if he’s anything like his grandfather, you’d better not hold him to his word because a Stassen’s word means nothing...
    Grandma was back, and there could be something to what she’d said. But Ben was not his grandfather, and his words sounded so sincere she wanted to believe him. So she’d give him the benefit of doubt, for now. “What do you want to know about me?” she asked.
    “Everything you omitted on your resume.”
    “I didn’t give you a resume.”
    “I know. So I guess you’ll have to start from the beginning.”
    “It’s pretty boring.”
    “I’ll be the judge.”
    Kate drew in a long sigh, and said, “I hope you don't fall asleep at the wheel, but here goes. Well, Katherine O’Connor was born on…"
    She rambled on about her carefree childhood, happy years in grade school, loving parents—touching briefly on the accident that killed them—and life with Grandma, using that as an opening to broach the subject of the zoning change...
    “...and after Grandpa died five years ago, Grandma’s just been trying to keep her little house up and her memories intact.” She rolled her head against the headrest to