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Still in Craig’s arms, Summer turned. A woman stood in front of a bright red sports car at the curb. Overlarge sunglasses shielded her eyes and a portion of her forehead. Her hair, dyed ten different shades of blond, sat cropped close to her heart-shaped face. She was shorter than Summer, less curvy, thinner but indicative of an anorexic weight loss method rather than in a healthy way. She wore a form-fitting jacket in sage green atop a floral print skirt, and a string of jade beads dipped to her chest in twin strands.
Tension radiated off Craig, sharp enough to draw blood. The woman, Chelsea, smiled in their direction, harder than diamonds. Summer would have to ease the pressure between them all.
“Just so you know, I could take her in a fight,” she murmured to Craig with a saucy wink.
The joke worked. He relaxed, smiled.
“I bet you can, but let’s just see what she wants first, okay?” He faced his ex-wife with the same easygoing attitude, arm still casually draped around Summer’s waist. “Chelsea, what can I do for you today?”
“I want to see my children, Craig.”
He swept a hand toward the front door. “Go on in. Scott’s inside playing video games. Maddie’s at the park with my dad, and Nate should be home from summer camp in a few minutes.”
She paused at the edge of the driveway. “Why isn’t Scott at summer camp?”
“A growth plate fracture at baseball has kept him home for the last couple of weeks.”
“A growth plate fracture? How exactly did my son sustain a growth plate fracture?”
“Our son collided with another player at third base.” Craig’s tone chilled.
“Another accident, Craig?”
Once again, Summer opted to jump in. “According to the ER doc, it’s a fairly common injury. The best thing we did was take him directly to the emergency room, rather than waiting. The leg will heal with no problem.”
Chelsea pulled the glasses to the end of her nose and looked over the frames at her. “And you are...?”
“Oops, sorry. I’m Summer. I’m...” She paused, looked at Craig. Oh, well. No help for it. Chelsea had seen him kissing her, so the nanny angle wouldn’t hold much water. In fact, it would probably anger her more. “I’m Craig’s girlfriend.”
“And how involved is your girlfriend in our children’s care, Craig?”
“It’s not what you think, Chels.”
“Ummm, how about we table this discussion for now?” Summer interjected.
“She’s my fiancée,” Craig clarified.
Summer’s jaw nearly fell to the sidewalk. As shocked as she was, though, the announcement stunned Chelsea even more. “Your fiancée?”
“Look, don’t jump to conclusions right now, okay?” Craig said. “Spend some time with the kids, and when you’re done, we’ll go someplace quiet and talk. The three of us.”
Summer shook her head. “The two of you. I don’t belong in discussions involving your marriage or your children.”
Chelsea scowled. “Oh, on the contrary. I think if you’re going to marry Craig and be involved in the raising of my children, you should be there, as well.”
“Ordinarily I’d agree with you, Mrs. McIntyre, but what Craig has neglected to tell you is, I haven’t said yes yet.”
Chelsea’s eyes narrowed on Summer for a long, intense minute, and then her face broke into a grin. “I think I like you. It’s too soon to tell, but you don’t fall for Craig’s charm. I respect that.” She started walking toward the house and tossed over her shoulder, “Join us, Summer. After I’ve seen the kids.”
Once Chelsea disappeared inside the house, Summer turned back to Craig. “Have you gone insane? Why on earth would you tell her I’m your fiancée?”
“Because I didn’t want to have to explain how I fell in love with the nanny.”
“I am not the nanny.”
“You know what I mean. I don’t want Chelsea to think I’m like Paul Hobart.”
“And what happens when your kids tell her I’m not your fiancée, that I’m not even your girlfriend?”
“Ah, shinola!” He left her standing there, her question unanswered while he raced inside the house.
♥
THE DOOR SLAMMED BEHIND him, and Chelsea turned to face him, a broad smile on her face. She sat on the couch, Scott pounding on the buttons of his gaming control beside her.
“I don’t know where you met her, Craig, but I’m impressed.” She gestured to the shelf against the wall where colorful boxes stored the toys that used to litter the now uncluttered carpet. “Her influence, I suppose.”
“She’s been good for us, Chels. The kids love her.” He clamped his mouth shut, but the words had already escaped.
And of course, Chelsea leaped on his gaffe faster than a cheetah on a wounded hyena. “Is that so?” She turned back to Scott. “What do you think of your father’s girlfriend, Scott?”
“Umm...” Craig began.
Scott cut him off without ever pausing in his game. “Summer? She’s cool. I miss the Pop Tarts for breakfast, though.”
“Oh? What do you have for breakfast instead?”
“Cereal, fruit, toast, omelets. Good stuff. The other day, we surprised her with French toast. But Dad made us cook with healthy stuff.”
At Chelsea’s puzzled look, Craig clarified, “Whole wheat bread and egg substitute.”
“Yo ho, look who’s here!” Dad announced as he walked into the living room with Maddie on his hip.
“Mommy!” Maddie shrieked and wiggled, arms outstretched toward Chelsea. The minute her grandfather put her down, she raced to Chelsea’s side and buried her dark head in her mother’s jacket.
“Hello, my angel,” Chelsea greeted her as she smoothed the child’s hair with the flat of her hand. “Look how big you’re getting.”
“Son,” Dad said, “Summer told me to tell you she’ll be outside weeding the back garden for a while.”
“In other words,” Chelsea remarked, “she’s giving us some privacy. Classy lady, Craig.”
“Nice change of pace,” Dad retorted.
Craig shot him a warning glance. “Dad.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Dad muttered. “I think I’ll go help Summer.”
He walked out just as Nate popped in. “Mom!”
Craig sank into the recliner and forced himself to relax. With Nate’s arrival, the family circle was complete. More than ever, though, he wished he could be outside with Summer instead.
♥
SUMMER YANKED ANOTHER dandelion out of the black mulch and tossed the weed into the bucket at her side.
“Craig’s or Chelsea’s?” a male voice said from behind her.
She looked up into Ken’s smiling face. “What?”
He crouched beside her. “Dr. Jeff? That psychologist guy from the Taking Sides talk show? He once said that women often pull weeds as an outlet for their anger because it’s the same kind of action as pulling someone’s hair. So, I’m asking you. Whose hair do you want to pull right now? Craig’s or Chelsea’s?”
Giggles overwhelmed her, and she fell back onto her butt, laughing. “Dr. Jeff said that, huh? Was that before or after he met my sister?”
He grinned. “Does it matter?”
“No. Definitely not.” She sobered. “Your son just introduced me to Chelsea as his fiancée.”
Understanding lit up his eyes. “Ah. Well, I did tell him life was too short to dilly-dally when it came to love.”
“It’s a huge hop from our first dance to wedding bells, don’t you think?”
“He panicked. Chelsea has that effect on him, especially when she threatens to take the kids from him.”
“You mean this isn’t the first time she’s threatened him?”
He gave a bitter laugh. “The first time was two weeks after he was awarded sole custody. She wanted to see them at three in the morning before she and her husband flew off to some godforsaken place. When Craig wouldn’t wake them up for her, she told him if she didn’t have open access, she’d take them with her permanently.” He shrugged. “Next thing I know, Craig’s waking up the kids so they can say goodbye to their mother.”
“That’s horrible. How often does she threaten him like that?”
“It isn’t what you think. I mean, yeah, that was a particularly mean episode, but it’s not a normal occurrence. Up until recently they’ve actually kept a civil peace between them for the kids’ sakes. ‘Til I had that second heart attack. Then, Chelsea started making threats again. She said Craig couldn’t handle the responsibility without help, and her husband had the financial means to make sure that the kids had a nanny, private tutors, and access to privileges Craig couldn’t possibly give them. That’s what sent him to that agency of your sister’s.”
“And why you were against it,” she surmised.
“Yeah. I thought, ‘What’s the difference who’s got ‘em if the kids are being brought up by strangers?’ But I was wrong about hiring someone. About hiring you.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you. You brought laughter back to this house. And even better, you brought love. So, if my son jumped the gun with you, don’t hold it against him.”
“I don’t hold it against him. I just want time. For him, for me, for the kids.”
“Too bad Chelsea doesn’t see it that way.” Craig’s voice suddenly intruded into their conversation.
Summer looked from up to see him striding toward them, a puzzled expression on his face. “Craig? Is everything all right?”
He spread his hands wide and shook his head. “I’m a little shell-shocked to discover that all three of my kids knew you and I were in love before we did. Even Maddie.”
Ken folded his arms over his chest. “I told you that you guys were throwing off more sparks than live car battery.” At Craig’s icy glare, he backed away. “I think I’ll go back inside. Make nice with Chelsea for a while.” He made a quick retreat toward the back door.
Summer barely noticed his departure. Her focus remained pinned to Craig. “Is anything else bothering you?”
“Yeah,” Craig replied. “Chelsea says if you agree to marry me, she’ll stop threatening to take the kids away from me.”
Good thing Summer was already seated on the ground. She didn’t have any lower to go. Talk about emotional blackmail. “Craig, I—”
He held up a hand to stem her argument. “I told her we’d get married if and when we were ready. For love and not for legal purposes. In the meantime, she’s welcome to join us for dinner, but this is the last time I intend to allow her to accompany the two of us on a date.”
Logic fled. She widened her eyes, swallowed, tried to think of something to say. “You really said that?”
“Said every word and meant every word. She declined the dinner invitation, by the way. Says we deserve some alone time, and she wants time with the kids, so we all win. She also asked that we send her and Jake a wedding invitation. When we’re ready. Looks like everyone knows how we feel about each other. It’s freaking me out a little.”
Summer rose on shaky legs, brushed the dirt from her stained knees. “Craig, there’s something you should know about me.”
“You might still be in love with your ex? I know.”
“No.” She shook her head, then stopped to stare at him. “God, no! I hope to never see that worm again! Why on earth would you think that?”
“The way you reacted when we saw him that night at the home store. You practically fainted.”
“But not because I still have feelings for him. Our marriage was over long before it actually ended. I reacted the way I did when I saw Briana—that is, when I saw Briana was pregnant.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. Time to bare her darkest secret. Unable to face him, she dropped her gaze to the bucket of weeds. “I can’t have children, Craig. A surgery I had a few years ago.”
“Oh.”
Her head snapped up. “‘Oh?’ Is that all you can say?”
“Well, yeah.” He shrugged, but his face gave nothing away. “I mean, I get it now. You didn’t care about seeing Brad or him seeing you with me. You were upset about his wife’s being pregnant already. The twit was with twitlet a mere few months after you and Brad called it quits. I bet that kicked like an angry mule.” At last, he smiled and exhaled a long breath. “That’s a relief.”
“Not to me. I’ll never have a family.”
“You will if you stay with me.” He leaned closer, nuzzled her neck. “Three kids are enough, doncha think?”
Despite the sweet shivers rippling her flesh, she pushed him away. “We haven’t even dated, and you’re angling for marriage.”
“No, I’m not. I’m just pointing out all the benefits. And if you can tear yourself away from the dirt around my house long enough, I’d like to take you out tonight. Just the two of us. Our first date. Well, second, if you count that dinner in my van. What do you say?”
“I g-guess I should get cleaned up and change my clothes then. Where are we going?”
“For dinner? You choose. The place, the clothes, the food. All up to you. Everything is all up to you.”
She arched a brow at him. “Even the wedding?”
He pulled her close, kissed her with enough emotion to make her dizzy. “We’ll discuss that later. When we’re both ready.”
Cradling his face in her hands, she kissed him back. “No. When we’re all ready.”