Kindergarten Cupids by Vivienne Wallington

Author:Vivienne Wallington
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Cain made a special effort to come home from work early the next day, to have dinner with Ben and to hear about his first day at school. But his son kicked up a fuss because he wanted to have dinner with Nicky. Cain tried to reason with him, pointing out that the two boys saw quite enough of each other as it was and they didn’t have to have dinner together every night, as well.

“But I want to eat with Nicky,” Ben persisted, glaring at his father. Any minute now, Cain knew his son would start stamping his feet and throwing a tantrum.

He tried to stay calm. “We have to let Mardi and her grandfather have Nicky to themselves once in a while, Ben…just as I want to have some time alone with you.”

Ben cast a dubious look at his father. “I wish Mardi and Nicky and Grandpa lived with us,” he said with a pout.

He was calling Ernie Grandpa now? Cain thought of his father, back in New Zealand. Ben could have had a real grandfather if Sherman Templar hadn’t been such an unreasonable, intolerant jerk. He scowled. It was his father’s loss if Ben had turned to Ernie for a grandfather figure.

“They practically do live with us,” he reminded his son. “They live in our granny flat. They share the same grounds. They couldn’t live any closer.”

“They could if they—”

“Ben!” Cain’s voice sharpened. “You’re having dinner with me tonight, and Mardi’s having dinner with her family. You can play with Nicky after dinner—if Mardi says it’s okay.” His brow creased as he recalled the way Mardi had scuttled off earlier, the moment he’d arrived home.

Mardi was noticeably distant, noticeably cool, for the rest of the week. Cain was surprised at how much that piqued him—well, okay, hurt him—as well as puzzled him. It was as if she were deliberately backing away, keeping him at a distance. He hoped it wasn’t because she thought of herself as some kind of employee, for heaven’s sake, who must keep her place.

Dammit, she had no reason to think that. Their arrangement had been an equal exchange between two widowed parents who’d needed something from each other. Mardi was giving him far more than he was giving her, though. She was giving his son security and love. The love of a mother, the love of a brother, the security of a loving family…things that his son, through no fault of his own, had barely known before. Cain owed her a lot. She’d taught him a lot—about himself, about Ben, about his son’s special needs. Needs that Cain, caught up in the demanding world of high-powered finance, had neglected without realizing it.

Tiffany, the shrew, had to be responsible for this change in Mardi. She’d treated Mardi like dirt, first on the boat on Sunday and again here at his home a couple of nights ago. She’d bowled in, unannounced, after he’d come home early for the third evening in a row, and Mardi, who’d been preparing Ben’s dinner at the time, had let her in.

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