LITMIR.BIZ

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      Matthew Warren jumped at the sound of the doorbell, narrowly missing slicing his finger in the same julienne style as the carrots on his mother’s cutting board.

      “I’ll get it.” Four-year-old Elizabeth climbed down from the stool where she’d been helping by playing in the sudsy dishwater. She raced across the room.

      Matthew caught his daughter before she reached the swinging kitchen door and hoisted her into his arms. “I don’t think so, young lady. You know only grown-ups are supposed to answer the door. What if it’s a stranger?”

      “Those aren’t strangers,” his mother supplied, patting her short silver hair. “They’re our guests.”

      “Well, about that…” He glanced at the kitchen door, feeling the same nervous tension he experienced whenever he met new clients at his law practice. “Did I mention that this dinner is a bad idea?”

      “About five times now.”

      “Haley’s probably still reeling from the news. I doubt she’s in the mood for socializing.”

      “Maybe not.”

      “And Elizabeth and I shouldn’t be here, either. I have things I need to do. If I don’t find a new sitter by Monday…”

      Amy Warren stopped, planting her hands on her hips. “Matthew, we still have to eat.”

      The bell rang again. It was an unnecessary interruption to the dispute since Matthew had already lost.

      “Daddy! The door.” Elizabeth wiggled out of his arms and then grabbed his hand, pulling him from the kitchen.

      “Coming,” he called out as they hurried down the hall.

      Tonight’s dinner was still a bad idea, in his opinion. The whole thing felt like an ambush. He shouldn’t have offered his help to Haley, either, when he was dealing with enough of his own problems. His mother’s stubbornness over her dinner party irritated him, but everything had bugged him today since he’d made the mistake of answering his mother’s cell phone while on his lunch hour.

      In the foyer, he hesitated. He had no reason to be nervous. It had all happened a long time ago, and even then it hadn’t been a big deal. Anyway, Haley probably had bigger things on her mind today than her adolescent crush that had ended in an embarrassing rejection. Shaking his head, he opened the door.

      Trina Scott stood on the stoop, her gloved hand poised to knock. “Oh, there you are. I thought you were going to let us freeze out here.”

      Behind her, the older two Scott sisters stood in their heavy coats, their arms laden with food.

      “Sorry about that,” he said.

      Elizabeth squeezed in front of him as he pushed open the storm door to let them inside. “Hi, Grandma Trina. Daddy and Grammy were arguing in the kitchen.”

      “Really?” Trina lifted an eyebrow as she leaned in to hug Matthew and then dropped a kiss on Elizabeth’s head. She turned to her daughters. “Elizabeth needed something to call me, so Amy thought ‘Grandma Trina’ would be nice.”

      Matthew turned to the other women. “Hey, Jenna. Hey, Caroline. Where’s Haley?”

      Just as he spoke her name, the fourth guest appeared behind them, her face peering out from the hood of her parka. She opened the door and stepped inside.

      “Hi, Haley. It’s been a long time.”

      “Yes, it has.”

      Haley flicked her gaze his way as she removed her coat and handed it to him. She looked different, but he should have expected that. People tended to change after nine years. Her hair was blonder than he had remembered, and though she used to wear it long like her sisters, she’d cut it in a sassy shag style that reached just to her chin. It suited her, he decided.

      “Who’s she, Daddy?”

      Matthew glanced down at the child tugging his arm and then looked back to Haley. “I guess you two haven’t met.” Of course, they hadn’t. Her sisters had helped their mother move back to Markston a year before and had visited a few times since, but until now, Haley hadn’t made the trip.

      Instead of answering him, Haley crouched in front of his daughter and extended her hand. “Hello. I’m Haley.”

      “Call her Miss Haley,” Matthew instructed.

      Though the child could sometimes be shy with strangers, she bravely shot out her hand. “I’m Elizabeth.”

      “It’s nice to meet you, Elizabeth.” Haley shook the child’s tiny hand.

      Elizabeth tilted her head to the side and studied the woman still crouched before her. “You’re pretty.”

      “Thanks. So are you.” Haley stood again and toyed with the belt of her sweater.

      Leave it to a four-year-old to state the obvious. Haley was an attractive woman, just like her sisters. Though “little Haley” had been a cute kid, the twenty-three-year-old had come into her own look as the rest of her face had finally caught up to those huge, bright blue eyes. The pretty, high cheekbones and generous lips were clearly Scott family traits.

      Matthew stopped himself. What was he doing? He had no business noticing women. Particularly someone like Haley Scott. Someone like…

      He looked away from her but not before she glanced back and caught him studying her. The color spreading on her cheeks suggested that she’d mistaken his curiosity for pity. Of course, she would think that on a day like today.

      “So…” Caroline cast a frown his way. “Where’s everyone else?”

      “It’s just us, I’m afraid,” Amy Warren said as she emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

      “The guys aren’t here?” Jenna looked disappointed. She and Dylan had always been the closest among the Warren-Scott children, but even they had lost contact over the last few years.

      Amy Warren shook her head. “Dylan’s at an optometry meeting in Chicago, and Logan has a date.”

      She cast a glance Matthew’s way as if daring him to contradict his youngest brother’s story. Somehow Matthew managed to keep a straight face. There were few nights when Logan didn’t have a date, but none that couldn’t have been rescheduled. Matthew had a better excuse than either of his brothers for not coming tonight—a child-care crisis—but, as usual, he was present and accounted for. Just once, he wished he could share the freedom from obligation his brothers enjoyed.

      Trina Scott crossed the room to hug her best friend. “Thank you for inviting us.” Like the elephant in the living room, she avoided mentioning the reason her daughters were in town in the first place.

      “Here, let me take some of that food for you.” Matthew reached for the casserole dish in Jenna’s arms.

      “Elizabeth will show us where the kitchen is,” Jenna told him, though they could have found it blindfolded.

      Elizabeth led Jenna and Caroline down the hall. Caught in some hushed conversation, the two mothers headed in the same direction, leaving Matthew and Haley standing alone in the entry. Haley had moved away from the door and was staring at a photo collage on the wall.

      “We had a lot of good times back then,” she said when he stood next to her.

      “The best.”

      As Matthew tried to come up with something comforting to say, the impulse to touch her shoulder surprised him. Even if she’d had a lousy day, Haley was a grown woman now. She could take care of herself. His knight-in-shining-armor gear fit uncomfortably, and he doubted she would appreciate his need to protect, anyway.

      At the sound of someone clearing her throat, Matthew glanced back at his mother and Mrs. Scott.

      “What are you two just standing there for?” Amy asked. “Now get

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