The Baby Scheme

On the shelves sat no fewer than three casseroles, which, upon inspection, turned out to be filled with a tuna-noodle dish, a bean mixture and potatoes au gratin. No bachelor since the dawn of time had ever made three casseroles simultaneously.

She found further evidence in the freezer. Foil-wrapped packages fixed with “From the kitchen of” labels had been marked “meat loaf,” “chocolate cake” and “beef stew.”

The scary part was that the labels had three different names on them. These goodies had come from the kitchens of Heloise, Barbara and Betsy.

Kevin didn’t want a date to keep his ex-girlfriend at bay as she’d surmised. He was juggling three women, and he expected to show up with a fourth!

“Having a good time?” his voice asked close to her ear.

Alli gave a guilty start. Although her instincts urged her to brazen it out by claiming she was hungry, she decided not to lie.

Closing the freezer, she pivoted to face Kevin. He stood inches away, a mocking twist to his mouth.

“You haven’t told me the whole truth about tomorrow night,” she challenged.

Was that guilt fleeting across his face? “Certainly not. I haven’t told you anything about tomorrow night.”

Alli decided to force the issue into the open. “Which of them is going to be there, or is it all three?”

“All three what?”

“Your fan club,” she said. “The ladies who bring lunch. The adoring trio of Heloise, Barbara and Betsy. Do they know about one another? Is this some kind of competition? Where does your date for the party fit in, lover boy?”

Instead of reddening with well-deserved shame, the man got a gleam in his eye. “They’re acquainted with one another.”

“What’s the plan?” Alli pressed. “Are you trying to make them jealous or what?”

“I doubt they’ll be jealous,” he said smoothly. Of all the untrustworthy men Alli had ever met, this one had the most nerve! “You’d be surprised how well we rub along.”

“Do you date them on alternate nights? What are they, your personal harem?” She didn’t really suspect him of promiscuity. However, there was the evidence, right in his refrigerator. “You may think this is funny, but I doubt that they do.”

“I don’t consider the situation funny,” Kevin responded levelly. “You want the truth? Those women are hounding me to death.”

“And you never gave them any reason to think they had some claim on you, right?” she countered.

“We used to be close,” he conceded. “But, you know, people change.”

“So you’re not currently dating any of them?”

“Not a one.”

“And they drop off casseroles purely out of habit?”

“Can I help it if hope springs eternal?” he asked.

Alli was tempted to bop him with a utensil. “I know we made a deal, but I don’t want to get involved in whatever game you’re playing.”

“Tell me something.” Stretching out one arm, he leaned against the fridge and enclosed her in a private space. “Which is crueler, to let them keep showering me with food in hopes of winning my heart, or to show up with a tasty dish like you and put a stop to it?”

Being referred to as a “tasty dish” pushed Alli over the edge. She raised one knee to the exact location of his masculine portions. “You want to hear what I think of Don Juans? I think they deserve what they get.”

The next thing she knew, he’d tossed her over one shoulder, fireman style. “Never threaten an ex-cop,” Kevin advised, and hauled her through the house into the master suite.

Alli waited until he’d almost reached the bed before she kicked out, made contact with the bed frame and shoved in the opposite direction. Releasing a string of swearwords, Kevin staggered backward.

As he stumbled, Alli felt herself begin to slide. It occurred to her that she should have given more thought to the fact that, if he fell, she was going down with him.

Or maybe underneath him.

At the last moment, Kevin managed to avoid dropping her entirely. Instead, he ricocheted across the room and flopped her onto the mattress before toppling across her.

He did more than knock the air out of her lungs. He landed in such a position that, had they not both been wearing slacks, they’d have become lovers by default.

Alli could trace every thoroughly male detail of his anatomy. The process was heightened by the fact that he’d become inexplicably but impressively aroused.

If Kevin Vickers expected to add her to his harem, he was the least perceptive man in history. And she intended to leave him in no doubt of that.

KEVIN WISHED he did have a string of adoring mistresses. They might have taken the edge off his desire, in which case he wouldn’t be responding to Alli Gardner like an overgrown adolescent.

He’d only been joking when he tossed her over his shoulder. He hadn’t intended to do anything except set her on her feet once they got in here.

Still, he understood Alli well enough not to let on what he was thinking. He pitied the man who ever became vulnerable to her, even by so much as an apology.

“Is this what you had in mind when you decided to drag me down on top of you?” he asked.

She sputtered. “I was trying to discourage you, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“I judge people’s intentions by their actions, and here we are,” he replied. “So if you’re curious about what those other ladies find so irresistible…”

“Kevin,” Alli said.

“Hmm?”

“I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry.” He rolled off. “Normally, I approach a lady with more finesse.”

She sat up, hair tangling around her face and her emerald top revealing a tantalizing strip of lean waistline. The sight of her made Kevin’s groin tighten harder, entirely against his will.

He wasn’t normally attracted to shoot-from-the-hip women. His type was more like Lisette, who, when it came to intimacies, had waited for him to make the first move, and the second and the third. He’d found her tantalizing at first, until he began to wonder if she ever experienced true passion.

Alli’s boldness tantalized him with possibilities. He’d be willing to bet she could match him every step of the way.