Ready for Marriage?: The Marriage Ultimatum / Laying His Claim / The Bride Tamer

‘‘Right.’’ Her spirits, buoyed by his visit, fell as she recalled her concerns. ‘‘I can’t find a thing that points to anyone other than Cathie being the culprit.’’

‘‘Have you told the board?’’

She shook her head. ‘‘Not yet.’’

‘‘You’re going to have to tell them soon.’’

‘‘I know.’’ She sighed. ‘‘I just want to check a few more things before I do.’’

There was a small silence. Derek stuck his head out the door and when he looked back at her, he was grinning. ‘‘Mollie’s lying on top of the dog.’’

‘‘Hobby’s a patient fellow with children,’’ she said. ‘‘How’s she doing?’’

‘‘Pretty good. Day care is going fine now, thanks to your hair.’’

She smiled, reaching up a hand to flip a lock forward absently. She’d been wearing it down much of the time since her talk with Faye and she was getting used to the weight of it. ‘‘That’s good.’’

‘‘Yeah, except that I’m not going to be able to keep her there.’’

‘‘What?’’ She straightened, her voice displaying her concern. ‘‘Why not?’’

‘‘It’s a great place,’’ he said, ‘‘but the hours are too confining. I’m going to look for a baby-sitter who can be more flexible when I have to stay late, and who can keep her longer on clinic nights.’’

‘‘Oh. I never thought about that. Maybe I could—’’

But Derek held up a finger. ‘‘No. You couldn’t. But if you’d be willing to help me interview prospects, I’d be grateful for the additional opinion.’’

‘‘Of course.’’ He was right. And she should be glad that it had finally sunk into his thick skull that she wasn’t going to be Mollie’s baby-sitter for the rest of their lives. But…

Another silence fell, this one less comfortable than the one before. Talking about baby-sitting invariably led her to thoughts of the reason Derek needed a sitter, which led to guilt, which in turn made her annoyed with herself because there was absolutely no reason in the world for her to feel guilty for wanting a life of her own.

‘‘So how was your date on the fourth?’’

‘‘Fine.’’ If she were honest, it had been a pain in the butt. The man seemed to have more arms than an octopus and all of them had been determined to touch her. She’d never been so glad to get home in her life. She’d practically had to shut the door on him—definitely the best part of the evening.

‘‘Did you enjoy the fireworks?’’

‘‘Yes. Did you?’’

‘‘Yes, although Mollie missed you. She kept asking when you were coming.’’

‘‘I’m sorry.’’ And she was. She would much rather have been with Derek and Mollie. But they’d been estranged after that disastrous kiss and she hadn’t imagined that he would want her company.

‘‘What did you think of the new rockets they added this year?’’

‘‘They were interesting. I like the sounds they make.’’

‘‘Yeah. We walked around and looked for you, but we didn’t see you anywhere.’’

She stared at him, a suspicion forming in her head as his disconnected statements began to mesh. ‘‘Are you trying to find out if I really went to the fireworks?’’

To her surprise, a deep flush spread up his neck and he avoided her eyes. ‘‘It was kind of odd that we didn’t see you.’’

‘‘Well, I was there.’’ What was going on here? He’d made it plain that he wasn’t ready for a relationship, that he wasn’t even sure he had liked kissing her enough to want to repeat the experience. He’d said he needed time to figure out what to do about her, as if she were some bothersome task he had to schedule and complete.

‘‘Are you going to see him again?’’ There was a distinctly challenging note in his voice, one that took her even further aback.

‘‘Why?’’ Had he always been this tenacious? She was starting to wish she had the nerve to tell him she was sleeping with Craig on a regular basis, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie.

‘‘If he’s going to be appearing in your life frequently, I want to meet him.’’

‘‘You know,’’ she said conversationally, holding onto her temper by a thread, ‘‘I’m well over the age of consent and you’re not my father.’’

‘‘Are you going to see him again?’’ He was inflexible. Impossible.

She hesitated, then realized he wasn’t going to back off until she answered him. ‘‘Probably not.’’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘‘My dating life is none of your business.’’

He shoved off the file cabinet abruptly and headed out of her office. She followed, completely bewildered and more than a little annoyed, as he bent and swung Mollie into his arms.

‘‘Give Kristin a kiss,’’ he said to his daughter. And as Kristin reached out and caught the little girl, Derek sent her an enigmatic smile over the child’s head. ‘‘Everything you do is my business, Kris.’’

On Thursday night, Faye got fast food for Mollie and him, although he had to snatch bites of his burger between patients. By the time he finished examining the last animal of the evening and got to the fries they were stone-cold and unappealing, so he pitched them into the trash. The food was a far cry from the usual tasty meals he’d enjoyed when Kristin was in his life.

God, he missed her. He’d stopped by the sanctuary Monday night hoping to catch her there. But their encounter had left him dissatisfied and somewhat alarmed by her evasiveness.

Was she serious about dating other people? He’d expected to have more time. More time for what?

More time to procrastinate, he finally told himself. More time to tell himself they weren’t right for each other. More time to pretend he wasn’t interested, didn’t want her, wasn’t going to care if she got involved with some other man. More time to pedal backward every time she came near.

He was, he realized, exactly the same as a woman who said no when she meant yes. He wanted Kristin, he just hadn’t wanted to admit it. She’d been right when she accused him of keeping her around for convenience sake, only it wasn’t jobs he wanted her for. If she was tied up with him, she was too busy to be going out with anyone else.

Only trouble with that strategy was, she wasn’t around anymore. The Fourth of July had been a prime example. As he and Mollie had sat on their solitary blanket at the fireworks, his mind had been a jumble, mixed emotions clouding his brain.

He’d looked for Kris. He’d taken Mollie for a walk through the crowds to buy some caramel corn although his real mission, he could finally allow himself to see, had been to find Kris. But they hadn’t seen Kristin and her date, and later, as his daughter dozed off on the blanket beside him and the sky exploded into bright shards of light, all he could think of was Kris. Why hadn’t he seen her? It was possible he’d simply missed her, but surely she’d have called out to Mollie, even if she didn’t want to talk to him.

Had they decided not to attend? And if not, where were they and what were they doing? He gritted his teeth against the anger that rose once more at the thought of Kristin in another man’s arms. He had no right to be mad, he told himself. He wasn’t ready to declare himself, wasn’t prepared to begin taking her out. He should be glad that she was turning her attentions away from him.

But he wasn’t. He felt as if he’d had a bucket of ice water tossed in his face and he recognized that he probably deserved it. All right, he told himself. If you want her, you’re going to have to let her know.

He felt as if he’d been wrapped in insulation since Deb had died, as if his feelings had been cushioned, his interest in the other sex muted by his loss. But now his insulation had been stripped away and all he could think of was how much he wanted Kristin.

Without a conscious decision, he found himself steering the car toward her town house. He was so deep in thought that he was a little startled when Mollie realized where they were and squealed with excitement.

As he climbed out of the car he was suddenly struck by a bolt of uncertainty. Should he be here? Should he be considering altering the friendship he and Kristin had shared for so many years? She’d altered it first, he reminded himself. She’d made him think, made him aware of her, made him need again. It was too late to turn back.

He unstrapped Mollie from her car seat and went to Kristin’s door. He was just about to ring the bell when he realized the door was open a crack. Cautiously, he poked a finger against it, and when it swung open, he peered into the compact living room beyond.

Kristin lay on the couch, fast asleep.