One Daddy Too Many by Debra Salonen Read Free Book Online

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 asked, bending down to peer at a smooth green-and-red frog that seemed to have been captured in glass midjump.
    “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.”
    The overhead lights were doing something odd to his complexion, she decided. His skin tone seemed warmer, almost invitingher 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.
    “Tooblue.”
    “This one?”
    “Too weird.”
    Back and forth, they hopped from one piece of art to the next like children playing leapfrog.
    I’m having fun, he suddenly realized.
    They paused in the doorway to another cubicle. “Maybe crystal isn’t the way to go,” she said. “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