LITMIR.BIZ

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He had to catch it!

      He reached out, leaped high and touched the tips of the white feathers of its wings. His heart soared. He had it! But then the feathers slipped through his fingers and the bird was swooping away from him. He was left with nothing. A feeling of cold, dark devastation filled his heart. He began to walk away.

      But the parrot was back, trailing those long white fathers across his face—only it wasn’t white feathers. It was the sleeve of a lacy white nightgown and it was Jill leaning over him, trying to reach something from the bookcase behind the couch.

      “Oh, sorry. I didn’t want to wake you up,” she whispered as though he might go back to sleep if she was quiet about it. “It’s not time to get up. I just needed this manual. I’m starting to heat the ovens up.”

      He nodded and pretended to close his eyes, but he left slits so he could watch her make her way across the room, her lacy white gown cascading around her gorgeous ankles. The glow from the kitchen provided a backlight that showed off her curves to perfection, making his body tighten in a massive way he didn’t expect.

      And then he fell into the first real deep and dreamless sleep of the night. It must have lasted at least two hours. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring into the bright blue gaze of one of the twins. He didn’t know which one. He couldn’t tell them apart yet.

      He closed his eyes again, hoping the little visitor would be gone when he opened them. No such luck. Now there were two of them, both dressed in pajamas, both cute as could be.

      “Hi,” he said. “How are you doing?”

      They didn’t say a word. They just stared harder. But maybe they didn’t do much talking at this age. They were fairly young.

      Still, this soundless staring was beginning to get on his nerves.

      “Boo,” he said.

      They both blinked but held their ground.

      “So it’s going to take more than a simple ‘boo,’ is it?” he asked.

      They stared.

      “Okay.” He gathered his forces and sprang up, waving the covers like a huge cloak around him. “BOO!” he yelled, eyes wide.

      They reacted nicely. They both ran screaming from the room, tumbling over each other in their hurry, and Connor smiled with satisfaction.

      It only took seconds for Jill to arrive around the corner.

      “What are you doing to my babies?” she cried.

      “Nothing,” he said, trying to look innocent. He wrapped the covers around himself and smiled. “Just getting to know them. Establishing pecking order. Stuff like that.”

      She frowned at him suspiciously. To his disappointment, she didn’t have the lacy white thing on anymore. She’d changed into a crisp uniform with a large apron and wore a net over her mass of curly hair.

      He gestured in her direction. “Regulation uniform, huh?”

      She nodded. “I’m a Bundt cake professional, you know,” she reminded him, doing a pose.

      Then she smiled, looking him over. “You look cute when you’re sleepy,” she told him, reaching out to ruffle his badly mussed hair. “Why don’t you go take a shower? I put fresh towels in the downstairs bathroom. I’ll give you some breakfast before you leave.”

      Leave? Leave? Oh, yeah. He was going to leave as fast as he could. That was the plan.

      He let the sheet drop, forgetting that his torso was completely naked, but the look on her face reminded him quickly. “Oh, sorry,” he said, pulling the sheet back. And then he felt like a fool.

      He glanced at her. A beautiful shade of crimson was flooding her face. That told him something he hadn’t figured out before. But knowing she responded to him like that didn’t help matters. In fact, it only made things worse. He swore softly to himself.

      “You want me gone as soon as possible, don’t you?” He shouldn’t have said it that way, but the words were already out of his mouth.

      She looked a little startled, but she nodded.

      “Actually you are sort of in the way,” she noted a bit breathlessly. “I...I’ve got a ton of work to do today and I don’t really have time to be much of a hostess.”

      He nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m on my way.”

      He thought about getting into his car and driving off and he wondered why he wasn’t really looking forward to it. He had to go. He knew it. She knew it. It had to be done. They needed to stay away from each other if they didn’t want to start something they might not be able to stop. Just the thought made his pulse beat a ragged rhythm.

      She met his gaze and looked almost sorry for a moment, then took a deep breath, shook her head and glanced at her watch.

      “So far, so good. I’m pretty much on schedule,” she said. “It can get wild around here. My assistant, Trini, should show up about seven. Then things will slowly get under control.”

      Despite her involuntary reaction to seeing him without a shirt—a reaction that sent a surge through his bloodstream every time he thought of it—there was still plenty of tension in her voice. Best to be gone before he really felt like a burden. He shook his head as he went off to take a shower.

      It can get wild around here, she’d said. So it seemed. It couldn’t get much wilder than it had the night before.

      That reminded him of what those boys were capable of, and once he’d finished his shower, he took a large plastic bag and went outside to collect all the items the boys had thrown down from the bedroom. Then he brought the plastic bag into the house and set it down in the entryway.

      “Oh, good,” Jill said when she saw what he’d done. She looked relieved that he’d changed back into the shirt and slacks he’d been wearing the night before. “I forgot. I really did want all the stuff brought in before the neighbors saw it.”

      “This is quite a haul,” he told her with a crooked smile. “Are you sure your guys aren’t in training to be second-story men?”

      “Very funny,” she said, shaking her head at him, then smiling back. “There are actually times when I wonder how I’m going to do it on my own. Raise them right, I mean.” She turned large, sad eyes his way. “It’s not getting any easier.”

      It broke his heart to see her like this. If only there was something he could do to help her. But that was impossible, considering the situation. If it weren’t for Brad... But that was just wishful thinking.

      “You’re going to manage it,” he reassured her. “You’ve got what it takes. You’ll do it just like your parents managed to raise you. It comes with the territory.”

      She was frowning at him. “But it doesn’t always work out. Your parents, for instance. Didn’t you used to say...?”

      He tried to remember what he’d ever told her about his childhood. He couldn’t have said much. He never did. Unless he’d had too much to drink one night and opened up to her. But he didn’t remember anything like that. Where had she come up with the fact that his parents had been worthless? It was the truth, but he usually didn’t advertise it.

      “Yeah, you’re right,” he said slowly. “My parents were pretty much AWOL. But you know what? Kids usually grow up okay anyway.” He spread his arms out and smiled at her. “Look at me.”

      “Just about perfect,” she teased. “Who could ask for anything more?”

      “My point exactly,” he said.

      She turned away. She knew he was trying to give her encouragement, but what he was saying was just so much empty talk. It wouldn’t get her far.

      “Come on,” she said. “I’ve got coffee, and as long as you want cake for breakfast, you can eat.”

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