From Fortune To Family Man. Judy Duarte

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      What if he wasn’t home?

      Maybe she should give him a call. She reached into her purse, pulled out the business card he’d given her yesterday and read the personal contact information he’d written on the backside. Then she dialed his cell.

      He answered on the third ring, although his voice sounded a little...tired. Or was he stressed?

      “Are you up for a visitor?” she asked.

      “If the visitor is you—and if you’re talking about coming over now—I wouldn’t mind a bit.”

      “Actually, I’m standing outside your building.”

      “Then come on up. I’m on the tenth floor, number 1014. My condo is on the east side, just to the left of the elevator doors.”

      “All right. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She grabbed her purse and locked the car. Rather than jaywalk, she strode to the corner, waited for the green light and crossed the street to the impressive, curved building of glass and steel.

      The doorman, a dapper, uniformed gentleman in his mid to late fifties, stood at the entrance. He must have been expecting her because he knew her name and greeted her with a smile. “Good afternoon, Ms. Trevino. Mr. Fortune said to send you right up.”

      She thanked him, then headed to the elevators. Once inside, a flutter started in her stomach and continued to build on the ride up to Kieran’s luxury condominium, reaching a peak by the time she rang the bell.

      The door swung open almost immediately, but when she caught a look at the handsome man, who appeared more than a little haggard, her momentary nervousness dissipated.

      His mussed hair suggested that he’d just woken up from a long winter’s nap, although she suspected he’d been raking his fingers through it more often than usual. He wore a black T-shirt and a pair of gray gym shorts, but she doubted he’d been working out. At least, not in the usual way. And even though his current appearance wasn’t the least bit stylish, nor was he as impeccably put together as she was used to seeing him, it didn’t make him any less attractive.

      “I’m glad you’re here.” He stepped aside for her to enter. “Come on in.”

      She might have complied, but it looked as if an entire toy store had exploded in his living room. In fact, there was so much clutter on the floor she could hardly take a step for fear of tripping over something.

      “What’s all this?” she asked.

      “Stuff I bought for Rosie.”

      Dana surveyed the results of his shopping spree—a blue-and-white doll house, a tiny pink kitchen setup along with plastic food items and a little red shopping cart. Puzzle pieces, crayons, books and a variety of stuffed animals littered the room.

      Five different dolls of various hair color, skin tone and sizes were lined up on his dark leather sofa, each with a pink teacup in her lap.

      “Where’s Rosie?” Dana asked. “Or is she somehow lost in this mess?”

      “She’s been running on full throttle all day and finally went to sleep five minutes ago. But I have to tell you, I probably need a nap more than she does.”

      Dana furrowed her brow. It was after five o’clock. “Why’d you put her down for a nap this late in the day?”

      “I didn’t plan it that way. Every time I asked if she was sleepy, she told me no. Finally, she crashed on her own. I found her curled up on the floor in the guest room, next to her new toy box. I was afraid she’d wake up, so I covered her with a blanket and left her there.”

      Dana had no idea what to say. Kieran had admitted that he didn’t know anything about kids, and she’d had no reason to doubt him. But she’d never expected anything like this, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

      “What’s so funny?” he asked.

      “Nothing.” At least, not anything she wanted to actually say out loud. Poor Kieran looked as though he was ready to drop in his tracks, too. “Apparently, you’ve had a busy day.”

      He rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.”

      Dana continued to scan the room, just now noticing a pink motorized kiddie car parked in the dining area. Seriously? Kieran had purchased a big, outdoor plaything like that when he didn’t even have a yard?

      “This is mind-boggling,” she said. “What’d you do? Take Rosie shopping and let her have free rein with your credit card?”

      “No, I picked this out myself, along with some new clothes for her and a toddler bed. That’s all in the guest room, which is where she’ll sleep while she’s here.”

      Apparently, Kieran had accepted the fact that Rosie’s stay might not be temporary after all. “Did you purchase all of this today?”

      “No, I bought it yesterday, before I picked her up from the sitter. I asked Karen, my assistant, to suggest a place I could find everything she might need, like toys, clothes and furniture. And Karen suggested Kids’ World, which is supposed to be a popular place for parents to shop. I was able to get it all taken care of in less than an hour. The delivery guys brought it this morning.”

      “Talk about one-stop shopping.”

      “Yeah, that was the idea. I didn’t have much time to get everything Rosie is going to need.”

      Children needed more than just toys and games. The most important thing was love, and that wasn’t something Kieran could purchase.

      Dana again scanned the clutter, unable to even guess how much all of this had cost him. For a woman who’d spent years in foster care, she couldn’t fathom the extravagance.

      “This must have cost you a year’s salary,” she said. Well, maybe not his salary, but certainly that of a grad student and research librarian.

      “I’ll admit, it wasn’t cheap. But that doesn’t matter. I just want Rosie to be happy while she’s here.”

      Dana hated to criticize him for trying to do what he thought was best, but he needed to know that he’d wasted both his time and his money. “I hate to disappoint you, but Rosie probably would be just as happy with a picnic at the park, complete with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Or even a trip to the library for the preschool story hour, especially if she could also check out a few books and maybe a Disney DVD to bring home.”

      “For what it’s worth,” he said, “I did get a few of these things on sale. And they also delivered the whole kit and caboodle for free.”

      “And you think that means you got a bargain?” Dana laughed again. “I’m surprised the happy owner didn’t volunteer to carry it here on his back.”

      “Okay, so maybe I overdid it a little.”

      “You think?” Dana covered her mouth with her hand, hoping to stifle another laugh.

      Kieran blew out a ragged sigh. “Okay, I probably blew it. But my heart was in the right place.”

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