tall are you?’ she inquired.
Stunned to discover the kid had obviously been sizing him up, too, he was slow to reply. The delay earned him an impatient look.
‘Don’t you know?’
‘Sure I do! I’m...six foot four.’
The child nodded and continued to silently appraise him. Craig looked to Taylor for some indication as to what was expected of him now and was nonplussed to see the shimmer of tears in her eyes. It had a heart-wrenching and sobering effect. He glanced back at the little girl.
‘So,’ he said, ‘you want me to have lunch with you, huh?’ She nodded solemnly in response, but her steady gaze hinted she was expecting more input from him. ‘Right then...well, er, do you like Italian food?’
‘Do you?’ she countered.
‘Well...yes. Yes, I do.’
‘I don’t.’ She gave a theatrical shudder. ‘I hate Italian food.’
‘I thought all kids liked pizza.’ Craig was basing his assumption on the fact there were always kids in pizza commercials.
‘Pizza isn’t Italian. Pizza is normal food.’
‘Normal food...’ he echoed. ‘I see...’ He didn’t and looked towards Taylor for verbal backup, but her eyes remained focused only on her daughter. He was obviously on his own. ‘Well, I guess we could have pizza for lunch if—’
‘No,’ the pint-size female vetoed the idea. ‘I don’t feel like pizza. Know what kids really like?’
He shook his head. ‘Believe me, I wouldn’t have a clue about—’
A childish giggle cut him off. ‘What’s your favourite food in the whole world?’
Again she caught him mentally off stride. ‘My favourite food in the whole world?’ He paused, trying to recall if he had one. ‘I guess it’d have to be grilled barramundi.’
‘Oh.’ If the child’s tone hadn’t told him he’d again come up with the wrong answer, her stance would have. Her arms were folded and she was frowning at him as if she were a teacher and he a troublesome pupil. ‘You do like McDonald’s, though, don’t you?’ she prompted. ‘Everybody likes McDonald’s.’
Craig wasn’t crazy about the direction this conversation was taking, but he had no chance to voice his objections.
‘Cheeseburgers are my favourite,’ Melanie told him. ‘Cept Mummy—’ her tone was scathing ‘—hardly ever lets me go there ’less it’s for a real special reason.’
Peripherally aware of Taylor’s tense stance, Craig struggled for both patience and a tactful response. ‘Yes, well...I guess mothers are like that,’ he said.
‘Fathers aren’t, though,’ the child stated. ‘My friend Renee’s father takes her there every Friday.’
‘Lucky Renee!’ he muttered, earning a withering look from Taylor.
‘Struth! What was he supposed to say, for God’s sake? He knew zilch about kids and even less about what fathers were and weren’t supposed to do. ‘Well, I guess,’ he said cautiously, ‘it’s all right on Fridays—’
‘It’s Friday today!’
His stomach pleaded a silent protest at the child’s reaction and again he looked at Taylor. She knew he’d never been partial to hamburgers, not even designer ones.
‘You can always have chicken nuggets,’ she suggested neutrally.
‘Thanks, you’re a big help!’ he muttered before addressing the child again. ‘You’re sure you wouldn’t rather have something else—Chinese, French, fried chicken...’
He wondered how much vigorous shaking a kid’s head could take before it actually fell off. Ah heck! How bad could it be?
‘OK,’ he said wearily, slinging his jacket over his shoulder. ‘McDonald’s it is, then.’
Across Melanie’s head, Taylor mouthed the words thank you and gave him a smile so warm he was tempted to tell her he’d buy the kid her own franchise if Taylor would only keep looking at him like that!
Reacting to long-past memories and old habits, his hand moved inviting Taylor’s into it, but she averted her gaze, and it was her daughter’s hand she reached for...not his.
CHAPTER TWO
AS THEY sat amid the bustle and laughter of the family-orientated restaurant, the heavy silence hanging over their table wasn’t conducive to making Taylor feel comfortable. The air seemed like a volatile mix of suppressed anger, bottled-up resentment and raw sexuality, which threatened to explode at any moment. She knew if it did, her child would be the most critically injured.
It was obvious Craig was anxious to be anywhere but where he was, and Taylor resented the way her body was reacting to his reluctant presence. Why were the random memories running through her head only the kind that caused a surge of sensual adrenalin to course through her? Lord knew more than enough unpleasant scenarios had been played out between her and Craig in the later stages of their marriage. Why was it they seemed incidental now?
With the benefit of twenty-twenty hindsight, she realized it would have been better had she arranged for Melanie to meet her father alone. Her daughter was all too aware of the undertow of tension rippling beneath the stop-start conversation of the last fifteen or so minutes; it showed in her uncharacteristic quietness.
Reaching for her fries, Taylor realized they, like - everything else, were now cold. But it didn’t matter. Emotionally she’d been too wound up to eat; only for Mel’s sake had she made an effort. Yet considering how every time she lifted her eyes from her food, she’d encountered rich brown masculine ones that negated her ability to chew, swallow or execute any of the automatic steps of eating, she didn’t think she’d convinced anyone she was enjoying the meal.
‘Not hungry?’ Craig asked. She gave a tight smile and shook her head. His eyes skimmed over her face as if taking an inventory of her features, then with a seductive smile he helped himself to her half-eaten burger. ‘I am.’
Without taking his eyes from hers, he bit slowly into the same spot she had. Remembering how those even white teeth had felt nibbling on her flesh, she felt her stomach somersault as a wave of heat rose from her toes into her cheeks. Oh, hell! This was insane!
‘What about you, Mel?’ Craig was asking. ‘Would you like something else?’
‘No, thank you.’
He frowned, then reached for his wallet. ‘Sure you wouldn’t like to go buy yourself an ice cream or something?’ he urged.
Melanie cast a concerned look at him, then quickly lowered her eyes and shook her head. ‘No, thank you,’ she said again.
Her daughter’s lifeless response prompted Craig to send Taylor a what’s wrong with her? look.
Annoyed
