The Father of Her Son - By Kathleen Pickering Page 0,61
all, he was up for the challenge.
Matt came to mind. “So how do you want to deliver this information to Matt?”
A hum rose in her throat. “With as little facts as possible. He’s still young enough to take things at face value.”
“Will you tell him I’m his father?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Of course, but how will we couch it?”
She shrugged, guilt ripe on her face. “I’ll tell him first. I’ll say I was giving you both time to get to know each other. That way I’m not quite lying.”
Evan tapped a finger to his lips. “That could work.”
“He won’t question further. He’ll be glad.”
Evan grinned. “Me, too.”
“What’s good is that we can send him back to school. He is such a straightforward kid that if anyone says anything to him about Buzz, he’ll just say he already has a dad and they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“I’d keep him close a few days longer till the media dies down some more.”
Kelly winced. “I thought performing this charade—um, marriage—was going to keep Buzz away from us.”
Evan ignored the slight. “So he’s promised. I will ask my attorney to draw up guardianship papers. I’d rather have everything nice and tidy before getting back into our normal routines.”
“Okay. Matt will catch up easily. We’ll keep him home a few more days.”
He squeezed her arm. “Hey, if it’s the tuition you’re concerned about, don’t be. You’re marrying a rich guy, remember?”
She laughed. “Oh, my. Neiman Marcus, here I come!”
“If you don’t have a charge card I’ll be sure you get one. They have great shoes.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “Really?”
“You didn’t know that?”
“Yes, I know about the shoes. I’m surprised that you do.”
They sat in amiable silence for a moment. They really did have so much to learn about each other.
He didn’t want to break the sweet moment, but one more topic needed to be tackled. “Red...”
“Yes?”
“Michael won’t like being left out. When we spoke at lunch he sounded pretty excited about officiating at the wedding.”
“He’ll understand.”
With raised eyebrows, he let his gaze drift out the window.
At his silence, Kelly added, “We’ll have a civil ceremony. I know my brother won’t want to be party to sham nuptials.”
“Hey, don’t call us a sham. Our marriage could grow into something.”
He didn’t like the way her lips pressed together.
“No church.”
“Okay. Maybe someday we can do this right. Then we’ll have Michael marry us.”
She laughed. “Evan, as much as I appreciate what you are doing for us, you may soon find that you regret marrying me. Let’s not make this more than it is and just get ourselves through today.”
* * *
IT WAS STILL DARK outside when Steve Fiore stuck his head into Evan’s office with a cup of coffee in his hand.
Even looked up from his computer. “You cut your hair.”
Steve ran a hand along his silvered temple. “All of them, actually.”
Evan smiled. Both men were used to starting their days before the sun rose. Evan liked the familiarity between them. When Evan was overseas they’d consulted with each other by phone before Steve started the morning segments. They’d been doing this same routine for years. Now it was more enjoyable because they had a few minutes of each other’s company in person.
Steve got right to the point. “I didn’t get your notes on today’s show.”
Evan frowned. “Didn’t Sarah send you the write-up on the wounded warriors piece? I’m interviewing an ex-air force officer who lost two years of memory from a bomb blast. She’s a fascinating and funny woman. Said she can’t promise she’ll remember to show up—and if she does show I shouldn’t be surprised if she can’t remember my name. I’m looking forward to the interview.”
Steve shook his head. “I got that one and the other two. I’m talking about Campbell. I see no notes on him.”
Evan motioned to the door. “Why don’t you close that and come in. I have to say something.”
As he shut the door, Steve said, “Don’t tell me you have nothing.”
“I have plenty. Please, sit.” Evan motioned to the chair and waited until Steve sat because the man wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear.
“I cut a deal with Campbell.”
Steve’s coffee mug stopped in midair to his mouth. “What do you mean?”
“The senator wants this story to go away. He wants all eyes looking at someone else rather than him as Matt’s father.”
Steve chuckled. “Well of course he does. The guy was caught with his pants down.”