Falling for Mr. Wrong(16)

Kelsey dropped her mouth open in an exaggerated expression of astonishment. “Really? Well then it’s time you learned.” She turned to Luke with a smile. “What about you? Ready to do a cartwheel?”

Luke looked back at his screen. “Sure. Right after this game.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Are you—” Kelsey’s voice dropped off when she noticed Ross standing on the stairs. “Oh. I didn’t realize you were there.” She glanced self-consciously at her clothing. “Sorry.” With a quick dive, she grabbed the dress and threw it on. “I was just…” She trailed off, her cheeks getting pinker by the second. “Marie called me this morning while I was working out. I didn’t plan to dress like this.”

He shrugged. “It’s okay.” His voice was tight. Constricted. He ordered himself to stop thinking like a man and start thinking like a dad. An overworked dad who would have to spend the next week with his face in a computer screen.

But then Kelsey threw her hair back over her shoulder.

Aaand there went the whole dad thing…

Julia ran over and tugged on his hand. “Daddy, did you see Kelsey? She’s ah-maaa-zing.” She stretched out the word with astonishment bordering on adoration, her eyes wide and round.

Luke blew out a snort from the couch, just quietly enough that he could deny having done it. In the center of the room, Matt repeated his attempt at the handstand, flopped over, and then sprang back up to try again.

“So, um…” She adjusted the neckline of her dress, causing Ross’s blood vessels to abruptly expand. Or was it constrict? Either way, there was blood, and it was all rushing to the same spot.

When she spoke again, it was to a spot somewhere around his shoulder. “Did you want me to go? I can call Marie. Maybe she could find someone else for tomorrow.”

Want her to go? Thanks to Herriot, he didn’t really have a choice. He had a month’s worth of work to do in a week. He couldn’t be spending time interviewing babysitters or calling nanny agencies. He needed someone immediately, and that person would have to be Kelsey.

“Maybe you shouldn’t do gymnastics in the basement?” he suggested to Matt.

An “oof” was his only reply. Kelsey winced. “Matt, remember what I said about taking your time.”

“I want to do a cartwheel!” Julia ran into the middle of the room and spun around, getting both of her feet off the floor for a couple of seconds before falling onto her stomach.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they don’t hurt themselves,” Kelsey assured him, as if sensing his unease.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” Ross asked.

She only hesitated for a moment before tipping up her chin and flashing him a bright smile. “Absolutely. You go ahead and work. We’ll be fine.”

He blew out a sigh. “Okay, but remember, I’m right upstairs. Call me if you need anything.”





Chapter Five

“You are effing kidding me.” Marie carefully liberated a red curl from Oscar’s tiny fist and made a face at the infant. “Oscar, please, that hurts!”

“Nope. Not kidding.” Kelsey collapsed onto the couch. “Worst. Day. Ever. By the way, keep that precious infant away from me. I’m ready to puke enough as it is.”

“Tell me.” Marie bounced Oscar in the kitchen of his small house. The mess of the morning had, amazingly enough, been replaced by shiny, clean counters, a gleaming oven, and neatly sorted piles of mail, catalogs, and magazines. Diapers sat in a pile on a changing table that had probably been there in the morning, but had been too covered with debris to be of any use. The infant wore a clean onesie and sucked contentedly on a pacifier.

“When is Oscar’s mom coming home?” Kelsey asked.

“Five.”

She checked her watch. Ten minutes. “Okay, I’ll give you the condensed version now, but as soon as you’re off duty we’re going to Ransom and you’re buying me a beer. No, a margarita. And a hot fudge sundae. And maybe a large plate of french fries. Not necessarily in that order.”

Marie clucked her tongue. “Wow, that’s not just worst day ever bad. That’s like, babysitting for a gang of zombies bad. At least for you. For me, that’s like a typical Monday.”

“I know. And I might want a burger, too.”

Oscar spit out his pacifier and whimpered. With a smooth motion, Marie swiped it from the floor, dropped it into the sink, and popped a fresh one into his mouth. “Okay, no more stalling. Tell me. I’m dying to hear about this day from hell.”

Kelsey lay down on her back and threw a hand over her eyes, the day stretched before her in a series of painful incidents. “I’ll just hit the highlights. The middle kid, Matt, kicked a soccer ball into a light fixture and broke it. The older kid, Luke, has a really exceptional talent for being snide. Hard to believe he’s only eleven. The youngest is absolutely adorable, but she wouldn’t move more than an inch from my side all day. She’s like a burr. A really cute burr that doesn’t appreciate it when you close the door to go to the bathroom.”