Hard to Resist - By Kara Lennox Page 0,33
the fire escape and the offer of an air conditioner left him bewildered.
Maybe it was time for Plan B.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“I THINK HE SOUNDS totally dreamy,” Deb declared. Kat, Deb and Virginia were at the office sticking labels on donor-solicitation cards. “I’m not sure I understand your problem.”
“I’m not sure I understand it, either,” Kat confessed.
“Well, let’s figure it out,” said Virginia. The psychologist was in her fifties, dumpling soft, with short white hair and designer glasses. She had been Kat’s thesis advisor at the University of North Texas and acted as her mentor when Kat began to put together StrongGirls. Kat had been thrilled when Virginia agreed to be on her staff, despite the fact Kat couldn’t pay her anything near what she was worth. She’d needed someone with Virginia’s impeccable credentials to give the program respectability, and she also valued Virginia’s opinions and skills. The girls loved her, and Kat did, too.
Except when she wanted to analyze Kat, as she did now.
“Do you mistrust Ethan?” Virginia asked. “Do you think he has an ulterior motive?”
“Well, he’s interested in me. Romantically.”
“So he thinks doing all this stuff for you will further his cause?” Deb asked.
“I don’t see how, when I’ve told him several times now to stop it.”
“So really,” Virginia said, “he’s doing things for you, giving you things, out of the goodness of his heart. Because he thinks you need someone to take care of you—even at the risk of making you mad.”
Virginia had nailed it. “That’s it. He thinks I can’t take care of myself. Which is one step away from making decisions for me.”
“Like Chuck,” Deb said. By now, Kat’s two colleagues knew all about her ex-husband.
“Like Chuck,” Kat agreed.
“Well, you have just been through a devastating fire,” Virginia pointed out. She pushed her glasses down her nose and looked over them at Kat. “You lost everything, your child’s health was affected and you were homeless. Let’s face it, you would have appeared—at least to an outsider—pretty vulnerable.”
“Oh, thanks, Virginia.”
“She has a point,” Deb said. “We know how strong you are, but he has to learn that about you. Give him a chance.”
“I’m trying,” Kat said. “But what if I get used to all this cosseting? What if I get spoiled, and start taking it for granted? That’s what really scares me. Part of me likes being taken care of. Part of me wants to just relax and let him handle my problems for me.”
“That’s a perfectly natural feeling,” Virginia said. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. And let him do things for you now and then, if it makes him feel like a hero. Don’t sit so high on your pride that you drive him away before giving him a chance. Once he sees you’re not going anywhere, he’ll settle down.”
Kat could only hope her friend was right, because she wanted a chance with Ethan. She really did.
* * *
ETHAN COULD HARDLY WAIT until Kat and Samantha got home that afternoon. He had a surprise for Samantha that was sure to bring a smile to her face. It pierced him to his heart every time she looked at him with those wary eyes.
When he heard Kat’s car he went out onto the deck, ready to intercept them as they came through the gate.
“And then Mrs. Campbell got really mad,” Samantha was saying as they entered the yard, “and Brittany had to go for a time-out!”
“Well, Brittany should have known bet—” She stopped when she spotted Ethan, standing on the deck.
Samantha instinctively grabbed her mother’s hand, as if afraid Ethan was going to reach out and snatch her away. “Hi, Mr. Basque,” she said cautiously.
“Samantha, I have a surprise for you.”
“For me? What is it?”
Now Kat was the one who looked wary. “Ethan, haven’t we talked about this—”
“It’s not like that,” he said quickly, taking the few steps from his deck down into the yard. He had the surprise behind his back. “This isn’t something you need. It’s purely for fun.”
Just then, his surprise made a yipping sound.
Samantha’s eyes got huge. “Is that a puppy?” She looked up at her mother, delighted.
Ethan brought the squirming spotted pup from behind his back.
“It’s a puppy!” Samantha squealed, as she opened both arms. This was more the reaction he’d hoped to see the first time he showed Daisy’s pups to Samantha. “Mommy, look, a Dalmatian! Can I name him Pongo?”
Ethan laughed. “Well, considering it’s a girl, I’m not sure that’s appropriate.”
Samantha set the puppy down on the grass and got