Winning the Nanny's Heart by Shirley Jump

Author:Shirley Jump
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-08-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Sam wanted to ask Katie what had happened back in the bathroom, but didn’t want to upset the delicate balance that had been restored to Libby. She no longer seemed angry or upset, but more...peaceful. She stood beside Katie, holding her hand, and as they shuffled forward in line, Libby leaned against Sam’s arm. Henry had fallen asleep, his thirty pounds of body weight a solid chunk against Sam’s chest. It was as close to a perfect moment as Sam had felt in a long time.

He glanced over at Katie. She was reading the long list of ice cream flavors chalked on the slate board behind the counter. For the tenth time, he marveled at how this woman—a complete stranger—had brought a little calm into the chaos that had been his life for the last year and a half.

Libby said something about cows and milk, but Sam didn’t hear the words, because whatever Libby said made Katie smile. The curve of her lips, the way her reaction lit her eyes, captivated Sam. It was a warm smile, the kind that spread through him like a warm fire.

In the year and a half since Wendy had died, Sam had barely noticed other women. He hadn’t dated, hell, hadn’t had time to do the laundry, never mind date, but also hadn’t had the desire to ask another woman out. He’d loved Wendy, loved her from the first day he’d met her when they’d been paired up in chemistry class and she’d added too much baking soda to their faux volcano and created a Vesuvius-worthy reaction. After she died, he’d never imagined he’d meet another woman who would intrigue him as much as his late wife had. Until now.

Guilty feelings still clung to the edges of his thoughts, but they were a little quieter. Maybe it was time to move on, to open his heart again.

Katie turned, and caught him staring. A faint blush filled her cheeks. “What? Do I have sand on my face or something?”

“No, not at all.” He wanted to say something more about how beautiful she was, but figured doing that while waiting in line for an ice cream with his kids wasn’t the best timing. “Uh, what flavor are you getting?”

“I’m going with the tried-and-true,” Katie said. “A two-scoop cone, chocolate on the bottom and—”

“Vanilla on the top,” Libby added. “I wanna try that, too.”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Sam said. “How about we make it three?” Five minutes later, the three of them had identical cones, all topped with sprinkles, and a small dish of vanilla for Henry. Sam weaved his way through the crowd and led them to the outside picnic tables. Just before they sat down, Libby looked at Katie, then the two of them raised their cones to the sky. They held that position for a second, Libby’s eyes glistening.

Henry woke up, and scrambled down to get his ice cream dish from Sam. The two kids opted to sit at a small table a few feet away, while Sam and Katie chose a nearby bench.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.