If the Ring Fits. Cindy Kirk

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СКАЧАТЬ know I’ve seen them.”

      “I’m going to see if our hostess needs any help.” Kate smiled brightly. “I’ll see you back at the table, Travis.”

      With those words, she disappeared into the house.

      “I never forget a face.” Joel followed her with his eyes. “I just can’t place from where.”

      Not at all interested in talking for even one more second about Kate, Mary Karen smiled and changed the subject. “Do you like lamb, Joel? These burgers with mint and cilantro are very tasty.”

      “They’re my favorite,” Travis said before Joel could respond.

      “Then you should take one.” Mary Karen kept her tone light. “But do it quickly. I have a feeling your girlfriend won’t like to be kept waiting.”

      Girlfriend. Even the word tasted bitter on her tongue.

      “I don’t have a girlfriend,” Travis said, his face taking on a mulish expression.

      Mary Karen wasn’t fooled. And she wasn’t in the mood to be generous. “Really? That’s not what I’ve heard.”

      “Before you left you told me you were dating someone from the hospital.” Joel added a large spoonful of pasta salad to his plate. “Did you two split up?”

      Travis groaned.

      “I think they make a nice-looking couple.” Mary Karen elbowed Joel. “Don’t you?”

      Travis’s hazel eyes flashed. Mary Karen told herself she didn’t care if she’d ticked him off. She believed in calling a spade a spade.

      Still, when Travis flung a lamb burger onto a plate and stalked back to the table where Kate now sat waiting, Mary Karen wondered exactly when it was she’d turned into a jealous fifteen-year-old.

      She slapped an extra big dollop of sour cream dill potato salad—that she didn’t want—onto her plate pretending it was his head.

      Joel didn’t seem to mind that the guest of honor had stalked off. Instead, he leaned over and grabbed two bottles of beer from a round silver tub filled with ice and held them up.

      Although a Corona sounded surprisingly good, Mary Karen shook her head. It might be only one beer, but she wasn’t taking any chances with her baby’s health. “Club soda please.”

      “Thanks for inviting me to sit with you.” Joel exchanged one of the beers for a can of club soda. “A pretty woman like you could have her pick of dinner companions.”

      The compliment was a balm to Mary Karen’s battered and bruised ego. Although Joel didn’t make her pulse beat faster, with his unruly chestnut hair, brown eyes and rugged features, he was a very attractive man. She quickly discovered he was also a gentleman. When they started across the yard to an empty table, he insisted on carrying her plate.

      She’d wondered if once they sat down it would be awkward. After all, they didn’t know each other. But conversation flowed easily. By the time they reached for the Key lime pie, Mary Karen had learned Joel had an eight-year-old daughter and that his wife had died of cancer two years earlier. She gave him the abridged version of her own life—minus the new chapter that was about to be written. He seemed genuinely surprised to learn she was divorced and had three small boys.

      “You look like a college co-ed.” The admiration in his eyes momentary distracted her from her cares.

      “I’m twenty-six. But it’s nice to know you think I look young and carefree.”

      Joel brought the beer to his lips, his dark eyes never leaving hers. “You don’t feel that way?”

      The last time she’d felt unencumbered of life’s burdens had been in Vegas … with Travis. And that had turned out so well. Mary Karen gave a strangled laugh.

      Joel cocked his head.

      “I’m a busy mom,” Mary Karen explained, feeling her cheeks burn.

      “I understand completely.” The handsome contractor leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “I come from a family of four boys. There was never a dull moment … or a quiet one. My brothers and I gave my mom fits. But now—except for the gray hairs she blames on us—I know she’d say it was worth it.”

      “She sounds like a wonderful lady.” Mary Karen picked at a loose thread on the tablecloth. “Nowadays so many men—and women—think parenthood is too much work, too much of a hassle.”

      “You’re speaking about your ex.” Joel surprised Mary Karen by briefly covering her hand with his. “The man was a fool, Mary Karen. One day he’ll wake up and realize that the freedom he wanted so badly wasn’t worth all he gave up.”

      She’d actually been thinking of Travis rather than Steven, but she readily agreed both were fools. Raising three little boys might be challenging at times, but she adored them. She wouldn’t trade her chaotic life with them for anything. And, she was certain once this new baby came she’d feel the same way about him. Or her.

      Yet life as a single parent wasn’t a cakewalk. In fact, most days it was downright tough. And the loneliness … She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to being single in a world of couples. A heaviness wrapped around her heart, the thought of going it alone for the next twenty years was incredibly depressing.

      Mary Karen pushed the last few bites of her pie around the plate with her fork for several seconds, then lifted her gaze. “Do you think you’ll marry again?”

      Joel sat back.

      Heat shot up her neck. Dear God, what must he be thinking?

      “I’m sorry.” She raised both hands, palms to him. “I’m just curious. I’m not shopping for a husband. Honest.”

      He laughed. “Don’t apologize. Even if you were, I’d be flattered.”

      “But I’m not—”

      “No worries.” He shot her a wink, and the tenseness in her shoulders eased.

      Yes, Joel was a very nice man. It was too bad she wasn’t attracted to him. Not that it mattered. Once she was divorced and raising four small children on her own, there would be no time to date.

      Mary Karen smoothed the front of her shirt with the flat of her hand. At least Joel still had options.

      “So, will you?” she asked. “Marry again?”

      Joel shrugged. “If I find the right woman. But she’ll have to love not just me, but my daughter as well. Chloe and I, we’re a package deal.”

      “As it should be,” Mary Karen murmured almost to herself, thinking of her boys. “Any other way wouldn’t work.”

      “Any other way would be out of the question.” Joel’s firm tone told her he’d given this matter a lot of thought. “Can you imagine what it’d be like to be a child growing up in a home with a stepparent who wished you weren’t there?”

      “You’re СКАЧАТЬ