“A condition?” Zeke ran a hand over his jaw. “I don’t believe this. I’m bargaining with my four-year-olds.”
“You want us to go to school?” August folded her arms as if preparing for battle.
Zeke nodded.
“Then Paige has to come to the tea with us.”
Chapter Four
Paige quickly searched Zeke’s face for his reaction. Kids! They had no idea how awkward they’d made things for both of them. Zeke looked as if he’d been strung up and left dangling over a tank of hot oil. “Um, girls—”
“I’m sure Paige is busy,” Zeke cut in firmly, giving the children a stern glare.
Paige hesitated. She was busy. She had to turn in her project at ten. But Zeke’s haggard expression and the twin’s swollen eyes tore at her heart. She couldn’t help but sympathize, and she’d always had trouble saying no, especially to innocent children. Another reason she wouldn’t make a good mother.
“I’m sorry you walked in on all this, Paige. We’ll work it out somehow.” Zeke shrugged, then took Henrietta by the collar and pulled her inside. She flopped at the girl’s feet and covered her furry face with her paws, letting out a whine of her own that added to the saga of sobbing.
“I do have class,” Paige said, hoping the girls would be all right. “My project’s due today—”
“You don’t like us,” August blurted, poking out her bottom lip.
“It’s ’cause we’re lots of trouble.” Summer swiped at her puffy eyes. “Just like Mommy said.”
Paige’s chest tightened at the misery in the girls’ expressions. She chewed her lip, not knowing what to say. Fury streaked Zeke’s face, but he seemed to mask it quickly as he knelt before the girls. He patted both their backs, then spoke in a calm husky voice, “Listen here, girls. I don’t know why your mother said that, but I’m sure she didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Your mom loves you.”
Summer’s lip trembled. “She said we make too much messes to go with her.”
“That we’d get in the way. That’s why she won’t come back,” Summer’s voice cracked as another onslaught of tears slipped down her cheeks. “Eber.”
Moisture pooled in Paige’s eyes but she blinked to stem the tears, shifting uncomfortably. She felt like an intruder to a private conversation. Zeke clenched his fists by his sides and her heart went out to him. She should retreat to her own yard, give the threesome time to discuss the situation, but her feet refused to budge. She remembered how her mother’s absenteeism from the events in her life had made her feel. And Summer and August’s mother had chosen to leave when they were small. They couldn’t possibly understand.
“I’m sure Mom was just in a bad mood when she said those things, honey.” Zeke tipped Summer’s chin up with his thumb. “She loves both of you very much. We’ll call her tonight and you can talk to her, okay?”
“We tolded her we’d be good,” Summer whispered. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and chewed on her fingernail.
Paige’s own nails dug into the palms of her hands. She cleared her throat before she spoke, sympathizing with Zeke. How could any parent explain or defend another parent who’d deserted their child? Zeke’s broad shoulders stiffened, his chocolate eyes dark with anger. And some other emotion she didn’t recognize. Hurt? Was he still mourning over the loss of the woman, or did he hate her for leaving them?
“What time is the tea?” Paige finally asked.
Zeke’s gaze locked with hers and he shook his head, his voice hard when he spoke. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but you don’t have to do this, Paige. The girls are my responsibility, I can take care of them.”
“I know you can.” Paige blushed, suddenly aware how handsome Zeke looked in his white shirt and navy slacks. “But I want to go to the tea. For them.” She forced herself to stop staring at him, then knelt beside the girls and patted their hands. “I haven’t been to a tea in ages. What time should I be there?”
“Twelbe o’clock,” Summer and August said in unison.
“You’re really gonna come?” August asked in disbelief.
“Paige—”
“I’m really going to come.” Paige tucked a strand of the little girl’s red hair behind her ear, ignoring Zeke’s brittle look, “that is, if it’s okay with your daddy.”
Zeke’s smiled tightly, his voice low, “I guess so.”
“We promise not to pester you too much,” Summer said in a shaky voice that tore at Paige’s heart.
“You could never pester me too much, girls. We’re friends,” Paige said gently. Both girls threw their arms around her neck and Paige fell backward with the impact, almost toppling to the floor.
Zeke’s tender look sent butterflies shimmying through her stomach. “Hey, you, two, you’re going to wear Paige out before the tea.” When Zeke had settled the twins on the floor, he reached out a hand and helped Paige up. His hand was hot and rough, his olive skin a sharp contrast to her pale complexion, his hand almost swallowing hers in size. The irises of his dark eyes sparkled with awareness, traces of the emotional ordeal with his daughters still lingering in the soft set of his mouth and the tight lines around his eyes. Paige’s heart thumped a strange pitter-patter, his masculine touch sending a trace of awareness rippling through her, igniting an undercurrent of emotional and sexual energy that she refused to acknowledge.
“Thanks, Paige, I appreciate this.” Zeke squeezed her hand, holding it a fraction of a second longer than she thought necessary.
“Sure, it’ll be fun,” she said, praying she didn’t make any mistakes. The girls would be in school, teachers would be there, nothing could happen. They would be safe.
She could be the girls’ friend and Zeke’s, but not his lover. If she let herself get attached to them, and they left, she’d never survive. Not a second time. Eric had claimed to despise his ex, but had taken her back the second she’d come groveling. And when Paige had made a mistake with his son, Eric had immediately pointed out that Paige wasn’t Joey’s real mother.
She was simply going to be neighborly to Zeke and his children, nothing more.
The girls grabbed their shoes, then tugged at Zeke’s pant leg as if they suddenly couldn’t wait to go to school. “Daddy, we’re gonna be late.” August charged toward the door.
“Yeah, let’s hurry.” Summer pulled at his hand. “We have to decorate the…” She clamped her hand over her mouth, her eyes glowing with excitement.
August poked her. “Shh, you’re not sposed to tell.”
Summer giggled. “The surprise for the tea,” she finished.
Paige stood and met Zeke’s gaze. His dark eyes held hers and for a moment she forgot the girls were in the room. Turmoil hardened his angular features and his shoulders slumped. He seemed tired and sad and angry at the same time. Did his heart still belong to his ex? Or did he have a sixth sense about not trusting her with his daughters?
He raked a hand through his hair, the longish ends brushing the collar of his shirt, then clenched his teeth when he spoke. “Thanks, Paige. I owe you one.”
Paige shrugged and swallowed the sudden nervous tension wedging itself between them, barely noticing when Summer ran outside. He sounded as if he’d bitten the words out, as if he hated being indebted to her. Had she made a mistake? Had he hoped she would decline? She finally shook her head, breaking the moment. “No problem. That’s what neighbors are for.” She glanced