Read Online Ready for Marriage? by Ann Major, Beverly Barton Anne Marie Winston - Free Book Online Page B

‘‘And you don’t want to do it when anyone’s around.’’
    ‘‘Right.’’ Her spirits, buoyed by his visit, fell asshe recalled her concerns. ‘‘I can’t find a thing that points to anyone other than Cathie being the culprit.’’
    ‘‘Have you told the board?’’
    She shook her head. ‘‘Not yet.’’
    ‘‘You’re going to have to tell them soon.’’
    ‘‘I know.’’ She sighed. ‘‘I just want to check a few more things before I do.’’
    There was a small silence. Derek stuck his head out the door and when he looked back at her, he was grinning. ‘‘Mollie’s lying on top of the dog.’’
    ‘‘Hobby’s a patient fellow with children,’’ she said. ‘‘How’s she doing?’’
    ‘‘Pretty good. Day care is going fine now, thanks to your hair.’’
    She smiled, reaching up a hand to flip a lock forward absently. She’d been wearing it down much of the time since her talk with Faye and she was getting used to the weight of it. ‘‘That’s good.’’
    ‘‘Yeah, except that I’m not going to be able to keep her there.’’
    ‘‘What?’’ She straightened, her voice displaying her concern. ‘‘Why not?’’
    ‘‘It’s a great place,’’ he said, ‘‘but the hours are too confining. I’m going to look for a baby-sitter who can be more flexible when I have to stay late, and who can keep her longer on clinic nights.’’
    ‘‘Oh. I never thought about that. Maybe I could—’’
    But Derek held up a finger. ‘‘No. You couldn’t. But if you’d be willing to help me interview prospects, I’d be grateful for the additional opinion.’’
    ‘‘Of course.’’ He was right. And she should be glad that it had finally sunk into his thick skull that she wasn’t going to be Mollie’s baby-sitter for the rest of their lives. But…
    Another silence fell, this one less comfortable than the one before. Talking about baby-sitting invariably led her to thoughts of the reason Derek needed a sitter, which led to guilt, which in turn made her annoyed with herself because there was absolutely no reason in the world for her to feel guilty for wanting a life of her own.
    ‘‘So how was your date on the fourth?’’
    ‘‘Fine.’’ If she were honest, it had been a pain in the butt. The man seemed to have more arms than an octopus and all of them had been determined to touch her. She’d never been so glad to get home in her life. She’d practically had to shut the door on him—definitely the best part of the evening.
    ‘‘Did you enjoy the fireworks?’’
    ‘‘Yes. Did you?’’
    ‘‘Yes, although Mollie missed you. She kept asking when you were coming.’’
    ‘‘I’m sorry.’’ And she was. She would much rather have been with Derek and Mollie. But they’d been estranged after that disastrous kiss and she hadn’t imagined that he would want her company.
    ‘‘What did you think of the new rockets they added this year?’’
    ‘‘They were interesting. I like the sounds they make.’’
    ‘‘Yeah. We walked around and looked for you, but we didn’t see you anywhere.’’
    She stared at him, a suspicion forming in her head as his disconnected statements began to mesh. ‘‘Are you trying to find out if I really went to the fireworks?’’
    To her surprise, a deep flush spread up his neck and he avoided her eyes. ‘‘It was kind of odd that we didn’t see you.’’
    ‘‘Well, I was there.’’ What was going on here? He’d made it plain that he wasn’t ready for a relationship, that he wasn’t even sure he had liked kissing her enough to want to repeat the experience. He’d said he needed time to figure out what to do about her, as if she were some bothersome task he had to schedule and complete.
    ‘‘Are you going to see him again?’’ There was a distinctly challenging note in his voice, one that took her even further aback.
    ‘‘Why?’’ Had he always been this tenacious? She was starting to wish she had the