Jacqueline Diamond - Paris or Bust!

ROXANNE SNUGGLED beneath a thick terry cloth towel, Jenna curled up in her lap, sound asleep. Michael sat beside her on the tile floor, playing with a toy boat she’d brought along in her bag. Her gaze drifted over to the pool, to Danny and Rachel, who were tossing a ball around in the shallow end with Kit.

Her gaze fixed on his naked back, on the play of muscle as he held the ball over his head. When he’d first opened the door earlier that evening, she’d had to keep herself from staring at his body, at the smooth chest and wide shoulders, at the flat belly and narrow hips. Though her ex-husband had been in shape, he hadn’t had the raw material to work with that Kit did. The tall, slender body, the long limbs and the athletic grace that made him impossible to ignore.

When she realized it was his house, she’d nearly turned around and gotten back in the car. Kit Lawrence had made his feelings for her quite clear. He didn’t approve of his father’s job offer or her presence at the station. But for some strange reason, he’d invited her inside. Then he’d tried to make the evening as comfortable as possible, ordering pizza for the kids and playing with them in the pool.

Carl had phoned just before the pizza arrived to apologize. He’d been detained at the station with some technical problem. She’d almost been happy to hear that he wouldn’t be joining them.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed the late hour. “Come on, you little waterbugs,” Roxanne called. “Time to get out of the pool or you’ll start to look like prunes.”

Kit grabbed Rachel by the waist and swung her up on the edge of the pool, then did the same with Danny. They both ran over to the table and grabbed a piece of cold pizza, then sat down to munch on the leftovers. Kit strolled over to Roxanne and flopped down onto the chair next to her.

He snatched up a towel and dried his face, then glanced over at her. “I’m exhausted.”

“They take a lot of energy, don’t they?”

“I don’t know a lot about kids,” Kit admitted as he pulled a T-shirt over his head. “But they’re not so bad. In fact, they’re pretty much fun.”

“Right. Until they all have the flu at one time. Or until you’re stuck in the middle of traffic without a snack. Or until they all decide to flush their shoes down the toilet. Then call me and tell me how much fun they are,” Roxanne teased.

“You’re a good mother,” Kit said. “I can see that.”

“It feels a little strange to be competing in a contest against other mothers.” She grabbed a towel and began to dry Michael’s hair. “But the trip to Paris would be nice. And I could use the shopping spree to buy clothes for the kids.”

“I’d vote for you,” Kit murmured, his gaze locking with hers.

A tiny shiver skittered down her spine. “Well, this mother better get her kids home. Danny has school tomorrow morning and Rachel has a dentist appointment. And I’ve got to take the van in and get the muffler fixed. It’s dragging.” Roxanne tried to struggle to her feet with Jenna in her arms, but Kit reached out and gently took the little girl. “Thanks,” she said.

Roxanne quickly grabbed her jeans and tugged them over her wet suit. Then she pulled her sweater over her head and slipped her bare feet into her boots.

“There’s a changing room over there,” Kit said. “You don’t have to go away wet.”

“No, this is better. The quicker the better,” Roxanne said. “I have precisely two minutes to get my children into their clothes and shoes and jackets before they start to complain about leaving. After four minutes, the whining starts and after five there are going to be temper tantrums. So unless you want a major meltdown on your hands, I’d help me get them ready to go.”

“Tell me what to do.”

She handed him a tiny pair of blue jeans and pointed at Jenna. “I’m glad we can be friends,” she said softly.

“Is that what we are?” Kit asked.

“Well, maybe not. But at least we’re not enemies.”

“No, we aren’t,” he agreed. “And to that end, I suppose I’d better apologize for being such a jerk when we met. I’m a little overprotective when it comes to my father.”

She smiled. “Apology accepted.”

Between the two of them, they got the children dressed and packed up in about three minutes, Kit keeping them distracted with entertaining riddles so that they didn’t even realize that they were leaving. When the last boot was on and the last jacket zipped, he picked up Jenna and led them all back through the house to the front door.

They were almost out the door when Danny realized what was happening. “Why do we have to leave?” he asked. “I want to swim some more.”

“Honey, we have to get home. It’s almost bedtime.”

“It’s not my bedtime,” he said. “Why do I have to leave?”

“Because I said so,” Roxanne replied.

“Good answer,” Kit murmured. “I always liked that one.”

“But why?” Danny whined.

Roxanne grabbed her son’s hand and pulled him out to the van parked in the drive. Rachel skipped along behind her and Michael raced around to the other side, waiting for Roxanne to open the door. She got them all inside and strapped in, then took Jenna from Kit and put her in her car seat.

When she’d pulled the sliding door shut, Kit followed her around to the driver’s side. She reached for the door, but he covered her hand with his. The contact sent a flood of warmth through her body. He slowly turned her around until their eyes met. She could barely read the expression on his face beneath the feeble light from above the front door. “You-you don’t have any shoes on,” she murmured. “Aren’t your feet cold?”

He shook his head, his gaze drifting down to her mouth. When he leaned forward, she knew what was about to happen, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. His lips met hers in a gentle kiss. At first, her impulse was to pull away, but the warmth of his mouth was so tantalizing, so surprisingly wonderful, that she stood perfectly still and allowed him to kiss her. When he drew back, she sighed softly, then opened her eyes.

A gentle snow had begun to fall and she felt the flakes melt on her cheeks. He stared down into her gaze, then reached up and smoothed his finger along her jawline. Then he touched her damp hair. “You better go,” he murmured. “You’ll catch your death out here.”

She rubbed her arms. “You’re the one without a jacket.”

“I’m not the one shivering,” he said.

A blush warmed her cheeks. “Thanks again. For dinner and for helping with the kids. You didn’t have to-”

He placed his finger on her lips and smiled. “I had fun.” He pulled the door open and helped her inside, then closed it softly behind her. As he stepped away, Roxanne turned the key in the ignition, praying that the van would start and she could drive off with him staring after her. The engine rumbled to life and she threw it into gear and steered the minivan around the circular drive.

When she reached the street, she glanced in her rearview mirror and watched him walk inside the house. Then she released a tightly held breath. A tiny smile curved her lips, still warm from his kiss.

“Mommy?”

She shifted in her seat until she could see Danny’s reflection. “Yeah, honey.”

“You kissed that man,” he said.

“Yes, I did,” she said.

“Why?”

Roxanne wasn’t sure of the answer herself. “I was just thanking him for letting us swim in his pool.”

“Why?”

“Because it was the polite thing to do.”

“Do you think if you kiss him again, he’ll invite us over again? ’Cause I really had a fun time and the pizza was good. And Mr. Lawrence is nice.”

“He is a nice man,” Roxanne said. “Mommy didn’t think so at first, but now I kind of like him.”

“Me, too.”

“YOU COULD HAVE at least told me you’d invited her. After all, I do live there.” Kit leaned back in his leather chair, kicked his feet up on the desk, and clasped his hands behind his head.

His father looked unapologetic. “I knew you’d be home. And she’d already told her kids they were going swimming. I didn’t want to disappoint them. Hey, I remember when you were a kid and I broke a promise. I’d hear about it for days.”

“You could have told me,” Kit repeated. “And what was so important that you had to stay at the station?”

“We had problems with the transmitter. We had dead air for seventeen seconds. It was an emergency. By the time everything got fixed, it was ten. I figured she’d be home by then anyway. I sent her a dozen roses this morning.”

Kit slid his feet off the desk and leaned forward. “Roses?”

“Yeah.” Carl grinned, as if he’d suddenly discovered the secret path to a woman’s heart. “She forgave me.”

“How do you know?”

“I spoke to her on the phone a few minutes ago. She called to thank me for the roses. And she said she’d be in this afternoon to talk about next week’s show.”

Kit ground his teeth. Hell, he should have sent her roses! He had every reason-they’d had a wonderful time last night. Then maybe she would have called him. He couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to hear her voice. Well, maybe he wanted to see her a little more than hear her. Touching her might be nice. Hell, kissing her again would be the best.

Though he ought to feel guilty about kissing Roxanne, he couldn’t. At first, he’d rationalized it as part of a plan to protect his father, to keep Roxanne away from the family fortune. But in truth, he’d kissed her because he couldn’t go another minute without tasting her mouth. “Only a dozen?” Kit asked. “Don’t you think that’s a little…cheap?”

“Cheap? Roses are three dollars apiece,” Carl said.

“But these days, a guy usually sends two dozen. Or even three dozen. It’s more impressive,” Kit said, hoping to test the depth of his father’s feelings for Roxanne.

“I figured you’d have something to say about the roses, but it wasn’t that.”

“Roxanne insists that there’s nothing going on between you two.” Kit watched his father’s reaction, but to his surprise, Carl seemed unfazed by the comment. “I figure it’s none of my business,” he added, trying to draw a comment. “The more I protest, the more determined you seem to be. But how do you feel about her?”

“A dozen roses was always good for my generation,” Carl said. He pointed to a chair and Kit nodded, a silent invitation to sit down. “You know, I can’t figure why someone hasn’t married her,” Carl continued. “She’s a beautiful woman. Don’t you think she’s beautiful?”

“Yeah, sure. She’s great.”

“She’s smart and funny and she needs someone to take care of her. I can’t understand why her husband would have walked out on her.”

Kit fiddled with some papers on his desk, trying to appear only mildly interested. “What do you know about that? Her divorce, I mean.”

“He ran off with some…” His father searched for the word.

“Bimbo?”

“No, professional wrestler. Female professional wrestler. She calls herself the Velvet Hammer. He cleaned out their savings and stock accounts and headed for Bermuda or Barbados. From what I understand, she and the family had a pretty cushy life before he left. Now she’s struggling to keep a roof over her kids’ heads.”

“So, is that why you want her to work at the station?”

Carl ignored Kit’s question. “I’d imagine she’s going to make someone a great wife.” He sighed wistfully and reached for a framed photo on Kit’s desk. “She reminds me a lot of your mom,” he said, pointing to the picture. “When we met, she was working three jobs and going to college at night. She was determined to have a career. That was when women’s lib was in full gear and your mom was right in the middle of it. Roxy has that same kind of tenacity.”

“You call her Roxy? So you two must be getting close.”

“It’s a nickname for Roxanne. It fits her, don’t you think?”

“She comes with four kids, Dad.”

“What difference does that make?”

“I’m just saying that if you take her on, you’re taking on her kids, too.”

“You don’t think I’d be a good father? Wasn’t I a good father to you?”

“You were thirty years younger at the time.”

“I suppose it would be like riding a bike. You never really forget how.” With that, Carl stood and set the photo back on Kit’s desk. “That’s a nice one of your mom. I remember when I took that.” He slowly walked out of the office, his mood suddenly pensive.

Kit groaned softly, then rubbed his temples with his fingers. “This is just great.” It was clear how his father felt about Roxanne Perry. He’d gone from interested to besotted in a matter of a few days. Though Kit could relate. Hell, he’d changed his own tune pretty drastically.

But Carl Lawrence had been out of the dating pool for nearly forty years. The pretty little goldfish Carl was used to had been replaced by sharks. Kit knew what it was like. He’d been out there and it was brutal, not exactly the kind of world his father was prepared to handle.