“When can I see him?”
Every cell in her body cried, “Never,” but Kate forced herself to smile and answer, “I don’t know. We’ll work out a schedule once he gets…settled.” She’d almost said well, but she didn’t want to worry Maya until she had all the facts.
Maya nodded and jumped to her feet. “Okay. My turn,” she said, grabbing the spool of string.
Kate was just about to reprimand her for being rude when her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number but since it was local, she took the call, as she stood up.
“Hi, Kate, it’s Rob. I know it’s bold of me to ask, but I need a favor.”
Rob. She’d spent way too much time thinking about him this afternoon as she was cleaning the grill. Fantasizing about the impossible. A different her. A different him. A different time in their lives.
She shook her head to chase away the silly dreams. “What kind of favor?”
“The shopping kind. Mom and I are at Rosemary’s having dinner and I realized I need a gift for my dad. She told me you decorated Romantique almost single-handedly. You know where to shop in Vegas. And you have excellent taste. Is there any way you could spare a couple of hours some day this week? I know you’re going to have your hands full with this party, but, believe me, I’m shopping challenged.”
Interior design was Kate’s private passion. While married to Ian, she’d had seemingly unlimited funds to indulge her hobby. But, aside from outfitting Romantique, she hadn’t even stepped foot in a store except to buy things for Maya.
The wind gusted hard. Maya ran gamely trying to keep the kite aloft, but the parrot flapped just once or twice before making a spectacular spiral straight to earth.
“Oh,” Maya said with a sigh of disgust, then she trudged over to the fallen bird and started winding up the string again.
Kate wondered briefly if Rob had somehow sensed this hidden passion of hers, but did that matter? He’d brought her a huge party. She owed him a favor—and if his request involved something she enjoyed…“Okay.”
Rob closed his phone with a smile. She’d agreed to take him shopping. He wasn’t sure what had made him ask. Need—definitely. Serena once said that Rob had the worst taste of any person she’d ever met. She’d never allowed him to pick out a thing—clothing, items for the condo, the color of his car. She’d undermined his self-confidence—department-storewise—so completely, he actually suffered a slight panic attack when called upon to buy a gift for someone.
He looked toward the bar where his mother was having a smoke with her brandy. His mother thought that was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. When he’d brought up the subject over dinner, Jo had suggested he ask for Kate’s help.
“You’re not trying to fix us up, are you?” he’d asked.
“Of course not. You’re not her type.”
He agreed, but it still irked him to hear her say so. “What makes you so sure?”
“She’s a single mom, and you’ve never exactly gone out of your way to cozy up to her kid.”
Rob hadn’t bothered to deny the charge, but neither was he ready to explain—to his mother, at least—why he’d avoided having much contact with Maya. She was a beautiful little girl. The few times they’d met, a part of him had wanted to squat down and find out what was going on behind those big, intensely observant brown eyes, but he hadn’t let himself.
As he sipped his coffee, he brought to mind a memory that still haunted him. It was the moment Rob fully understood the word affair. He had been nine or ten at the time. The latest woman his father had been seeing—a beautiful young coed who’d returned to college after her marriage failed—showed up one night at their door. She’d come to confront Adam, to convince him to leave his wife. She’d brought her six-year-old daughter with her. Rob would never forget the anguish and confusion on that child’s face. The little girl might not have understood everything that was going on, but she knew her mother was in pain, and she knew that another man was rejecting them. Again. Just as her father had.
Rob had vowed never to date women with children. Relationships were tricky, ephemeral. He refused to risk contributing pain to some kid’s life. The longest he’d ever dated a girl—prior to his two-year relationship with Serena—had been eight months. With that kind of track record, someone like Kate, no matter how great she was, was off-limits.
But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends. And business associates.
“Well, what’d she say?” a voice asked.
Rob’s nose twitched at the familiar scent of cigarette smoke. He’d given up hassling his mother about her bad habit. Instead, he smiled and said, “Yes. She said she would help me find just the right gift for Dad and…” For a second, he couldn’t remember his future stepmother’s name.
“Haley.”
He snapped his fingers. “Right. You’re lucky. You don’t have to shop. The cake you’re making will be the perfect gift.”
He stood up, checking his pocket for his keys and sunglasses. “Are you ready? I have some briefs to read. I swear the lawyers in this office are the laziest bunch of miscreants I’ve ever worked with. All they want to do is golf and take two-hour lunches.”
His mother shouldered her purse strap. “Isn’t that why you went to law school—because Tiger Woods beat you out of a spot on the pro tour?”
He laughed. They both knew he wasn’t anywhere close to Tiger’s standard in his heyday. Golf was a hobby. An excuse for Rob and his father to spend time together without really talking. But the law—Rob loved being a lawyer. Well, he had until his ex-fiancée’s father sent him to Las Vegas as punishment for breaking his daughter’s heart.
He ushered Jo toward the door, nodding goodbye to the hostess, a beautiful blonde who’d flirted with Rob when they first came in. In the past, he might have asked for her number, but tonight his mind was still on Kate’s laugh.
“You know what you need, don’t you?” his mother asked, as he held the door for her.
Thinking she was talking about the gift he was going to buy, he said, “No. What?”
“A family.”
Rob’s heart made a funny skip in his chest. “And which store sells those? Only the top-of-the-line, of course. No bargain basement families for me, you know.”
She shook her finger at him. “You’re joking now, but when you’re my age. And all alone. You’ll be sorry.”
Once outside, Rob took his mother by the shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Don’t get all mushy on me, Mom. I was only kidding. I plan on having a wife and kids. Someday,” he added pointedly.
“Well, someday has a way of disappearing, like potato chips. You reach in for one, then another, always looking for the very best. Then suddenly the bag is empty, and you’re fat and old and out of shape.”
Rob fought to keep from laughing. He could tell she was serious and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Well, that’s a theory of life I haven’t heard before.”
She made a skeptical snort. “You’re smug, Rob. Albeit with good reason. You’re young and handsome. You have a high-paying career and a great deal of ambition. But you’re also short-sighted.”
He pressed his finger to the bridge of his nose. “I am?”
“Yes. You are. Because sometimes you’re so concerned about what’s on that silly list of requirements for the perfect mate, you don’t see what’s right in front of your face.”
He knew she was referring to Kate. And Maya.
“I see my car,” he said, opening the passenger door. “And if you don’t get in, I might leave you here.” He kept his tone light, so she’d know he was teasing. But her comments got to him.
He’d always been candid about the qualities he wanted in the person he married. Was that wrong? He’d often heard that the best way to make sure something happened was to visualize it. He had the list memorized. And his mother was right—Kate didn’t fit the list.
But that was okay. He wasn’t asking her to marry him—he only wanted
her help shopping.
Chapter 4
“Did not.”
“Did so.”
Hands on hips, Rob stared down at his adversary. She was one tough, single-minded opponent. Her oratory skills left a little to be desired, but what did he expect of a four-year-old?
“Rob. Maya. If you two don’t quit bickering, I’m sending you both to time-out chairs.”
Rob looked at Kate, who was openly grinning. When she’d called that morning to tell him she had a few hours free if he wanted to go shopping, he’d immediately instructed his secretary to rearrange his schedule. No easy task, but once the juggling was complete he had an open block of time to spend with Kate. And Maya, it turned out.
“Just try to get along for a few more minutes. Mom promised to call as soon as Alex got back from her doctor’s appointment.” Apparently the eldest Parlier sister had some kind of ongoing gynecological problems. Kate had explained that since the Dancing Hippo, Alex’s child-care center, was short-handed at the moment, she’d felt she should keep Maya with her until Alex returned.
No problem, Rob had thought. Until Maya started pushing buttons Rob didn’t even know he had.
“Sorry, Kate. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m not usually this defensive about my shoes.” He glanced down at the demon cherub with the innocent smile. “But they don’t squeak. They cost an arm and a leg.”
“Then you’d only need one,” Maya said.
Her mother made a sound somewhere between a snort and a giggle. Rob reluctantly grinned. The kid was smart. He respected that.
“Can we get back to the business at hand?” Kate asked.
She had her hair pulled off her neck with a silver and turquoise clip that matched her slim-fitting capri pants. Her black V-neck top exposed a patch of skin where a matching necklace hung. He’d wanted to compliment her but Maya’s scrutiny had stopped him.
“Until you narrow down the field, I can’t even tell you which store we should be looking in. Do you want something personal? Something for their home? Practical? Memorable?”
Rob had no idea.
He reviewed her choices but nothing jumped out at him. Outside of golfing apparel and equipment, he didn’t know his father’s taste well—and he had yet to meet Haley, the future Mrs. Brighten. “I assume they’re going to live in Palo Alto—Dad has a house there, but I could be wrong. Should I call and ask?”
Maya grabbed the hem of his suit coat and tugged.
“What?”
She motioned for him to bend down.
He did.
“Sexy,” she whispered, her voice ringing in his ear.
He shot upright. “I beg your pardon.”
She put her hands on her hips and sighed. “My Auntie Grace is getting married and I heard Mommy tell Auntie Liz not to waste her money on pots and pans ’cause the best gifts are sexy.”
He looked at Kate whose cheeks were decidedly pink.
“Really? Well, I’ll take that under advisement.”
Maya’s eyes narrowed. “You talk funny.”
The kid in him had a reply: “You smell funny.” But he was mature enough to keep it to himself.
Maya suddenly pointed to Rob and broke out laughing. Rob looked at Kate, who appeared baffled by her daughter’s display of hilarity. It was almost as if Maya had read his mind. But that wasn’t possible. Was it?
Good Lord, I hope not.
Kate heard a familiar jingle and reached into her purse. The word on the display of her phone read: Mom.
“I…um…think I have a copy of Haley’s bridal registry around here somewhere.” Rob’s tone told her he welcomed the excuse to escape.
“Good. That might give us a place to start.”
“It’s in my bedroom-slash-office-slash-storeroom. I’ll be right back,” he said, hurrying across the suite.
They’d met at his place since it was centrally located. As he walked away, Kate fought back a smile. Listening to him argue with Maya had been a revelation. Apparently she wasn’t the only adult who got sucked into her daughter’s challenges.
Kate put the phone to her ear. “Hi, Mom. How’s Alex?”
She only half listened as Yetta explained about Alex’s test results. All normal. That was good. With her other ear, Kate took in Maya’s litany of complaints.
“This place is too brown, Mommy. It smells like old people used to live here. Then they died. Do you think he’s going to change shoes. They do, too, squeak. Can we go now?”
Kate bid her mother goodbye then closed the phone. She tried to stifle her irritation as she squatted down to deal with Maya. Normally, her daughter was up for any kind of adventure, but the little girl had been cross and contrary all morning. Or rather, ever since she found out about this stop at Rob’s.
“Maya, what’s wrong? I told you why we’re here.”
“I don’t like him.”
“You don’t even know Rob. He’s Jo’s son. You like her, don’t you?”
Her eyes went big. “I love Jo. When she’s working, you can do things with me.”
Kate’s heart melted. She’d been so busy making a success of Romantique she’d missed out on a lot of time with her daughter. “That’s right. And, thanks to Rob, I’m going to be able to get the restaurant open again. He brought us a big job, so helping him buy a present for his father is my way of thanking him.”
Maya’s lips puckered in a serious look for a minute. “All right. But I don’t like it here.”
“Well, I’m sure Rob doesn’t plan to stay here forever. Do you, Rob?”
She’d heard his return—even without squeaky shoes.
He glanced around. “No. Of course not. I actually had a place in escrow but it fell through.”
Kate had heard that. His mother claimed the deal went sour because Rob didn’t truly want to be here. That he was only going through the motions to impress his bosses.
“You might like The Lakes. It’s in Henderson. Not far from where Liz lives. Jo said you golf, and they have several nice courses.”
“I’ll remember that. At the moment, I’m so busy, I can’t even get back to my Realtor.” He shrugged.
“I like Grandma’s house,” Maya said.
“I know you do, honey, but we’re not going to live there forever. Someday we’ll move into a place of our own.”
“With Daddy?”
Oh, Ian, thanks for putting me in this position. “No, sweetie, not with your dad. We talked about this, remember?”
“But…maybe—”
“Crystal.”
Kate and Maya looked at each other then at Rob, who was pointing at the paper he’d brought in with him. “The list says, ‘Anything crystal.’ That covers a lot of areas, doesn’t it? Both housewares and artsy-far…” His mumble sort of faded away.
Kate felt a serious tenderness touch her heart.
Maya tightened her grip on Kate’s hand. “Where’s your swimming pool?”
Rob appeared baffled by the sudden change in topic, but he pointed over his shoulder, kindly choosing to ignore her daughter’s petulant tone. “In the courtyard opposite the lobby. It’s not very big, but they keep it nice and cool. Wanna see?”
He motioned for her to follow him to the pair of windows on the opposite side of the room. Kate watched them.
They looked charming together. Almost like a daddy and his little girl.
She tried to ignore the totally unwelcome thought. Rob wasn’t the daddy type and she needed to remember that.
“Our swimming pool is round,” Maya stated. “Not square, like that one.”
That one. There was no missing her daughter’s critical tone. Kate looked at Rob and blushed. “Um, we’d better go. I told Jo I’d meet her at Romantique later to go over the updates your dad’s wedding planner faxed.”
“You bet. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can breathe easy. I told my secretary if we couldn’t find anything, I was putting her in charge of the task. She said she’d quit first.”
“Ready, ladies?” He fished a set of keys out of his pocket and said, “Why don’t I follow you in my truck?”
“You have a truck?” Kate asked. “I’ve never seen you drive anything but the Lexus.”
He led the way through the pleasantly landscaped grounds to the parking lot. “I usually keep it at Mom’s, but she asked me to pick up a new patio umbrella that she bought, so I drove it home last night. It belonged to my uncle. My dad’s brother. He passed away four years ago. Since he and my dad didn’t get along—the result of something that happened when they were younger, I was Uncle Pete’s only heir.”
He paused at the curb, looking for Kate’s car. She’d parked a few stalls down from the late-model navy-blue, four-door pickup truck that he pointed his remote key at.
“Ian had one similar to this,” she said, pausing to get her keys out of her purse. “We used it to pull our boat.”
“We had a boat?” Maya chirped.
Kate nodded. The toys. The expense. The arguments. Maybe if I’d paid more attention to the checkbook… She pushed the thought aside. She’d been slightly preoccupied at the time with her infant daughter, her father’s stroke and opening a new business. Plus, Ian had always demanded total control over their mutual finances. “I’ll take care of the money, you run the house,” he’d insisted.
“You were just a tiny babe, sweetie,” Kate said, grabbing Maya’s hand to lead her toward their car. “We’ll meet you at the Hippo, okay?” she called over her shoulder to Rob. “Then, I’m thinking Caesar’s Palace. They have several shops with amazing crystal pieces.”
She didn’t wait for an answer. The day was heating up fast. The car was stifling. She’d locked it out of habit and had forgotten to crack open the windows. She heard Rob’s truck engine roar to life as she checked to make sure Maya’s seat belt was fastened, then she hurried around to the driver’s side and got in. She turned the key.
The Daddy Gamble Page 4