Sparks Fly with Mr. Mayor (12 page)

“Nothing.” She choked out the word. “Never mind.” She pulled free, backed away.

“Dani.” Her name was a plea.

“I'm fine,” she said, but he saw the effort it took her to force a smile. And then her anguish-filled gaze flicked to his. “Come back to me.”

D
ANI TRIED
hard not to count the minutes until Cole returned, but she felt every one of those minutes as if they were a year long, especially when she put the kids down for naps and she had no one to distract her.

In her head she knew her fears were exaggerated, not groundless but overblown. Because someone she cared about was out on an errand. It didn't make sense. They'd worked together on the party, each of them running errands, and she hadn't freaked out. But that was before he'd proposed, before they'd spent time together in a family setting.

Before she admitted her love for him.

His arguments against holding on to the guilt and fears of losing Kevin in such a violent act rang through her mind as they had for the past week and a half. Two things struck her—first, that once he left the house, she'd been out of control of what he did and where he went, and second, that she'd never consider blaming Faith for what happened, so was she unreasonable in blaming herself?

She'd been living day to day, providing for Faith but not really looking to the future until Cole made Dani think beyond the walls of her shop and her love for her daughter.

He made her look beyond the moment, made her contemplate a future with more love, more children. The truth was Faith deserved a father. But Dani didn't know if she had the necessary strength to fight her fears and reach for a happy future.

The kids were up and they were playing a game before she started dinner when Cole got home a little before five.

He came in, dropped a bunch of bags on the island, then returned to his truck and came back with more.

“What's all this?” Relieved and overjoyed to see him, she got up to investigate what he'd bought.

“Coffee, diapers, milk, burgers, Chinese food, sub sandwiches, ice cream and a few other items. Basically anything and everything I thought you might have been asking for.”

“Cole, you didn't have to do this.” Incredibly touched, she peeked in a few bags and found many of the items he mentioned. “Oh, my gosh.”

“Yes, I did. I wanted to show you you didn't have to be afraid, that I could pick up a few things and return safe and sound.” He emptied the bag of burgers onto the island counter. “Did I get what you wanted?”

“Oh.” Overwhelmed, she looked over the varied display of bags. “I was just going to suggest you bring
back some flowers.” The gaze she shifted to him held an apology. “I know I overreacted—”

“You can't help how you feel. Maybe next time will be easier.” He began searching through the bags. “I know it's here somewhere,” he muttered. “Ah, here it is.” From a brown paper bag he pulled a single red rose. He held the flower out. “For you.”

She accepted the rose, beautiful in its simplicity, complex in its message of love. She bent to sniff the lovely scent before lifting shiny eyes to his. “Thank you.”

“Can I have fries?” Gabe asked. “And an egg roll?” Perched on bar stools, the kids began pulling food from the bags.

“I want chicken nuggets,” Faith announced. “Are there chicken nuggets?”

Dani bit her lower lip, saddened as the romantic moment evaporated. With a wry grin Cole ran a gentle hand over her hair, but all he said was, “I'll get the plates.”

 

Bath time came after dinner. From the master bath where Faith helped Dani wash baby Jake in the bathtub, she heard shrieks and giggles from the boys' bathroom down the hall.

“They're silly,” Faith announced.

“Yes,” Dani agreed, careful to keep hold of the slippery baby happily slapping water, “and I bet we can beat them.”

Faith nodded eagerly. “Hurry, Mommy, so we can get the best seats for the movie.” The best seat meant
Alex's extra-large leather recliner. Front and center of the TV, all three kids fit in the chair and felt special when they got to sit in it.

“Wash your face and between your toes, in that order. Then you'll be done. But wait for me to help you get out.” Dani lifted Jake from the tub and sat him on a towel. She used a second towel to dry the baby. Next she had Faith stand up and Dani lifted her out and set her beside Jake.

Catching a glimpse of color out of the corner of her eye made Dani glance at the single red rose in a vase on the vanity. That made seven. Besides the one Cole had handed to her, she'd found one in the hall, the kitchen, Jake's room and on her bedside table. She didn't know how he was doing it. He'd been everywhere yet he never seemed to be gone.

Seriously, a Navy SEAL had nothing on Cole Sullivan's stealth skills. Or his romantic ones.

Every time she came across a new rose, she heard his voice in her head saying,
I love you
.

And each time, the words sounded more real, more right.

“Mommy! I'm all dry.” Faith's tousled head popped out of the top of the towel wrapped around her. “My hair isn't wet.” She protested, blowing at the hair hanging in her eyes.

Oops. Dani focused on her disgruntled daughter then quickly checked on Jake and found him crawling naked into the bedroom.

“Sorry, Sweat Pea.” She released Faith to grab the
escaping baby, making him giggle by tickling his bare tummy. For good measure Dani tickled Faith's bare little tummy, too, earning more laughter. “Okay. Let's get jammies on the two of you and then we can go down for the movie.”

“Yeah.” Faith ran to her suitcase. “I'm going to stay awake for the whole movie. Gabe says Transformers are cool.”

They beat the guys. And Dani found another red rose in the family room on the end table next to the couch where she usually sat. How was he doing that? And where was his stash?

Gabe and Seth came running into the room and headed straight for the entertainment center. They got the movie going and hopped into the chair with Faith. Dani teased them about stealing her seat, but they weren't budging.

Cole sauntered into the room and his eyes went straight to her and the message in them was the same as that of the roses, the love he felt there for her to see. Holding her gaze, he deliberately slid into the corner of the couch where she usually sat and patted the seat next to him.

“The movie is starting,” he said. “This is the current release, you don't want to miss any. Transformers are cool.”

“Start without me. I'm going to grab a soda.” Being a complete coward, she escaped to the kitchen. Where she found another rose. This one in the refrigerator. It made her smile and gave her enough courage
to join him on the couch when she returned to the family room.

Okay, there was no snuggling. She wasn't ready for that, especially in front of the children. But Dani began to accept that Cole wasn't going to give up. Surprisingly, instead of feeling crowded, his passive but romantic campaign was working.

She just might give him the chance he wanted, once this weekend was behind her and she had time to think things through in a less hectic atmosphere.

The sickening sense of dread spilling through her when she'd nearly asked Cole to bring flowers home had been a shock. The ridiculous fear an ugly reminder of what she'd allowed her life to come to. She didn't want that for herself. And she really didn't want that for Faith.

Dani knew if she continued to let trepidation rule her, eventually it would bleed over onto Faith.

So she didn't snuggle, but she relaxed next to Cole, laughing and cheering with him as the Transformers kicked alien butt.

Halfway through the movie she found rose number ten in the downstairs bathroom. That had to be the last of them, there were no more rooms left!

“Romantic nut,” she muttered when she reclaimed her spot next to him. “They're lovely. Thank you.”

He ran his hand down the back of her head. “I wanted you to know life may be fragile, but it can also be beautiful.”

 

Pumped up on the action, the kids made it through the whole movie, and then it was time for bed.

Dani stopped on the way to the master suite to tuck the boys in and give them kisses good-night. Of course she discovered another rose.

“That's from Uncle Cole,” Gabe told her. “It's a surprise for you.”

“It certainly is.” She swept the dark hair off Gabe's forehead and gave him a kiss. “He's been surprising me all night.”

“He likes you.” Seth giggled in his bed three feet away.

“I like him, too,” Dani admitted as she gave Seth his kiss.

“Are you going to give him a good-night kiss, too?” Gabe wanted to know.

“Yeah,” Cole said from the doorway. “Do I get a good-night kiss, too?”

“You sure do. From Faith.” Dani picked up Faith and walked toward Cole. “Say good-night.”

“'Night, Cole.” Faith threw her little arms around Cole's neck and gave him a huge kiss on the cheek. “I love you.”

Cole gave her a squeeze as he met Dani's gaze over Faith's head. “I love you, too.”

Her heart melted. Oh, he cheated, using his affection for her daughter to get to her.

“Well, good night.”

She moved to slide by him, but he caught her waist and pulled her close for a quick kiss. “Sleep tight.”

Holding Faith to her like a shield, she escaped down the hall to the master bedroom.

Turned out Transformers were a little scary for a three-year-old. Dani expected Faith to demand she sleep in the boys' room with Gabe and Seth, but the movie had spooked her and she wanted to sleep with her mom.

Distracted by the kiss, Dani went to the left side of the bed to tuck Faith in and that's when she saw the rose. The covers had been turned down and a single red rose rested on the pristine white cover of the pillow.

Right, passive as a battleship.

She sighed. She might just have to marry the man.

Faith squirmed up close to Dani when she switched off the bedside lamp. Light cast a silvery glow over the gray carpet through the half-open bedroom door, keeping the room from total darkness. She'd left the door ajar so she could listen for the boys and the baby.

“Can we have the light on, Mommy?”

“Little scaredy-cat. There's enough light from the hall. And I won't let anything happen to you.”

“Do you think Cole could beat up the mean bots?”

“I do.” Dani cuddled Faith close, resting her cheek against her baby's soft curls. Bad parent, Dani chastised herself for not noticing the movie was upsetting her daughter. “I'm sorry the movie scared you.”

“It didn't scare me,” Faith denied, “I liked the Transformers. But I didn't like the mean bots.”

The pounding of little feet preceded Seth and Gabe into the room. Dani sat up as the boys reached the side of the bed.

“There's a noise in our room,” Gabe said.

“It's a mean bot,” Seth informed her.

“It's not a mean bot,” Gabe sharply corrected his brother. “It was just a noise.” But he looked hopefully up at Dani. “Can we sleep with you?”

Seth scowled at Gabe and then climbed onto the bed. “Mean bot,” he insisted.

“Mommy—”

“I'm sure Gabe is right.” Dani cut off the question, lifting the blankets so Gabe could scramble up and into the bed. “There are no mean bots in the house.” She ruffled Gabe's hair. “I thought you boys had seen this movie before.”

He nodded. “We did. Transformers are cool. But after the movie, Seth slept with Mama and Daddy.”

Right. Dani guessed Gabe had, too.

“What's going on in here?” Cole appeared in the open doorway. He wore sweatpants but no shirt and looked strong and fit, backlit by the hall light. Well up to fighting off menacing alien bots. “You guys having a party?”

“Uncle Cole!”

“There are mean bots in our room.”

“Can you beat up the mean bots?”

The kids all talked at once, but he quickly caught
on to the problem. His rueful gaze met Dani's. “We should have stuck with
Tinkerbell
.”

She nodded.

“I'll go check out the boys' room, make sure there are no mean bots hanging out.”

“And beat them up,” Faith called.

“Yep. If I find any, they're getting beaten down.” Cole winked at Dani and disappeared.

When he returned a few minutes later, he carried Jake with him. “No mean bots, but I found a baby awake and standing in his crib.”

“Is he okay?” Dani asked.

“Yeah, probably just disturbed by all the activity.”

“He can sleep with us,” Faith offered.

“Yeah, Uncle Cole, come sleep with us.”

Sitting up against the headboard, Dani patted the pillows in invitation. “You may as well join the party. I don't think anyone is going to get much sleep tonight.”

“Don't mind if I do.” He sauntered across the room and climbed in on the far side. He propped himself up on one elbow facing her. His eyes devoured her, making her feel beautiful without a shred of makeup.

Jake crawled into the middle of the bed, stopped to survey everyone watching him and then crawled over and squeezed in between his brothers.

Dani pulled the blanket up around his shoulders,
making sure all the kids were warm and comfortable. She glanced at Cole and then away again.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered, and nodded at the crowded bed. “I should have known the movie was too much for them. Faith doesn't usually watch action films—”

“Stop beating yourself up, Dani. You're a great mother. This is all an adventure for them. And I'm right where I want to be.”

Her heart melted. Because she knew that was true. He'd made his feelings clear. She'd been the one to hesitate, the one who didn't know her own feelings.

His fingers tangled with hers on the pillow above the kids' heads. Contrary to her prediction, they had already settled down and were asleep or close to it.

“This is what I want with you, Dani. A bed filled with the love we've made. I want to grow things with you in the garden and sit with you on the deck watching sunsets and grandchildren.”