would be faking it. We both know the one thing we should be talking about is his mother.”
“Then for God’s sake, talk about his mother,” she said with obvious impatience. “Do you know how desperately he needs to share his heartache with you?”
Raw anguish ripped through him as he struggled with what should have been a simple request. He deliberately took his time counting out money to pay the bill. Then he cast one quick look into Kate’s eyes and caught the lack of comprehension.
“I can’t,” he said simply and walked away, leaving her staring after him.
Chapter Five
K ate wanted to sit right where she was until hell froze over. She wanted to do almost anything, in fact, except walk out of the restaurant and join Davey and his father. She wasn’t sure she could bear seeing that expression of anguish on David’s face.
Worse, to her amazement and regret, she realized that for a few brief moments she had allowed herself to indulge in the fantasy that this was her personal life, not her job. Unlike all those business dinners she had four and five nights a week, sitting here with David and his son tonight had given her a small hint of what it might be like to be part of a normal, ordinary family.
Then Alicia’s name had entered the conversation and reality had intruded with the force of a hurricane-strength wind.
That’s what happens when you lose your objectivity, she chided herself. She had set herself up like a tenpin in a tournament of bowling champions. There was no way not to get knocked down. The irony, of course, was that it had been a fantasy which might never have crossed her mind a week ago, before a desperate, lonely boy had walked into her office.
Forcing herself to put her own bruised feelings aside, she left the restaurant and went in search of her client…and his father. She found them sitting at a table in front of the ice-cream counter. The last rays of sunlight filtered through an evening haze. A breeze had kicked up, chasing away the last of the day’s dry heat. Davey’s expression was glum. His father’s, if anything, was even more morose, an echo of her own feelings.
It had certainly turned into a swell evening, Kate thought miserably. She forced a smile. “Where’s my ice cream?” she demanded, feigning a fierce scowl. She glanced at David. “You don’t have any, either. Did Davey eat all they had?”
The weak joke didn’t even earn a halfhearted smile.
“I was waiting for you,” David said. The response was politely innocuous, but there was a questioning look in his eyes as if he wasn’t sure what to make of her teasing or the strained note behind it. “Name your flavor.”
“Heath bar,” she said at once. “How about you? I’ll get it.” She wanted another minute to gather the composure that seemed to slip a notch every time she looked into David Winthrop’s eyes. To her relief, he didn’t argue with her.
“Cherry Garcia.”
“Cone or dish?”
“Cone,” he said.
When she came back to the table with the two ice-cream cones, Davey and his father were engaged in a tense discussion that broke off the minute she arrived. She handed David his cone and sat down, concentrating on the rapidly melting ice cream. She tried to catch all the drips before they slid down the cone toward her already sticky fingers. It was hopeless. She glanced over and saw that David was having the same problem. As he caught a drip with the tip of his tongue, he gazed into her eyes and smiled. Kate’s heart thumped unsteadily at the innocently provocative gesture. She had to force herself to look away.
It was several minutes before she realized that Davey hadn’t said a word since she’d joined them. She glanced at him. His arms were folded across his middle and, if anything, his expression had turned mutinous.
“What’s the deal, kiddo?” Kate inquired, wondering what on earth they’d fought about.
He glanced at his father with a belligerent look, then said, “Dad
“Then for God’s sake, talk about his mother,” she said with obvious impatience. “Do you know how desperately he needs to share his heartache with you?”
Raw anguish ripped through him as he struggled with what should have been a simple request. He deliberately took his time counting out money to pay the bill. Then he cast one quick look into Kate’s eyes and caught the lack of comprehension.
“I can’t,” he said simply and walked away, leaving her staring after him.
Chapter Five
K ate wanted to sit right where she was until hell froze over. She wanted to do almost anything, in fact, except walk out of the restaurant and join Davey and his father. She wasn’t sure she could bear seeing that expression of anguish on David’s face.
Worse, to her amazement and regret, she realized that for a few brief moments she had allowed herself to indulge in the fantasy that this was her personal life, not her job. Unlike all those business dinners she had four and five nights a week, sitting here with David and his son tonight had given her a small hint of what it might be like to be part of a normal, ordinary family.
Then Alicia’s name had entered the conversation and reality had intruded with the force of a hurricane-strength wind.
That’s what happens when you lose your objectivity, she chided herself. She had set herself up like a tenpin in a tournament of bowling champions. There was no way not to get knocked down. The irony, of course, was that it had been a fantasy which might never have crossed her mind a week ago, before a desperate, lonely boy had walked into her office.
Forcing herself to put her own bruised feelings aside, she left the restaurant and went in search of her client…and his father. She found them sitting at a table in front of the ice-cream counter. The last rays of sunlight filtered through an evening haze. A breeze had kicked up, chasing away the last of the day’s dry heat. Davey’s expression was glum. His father’s, if anything, was even more morose, an echo of her own feelings.
It had certainly turned into a swell evening, Kate thought miserably. She forced a smile. “Where’s my ice cream?” she demanded, feigning a fierce scowl. She glanced at David. “You don’t have any, either. Did Davey eat all they had?”
The weak joke didn’t even earn a halfhearted smile.
“I was waiting for you,” David said. The response was politely innocuous, but there was a questioning look in his eyes as if he wasn’t sure what to make of her teasing or the strained note behind it. “Name your flavor.”
“Heath bar,” she said at once. “How about you? I’ll get it.” She wanted another minute to gather the composure that seemed to slip a notch every time she looked into David Winthrop’s eyes. To her relief, he didn’t argue with her.
“Cherry Garcia.”
“Cone or dish?”
“Cone,” he said.
When she came back to the table with the two ice-cream cones, Davey and his father were engaged in a tense discussion that broke off the minute she arrived. She handed David his cone and sat down, concentrating on the rapidly melting ice cream. She tried to catch all the drips before they slid down the cone toward her already sticky fingers. It was hopeless. She glanced over and saw that David was having the same problem. As he caught a drip with the tip of his tongue, he gazed into her eyes and smiled. Kate’s heart thumped unsteadily at the innocently provocative gesture. She had to force herself to look away.
It was several minutes before she realized that Davey hadn’t said a word since she’d joined them. She glanced at him. His arms were folded across his middle and, if anything, his expression had turned mutinous.
“What’s the deal, kiddo?” Kate inquired, wondering what on earth they’d fought about.
He glanced at his father with a belligerent look, then said, “Dad
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