Monday,” he agreed. “Be sure you get her number from Zack.”
She swam away happily to tell the twins what he’d agreed to.
“I can’t believe she’s that good,” he said, staring after her, obviously awestruck.
“She has a real talent for it, that’s for sure,” Val agreed. “You handled that really well, you know.”
Slade shrugged. “I just told her the truth.”
“You did it instinctively. Seems to me you’re getting your fatherhood legs back under you.”
“I’ll admit, I’ve been walking on eggshells since she got here. I guess for a minute there I forgot all the problems we’ve had and just reacted to her excitement.”
“See how easy it is when you stop thinking so hard and worrying about every little thing?”
He gave her a rueful look. “Great advice, but if you ask me, it’s easier said than done.”
“Just keep trying,” Val advised. “It’ll get easier.”
“I hope so,” he said fervently.
“By the way, I’d be happy to drive her in for her lessons, if you can’t get away. Laurie doesn’t need me much these days, so I’m at loose ends.”
Slade shook his head. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. I offered.”
“Still, it’s my responsibility.”
“Which means it’s up to you to make sure she gets there, right?”
He nodded cautiously, as if sensing a trap.
“And you’ve already found me to take her.” She patted his arm. “Good job, Dad.”
He frowned. “I think we ought to talk about me relying on you so much to help with Annie. It’s not right.”
“I’d much rather get back to that kiss that almost happened,” Val countered.
He suddenly looked uncomfortable, as if she’d brought up a long-ago indiscretion that he regretted. “That was probably a mistake,” he said.
“Why?”
To her irritation, he was acting as if she were trying to pin him down to set a wedding date. He wouldn’t even meet her gaze.
“It just was, okay? Think of it as a momentary lapse in judgment.”
She stared at him for a full minute and realized he was dead serious. He was dismissing all of that sizzling tension between them as if it had been no more than an unwanted fluke.
Furious, she lashed out. “Well, believe me, cowboy, it won’t happen again.”
She whirled around and walked away before he could see the humiliating tears that were stinging her eyes.
“Val.”
She ignored the command in his voice and kept right on walking. She didn’t stop until she’d reached the creek. Then she sat down in the shade of a tree and let the tears flow.
“Damned fool,” she muttered, not certain whether she was thinking of herself or Slade when she said it. It probably didn’t much matter. The label fit both of them just as neatly.
* * *
“Fool,” Slade muttered under his breath as he watched Val storm off. He was forced to admit that she was justifiably furious.
He’d messed up good this time. He’d lost his head earlier, when he’d seen her in a skimpy little bathing suit barely covered by some sheer, floating material that purported to be some sort of robe. He’d reacted with a purely male surge of testosterone, rather than the caution that usually characterized his encounters with her. No wonder she’d been so baffled at first.
Oh, he’d been flirting all right. Walking straight down a very dangerous path. The only thing that had prevented him from making the mistake of a lifetime was Annie’s interruption. He owed the kid diving lessons and a whole lot more for that. If only she’d been a little quicker, perhaps he could have avoided hurting Val’s feelings, too.
“Where’s Val?” Laurie asked, clearly undaunted by the scowl he shot at anyone who’d come close since Val’s departure.
“Heading toward the creek last time I saw her,” he said, trying not to squirm under her knowing gaze.
“Did you two have a fight?”
“What would your assistant and I have to fight about?”
“I can’t imagine,” she said lightly. “But it must have been something significant for her to run out on a party she pulled together for your daughter.”
He glared at her, stung by the pointed reminder that he should be grateful to Val, rather than mistreating her. “Are you trying to make me feel even more guilty than I do?”
“Yes,” she said without the least sign of contrition. “Val’s a wonderful woman and you treat her abominably. If you’re not interested, just tell her to back off.”
“I have, on more than one occasion, as a matter of fact. She doesn’t listen. Maybe you should recommend to her that she steer clear of me,” he