pregnant. He’s in the security business and was impressed that I could pull one over on him.”
“Fair enough. Now get to the sex part.”
Francesca grinned. “It just happened. I was attracted to him, and he seemed to be attracted to me. Normally I avoid that sort of thing.”
“Sure. Because it’s so much more interesting to go out with guys you’re not attracted to.”
Francesca ignored her. “I remembered what we’d talked about a few months ago. When you and Katie made me promise to fall into bed with the next normal guy I met.”
Brenna had been drinking. She nearly spit out her wine. “Francesca, we were kidding. If I remember correctly, we were drunk. Jeez, you can’t take that kind of stuff seriously. Is that really why you slept with him?”
“Sort of. Maybe.” Francesca remembered the night and her feeling of being so aroused, she was out of control. “I’ve spent the past few years avoiding relationships because I don’t want to get married again. But talking with you and Katie made me wonder if maybe there was a compromise. The occasional casual relationship with a man, complete with perks, and no ring.”
“I’m in favor of that,” Brenna said. “Marriage is trouble. So is love.” She cut off a piece of chicken. “Looking back on my sorry excuse for a marriage, I’m not sure I ever loved Jeff. He was the safe choice. At least, that’s what he looked like then. Now I know he was nothing but a lying weasel dog.”
“Todd didn’t lie,” Francesca said slowly, remembering her late husband. “But he wanted arm candy instead of a partner. I hated that.”
“I remember. Every time you expressed an opinion, he practically patted you on the head. As if you were as cute as a puppy performing a trick.”
Not what she’d wanted for her life, Francesca thought. Not then and not now.
“So this Sam guy isn’t like that?” Brenna asked.
“Not at all. Plus, he’s no more interested in a commitment than I am. Especially now.”
Brenna raised her eyebrows. “What happened?”
Francesca told her about Kelly’s arrival. Brenna dropped her fork as her mouth fell open.
“A kid? He has a kid?”
“Teen-zilla, according to him. I don’t think Kelly’s all that bad, although she is a handful. Her mother ignored her, gave her everything she wanted just to shut her up, and never set down any rules. Kelly is more than independent, she’s dictatorial.”
“Sounds like a fun kid. Are you sure the sex is worth it? Didn’t this unexpected arrival mess up your plans?”
“Sort of.” Sam had been worried about that, too, Francesca thought. “Sometimes I really like her, but she makes everything a challenge. I feel bad for her. She needs to be loved.”
Brenna’s eyes narrowed. “I recognize that tone. It’s the same one you used every time you wanted to drag home some stray dog or cat. You’re too soft-hearted for your own good. Do not go falling for this guy and his kid. Do you really want to take on a ready-made family? Now? You’re less than two years from finishing school.”
“I know and I agree. I don’t want to get married. I used to think I’d have children, but lately I’m not sure. If I don’t want a husband, then I’m stuck doing it on my own. I don’t know that I could stand the guilt of getting pregnant without being married. I mean, the whole family is Catholic and the Church really frowns on that.”
“You’d send the Grands into a Hail-Mary frenzy. Grandpa Lorenzo would have your hide.”
“He’d throw me out of the family.”
“Some days I don’t think that would be such a great loss.”
Francesca shrugged. “It’s not an issue. I have no plans to get pregnant, and I’m not falling for Sam.”
“Or the kid,” Brenna told her sternly. “Don’t you even think about rescuing her. You hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“All right.” Brenna refilled both their glasses. “Now I want to hear all the details about the sex. I haven’t even seen a naked man in months, and I’m going to have to live vicariously through you.”
“I do not kiss and tell.”
“Fine. Then make something up. I won’t know the difference.”
Kelly typed in the Internet address for one of her favorite clothing Web sites. “Cool,” she murmured. “Free shipping.”
After studying several camis and tops, she selected three of each, then moved on to skirts. A mock wrap with a slit caught her attention. Not that she went out all that much, but maybe Sam would take her to dinner or something.
“Not likely,” she told herself. He was turning out to be a real pinhead. Francesca?
Another no, especially after what had happened that afternoon.
She guessed she knew that Francesca was only trying to be, like, nice with her offer to go shopping. Kelly had really wanted to say yes. A trip to the mall would have been fun. And a movie. The one on the plane had been totally dumb. But she’d reacted without thinking. Not just saying no, but being mean, too.
Kelly shook her head. It was all Tanya’s fault. How many times had her mother asked her something like that? “Do you want to go shopping, Kelly?” Or if not shopping, then to the ballet or the theater. And if she said yes or acted interested, Tanya always gave her that smirky smile and shook her head.
“Well, I’m not taking you. Ask Mary.” Or Rosa or Sarah, whoever was currently in charge of taking care of her.
Kelly had a feeling that Francesca wasn’t like that. That she really would have taken her to the mall. But what if she’d just been playing, too?
Pushing the question to the back of her mind, Kelly completed her order. She changed the ship-to address on her account, so the clothes would come here instead of to the New York apartment, then clicked on “Place my order.”
But instead of the cheerful notice telling her that her order had been placed, there was only a single line explaining that her credit card had been denied.
Kelly frowned. That didn’t make sense.
She fished the credit card out of her backpack and checked the expiration date. It wasn’t until 2006. So what…?
Horror filled her. She remembered Sam yelling at her, telling her she wasn’t getting her own DVD player and her claim that she would simply buy it herself. He’d looked mad when she’d said that. He couldn’t have canceled her card, could he?
Three minutes later she hung up the phone and screamed. She flew out of her room and down the stairs.
“What did you do?” she screeched as she ran into the kitchen.
Her father stood at the stove, which was weird. Except for a couple of gay chefs her mother knew, she’d never seen a guy cook. Not that she cared right now.
Sam put down a spatula and faced her. “What’s your problem?”
She curled her hands into fists. “You canceled my credit card.”
“Yes, I did.”
“You had no right. It’s not yours. It’s not in your name.”
“You’re twelve, Kelly. You don’t need a credit card.”
His eyes were a really weird color. Sort of brown, but gold, too. Right now they were dark and cold and he looked mean.
But she wasn’t scared, she told herself. She was mad. “It was mine,” she insisted. “How am I supposed to take care of myself if I can’t buy stuff?”
“I’ll buy what you need.”
“No. You’ll buy what you want me to have. You won’t care about what I want.” Without her credit card she was stuck.
He sighed. “We’ll talk about the logistics of what and where the purchases will be after dinner. You’re just in time to wash your hands and set the table.”
“No! We’ll talk about it now.”
“I said later.”
“I don’t care what you said. I don’t even have any clothes to wear.”
“That’s because you turned down Francesca’s offer to take you shopping. Now you’ll have to wash what you
