“Uncle Jasper?” Beau walked into the foyer from one of the adjoining rooms, one hand in Sofie’s. The moment he spotted Cassie, he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes meeting hers. She had to swallow hard, knowing that intense masculine gaze was taking in every inch of her.
“You made it.” His smile was wide and welcoming, as his gaze slid over her and a pool of warmth puddled in her center.
Lord, the man’s impact was incredible. No wonder every woman in town was after him.
“Mama!” Sofie skipped toward her, delight shining in her eyes. “Guess what? Guess what?” Hair a mess, Sofie was all but bouncing out of her scuffed and bruised school shoes. “Dr. Beau and I already looked at the stars and the solar system and Dr. Beau’s gonna help me with my science project.”
“He is, is he?” Cassie said, grinning down at her daughter. A fierce surge of love rose up in her. “That’s wonderful, honey.” Absently, Cassie reached out and tightened one of Sofie’s barrettes so her hair wouldn’t fall in her face.
Sofie tugged her mother’s hand. “And you know what else, Mama? Uncle Jasper’s got a telescope, a real big one and he said after dinner I could look through it, and maybe I could see to another planet! And then, Mama, we’re gonna play checkers. Me and Uncle Jasper.” Sofie tugged on her hand again. “And Dr. Beau says he has lots of good ideas for my science fair project,” Sofie continued, obviously thrilled as she turned to stare adoringly at Beau. “And he said…that maybe…” Sofie hesitated, frowning back up at her mother.
“What, sweetheart?” Cassie asked, bending down so she was eye level with her daughter.
“Well, do you think maybe…I mean…could I maybe invite some kids from school over to help with my science project?” Sofie peeked at her mother from under lowered lashes.
“You want to invite some kids from school over, honey?” Cassie repeated in surprise and her daughter nodded, then grinned, rocking back and forth on the heels of her school shoes.
“Dr. Beau said sometimes it’s good to have the help of your friends with a big project. ’Specially a big science project.”
“He did, did he?” Cassie said, glancing up at Beau. That was some miracle act the man had performed, Cassie realized, wondering just what he’d said to her daughter. This afternoon Sofie had wanted to run away from the very same kids she now wanted to invite over.
She was definitely going to have to learn the man’s secret.
“Well, I think it would be wonderful to invite your friends over. How about on Sunday? The shop is closed and I’ll be home all day, and I can make my special homemade pizzas.” She brushed Sofie’s dark hair from her eyes. “What do you say?”
“Really?” Sofie breathed, her eyes going wide in excitement. “Mama makes the bestest pizzas ever.”
“She does?” Beau said with a smile and a lift of his brow. His gaze remained on Cassie, making her want to fidget. She should probably invite him for pizza, she realized, considering how kind he’d been to Sofie. But she just couldn’t get the words out, not wanting to willingly spend more time than necessary with the man. “I guess I’ll have to try some.”
“Wanna come for lunch Sunday?” Sofie asked and Cassie almost groaned.
Beau saw the look on her face before she could disguise it and his eyes twinkled mischievously. “I think that would be lovely, Sofie. Thank you.” He merely flashed Cassie a grin as she scowled. He’d done that deliberately, she realized. Deliberately agreed to come to lunch simply because he knew he made her uncomfortable. The blasted man!
While Cassie and Beau merely stared at each other, Sofie tugged her mother’s hand again. “And Mama, Uncle Jasper says I’m really, really smart, and that being smart is a good thing, and not any reason to run away. Isn’t that right, Uncle Jasper?”
“Aye, absolutely, lassie, ’tis a truly wonderful thing,” Jasper confirmed with a nod of his head, reaching for her free hand. “The very best thing,” he added, taking Sofie’s hand and giving Cassie and Beau an encompassing glance. “And now, if you’ll excuse us, the littlest princess and I have a date.” He winked at Sofie, who beamed at him, clearly delighted to be the center of attention. “Isn’t that right, lassie?”
Sofie’s dark head bobbed. “That’s right, Uncle Jasper.”
Uncle Jasper’s voice trailed off as he led Sofie out of the foyer. Cassie couldn’t help it, she started to laugh.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Beau, trying to contain herself. “But he’s absolutely…adorable.” Still laughing, she shook her head. “And totally charming. He’s just wonderful.”
“Yeah, he is,” Beau said as he glanced after his uncle. “The best thing that ever happened to me,” he added softly, and Cassie was surprised by the genuine emotion in his voice.
“He raised you, didn’t he?” she asked gently, remembering what he’d said this afternoon about being teased, and Beau nodded.
“I was five when my parents were killed in a car accident on the way home from a scientific seminar. All I knew was that my parents went away for the weekend and never came back.”
“I’m so sorry,” Cassie said, her heart aching for him. She could still hear the shock and pain of the enormous loss somewhere in the deep timbre of his voice. Unconsciously, she reached out and laid a hand on his arm, instinctively wanting to comfort. She couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to have been orphaned at such a young age.
“My uncle Jasper was my father’s only brother, and the brilliant eccentric in the family, according to my dad, who was no slouch in either department himself. I’d never met Uncle Jasper, at least not that I remembered.” He laughed suddenly, dragging a hand through his black hair. “So here I was, sitting at the bottom of the steps in this big old house—my parents’ house,” he clarified, glancing around the familiar foyer. “Which wasn’t much different from this place. I’m all alone in the world, and scared out of my mind when the front door bursts open and this ball of Irish energy comes bounding in. I could only stare at him with my mouth open,” he recalled, humor glinting in his eyes. “He had on a shirt that was buttoned crookedly and hanging out of pants which weren’t zipped, but were held up by some kind of metal chain he’d somehow gotten tangled and knotted around him. He had on two pairs of glasses, one pair on his eyes, one pair resting on top of his head, and a pair of mismatched shoes.” Beau chuckled. “Actually, it was a slipper and a shoe. He usually gets distracted halfway through getting dressed so that’s why he’s only half-dressed most of the time. Either Shorty or I usually catch up to him to fix him up before he goes out in public, but I didn’t know that then. Then, I was just a scared, bewildered five-year-old,” he admitted quietly. “Especially when the first words out of Uncle Jasper’s mouth were ‘Can you cook, laddie?’” He did a fantastic imitation of his uncle’s heavy Irish brogue and Cassie covered her mouth to smother a chuckle, visualizing the picture.
“And what did you say?”
Tongue in cheek, he shook his head. “The truth. I said very solemnly, ‘I’m sorry, sir, but I’m only five years old.’”
Cassie’s tender heart almost melted. She could almost see him, she realized. The small, scared vulnerable little boy, all alone in the world, not knowing what was to
