It Takes Three

“No. We broke up a long time ago. You don’t know the guy.”

“How can I not know him? I always screen your dates.”

“Not always,” she said.

He didn’t have the reserves to deal with what he didn’t know about his daughter. “I’ll tear him apart. What’s his name?”

“No way. I’m not telling you,” she said, horrified. “I’d die. I’d have to go into the Witness Protection Program or something.”

He blew out a long breath. “Okay. No names. For now. But you can’t blame me for wanting to beat the crap out of him.”

“I don’t. But here’s the thing, Dad. After I knew I wasn’t pregnant, what bothered me most was how stupid I’d been. How I’d misjudged him.”

“Don’t feel like The Lone Ranger. I think that happens to everyone when a relationship goes south.”

“Like you and Mom?”

He’d felt betrayed for putting everything he had into making it work when she couldn’t have cared less. After that, relationship abstinence looked pretty good. And still did.

“Yeah, like me and your mom.”

Kendra shook her head as if she still didn’t understand. “But I’ve known this guy since kindergarten. How could I have been so wrong? Worse, how can I trust my judgment ever again? How can I go to UCLA, which is like a small city, and tell the good guys from the bad ones?”

Scott felt the Aha! light come on. On top of what Thea had said about leaving the familiar behind, this was part of his daughter’s problem with going away to school.

“You don’t have to know,” he said. “Don’t trust any guy. And above all, don’t sleep with any of them.”

One corner of her mouth quirked up. “That doesn’t help.”

“It’s good advice. Haven’t you ever heard the only man a girl can trust is her dad?” He grinned. “Seriously, Ken, I’ve said this before. You shouldn’t be—”

“Intimate until I’m in love or think I am,” she quoted in a singsong voice. Who knew she’d been paying attention? “The problem is, I thought we were in love. I didn’t know he wasn’t.” He opened his mouth to say something and she held up her hand. “Don’t worry. The false alarm scared me. I’m never sleeping with a guy again.”

He could tell her that in time she’d meet a nice guy who would appreciate the truly remarkable person she was. He could say that when she grew up, it would be easier to tell nice guys from the ones who were only after one thing. He could advise her not to judge all men by the one idiot. But he was a father, so he didn’t.

He patted her hand and said, “My work here is done.”

“Yeah, Dad,” she said, and rolled her eyes. But she was smiling.

“I guess it’s time to change the subject.”

“Oh, yeah,” she agreed.

“I have some news. I talked to Thea Bell this morning about catering your graduation party.”

“And?” Her blue eyes brightened.

To see that sparkle back where it should be had been worth eating a little crow. And Thea had only poked a little fun at him. If her cooking went down as easily as that crow, it would be a great party. “She took the job. I gave her a check and signed a contract.”

Kendra jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Daddy. You won’t regret it.”

How could he regret anything that made her call him Daddy?

“I’m sure I won’t.”

She sat down and pulled her plate toward her. “Don’t you just love Thea?”

Scott thought about the question and realized it was true. Not love; never again love. But he liked Thea. She was sweet, smart and sexy. Besides being all that and beautiful, too, she had an appealing sense of humor. And she was a widow. He realized that was all the 4-1-1 he had on the woman who knew so much about him.

He decided it would be a good idea to change that.

Several days later, Thea picked up the phone at her office desk to make a call when some movement on the sidewalk outside caught her attention. Her brain registered the fact that the strikingly good-looking man responsible was Scott Matthews. When her body got the message, her pulse and heart rate joined hands and started to boogie.

Boy, was she glad that Connie was in the back room. And that was silly because she would bet everything she owned that Scott wasn’t any kind of physical threat. Which could only mean some part of her believed he was an emotional hazard and her partner’s presence could prevent a meltdown.

He pushed open the door and walked inside. “Hi.”

“Hi, yourself.” She replaced the phone and noticed her hand was unsteady. Linking her fingers on top of her desk, she said, “To what do I owe this visit?”

Before he could respond, Connie walked into the front office. “T, I think we need to order—” She saw Scott and stopped. “Sorry. Is the dinger down? I didn’t hear anyone come in.”

Thea hadn’t heard the dinger, either, because she couldn’t hear a smart bomb go off over the blood pounding in her ears. So she ignored her partner’s question.

She held her hand out indicating the man in front of them. “Meet Scott Matthews. He’s the recently contracted client I told you about. Scott, this is my partner, Connie Howard.”

Scott held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”