Читать книгу An Engagement Of Convenience - Mollie Molay - Страница 10

“I am so sorry, Mr. Eldridge—er, Tom,” Lili said distractedly, remembering Rita’s instructions to call him by his first name. “I am sure my daughter didn’t mean for the ball to hit you. Paulette, apologize to Mr. Eldridge this minute!”

Tom took another deep breath to control what was left of the pain. “No problem, she’s already apologized.”

For a moment, the thought crossed his mind that Lili might have deliberately set him up to teach him a lesson in humility. He eyed her cautiously. “I’m sure it was an accident. I suppose I could say it was my fault—I should have kept well away from the playing field.”

“Oh no,” Lili said worriedly. “Paulette has to learn to be more careful when she’s playing ball. Unfortunately, this has happened before,” she added with a stern look at her daughter.

“I’ll live.” Tom cautiously shifted from one foot to another, trying to find the most comfortable position. To his chagrin, the muddy spot on his shorts shifted with him.

How in the hell would he be able to look her in the eyes at the office tomorrow?

“If I continue to hang around here, I have a feeling this isn’t going to be the only time I’ll get in the way of a bouncing ball,” Tom added, hoping to displace Lili’s horrified gaze. The pain was bad enough that he could have cursed a blue streak, but he realized a child was present. “Nice day for a picnic, isn’t it?” he said inanely. Lili blinked and the kid grinned, but her humor was short-lived as her mother turned to lecture her about paying attention to what she was doing.

Tom listened to Lili read her daughter the riot act, wondering as he did how he could ever have thought of this lovely woman as serene.

He watched the way the afternoon breeze was sending wisps of her silky blond hair across her sapphire eyes. And wondered at her tender smile, even as she continued to warn her daughter about the safety aspects of playing soccer.

The more he studied Lili, the more fascinating he found her to be. How could he ever have thought her fragile and uninteresting?

He glanced at her left hand—no wedding ring. Just as he’d thought. It would be dangerous for a man like him to become involved with a single mother with small children.

Uneasy at the direction of his thoughts, he began to wonder if fate in the shape of a bouncing soccer ball had deliberately set him up.

“Sorry, mister,” the kid finally said. “I gotta go now. My friends want the ball!” She grabbed the soccer ball out of his hands and, before her mother could stop her, took off at a run.

Lili blew her daughter a kiss, then turned back to Tom. “I’m afraid there is no way for me to contain my daughter’s enthusiasm for sports. She has been a tomboy from the time she learned to walk.”

“Like I said before, I’m okay,” Tom answered her, even though shafts of pain coursed through him every time he took a deep breath. If he hadn’t already known from the days he’d played football that getting hit in the groin was as bad as it could get, he sure knew it now.

Lili frowned as she glanced at the beads of moisture that had gathered on Tom’s forehead. “I knew you were hurt. I have an idea. Wait here and don’t move,” she ordered when he tried to interrupt. “I’ll be back in a minute with something to help you.”

Her eye-catching yellow sundress flashed brightly as she made for an ice cream truck parked on the asphalt a few yards away.

Ice cream? Tom frowned. What made her think an ice cream treat would do anything for the pain running through him?

As if nearly being gelded in the prime of life wasn’t enough, he still had the problem of what to do about this woman and her crusade.

Tom turned as he heard a familiar voice shout at him from across the playing field, and saw his father heading in his direction. Apparently fate was further intent on complicating his life. Judging by his dad’s determined body language as he made his way through the crowd, Tom was afraid he was going to have to listen to another of his lectures.

Seeing Tom in the company of a woman like Lili and her small daughter was bound to have drawn his dad’s attention. Tom prepared himself for a speech on the joys of marriage and fatherhood. Not that it would be the first time his father had sounded off about Tom’s single state. Homer Eldridge made no secret that he wanted grandchildren before it was too late for him to enjoy them. Even if they came readymade.

Tom’s younger sister, Megan, bless her cowardly heart, was still single, too, but as a travel writer, she made a point of touching home base as seldom as possible. At the moment, she was busy flying around the world researching articles for a local newspaper. A side benefit was that her work kept her as far away from their father’s matchmaking activities as possible. The last time Tom had heard from Megan, she’d been somewhere in Bali, sunning herself and admiring the local males from a safe distance. To further rile him, she’d congratulated herself on having no dependents the last time she’d called.

He should have insisted Megan return home and at least help run the letters-to-the-editor pages of the magazine. So much mail had come in since they’d published Lucas Sullivan’s controversial article. And maybe if Megan were around, their father’s attention would turn from Tom to his sister.

Still, Tom counted himself lucky. If Megan, a well-intentioned do-gooder, had been living in Chicago, even without children of her own, she would have been all over him, insisting he help Lili keep the day care open. It was bad enough the management was up in arms because of Lili’s escapades; the last thing Tom needed was having Megan on his back.

Maybe he hadn’t made himself clear the last time he’d told his father he wasn’t cut out for the marriage game, and even less for fatherhood. If he hadn’t already been convinced that he was a contented bachelor, Tom had become a true believer when he’d commissioned Lucas, his fraternity brother, to write “Sullivan’s Rules.” The article had convinced Tom he was right: a strong woman was to be avoided at all costs.

He thought of Sullivan’s Rule number five, which called for a woman to “show her man how much she likes and appreciates him.” It was right on the mark.

He gazed after Lili. Number six, on second thought, wasn’t bad, either. He would have been happy with a woman who was “supportive, fun-loving, easygoing, and generous in her praise of a man’s achievements.” Just not today.

He wasn’t the only one uninterested in fatherhood, he told himself righteously. Not one of Sullivan’s Rules mentioned children.

Tom cautiously eyed the way Lili and the ice cream vendor were deep in conversation. Injured or not, his body still stirred at the sight of Lili’s shapely bare legs. The hem of her short dress rose even higher as she gestured to the vendor, leaning over the counter in the side of his truck.

It would have taken a man of iron not to admire Lili’s exquisite knees and the glimpse of golden thighs.

Thank God, Tom thought as he felt his body stir. His vital parts were still working.

On the other hand, something had to be wrong for him to be reacting this way. Now that he knew Lili was leading the crusade to keep the center open, how could he possibly be lusting after her? And then there was his policy of no fraternizing with members of his staff.

If he was suffering a severe case of spring fever, he’d have to do something to take his mind off Lili.

He also had to do something fast to get rid of her before his dad made it all the way across the playing field. But parts of Tom still hurt too much to hurry, and a quick mental calculation told him he would never make it to the ice cream truck and back before his father arrived. Besides, how could he reject the woman’s efforts to help him?

Another problem was the way she’d taken to calling him Tom instead of her usual “Mr. Eldridge” in that intriguing accent. Intriguing enough to send his thoughts down paths he’d deliberately managed to avoid until now.

He turned back to check on his father’s progress, but Homer had stopped to admire a baby. Tom noticed Paulette streaking after another soccer ball and desperately looked around for some shrub where he could hide.

Before he could take refuge, Lili came hurrying up to him. “Now,” she said briskly as she glanced around the grassy area, “all we need to do is find a place for you to lie down.”

Lying down sounded like a good idea, Tom thought wryly as he put his weight on both legs. The problem was that he would be in plain sight for his father to spot him. The bigger problem was the brown paper bag Lili carried.

“Why?” he asked warily, even though he admitted that under difference circumstances, lying down with Lili might have been an idea worth considering.

“So that I can help you!”

To his dismay, she was gazing quizzically at his shorts.

“Help me?” Tom eyed the leaking brown bag. “If that’s what I think it is, I have to tell you I’m not in the mood for ice cream just now. Thanks, anyway.”

“No.” Lili smiled at what she obviously thought was his attempt at a joke.

If she only knew he wasn’t trying to be funny.

“When I told the ice cream vendor what had happened, he was kind enough to give me some ice cubes to ease your pain. I didn’t have any way to carry them, so he gave me this bag. Now, come with me,” she added. “As soon as we can find a place away from the ball field, I will apply the ice to your injury.”

Tom shivered at the thought of having Lili anywhere near his aching groin.

He tried putting his weight on his right foot. A sharp pain shot down his legs. “I’m sure I’ll be fine without the ice. Just give me another minute.”

“You are sure?” Lili eyed him dubiously. “Ice always helps Paulette when she scrapes her knee.”

“If it were my knee, Lili, I’d let you apply the ice cubes,” Tom said fervently. “As it is…” He hesitated at her blush. There was no way he could come up with a creative way to describe his injury without embarrassing them both.

It was time to compromise.

He glanced around the surrounding area. Letting Lili help him hide from his father sounded like a good idea, but that was as far as he was willing to go. Unfortunately, the only place to lie down, short of staggering back to his car, appeared to be on the other side of a grassy knoll a few yards away. He took a deep breath.

“Toss the ice cubes and follow me.”

To his dismay, after Lili tossed the bag of ice cubes behind a tree, she hurried to put her arm around his waist as he slowly made his way up and over the small embankment. He tried leaning away from her, but it wasn’t working. Even the lingering pain that ran through him couldn’t distract him from her sweet scent, earnest blue eyes and the determined set of her lips.

Tom swallowed a groan. The last thing he needed was Lili’s close proximity to remind him that while he might be mentally ready and willing, he wasn’t able.

“There.” Lili stopped and admired a lush patch of grass. “Now, stretch out, please.”

Tom still wasn’t convinced it was the brightest idea he’d ever had, but he let her help him sink to the ground. Once on his back, he closed his eyes and tried to relax, but nothing short of a tornado could have kept him from being aware of Lili.

“Just let me rest for a few minutes.” He threw an arm over his eyes to block out the strong sun shining down on him, and the look of concern in Lili’s eyes. The last time he’d experienced such tender loving care had been as a kid at his late mother’s knee, he thought fleetingly. But he was sure as hell a long way from thinking of Lili as his mother.

“You are certain you are going to be okay without the ice cubes?” Lili asked when she saw him wince. “I can always go back and get more.”

Between Lili’s attempt to help him and his father’s determination to see him married, Tom was beginning to feel like a goose being fattened up for dinner.

A child’s voice broke into his reverie. “Mama? Is the man going to be okay?”

Tom opened his eyes to see two wide hazel eyes gazing down at him with sympathy. Recognizing the kid’s shorts and shirt, he mustered a smile. “Don’t worry. I’m okay, Paulette.”

The kid frowned. “I’m not Paulette.”

Beside him, Lili giggled, a happy, tinkling laugh that, if he hadn’t felt like a fool, would have brought a smile to Tom’s face. “This isn’t Paulette.”

“No?” He shaded his eyes against the blinding sunlight. A closer look revealed a small boy with short blond hair instead of a golden ponytail.

“Don’t tell me there are two of you!” Tom groaned, then remembered Lili had mentioned twins. The thought that not one but two small children came with Lili was overwhelming. For a man who’d had almost nothing to do with kids for most of his adult life, he wasn’t sure how to apologize to the boy.

“Yes,” Lili replied, smiling fondly at the newcomer. “This is Paul, Paulette’s twin brother.”

“You don’t happen to have a soccer ball on you, do you?” Tom asked eying the boy warily.

Paul shook his head. “My sister plays soccer. I like action figures. I’m going to be an artist like my mother when I grow up.”

Tom smothered a sigh of relief, closed his eyes again and tried to pretend he was somewhere else. Somewhere nice and quiet where there were no soccer balls to dodge and no need for ice cubes to cool his overheated, aching body. And no children.

He must have fallen asleep for a few minutes, because the last thing he remembered was Lili leaning over him. The spaghetti straps holding up her body-hugging sundress drooped over creamy shoulders. In the hollow between her breasts, a single gold chain nestled, and wisps of blond hair fell over her forehead and tickled his nose.

The next time he opened his eyes, Lili was sitting cross-legged at his side and eating an ice cream cone. A few feet away, Paul was on his hands and knees investigating a gopher hole. To Tom’s amusement, the gopher turned out to be as curious about Paul as Paul was about him, and they almost bumped noses. Tom wasn’t sure who was the more surprised, the gopher or Paul.

Tom found himself laughing. By his side, Lili laughed, too. Judging from her loving glance, it was obvious she felt that children were a joy and a blessing, not a nuisance.

Tom realized that to strangers passing by, they must look like a normal family enjoying a picnic in the park.

Lili’s twins were cute, and he had a feeling that all it would take was a few more moments like this to make him forget Sullivan’s Rules calling for caution in male-female relationships.

Maybe the attraction was simply because he was vulnerable.

“Ah, so there you are!” Homer Eldridge beamed as he made his way over the grassy rise. “I lost sight of you for a while, but I knew that if I looked hard enough I’d find you.”

Tom smothered a groan.

Trouble had a way of following him, he mused as he tried to sit up. The picture of Lili, little Paul and him sitting together had apparently been enough to bring a smile to his father’s face. Tom hadn’t seen Homer so happy in years.

Happy was good, Tom thought with compassion as he gazed at his dad. Homer had been in the dumps ever since he’d talked himself into retiring from Today’s World, ostensibly to give Tom the opportunity to make his mark on the magazine. More likely, Tom suspected, his father had wanted to encourage him to settle down—in both his professional and personal life.

“Married with children” had become a broken record.

“Sorry I didn’t get up, Dad.” Tom explained to his father about the errant soccer ball. “I feel a little better now.

“By the way,” he added, remembering he wasn’t alone. “I guess I should introduce you to Lili Soulé. Lili is the magazine’s graphic artist. Lili, this is my dad, Homer Eldridge.”

“I remember seeing you around the magazine once or twice before I retired, Ms. Soulé,” his father said, smiling as he reached to take Lili’s offered hand. “Glad to meet you. You don’t mind my calling you Lili, do you? Especially seeing that you and Tom are friends?”

Lili blushed. “I am pleased to meet you, too, Mr. Eldridge. You may call me Lili if you wish.”

Tom’s father gestured to Paul. “Your son?”

“Yes,” Lili said proudly. “Paul is a twin. His sister is out there somewhere playing soccer. I’m afraid it was Paulette who kicked the ball that hit Tom.”

Homer glanced over his shoulder at the soccer field, which was rimmed by shouting children and cheering parents. “And the children’s father? Is he here today?”

Lili’s smile faded. “I lost my husband, Paul, four years ago in an accident,” she said softly. “Little Paul here is now the man of the family.”

Tom’s father murmured in sympathy. “And a fine young man he is. How old is he?”

“He is six,” Lili replied. Obviously wondering at the senior Eldridge’s sudden interest in her son, she glanced at Tom with a raised eyebrow. Hoping he was wrong about his father’s interest, Tom managed a shrug.

“Ah, yes,” Homer replied with a fond smile. “Still, every boy needs a father to help him along the road to manhood. Don’t you agree?”

Even as Tom shook his head, Lili nodded.

Judging from his father’s benevolent smile, Tom had a sinking feeling his dad had decided Lili and her twins would not only make a perfect family, but provide him with instant grandchildren.

In a way, Homer was right, Tom mused as a becoming flush pinkened Lili’s cheeks. Tom was a red-blooded man and Lili was definitely all woman. If only she hadn’t displayed such a will of steel and relentless determination. He knew from experience that a strong woman spelled trouble.

He was also old-fashioned enough to believe that his frat brother, Lucas Sullivan, had been right in his article on the mating game. A woman had to let a man set the pace in their relationship, or at least allow him to be a partner. Since he’d discovered the real Lili, Tom wasn’t sure she was ready to do either.

He intended to get around to marriage someday, maybe, but not yet. If his father was so set on being a grandfather, maybe there was still a chance that his sister would develop a nesting instinct, marry and provide the grandchildren.

Impatiently, he listened while his father and Lili exchanged pleasantries. The longer the two spoke, the broader the smile on his father’s face became. Not a good sign.

“Tom,” Homer finally suggested, “why don’t you bring Lili and the children over to my place for dinner next Friday?”

Tom was about to say he had another engagement when the activity on the ball fields stopped and picnicgoers broke into whistles and shouts. Slowly, he swiveled to see what had prompted the outburst. It seemed as if everyone was looking skyward, pointing and cheering. To Tom’s dismay, a small plane flew overhead, trailing a large yellow banner: HELP KEEP RIVERVIEW CHILD CARE CENTER OPEN!

A deep foreboding washed over Tom. He knew, as sure as he knew his own name, that his life was about to become even more complicated.