“You were. Why don’t you come on back to the kitchen.” Simone led them through the house. “Shannon’s helping me get dinner going.”
A long hallway cut the house in half, opening to the kitchen in the back and a large great room with windows that looked across a big yard.
Shannon stood at the counter, tossing a salad. Long hair the color of Simone’s fell down to her shoulder blades. She eyed Julia warily as they came into the room.
“Julia, Mitch,” Simone said. “This is my daughter, Shannon.”
“Hey,” Shannon mumbled.
Julia sent Mitch a wary gaze. Behind her back she held up four fingers.
No way he was buying her four albums. He elbowed her in the ribs and stepped around her into the kitchen. “Hi, Shannon. Your mom’s told me a lot about you.”
Shannon glanced at her mother across the room but didn’t respond. Mitch caught it, watching their eyes and body language. Definite tension there.
“Shannon,” Simone cut in. “Why don’t you take Julia upstairs and show her your room.”
Shannon shrugged as if she didn’t care. “Okay. Come on.”
Julia shot Mitch a less-than-amused glare as he nudged her out of the room. The two girls disappeared down the hall.
He looked back at Simone. “Well, that went well.”
Simone blew out a sigh. “We’re hitting the preteen years. Everything I do is wrong these days.” She scrunched her nose as she looked down the hall. “Sorry, she’s in a mood tonight. I probably should have cancelled. I have no idea how you talked me into this in the first place.”
“What? It’s just a playdate.”
The yeah-right look she shot him sent heat careening through his veins. He cleared his throat and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach for her. “I’m actually glad you didn’t cancel. Ryan was having a rough night with Julia. I think it was good for both of them that she got out of the house.”
She crossed into the living room, sank onto a plush couch, and tucked one leg under her. The room fit her, tall ceilings, big furnishings, comfy chairs. “What’s going on?”
He dropped onto a chair opposite her. “Julia’s upset about tomorrow.”
Simone nodded. “And how’s Ryan?”
“Upset about tomorrow.”
Simone smiled. Man, she had a great smile. Full lips, straight white teeth. He really wanted to taste that mouth. Feel her give in and open for him. “Things will get better, Mitch. You just have to have faith.”
He’d said that same thing to Kate. Now he just needed to believe it himself.
He leaned forward. “How much better do they have to get before you’ll go out with me?”
“Now you’re pushing your luck.”
“Damn.” He eased back into the cushions. “Shot down again. It’s starting to become a routine.”
She laughed. He could get used to that laugh. He found himself smiling too. Really smiling, for the first time in weeks. “Do you know you’re the first lawyer I’ve ever met who doesn’t want to screw me over?”
“Trust me, Mitch, I’m sure there are others.”
“Shot down and put in my place. I’m batting a thousand tonight. Tell you what, Counselor, you can ease my pain by feeding me. You got any food in this house?”
Simone pushed up from the couch and grinned. “That I can do.”
Chapter Ten
Kate changed her clothes three times. She started off in gray slacks, slipped into a skirt, then slid on jeans. Jeans. Yeah, that was the way to go.
Calm and casual.
Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she frowned. She was fooling herself. She didn’t look calm. And there was no way anyone would believe she felt casual.
She messed with her hair for the hundredth time. She’d had it up, then down, then up again, finally deciding to let the wild curls fall where they may. It looked like one giant rat’s nest.
It didn’t matter what she looked like. This wasn’t a date. After checking her reflection in the mirror one last time, she took a deep breath. Now or never.
By the time she loaded Reed into the car and headed toward the city, she was thoroughly exhausted. And it wasn’t even nine-thirty yet.
This was a bad idea.
Sunlight glinted through the trees in the park as she and Reed walked toward the Conservatory of Flowers. They were the first ones there, so they sat on the bottom steps of the massive building while she tried not to stress out about a situation that was totally out of her control.