Callie Endicott - Family By Design

“Yeah. I used to have one of those fancy machines that practically dances a cup over to the table. But I got rid of the contraption when I moved home. Since I was returning to one of the coffee capitals of the world, why bother making my own brew?”

“I see. What brought you back to the Northwest?” he asked, knowing he was doomed to a period of polite conversation. It was frustrating. He’d come home for quality time with Livvie and had to share it with a stranger.

“Business. My partners and I bought a talent agency.”

“I’ve never known anyone in the talent industry.”

Her lips curved again. They were full and sweetly shaped, with just a hint of gloss over a natural rosy color. “I’ve worked in the modeling field since I was fourteen, so except for childhood friends, I hardly know anyone outside it. What line are you in?”

“My business covers multiple areas, but these days I mostly focus on textiles for home furnishings.”

It was a dismissive description of his varied enterprises, but he didn’t see the need to go into detail. Through the years Simon had acquired and sold several companies, but he no longer did corporate takeovers; it required time and a callousness that didn’t match the man he wanted to be as Livvie’s father.

Livvie returned with a small tray, her upper lip caught between her teeth in concentration. Rachel reached up to help lower the tray to the table, and he wasn’t thrilled to see her seeming willingness to connect with his child; it reminded him of the way Sandra had started dropping by, hoping to become cozy with his daughter. Her motives had been transparent and if he hadn’t decided to leave New York, he would have bluntly told her that Livvie was off-limits. Even at his worst he’d never used a child to advance his personal or business goals and didn’t appreciate anyone who did.

“Livvie didn’t think you’d be home so early,” Rachel said, breaking into his thoughts.

Was she trying to suggest she’d come to the tea party without expecting to see him? For pity’s sake, he’d turned into both a cynic and an egotist. A woman could respond to a child’s invitation without having ulterior motives. And if Rachel had anything else in mind, he’d figure it out soon enough.

“I had a couple of meetings with people who weren’t available during the week. I expected to stay at the office longer to finish some work,” he told her, “but changed my mind after the earthquake.”

“Daddy works almost every day,” Livvie said sadly.

Guilt struck Simon. His hours hadn’t mattered as much when Olivia was there and they both could spend time with her outside their demanding careers. “I know about mommies and daddies who have to work a lot,” Rachel said as she accepted the miniature cup Livvie handed to her. “My parents run a catering business.”

Livvie looked puzzled. “What’s that?”

“They prepare food for parties and special dinners and other events.”

“Do they have to work awful hard like Daddy?”

“I don’t know if it’s the same as your daddy, but caterers work different hours than some parents, especially late afternoons and evenings. Us kids usually stayed with our grandmother when they were busy.”

“I don’t have a grandma.”

“But you have Gemma, which is great, right?”

Livvie grinned and nodded, handing one of the tiny cups to Simon.

It wasn’t entirely true that she didn’t have a grandmother. Legally, she did. Olivia’s family was gone and Simon’s mother had died when he was nine, but when he was eleven, Richard Kessler had forced his wife to adopt his former lover’s child. Karen had tried, in her awkward way, to treat Simon decently, but he’d been the living reminder her husband had never been faithful and that she hadn’t given him the son he craved. Neither Karen nor Simon’s father was a part of their lives now.

“Please have some cookies,” Livvie said, holding out a plate to her guest.

Rachel took one of the cookies and ate a bite. “Delicious. Did you make them yourself?”

Giggling, his daughter shook her head. “We got them at a bakery. I don’t know how to cook. Do you?”

“It’s one of my hobbies.”

“Did your mommy teach you how?”

Simon’s throat suddenly closed with suppressed emotion. He tried not to remind Livvie of how much she’d lost when Olivia died. Though, to be honest, cooking hadn’t been one of his wife’s skills. Instead she’d told their daughter about clothing designs and the way certain fabrics moved depending on how they were cut.

“My mother and father both taught me,” Rachel explained. “Dad is the baker. He makes breads and desserts, while Mom does most of the other stuff. I enjoy doing both.”

“My mommy can’t teach me,” Livvie answered with the curious frankness that seemed part of both her age and personality. “She went to heaven when I was five.”

“I’m sorry. If she was anything like you, she must have been very special.”

Livvie beamed, then turned and looked at him. “I hardly ever see you in the kitchen, Daddy. Can you cook?”

“’Fraid not, kiddo. I learned more about business stuff than cooking spaghetti when I was growing up.”

His daughter giggled.

Simon loved it when she laughed. He loved it when she seemed to be happy instead of scared and pulled into herself. At times he worried that he frightened her. In more sensible moments he was sure that was ridiculous. But he also knew he was very much the man his ruthless father had molded him to be.

RACHEL HADN’T BEEN sure about accepting Livvie Kessler’s invitation to a tea party, but the child seemed lonely and it had felt like the right thing to do. Still, it hurt when Rachel thought that if her marriage had succeeded, she might have a little girl or boy around Livvie’s age.

She pushed the thought away. If she’d known that Livvie’s father was Simon Kessler and that he would be coming home, she might have refused Livvie’s invitation.

On the weekend she preferred keeping things casual and comfortable, and the brief glimpses she’d caught of Simon had suggested he was brooding and intense, ready to explode into action at any moment. There was nothing wrong with that. She’d known plenty of people with the same coiled energy inside, but sitting at a child’s tea party with one of them unsettled her. Besides, the few times their gazes had connected in the past, he’d turned away as if he had no interest in other people...or even in common courtesies.

But she gave the guy credit for one thing—he was obviously a hardworking businessman, yet he was willing to sit on the floor and have a tea party with his motherless child. Whatever other faults he might have, she found that admirable.

Nonetheless, she quickly finished her tea and cookie as soon as Livvie was done with hers. She noticed that Simon did the same—perhaps hoping his daughter’s guest wouldn’t stay long.

“Thank you, this has been lovely,” Rachel told her small hostess. “I enjoyed it, but I’d better go.” She untangled her legs and stood.

“Do you have to?” Livvie asked plaintively.

“Afraid so. I have things to do before going out tonight.”

Nicole had invited everyone to her house for a barbecue and Rachel had offered to bring a couple of salads. Had Nicole and her fiancé, Jordan Masters, finally settled on their wedding plans? Of course, Adam was now engaged to Cassie Bryant so they might have a similar announcement. What’s more, the agency’s office manager, Chelsea Masters, who also happened to be Jordan’s sister, was seriously involved with a grade school teacher. The next year could be busy with all the weddings of people at Moonlight Ventures.

Rachel had wondered if Nicole and Adam both getting engaged would change the dynamics of their friendship, but it was working out all right. After the couples were married, the four business partners probably wouldn’t hang out as often in a group, but they had never spent every minute in each other’s pockets, anyhow. Besides, Jordan and Cassie were great.