She carried the glass down the hall, then stopped and stared.
Bradley Charles Vane IV wasnt watching Simon play. He was, to her amazement, sitting on the floor in his gorgeous suit, playing with her son.
“Two strikes, baby. You are doomed.” With a cackle, Simon wiggled his butt and prepared for the next pitch.
“Dream on, kid. See my man on third? Hes about to score.”
She stepped farther into the room, but neither of them noticed her as the ball whistled toward the plate and the bat cracked against virtual cowhide.
“Hes got it, hes got it, hes got it,” Simon said in a kind of whispered chant. “Yeah, yeah, shagged that sucker.”
“And the runner tags,” Brad said. “Watch him fly, heading for home. Here comes the throw… and he slides, and…”
Safe! the home base ump decreed.
“Oh, yeah.” Brad gave Simon a quick elbow nudge. “One to zip, pal.”
“Not bad. For an old guy.” Simon chuckled. “Now prepare to be humiliated.”
“Excuse me. I brought you some ginger ale.”
“Time out.“ Brad twisted around to smi
le up at her. ”Thanks. Do you mind if we play out the inning?“
“No. Of course not.” She set the glass on the coffee table, and wondered what she should do now. “Ill just be back in the kitchen. I need to start dinner.”
When his eyes stayed so direct and easy on hers, she heard-—with some horror—the words tumbling out of her mouth. “Youre welcome to stay. Its just chicken.”
“Thatd be great.”
He swiveled back around to resume the game.
Mental note, Brad thought: Forget the roses and champagne. Home improvement supplies are the key to this particular ladys lock.
* * *
WHILEZoe was standing in her kitchen wondering how the hell she was going to turn her humble chicken into something worthy of a more sophisticated palate, Dana was soothing her ego with takeout pizza.
She hadnt meant to tell him. Ever. Why give him one more thing to smirk at her about?
But he hadnt smirked, she admitted, washing down the pizza with cold beer. In fact, hed looked as though shed put a bullet dead center of his forehead.
Neither could she claim hed looked pleased or puffed up about the knowledge that shed been in love with him.
The fact of it was, hed looked shocked, then sorry.
Oh, God, maybe that was worse.
She sulked over the pizza. Though she had her evening book open on the table beside her, she hadnt read a single word. She was just going to have to deal with this, she told herself.
She couldnt afford to obsess about Jordan. Not only because she had other things that should occupy her time and her thoughts, but it just wasnt healthy.
Since it was clear he was going to hang around for several weeks, and there was no avoiding him unless she avoided Flynn and Brad, they would be seeing each other regularly.
And if she accepted all that had happened in the last month, all shed learned, she was going to have to accept that Jordan had been meant to come back. He was a part of it all.
And damn it, he could be useful.