Cleo and Danny hardly saw each other. There was simply no time. Once she finished a day’s work on the new facility, she had to play catch-up at the old one. She was at her desk every night until after ten, determined to keep up her standards at the existing KinderWay and also to honor her contract with the Bravo Group to deliver a top-quality service and to open the doors to the new facility on time.
Cleo and Megan met with Darlene Archer on Friday, the fourth, in the HR offices at Impresario. Darlene was impressed with the progress they’d made. Cleo promised they’d be ready to open on the fourteenth—and realized as she made that promise that they had a very good chance of making it.
Darlene gave them the access code to the student list. It contained all the basic information on the students who would be showing up for preschool on Valentine’s Day, including emergency phone numbers and a health profile for each child. With that code, she already had all the information usually gleaned from the endless forms that parents filled out at enrollment. The new KinderWay would be operating at capacity from the first day it opened its doors.
Saturday, Cleo went to Ashlyn’s birthday party at the Adventuredome.
Fletcher, looking heartbreaker-handsome in a light cashmere sweater and dark slacks, greeted her with a cool smile. “I’m glad you could come.”
“I’m so pleased Ashlyn invited me.”
They traded a few more generic pleasantries. As she made the obligatory small talk, she felt … desperate, somehow, just at the sight of him, at the sound of his deep, tempting voice.
Yes, desperate. And sad.
My God. I’ve missed him.
As quickly as the thought took form, she banished it. He turned to greet another guest, and Cleo moved away, into the group of kids and parents that had formed nearby while they waited for everyone to arrive.
For the rest of the afternoon she kept her distance from the father of the birthday girl. It wasn’t all that difficult; he made no effort to get close to her. She watched Ashlyn and her friends take on the junior rides—the Frog Jump and the Miner Mike roller coaster and the miniature airplane ride. She enjoyed the magic show and the clowns. There were also “family” rides, where the kids needed an adult to ride with them.
For one of those, a Ferris wheel called Drifters where the cars looked like hot-air balloons, Ashlyn ran up and slipped a small hand into hers. “Cleo. Ride on the big balloons with me, please?”
Cleo looked down into those serious eyes and all at once her chest was too tight to contain her heart. There was just something about Fletcher’s little girl, something so sweet and honest and special….
Ashlyn was frowning. “Cleo? Are you sad?”
Was she sad? It was the question Danny had asked her more than once—and also the way she had felt when she’d faced Fletcher again today for the first time in over a week.
Cleo smiled. “Right now I’m just … happy for you.” She squeezed the little hand tucked so trustingly into her own. “Congratulations on being five years old.”
Ashlyn’s frown faded. “Thank you.” A few feet away Fletcher boosted a little boy onto his shoulders—a little boy with blue eyes and the cutest kid-size cleft in his chin. “That’s my cousin, Davey,” Ashlyn explained. “He’s three. Sometimes he makes me crazy, but mostly he’s all right. Daddy has to take care of him because Aunt Celia couldn’t come to my party after all. She had to have a baby yesterday.”
So Celia had delivered her baby at last. “Wow. That’s exciting. Boy or girl?”
“A girl. She’s my new cousin and her name is Jillian Jane. She got her name from Aunt Celia’s two best friends in the whole wide world, my aunt Jillian and my aunt Jane. But my great-aunt Caitlin said the baby looked like a J.J. That made everybody laugh, though I don’t really understand why it was funny. After that, they all called her little J.J. It’s her Nick name, Daddy told me. That’s kind of funny, huh? You get another name and it’s called your Nick name even though you don’t even know anybody named Nick?” Ashlyn frowned again. “I don’t have one.”
“A nickname, you mean?”
“That’s right. I don’t. Do you?”
“Yep. My nickname is Cleo.”
Ashlyn’s big eyes got even wider. “Then what’s your real name?”
“Cleopatra.”
Ashlyn tested the word. “Clee-o-pat-ra. It’s very long.”
“Cleopatra was once the queen of a country called Egypt.”
Ashlyn considered. “A queen? Really?”
“Yes.”
“I like Cleo better.”
“Good. Because that’s what everyone calls me.”
“Did you know that I’m going to go to your school?”
“Yes, I did.”
“My daddy told me. Livvy’s leaving next week and I will go to your school when she’s gone. I’ll miss Livvy lots, but I think I’m getting old enough that I should be going to school.”
“I’m very pleased that you’ll be one of our students—and I think we just missed our balloon ride.”
“Oh, that’s all right.” Ashlyn tugged on Cleo’s hand. “Come on. We can get in line and ride the next time….”
They ended up riding with Fletcher and Davey. The kids laughed and cried out in delight as they rose toward the pink Adventuredome sky—and Cleo tried not to let her gaze collide with Fletcher’s.
Later, before the cake and ice cream, Ashlyn opened her presents. Cleo had given her a stack of books—some by Dr. Seuss and some by Shel Silverstein and one of Cleo’s personal favorites called Goodnight, Moon. Ashlyn tore off the bright birthday paper, let out a glad cry and then jumped down from her chair. She rushed over to Cleo and held out her arms. Cleo bent down and Ashlyn grabbed her around the neck in a tight hug.
“Cleo, how did you know I love books?”
“Easy. The first time I saw you, you were reading The Funny Little Bunny to Olivia.”
“That’s right. You come over to my house, okay? I’ll read to you.”
Cleo was far too aware of Fletcher sitting across the big round table. She made the mistake of glancing his way. He was looking right at her.
She met those haunting eyes and she felt it—that familiar heat burning beneath her skin. Her heart stuttered, then started racing….
She tore her gaze from his and focused on Ashlyn again. “You’ll be going to my school soon, remember?”
“Acourse I remember.”
Cleo smoothed the silky brown hair. “You can read to me there, at school.”
“Okay. I will.” Ashlyn grabbed her in another hug and planted a big wet kiss on her cheek. Then she returned to her chair and the pile of birthday presents still waiting to be opened.
Ashlyn really was something, Cleo found herself thinking, so thoughtful and mature for her age. Fletcher’s daughter exclaimed over each gift as she opened it and seemed sincere in her excitement every time. She didn’t come across as spoiled in the least—and that was surprising. In Cleo’s experience, children of doting wealthy parents tended to get big attitudes early on.
After the presents came the cake. They all sang the birthday song. Then Ashlyn made her wish and blew out her five candles in one breath. Olivia and another young woman worked together to serve up the cake, piling generous scoops of vanilla