Third Time's the Bride! Read Free Page B

popped the top two buttons on his dress shirt. The satiny sheen of the fabric deepened the Viking blue of his eyes but didn’t make them any warmer.
    “You don’t like me very much, do you?”
    He was too good, Dawn thought with grudging admiration, and way too smooth to show surprise at her blunt question.
    “My son thinks you’re totally awesome,” he said with a neutral lift of his shoulders. “And Kate and Callie would peel a strip off anyone who dissed you. With those endorsements, what I think doesn’t matter.”
    “Bull. What you think is the only thing that matters when it comes to your son.” She tipped the snifter and let a trickle of smoky fire burn its way down her throat before picking up the gauntlet again. “So why do you go all fudge-faced whenever I walk in the room?”
    “Fudge-faced?”
    “Fudge-faced. Poker-faced. Pie-faced. Take your pick.”
    He sat back, fingering his drink. “Okay,” he said after a pause. “I’ll be honest. Tommy’s got two sets of very loving grandparents. He considers Mrs. Wells his third grandmother. What he doesn’t have is a mother. Although...”
    Intrigued, Dawn watched his mouth twist into something dangerously close to a smile. Amazing how such a simple realignment of a few facial muscles could transform him from a cool, aloof executive into someone almost human.
    “I should warn you he’s made several valiant efforts to fill the void,” Ellis admitted. “The first time wasn’t so bad. After several less than subtle attempts at matchmaking, his pediatrician gently let him know that she was already married. This last time...” He shook his head. “Let’s just say his kindergarten teacher and I were both relieved when the school year ended.”
    Dawn knew Ellis had run a background check on her. She’d done some Googling of her own.
    “I went online and saw some of the hotties you’ve escorted to various charity functions in recent years,” she informed him, lifting her brandy in a mock toast. “From the adoring looks on their faces, any one of them would’ve been happy to fill that void.”
    The smile disappeared and the cool, distant executive reappeared. “Tommy’s void maybe. Not mine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”
    Oooh-kay. She’d put her foot in it that time. Maybe both feet.
    Subtle probing these past few days had confirmed that Tommy retained only a hazy concept of his mom. His father’s memories were obviously stronger and more immediate.
    Tossing back the rest of her brandy, Dawn retreated to the luxuriously appointed aft cabin. She stood beneath a hot, stinging shower for some moments before slithering between what felt like 700-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. The tail-mounted engines reverberated with a mind-numbing drone that soon rocked her into a deep sleep.
    * * *
    With the six-hour time difference between Rome and Washington, DC, and the fact that they’d flown west across several time zones, the Gulfstream touched down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at almost the same hour it had taken off. Bright autumn sunshine greeted them after they’d exited customs and crossed to the limo waiting in the executive car park.
    Brian preferred to drive himself most of the time, since EAS headquarters was located only a few miles from his home in a shady gated community in Bethesda. After a long flight like this one, though, he was just as happy to let Dominic fight the rush-hour traffic that would already be clogging the city streets.
    Once again, Tommy made the introductions. And once again, a longtime EAS employee had to struggle to keep his jaw from dropping as he was introduced to the new nanny.
    Temporary new nanny , Brian wanted to add. Temporary!
    He kept his mouth shut and Dominic managed to keep his tongue from hanging out as he stashed their luggage and slid behind the wheel.
    “George Washington Parkway’s still pretty clear,” he advised Brian. “We should beat the worst of