Windy City Romance: Boxed Set: Prequel - Book III

by Barbara Lohr

  “Are you kidding me? That’s the whole idea of a parade, Cameron. To be there.” Harper had looked at him like he’d lost his mind.

  “What would you hear…or smell inside a hotel room?” McKenna asked, shaking her head. “The crowd’s an important part of the experience.”

  “All right, all right.” He’d thrown up his hands. “Some of the family men I know make a reservation at a hotel. Just trying to do the right thing.”

  “Have you ever seen a parade from a hotel room?” Harper crossed her arms.

  He was starting to get that are-you-an-old geezer look from her.

  The answer was no.

  “Not many parades where I come from, so no to that. But I did visit Savannah for this parade in college. Drunken brawls and I don’t want Bella near that.”

  McKenna’s eyebrows rose. “We intend to stay away from drunks and brawls.”

  Fair enough. So here he sat waiting in the kitchen, checking his watch. Bella was the first to barrel into the room, looking so cute in her green jeans and sweater. “I’m ready, Daddy!” McKenna followed close behind.

  His little girl smelled like baby shampoo when he swept her into his arms. The glittery shamrocks wired to her headband nearly took his eye out. “Where did you get that?” As if he couldn’t guess.

  “Harper. Do I look pretty?” She shook her head and the shamrocks on her headband quivered. Greasepaint shamrocks decorated her cheeks.

  “You look beautiful.” Cameron nuzzled her ear until she giggled, swatting him away.

  Harper arrived dressed in her usual bright colors. Took his breath away. “Like the cheeks.”

  “Do you?” She blew out a breath that made each green shamrock larger. McKenna rolled her eyes.

  They were off. Took a while to get downtown.

  “Is it always this crowded down here?” McKenna asked.

  “The parade has a huge draw,” he told her. Savannah knew how to do things right. Harper’s question about the parade touched a sore point. He’d never even heard about a parade as a kid. And he definitely wanted Bella to have that experience.

  Downtown, he parked behind a business owned by a friend not too far from the parade route. They walked three blocks to Drayton. Bella seemed to be a calling card. Some kind people let them weasel their way closer to the front.

  “Where’s Kimmy?” Harper asked.

  “In the parade. She hates crowds, but her station has a float.” Kimmy did like people clamoring for autographs, however. That much he knew.

  Wasn’t too long before Harper cried out, “Look. Here they come!” In her slim jeans and bright green hoodie, she caught more than a few eyes.

  The parade moved slowly, music swelling. When the first band marched past, the horns blared. Bella looked beside herself.

  “Have you ever been in a parade?” She looked at her nanny with adoration.

  “Has she been in a parade?” howled McKenna. “Honey, she was the queen of the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade.”

  “Did you wear a pretty dress?” Bella blinked up at her idol.

  Harper nodded, brushing Bella’s hair back from her forehead. “Sure did. The dress was long and green. Yes, it was very pretty. McKenna made sure of that.”

  Harper had gone up another notch in Bella’s eyes.

  After doing battle with a purse large enough to hold one of the Savannah squares, McKenna pulled out a wallet and flipped it open. “Here ya go.”

  “You look beautiful,” Bella whispered, taking in the shot of Harper that was, in his opinion, pretty spectacular. “Like a princess. Doesn’t she look pretty, Daddy?”

  “Very pretty.” Did his tone say more?

  Harper turned raging red. “That was a long time ago. I was in high school.” She handed the wallet back to her sister.

  With the sun on his face and excitement in the air, the day seemed like a cause for celebration. “Drinks?”

  The girls nodded and he dashed into a nearby restaurant. Harper and McKenna wanted a beer but he was sticking with water for the moment. Nothing worse than a drunken bash on St. Patrick’s Day. Took him a bit to buy the wristbands that allowed drinking in public.

  When he was in college, he’d been part of a group of guys who always drove back to Savannah for this parade. When had it become too much trouble? Maybe he’d been missing out on the fun and so had Bella. No question that on the street there was a lot more activity. The air was filled with the smell of bratwursts grilling and caramel corn. Everyone was decked out in green, and he was glad he’d worn his pale green polo. At least he hadn’t messed up there.

  “You need a necklace.” Harper laughed, taking one from her neck.

  “I don’t want to take yours.” A guy in a necklace? He didn’t think so.

  “I’ve got plenty. Come on.” Standing on tiptoe, she looped the beads over his head. The crowd moved. Her breasts brushed his chest.

  He heard her sudden intake of breath and gave her an inch, much as it killed him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Her eyes glittered, so close he could see the gold around each iris.

  “Daddy?” Bella tugged on his jeans. “I can’t see.”

  Dazed, he looked around. More people had arrived, cutting off their view. “Okay, Pipsqueak. Want to get up on my shoulders?”

  Bella nodded. Bending, he scooped her up. She was light as the cotton candy a clown was selling. Her tiny hands hugged his neck, feet beating against his chest to the music.

  A float came by from one of the local stores, and they all cheered. Professional clowns and bicyclists trekked across the street, tossing candy at all the spectators, but Bella didn’t seem interested. Before long, he had to do something about her eating habits. The therapist helped by making him feel better about his situation. But the sessions hadn’t changed anything for Bella.

  With McKenna and Harper cheering and applauding next to him, they watched the parade. Before too long, the float from WFAV came past.

  “Look, there’s Kimmy!” Bella pointed.

  Kimmy looked almost regal in a green sweater set as she waved to the crowd. She could be stunning, which was what had attracted him in the beginning.

  “Kimmy, Kimmy!” Bella screamed again.

  Finally she turned. Her hand moved in that queenly wave she had. She seemed very distant. Although she threw some kisses to the crowd, she didn’t aim for Bella.

  Sinking back on his shoulders, Bella said. “She’s not as pretty as Harper. She doesn’t have a pretty dress.”

  “Oh, Bella. Kimmy looks, well, beautiful,” Harper said.

  A guarded reply if ever he’d heard one. What did the nanny really think of his girlfriend? And why would her opinion matter? Harper’s scarf rippled in the breeze. Her beads glittered in the sunlight and those shamrocks on her cheeks? Didn’t look childish, that’s for sure. Harper didn’t try to look pretty, not really. She was having fun, the way she had at the Telfair Ball. Cameron couldn’t help but smile.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked, nose wrinkling.

  “You and you don’t even know it.”

  When Harper pouted, she looked so much like Bella. McKenna glanced over before turning back to the parade. Felt good to be here with the group. Almost like family. He turned his face up to the sun.

  The clown had circled back, sheaf of cotton candy cones now half empty.

  Harper darted forward. “We’ll take two. Want one?”

  “Nope. Go ahead and have your fun.”

  Handing a huge pink puff of candy to her sister, Harper broke off a chunk and trailed it into her mouth. Her lips closed over it, eyelids fluttering closed.

  He had to look away. So sexy and she wasn’t even trying. But his attention snapped back when he heard Bella ask, “Can I have some?”

  Harper stopped chewing. Bella never asked for food. Never. While he gripped Bella’s ankles, Harper held out the cone, a tremulous smile on her lips. Bella’s tiny fingers swooped toward the cone.
He couldn’t see Bella’s expression but he sure as heck could watch Harper’s face register surprise and, yes, hope. “Just let it dissolve on your tongue, Bella. Like this.”

  Tipping back her chin, Harper did something with her tongue that tightened every muscle in his body. McKenna had turned to stare. Her expression told the story. Apparently Bella was following Harper’s lead.

  “Isn’t it yummy?” Harper grinned up at his daughter.

  “Uh, huh.”

  “Want more?”

  “Uh, huh.”

  Were those tears brimming in Harper’s eyes? Cameron’s throat swelled. Might be just cotton candy but this was huge in his book.

  The clop of horses’ hooves turned his attention to a carriage pulled by four prancing horses but Bella wasn’t interested. She was still all about the cotton candy. Amazing. Finally, Bella’s attention must have turned back to the parade because Harper said, “Maybe more later?”

  “Maybe.” He welcomed Bella’s sticky fingers on his neck.

  A good day had just gotten better.

  When one of the militia units came marching by, girls dashed into the street to give the best-looking guy a kiss, another Savannah tradition. Of course the soldiers didn’t mind a bit.

  “How come those girls are having all the fun and we’re here?” McKenna tossed her empty cotton candy cone into a trash barrel.

  “I don’t see anyone stopping you,” Harper challenged.

  McKenna fisted her hands on her hips. “Maybe we should have a contest.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Harper handed him the rest of her cotton candy.

  “I think that’s a great idea.” The words were out before he could stop them.

  “Can I play?” Bella asked.

  “Heck no. Not yet, sweetheart.” His daughter kissing a stranger? Not on his watch.

  Harper tugged Bella’s foot. “But you can keep score. How about that?”

  “Okay. Great.” Bella settled more firmly on his shoulders, like she was getting down to business. Every once in a while, he thought he felt a pull on the cotton candy he continued to hold up, ignoring the ache in his arm.

  An Army unit marched past, smiles gleaming on the faces of the troops. Harper dashed into the crowd to kiss a tall blond, and Cameron’s stomach twisted. The covert grin indicated the guy wasn’t about to complain. Her sister was right behind her landing a kiss on a curly-haired guy who could have been all of eighteen.

  “Harper and McKenna are being silly,” Bella said with a giggle.

  “They certainly are.” They weren’t the only women making spectacles of themselves. Just the only ones he wanted to watch.

  Not that he was enjoying it.

  “Don’t you think that’s about enough?” Irritation rasped in his throat. He’d taken over the counting when Bella passed ten.

  “Just getting started,” Harper hollered over a brass band.

  “Who’s winning?” Bella called out.

  “We both are.” McKenna leapt toward the next military group.

  The air was filled with voices, music and laughter that didn’t lift his testy mood. One guy took Harper’s shoulders in his hands while he enjoyed a quick kiss. Heat peppered Cameron’s annoyance. He could almost feel those lips on his.

  “Oh, look!” shrieked Bella. “Harper is popular, Daddy.”

  Another good-looking guy in uniform had just landed a sound kiss on his nanny. Game changer. A peck on the cheek was one thing but this? Too long and the guy looked way too pleased. Handing Bella to McKenna, he pushed through the group in front of them. But by the time he reached the curb, Harper had trotted back to the sidelines. “What are you doing?”

  The shamrock on one of her cheeks was smeared. He didn’t even want to think about how that had happened. “Ah, defending your honor?”

  “Figured as much. That’s so sweet.” Reaching up, she ticked his chin with one finger and he grabbed her hand. His irritation cooled but the heat riddling his body didn’t. She cocked her head to one side, saucy and smiling. “I can take care of myself.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “No question about it.” She tugged her hand away, looking pleased. Damn. She was enjoying this. And so was he.

  “Good reflexes,” McKenna told him when he reached for Bella again.

  “You have to be fast where your sister’s concerned.” He settled Bella back on his shoulders

  Now, why did McKenna find that so funny?

  Chapter 17

  Harper felt so bummed out taking McKenna to the Savannah airport Monday. She didn’t realize how much she missed her sister until she spent time with her again. The parade had been such fun. She’d felt something shift. Was it Bella’s bites of cotton candy or something else? The following morning Bella marched down to the kitchen and announced to Connie, “Guess what? I ate cotton candy.”

  “I know it’s sugar and I shouldn’t have been so thrilled but I was,” Connie told Harper later, wiping damp eyes with her apron.

  “I know. I felt the same way.”

  The picture of Bella’s face as she sampled the confection would stay with Harper a long time. Small victories like that kept her in Savannah.

  And then there was Bella’s father. Had Cameron been flirting with her? And had she teased him right back? Made her stomach queasy.

  Harper and McKenna plodded into the airport in silence. Sunlight beamed through the skylights onto the brick courtyard, but Harper wasn’t feeling cheerful. When they hugged, Harper hung on tight.

  “Hey, you okay?” Brushing back a strand of Harper’s hair, McKenna gave her sisterly scrutiny.

  Harper managed a shaky sigh. “I’m going to miss you. Sometimes going home to Chicago seems like a good idea.”

  “But maybe not the right thing, okay? We find our mission in different ways, Harper. I go to Guatemala and work with pregnant women with little access to care. You have a great opportunity to make a difference with Bella. Her dad’s too busy and he’s a guy, okay?”

  Passengers pushed past them, boarding passes in hand. Flights were being called overhead.

  “That little girl idolizes you. Live up to it, missy. She needs you.” McKenna grabbed the handle of her carry-on. “Now, the father? Can’t wait to hear how that turns out.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  With a mysterious smile, McKenna disappeared down the ramp. Harper wanted to squeeze her until she coughed up whatever was on that scheming mind of hers, but McKenna’s bright head of red hair receded. No time to confide that Bella’s father posed another reason why Harper should leave. After yesterday, the feelings she was having for Cameron Bennett troubled her. Billy didn’t fill her dreams anymore. Nope, just a tall blond with a rock hard body and a killer smile.

  Harper stopped at the airport Starbucks for coffee and carried the cup out to her car. On the way home, all the reasons why she should stay ran through her mind. No evictions on her horizon. She’d been making payments on her bills. Lived in a beautiful home and had most evenings off, along with two days. Sure, she wasn’t making any advances toward finding a job in her field, but she was learning how to cook. At least now when she showed up in the kitchen, Connie didn’t look at her like an intrusion.

  Then there was Bella. Harper’s heart squeezed thinking about the tyke with rebellious eyes and hair to match. When she started this job, Bella had presented a daunting challenge. She still did. In May she’d be five years old, heading for kindergarten and still eating baby food. What could she do to change that? Harper turned her radio to cool jazz.

  When she pulled into the garage, Cameron’s Porsche was still there. Usually he was at his office by now or out on a job.

  Connie was in the kitchen when Harper pushed open the door and hung the car keys on the hook.

  “The boss wants to see you.” Connie nodded toward the back stairway that led upstairs. “He’s in his office.”

  Whoa. Her mouth dried. She’d never been summoned like this and tripped on
her way upstairs. Had something gone wrong during McKenna’s visit?

  Palms damp, she knocked on the door of his bedroom. Cameron’s office lay just beyond his personal space. She’d never ventured inside this room and rarely even came down this end of the hall. That’s how uncomfortable she felt about seeing where Cameron slept.

  When Cameron opened the door, the wave of spicy aftershave tightened Harper’s stomach. In suit pants and a white dress shirt with sleeves rolled up, Cameron looked unbearably handsome. “Hey, Harper, can you take a look at something?”

  “Sure.” Mystified, she followed him back to the office, the tension in her stomach ratcheting tight. This wasn’t the time to stare at the black comforter, leather chair, and contemporary furnishings that sure didn’t come from a resale shop. Her nervousness eased when they entered the bright office beyond the bedroom. Sunlight streamed through the windows.

  Tucked under the angled drafting table, Bella sat coloring at a small table. “Hi, Harper. McKenna was fun. I like her.”

  “McKenna liked you too, Bella.” The little girl beamed.

  “We both enjoyed her visit. I hope she’ll come again.” Sliding onto a high stool, Cameron motioned her over. Sketches of a room interior were spread out on his drafting board.

  Okay, so she wasn’t in trouble. Harper drew closer. The drawings were streaked with eraser marks. She sure recognized the signs of frustration. Why didn’t he use his computer to generate his work? On a desk off to the side, a laptop stood open.

  Cameron followed her eyes. “Sometimes I like to use my hands to figure out a project.”

  “Me too. I get a better feel for the work when I put my hands to it.”

  He squinched his lips to one side. The pucker unleashed a warm roll of heat through her body. “You have design training. I could use another set of eyes.” The bright sunlight streaming through the leaded glass panes lightened his blue eyes to the color of the sky, a shade not available on the Pantone Matching System charts.

  Not that she’d tried to pinpoint the exact shade of Cameron’s eyes. Yet.

  “Daddy said a bad word this morning,” Bella said, her voice somber.