New and…Improved? & Andrew in Excess

now.”

She sank into her seat on slightly unsteady legs. “Don’t mention it.”

“What about you? How’d you wind up teaching art?”

Kat didn’t care whether his question stemmed from genuine interest or if it was merely a polite shift of conversation. She welcomed the change.

“I suppose I inherited it, much the same as you. My mother’s a landscape artist. From the time I can remember, she was always working on a canvas.”

“I think I’ve seen one or two of her paintings. She’s very good.”

“Yes, she is.”

“So, why did you decide to teach instead of paint?”

“I love art-it’s exhilarating. The colors. The textures. But I also love kids. Watching them learn about themselves through art is an incredible experience.”

Kat peeled the label off her bottle. “I’ve always wanted children of my own-or at least one child. And I want to be there for them. I don’t want to skip dinner because the evening light is just right for painting. Or miss a school play because it coincides with a gallery opening.”

Dusk veiled the day, casting private shadows between them.

“I take it your mother had a different slant on things.”

“Don’t get me wrong. Mom’s great. And she’s always supported Jackson and me in whatever we undertook. But we knew her painting came first.” Kat shrugged. “I happen to think people are more important than careers. If great art comes at the expense of a personal life-which seems to be the consensus among most artists-I’ll pass on the great art.”

Andrew acknowledged her viewpoint with a slight nod. He snapped a leaf off the hibiscus beside his chair and toyed with it between his long fingers. It almost qualified as fidgeting.

“If children have always been a part of your plan-and it sounds as if they have-why didn’t you and Devereaux start a family?” Curiosity marked his question.

She’d discussed her and Nick’s relationship with a number of friends after he’d left. It had never felt as intimate as discussing him with her current husband. She’d once married a man she thought she loved, only to discover he was a stranger. Now she’d married a stranger she thought she couldn’t love… She slammed the brakes on that particular train of thought.

“Before we married, Nick said he wanted a family. But once we were married, he changed his mind.” In an instant, all their old arguments crowded in. “He said he wasn’t father material, that he’d make a lousy father. It was one of the few times he bothered with the truth.”

Andrew remained silent. Except for his continued creasing of the hibiscus leaf, he could have been asleep. Kat knew she’d opened this Pandora’s box with her career question, but Andrew had taken it one step further. Now it was her turn. The dark invited confidences.

“Why haven’t you ever married?” He was married. To her. She needed to remember that. “Before now?”

His fingers stilled. The leaf fluttered to the ground. “Because, much like your first husband, I’m neither husband nor father material.”

His cold words shattered the soft warmth of the night that cocooned them. An instantaneous denial sprang from her core at Andrew comparing himself to Nick. Until she reminded herself that bedtime back rubs, nighttime confidences, great procreational sex and a purple Volvo did not a marriage make.

“TOTO, I’VE GOT TO TELL YOU, I’m not looking forward to tonight.”

The little dog cocked his head toward Andrew questioningly.

Waiting for Kat to finish dressing, Andrew and Toto watched fish dart about in the aquarium. They hadn’t even left for the reception yet and Andrew already wished it was over.

“Well, let’s look at the guest list. My father-in-law despises me as a professional rival. Then there are my parents who despise each other. As a rule of thumb, I generally avoid spending time with them, especially when they’re together.”

Toto whimpered his sympathy.

“Kat’s father and my father despise each other. And Gloria, who knows more gossip than flies on the wall do, told me Claudia wangled a date with Trent Braxton.”

Toto performed his dead dog routine, rolling onto his back with all four paws sticking up in the air.

“Yeah, that’s what I say.”

And his delectable wife was driving him mad. More than once this week, thoughts of Kat and their baby had disrupted his concentration. He’d found himself considering the reality of being a real, long-term husband and dad. Nothing had ever interfered with his work before.

And then there were the endless nights with her curled up beside him, when she would slide a silky leg between his in her sleep. But there was no need to share that with Toto.

“Sorry I took so long. I’m ready.” The cause of his insanity, or at the least, his insomnia, glided down the hall. Exotic. Elegant. Maddening.

Her dress, patterned in vibrant colors, clung and flowed in the appropriate places. He cleared the knot of desire wedged in his throat.

“This is for you. I hope you like it.” He thrust a small bouquet of flowers toward her, feeling-and sounding- as gauche as a teenager on his first prom date. “They’re for your hair.”

“What, no muzzle?” Her sapphire eyes sparkled.

“It wouldn’t be fair to deprive our guests of your delightful wit. It’s half your charm.”

Her eyebrows skewed a question. “And the other half?”

Unbidden, a list formed in his head. Her sunny smile, her enthusiasm for her work, her loyalty-that wreck she called a car was parked in the garage because she refused to consign it to a scrap yard-her fierce independence, the feel of her hips beneath his… Andrew shook his head in mock disapproval. “A lady never digs for a compliment.”

“And a gentleman never makes her.” She dropped her head forward to admire the bouquet, revealing a freckled expanse of neck that tempted him to trail kisses along its satin smoothness. “But thanks for these. How’d you know they’re my favorites?”

He shrugged off her thanks and thrust his hands into his pockets. “I’ve seen them around the house.”

Kat arched a brow. “And you knew the name of them?”

Dammit. Why couldn’t she just leave well enough alone?

“No. I picked them out at the florist.”

“You actually picked out flowers that’re just going to die?” A cheeky grin relieved her comment of any sting.

“They’re only required on a temporary basis, as long as they last through the evening. I thought tonight might be difficult for you, and knowing how you feel about flowers, I thought you’d enjoy them, that’s all.”

As Kat smelled the bouquet, Andrew inhaled her uniquely sweet scent. She eyed him over the flowers. “Why’d you think tonight would be a problem?”

Did she have to examine everything under a microscope and then discuss it?

“I didn’t say ‘problem.’ I said ‘difficult.’ You once mentioned boycotting cocktail parties.” He wasn’t deaf to vicious society gossip, and he knew she’d borne the brunt of many wagging tongues with Nick’s desertion. He’d just wanted to make tonight a little easier for her.

“It’s true, I’d prefer a quick and tidy flogging.” She stepped over to the mirror hanging in the hallway and clipped the flowers in her hair. “But then I wouldn’t have gotten these, and they’re beautiful.”

“No. You’re beautiful.” Just where in the hell had that come from?

“Thanks. We both know I’m not.” She tugged a curl into submission. “But thanks anyway.” Kat eyed him from his combed hair to the tips of his polished shoes, her blatant approval tightening his groin. “You don’t clean up too badly, yourself.”

Her flippancy about her appearance annoyed him. Facing the crowd at the reception tonight would be tough for her-hell, his parents alone would be enough to send anyone running. She needed every ounce of available self- confidence.