by Linda Cajio
“Of course,” she muttered, feeling defeated. Where, she wondered, were the chauvinists when a person needed them?
Still, she had to get Dan out of the suite more, and running a company was an ideal reason. It irritated her for some reason to have him shouldering half of Patrick’s care. She hadn’t wanted to know that Dan was capable of such a commitment. She certainly didn’t need a demonstration. And it was endearing to watch him with Patrick, and she didn’t want to find him endearing, either. And their cooperation drove her crazy, simply because they were becoming easier, more comfortable with each other. She also had no idea how to define their living arrangement. Bizarre was probably an understatement. The implications, however, were cause for alarm, particularly when she considered the ache she felt every night when they went into their separate bedrooms, without even a friendly good-night kiss. Add to that the continual reannouncement of their “engagement” to the press, who in turn broadcast it up and down the West Coast.
Her growing attachment to Patrick was frightening enough, she thought. She’d seen how love could tear a person apart. In Patrick’s case, she was braced for it. But she sensed that she’d lose a large part of herself if she ever fell in love with Dan. She couldn’t allow that. And yet the whole problem was she had no control over the situation. She’d created a monster and was trapped by it.
“Don’t forget we have to go to dinner at my parents’ tonight,” he said.
She groaned. But that at least was a subject she could argue and gladly.
“That’s another thing, Dan,” she began. “I really don’t see any reason why I have to go to dinner at your parents’.”
He eyed her for a long moment. “But you will go, Angelica.”
It was the calm, extremely gentle tone that caught her attention. She swallowed back a sudden wariness and continued.
“I know your mother hasn’t been too thrilled about all this publicity, but we are doing it at the department’s request. To help get information—”
“We’ve accepted, and we’re going to dinner tonight. Think of it as a first outing for Patrick.” His voice was calmer than ever. “You won’t like the consequences if you don’t.”
Angelica remembered Dan’s coolly prim mother from her cousin’s wedding. She also remembered Dan’s anger when his mother had called after the first newspaper article. Okay, so she owed him one for accidentally causing so much havoc, but did it have to be this one? She really didn’t want to face Natalie Roberts’s unhappiness at the sudden change in her son’s life-style. But barring that, she was very uneasy at the idea of “Dinner at Mom’s.” It was too much like a real family. Something they weren’t.
“Angelica.”
“Okay, okay. Dinner tonight at your parents’,” she said, then added under her breath, “if I don’t get the flu first.”
Dan removed the bottle from Patrick’s drowsy mouth. He got up and laid Patrick on his stomach in the crib, all the while crooning, “Ple-e-e-ase, Patrick, take a nap.”
Angelica couldn’t help giggling at his begging tone. Patrick only woke up once a night, which she’d been told was very good, but naps were rather hit-or-miss affairs. Of course, there had been no opportunity to begin a routine for him either. She was starting to worry, since Jan Williamson, the pediatrician, had stressed a baby’s need for routine.
She watched Patrick stretch once and close his eyes, not fighting sleep. Her heart turned over at the sweetness of his expression, and she steeled herself against it. She was afraid to admit how much she was coming to care for Patrick.
Dan turned around and grinned at her. “You have just witnessed great talent at work,” he whispered.
Angelica had to laugh. And that frightened her too. Damn, she thought. She felt as if she were being pulled in ten different directions, without an opportunity to deal properly with even one.
Knowing she was helpless against her fate for the moment, she put it from her mind and decided to take care with her appearance, tonight. It was a first outing of sorts for her too.
Anyway, if she couldn’t cope, she could at least look good.
• • •
“Are you sure you want to wear that dress?”
Even as the question left his lips, Dan cursed the thought of Angelica changing from the sassy pale red dress into something more … something. The long-sleeved silk dress skimmed her slender body before it ended several inches above her knees. The swells of her breasts were generously visible above the low-cut heart-shaped neckline, although it wasn’t a shocking exposure of creamy flesh. Maybe it was the eye-catching way the delicate diamond pendant of her necklace nestled between the delicious curves. There wasn’t any one thing about the dress that would draw scandalized glances, but the overall effect was enough to raise a man’s blood pressure.
“Yes, I’m sure I want to wear this dress.” She gave him a puzzled look as she picked Patrick up. “Why? What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing,” he said truthfully. Taking a deep calming breath, he admitted that the dress raised something all right. Enviously, he watched Patrick clutch her breasts with tiny innocent hands.
“Lucky son of a gun,” he muttered. He’d seen the baby do that on more than one occasion, and had wondered if he’d ever get the chance to do the same. He sure as hell hoped so. Maintaining a platonic relationship with Angelica had been difficult enough before. Now that they were living together, he had to struggle constantly to keep his hands off her.
“Did you say something?” she asked.
“No.”
“Dan, the dress is fine. I’ve worn it to dinners with clients. Even my mother likes this dress.”
“Forget it,” he said. “It’s a great dress. I don’t even know why I brought the subject up—”
“Yes, you do. You don’t think it’s appropriate to wear to dinner at your parents’ house.” She sighed. “And you’re right. But all my clothes, if you’ll remember, are in San Francisco. Besides, when have I had time to shop for jeans, let alone a dress?”
He shook his head and admitted freely and with relish that she drove him crazy. Everything about her was outwardly fresh and energetic and defiant. But there was more, much more to her than he’d ever imagined. The deep vulnerability she’d shown earlier tempered all of his reactions to her now. They still argued, yet there was a sense of zest rather than anger to it. The latest interview popped into his head, and he forced it away. He didn’t want to think about their “engagement.” It left him helplessly angry at the way it had ballooned into the media story of the year. And yet he found himself more drawn to her now that they were “engaged.” The only thing he didn’t feel confused or frustrated about was their original reason for doing it—Patrick. And because of that, he held his patience on all the rest.
“Got everything?” he asked, knowing they should be going.
She glanced around, ticking off her list out loud. “Bag with diapers, bottles, change of clothes, pajamas, extra formula, extra wipes; toys, in case he gets bored; rocker chair, so he can sit or sleep; carseat. Is there anything else we should take, do you think?”
“The question is,” he asked in disbelief, “is there anything else left?”
“Not much,” she replied, chuckling.
“I feel like we’re moving in,” he said, beginning to gather up all the gear.
“Don’t worry, Danny.” She patted his cheek as she swept by to the door. “I’ll probably get us kicked out again with this dress.”
No doubt of that, he thought as he considered his mother’s reaction to Angelica. His father, a jovial, easygoing man, would love her. But his mother was a little more . . rigid. She had not been happy about his suddenly acquiring a “fiancée” and a baby, however temporarily. He couldn’t help feeling worried about the evening ahead.
Once they were in the parking garage under the hotel, he packed everything but the carseat in the trunk of his Mercedes sports coupe. The carseat, sans Patrick for the moment, he knew could only
go into the stowage space behind the two bucket seats.
He crawled into the car and set the seat in the back. Or tried to.
“Damn,” he muttered, attempting to jam the seat into the long narrow space. He was forced to lean over the seats at an awkward angle, and he couldn’t really get leverage. The infant seat sank several inches, but at a tilt, before it stubbornly refused to move farther.
“What’s the matter?” Angelica called from the open car door.
“The seat won’t go in.”
“But it has to!” she exclaimed. “It isn’t safe for Patrick to sit on my lap.”
“I know that!”
He lifted the carseat out, and keeping it level, tried again. It didn’t work. He stopped and studied it for several minutes, then tried once more. He pushed, shoved, and rocked the carseat every way possible, but the damn thing would not go into the stowage space. Finally, exasperated and panting for breath, he climbed out of the car and stared at Angelica. He knew what the alternative was, and he dreaded it.
“Well?” she prompted.
“It won’t fit in the back, so it has to go on the passenger seat.”
“The passenger seat! But where will I sit?”
He cleared his throat, then took the baby out of her arms. Puzzled, she let Patrick go. He unashamedly admitted to holding the baby for added protection. Surely, she wouldn’t hit a man with an infant.
“Well, you’ll … ah, have to exchange places with Patrick.”
Her eyes widened in shock and horror as realization dawned. “No! I cannot sit back there!”
“It will be a little cramped, but you’re thin enough to squeeze into it,” he said in a rush, hoping to persuade her.
“I’m not squeezing anywhere!” She scrambled into the car and began her own efforts to get the carseat into the back.…
When Dan finally drove the Mercedes out of the parking garage, he tried not to listen to the occupant of the passenger seat coo and gurgle at the bright lights flashing by the car’s windshield. It wouldn’t really be fair to enjoy Patrick’s new adventure, he told himself. Not when Angelica was making such a tremendous sacrifice. A snort of amusement escaped him, despite his best efforts.
“Daniel Roberts, are you laughing?” Angelica demanded in forbidding tones from behind him.
“I’m honestly trying not to,” he said, unsuccessfully smothering his amusement.
“That does not appease me.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, meaning it. He really did feel bad that she was stuck in the back. The problem was he just couldn’t properly express it at the moment. “Consider it my revenge for our ‘engagement’.”
“Is it?”
“No, but maybe you’ll feel better.”
She was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m renting a car with four seats and four doors first thing tomorrow. And I’m charging it to you.”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
“You drive a useless car.”
He laughed.
Dan found himself smiling broadly as he drove toward his parents’ home in Issaquah. This really was the first time he and Angelica had had an opportunity just to talk or tease each other. The car insured that no Canfield or hotel people or Starlight executives or clients could interrupt them. Or parents demanding attendance at dinner, either. Even Patrick was temporarily immobilized by the carseat, and clearly happy as a clam to go “bye-bye.”
He hadn’t realized the tremendous number of demands they’d both been coping with since discovering the child. And they had coped with them together. Even now, Angelica faced the stowage space with grace.
He remembered how he had thought they couldn’t have a relationship. It would be very interesting to find out if he were wrong.
As Angelica fatalistically watched Patrick spit up on the shoulder of her silk dress, she finally admitted this was not her evening.
“You probably fed him too much,” Dan’s mother said reprovingly.
Angelica gritted her teeth as she dipped a corner of her napkin in her water glass. She swiped at the spot with one hand while trying not to bump Patrick’s nose. Smiling back her temper, she said politely, “He was very hungry, though, wasn’t he?”
“You really have to be careful not to overfeed—”
“Mom,” Dan interrupted as he took Patrick from Angelica. He looked so angry that she smiled at him to show him she was trying to be tolerant. He turned to his mother and said, “Could Angelica have a wet towel or something for her dress?”
“Oh! Of course,” his mother replied, looking surprised at the question. She immediately bustled out of the dining room and Angelica resisted the urge to sigh in momentary respite.
With her hands now free, she worked desperately at the stain while she silently cursed her fate. First she’d had to sit in that vise of a stowage space. That she’d come out of it with only a frazzled composure, a numb fanny, and two small runs in her hose was a miracle. The welcome from Dan’s mother had been decidedly cool, and Mrs. Roberts had shown her further disapproval by constantly correcting Angelica’s baby care techniques. The overfeeding was only the last of a long list, and it shook what little confidence she’d acquired in handling a baby.
And now this, Angelica thought in disgust. She’d had experience with this stuff before and knew the odor would linger forever. ‘Eau de spit-up’ had staying power.
Harvey Roberts, Dan’s father, cleared his throat. “Well, now, this little charmer has caused quite a ruckus, hasn’t he?”
Angelica stifled a giggle. Poor man, she thought. He had repeated that phrase at least six times so far to break a tense silence. She liked him immensely.
It was so obvious that both of Dan’s parents were thrown by what had happened that she really shouldn’t, and couldn’t, blame them for their bewilderment and slight antagonism. The best she could do under the circumstances was hold her temper and pray for a very quick end to the evening.
Natalie Roberts came back into the room and handed Angelica a wet dish towel. “I mixed in a little lemon juice to help remove any staining or odor.”
Surprised by the gesture, Angelica smiled warmly at the older woman. “Thank you very much.”
“Lemon juice?” Dan asked.
His mother nodded. “I found it helpful when you were a baby.”
“What your mother means is you were the greatest—”
“Harvey!”
“Well, you were a messy kid,” Harvey finished cryptically.
Angelica giggled out loud this time.
Dan groaned. He adjusted his glasses and said, “Please, Dad. Don’t tell Angelica any more. She’ll use it for ammunition.”
“Me!” Angelica exclaimed innocently. “Never. Anyway, you were probably a good baby.”
“Don’t bet on it,” Harvey said, warming to the subject. “Natalie always said that if Dan had come first, there would have been no second.”
“Really?” Angelica asked, turning to Dan’s mother. They all did, their grins wide with anticipation.
Natalie blushed red.
“He was a terror, Nat, wasn’t he?” Harvey said, chuckling.
To Angelica’s surprise, Natalie gazed fondly at her husband and Dan. “Yes, he was.” Then she instantly straightened and the moment was gone. Still it served to break the ice a little, and the rest of the evening went somewhat more smoothly.
When they finally pulled out of the Roberts’s driveway, Dan said, “I’m sorry, Angelica. My mother was very close to being rude several times.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she said, feeling badly for him. “I was just realizing tonight how this must affect them.”
“You didn’t twist my arm about all this, you know.”
“Don’t argue with me when I’m trying to be generous,” she said reprovingly. “Besides, I don’t think my parents would have been any better.”
He chuckled. “Thanks for putting up with mine.”
She glanced over the seat at Patrick, who alread
y had his eyes closed. “He certainly knows how to cause a stir.”
“I think my father already said that,” Dan commented in an innocent voice.
Angelica laughed.
They no sooner got off the elevator, when they spotted Martha Canfield waiting impatiently for them.
Despite her bulk, she hurried toward them. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Out to dinner,” Dan said.
“Out to dinner!” Martha glared at them. “You weren’t in the hotel restaurant. I checked.”
“We were at Dan’s parents’ in Issaquah,’ Angelica said helpfully.
Martha gasped. “Issaquah!”
Seeing Patrick stir slightly from his pillow of feminine shoulder, Dan set his jaw. This was getting ridiculous, he thought. Everyone was demanding time and explanations, and he was tired of it. All they had done was go to dinner, and dammit, they didn’t have to check in with Martha before they did.
He brushed past the big woman without answering. At the entrance to the suite he set down the baby paraphernalia he was carrying and unlocked the door. When it opened, he put his hand at Angelica’s waist and urged her over the threshold. “Why don’t you go in, Angelica, and get Patrick into bed? I’ll straighten this out.”
She gazed at him, a smile hovering about her lips “Fine.”
“Now,” he said, as he pulled the door closed behind her, “what is the problem, Martha?”
“The problem was that I called and received no answer, so I came over to find that you weren’t here.” She seemed to enlarge in her fury. “I checked with the front desk, and no one knew where the two of you had gone!”
“Are you saying that we can’t take Patrick out of this suite without your permission?” Dan demanded.
“I need to know where he is at all times!” Martha said in righteous indignation.
“Do you require that of all your other temporary guardians?”
The big woman looked nonplussed for a moment. “Well, no. But you two are a special case.”
