Tempting Prince Charming, page 13
“You’ll call me if anything happens, right?” Veronica asked.
“You know I will. But she’ll be fine. Now, I need to go make sure no one steals any of the cake before it’s time to blow out the candles.”
“Thanks.” Veronica hung up and settled back onto the couch. As she drifted to that place between awake and asleep, she dreamed of wearing a white gown and running through a snowy dark forest, the frost biting into her feet.
She could hear an evil laugh all around her, a cold, cruel laugh that sounded very much like Annette’s.
Thad and Steve stood at the base of the giant inflatable slide, watching kids scream down it like bombers on an attack run. The two wore forced smiles as they kept an eye on the smaller kids, even the ones they weren’t responsible for. The massive rubber slide looked dangerous as hell, and neither Thad nor Steve felt comfortable leaving anyone unsupervised.
The teenage attendants, on the other hand, looked completely disinterested. This either meant Thad and Steve were overreacting, or the teens were terrible at their jobs. Both assumed the latter.
Thad’s heart jumped into his throat whenever he saw a kid Lyra’s size go down. When Lyra’s tiny face finally appeared at the top of the slide, she searched the crowd of adults and children down below looking for him.
“You can do it, Lyra. I’m here to catch you.” Thad called up to her, stepping toward the slide, but a pimply face barred his way.
“Sorry, sir. You’ll have to stand back.”
Thad wondered how hard it would be to get this kid fired.
A huge grin curved her lips as she spotted him and waved. She looked like a blonde-haired version of her mother, only shrunk down to pocket size. The few times he’d been around kids since boarding school, he hadn’t exactly enjoyed the experience. He’d felt unsure what to say to them, how to interact, and they seemed just as uncomfortable around him. But Lyra was special. She was sweet and shy and so God damn cute it actually caused a painful twitch in his chest to look at her. She crept to the top of the slide and was about to sit down when a much bigger kid shoved her hard. She screamed and tumbled down the slide.
Thad’s heart jumped into his throat. He shoved the attendant aside and surged over the inflatable death trap to catch her. She was in a rigid curled up ball of terror as he scooped her up into his arms.
“Thad, is she okay?” Steve called out. He’d leaped over the barrier to grab the kid that came down next, the same little monster who’d shoved her.
“Let go of me!” The boy tried to kick Steve in the shin, but Steve had a death grip on the boy’s shirt.
“Lyra, honey, are you hurt?” Thad asked as he carried her to a nearby chair and sat her down on it.
“My arm hurts,” she said.
“Let me see.” He knelt and gently examined her arm. She had a slight reddened mark. It looked like she’d skidded on the rubber of the slide when she came down wrong.
Thad pointed to the attendant who’d blocked his way in the first place. “You. Get a first-aid kit.” He then looked at Steve. “Hey, can you get a glass of water for her?”
“Sure.” Steve stared down at the kid he still held and then back at Thad.
“I’ll take care of it.” Thad made sure Lyra was okay on the chair before he went over and bent down to be eye level with the boy.
“If you hurt me, I’ll tell my dad!” he snapped.
Thad grinned darkly. “Oh, I don’t need to hurt you. If you ever hurt another kid, I’ll know… And when I find out… I will buy the house you live in and throw you and your parents out on the street. Do you want to live under a bridge with rats?”
The kid’s eyes went wide as he shook his head.
“Then quit being a bully and you’ll be fine.” Thad stood and nodded at Steve who released the kid. The boy took off at a blind run to escape him.
“Damn, you even scared me.” Steve laughed. “Would you really do that?”
“Make him live under a bridge? No, probably not, but he doesn’t need to know that.”
“I like your style.” Steve clapped a hand on Thad’s shoulder. “I’ll go find that kid looking for the first aid kit. He’s probably lost in a broom closet somewhere.”
Thad returned to the chair where Lyra was still holding her arm. She had a tiny cut on her elbow but didn’t seem to realize it was there. Her hair was a mess of blonde curls. He got on his knees and straightened her little shirt.
“You are one brave girl,” he said.
“I was scared when I fell,” she admitted.
“I was too. But being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared. You did the right thing by curling up like that. That was very smart. I’ll be sure to tell your mom how smart and brave you are.” Even as he said it, he feared he was going to be in deep trouble when Veronica found out what happened.
Steve returned with the teen attendant and a first-aid kit. Sam was tagging along. “Is Lyra okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine,” Thad said, liking how the little boy cared about her.
Sam held out a chunk of neatly folded tickets he’d won from a game to Lyra. “You want some of my tickets?”
“Can I?” Lyra asked Thad.
“Sure,” Thad looked at the little boy. “You’re a good kid, Sam.”
“He’s the best,” Steve said, bright with pride for his son.
They treated the cut on Lyra’s elbow and then put some burn cream on her small burn before he handed the kit back to the attendant.
“Next time, pay more attention to what’s going on,” Thad warned. He tturned to the kids. “You guys ready for cake?”
Lyra nodded, her face a bit less pale as she followed them to the party area.
“On a scale of one to ten, how much in the doghouse do you think I am for her getting hurt?” Thad asked Steve.
“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault that kid was a dick. You handled it well and I’ll tell Ronnie that.”
“Thanks.” Thad slid his hands into his pockets and watched the kids sing happy birthday to Sam before they all started diving into the cake like a pack of wild raccoons. He chuckled when Lyra got frosting on her nose and didn’t seem to notice. She waved at him and he saw that her little fingers were covered with cake. His heart stuttered in his chest and he finally saw the look he’d been hoping to see, the one that meant she liked him and trusted him. Hell, he was falling in love with both the kid and her mother. This was getting dangerous.
He was starting to get way too attached to Veronica and her daughter, which begged the question: what was next? He didn’t want to hurt them if things didn’t work out, but he also didn’t want to back away just because he was afraid of things not working out. He wanted to see where things would go, but not if it meant people got hurt at the end of it all…
For a moment, the future seemed scarier and more uncertain than the slide Lyra fell down.
11
As the party wound down and the sugar high turned to a crash, the crowd at the Razzy Tazzy became more subdued. Thad rubbed his temples as a dull throb began just behind his eyes.
Steve handed him two pills and Thad raised a brow.
“Aspirin. Trust me, take it now before the pain really sets in.”
Thad downed the pills with some water. “Thanks. What’s next on the agenda? Chasing them through the fire swamp?”
Steve nodded toward the prize counters, where dozens of kids were waving long streams of tickets. “Prize time.”
Lyra held back from the crowd, her small stack of tickets in her hands. Thad held out his hand to her.
“Want to get a prize?” he asked.
She smiled and nodded, placing her tiny hand in his. Every protective instinct in him was still on high alert from what had happened on the inflatable slide. Their hands were still locked together as they reached the ticket counter.
“What do you want?” The teenage boy asked in a bored tone.
“The teddy bear.” Lyra pointed a tiny finger at a giant russet furred teddy bear that was as tall as she was. It had a large blue satin bow tried around its neck.
“That’s a thousand tickets.”
Lyra handed the teenager her small pile of winnings. She had no more than fifty tickets. The teen humored her by running the tickets through counting machine.
“Sorry, you’ve got only forty-six. How about one of these pencils and erasers?” The kid behind the counter gestured to an array of pathetic consolation prizes.
Crestfallen, Lyra studied the erasers and pencils. The look on her face hit Thad like a punch to the gut. She didn’t cry or whine, she just looked so sad and it only made Thad want to spoil her all the more.
“She’s only four years old. Can’t she just have the bear?” Thad leaned in to whisper to the teenager.
“Sorry man, rules are rules. I could get into trouble.”
Thad glared at him. “My kid got hurt today. Some little punk shoved her down that slide—”
“All parents have to sign waivers. We aren’t liable for injuries.”
“That’s not what I… nevermind.” Thad pulled his wallet out of his jeans and thumbed through his bills. He pulled four bills out and flattened them under his palm so that the teen could see.
“I’ll buy the extra tickets necessary to get it. Give me the bear and you can keep the change.”
The boy’s eyes widened at the four $100 bills before hastily nodding.
“Sure thing.” He plucked the giant bear off the shelf and handed it to him. Lyra watched with wide eyes as Thad lowered the bear to her.
“Is he too big for you to carry?” Thad asked, knowing the answer, but he wanted to see joy fill her tiny, adorable face as she held the bear in her arms. He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and snapped a quick picture to send to Veronica later.
“No, I can carry him.” Lyra curled her tiny arms around the plush teddy inside like a contented kitten as she hugged the bear.
“Thank you, Mr. Dad,” she said.
“No mister dad. I’m just Thad to you, honey.” He ruffled her hair and his heart swelled as she valiantly held her toy up so the bear’s feet wouldn’t drag on the ground, marching proudly back to the party room.
Steve winked at him when they returned to the seating area. “Fifty tickets go a lot farther than I remember.”
Thad grinned but said nothing.
“Oh my goodness, Lyra. Look at your bear!” Michelle gushed. She turned to Thad and whispered. “How did she get that?”
“I figured after what happened today, she deserved something nice.”
Michelle gave him a long look that he couldn’t read, but then smiled. “I’ve put some extra cake in some Tupperware for you to take home.” She handed him a small sack filled with party favors and clear plastic tubs.
Thad nodded in appreciation. “I’ll make sure Veronica gets it.” He turned to Lyra. “You ready to go home?”
She nodded enthusiastically. Presumably she had big plans for her new stuffed friend.
They said their goodbyes to Sam and the others and took their leave. Thad kept a hand on Lyra’s back as he guided her safely out of the continuing chaos.
“Why don’t you let me carry the bear? You can carry your party favors. There’s some cake in here for you and your mom.” He swapped with Lyra, keeping the ridiculously huge bear under one arm. Simon pulled alongside the curb and got out to open the door for them.
“Thank you, Simon.”
The driver put the bear in next to Lyra while Thad buckled the girl in her car seat. Thad got in the front with Simon to give Lyra and her bear more room in the back.
“How was the party, Miss Lyra?” Simon asked the girl.
Lyra kicked her tiny feet, leaning against her bear. “Great!”
Simon glanced toward Thad. “And you, sir? Did you have a good time?”
Thad’s lips twitched. “Give me a board meeting discussing a hostile takeover any day.”
“That bad, huh?”
“I survived. Still, watching her have fun was worth it.” He looked back toward Lyra. She had already leaned her head on the bear like a pillow.
It was a twenty-minute drive home and he was pretty sure she would be asleep by then. The thought made him smile.
It was almost dinnertime when Veronica heard a knock. She got up from the couch and opened the door. Thad was there, but instead of Lyra, she saw only a massive brown teddy bear with a blue bow around its neck.
“Where’s—?”
Thad put a finger to his lips for silence as he turned to face her. Her child was fast asleep in the other side of his arms.
“Let’s put her in bed,” Veronica whispered.
Thad followed her into Lyra’s room. She pulled the covers back and removed Lyra’s socks and shoes. Thad set her down and Veronica tucked her in. But as she was pulling up the sheets, she noticed a bandage and scrape on Lyra’s arm. She looked at Thad, who motioned for them to step into the hall.
“What happened?”
Thad gently took one of her hands and led her to the couch. He collapsed onto it, pulling her down with him as he let out an exhausted sigh.
“Thad? What happened?” she asked again.
“Some little jerk shoved her down an inflatable slide. Didn’t even apologize. I wanted to shove that kid down a slide,” Thad growled, but his words softened as he spoke again. “Lyra was tough. She didn’t even cry. Steve and I bandaged her up.”
Veronica relaxed against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “These things happen. One time she fell off a see-saw and landed on another kid running by. Chaos is the default setting of playtime.” She looked back to Lyra’s room where the enormous teddy bear had been placed. “So what’s the bear’s story? There is no way she got enough tickets for that. Did you hustle someone for it?”
Thad’s rumbling chuckle warmed her to her toes. “Not exactly. I may have paid the kid running the ticket counter for it. It was the one thing she wanted, and I wasn’t about to let her walk out of there with some stupid eraser or pencil.”
“Oh God, you didn’t. I’m afraid to ask how much.”
“Not much.”
“Thad, how much?”
He was silent a long moment. “Four.”
“Four dollars?”
“Four hundred.”
“Four hundred!” She almost shrieked as she jerked up to stare at him. “I’ll pay you back.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a gift. She’s a great kid. After a fall like that, she needed something.”
Veronica lay back down against him. “If you pay out four hundred bucks every time a kid hurts themselves, you’re going to be broke by next year,”
Thad laughed at that.
“Besides, you know that spoiling a kid is bad, right?”
“Yeah, but a good kid deserves good things. She worked hard for her tickets. She was so much smaller than the other kids, so much younger. She couldn’t ever have gotten the tickets she needed.”
Veronica bit her lip as a riot of emotions warred inside her. Thad was being so nice, and in a weird way, his actions scared her. She couldn’t shake the feeling he was enamored with the novelty of her life, not the reality of it.
“You feeling any better?” he asked as he yawned.
“Quite a bit. How are you holding up?” She placed a hand on his chest, feeling the warmth of his body through his sweater. A dark, spicy scent clung to his clothes, reminding her of when she’d watched him shave. His cologne added to the natural scent of his skin, making her deliciously aware of how masculine he was.
“I’m dead on my feet, honey. Dead.” He closed his eyes and let his head fall back on the couch. “I never get this tired,” he grumbled. “And I’ve held eight-hour board meetings.”
“You know they ran an experiment once, having an entire football team try to follow around a bunch of preschoolers all day to see who would last longer? Kids wiped them out.”
“I can believe it.”
“Just rest,” she suggested. “You earned it.”
“Only if you rest with me.” He shifted on the couch to lay lengthwise with just enough room for her to join him. She had no desire to argue. Lounging beside him felt wonderful. She settled in and closed her eyes, sighing as he stroked her hair and she drifted off.
She woke to the sound of Thad’s cell phone vibrating on the coffee table. Thad woke at the same time, surging up, but kept an arm around her as he fumbled for his phone and answered it.
“This is Thad,” he said before he yawned., “Oh, hey, yeah. I forgot today was Friday.” He listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. “Well, actually, I can’t make it tonight.” His hazel eyes flicked to hers. “I’ve got plans. Can we reschedule? Thanks.” He hung up.
“You missing something important?” she asked.
“Not really. On Fridays I sometimes have dinner with my parents. Usually a social engagement, a party, a gala, that sort of thing. They have something going on almost every week. I go with them to find new business deals and new clients. But tonight, I’m right where I want to be.”
She couldn’t resist smiling and brushing her fingertips over his face. “I guess I really owe you,” she said in a teasing whisper.
“You might,” he agreed. “I seem to remember something about kisses.”
“I seem to remember something about that too. What do I owe you?” This man made her giddy and she adored him for it. It felt so good to flirt, to tease, to just feel like a woman in the arms of a handsome, wonderful man who desired her back.
“Hmm, a dozen? Maybe two? I also accept alternative payments of a sensual nature.” He gave a lazy grin that set fire to her blood.
Sensual payments. God how she wanted to pay him back for all the things he’d done to help her and knowing she’d enjoy owing him kisses only made it hotter.
