Chapter Three

Nice look,” Gage McBride said, eyeing the crown on Ethan’s head with a grin. “Lucky for you, Harlan had the stomach flu.”

Ethan wasn’t feeling so lucky. He’d won the hamburger-eating contest. If he would’ve known the prize was a crown, he wouldn’t have tried so hard. But Gage had been chowing down beside him, egging him on. He raised his hand to remove the crown.

“Not yet. We don’t want to offend anyone.” Claudia angled her chin at the crowd gathered around the stage. “I’ll be right back.” She smiled, then headed in his mother’s direction.

“Shut up,” Ethan said under his breath to his laughing best friend. “I should’ve let you win.” He lowered his hand, feeling some sympathy for Skye.

Then again, she probably loved wearing a crown. She was twenty-eight going on twelve. She was one of the most uninhibited, fun-loving women he’d ever met. She inhaled life: sailing through it with all the ease of a trust-fund baby. Which was probably why she drove him nuts. And not in a I-can’t-keep-my-hands-off-her kind of way. Claudia was right. They had nothing in common. He needed to remember that the next time Skye was within ten feet of him.

“Yeah, right, you hate to lose,” Gage said.

“Says the guy who tripped me so he could win the hundred-yard dash in sixth grade.” Ethan wasn’t a sore loser. He just didn’t believe in doing anything half-assed. Whether it was winning a hamburger-eating contest, going after a conviction in his previous job as assistant district attorney, or going after the seat in the state senate. When he set his sights on something, he gave it his all.

“Yeah, and you’re the one—” Gage broke off at the sight of his nine-year-old daughter, Lily, bounding up the stage steps with a candy apple in her hand. Her older sister, Annie, followed behind.

Gage smiled at his daughters. “You girls having fun?”

“Yeah,” Lily said, bouncing up and down.

Annie rolled her eyes. “She’s had too much sugar again, Dad.”

Ethan grinned. “Hey, I’ve been out of town for a few weeks and you two forget about me? Where’s my hug?” He loved his best friend’s kids. Annie and Lily were great. And Gage was one hell of a father. He’d pretty much raised the girls on his own. It hadn’t always been easy, and Ethan was glad Gage now had Madison in his life. He envied him. At thirty-six, Ethan wanted what his best friend had: a wife and family.

Annie gave him a one-armed hug. “Like the crown, Uncle Eth. Is that what all the candidates are wearing these days, or just the Republicans?”

He blinked at what sounded like sarcasm in her thirteen-year-old voice. Taking in her innocent expression, he figured he’d heard her wrong.

“Annie,” Gage said in a warning tone.

Not so innocent after all. And Ethan had a good idea who was behind the attitude.

“I like your crown, too, Uncle Ethan. You look like a prince. Can Daddy have one?” Lily asked, wrapping her arms around Ethan’s waist.

“Sure,” he said, tweaking her ponytail. “He can have mine.”

Gage gave him an in-your-dreams look. “Uncle Ethan won the hamburger-eating contest fair and square. The crown’s his.”

Annie crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Ethan while Lily drew back to give him a disappointed look. “You shouldn’t eat burgers. They make them out of someone’s mommy and daddy.”

Skylar Davis strikes again. The damn woman was going to turn Lily and Annie against him. He tried to think of something to say. Thankfully, Gage intervened, “Have you guys seen your mother?”

“She’s at the bakery,” Lily said, lifting Ethan’s arm to look at his watch. “Annie, we gotta go. Auntie Skye’s reading the Sugar Plum Cake Fairy story at four. I wanna get a good seat.”

Ethan thought about going with her. He had a bone to pick with the Sugar Plum Cake Fairy.

“Aw, Dad, do I have to?” Annie said.

Before Gage could respond, Ethan’s mother came over to say hello to the girls. Liz O’Connor was Lily and Annie’s honorary grandmother. She’d been Gage’s mother’s best friend. Anna McBride had died of breast cancer nine years ago. Five years later, Ethan’s father suffered a fatal heart attack. Neither Gage nor Ethan liked the idea of their parents spending the rest of their lives alone and had been trying, unsuccessfully, to get them together. It was obvious they liked one another, but neither one would act on their feelings.

“I swear you two have grown a couple of inches since I saw you last,” his mother said, giving the girls a hug. “It won’t be long before you have a new baby brother or sister. Are you getting excited?”

Annie shrugged as if she couldn’t have cared less, but the hint of a smile gave her away.

Lily nodded enthusiastically. “We want a baby sister, right, Annie?”

“Hey, I’m outnumbered as it is,” Gage protested.

Ethan’s mother patted Gage’s arm. “You don’t fool me. You love having a house full of girls to wait on you.”

Gage snorted. “You have met my wife, haven’t you?” Looking down at Lily, who was dancing in front of him, he said, “Okay, I’ll meet you over there.”

Liz smiled as Lily dragged a protesting Annie off the stage, then returned her attention to Gage. “You’re a lucky man, and you know it. If I could find someone half as wonderful as Madison for my son, I’d be a happy woman. I need some grandbabies of my own to spoil. But from the looks of it, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

Ethan didn’t miss the assessing glance his mother sent in Claudia’s direction. She’d been touting his campaign manager’s wifely attributes at an annoying frequency. Ethan couldn’t deny that Claudia was a beautiful woman and would be an asset to a man holding political office, but he wasn’t attracted to her. Considering the woman he was attracted to, maybe he needed to rethink that.

“You have two daughters. Get on Chloe’s and Cat’s cases,” Ethan told his mother, whose long-suffering expression made it clear she thought he was her only hope. It was possible she had a point.

Chloe was an actress who lived in LA, and the only man she was interested in was a golden statue named Oscar. Last year, it’d looked like Cat, a police officer with the Denver PD, might be the one to make his mother’s dream come true. Until his sister found out that her fiancé was running a Ponzi scheme right under her nose. Cat lost not only the man of her dreams but her job. She now worked in LA as her twin sister’s bodyguard. And while Ethan loved Cat and Chloe, he wasn’t exactly disappointed they lived a thousand miles away. He’d had enough of their drama growing up, especially Chloe’s. But there were times, like now, when he wouldn’t have minded having them around to take the heat off him.

“You’re the oldest. It’s up to you to set an example.” His mother straightened his crown and sighed. “Look how handsome you are. I don’t understand why someone hasn’t snapped you up yet.”

“What I look like, Mom, is an idiot.” He scowled at his best friend, who he knew was silently laughing his ass off. Once again, Ethan went to remove the crown.

Claudia, who chose that moment to rejoin them, stopped him. “Ten more minutes.” Her smile turned into a frown as she moved his arm and leaned back. “That little girl ruined your jacket. She got candy apple all over you.”

Gage winced. “Sorry about that, Eth.”

“It’s not a big deal,” he said, and wasn’t happy Claudia was making one out of it. She had to know Lily was Gage’s daughter. Then again, it was possible she didn’t. Unless someone was of voting age, they didn’t appear on her radar. Ethan was more than happy to get rid of his jacket. He hadn’t wanted to wear a suit, but Claudia insisted. He took the jacket off, rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and decided to lose the tie as well.

“No. Leave it on.” Claudia stilled his hand with hers, then took the jacket. “I’ll get the stain out.”

“I’ll help,” his mother offered.

“Your mom and Claudia get along well,” Gage said as the two women left the stage.

“Too well, if you ask me.”

“Liz has her pegged for the front-runner in her campaign to find Mrs. O’Connor, does she?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Not to anyone who doesn’t know Liz.” Gage cocked his head. “Are you interested? She’s beautiful. And with her connections and political savvy, she’d make a great politician’s wife.”

“You sound like my mother.” And like his old boss, Jordan Reinhart, who’d been the one to put Ethan’s name into the race. Only Jordan had touted his daughter Sam’s good-wife attributes. Ethan had dated Sam five years ago, but their relationship ended when he’d left his job as assistant district attorney and moved back home. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I need a break.”

“Interesting,” Gage said, following him off the stage. “You didn’t answer my question. So should I assume that’s a yes?”

“Yes, she would, but no, I’m not interested.” It’s too bad he wasn’t. A recent poll indicated that while Ethan’s single status increased his popularity with the younger, more liberal voters, it hurt him with the older, conservative ones. Ethan smiled, shaking hands with several people in the crowd.

“Thanks, appreciate it,” he said at their promises of support, then walked away with Gage by his side. “Okay, I think I’ve worn this thing long enough.”

“Maybe you should leave it on. Here comes your fairy princess.” Gage’s laughter turned to a groan. “Oh hell, she looks pissed. What did you do now?”

“Nothing,” Ethan said, lowering his arm as Skye marched toward him with Grace and Madison in tow. He’d been approached by at least ten beautiful, very sweet, reasonable women today, so why was it that the only woman who set his pulse racing was the ticked-off fairy shooting daggers at him?

“You”—Skye jabbed him in the chest with a book—“are not my Prince Charming.”

“Yeah, you’ve made that pretty clear, cupcake.” He straightened her crown, looking into her flashing caramel-colored eyes. “What did I do now?”

She made a frustrated sound in her throat and went up on her toes. Her sweet, sexy body brushed against him, sending a familiar zing of heated awareness to every nerve ending. He fought the urge to dip his head and kiss her rosebud lips when she reached up, whipped the crown off his head, and waved it in his face. “How do you explain this?”

“I won…” He trailed off. Telling her that he’d won the hamburger-eating contest wouldn’t go over well, and they were already drawing attention.

Her gorgeous eyes narrowed, and she thumped the crown against his chest. “You won the hamburger-eating contest, didn’t you? Oh, you…” She made a growly noise in her throat, turned on her slippered feet, and flounced off with her wings flapping.

“Sorry, Ethan,” Grace said over her shoulder as she hurried after Skye.

“What was that all about?” Gage asked his wife.

“She, ah…” Madison glanced at Ethan and continued in a thick Southern drawl, “She’s a little stressed, is all.”

Gage put his hands on his wife’s shoulders and ducked his head to meet her eyes. “Not buying it, honey. What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing.” She cast a nervous glance in the direction Skye had fled. “I’d better go and calm her down before she starts reading the story. She’s liable to kill off the prince. Don’t take it personally, Ethan. She’s not feeling like herself these days.” Madison patted his arm, kissed her husband’s cheek, and took off.

“Do me a favor,” Gage said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Give Skye a wide berth for the rest of the day.”

“Plan to,” Ethan said, unable to keep from searching the crowd for a flash of purple.

“Yeah, right, I saw the way you looked at her. Trust me, you don’t want to go there, buddy. I like Skye, but she’s not for you.”

Ethan had heard the same thing from his mother and Claudia. He’d even said it himself. So why did his best friend warning him away from Skye leave Ethan with a hollowed-out feeling in his chest? “Any idea what she’s stressed about?”

“Who knows? Tired, maybe. She’s been helping Grace out at the bakery. I doubt she’s ever worked before.”

His best friend was probably right, but it didn’t stop Ethan from feeling defensive on her behalf. “You’re being a little unfair, don’t you think? Just because she’s rich doesn’t mean she hasn’t put in an honest day’s work before.”

Gage released a low whistle. “You’ve got it bad, buddy.”

“No, I… okay, yeah, I do,” he admitted at Gage’s knowing look. “But it’s nothing more than a physical attraction. I’m not a fool.” Though he was beginning to feel like one when it came to Skye. “I know better than to get involved with her, especially now. I just have to keep my distance.”

“Good luck with that. You’ve been searching the park for her ever since she left.”

“You may not have noticed, but she doesn’t want anything to do with me. Besides, I’ll be on the road, and she’ll be leaving town.”

“It’s probably a good thing you’ll be hitting the campaign trail, because it doesn’t look like she’s leaving anytime soon.” And Gage didn’t appear overly thrilled about it.

Before he could question Gage further, several older women surrounded Ethan.

Ten minutes later, as the blue-haired ladies walked off, his best friend grinned. “You always did have a way with older women. From what I’ve seen and heard today, you’re a shoo-in.” He clapped Ethan on the shoulder. “You’ll make a great senator. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, but we still have a long way to go. Bennett is running a solid campaign. We’ll—” He broke off when his mother rejoined them, his jacket draped over her arm. “Where’s Claudia?” With another Fourth of July BBQ to attend in the next county, they had to hit the road.

His mother handed him his jacket. “She wanted to get a picture of some Kendall person. Ethan, where are you going?” she called out, as he took off in the direction Skye had gone.

“What’s up?” Gage asked, jogging up to him.

“Skye’s Kendall.” And he’d seen her reaction when Claudia mentioned taking a picture of her in costume. “I have to get to Claudia before she finds her.”

Several yards away, adults ringed a group of children who sat on the grass under a weeping willow. Ethan made his way through the crowd toward Grace and Madison. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of red and zeroed in on the tall brunette. “Claudia,” he called out. She didn’t hear him and raised her iPhone.

Skye, who sat on a rock surrounded by at least thirty little kids, glanced in his direction at the same time Claudia said, “Smile, Kendall.”

Skye glared at Ethan as she continued reading the story and, in graphic, gory detail, killed the prince.

“I can’t believe she just did that,” Madison said, covering her face with her hand.

Neither, it appeared, could Skye. With a horrified expression on her pink-cheeked face, her gaze went from the book to the little kids gathered around her.

“Oh no, Madison, look, they’re crying,” Grace said.

“I can’t.”

Aw, hell, Ethan thought, when Skye looked like she might do the same. He started through the crowd with the idea of rescuing her. Gage stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Keeping your distance, remember?” he reminded Ethan. “From the way she reacted to you earlier, you’ll only make it worse.”

“No, don’t cry,” Skye pleaded. “The prince isn’t dead. He’s in a coma.”

Ethan bowed his head when two little girls in the front row cried louder. He raised it in time to see their mothers rush into the circle, scooping them into their arms. Whatever the two women said to Skye deepened the color on her already flushed cheeks. “Grace, Madison, come on. Do something,” he said. If they didn’t, he would.

Lily jumped up, pointing to the trees behind Skye. “Sugar Plum Cake Fairy, look. It’s the Evil Queen!”

“What? Where?” Skye asked, whipping her head around.

Thank God for Lily, Ethan thought.

Gage chuckled. “That’s my girl.”

Lily ran to Skye, grabbed her wand, and brandished it at the invisible Queen. Waving the wand, she murmured what sounded like a chant, then said, “She’s gone Sugar Plum Cake Fairy, and I made her take the spell off the sugar plum you ate. It was poisoned.”

“Lily’s getting a raise on her allowance,” Madison murmured.

“Maybe we can make her the Sugar Plum Cake Fairy,” Grace whispered.

“Thank you, Lily. I wondered what that awful taste was.” Skye hugged the little girl while making a comical face that had the kids laughing. “So, did I do anything bad when I was under her wicked spell?”

Hands shot up in the air. Several boys didn’t wait for her to call on them and shouted what she’d done.

As shock and horror contorted Skye’s beautiful face, Ethan decided she should win an Oscar for her performance. She flipped through the pages, holding the book open for her audience. “See, my prince didn’t die. He rescued me from the Evil Queen, and we lived happily ever after.”