to hold on to her husband.
Why did this man bring out the extremes in her? Last night, his cocky attitude had made her mad enough to spit nails. Today, she was experiencing the forbidden thrill of the chase. She did not want male attention. She did not need male attention. And if she repeated the mantra to herself enough times, maybe she would believe it.
Beau let out a low whistle under his breath while he absorbed the woman’s sultry question, “What kind of woman do you think I am?” It was a loaded question, a little like, “Do I look fat in this dress?” No matter which way he answered, he was toast. “Darlin’, I tell my daughter women can be anything they want to be. President, rocket scientist or the best damn mom on earth. It’s just a matter of wanting it bad enough. I’m betting you’re a success at whatever you do.”
Mentally congratulating himself on his smooth escape, Beau poured two cups of coffee and handed one to her.
She crossed her arms. “Why couldn’t I be president and the best damn mom on earth? The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
Uh-oh, they were back in dangerous territory. He was supposed to sell her a car at a hefty profit, not debate women’s rights. “Darlin’, let’s go look at that minivan.”
Two hours later, Beau was sweating bullets and crunching numbers like crazy. “Lady, there’s no way I can sell the minivan to you for that price. We’d lose money.”
“No, you won’t.” She pulled a sheaf of papers from her cavernous purse and showed him the reasons he could sell her a minivan at that price.
Running a hand through his hair, he did some quick mental calculations. His commission would be practically nonexistent, but it was nearing the end of the month and one more sale would pretty much clinch Salesman of the Month. The prize, a big-screen TV, would more than make up for the lost commission.
“You drive a hard bargain. But you’ve got a deal.”
She smiled. Not the tight, polite smile she’d given earlier, but a joyous, triumphant smile that lit up her face like a Christmas angel.
Beau sucked in a breath. If she’d smiled like that in the beginning, the minivan would have been hers in half the time. And that was a very, very bad sign.
Beau reminded himself of his responsibilities. There was only one female in the whole wide world he could allow himself to obsess over these days, even if his body told him otherwise.
Chapter 2
Beau sidled into the Parents Flying Solo meeting almost a week later and scanned the room. He exhaled with relief. Nancy McGuire wasn’t there.
He’d have been able to spot her halo of long, blond hair anywhere. Or her smile. Or her extremely lovely body.
Beau shook his head. He had a young, impressionable daughter to raise. His playing days had to be firmly in the past. But Nancy made him respond physically whether he wanted to or not. Worse, she challenged every brain cell he had. Contrary to his rough exterior, he read voraciously and could carry on a conversation about world politics or great philosophers as well as the next guy. He just chose not to let on most of the time.
No, it was better if he didn’t run into Nancy. A man had only so much self-control, and he, it seemed, had less than most. He had three ex-wives to prove it.
Beau absently fingered the business cards in the breast pocket of his western shirt. His reason for joining Parents Flying Solo was to network, plain and simple. If he wanted to hang on to the job that allowed him to stay in town with his daughter, he needed to keep generating more sales than the owner’s cousin.
So Beau concentrated on his personal three Ms: mix, mingle, make eye contact. “Hey, how’s it going?” He greeted a man he’d met the week prior. Chip? Trey?
They chatted for a few moments when the group leader, a balding, middle-age man, signaled for quiet. “I attended a Parents Flying Solo summit last weekend and gleaned a few tips on increasing participation. It’s been brought to my attention that some of the members are too shy to utilize the group phone list. This is an important resource during those times when you need to talk to another adult or you think you’ll lose your mind.” The leader chuckled and so did Chip or Trey or whatever his name was.
Beau found himself nodding. He sure could have used another adult to talk to when he’d first found himself the sole parental unit responsible for a teenage daughter.
“A few other groups in the region have had success with the buddy system. Each member is assigned a buddy to help him or her through the rough spots.” He picked up a basket and held it aloft. “Here are names of all our members. Pairs will be assigned randomly. I’m asking you to leave personal likes and dislikes at the door and make the buddy system a success. Each and every member has the potential for learning and teaching.”
Glancing around the room, Beau was relieved Nancy still hadn’t appeared. And a little disappointed, too. But that was the old Beau. The new Beau was all business.
Yeah, right.
The group leader pulled names from the basket. Some announcements were met with dead silence, as if Snidely Whiplash had been paired with Dudley Do-Right or worse, the lovely, innocent Nell. But nobody protested aloud.
“Beau Stanton.”
Beau glanced around and mentally catalogued the people still available. Emily Patterson hadn’t been paired yet and seemed relatively safe. Maybe he’d get her. He liked her cheerful, down-to-earth attitude. And there was an underlying layer of steel that might be helpful when dealing with Rachel. Somehow, he knew Emily could whip Rachel into shape in five minutes flat.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he rocked back on his heels while he waited for the other slip of paper to be drawn.
“Two cookies,” a child screeched from the direction of the ladies’ restroom.
Beau was pretty sure he recognized the voice.
An adult female admonished the girl to be quiet as they exited the restroom.
He would have known that honeyed accent anywhere.
“Nancy McGuire,” the leader read from a slip of paper. “You’re buddies with our newest member, Beau Stanton.”
Beau cleared his throat. “Um, are you sure that’s right?”
The hostile glances sent in his direction would have wilted a lesser man. But Beau was a three-time loser fighting for his life. “I mean, um, my daughter’s fourteen. It might be more beneficial if I was paired with another parent of a teen.”
He could feel the crowd turning on him. They’d stoically accepted their fate, why couldn’t he accept his?
“Certainly not. Again, all members have the ability to teach and learn. Our next name is....”
The roaring in his ears drowned out most of the rest. He was aware of Nancy handing him her business card, as if he didn’t already have access to her phone number from her loan documents. As if he hadn’t copied it to his desk calendar, toying with the idea of asking her out.
He automatically
