Stupid nosy neighbors. They always looked at her like she was a freak. Not that she gave a damn what they thought of her. She didn’t care what anyone thought of her.
And if she never spoke to that creep Jordan again it would be too soon.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHEN SYDNEY’S CELL PHONE rang later that evening and she saw an unfamiliar number, she almost didn’t answer it, but Lacey had gone out with friends, so she picked up just in case.
“Hey, Sydney, it’s Angie. Daniel’s sister.”
Angie was not someone she could easily forget. “If you’re trying to reach Daniel, he’s on duty.”
“No, I called to talk to you.”
“Oh.” April grabbed the phone, so Sydney laid her in the playpen. “Is there a problem with Lacey.”
“Oh, no, not at all! She’s a supersweet kid.”
Supersweet? “We are talking about my daughter. Lacey Harris? About five-three, blondish-green hair.”
Angie laughed. “I really like her, and Jordan told me she’s a hard worker.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“The reason I called was to tell you how happy I am that you’re coming to Jason’s. I know we’ll have a blast. Even though Daniel doesn’t like him.”
“He doesn’t?” Daniel was so easygoing, Sydney couldn’t imagine him disliking anyone. Except maybe Jeff, but he deserved it.
“He thinks Jason is too much like my ex-husband, Richard. But other than having money, they have nothing in common. Danny’s just really protective of me.”
The fact the he was so devoted to his family was a good sign. Not that Sydney was thinking in terms of a permanent relationship yet. At least, she was trying not to. But it was tough not to fall head over heels in love with the guy.
“I know you and Danny are just friends, and I respect that, so I’ll only say this once. I think you would make a pretty awesome couple.”
She wanted to tell Angie that they were kind of a couple now, but she wasn’t sure what Daniel wanted his family to know, if maybe he wanted to keep their relationship quiet. Or if he thought they even had a real relationship. Maybe to him it was just a fling. Just sex. Although if that were true, wouldn’t he have tried to actually have sex with her?
She certainly didn’t want to push him, but this was something they needed to talk about. Just so she knew what to tell people if they asked.
“You’re awfully quiet all of a sudden,” Angie said. “Am I making you uncomfortable? I mean, for all I know you might not have those kinds of feelings for him. I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds. I tend to get really nosy when it comes to Danny’s relationships.”
“I’m not uncomfortable. And as for my relationship with Daniel, it’s…”
“Complicated?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, as I’m sure you’ve probably figured out, Danny is a little commitment shy. But I always thought that would change when the right woman came along. And I don’t mean to say that I think that’s you. Or that it isn’t you. I mean, unless you want it to be you. And if not, you know, just ignore me.” Angie paused for a second then laughed. “I should shut up now.”
“I understand what you’re saying.” Sydney had the feeling Angie was hoping she would either confirm or deny a relationship, but she didn’t feel it was her place. And how could she when even she didn’t know what was going on?
After she hung up with Angie, Sydney looked up local secondhand kids’ stores, then she strapped April into her car seat in the van and they went in search of a high chair. She found a really nice, cheap one at the third store they tried. It was so cheap, she had enough money left over to get April a few toys, too.
When they got back to Daniel’s house his patrol car was parked in the driveway and he was sitting on the porch drinking a soda. But this time instead of feeling defensive, Sydney knew he was probably on break, and there to see April for a few minutes.
She parked in her driveway and hopped out of the van.
“I’m not here to check up on you,” Daniel called from his porch. But she already knew that.
“You want to help me?” she called back, walking around to open the back of the van.
He crossed the lawn, looking so good that, if they hadn’t been in plain view of the entire neighborhood, she might have thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him. Then he stunned her when he hooked an arm around her, tugged her against him and proceeded to kiss her senseless. He tasted sweet, like the soda he’d been drinking.
“Hi,” he said, smiling down at her. She couldn’t see his eyes behind his mirrored glasses, but she was sure they were as lust-glazed as her own.
“Hi. What was that for?”
He shrugged. “Do I need a reason?”
Absolutely not, and he obviously didn’t care who saw.
“I see you found a high chair,” he said.
“You want to carry it inside while I get April?”
He grabbed the chair from the back of the van and carried it into his house, but when he tried to set it up, he became hopelessly confused.
“Here, let me show you.” Sydney unfastened April from her car seat and handed her to Daniel. The baby went straight for his glasses, so he took them off and set them on the coffee table. Sydney showed him how to unfold and fold the high chair, how to raise and lower the height of the seat, how to remove the tray and hook it back on, and how to recline the seat for smaller babies who weren’t quite sitting up yet.
“These things have changed a lot since my sisters were little,” he said. “I don’t recall them being so…complicated.”
“I got a great deal. I want to scrub it down really well before I put her in it. Since you can’t be too careful. And I had a few dollars left over, so I got her some toys, too.”
“Thanks. I’ve been meaning to pick some up.”
“It’s no problem.”
“I don’t suppose…” He paused.
“What?”
“Well, I never anticipated having her this long, and she’s been growing like a weed. All the clothes I got her are getting small.”
She had noticed that. “You want me to get her some new clothes?”
“Only if you don’t mind. Shopping was never part of the job description.”
“I don’t mind at all. I probably have a better idea of what she needs anyway. And I know where all the good sales are. Unless you’d prefer I buy resale.”
He shrugged. “Whatever is easiest for you.”
“Maybe we’ll run out tomorrow after her nap.” In fact, April seemed ready for bed now. Her lids were heavy and she kept laying her head on Daniel’s shoulder and snuggling against his neck. Sydney was a little surprised she hadn’t fallen asleep in the van.
“You want me to lay her down?” Daniel asked.
She was going to tell him no, that she could do it, but she had the feeling he really wanted to. “Sure.”
She followed him down the hall and stood in the doorway as Daniel hugged and kissed April, then laid her in her crib.
“Good night, munchkin,” he said, stroking her hair back from her face. Sydney watched, feeling the tiniest bit choked up. She was still convinced that, despite what he said, Daniel would never be able to give April up.
He closed the door on his way out and they walked back to the family room. “Before I forget, how would you feel about going out on a real date tomorrow? Since I covered for Dave, he and Sammi offered to watch April for the evening. I thought we could go to Moose Winooski’s.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“However,” he said, tugging her into his arms, “I feel compelled to warn you that the only man you’ll be dancing with this time is me.”
That was perfectly fine with her. He was the only man she wanted to dance with. “I suppose.”
“It’s possible the mayor might be there,” he warned.
“He’s in Hawaii with the bimbo.” Although she almost wished he would be there, so he could see how happy she was.
She’d had an unpleasant conversation on Tuesday when her lawyer sent his lawyer a bill for the locksmith. Jeff had called her from Hawaii, in the middle of his vacation, ranting about how she’d had no right to have any work done on the house without first getting his permission. Which they both knew was ridiculous. She reminded him that if his creepy handyman hadn’t had a key, she wouldn’t have needed to change the locks.
He launched into a tirade about Sydney’s “boyfriend” and how she was losing sight of what was important, and that he was going to sue her for full custody, which again, they both knew was a load of crap. The fact that she sat quietly listening to his tirade, not reacting to his threats, seemed to infuriate him even more. After a bit more name-calling, he’d finally slammed the phone down. Her lawyer called a couple of hours later saying that they’d received a check for the bill. Which was what Jeff should have done in the first place.
Sydney didn’t know why he expended so darned much energy antagonizing her. He had his bimbo girlfriend. Wasn’t it time they both moved on? Although the truth was, he didn’t annoy her nearly as much as he used to. She just…didn’t care anymore.
“This is going to sound strange, but I feel kind of sorry for her,” Daniel said.
“For who?”
“The bimbo. The way she follows him around like a puppy.”
“You know what’s really sick? I used to be just like her. But that’s a story for another time. You have to get back to work.”
He looked at his watch. “Yeah, I do. Can you stick around for a while tonight?”
She couldn’t suppress a smile. “I’m sure we can arrange something.”
He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her lips. “I was thinking we could pick up where we left off this morning. If you think you’re ready for that,” he said.
Oh, she was so ready. The taking-things-slow plan had been a really dumb idea. She grinned and rose up on her toes to kiss him. “I’ll see you at eleven-fifteen.”
WHEN DANIEL LET HIMSELF into the house that night after work, Sydney was stretched out on the couch with the television on, April sprawled on her chest asleep. And when she looked up at him and smiled, he was struck with the oddest sense of…peace. He used to prefer coming home to an empty house, but he was getting used to having her and April there.
Although, in her formfitting tank top and cutoff shorts, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked a bit like a teenage babysitter. Which made him a degenerate for the thoughts he was having. But despite how she looked, he knew for a fact that Sydney was all woman.
She switched off the television and said, “Hi. How was work?”
“Busy. Bar fights, domestic disturbance calls, kids cutting loose. Typical Friday night stuff.” He leaned over and kissed her, then April. “Couldn’t she sleep?”
“I started her on applesauce tonight and it upset her tummy. But I think she’s ready for bed now.” She rose from the couch, cradling April close.
“I have to go change. You want me to lay her down?”
“Would you?”
“Sure. Why don’t you grab us a couple of beers?”
“That sounds really good. It’s been a long night.”
He carried April to her room and set her gently in her crib, but she was sleeping so soundly a bomb could have gone off outside and she probably wouldn’t have budged. He changed into jogging pants and a muscle shirt, shaking his head when he saw that Sydney made his bed again and the dirty clothes from his bedroom floor had been washed and folded. He’d told her repeatedly that she didn’t have to clean his house and she especially didn’t have to do his laundry. Or April’s, for that matter. Yet every day he came home to a spotless house and clean laundry. It was as if she couldn’t help herself.
Which was why he wasn’t surprised to find her in the kitchen washing dishes.
“I’ll do those tomorrow,” he said.
“It’ll just take a second.” She never left his kitchen anything but immaculate. She gestured with her elbow to the beer on the counter by the fridge. “That’s yours.”
He grabbed it and took a long swallow. “Anything exciting happen after I left? Besides the tummy ache.”
“Not really.”
Sydney was totally focused on scrubbing baby bottles and not looking at him. She seemed…distant. Which Daniel was learning meant there was something on her mind. Growing up in a household with five sisters had trained him to be attuned to the subtleties of female emotions. Which he was sure had a lot to do with his past success with the opposite sex. “Something bothering you?”
She shook her head. “No.”
And women accused men of not being open with their feelings. He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her against his chest. “Come on, tell me.”
She grabbed a dish towel and dried her hands. “It’s nothing.”
He turned her so she was facing him. “Talk to me, Syd.”
“Angie called me today.”
“Oh, God.”
She laughed. “It was nothing bad. She just wanted to tell me she was excited that I was coming on the trip. And she made it really clear that she thought we would be a good couple.”
“That sounds like Angie.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure what to tell her. If I should even tell her anything at all.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“I wasn’t sure if anyone was supposed to know.”
“Is there a reason people shouldn’t know? Are you worried how it will affect Lacey?”
“No, not at all. Lacey actually gave me permission to date you.”
He shrugged. “So what’s the problem?”
“Is that what we’re doing?”
Daniel was beginning to understand what she was getting at, although for the life of him he didn’t know why she wouldn’t just ask him. “So what you’re saying is, you want to know if we’re dating, and if it’s okay to tell people.”
Sydney bit her lip and nodded.
“Yes, and yes. We’re definitely dating, and I see no reason to deny it to anyone. Besides, after what happened at the bar last week, no one would believe me anyway.”
“I know I probably seem very naive, but I haven’t dated since I was eighteen. I’ve forgotten the rules, I guess.”
“Well, you’re lucky, then. Because I know them all.” He grinned and tugged her in the direction of the living room. “And right now, the rules say it’s time to make out on the couch.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
DANIEL HADN’T BEEN KIDDING. He didn’t let her dance with anyone but him at Moose Winooski’s Saturday night. Not that she wanted to, and no one would have dared ask, with his arm looped around her waist all evening. It felt nice, since it had been an awfully long time since anyone had wanted to put their arm there.
She had been a little worried that people would treat her differently this time. Maybe last time they were simply being polite, but she was accepted just as easily as if they had known her for years. She felt as if she fit in. When she was married to Jeff, she’d always had the feeling she was an imposter, someone playing a role. Now she felt comfortable being herself. And the fact that she had been married to Jeff, and ceremoniously dumped him, made her something of a legend.
The more she talked with people, the more she began to realize just how many people didn’t like him—and that a lot of people who seemed to like him, actually couldn’t stand him. It had just been politics.
Their so-called friends hadn’t been true friends at all. Their affection had been a political smokescreen, as she’d discovered after the divorce. What Sydney felt with Daniel’s friends was genuine.
But what she found truly remarkable was the acceptance she received from Daniel’s family. They had been at the bar a couple of hours when Bethany and Delilah came in. They both had the same dark, striking features as Daniel and Angie. Apparently Angie had been singing her praises, and they were both eager to meet the new woman in their brother’s life.
When Daniel moved down the bar to talk to Jon, Dee slid onto the empty bar stool beside Sydney. “So, Angie tells me you used to be married to the mayor.”
“Yep.”
Dee drained her glass and gestured the bartender for another drink. “He’s an ass.”
Sydney had been hearing that a lot lately. “Tell me about it.”
“I probably shouldn’t mention this, but he hit on me once, a couple of years ago.”
Maybe that should have bothered her, but knowing Jeff hit on a woman, when there were so many others that he’d slept with, seemed insignificant. Sydney honestly didn’t care any longer. “I’m sure he hit on a lot of women.”
“I politely declined, and when I turned to walk away he grabbed my ass and made a disparaging comment about my heritage.”
Dee smiled, as if the memory was a satisfying one. “I called him a fascist pig and threw my drink in his face.”
Sydney laughed. She couldn’t even count how many times she’d had that exact same impulse; she’d just never had the guts to follow through. “I wish I could have been there to see it.”
“Not one of my finer moments. But it felt good. Danny wanted me to press charges. I figured wearing my scotch was humiliating enough.”
Sydney had felt the same way when Jeff had grabbed her on the dance floor last week. He was his own worst enemy, and one of these days his temper was going to get him in trouble.
“Now, Danny,” Dee said, nodding in his direction, “he’s a good guy.”
“I know.” She glanced over at him and got a little shiver of excitement and attraction. And contentment. Everything in her said this was right. That Daniel was the man for her. Forever.
He must have sense her watching because he looked over and winked.
The bartender set a drink in front of Dee and she took a sip. “He must really like you.”
“Why is that?”
“Because he’s breaking all his dating rules to be with you. You’re divorced and you have a kid.”
“And I live next door.”
“Exactly. And he tends to date women who are slightly…younger. Not that I’m saying you’re old. It’s just really nice to see him in a mature relationship for a change. He’s hardworking, responsible and financially stable, but emotionally he’s got Peter Pan syndrome.”
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