that she would ever find out. Not that she really wanted to find out, she told herself, feeling Molly stiffen. “It’s okay. You don’t need to—” She broke off when she felt Nicholas’s fingers graze the skin of her neck as he tried to pry Molly’s fingers loose.
Molly’s eyes widened in alarm. She let out an ear-rattling wail of protest.
Gail winced and shook her head. “Just let her have my hair. I don’t like it that much,” she said with a chuckle. “She can use it.”
Nicholas pulled back his hand with a frown. “She always seems to cry when I come around.”
Gail bit her lip. He was right. “Maybe it’s just the time of day.”
“Morning and night?” he asked skeptically.
“She probably just needs some time with you alone. Maybe you could start reading to her at night.”
If Gail didn’t know better, she would say she saw a sliver of terror flash through his eyes. That couldn’t be right, she thought. After all, Molly was his daughter. A big, powerful man like Nicholas Barone couldn’t possibly be terrified of his baby daughter. Could he?
“Maybe,” he said in a considering tone, his expression guarded. “Maybe another night. I have a commitment to attend a charity function tonight. My turn to be the official Barone-family representative.”
Still wailing, Molly clutched Gail’s hair tightly. “It’s okay,” Gail cooed, rubbing the baby’s back. “You’re just fine.” She glanced again at Nicholas, her curiosity aroused. “Do you mind being the official Barone representative?” she said.
He shrugged and his mouth tilted in a sexy grin. “Depends on the function and the woman.”
She nodded. “Ah,” she said, feeling a jumpy sensation at the sensual glint in his eyes. How would it feel to spend an evening receiving the undivided attention of a man like Nicholas Barone? Gail would no doubt spend the entire date stammering and blushing, unlike the confident, gorgeous women he was accustomed to. She wondered who it was tonight. “You must have a tough time choosing the ‘flavor of the day.’ I don’t remember meeting a woman who doesn’t love ice cream, so you must represent the perfect combination.”
“What would that be?” he asked. “Wealth and…”
She shook her head. “Actually I wasn’t thinking of wealth. I was thinking of ice cream and a favorite topping. Something hot,” she said impulsively, because if ever the word was an apt description for a man, it was now. “Hot fudge sauce.”
As Nicholas stared at her for a long moment, she felt a roar of embarrassment race through her. What had possessed her to say such a thing? Thinking it was one thing. Saying it was something totally different. She cringed, certain her cheeks matched the color of her hair. Was she destined to constantly embarrass herself in front of this man? “Could we just forget I said that?”
“Forget you just compared me to ice cream and hot fudge sauce?” he asked, his dark eyebrows arching.
“Uh, yeah,” she said hopefully.
He shook his head and chuckled. “No. I’m sure I’ll remember that for a long time.”
And Gail made the futile wish that she could fall through a crack in the perfectly sealed tile floor of the foyer so her five-foot-eight-inch frame would disappear.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
