One Daddy Too Many by Debra Salonen Read Free Book Online Page A

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 overhead lights gave silvery highlights to his tousledwaves. 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 stoppedhim 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 midsentence 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 about. “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,” he said.
    “I’ll waithere,” she said. And guard it. Which was silly. She was in one of the ritziest shopping areas in