Single Mum Seeking...: A Daddy for Her Sons / Marriage for Her Baby / Single Mom Seeks...

Sara appeared at the doorway just as she finished dressing her boys and sent them into the playroom.

“Hey there,” she said, ready to greet her sister with a smile until she saw the look on her face. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”

Sara sighed and shook her head.

“Did you see Connor?” Jill asked brightly. “He looks so much the same, you’d never know he’d been gone for a year and a half, would you?”

Sara gave her a look. “Jill, we’ve got to talk.”

Jill groaned and grabbed her sister’s hand. “Not now, sweetie. Not today. I’ve got so much I’ve got to get to and...”

Sara was shaking her head. “You’ve got to get rid of him, Jill.”

She frowned. “Who?”

Sara pointed back down the stairs as though he were following her. “Connor. You’ve got to make him go right away.”

Dropping her hand, Jill turned away, feeling rebellious. She’d been thinking the same thing but she didn’t want to hear it from anyone else. Connor was hers. She resented anyone else—even her beloved sister—critiquing their relationship. She would make him go when she was good and ready to make him go.

Sara grabbed her by the shoulders. “You know he’s just here spying for Brad,” she said in a low, urgent voice. “You don’t want that, do you?”

Sara had never warmed to Jill’s ex-husband, even during the good times. And once he’d gone off and left her high and dry, she’d developed what could only be described as a dogged contempt for the man.

Jill took a deep breath and decided to ignore everything she’d said. Life would be simpler that way.

“What are you doing here so early?” she asked instead, trying to sound bright and cheery. “I appreciate it, but...”

“Oh.” Sara’s demeanor changed in an instant and she dropped her hold on her sister’s shoulders. “Oh, Jill, I came early to tell you...I’m so sorry, but I won’t be able to help you today. They want me to fly down to L.A. There’s just no way I can get out of it. I’ll be meeting with the editorial staff from Chicago and...”

“Today?” Jill couldn’t stop the anguish from bursting out as she realized what this meant.

Sara looked stricken. “It’s a really bad day, right?”

“Well, I told you I’ve got a huge stack of orders and...” Jill stopped herself, set her shoulders and got hold of her fears. “No, no.” She shook her head. “No, Sara. It’s much more important for you to go do this, I’m sure.”

Sara grabbed her hand again. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry, but I really can’t turn them down. They want to see how I handle myself with the visiting members.” She bit her lip and looked as though she was about to cry. A range of conflicting emotions flashed through her wide dark eyes and then she shook her head decisively. “Oh, forget it. I’ll tell them something has come up and I just can’t do it. Don’t worry. They’ll understand. I think.”

Jill dismissed all that out of hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course you have to go. This is your career. This is something you’ve worked so hard for.”

“But I can’t leave you if you really need me.”

“But I don’t.” Jill dug deep and managed a bright smile. “Not really. Trini will be here soon and we’ll be able to handle it.”

Sara looked worried. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” She smiled again.

“Because I can stay if you really need me. I can tell them...”

“No.” She hugged her sister. “You go. You have to go. I will lose all respect for you if you let silly sentiment keep you from achieving your highest goals. Say no more about it. You’re gone. It’s decided.”

“But...”

“Come on. Do it for me. Do it for all of us. Make us proud.”

Her smile was almost painful by now, but doggone it—she wasn’t going to stop. Sara had to go. No two ways about it. And she would just have to cope on her own. Thank God for Trini.

* * *

“So she’s really going?” Connor had watched Sara rushing off and then turned to see Jill come down from upstairs with a tense look on her face.

“Yes. Yes, she is.”

He noted that her hands were gripped together as though she could hardly stand it. He frowned.

“Do you think you can do it without her?”

She took a deep breath. “It won’t be easy. But once Trini gets here, we’ll put our noses to the grindstone and work our little tushes off for the next twelve hours. Then you’ll see.”

He was bemused by her intensity. “What will I see?”

She looked up at him wide-eyed. “That this is serious. Not just a hobby job. It’s real.”

He frowned. He wanted to tell her that he respected her immensely and that he was impressed with what she was attempting to do here, but before he could get a word out, she went on, pacing tensely as she talked.

“You know, I thought I had everything pretty much under control. My life was running on an even keel. I was beginning to feel as though I might make it after all.” She stopped and looked at him with a sense of foreboding wonder. “And then you hit town. And everything went to hell.”

She was trying to make it sound like a joke, but there was too much stress in her voice to carry it off. He winced.

“So you blame me now?”

“Why not? There’s nobody else within shouting distance. You’re going to have to take the fall.” She tried to smile but her mouth was wobbly.

He looked at her, saw the anxious look in her eyes and he melted beyond control. “Jill...” He took her hands in his and drew her closer. “Listen, why don’t I stay? I could help you with the boys. I could run errands, answer phones.”

She was shaking her head but he didn’t wait to hear her thoughts.

He pulled her hands up against his chest. “I want to help you. Really. I know you’ve had a lot of setbacks lately and I want to help smooth over some rough spots if I can. Come on, Jill. Let me stay.”

Her lower lip was trembling as she looked into his eyes. He groaned and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his body. She felt like heaven and he wanted the moment to go on forever, but she didn’t let it happen. She was already pulling out of his embrace, and he could have kicked himself for doing it.

Too blatant, Connor old chap, he told himself ruefully. You really tipped your hand there, didn’t you?

“No, Connor,” she said as she pushed him away.

She looked at him, shaken. She’d wanted to melt into his arms. She still felt the temptation so strongly, she had to steel herself against it. She knew it had to be mostly because she was so afraid, so nervous about her ability to meet her challenges. If she let him hold her, she could pretend to forget all that.

And then there was the fact that it had been so long since a man—a real man, a man that she liked—had held her. Karl didn’t count. And she hungered for that sort of connection.