“How did you know I’m starving? That sounds wonderful. What are you having?”
“We’ll make it two. Speaking of two, you said you’ve been out a couple of times this week. Care to share?”
Dallas took a sip of her wine. “It was a first date. They can be awkward, but this one was nice.”
Nice? Ethan gritted his teeth. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” He smiled and raised his glass to her.
Straightening the fork beside her knife, she met his gaze. “Between my two jobs, I feel like Piper and I don’t spend much time together. Dating takes time away from her, and I guess I didn’t think that through. I don’t know how going out will work for me right now, Ethan.”
He reached across the table and captured her hand. “Surely there’s something we can do. Let’s think about it, shall we?” Breath held, he waited for her response.
She hesitated then nodded slowly.
The waitress returned and took their orders.
Ethan regaled Dallas with funny stories from his vacations in Europe, to Aruba, and to see plays in New York. She should know the kind of life she could lead if she fell in love with him. He sensed a vulnerability in her, and he had no qualms exploiting it.
They also talked about their shared passion for the Dallas Cowboys and the team’s chances for the next Super Bowl.
After dinner, Ethan walked Dallas to her front door. Reaching for her hand, he said, “Don’t give up on dating yet. We’ll figure out something. Promise?”
Nodding, she squeezed his hand. “Thanks for a wonderful evening, Ethan. I enjoyed myself.”
He stayed on the porch as she slipped inside and waited to hear the door lock before heading to his sleek black Lexus sportscar. As he started the engine, he turned over the problem in his mind. He would find a way to solve it and, in doing so, he’d make sure Dallas fell for him and only him.
WEDNESDAY MORNING, Dallas stopped typing as Mandy came by the reception desk. “What’s up?”
Mandy arched back, hands on her hips, and sighed. “I’m already tired out. Wish we had a four-day work week.”
“People like that a lot. But you know my bosses. They want me here answering phones. You may have a shot at it though. Why don’t you ask?”
“Yeah, right. I don’t see it. Not with the hours I put in around here.”
Dallas nodded and smiled. “Never hurts to dream.”
Mandy headed off. “See you at lunch.”
A few minutes later, Dallas heard a text land on her phone. Peeking in her desk drawer, she saw it was from Cash. When her morning break arrived, she picked up her coffee cup and phone and walked to the kitchen. Curiosity had been eating at her for nearly an hour, and, as soon as she sat with her coffee, she opened the text.
Smiling, she read that Saturday, before she had to work at the club, Cash wanted to take her and Piper to the Railroad Museum, and then to lunch.
She tapped her finger against her lips. This certainly solved the problem of leaving Piper when she saw Cash. And Piper would love the trains. But there was something else to consider. Did she want to introduce a man into Piper’s life? It would be a first. Was it the right thing to do?
She took a sip of coffee. Did Cash even like kids? Her fingers flew.
Are you experienced with kids?
Cash sent back:
I was one once. Do I need experience? I like kids just fine.
Well, he actually didn’t need experience with her there. And he’d said he was glad he didn’t have children because his marriage would have been awful for them. That was good thinking. She shook her head. What the heck? She typed:
We’d love to go.
He sent right back:
Yay! Tell me what time works for you.
10:30? That would still give her and Piper a relaxed morning.
He wrote back:
I’ll see you girls then.
Dallas laid the phone on the table. This was big. Second thoughts bombarded her. What if Piper got attached to Cash? It would make it so much harder to stop seeing him, if it came to that. The last thing she’d do was let Piper get hurt.
SATURDAY MORNING, DALLAS answered the door to Cash’s tall, powerful presence. His flashing smile reached deep into his amber eyes. She shivered, reacting to him more strongly than she ever had. Was it because she was about to allow him into her private world? Laying her hand across her pounding heart, she stepped back. “We’re ready, I think. Come meet Piper.”
She led him into the living room, bidding her thrumming pulse to slow. Kneeling, she held out her arms to her daughter. The three-year-old pulled her blanket up to her chin and stared at Cash from her perch on the couch. After running her wide-eyed gaze over him several times, she finally trotted to her mother.
Dallas picked up the child. “Cash, this is my daughter, Piper. Piper, this is my friend, Mr. Powers. Do you want to shake hands?”
Piper put out her hand. “Hi, Mr. Pah-wahs.” She stumbled a little over the pronunciation.
Cash grinned and shook her hand. “That’s kind of hard to say. Why don’t you call me Mr. Cash? Or, if Mom lets you, just Cash?”
Dallas smiled. “Let’s stick to Mr. Cash. We’re working on manners around here.”
Cash drove a one-ton, cab-and-a-half truck, so there was a bench seat in the back to buckle in Piper’s car seat. He opened the back door on his side and helped Dallas get Piper settled in.
While he drove, Cash looked in his rear-view mirror. “Have you ever been to the Railroad Museum, Piper?”
Shaking her head, she answered, “No-o-o-o-o.”
“You can climb into all sorts of train cars. There are old trains and some newer ones, too.”
Dallas looked over her shoulder at Piper. “I’ve never been there, either, sweetheart. We’ll have fun
