a demure young lady. She wasn't what she seemed, but neither was he, so he guessed they were even.
"Let's not fool each other. You don't want this marriage any more than I do. I'll admit, it could be mighty convenient to tell marriage-minded females that I'm already taken, and I have no objections to sharing your bed. You're damned good in bed, and it's almost worth taking the chance, but I don't want to do that to you. You were meant to have a home and children and all that folderol, and I'm not the man for that."
They had stopped in the alley between the livery and the hotel, where the sun couldn't reach. Evie stared up at Tyler with a growing sense of frustration. He had done "that" to her, even admitted that he enjoyed it, and still he couldn't see that they could work it out together. He knew more than she about these things; maybe he was right.
But when she looked in his eyes, she didn't believe him. The golden flecks disappeared into deep pools of pain, and the lines were back around his mouth again. Tyler's looks made women swoon, and his elegant clothes bespoke the gambler the world saw, but she had seen the man without his clothes and looks. He was just a man, like any other. And right now, he was her man. She had always thought Jane Eyre a bit of a prig for walking out on Mr. Rochester.
She smiled at that. "I'm sure you're right, Tyler. Won't you come in and have some supper with us? Daniel would like to see you again. He's rather depressed because he can't get out and about. It would do him good to see you."
Put like that, Tyler couldn't refuse. He had told her he wasn't a family man, and she hadn't argued or cried or tried tearful persuasion. She had simply agreed with him and invited him to dinner for her brother's sake. Tyler supposed she was as devious as the next woman, but he liked the way she went about it. The pregnancy trick had been despicable, but he was the one who had contributed to that. Whatever other wiles Evie wielded, she wielded with creativity and grace, and an innocence that he couldn't refuse. He followed her down the alley.
He had forgotten about the children. The minute Tyler walked through the door, he knew his mistake. It had been easy enough to forget who the boy in the street was when he had seen Evie attacked, but he couldn't forget the rest of the menagerie easily. The ankle-biter toddled forward with grinning gabbles as soon as he entered. She had some fascination with his trousers; her little fingers crushed them as she steadied herself on his leg.
"Maria just wants to be picked up, Tyler. I daresay it gives her a whole new perspective on the world from your height." Evie set the skillet back on the shelf and added another plate to the table that Carmen was setting.
"We'll be eating shortly. Let me get you something to drink while we call Manuel and Jose." She poured Tyler a cup of coffee and disappeared out the back door on some errand.
Tyler wanted to run. He wanted to disengage his pant leg and bolt out the door and never look back. But he'd had a week to think about his last hasty departure, and it looked mighty like he'd turned tail that time. He wouldn't be thought a coward because of a few rambunctious juveniles. They weren't anything to him. Someone was bound to come and claim them sooner or later. Then he'd have Evie to himself again, figuratively speaking. Tyler threw a glance at the boy reading a book in the corner.
"Well, Daniel, you've changed locations. Does that mean you're going to live?" Tyler bent and picked up the termite on his leg, unable to move without moving her.
Daniel watched with interest as Tyler lifted Maria and stared at her as if she were a bug from outer space.
"I'll make it," he answered with his best effort at manliness. "Maria might not, though, when Evie discovers she's been ransacking through her paints. Carmen only just got her cleaned up."
Tyler eyed the toddler's fresh-scrubbed face with suspicion. Maria giggled and patted his cheeks with both hands. Tyler blew his cheeks into big puffs and shook his head and made an impolite noise. Maria erupted in gales of laughter.