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She steadied herself. “Why don’t we go into the living room? Dinner is almost ready. Would you like anything to drink, Stephen?”
“A beer would be great.”
Jade was already playing with her doll, and Stephen planted himself halfway between the kitchen and where the little girl sat.
Megan felt a small smile rise to her lips. Big, bad Stephen Garrison was in unfamiliar territory, rendered helpless by a three-year-old.
She could see the headline: Playboy Beaten by Child’s Play.
When she came out with Stephen’s beer, she noticed Jade looking at him from the corner of her eyes.
The little girl stood, then blurted, “Would you like to see my toys?”
She watched the play of emotions on Stephen’s face, before he responded casually, “Sure. Let’s see what you got, kid.”
Her heart constricted as she watched Stephen follow Jade, and a variety of emotions swept over her.
Finally, she headed back to the kitchen. She had chicken Kiev in the oven and potatoes and broccoli on the stove.
Dinner would be a far cry from what Stephen was used to at Miami’s top-tier restaurants, including the ones within the Garrison Grand itself. She had to give a nod to kid fare, but she reminded herself that Stephen was better off finding out sooner rather than later what parenthood was about. He was determined to come into her life and Jade’s, and she wasn’t going to sugarcoat it for him.
When she’d gotten everything on the table, she went to find them—the most important person in her life, and the one around whom her world had revolved four years ago.
She located them in Jade’s room.
“…and this is Holly, and that’s Caroline,” her daughter said.
Megan watched as Stephen nodded. “Quite a crowd.”
Jade had all her dolls and stuffed animals lined up, and apparently had been introducing them all to Stephen.
“Dinner’s ready,” Megan heard herself say.
Stephen and Jade both turned to her.
“But, Mommy, I still need to introduce my dolls!”
“Later, sweetie.”
Stephen winked. “I promise I’ll come back after dinner, pumpkin.”
Jade pulled a face but trudged in the direction of the kitchen.
Pumpkin?
It was a big turnaround from where Stephen and
Jade had been a mere thirty minutes ago, and Megan was reminded again of the fact that a three-year-old’s worldview could do a one-eighty in a minute.
She watched Jade leave, then looked back at Stephen. “Quick work there.”
He gave her a lazy smile. “Charm upsets you?”
She forced herself to shrug indifferently. “Your legendary charm. Why should I be surprised?”
“Afraid you’ll fall under it again?” he challenged.
“I’ve been inoculated for life.”
He chuckled as he sauntered toward her. “Don’t worry. I leave my best for someone…special.”
She sucked in a breath, but he didn’t try to steal a kiss or make a pass.
Instead, he walked out of the room and followed Jade’s lead.
She expelled the breath she was holding, then followed him out.
In the house’s little dining area, she saw Stephen eyeing the floral display in the center of the table.
She’d set his bouquet there in a clear glass vase.
“Very nice,” he commented, “if I do say so myself.”
“I put them there so we wouldn’t have to stare at each other across the table through dinner,” she muttered in a low voice as she went past.
He had the audacity to laugh, which just sent a shiver through her because she remembered how much she’d always liked his laugh.
She felt his arm snake around her, and he gave her a quick kiss on the neck. “Glad you like them so much.”
“You know flowers that stand for devotion are my favorite,” she retorted.
At dinner, Jade kept up a steady stream of conversation with Stephen. She seemed openly curious about him now.
He handled her questions well, simplifying but never talking down to her, and it was clear that though he was still feeling his way, he was gaining confidence with every passing second.
Megan watched the interaction and thought they could all be any family having dinner together. Except this was a pretend family with an upcoming sham marriage.
Seven
So far, Stephen thought, things were working out as he’d planned.
Jade was warming to him, and while he had further to go with Megan, he knew at least that she was far from being immune to him.
“Want to see the rest of my dolls?” Jade piped up as soon as dinner was over.
“Sure.”
Jade’s face lit up. She ran around the table to grab his hand and tug him forward as he stood.
“Jade, we don’t drag guests around like toys,” Megan warned. “Stephen isn’t Barney.”
“Yes, Mommy,” Jade responded without looking at her mother.
Stephen felt a smile pull at his lips.
She reminded him of himself when he was a little kid—full of boundless energy and enthusiasm. He wondered which parts of herself Megan saw in Jade.
It was still hitting him that this little girl was his. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—let her down.
Twenty minutes later, Jade was instructing him on tea party etiquette using her table-and-chair set and toy kitchen when Megan appeared in the doorway.
His eyes ate her up. He’d discarded his jacket and tie before dinner, but she was dressed even more casually in a flower-print short-sleeved blouse, tailored beige cropped pants and espadrille sandals.
Memories tugged and he remembered the way they used to dance together at some of Miami’s hottest nightspots.
Their bodies had brushed, swayed and come together again. They’d tantalized each other before heading home to make passionate love on silk sheets.
Realizing he’d been staring at Megan and she’d begun looking back at him questioningly, he suddenly felt ridiculous.
It was absurd to be having sexy thoughts about Megan while he was sitting in a girly pink bedroom, waiting to drink pretend tea from a toy cup.
Covering his lapse, he said, “Have you shown Jade her flower girl dress?”
Megan hesitated, but Jade perked up, “Dress? What color?”
“Pink, of course,” he informed her.
Jade squealed and clapped her hands. “Can I see? Can I see?”
Megan sighed. “It’s on my bed, Jade.”
Stephen noted Megan didn’t seem too happy with his gift. He was doubly glad now he’d let the cat out of the bag and gotten the jump on her.
They followed Jade to Megan’s bedroom, which was decorated in tropical colors of lime-green, peach and pink. White wicker furniture blended with a couple of antique pieces.
His eyes fell to the bed, where some of his purchases from yesterday lay in and out of their boxes. The lingerie he’d sent was nowhere to be seen but a tulle-and-satin flower girl dress with a wide sash and little rosebud embroidery along the neckline lay spread out across the bed.
Jade oohed and aahed over the dress before announcing, “I love it!”
“I wasn’t sure of the size, so I had to guess.”
“It’s her size,” Megan said gloomily from next to him.
He tossed her an amused look, and she raised an eyebrow at him. Clearly there’d be a battle later, but he was more than up for it.
After Megan gave in to Jade’s pleas to try on the dress, and the little girl had twirled around for them, Megan announced it was time for dessert.
They all went back to the dining room to have what Stephen discovered was Jade’s favorite: mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate syrup.
Afterward, the three of them cleared the table and Megan said it was Jade’s bedtime.
Jade put up some resistance, but gave up the fight when Stephen agreed to read a bedtime story.
Only after he’d read three of Jade’s favorite stories were he and Megan able to head back to the living room.
Once there, Megan folded her arms. “I can’t accept the gifts you sent.”
“Then I suppose you’re really not going to like this.” He reached into his pocket, then picked up her hand and slid a ring onto her finger.
He heard her breath catch, hitch.
Yesterday, he’d gone to one of Miami’s most exclusive jewelers and bought an engagement ring with a large Canadian diamond in the center flanked by two emeralds.
“The stones signify our yesterday, today and tomorrow,” he told her. “I chose emeralds for your eyes.”
“We’re not having much of an engagement,” she said, staring at the ring.
“We’re just condensing the steps.”
She looked up at him, then started to pull the ring off, but he stopped her.
Her chin came up. “Do you want a symbolic reminder of our yesterdays, Stephen?”
His mouth tightened. “Do you regret having Jade?”
“You know that’s not what I meant!”
“Then what did you mean?” he challenged her. “Do I want to remember nights of mind-blowing sex? Do I want to remember the way we were so hot for each other, we couldn’t be in the same room without getting turned on?”
Their eyes locked.
He’d opened the door, and their past came flooding back. One touch, one kiss, right now, and Stephen knew they’d both be swept away.
“I was waiting to discuss the packages with you, but now that you made her aware of the dress, Jade is all excited.”
“Yeah, well, consider yourself outmaneuvered.”
The air between them shimmered with sexual energy.
“And what about that kiss when you first walked in?”
He gave her a rakish smile. “What about it?”
“What did you mean by ‘we need to make this good for Jade’?”
He sobered. “I mean, if this marriage is about doing what’s best for Jade, then we need to make her believe we’re happily married.”
She stalked away, then whirled back. “You’re just using Jade as an excuse.”
