One Daddy Too Many by Debra Salonen Page B

thinking. His right hand moved behind her back to pull her closer. His left brushed against her neck, expecting to find the mass of curls that fascinated him, but her hair was braided and pinned—unreachable.
    She made a little moan—that Rob realized a second later was the sound of regret. “No. Stop. Bad idea,” she said, pushing him away.
    Rob stepped back and took in a deep breath of icy air. The sharpness didn’t jibe with the heat that still surged through ninety percent of his body. But as his rational mind kicked in, he admitted to himself that she was right. This was madness.
    “Good call. My mother will be hopping in here on one foot if we don’t show up with her parfaits,” he said, striving for a normalcy he didn’t feel.
    He turned and picked up the tray. “Can you get the door for me?”
    “Ofcourse.” Her voice was husky, the sound so sexy he almost changed direction. Almost. Fortunately, sanity was slowly returning, and with it, all the reasons why he needed to keep his distance.
    Once outside, she directed him to place the tray on a counter in the kitchen. “You’d better take off that apron and rejoin the party,” she said, her tone brisk. “Don’t you have to make the best-man toast?”
    Her reminder hit him like a glass of ice water across the face. What kind of son was he? His mom was hurt, his dad’s wedding reception was only half over and Rob was playing kissy-face in the freezer.
    He yanked on the tie at his waist, which only served to tighten the knot. “Damn,” he said, frantically picking at the strings.
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Kate muttered.
    She brushed his hands aside and took over. Her nimble fingers worked quickly, but not fast enough.
    “Hmm, what’s going on?” a voice asked.
    Kate let out a low groan. “What does it look like?”
    Rob turned his chin to see over his shoulder. Liz and Alex Radonovic were standing a few feet away with matching smirks on their faces. He quickly looked down to see if Kate had succeeded in setting him free. Not even close. In fact, she was actually leaning over, her face just inches from his groin.
    “Umm…I…I’m dyslexic. I’ve never been able to tie anything right,” he said, hoping to distract them.
    “Oh, hell,” Kate said sharply. “This is going to take all night. Liz, hand me that knife on the counter.”
    Before he could protest, the largest butcher knife he’d ever seen was resting against his belly—sharp side out, thank God. Kate looked him in the eye—and Rob could have swornhe saw her grin—before she made a slight flick of her wrist. The apron strings fell away.
    “Coffee, people,” she shouted, motioning toward a group gathered by the back door, where he’d left his mother. “Break’s over. We aren’t done yet.”
    Rob pulled off the apron that was hanging loosely from his neck. He handed it to Liz as he walked past.
    “You’re a brave man,” she said, with a wink.
    “You’re right. I have a toast to make.”
    T WO HOURS LATER, after supervising the cutting of the cake, Kate leaned against the back wall of the dining room and watched the man who had kissed her in the cooler step up to the microphone. A four-piece band was set up to entertain the party until the wee hours of the morning, but first, the best man had to make a toast.
    “Dad…Haley…may your life together be blessed with good health, happy memories and the harmony of love, and may the road you travel together be filled with joy.”
    Short. Simple. Elegant.
    And for no reason that made sense, tears raced to her eyes.
    She blinked them away and quickly lifted her glass. It was that damn kiss, she thought, taking a chug of champagne. That and the wedding. The combination had stirred up too many emotions. She’d been down this road before. A bride. Filled with hope and wonder and fear. Wed to a man who, at face value, was all any woman could ever ask for. Tall, handsome, charming. Romani.
    She and Ian had tied the knot at a tiny