by Scott, Lisa
He nodded.
“And if you’re good with kids, and she suggested ‘trying things out’ this Saturday night?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Kyla groaned. “She’s a single mom. She’s not looking for a date—she’s looking for a babysitter. Put your hundred bucks away.”
With a frown, he shoved the bills back in his wallet. “That would explain why she asked if I was Red Cross certified in CPR.”
Kyla dropped her head back. “I’ve heard a good babysitter can be harder to find than a single guy.”
“So, I shouldn’t call her?”
“No! Not unless you’re looking for a babysitting gig, and I promise you, you won’t ever get a date if you’re working as a manny.”
“Fine. So what now?”
“I wish my apartment was bigger. I’d have a party with women hand-picked just for you.” Kyla drummed her fingers. Then she snapped them. “I have a baby shower to go to this weekend. All the single women will have babies on the brain. They’ll be in man-hunting overdrive. You’ll get a date for sure.”
He rubbed his chin. “At a baby shower?”
“Sometimes they’re co-ed.”
“Is this one?”
“No, but we’ll tell them we thought it was to explain why you’re there.”
Stone paused. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Don’t question the master.”
“Remind again me what makes you the master?”
“Years of watching and helping three older brothers weave their magic. Now let’s get out of here.”
Stone walked her to her car, and as she stood there by her door, her lips tingled for a moment. Stop it, she told herself. He’s not the right kind of guy for you.
And why the hell not? She sighed. There was her mother’s voice.
“Everything all right?” Stone asked.
She opened her car door. “It will be once we get you set up on a date.”
“I’m sorry this is turning into such a pain in the ass for you.”
She was about to say, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ but that might lead to a discussion she didn’t want to have. “Good night.” She hopped in her car and drove home.
***
Stone was chatting up a tall, leggy brunette with five baby binkies hanging around his neck.
“Can I talk to you?” Kyla asked him as she walked up.
“You and I will chat later,” he told the woman. “You can tell me all about your nursery theme.”
She shook her head, confused. “No, I don’t have a baby.”
He pointed at her. “Gotcha! And now you don’t have your binky necklace either—you said b-a-b-y! Hand it over.” He did a little victory dance, and then held out his hand, wiggling his fingers.
The brunette pouted and took off the binky tethered to long pink string around her neck.
Stone proudly looped it around his neck. “That makes six. I’m totally going to win this thing, just so long as I stay away from the granny in the corner with the bifocals. She’s got quite a few and she’s been eyeing me up. Either that or she wants me. And I don’t think I’m into the cougar thing.” He glared at an old woman in the corner, toying with the binkies around her neck, and she glared right back at him.
Kyla jabbed him with her elbow. “Be nice to her. She’s going to be a great-grandmother when this baby is born.”
“Ha!” Stone held out his hand. “Give me your binky!”
Kyla sighed and took off her binky necklace and handed it to him. “We didn’t come here to play games, we came here so you could meet some women.”
“I’m meeting lots of women.”
“And you’re pissing them all off by tricking them out of their binkies.”
His shoulders slumped. “Oh. Right, I see.”
Kyla put her hands on his shoulders. “Clearly you can’t do this on your own. So, pick out someone you think is cute and I’ll introduce you. Just smile and nod and say very little. Or nothing. Saying nothing might be good, too. Okay?”
“Okay.” He looked around the room and his gaze settled on a pretty redhead by the punch bowl. “How about Ginger over there wetting her whistle?”
“Or, a nice way to say it would’ve been, ‘The lovely redhead getting a drink.’”
“Yes. Her.”
“Follow me.”
But before they could reach the gal, the tiny white-haired woman went straight for Stone. “I don’t think I know you.”
He reached out his hand. “I’m Stone Kinney. I’m friends with Kyla.”
“I’m Nana Clark. Soon to be a great-grandma once this kiddo is born. Is this the first time you’ve been to one of these newborn shindigs?” She had a twinkle in her eye as she touched the binkies hanging around her neck, like she was making sure they were still there.
Stone opened his mouth then fixed her with a steely gaze. “You mean a party to herald the arrival of a treasured infant into the world? Yes, this is my first soiree dedicated to celebrating the birth of a family’s progeny.” He grabbed a handful of dinner mints from the table and popped them in his mouth.
Nana Clark snapped her fingers in frustration. “Dang it. You’re on to me. And I really wanted to win that body lotion basket.”
Stone locked his stare on Nana Clark’s, and Kyla wondered if she was going to have to separate them. Then Stone looked at the floor and held back a grin. “I really want to win, too.” He looked at Kyla, and cupped her cheek in his hand. She stopped breathing. “Luckily, I’m doing great at this game, right, baby?”
Kyla could only nod, while Nana Clark slapped her hand on her thigh. “Got you! You said it! Hand over those.”
“Not all of them,” Kyla said, defensively. “Surely you just get one.”
Stone took them all off. “No, I think Nana Clark deserves them all.”
Kyla was about to say something incredibly sappy about Stone being sweeter than the punch, so she took a drink of it instead. Kyla never said anything sweet. What the hell was wrong with her?
Nana Clark’s eyes lit up like she was being presented with the new baby just delivered from its mother’s womb. Nana gazed over at the gift basket. “I hope that thing’s got a few candles in it. I’m running low. I like to set them out when my gentleman callers join me in the hot tub.”
Kyla spit her punch back into her cup.
“Say, maybe you two will have a baby someday,” Nana said, and then walked off.
Stone’s eyes widened hearing the magic word, ready to snag the binkies back, but Kyla’s were glossed over with tears.
He looked at her. “Oh, no. What did I do? You wanted those candles and the body stuff? I’m sorry. I just couldn’t do it to her.”
Kyla blinked at him.
“What? I could’ve gotten all the binkies back—she just said baby! I should have busted her. But she really wanted that basket. It’s probably the highlight of her year.”
Kyla forced her emotions into a laugh, because if they came out in a cry, she’d be crying for a long time. What a fool she’d been thinking that she could come to a baby shower—with a guy like Stone. The first guy to make her think maybe she would want to have a baby again someday.
That’s just because you can’t have him.
Shut up, mother. But it hadn’t been her mother’s voice in her head, it had been her own.
Stop beating yourself up. You made a mistake. It’s time to move on. Now, that was her Mom. Huh.
***
Stone walked her out to her car after the party, the snow crunching under their feet, the sun a sorry little blotch struggling to be seen in the sky. “Sorry. I’m leaving without a date or a number or a gift basket. I feel like I’m wasting your time.”
Her hair swirled in the breeze and she tucked it behind her ear. She patted his hand, wishing she could link her fingers with his, wondering what it would be like to have him work those hands through her long hair. But she dropped his hand instead. “No, you’re not wast
ing my time. I’m just not taking you the right places. I’ve got a no-brainer next weekend. You’re coming to a wedding with me; only you’re going to pretend you’re there by yourself. My friend, Maureen from the Tupperware party, was going to come with me because she heard there’s going to be a fortuneteller and a martini bar at the reception, but I’ll tell her tough cookies, you’re coming instead. At the wedding, you can pretend to be the groom’s third cousin from out of town.”
He shrugged. “Do I have to bring a gift?”
“How about some of the Tupperware you bought?”
He frowned. “Not the modular mates. I really like those.” He narrowed his eyes. “If I weren’t such a sap I’d have a brand new body lotion gift set to bring.”
***
Stone tried on three different ties before settling on the one with the shooting stars. He had an impressive collection of astrological themed ties given to him during his graduate studies. This whole girlfriend search was almost as exhausting as pulling off a triple major in college. Almost. His mother had always told him he could do anything if he set his mind to it. He wished he could talk to his mother about this one, but she’d be crushed to find out he wasn’t with Susan anymore.
It’s not that she loved Susan; she loved the idea of Susan—and the wedding and the babies that were sure to come. He didn’t have the heart yet to break it to her that he and Susan were no long together, but things were getting desperate. Clearly. Maybe he just didn’t have the social skills to seek out a girlfriend. Maybe he’d have to wait for one to find him—if he could pick up on the I’m-interested-cues. On the rare occasions he went bar hopping with his ex, she’d laugh at how oblivious he was to pickup lines and steamy stares across the room. He could write everything he knew about women on a fortune cookie slip—and the fortune on the other side would probably be more helpful. Like Kyla. Why was she always flipping her long hair around him? Was that some sort of “hands off” gesture? Now Kyla would be a catch. But he was standing in an entirely different ballpark from her.
Stone drove to the hotel ballroom and scanned the lobby. They were supposed to meet there first and then walk in separately like they weren’t together. Kyla was working hard for her hundred bucks and he appreciated it. She really was kind. He smiled to himself. Kind probably wasn’t the best word. Sassy? Confident. Intriguing. A smart ass? Yeah, definitely a smart ass. But cold. Her personality was definitely on the cool side. Or maybe she was that way just was around him.
“Hey, aren’t you the groom’s third cousin?” cooed a familiar voice.
He looked over and forgot to breathe; Kyla was wearing a black, clingy dress suitable for an anatomy lesson. At least an anatomy lesson showing off all the good parts. He could certainly point out the exact location of her humeral head in that outfit. He cleared his throat. “Yes, I’m cousins with—” What was the groom’s name?
“Bill Tucker.”
“Bill Tucker’s cousin. I’m his third cousin.” He straightened his tie. “Are you sure I can pull this off?”
She shrugged. “Nope. But what’s the worse that could happen?”
He didn’t even want to think about that.
“We’re at table twelve. Wait five minutes then come say hi to me at the bar. We met at the engagement party.” Then she sauntered away.
“You look nice!” he called after her, but she didn’t turn around.
Five minutes later, he walked into the ballroom and quickly found the bar. He spotted Kyla right away—surrounded by three big, buff guys.
He scanned the room for other attractive women, but his eyes kept coming back to Kyla. Which was stupid, she knew what a social dolt he was and she’d made it pretty clear she thought he was a pathetic loser back when she’d busted him at her perfume counter.
He walked up to her, aware of three sets of suspicious eyes on him. He looked at Kyla and pointed. “Hey, didn’t I meet you at the engagement party?”
She snapped her fingers. “Oh, yeah. Stone, right?”
“Yes. And you’re Kyla.”
“Hey, let’s go mingle.” She elbowed her way out of the group of men and he happily followed.
“I could’ve taken them,” he said, tugging on his lapels.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, taken them out for ice cream maybe.”
Man, she thought he was worse than a dolt. She thought he a defenseless dolt. But then how would he even know? He’d never been in a fight. Hard to do when you spend your nights in a lab gazing at the sky.
“Looks like tables twelve, thirteen, and fourteen are for the singles. Hang out around there, and you should be able to find some women without dates,” Kyla suggested.
Stone scanned the room, but he didn’t see anyone as attractive as the woman standing next to him. “How about you warm me up?”
“You’re going to have to explain that. It sounds perverted, but now that I know you, I’m sure you didn’t mean it that way.” Her big, beautiful eyes bore into him.
He blew out a breath. “Let’s just talk. Get me loosened up.”
“Oh, okay. Well, tell me how you met the ex-love of your life?”
“In the library, of course. She was studying at the table next to me and needed me to reach a book for her. What about you? Any great loves lost?”
Her smile disappeared. “It was a long time ago.”
He hated that his question brought a thread of sadness into her voice. “Really? How long has it been since you’ve had a boyfriend?”
“Oh, I’ve dated. It’s just been a while since I thought I was with someone who was the one.”
“What happened?”
She shook her head. “I’d have to be a lot drunker to tell you that story.”
Just then, a pretty woman with dark brown eyes walked up. Jackpot, maybe he wouldn’t have to do the approaching. But she went up to Kyla, instead. “Kyla Carter, is that you?”
Kyla smiled, but Stone knew it was fake. “Jessie Lewis! How are you? I haven’t seen you since high school!” Kyla said.
They fake hugged and then Jessie stepped back. “Did you ever go back and get your diploma after—”
Kyla cut her off. “I did. Yes, thanks for asking. I’m great. Super. Duper.”
Jessie touched Kyla’s arm, and Kyla looked like she wanted to rip it off. I will never understand the touching rule, he thought.
“Good,” Jessie said. “I felt so bad that you had to drop out. You were near the top of the class, weren’t you?”
Kyla froze and Aubrey hurried over and interrupted. “Hey, Stone, great to see you. And you, Jessie Lewis. Wow. Here you are. Have you seen my brothers? Let’s go chat with Nick and reminisce about your date to prom.” Aubrey and Jessie scooted away. Aubrey looked back and made a face.
Stone looked at Kyla. “What’s she talking about?”
Kyla shook her head.
“Tell me. What happened, Kyla? If your grades were so good, why did you drop out of school and skip college?”
Kyla’s mouth moved like she was searching for the words, but she just covered her face, sobbing, and ran off.
Stone stood there, stunned, wondering if he should go after her, but he soon found himself surrounded by the three huge guys from the bar.
“What did you do to her?” one of them asked in a gravelly voice.
The two other guys moved closer.
Wondering what it would be like to be in traction for several months, Stone cleared his throat. “I didn’t say anything. Her friend from high school said something and got her upset.”
That elicited some mumbling and swearing. “You her date?” one of them asked.
“No. I’m…” He was going to say he was the groom’s third cousin, but he decided on the truth. “I’m a friend. She’d never go out with someone like me. But—God, this is embarrassing—she’s helping me with my dating skills. She says she helped her brothers a lot.”
And that brought on a round of laughter. “She helped us?” one of the guys said.
“Oh, you’re her brothers.” And not ex-NFL boyfriends. Although brothers might be worse.
“Yeah, I’m Eric, this is Nick and Toby. And we’ve never needed help with the ladies. If anything, she got in the way, always hanging around when we brought a girl home.”
“She said something about lining up Nick with a prom date? And models and flight attendants?” Stone asked.
“Well, the prom date’s true,” Eric said. “Nick was a later bloomer.”
“Hey!” Nick said.
“But the models and stewardesses were all on our own,” Nick said.
“And some female CEO’s,” Toby added.
“Yeah, even before we inherited our money,” Eric said, puffing out his chest.
“Geez, Eric. Shut the hell up,” Nick said.
Stone shook his head like he could clear it. “Shouldn’t someone go check on Kyla?”
The three brothers looked at each other. “It scares me when she cries. Kyla never cries.” Eric said. “You go talk to her, Toby.”
Toby grimaced. “She’ll bite my head off. Nick, it’s up to you. You’re Mr. Sensitive.”
“Just because I use toothpaste for sensitive teeth does not mean I can handle Kyla. She cries, and then she yells, and sometimes she hits me,” Nick said, rubbing his arm as if she’d just slugged him.
“It’s been a while since she had a boyfriend. Maybe that’s why she’s upset?” Eric wondered.
“Where’s Aubrey?” Toby asked. “She’s better at this than us.”
The guys scanned the room and shrugged. “I don’t see her,” Nick said.
Then the three of them looked at Stone.
“Well, I’m going to go find her,” Stone said, one hundred percent clueless about what he’d say or do when he did locate her.
“Good luck to you,” Toby said. “You’re braver than I imagined.”
Nick wasn’t sure where she went. So he walked to the ladies room and waited outside for a few minutes––got a few nasty stares, but didn’t see her come out. He offered the flower girl five bucks to see if Kyla was inside, and once the little devil negotiated her way up to ten bucks, she went in and told him there were no pretty, dark-haired ladies crying in there.