A Mother For His Adopted Son

“I’ll see.” He got out his mobile phone and texted Cat, his foster sister, the one he felt closest to. Being a mother of two toddlers herself, plus the fact she lived five miles from him, it’d made sense to ask her to be his child-care provider when his parental leave came to an end and he had to go back to work. Not to mention the fact that her husband, Buddy, a welder, had agreed to her staying at home with their kids. They lived on a tight budget, and she could use the extra income that watching Dani brought. The way he saw it, it was a win-win situation.

Andrea took a dainty bite of her salad, and he smiled at her, then tore into his roll, slathering it with butter, then taking a bite. “So, do you eat here every day?”

“Not usually, but I came in early today to start Dani’s mold and forgot to pack a lunch.”

“Thanks for that.” He got a return on his text. “She’ll be here. Now I’ll have to explain that you’re located in the dungeon next to the ghoulish morgue.” He finished his text and looked up to see her studying him. Had he been insensitive about her department and its location? Had he insinuated that hers was an inferior department? Hell, it didn’t even have windows, even when right at this moment in time it was the most important department in the whole hospital for him and his son. “I’m sorry if that sounded mean. I have jerk tendencies. I blame it totally on the influence of four brothers.”

“You do have a big family, I can’t argue with that.”

“Crazy big, but it made me who I am. Major flaws and all.” He grinned at her and really liked what she returned. “Sorry.” If he’d offended her about her department being in no man’s land, she’d easily forgiven him, judging by the sweet smile that highlighted those gorgeous lips. He allowed himself a moment or two to check them out. And when was the last time he’d gotten carried away with wild ideas by a woman’s mouth?

He took another bite of his food to distract him from thinking of what it would feel like to kiss her. “This has got to be the worst lunch I’ve had in a long time,” he said, to cover his real thoughts. But thanks for that luscious mouth of yours.

“The salad’s not bad.”

He pushed his plate aside and pulled the salad bowl closer, deciding to take her up on her tip and stick with that and the roll. “Right about now I’m dreaming about Thai food.”

“I love Thai food.” She matched him bite for bite with the salad.

“Yeah? You like pineapple fried rice? Pad Thai?”

“Love it, and satay, peanut sauce, all of it.”

“But have you ever had coconut curry with braised chicken and egg noodles?”

“No, and now my mouth is watering, thank you very much.” She played with her salad, no longer taking bites.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to ruin your lunch, but sometime I’m going to have to take you to Hollywood Boulevard for my new favorite dish.”

She tossed him a questioning glance over the vague remark. And, yes, he was testing the water. Playing it safe was a knack he’d developed, and always preferable to getting rejected.

“Uh, yes, I guess theoretically that was an invitation. You interested?”

“Well, you can’t very well dangle coconut curry in front of me like that without inviting me. Theoretically speaking, that is. It wouldn’t be polite.”

“Agreed. And we both know I’m nothing if not polite.” Considering their rocky beginnings, with his being pushy, demanding and rude and her giving him a taste of his own medicine right back, his absurd comment hit the mark and she laughed. He joined her. Good. She had a sense of humor. He’d try to keep her smiling, because she really was gorgeous to watch that way. “Truth is, since adopting Dani I don’t get out much anymore. So are you really up for this?”

“Absolutely. But who’ll watch Dani?”

Thoughtful of her to wonder. “I’ll ask Cat again, since I haven’t introduced him to Thai food yet.” And I’d like time alone with you.

“Okay. Theoretically, that sounds good.”

“Yeah, some Dutch beer, coconut curry—heaven.”

“I know it’s a gazillion calories, but I prefer Thai iced tea.”

“Chicks.” He tossed his paper napkin across the remaining half of his salad. “Only a lady would pass up good Dutch beer for sweet tea.” He wasn’t sure why he liked to tease her so much, but the instant she grinned he remembered. They were having something he’d almost forgotten. Fun.

“My prerogative.” She feigned being insulted. “And guys. Always competitive. Please, don’t tell me you’ll force me into a hot curry tasting contest. I’m not one of your brothers.”

He leaned forward and gazed into her truly enticing eyes. “How do you know us so well? You have a bunch of brothers, too?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’m an only child.”

“Really? I don’t know many of those. What’s it like to have a house all to yourself. To know what the sound of a pin dropping is? To never have to cross your legs and dance around in the hallway, waiting for the bathroom?”

After a brief and polite smile on the last comment she went serious, met his gaze and held it. “Lonely?”

That answer made him sad. He knew that kind of loneliness, plus fear, having been left alone at night for a couple of years before he’d been taken away from his mother—he hated the memory and tried to suppress it as much as possible—plus, he wanted to put a positive spin on the conversation to keep things upbeat. “And quiet. I bet it was really quiet at your house, you lucky dog.” Though the quiet used to scare him to death as that left-behind kid.

She’d finished her lunch and moved her salad bowl away to prove it. “So you grew up in a noisy house, big deal. Isn’t that why they invented earbuds and playlists?”

Being around her kept him from going to that old and awful place in his mind.

“Headphones back then at my house with portable CD players. And anytime I used them one of my brothers would sneak up and pull them off my head. Made me all flinchy, waiting. Couldn’t even enjoy the music.”

He’d made her laugh lightly again and he really appreciated her putting up with his silliness, because he needed to get far away from bad memories. The fact that he’d fudged about his “family” really being a foster family didn’t seem relevant now. “You know, if I didn’t have to get back to work, I’d invite you to have lunch there right now.”

“But I’ve already had lunch. Just finished.”

She tipped her head, a suspicious gaze, clueing him in that he needed to do something. After all this big buildup about the great Thai food, the almost-but-not-quite invitation, he’d better make his move beyond the theoretical. And as his foster father used to say, there was no time like the present.

“Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night, then? I’m thinking Thai food. Hollywood. Beer or iced tea, but definitely fried bananas for dessert.” He’d just asked out the first woman after his breakup with Katie and becoming a father, and it felt damn good. He was ready for this. Except maybe he should hold off on the triumph part until he got her answer.

A why-not expression brightened her rich mocha eyes, but only after a long moment’s hesitation. This one wasn’t looking for a date or a boyfriend—a good thing in general, but right this moment a little unnerving. “Sure,” she said finally. “I’d like that.”

Both surprised and happy, he grinned and rapped his knuckles twice on the cafeteria tabletop. “Great. It’s a date, then.”

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Andrea said over the phone after lunch. “I’ve just made plans for tomorrow night.” Why she’d agreed to have dinner with Sam Marcus was beyond her, but he’d lured her with a great-sounding meal, and to be honest the thought of spending a few hours with him hadn’t seemed like such a bad idea at the time. Not even fifteen minutes later she doubted her decision.