Kate Hoffmann - Paris or Bust!

Her first impulse was to accept. But then she shook her head. She had vowed not to get caught in the middle again. Carl and Kit were going to have to work out this misunderstanding first. “Have you ever been out to eat with three children under the age of five? I’m telling you, you’ll never be the same again. The jelly, the juice, the syrup. It’s not for amateurs.”

Kit laughed. “I’ve put together multimillion dollar deals. I’ve run a few triathlons. I’ve sailed across the ocean in a forty-foot sailboat. I think I can handle breakfast. Why don’t you and the kids get dressed? I’ll put these flowers in water.”

She nodded. Breakfast with Kit did sound intriguing. And maybe it would give her a chance to improve his opinion of her. “All right. I’ll just be a minute.”

She ran into the living room and retrieved the lollipops from the kids, then herded them upstairs. When she got to Rachel’s room, she pulled out a shirt and pants and laid them on her daughter’s bed. “I want you to go find something for Michael and Jenna to wear and then get them dressed. Then I want you to get dressed. Can you do that for Mommy?”

“I don’t like these,” she said, pointing to the outfit. “I hate that shirt. It makes me scratch. And those pants are green. I hate green.”

“Just pick out anything and get dressed. When I get out of the bathroom, I want to see all of you ready to go. Mr. Lawrence is going to take us out for breakfast.”

Rachel sighed dramatically, then began to rummage through her closet. Satisfied that her daughter could handle the task, Roxanne hurried into the bedroom. She quickly brushed her hair and pulled it back, tying it with a pale blue scarf. Then she found a sweater set that matched and wasn’t stained with spaghetti sauce or colored marker. Corduroy pants and boots finished off the look, along with a quick bit of makeup to cover the black eye.

By the time she got out into the hall, her three children were waiting. Rachel had dressed them in a wild assortment of patterns and colors. “You look-” Like little clowns, she wanted to say. But Rachel was smiling up at her with such pride in her accomplishment. “Fantastic. Good job, Rachel.”

“Thanks, Mommy.”

“Now, I want everyone to be on their best behavior. No crying, no whining and no crawling underneath the table. And if you drop food on the floor, it stays there.” She reached down and picked up Jenna. “Let’s go.”

“I FEEL AS IFI’ve been through a war,” Kit said.

They slowly strolled through one of the small garden squares that surrounded the Washington Monument, a tall white column that served as one of Baltimore’s more impressive landmarks. Kit carried Jenna on his shoulders while Roxanne held on to Michael and Rachel.

Kit playfully placed his hand on Jenna’s knee, then didn’t pull it away. “Jelly,” he said. “I’m stuck.”

“I warned you.” Roxanne laughed. “And they were really well behaved. They didn’t spill anything, which has to be some kind of record.”

Pedestrians passed, greeting them with smiles, and Kit wondered at the impression they created. Did the five of them look like a happy family, a father, a mother and three children? A few weeks ago, he would have cringed at the notion. He’d barely given marriage a thought and children hadn’t even crossed his mind. He’d been happily single and determined to stay that way.

But now, he wanted people to assume that this was his family, that the woman at his side had chosen to spend her life with him, that the children loved him and depended on him. It was a life he suddenly wanted to experience.

Kit turned to stare at the fountain, now drained for the winter. This was crazy. He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with Roxanne Perry. Hell, he wasn’t supposed to fall in love with anyone.

He had always taken a pragmatic approach to passion. Work came first and women, though an enjoyable part of his life, ranked a little further down the list. But today, he’d cancelled four meetings and a trip to New York in the hopes that she’d accept the flowers and an invitation to spend the day with him.

When they reached an open area, Kit set Jenna down and Roxanne let the kids go, allowing them to scamper ahead. “Stay on the sidewalk,” she called. “And no climbing on the fountain. Rachel, you watch Jenna. Don’t let her get all muddy.”

Kit was tempted to return his hands to his jacket pockets, but instead he let his palm slide down her arm until he wove her cold fingers into his. Winters in Baltimore were pretty mild, but the cold was damp and seemed to cut right to the bone. The children didn’t seem to be bothered, but Roxanne’s nose and cheeks were a pretty shade of pink.

They watched as Rachel and Michael jumped across a small puddle, Jenna screaming in delight when the water splashed. From what he could tell, Roxanne was the best of mothers. She was patient and firm, yet she let her kids experience the world. She rarely scolded and when she did, it was with a gentle voice.

“It smells like spring,” Kit commented.

“The weather is supposed to warm up later this week.” She glanced around the park. “It feels good to get out. Sometimes that house just presses down on me.”

“It looks like you’re in the middle of a renovation,” he commented.

“We’ve been stalled at that stage for two years, ever since my husband walked out. John was determined to live in that neighborhood. Mount Vernon was close to downtown, it had the proper mix of culture and social life for him. I wanted to look in Roland Park or Guilford and find something a little more practical for children. But that’s the house we bought. Looking back on it, I think that was the first sign of trouble.”

“How is that?”

“John put his wants and needs above those of his family.” She sighed. “I’ve been thinking of selling it, but who wants to buy it as it is now?”

“Where would you go?”

“Someplace cheaper. My parents live in upstate New York in a pretty little town near Saratoga Springs. It would be nice for the kids.”

Kit forced a smile, but the notion that she could just move out of his life without a second thought bothered him. He groaned inwardly. They’d known each other for three days and suddenly he was certain he loved her. Either he was going crazy or-or- Kit paused. No, there was no other alternative. He was losing his mind.

He’d been forced to admit that perhaps her motives weren’t what he’d first believed. In the time they’d spent together, he found no trace of greed or selfishness in her. Roxanne Perry wasn’t a schemer or a gold digger or anything but a sweet, sexy woman.

She’d bewitched him the same way that she’d bewitched his father. His thoughts had been consumed with the way she moved, the sound of her voice, the color of her eyes. And now, when presented with the possibility that she might walk away from them both, he suddenly didn’t want her to leave.

Hell, he should feel guilty about kissing her, but he didn’t. She’d insisted there was nothing between her and Carl. And Carl refused to admit his feelings for her. For now, that left the door open for Kit, a door he planned to open even wider. “My dad told me he offered you a job. It’s a long commute from upstate New York to Baltimore.”

“Can we not talk about your father?” Roxanne asked. “Every time we do, we get in an argument. You two have some issues you need to discuss. Let’s just enjoy the morning.”

“All right,” he said. Without thinking, he lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss below her wrist. “So what would you like to do today? We can go anywhere. How about the zoo? Or the aquarium? At least it would be warm there. When does Danny get off school?”