“It’s in the kitchen.” She offered her hand.
He curled her fingers inside his larger ones, dwarfing her. It was the strangest feeling—that tiny hand in his, trusting and fragile and soft. His heart thumped oddly. He met Brianna’s gaze over Katelyn’s head.
Thank you, she mouthed. He nodded.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Katelyn led him into the kitchen and pointed at a grape jelly jar on the counter. A hole had been cut into the lid, and a piece of paper had been taped to it. Bad Word Jar. It was spelled wrong, and the d was a b, but he got the gist. There was a surprising amount of money in the jar, and he dropped his quarter into it.
“I get to keep the money.” Katelyn’s chest puffed out. “It was my idea. Most of the money is from Mama, but some is from Zach. I’ve never had to put in money.”
Thomas chuckled and knelt again. “Because you’re a good girl, right?”
“Right.” She beamed, her 3DS clutched tightly to her chest. “I like him, Mama.”
One kid down, two to go.
“I do, too,” Brianna said.
Thomas looked over his shoulder. Brianna leaned against the kitchen counter, a small smile softening her lips. His stomach tightened. He stood and wiped his hands on his jeans.
“There’s a lot of money in there. Why am I not surprised you curse like a sailor?”
“Worse,” she admitted with a sheepish smile. “But I’m working on it. I try to save the cursing for after they’re asleep.”
A young boy came into the room—had to be Cody. He eyed Thomas with disinterest. “When are we eating?”
Brianna retrieved a Domino’s menu from the counter. “I’ll order the pizza now.”
Cody nodded. “Katelyn, come on. You were gonna play Transformers with me.”
“Only if I get to be Megatron!” Katelyn followed Cody from the kitchen, but paused to wave at Thomas before leaving him alone with Brianna. Brianna glanced at him.
“Pepperoni okay? It’s the only thing Cody will eat.”
“Fine by me.”
She called the order in. He leaned against the counter and fidgeted. He’d barely seen the kids for even a moment and already felt like he’d made a fool of himself. Katelyn seemed to like him well enough but boys were always a harder sell.
And there was no way he’d win over the mother without winning over the kids.
After Brianna hung up, she said, “Food will be here in twenty.”
“All right.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around the kitchen. Only one picture of Michael was in the room but it stared down at him from the wall frame. Accusing him. Mocking him. Cursing him for touching his wife. Would the man haunt him for the entire night?
Or worse…for the rest of his life?
Chapter Ten
As she poured iced tea into glasses, Brianna watched Thomas—but she wasn’t really seeing him. At least, not the man who stood in her kitchen. No, she couldn’t forget the momentary look of panic, masterfully hidden save for a flicker in his eyes, when he’d taken Katelyn’s hand. As if he feared he’d ruin even such a simple gesture. He always seemed so certain he’d do or say the wrong thing if he wasn’t schmoozing. All it took was one perceived misstep for the quiet, honest man she was coming to know to retreat behind the slick, smiling corporate mannequin.
She didn’t know why he was like that, but she had a feeling it had everything to do with his ex-wife. There was a certain desperation to Thomas underneath that carefully crafted exterior. A desperation, she thought, to be understood. To understand himself. As if he was stuck in the path he’d made for himself, and unable to break free. A prisoner of his past.
Lining the glasses up on a tray, she asked, “Do you want to spend some time with the kids before dinner?”
He tensed. “Sure.”
“Hey. They aren’t time bombs. They won’t spontaneously combust if you look at them wrong.” She touched his arm. “Well, Zach might. But he’ll warm up to you. Don’t take it personally.”
Thomas smiled briefly but his eyes had the look of a cornered animal, wild and wary. “I know.”
“Then once more into the breach?”
“Looks like.”
He picked up the tray and strode into the living room. She followed—and walked into a scene of chaos. Cody was on the floor, surrounded by a tumble of toys; Zach was sprawled in a chair with his iPod, shutting out the world with his earbuds. Katelyn had her face scrunched up, her eyes squeezed closed, her mouth open…and as the tears gushed down, she let out a shrieking, pitiful wail.
Brianna rushed to her side, but somehow Thomas managed to put down the tray and still get there first. He dropped to one knee next to Katelyn and, before she could take a breath for another shriek, scooped her into his arms. Brianna fought the urge to snatch her child away from him. As if he would harm Katelyn or something. But he wasn’t a strange man. He was her— Okay, she didn’t know what he was. But she held her breath and held back, even if it took all her willpower. She had to give him a chance.
Thomas nudged Katelyn under her chin, urging her to look at him. “Hey now, munchkin. No need for all that. What’s wrong?”
“C-Cody won’t let me be M-M-Megatron.” She screwed up her face, looking at him with huge, pleading eyes.
Cody thrust his lower lip out with a scowl. “They’re my Transformers. I can be whoever I want. And I want to be Megatron.”
Brianna sighed. Damn it, she’d had this talk with Cody before. He never wanted to share and was always horrible about hoarding his toys until his sister cried. All it did was reinforce the idea that Katelyn would get her way if she cried, and Brianna had been trying to break her of that. “Young man, you—”
“That’s all right,” Thomas said. Brianna stared at him. What was he doing? But he only shrugged, offering Cody an easy smile. “You can be Megatron. Katelyn and I are going to play something better than Transformers.”
Katelyn’s eyes widened. “Better than Transformers?”
“Mmm hmm. We’re going to play cops and robbers. I’ll be the cop. You can be the robber.”
“Robbers are big and scary,” Katelyn said solemnly, sniffling.
Thomas tapped the tip of Katelyn’s nose. “Just like Megatron.”
The little girl’s face lit up in a brilliant smile, but Cody’s expression darkened. He huffed and folded his arms over his chest. “Hey! You can’t play without me!”