A Merger...or Marriage?

On the other hand, all that awaited her at her place was more paperwork. And she couldn’t escape the sudden conviction that Richard wanted her to say no, which conversely made her want to do exactly the opposite.

“I’d love a shaved ice,” she proclaimed. “It’s thirsty work carrying a huge dog like Lilli around. Wears me right out.”

The boy giggled as he eyed the miniscule Chihuahua. “You’re super funny, Miss Wilder.”

She hadn’t heard that particular sentiment in a long, long time. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had thought she was anything other than a boring numbers-cruncher. She decided she liked it.

“You know what? You can call me Anna, as long as I can call you Ethan. Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

“Ethan, would you mind holding Lilli’s leash while I walk my bike?”

He nodded eagerly. “I won’t let go, I promise,” he said.

“Okay. I trust you.”

She slanted one more look at Richard, who was watching their exchange with only a slight tightening of his mouth showing his displeasure. She almost apologized for forcing herself into a family event but then gave a mental shrug.

They were only sharing shaved ices, not spending the entire evening together.

This was completely unfair.

Richard barely had time to adjust to the idea that she was back in town and here she was again, crowding his space, intruding in his carefully constructed life, making him think about things he had put on the back burner.

A casual observer probably wouldn’t be able to imagine that the coolly competent executive he had spent two hours with earlier in the day could be the same woman as this softer, far more approachable, version.

This Anna looked sleek and trim and sexy as hell, with all that gorgeous blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and her skin glowing with vitality.

She looked much like he remembered his old friend from eight years ago—bright and vibrant and so beautiful he couldn’t manage to look away for longer than a minute or two at a time.

She seemed completely oblivious to her allure as she walked beside him, pushing her bike. And he would have bet she had no idea how hard it was for him to fight down the surge of pure lust.

The evening was one of those beautiful Walnut River summer evenings and the park was full of families taking advantage of it. He greeted several people he knew on the short walk to the shaved ice stand but didn’t stop to talk with any of them.

“Do you know every single person in town?” Anna asked after a few minutes.

“Not quite. There are some new apartment complexes on the other side of town and I believe there one or two tenants there’re I haven’t managed to meet yet. I’m working on it, though.”

He meant it as a joke but she apparently didn’t quite catch the humor. “Are you running for mayor or something?”

He gave a rough laugh. “Me? Not quite. I’ve just lived here most of my life. You can’t help but come to know a lot of people when you’re part of a community.”

“Why did you stick around Walnut River?” she asked him. “You always had such big plans when you were in law school. You were going to head out to the wild frontier somewhere, open your own practice and work on changing the world one client at a time.”

He remembered those plans. He had dreamed of heading out West. Colorado, maybe, or Utah. Somewhere with outdoor opportunities like skiing and mountain biking—all the things he didn’t have time to do now that he was a single father.

“Things change. Life never quite turns out like we expect when we’re twenty-two, does it?”

He didn’t think he had ever confided in her the rest of those dreams. He had been desperately in love with Anna Wilder and wanted to bundle her up and take her into the wilderness with him.

She was quiet, her eyes on his son, who was giggling at her little rat-dog. “Maybe not. But sometimes it’s better, though, isn’t it?”

The fading rays of the sun caught in Ethan’s blond hair and Richard’s heart twisted with love for his son.

“Absolutely.” He paused. “And to answer your question about why I’m still here, mostly it’s because this is where my mother lives. She takes Ethan most days when I’m working and they’re crazy about each other. She’s a godsend.”

“Is Ethan’s mother in the picture at all?”

He wasn’t sure he could honestly say Lynne had ever really been in the picture. Their relationship had been a mistake from the beginning and he suspected they both would have figured that out if not for her accidental pregnancy that had precipitated their marriage.

“Is that the wrong question?” Anna asked quietly and he realized he had been silent for just a hair too long.

“No. It’s fine. The short answer is no. The long answer is a bit more…complex.”

He wasn’t about to go into the long and ugly story with Anna, about how Lynne hadn’t wanted children in the first place, how she had become pregnant during their last year of law school together, that she probably would have had an abortion if she hadn’t been raised strict Catholic.

Instead, he had talked her into marrying him.

Though she had tried hard for the first few months after Ethan was born, Lynne had been a terrible mother—impatient, easily frustrated, not at all nurturing to an infant who needed so much more.

It had been better all the way around when she accepted a job overseas.

“I’m sorry,” Anna said again. “I didn’t mean to dredge up something painful.”

“It’s not. Not really.”

She didn’t look as if she believed him, but by then they had reached the shaved ice stand. Ethan was waiting for them, jumping around in circles with the same enthusiasm as Anna’s little dog as he waited impatiently for them to arrive.

“I want Tiger’s Blood, just like I always have,” Ethan declared.

Richard shook his head. His son rarely had anything else but the tropical fruit flavor. “You need to try a different kind once in awhile, kiddo.”

“I like Tiger’s Blood,” he insisted.

“Same here,” Anna agreed. “You know what’s weird? It’s Lilli’s favorite flavor, too. I think it’s the whole dog-cat thing. Makes her feel like a big, bad tough guy.”

Though Ethan looked puzzled, Richard felt a laugh bubble out as he looked at her tiny dog prancing around at the end of her leash.

His gaze met Anna’s and for just an instant, he felt like he was back in high school, making stupid jokes and watching movies together and wondering if he would ever find the courage to tell the prettiest girl in school he was crazy about her.

They weren’t in high school anymore, he reminded himself sternly. She might still be the prettiest girl he had ever seen but he certainly wasn’t crazy about her anymore. The years between them had taken care of that, and he wasn’t about to change the status quo.

Chapter Four

The line was remarkably short and they had their icy treats only a few moments later.

“I saw a bench over there,” Anna said. “Do you want to sit down?”