His Touch by Patty Blount Page A

hand. “Retest her.”
    Reid sighed. “Yes, ma’am.” He stuffed the form in his duffel bag and took off, stopping in his favorite coffee shop for a cup of liquid fuel. He slung his bag back on his shoulder, turned a corner and almost collided with…
    Kara Larsen.
    “Sorry, sor—oh. It’s you.”
    The flat tone had him holding back a smile. “Ms. Larsen. How’s Nadia today?” From the flat hair and purple circles under her eyes, Reid figured it had been a rough night.
    “Better. My sister is staying with her today while I—”
    “Let me guess. Off to get your nails done?” He glanced at her hands, spotted the short, bare nails. “Or maybe another shopping trip?”
    Her eyes narrowed and she stepped around him. He changed directions, fell into step beside her. “You didn’t answer my question.”
    “No. I didn’t.”
    He laughed. “Okay. Look. There was a problem with your test yesterday. You have to retake the class.”
    She skidded to a stop and faced him. “I what? No. Out of the question. I don’t have time for more of your Dating Game contestants.”
    He almost snorted. Dating Game. How old was this woman? “Okay, okay. How about if I meet you and just redo your test so you can get your card? We can even do it while your daughter naps. Shouldn’t take more than twenty or thirty minutes.”
    She turned and walked away, heels stabbing the pavement with sharp clicks. She was wearing heels today. And looked damn good in them, not to mention the power suit that skimmed her curves.
    In two strides, he’d caught up to her. “You sure it’s a good idea to leave a baby who’d almost stopped breathing?”
    She halted and spun so fast, she damn near cut his cheek with a whip of her hair. “The hospital released my daughter, which I have to believe they wouldn’t have done if she were still at risk. I left her in the extremely capable hands of her godmother while I keep an appointment that may very well allow me to keep my job. So if you’ll excuse me.”
    Keep her job . Reid suddenly remembered she was a single mother. What kind of guy leaves a woman who’s pregnant with his kid? Swallowing back his opinions of this guy, he shook his head. “I can’t excuse you. I’m sorry. I have to retest you.”
    Kara’s face was flushed with color and Reid had to admit, it suited her. With a loud sigh, she pulled out her always handy cell phone and checked her calendar. “This afternoon. Two o’clock.”
    He almost winced. Technically, that would be like four or five AM for him. “Fine. I’ll be at your place around two.”
    She nodded. “Here’s my address—”
    “I’ve got it. It’s on your registration form.”
    “Make it three o’clock.”
    He raised his cup to her in a toast. “Have a good day.”
    *
    A good day .
    Yeah, sure.
    Since Nadia’s birth, Kara typically did what she had to do and fell into an exhausted sleep each night only to repeat it the next morning. She didn’t notice good days from bad.
    Until now.
    She’d had all of two hours of sleep and was on her way to meet Ronald T. Saxon, the biggest client of her career and didn’t care whether she signed him or not.
    No, that wasn’t true.
    She couldn’t lie to herself. Of course she cared. Just not as much as she should, given her position. She knew how lucky she was. She was well-educated, her professional reputation was solid and afforded her luxuries like being able to cut back on her hours, work from home whenever she needed, and even say no to certain assignments. She hated herself for this, but she couldn’t say no to Saxony House.
    And that only shined a brighter light on all her shortcomings as a mother.
    She walked into the lobby, barely nodded to the security guard and rode the elevator to her floor. Deep in her spiral of self-flagellation, she barely acknowledged the greetings called out from colleagues and settled in her office, pulling up specs and background information and her notes—such as they were, given