The Daddy Gamble Read online

  Nothing happened.

  “Oh, no. Not today,” she groaned. Her starter had been acting temperamental all week. She jiggled the key and tried again. Not even a spark. Another unplanned expense she couldn’t afford.

  “What’s wrong, Mommy?”

  Everything, honey. Pretty much everything.

  Kate looked but didn’t touch.

  She’d never been a huge fan of art glass. She was more of a tactile person. Leather. Wool. Silk. Pottery. Those interested her far more than crystal, which was too cold for her taste. But she could admire any art from afar.

  Especially at these prices.

  “Wow. This place is really something,” Rob said, stepping beside her. He’d been a fabulous sport about her car trouble and her ornery daughter—even though Maya had pestered him the whole time he was attempting to install her booster seat in his vehicle. Kate had been distracted, contacting family members about borrowing alternative transportation—with no luck.

  “Thank God we dropped Maya at the Hippo.”

  Kate probably should have been offended by the relief she read in his tone, but she wasn’t. Maya would have needed to touch everything. Especially the delicate little crystal animals that were set about on shelves right at a child’s eye level. What were these people thinking?

  “Look at this one. Right up Maya’s alley, isn’t it?” He bent down to peer at a smooth green-and-red frog that seemed to have been captured in glass mid-jump.

  “She loves frogs.”

  “Should I get it for her?”

  The question took Kate by surprise. “Why would you do that? Her birthday isn’t until February.”

  He looked sheepish. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted to apologize for being such a putz earlier. I’m usually not that argumentative.”

  “You’re a lawyer. Isn’t that your job?”

  He snickered softly. “Okay. You got me there. But I can usually pick my fights, and I rarely test wits—and lose—with an opponent who is under the age of five.”

  Kate leaned down and picked up the handblown frog. “Well, Maya has been honing her verbal skills since the day she came out of the womb, but I don’t think a…” She flipped it over to read the price tag on its belly. “Sixty-five-dollar amphibian is going to change her mind. As far as she’s concerned, you wear squeaky shoes.”

  Are the overhead lights doing something odd to his complexion? His skin tone seemed warmer, almost inviting her touch. And the twinkle in his compelling green eyes did strange things to her equilibrium.

  She quickly, carefully, set the frog down and started away. “So, what do you think the newlyweds would like? Do you have a price range in mind?”

  Rob resisted the urge to look at his watch, even though Kate’s back was to him. Waiting for a tow truck had eaten into their time. But, strangely, he’d enjoyed the challenge—from both the car seat and Maya. She was a fascinating little creature. Almost as beautiful—and prickly—as her mother.

  “Something classy,” he said watching her move with grace through the shop.

  He remembered someone—his mother probably—telling him that Kate and her sisters used to dance together and perform at family functions. The Sisters of the Silver Dollar, he thought they were called. He wished she’d dance for him.

  No. Bad idea.

  “Do you like this vase?” she asked, pointing to a brightly lit cubicle with a very large, reddish-orange vessel that seemed too curvaceous to hold water.

  “Nice,” he said, joining her to study the piece. “But a little bright. I don’t think Dad would like it.”

  “What colors does he favor?”

  “Blond,” he mumbled under his breath.

  “Pardon?”

  “Oh, nothing. I’m trying to picture his house, but all I can see is a big-screen TV. I think it’s black.”

  She snickered softly. “Well, what about this one?” she asked, crossing her arms to study the cobalt-blue blown sculpture that truly defied description—and dusting, Rob guessed. He wouldn’t want it in his house.

  “Too blue.”

  “This one?”

  “Too weird.”

  Back and forth, they hopped from one piece of art to the next like children playing leapfrog.

  It suddenly hit him. I’m having fun.

  They paused in the doorway to another cubicle. “Maybe crystal isn’t the way to go. There are other galleries, of course. But I was hoping you’d find something here. I hate to have wasted a whole morning on nothing.”

  Rob didn’t consider the morning a waste. He’d enjoyed every minute—even arguing with Maya. He was about to say so when her phone rang.

  She grabbed it from her purse. She apparently recognized the number because she said, “Excuse me a sec. It’s about my car.”

  The news wasn’t good. Rob could tell by her frown.

  “I need a new starter…to start with,” she said after closing the phone. “Unfortunately, given the age of my car, they have to order the part. A day or two, the mechanic said.”

  Kate’s brain frantically darted from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C. Normally, she could get by without a car because her mother’s was available. But Yetta was leaving at dawn for L.A. and would be gone four or five days.

  “So, is the shop giving you a loaner?” Rob asked.

  He was standing beside a six-foot sculpture that fell just this side of obscene, although Kate honestly couldn’t say what it represented. “Not exactly. If I’d had the car towed to my cousin Enzo’s place, I might have been able to bum a car off him, but this is a guajo…um, non-Romani repair shop.”

  He nodded. The ceilings’ numerous recessed cans gave silvery highlights to his tousled waves. His casual polo shirt was a cool sage, almost the same color as his eyes. Sexy. Gorgeous. But it was the concern she read in his expression that really moved her. He cared. She sensed it, and that made him dangerous. She was a sucker for kindness.

  She started to walk toward the far corner of the showroom. A warm, solid hand on her arm stopped her. “Kate, wait. I have an idea. Take my truck until yours is fixed.”

  She shook off his hand. “Don’t be silly. I couldn’t.”

  “Why not? It just sits there baking in the hot sun every day. You’re going to be driving around picking up stuff for my dad’s party, right? That can’t wait until your car is back on the road.”

  He had a point, but…“It wouldn’t look right.”

  He closed the distance between them. “Why not? Kate, we’re practically family.”

  “We are?”

  He nodded with such boyish exuberance Kate couldn’t help but smile. “Mom told me the other night at dinner that she’d adopt you in a heartbeat if Yetta would let you go. She adores you and admires you—and I’m not just talking about your cooking skills. She thinks you’re an amazing person and a really fine boss.”

  Kate felt her cheeks start to burn. She’d never been good at handling praise. “Well, that’s nice, but…”

  He made an imploring gesture. “If accolades don’t work, will guilt?”

  “Huh?”

  “Mom’s been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks. If you won’t borrow my truck, she’ll have to do all the running around that you would normally do, right? Do you think it’s fair to make an old woman—?”

  Kate stopped him with a sharp squint. “Who are you calling old?”

  The twinkle in his eye told her he knew he’d won. He held up the key. “Are we done arguing?”

  “Two days.”

  “Or until you get your car back.”

  She reached for the keys but didn’t take them. “I’ll pay you…”

  He let out a low groan. “You’re impossible. Just take the damn truck, okay? Jeesh, try to be a nice guy and—” He stopped mid-sentence and pointed. “Whoa. What about that one?”

  Kate frowned, thinking he was trying to change the subject, but when she glanced over her shoulder to where he was pointing, she actually forgot what they were arguing a
bout. “Wow.”

  They walked closer and stood shoulder-to-shoulder staring at the unique blown-glass sculpture on a lighted dais. Not a vase or anything functional, this piece simply was. The bottom portion seemed to represent the sea—dark and mysterious, yet brimming with life. Woven into the glass were threads of metal—fish, perhaps. The “sky” embodied every sunset Kate had ever watched while sitting on the beach.

  “It’s gorgeous. It almost makes me cry or something.”

  “Me, too,” Rob said, slowly moving around the pedestal. Neither spoke as they circled the display, but Kate sensed that they were both thinking the same thing. When she looked at him, he smiled and nodded. So, did she.

  She couldn’t say how long they stood there, in silence, but it felt like a minute—and forever.

  “I’m buying it.”

  “I’ll wait here,” she said. And guard it. Which was silly. She was in one of the ritziest shopping areas in the world. No one was going to swoop in and steal their find.

  Rob’s find, she silently corrected. Rob’s gift to his father and Haley. Rob. The man she had no business liking so much. None at all.

  Chapter 5

  “Welcome the bride and groom,” someone shouted from one of the fabulously decorated tables behind where Rob was standing.

  The two weeks leading up to this moment had been a couple of the most hectic in his life, but Rob was satisfied that his father—and Haley Hunt-Brighten, Adam’s new bride—were more than pleased with the results.

  “Lights, action, cameras,” he mumbled under his breath as he stepped aside to make room for the onslaught of photographers following the wedding party into Romantique. Others were cruising the ranks, snapping shots of the beautiful people lined up to congratulate the newlyweds.

  His father was tall and distinguished in his Armani suit. Haley’s dress probably cost more than Rob’s car, but she looked damn gorgeous in it.

  Rob and his dad had golfed the day before. Snippets of wedding talk had filtered into their usual nonmeaningful conversation. Yes, she was Rob’s age. No, neither of them gave a damn. They were in love.

  Rob believed it. His father had never looked happier.

  “She’s restored my faith in humanity,” Adam had told Rob while teeing off on the fourteenth hole. “She’s so much more than a beautiful face. Her soul is pure, her heart adventurous.”

  “I’m really happy for you, Dad.”

  “She wants to start a family. Right away.”

  The last had caused Rob to send his ball into the rough, but he’d managed to keep his opinion to himself. Adam wasn’t a bad father, but Rob had never gotten the impression his father was really into kids—his own or anyone else’s. Why he’d want to go through parenthood a second time, Rob couldn’t imagine.

  Ten minutes later, his father slipped away from the crowd to join Rob near the bar, where Rob was helping to make sure the champagne flowed. “You did it, son. I’m really impressed,” Adam exclaimed. “This place is fabulous, even if it is a bit out of the way.”

  Rob shrugged. “That’s what limos and taxicabs are for. You’ll never find better food. Or more privacy.” He said the last tongue-in-cheek, since one corner of the parking lot had been roped off for members of the press.

  “Yes, your Kate is a marvel. That lobster in endive!” He made a kissing motion with his fingers. “Thought I’d died and gone to heaven.”

  “Which is a distinct possibility if you eat too much of it,” a woman said.

  Rob and Adam turned to find Jo watching them. She stepped closer. Her tall chef’s hat barely cleared the top of the men’s shoulders. Rob hadn’t seen her or Kate since the limos arrived. Kate’s sisters, Liz and Alex, were handling the hostess duties. “Yetta is home with Maya,” Alex had informed Rob when he asked.

  Rob hugged his mother. “Everything is perfect so far, Mom. How are you and Kate holding up?”

  “Great. She’s a genius. I think your son should marry her,” she told Adam.

  Rob blinked in surprise. “Marry? Me?”

  Adam looked equally shocked. “I didn’t even know they were dating. He didn’t say a word. Even though we played eighteen holes yesterday.”

  Rob made a time-out sign. “Nope. Stop. Off-topic. Kate and I are not dating.”

  “He lent her his truck,” Jo confided. “You know how particular he is with his truck. It presently has a child booster seat in it.”

  Rob groaned when he saw his father’s brows arch. He knew that look. “Mother,” he said sharply. “My private life is not open for discussion. I never poked into yours or dad’s. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’d better check on that ice sculpture. Is it just the light or does Cupid have an erection?”

  His parents both turned to look at the buffet table.

  “Oh, damn,” Jo muttered. “That’s downright naughty. I’ll go find an ice pick.”

  Rob and his dad looked at each other and started to laugh, just as Adam’s bride arrived. “What’s so funny?”

  As Adam explained, Kate appeared, her cheeks rosy and eyes filled with concern. “I’m so very sorry for the—”

  Adam stopped her. “Please, Kate. Don’t give it another thought. Haley and I are thinking about posing beside him.”

  Kate watched speechless as the couple pointed out the risqué sculpture to their friends. The mood suddenly seemed to rise to another level. She’d seen this happen before. Sedate and serious suddenly became tipsy and fun.

  “Wow. They’re really good sports.”

  Rob, who was standing beside her, said, “Yes, actually, my dad always has been. He never let small things ruffle him. Apparently Haley is the same way.”

  Kate looked at him. She’d done her best over the past two weeks to keep her distance. She’d made use of his truck until her car was roadworthy again, but in a moment of cowardice had persuaded Jo to return it to him so she wouldn’t have to face him. Nothing could come of the attraction she felt toward him, so why court temptation?

  “Well, back to—”

  “Kate,” he said stepping close enough to be heard over the noise. “I know you’re swamped, but in case I get caught up in best man duties and we don’t have another opportunity, I want you to know I’m really grateful. Everything is fabulous.”

  She put her finger to her lips. “Bad luck to say so before you’ve eaten. If everyone is full, fat and happy when this is over, then you can tell me. Okay?”

  He took her hand in his and closed his own around it. He brushed his lips across her knuckles, which were rough and red from being in water. She thought she’d lost sensitivity in her fingertips, but she was wrong. She felt every little nuance of his touch. “Later then.”

  Kate’s heart did a little sideways movement in her rib cage, and she fled back to her kitchen. To safety.

  Of sorts.

  Afterward, no one could say how it happened. Jo had been reaching for something in the pantry. A lid? The box of salt shakers? She couldn’t remember because pain blocked every other thought out of her head, or so she claimed. And Kate believed her. She’d never seen her second-in-command look so shaky and gray around the lips.

  Somehow, a two-gallon can of tomato puree had fallen off the shelf and landed on its rim across the toe of Jo’s sturdy black shoes. Her toes were still attached to her foot, thank God, but the swollen purple digits looked abnormally puffy and painful.

  “Let me up. I have work to do,” Jo demanded.

  “Absolutely not. Alex, run and find Rob. He should take his mom to have her foot X-rayed.”

  “No. Not on your life.”

  “It’ll be covered by worker’s comp. Go.”

  “Forget it. Is your garlic burning?”

  Kate sniffed the air then dashed back to the stove. She tossed the capers she had waiting in a dish into the pan. A cloud of steam billowed up. Once the cloud cleared, she added a measure of champagne, followed by sea salt, white pepper and shrimp. Her version of scampi. Once she had the concoction under cont
rol, she called for her under-chef to slowly stir in the thick white cream. Another helper was preparing the fettuccini.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the recent graduate of culinary school that she’d just hired reach for the shredded Parmesan cheese. “No,” Kate shouted. “That’s for the scampi. You’re adding Asiago to that sauce. It’s in the walk-in.”

  A hand touched her shoulder. She turned and found Rob standing beside her. His suit coat had been replaced by a white apron. “I won’t be as much help as Mom, but since she refuses to leave, you might as well let me try to fill in.”

  Kate looked from son to mother. Same stubborn set to their jaws. “Jo, until we get the main course served, Rob can be you. Tell him what to do and don’t let him get killed or maimed. My insurance can only handle so much.”

  After that, she didn’t have time to think, let alone lust after the debonair man at her side. Occasionally they brushed against each other in passing. She could smell his fabulous cologne even over the mouthwatering aromas she was preparing. Shirtsleeves rolled up. Forearms lightly brushed with medium-brown hair. He moved with a natural grace his mother lacked, but he shared Jo’s intense focus. He followed his mother’s orders to the letter.

  The gruff commands added to the general chaos, but somehow every plate got served. When the last server was out the door, Kate could finally take a deep breath and wipe the sweat from her brow.

  “We did it,” she whispered, straining to hear the general tone of the diners.

  “I need a smoke,” Jo said. “Help me up, son.”

  Kate rushed to take one arm while Rob held the other. They’d just eased her to the bench outside the back door when Jo slapped her thigh and said, “The vegan parfaits. I forgot to take them out of the walk-in freezer. If we don’t get them out now, they won’t be thawed in time for dessert.”