But the little boy turned away from him, crushing the box in his grip.
“Tiger!”
“I want Cap’n Crunch!”
At Tiger’s decibel level, Darek expected Nan to come barreling back around the corner at any second, accusing him of some sort of child abuse.
“No,” he said sharply, feeling his ire in his veins. He wanted to haul the kid over his shoulder and leave, right now. Just get in his car and floor it—out of Deep Haven, out of this life, this package he hadn’t wanted, wasn’t prepared for, couldn’t seem to get right—
“Can I help?”
He looked up and nearly lost his voice at the sight of Ivy Madison standing there, dressed in a pair of black pants, pumps, and a crisp white shirt. As if she was on lunch break from the office. She looked pretty with her hair tied back.
She crouched down. “Hey there, Tiger. Whatcha got?”
She knew his name. Which meant she’d stuck around the ER long enough that night to hear Darek nearly unravel at Tiger’s bedside.
Nice.
“I want Cap’n Crunch,” his troublemaker said.
“I see that.” She glanced at Darek, then back to Tiger. “Hey, Tiger, I saw you at the library. What were you reading?”
Something lit in those big brown eyes. “The mouse book!”
“Oh, I know that book. ‘If you give a mouse a cookie . . .’”
“He’ll want a glass of milk!”
“And if you give him a glass of milk . . .” Ivy caught Darek’s eye. Nodded to the Cap’n Crunch box.
Tiger bought right into it. “He wants a straw!”
Darek took his chance. He eased the box from Tiger’s hand as Ivy asked, “And if you give him a straw . . .”
“He’ll want a napkin!”
“That’s right! And then he’ll check to see if he has a milk mustache.” She began to wiggle her nose. “Do I have a milk mustache?”
Tiger shook his head, laughing.
“But he has lollipop lips,” Darek said as he scooped Tiger up and plunked him into the shopping cart. “I wouldn’t get too close.”
“Yum. Can I have a lollipop?” Ivy said, still ignoring Darek.
Tiger stuck out his sticky fist, and for a moment Darek feared Ivy might actually do it—lick the sticky, gooey lollipop.
“Oh no, that’s all yours, bud. Besides, if you give me a lollipop, I might ask for . . .”
“A glass of milk!”
She laughed, and Darek did too. And then finally—finally—she looked at him.
Oh, she had beautiful eyes. Green, with golden flecks around the edges. And the prettiest shade of auburn hair, silky and thick. Why hadn’t he seen that before?
“You’re brilliant,” Darek whispered.
She smiled, and for a second, words left him. How he wished he could return to that night two weeks ago and redo it. Be the kind of date she deserved.
“No. I just lived with professional mothers who knew how to distract a kid in the grocery aisle.”
He frowned. “Professional mothers?”
“I was a foster kid, remember?”
Oh, that’s right. He tried a smile.
“That’s okay. It was a trying night. How’s Tiger?” She pointed to his forehead. “Seems to be healing okay.”
“Seven stitches. I’m sure they’re not the last.” He winced. “It’s been a long shopping experience.”
“I get that. One of my foster mothers made us push the cart—that way we couldn’t run away. You could try using one of those carts with the little cars built in them.”
“This is Deep Haven. They don’t have those.”
“Right. Then how about letting him do the shopping? Have him help you find things. Kids love that.”
“Really? Can I hire you?”
She laughed again. “Thanks, but I already have a job. One I have to get back to.”
But—
She turned to Tiger. “Don’t give out any cookies.”
He grinned.
“Nice to see you, Darek.”
And then she was walking away.
“Uh, Ivy?”
He sounded desperate, but he couldn’t help his tone. Not when he felt it all the way to his bones.
She turned. Smiled with those pretty lips.
“Hey, I didn’t do a very good job the other night.”
She frowned.
“I mean, you didn’t exactly get your money’s worth.”
Oh. Whoops. She glanced over her shoulder. Began to shake her head.
“No, I mean . . . I can do better.”
No, no . . .
“Really, Darek, let’s just forget—”
“How about a real date?”
Their words crossed in the air and hung there. She stared at him, swallowed.
He wheeled the cart toward her, cutting his voice low. “This isn’t coming out right. But . . . well, I’d like a chance to redeem myself.”