LITMIR.BIZ

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right,” she said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. “But at least we know there is a reason for this behavior and they’re not just being cruel to Sofie.”

      He chuckled. “It would be hard to find anyone who’s deliberately cruel in Cooper’s Cove. I think the mayor forbade it decades ago. But it does explain what I was trying to tell you this afternoon, those feelings of insecurity I was talking about.”

      Cassie nodded, listening intently as he continued.

      “So, I had a little chat with both boys, and then with their parents. Separately of course, which is how I found out all this info. And I think I’ve worked up a solution for all involved, at least to the teasing and bullying problem.” A shadow passed over his features. “Let’s hope it’s enough to do the trick.”

      She was desperately trying to pay attention to his words, but he was so close she could see the sparkle in his eyes and the small laugh lines around his mouth….

      He’d changed into more casual clothes, she suddenly realized. Gone was the professional suit he’d always worn in his office. Now, he had on soft, well-worn jeans, a heavy Irish cable knit sweater and work boots. Much to Cassie’s annoyance it made him look far less intimidating and a great deal more appealing.

      She forced herself to keep her mind on the subject at hand. “Judging from the change in Sofie’s attitude since you brought her home from school this afternoon, she’s feeling better about the situation as well,” Cassie said, still shocked by the difference in her daughter. This problem with Sofie hadn’t been far from her mind all afternoon. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? How quickly their emotions change?”

      “With kids this age, it really is just a lot of confidence,” he admitted as he pulled open a closet door in the expansive foyer and hung up her coat. “So much of their emotions and attitudes are fed by their immediate world. Parents, family and friends make up everything, and are everything to them, and as long as everything is copacetic with all three, they’re happy.” He shrugged. “But when they’re not, that’s when problems develop.”

      “And you think that’s what’s happened here?” she asked, and he nodded.

      “Yes, I’m afraid that’s exactly what happened. But I’ve talked with the boys, and with Sofie, so now let’s see if we can work out some kind of truce to keep them all happy. Are you hungry?” he asked abruptly and she paled a bit.

      “I’m…uh…fine,” she said, avoiding his gaze and placing a hand on her growling stomach. He watched her carefully, then tried to smother a chuckle. “What?” she demanded. “What on earth are you laughing about now?” It was as if he could read her mind and it was unnerving.

      “You,” he said. “And the look on your face when I asked you if you were hungry.” His eyes gleamed. “Let me guess, the prospect of a chocolate, peanut butter and banana sandwich is not exactly at the top of your dinner choices, am I right?” he asked with a lift of his brow.

      “You’re right,” she admitted with a laugh and rueful shake of her head.

      “Well, don’t worry about it. I told Shorty we were having guests for dinner and he almost blistered my ears when I told him what I wanted to serve.” He held out his hand to her. “So he’s prepared Sofie her favorite sandwiches and something a bit more adult for us. Shall we?”

      She looked at his outstretched hand as if it were a snake about to strike. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she was so skittish around a man. But then again, she couldn’t remember the last time she was this close to a man. Her experience with Sofie’s father had left a bitter taste in her mouth and scared her off all men. As far as she was concerned, she couldn’t trust her own judgment, not when it came to men, so she simply kept her distance.

      Besides, she was far too busy trying to support herself and her daughter to worry about impressing some man or squeezing time out of her hectic life to accommodate him. There had always seemed so many more important things to do.

      But now, with Beau, Cassie simply couldn’t fall back on her usual routine of indifference and disdain. Like it or not, she needed his help and so did her daughter. So she was going to curb her own feelings and put Sofie’s needs ahead of her own. Again. It was something that had become second nature to her from the moment of her beloved daughter’s birth.

      I’m doing this for Sofie, she mentally reminded herself and immediately felt a bit better. But she’d feel a lot better if Beau Bradford looked less like a movie star and more like a toad.

      “Shall we?” he repeated, still holding out his hand to her, as if daring her to take it.

      Cassie pressed her free hand to her shaky tummy as she let him escort her out of the foyer, reminding herself once again she wasn’t the least bit interested in him—personally.

      Her obligation was to Sofie and Sofie’s welfare. Sofie’s health, heart and happiness came first in Cassie’s life, and she wasn’t about to jeopardize any of them because of one gorgeous man. No matter how charming he was.

      Chapter Three

      “Oh my word!” Cassie said, coming to a dead halt in the room Beau had referred to as the atrium. She spun in a circle, trying to take in everything. “This is…magnificent,” she breathed, stunned by the sheer size and beauty of the room.

      Floor-to-ceiling windows, left uncovered to allow full access to Mother Nature’s beauty, served as three of the room’s walls, allowing a breathtaking view of the landscape as far as the eye could see.

      Lights and stars twinkled against the inky blackness, and the flakes of fast-falling snow sparkled like glittering diamonds floating toward earth. It was a scene out of a beautiful, romantic movie.

      A roaring fire in the huge fireplace at one end of the room provided both light and a warm, homey coziness that instantly wrapped around you in welcome.

      The floors were a beautiful aged wood and the colorful, if faded, Persian carpets that dotted the floor served merely to highlight the gorgeous grain and surrounding patina. On either side of the enormous, roaring fireplace were custom-made oak bookshelves filled with more books than Cassie had ever seen outside of a public library.

      Nestled in one corner, right in front of the beautiful view, was a small, elegant table set for two. An eggshell tablecloth of what looked like beautiful aged silk adorned the small, round dinner table. Fresh flowers sparkled in a shimmering crystal vase. White taper candles were perched elegantly in a small rosette of expensive-looking crystal, just waiting to be lit.

      Cassie selfconsciously glanced down at herself and felt just a tad out of place in her stained salon uniform and work shoes. She wasn’t accustomed to dining at tables adorned with silk linens and candles nestled in crystal.

      Feeling more than a little off balance now, Cassie tried to ignore how romantic the scene looked to her, and kept her gaze moving.

      This wasn’t personal, she told herself. The table was probably always set in that corner like that. It wasn’t any big deal just because she was there.

      But whether or not it was, she caught herself sneaking appreciative glances back at the table simply because it looked so breathtaking against the dark glittering backdrop Mother Nature had provided.

      “This is the most incredible room I’ve ever seen.” Fascinated, Cassie merely roamed for a moment, soaking in the beauty of everything, nearly overwhelmed by the aged opulence reflected in every single antique knickknack and furnishing in the room.

      She had no idea what it would have been like to grow up surrounded by this kind of luxury or beauty. It was a bit faded now, yes, but the wealth it took to put together a house like this still shone through. She couldn’t help but feel just a wee bit intimidated. It was the same way she’d felt the one and only time she’d been in Sofie’s father’s opulent childhood home.

      Trying to banish that memory,

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