Cinderella Story Part 2

He scowled with impatience at her stubborn independence. “I’m only offering friendship. I’m not trying to take your late husband’s place.”

She scowled back with equal impatience. “I didn’t think you were. But friends are people who, even if you don’t see them for years, are always at the back of your mind. They’re people you think about and wonder how they’re doing. You can pick up the phone and call them just to chat and they’re happy to hear your voice. That doesn’t describe our arrangement. You hired me to do a job. When it’s done we’ll go our separate ways. I doubt you’ll be popping in for dinner or be pleased to have an evening interrupted by a call from me. So I figure it wouldn’t be smart for me to begin to think of you as a friend.”

“You have a point,” he conceded.

Nina again leaned back and closed her eyes.

Alex frowned at the exhaustion etched into her features. “This is a private room. I had them wheel in a spare bed so that you could rest comfortably. Why don’t you lie down for a while. I’ll keep an eye on Tommy.”

Surprised that he intended to remain, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. “I don’t expect you to baby-sit me and my son.”

Alex hadn’t intended to do that, either. He’d planned to get them settled, then go back to his grandfather’s home and make a few business calls. Instead, he was reluctant to leave them on their own. “My grandfather would expect me to remain with you and Tommy.”

The whirlwind of packing for this trip, in addition to nights of restless sleep, were taking their toll. The bed, like an oasis in the desert, was beckoning to Nina. But as her gaze returned to her son, she shoved the temptation from her mind. “Tommy is my responsibility.” Easing her chair even closer to his bed, she took his hand in hers, then again sat back and closed her eyes.

“I’ve never encountered a more stubborn human being either male or female,” Alex muttered. Nina Lindstrom was as opposite from his own mother as any woman could get. The hint of a cynical smile played at one corner of his mouth. But she could still be bought.

Going into the hall so as not to wake Tommy, he placed a business call he’d put off until now. When he hung up a few minutes later, he returned to the room and found Nina sleeping also. Rounding the bed, he began to ease her out of the chair.

“No,” she protested groggily.

“You’re going to lie down. You’re not going to be any good to Tommy if you’re exhausted and have a stiff neck to boot.”

Nina was too tired to fight him. When he raised her to her feet, she leaned heavily against him like a limp rag doll, her mind in the world between wakefulness and sleep, unable to guide her movements with rational thought. As Alex lifted her into his arms, she snuggled her face into his neck. “You smell good,” she murmured, inhaling the light scent of his after-shave.

Her soft breath and the feel of her body against his were arousing Alex. This is not the right place, time or woman, he admonished himself. Quickly, he lay her on the bed.

Nina, now more asleep than awake, felt suddenly deserted. In this dreamlike state, her mind returned to Tom’s grave site. “You weren’t supposed to leave me.” Tears began to run down her cheeks. “I shouldn’t have to be facing this alone.”

Alex gently brushed a tear from her cheek. “You’re not alone,” he said gruffly.

“Tom?” Nina’s hand captured his and pulled it to her lips. Opening her eyes, she looked up, hoping against hope that Tom was standing there and the past three years had been nothing more than a horrible nightmare.

A sharp jab of displeasure pierced Alex. Male ego, he told himself. No man liked being mistaken for another man. “No, it’s Alex Bennett.”

Meeting his cool green gaze, she abruptly released him. “I’m sorry. I was dreaming.”

“It’s all right.” He stepped back, the arousal she’d wakened in him completely gone. The woman was devoted to a ghost. He pitied any man who got emotionally involved with her. No living male could compete against an idolized memory. “Now, get some sleep. As I said before, you won’t do Tommy any good if you’re so exhausted you can’t stay awake when he really needs you.”

A flush reddened her cheeks. “I sounded like a whiny wimp. It won’t happen again.”

“You sounded like a woman who has worried herself into a state of exhaustion,” he replied. “Now, sleep.”

This time she didn’t argue.

Returning to his chair, Alex sat staring at Nina and her son for a long moment, then, reaching for the phone, he placed two short calls.

* * *

Nina awoke to the sound of her son’s voice.

“Wow,” he was saying with an enthusiasm she hadn’t heard in a long time.

As she shifted into a sitting position and faced him with her legs over the side of the bed, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. When she could focus, she saw her son, his bed in a partial upright position, surrounded by toy versions of his favorite cartoon characters.

Alex Bennett was leaning on one of the metal guard rails on the side of Tommy’s bed, grinning down at him. A pretty blond nurse stood beside him, smiling also. Nina looked out the window and saw it had grown dark outside. She glanced at the clock and realized she’d slept several hours.

A thick strand of hair that had escaped from her French braid fell forward and tickled her cheek. Tucking it behind her ear, she slipped off the bed and joined the others at Tommy’s bedside. She bit back an admonition that Alex shouldn’t have been so extravagant. She’d speak to him later. Right now, she couldn’t make herself do anything that would take the delight out of her son’s eyes.

“This is Bernadette,” Alex said, introducing the young woman in white. “I’ve hired a private nursing service so that Tommy will have around-the-clock care. Bernadette will be on the night shift tonight.”

“You have a charming son.” Bernadette winked at Tommy, and Nina saw him flush with pleasure. Clearly, he’d made a new friend.

Alex started around the bed. “And now you and I are going to get some dinner and leave Tommy to teach Bernadette all about these super heroes.”

“I don’t think I should leave,” she said, ignoring the gnawing hunger in her stomach.

Alex had reached her. “You have to keep up your energy.”

“Run along, Mrs. Lindstrom. I assure you I won’t leave Tommy’s side,” Bernadette encouraged. She grinned at the boy. “We’re buddies. Right, Tommy?”

“I’ll be okay, Mom,” Tommy assured her, then quickly began explaining to Bernadette about the figure he was holding.

Nina’s gaze shifted to the telephone. “I should call Helen and find out how Elizabeth and Pete are doing.”

With the expression of a man who knew he’d be fighting a losing battle if he refused, Alex picked up the phone and dialed his grandfather’s number.

Hanging up a few minutes later, Nina regarded him with a frown. She definitely needed to have a talk in private with Mr. Alex Bennett. Leaning over the rail of Tommy’s bed, she kissed her son lightly. “I’ll be back very soon,” she promised.

He nodded, then continued to relate the history of the figure he was holding to Bernadette.

Realizing he was happy to have a fresh audience, Nina kissed his cheek once more and then preceded Alex out of the room.

“You’re angry with me,” he said as they headed down the hall.

“You’re spoiling my children. Helen said Matilda got a call from you. The next thing she knew, she and the children were being driven in the limousine to a huge toy store and the children were given orders to choose some toys for themselves and some for Tommy. She said she tried to keep their purchases to a minimum, but John said his orders were that they choose several items each and he insisted that they do just that.”

“I’m simply playing my part.” Silently, Alex confessed that he’d enjoyed hearing how much fun the children had had at the toy store. He’d felt a little like Santa Claus. Aloud, he continued in coolly impersonal tones, “My grandfather would expect me to spoil them as a way of making you and them happy. Besides, Tommy has a long day of tests ahead of him tomorrow. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take his mind off of them for a while. And Pete and Elizabeth needed a few things to keep them occupied. There aren’t any children’s toys in my grandfather’s house.”

“They brought a few things with them,” Nina reminded him curtly.

“It won’t harm them to have a few things more. Busy hands don’t get into things they should stay out of.”

Nina regarded him dryly. “You don’t know much about children do you? Bribery only lasts a short time, and even the most well-behaved children have a curiosity that will get them into trouble at one time or another. At least, that has been my experience.”

“I’m sure Matilda and Helen can deal with any problems that arise. In the meanwhile, my conscience is clear. I’ve done what I could to help.”

Nina shook her head and continued to the cafeteria in silence. Nerves had caused her to eat very little today, and the smell of food reminded her stomach of how long it had been since it had received anything substantial. Hunger taking control, she concentrated on fulfilling this need.