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Mistletoe Daddy Page 9


  Vivian sighed dramatically. “Moving on?”

  Alexis shrugged, letting her off the hook for now, but Viv knew she hadn’t heard the last of it. Her twin sister was too perceptive by far, compounded by the fact that they were identical twins who practically lived in each other’s minds.

  She was toast and she knew it.

  “So... A business arrangement, then,” Alexis prodded. “How’s the remodeling going, by the way? I hardly ever see you anymore.”

  Vivian let out a breath, happy for the temporary reprieve and change in subject.

  “Slower than I’d like. We had to gut the whole shop and start rebuilding from the ground up. Nick has been a great help to me there,” she admitted grudgingly.

  “Ironic, isn’t it?”

  “What’s that?”

  “That of all the men in town, grizzly ol’ Nick is the one you chose to help you build your pastel, feminine spa. Talk about the opposite end of the spectrum from what your future clientele will look like.”

  “I should hope so. Anyway, he’s good with a hammer. I can worry about finding customers later—a construction guy is what I need right now.”

  Alexis nodded. “So I’ve heard. Do you ever wonder, though, what he might look like all cleaned up? Shave and a haircut, two bits?”

  “No,” Viv replied without skipping a beat.

  “You have to admit he’s handsome, even with all that scruff.”

  Vivian didn’t want to talk about this. She didn’t even want to think about it.

  “Imagine what you could do with a guy like that. Make him into a new man.” Alexis’s blue eyes glittered in the soft fluorescent lighting.

  “No,” Vivian said again. She didn’t need a GPS to see where this was going.

  “You should do it.”

  Viv’s shoulders tightened with strain. The signs were clear. Dangerous Curves Ahead. “Do what?”

  She didn’t really want to know.

  She already knew.

  “Make him over.”

  “Yeah. So not happening. Do you think he’s going to let me anywhere near him with a sharp pair of shears and a straight razor?”

  “You’re a clever woman. I’m sure you can figure something out.”

  “No.”

  “Come on. I dare you. Make Nick over by the end of the day of your Grand Openings and I’ll do your laundry for a month. If you lose, you can do mine.”

  Viv had been bringing her wash over to Alexis’s house once a week since she’d moved back to Serendipity. Her little cabin didn’t come with laundry facilities. It sure would save her time if she could have Alexis do the hauling—plus the sorting and folding.

  “Three months,” she countered.

  “Two,” Alexis responded cheerfully. “Deal?”

  Vivian wondered why she’d allowed Alexis to talk her into this. She sighed.

  “All right, already,” she reluctantly conceded, knowing Alexis wasn’t going to let it go. “You win. I’ll do it. But don’t forget. My laundry. Two months.”

  * * *

  Back in the shop, Nick spent the next week cleaning out all the debris left in the back of the building and framing what would eventually become Viv’s office. He was exhausted almost to his breaking point, between working on Viv’s renovation, doing all his ranch work and occasionally helping with the construction of the senior center, but he kept on pushing through it. He felt as if he were being drawn and quartered, being pulled in so many different directions, but it was all important. Every last bit of it.

  He was determined to make the renovation area in the future salon safe for Vivian—and most especially for her baby. Viv had blatantly refused his suggestion that she stay at home and take care of herself and her little one until all of the construction work was completed. She absolutely nixed the idea of supervising from a distance. Whatever else the woman was, she was hands-on where her business was concerned. She wasn’t afraid to get dirty, and she had such a fantastic attitude about it all—always looking for some way to make every task fun. She was enthusiastic and fully committed in everything she did.

  She’d be a great mom.

  But what made her a good businesswoman and a great mother was exactly the trait that was going to drive him crazy before he could get this remodel finished.

  Vivian was currently located in what would be the office when he was done putting up the drywall. She was hunched over the dingy metal desk, straining to see under the dim light of a gooseneck lamp.

  She was working with some spreadsheets she’d printed with her prehistoric printer. Her mouth was, thankfully, covered with the dust mask he’d convinced her to wear. There was that, at least. She’d listened to him about precisely one thing.

  A small victory, to be sure, but a victory nonetheless. He’d take what he could where Viv was concerned.

  He turned back to his work, measuring and cutting two-by-fours on a table saw. The saw was shooting up clouds of sawdust and he didn’t want her breathing it in.

  He could be just as stubborn as she was. He hoped. He absolutely refused to have her underfoot in the open construction area, where another mishap like the one that had happened a few weeks ago could occur.

  Why hadn’t Vivian mentioned she was pregnant when she’d first won him at auction? If he was going to be her general contractor, that seemed to him like an awfully large piece of information to exclude. Her safety was in his hands, as events had proven.

  Had she been trying to hide her condition?

  And if so...why?

  The secret, if that’s what it had been, was out now, and Vivian didn’t seem to be minding the extra attention and support she was receiving from her friends—including him.

  But that didn’t stop him from feeling like an idiot now that he knew the truth. How had he not known? He couldn’t believe he’d been so completely unobservant. Now that he knew what he was looking for, it was impossible for him not to see—the fluttery, oversize shirts, the rosy pink in her cheeks, the sparkle in her blue eyes.

  Yep. She was pregnant, all right.

  He was an idiot.

  And now he felt more responsible than ever for making sure the renovation went off without a hitch. He still had his doubts about the probability of success for her business in Serendipity, but he would do everything he could to help it prosper, if only because he now knew she was going to be a single mom. She’d told him definitively that the father was not in the picture, so she needed to be able to make a living to support herself and her child.

  He cast her a sideways glance, noting the way some of her blond hair had escaped a loose bun and was now framing her face like sunshine around a cloud. Usually her face was full of sunshine, too...but not right now.

  He worried about her stress level. He couldn’t see much of her face around the breathing mask she was wearing, but he noticed the worry lines across her forehead, and her body language was speaking volumes.

  Her eyes were narrowed on the spreadsheets in front of her and she was mercilessly tapping the pencil she was holding. Her drooping shoulders suggested she wasn’t getting as much sleep as she ought to be.

  He set the wood he was working with aside, brushed the sawdust from his jeans and moved to the door frame.

  “You okay?”

  She dropped her pencil and looked up in surprise, her eyes wide, as if he’d startled her. Apparently she hadn’t been aware of him, or the sudden silence after the persistent sound of the saw biting into the wood.

  “If your eyes were laser beams that pile of papers would be ashes by now.”

  She pulled her mask down and smiled, but her face was creased with tired lines. She looked as wiped out as he felt. That couldn’t be good for the baby.

  “You’ve been staring at those numbers for two hours at
least. Don’t you think you ought to take a little break and walk around a bit? Stretch your legs? Your ledgers aren’t going anywhere.”

  She sighed and stretched, pressing the small of her back. “You’re right. I lost track of time. There’s just so much to organize. I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to get it all together by the date of my grand opening.”

  Nick was also afraid, although he didn’t share his fears with Viv. It was very clear that she hadn’t realized how extensive the renovations would need to be when she’d bought the building. Whatever plans she made, he doubted she’d allocated enough time or money for this stage. Was she feeling the pinch now?

  Her brother-in-law, Griff, had helped her start her business in Houston and Nick knew he was assisting her with her current business plan as well, but the responsibilities still had to weigh heavily on her shoulders. Even though Nick’s first impression of Viv was that she was a bubblehead, he’d revised his opinion of her since then. She came off as warm and effervescent and possibly a little ditzy in personality, but inside her heart beat a proud woman determined to make her spa succeed on her own merit. She allowed nothing to go unnoticed and was personally involved in every single area of the remodel.

  He believed that she thought she had the strength to do it on her own. Still, he couldn’t help but think she might be over her head.

  Add to that the fact that she would soon be caring for an infant and was even now dealing with the unique trials of being pregnant. Aching back. Tired feet. Morning sickness.

  She needed his help. That was all there was to it. And whether she wanted him or not, he was going to be there until the end.

  He was way past wondering how he’d gotten into this mess. His big worry now was how he would ever get out of it. Vivian’s problems—and by extension his own—were only just beginning. They had a long path ahead of them.

  “Put that all aside for now and go enjoy a walk,” he suggested to her.

  “Only if you’ll agree to walk with me,” she said, picking up the soft pink sweater she’d hung over the back of the chair.

  He stepped up and took the sweater from her hands and then helped her slip into it. He slid his palms across her shoulders to smooth the soft material and felt her muscles tighten under his fingers.

  With effort, he resisted the instinctive impulse to knead the stress from her muscles, knowing she might take it the wrong way. With the sweet floral scent of her perfume wafting over his senses and making his head spin with her nearness, he was having difficulty remaining impartial himself.

  “There you are, then.” He cleared his throat and stepped back, reminding himself why all this was necessary.

  Her baby.

  “Thank you.” She flashed a grateful smile at him from over her shoulder, her cheeks the same pretty shade of pink as her sweater, and his throat tightened around his breath.

  Not helping.

  “Er—my pleasure.” The words were an automatic response, but to his astonishment, he realized he really meant them.

  Really not helping.

  Fighting the urge to flee the scene entirely, he opened the door for her and gestured both directions along the clapboard sidewalk. Part of Serendipity’s charm was that the buildings on Main Street still retained an old-fashioned Western flavor to their storefronts. Cup O’ Jo’s Café even sported a hitching post and water trough out front. Emerson’s Hardware had three wooden rocking chairs under its eave, almost always occupied by three old fellows in matching bib overalls.

  “Any particular destination?” he asked.

  “No, not really,” she replied, her voice sounding as if her thoughts were distant.

  Nick examined the sidewalk each way and then turned left, determining that the clapboard that direction was in better condition. Besides, if they walked that direction they’d pass the park, where they would be able to stroll along the well-paved bike path—in full view of the community.

  Couldn’t hurt. He needed to remember what he was potentially getting out of this...business arrangement. The opportunity to redeem himself. Although thinking in those terms might actually be sabotaging his goal.

  Was it selfish to want to use this to prove himself trustworthy with a woman? With Vivian?

  They didn’t speak as they crossed the street at the one and only stoplight in town and meandered down to the park. He tucked her arm through his elbow to offer her extra support.

  He sensed something was bothering her beyond the obvious, but he hesitated to ask what it was. What good would that do him, other than drag him deeper into the quandary of the mind that was Vivian Grainger?

  Anyway, if she thought he could help with whatever was keeping her thoughts so occupied, she’d ask him, right?

  After a few minutes he gestured to a park bench. As soon as she sat down, she turned toward him. Worry shadowed her eyes but she smiled nonetheless.

  “It’s a glorious day, isn’t it?” she asked, flicking her hair over her shoulder with one hand. “I’m glad you suggested the walk.”

  Glorious day? Who even talked like that?

  Vivian, apparently. Even when she was distracted by her problems.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s nice.”

  He nodded his head in acknowledgment to a couple of female joggers, whom he recognized were old friends of Brittany’s. They seemed stunned to see him sitting companionably with Vivian. He smiled at their expressions.

  See? he wanted to tell them. Not every woman in town thinks I’m a leper.

  “Well, that was rude,” Vivian observed with a wry grin, her voice dripping as sour as lemon juice.

  He switched his gaze from Brittany’s friends to Vivian, wondering what he’d missed. He hadn’t seen either of the ladies do or say something untoward. If they had, he would catch up to them and call them out on it. No one was going to be discourteous to Viv on his watch.

  He hated to reveal his ignorance, but he had to ask. “What did they do?”

  “What did they do?” Vivian’s gaze widened on him and she pursed her lips. “What did they do? Take a good look in the mirror, buddy. Didn’t your mama teach you that it’s not polite to check out other women when you are currently in the company of one?”

  “What? No, I—”

  She arched an eyebrow.

  “Vivian, honestly.” He raised both hands in a gesture of truthfulness and surrender. “You’ve got to believe me. I promise I wasn’t checking out those women, or at least not in the way you’re thinking.”

  “No? It certainly looked that way to me. I saw where your gaze went. Not that I blame you. Brooke and Ashley are lovely women. I’m sure either one of them would be thrilled if you asked them out on a date.”

  He cringed. If only she knew just how wrong she was. On all counts. He wouldn’t be interested in asking either one of them for a date, and they definitely wouldn’t agree to go out with him if he did ask.

  “Yeah, that’s kind of the point.” He blew out a breath, feeling his face warm under her scrutiny. “Actually, I was kind of hoping they’d notice me. Er—well, not notice me, so much as observe that I was sitting here with you.”

  “With me?” she exclaimed. “Okay, buster, now you’ve lost me completely.”

  “I know you may find this hard to believe, but I don’t have a stellar reputation with the ladies around here,” he reluctantly explained, then cringed at how egotistical he sounded. “The truth of it is, I doubt whether either one of those women would go on a date with me if I asked. Not that I want to ask,” he quickly amended.

  “I do find that hard to believe.” Her gaze warmed as she looked him over. His stomach flipped. Those blue eyes were downright dangerous when they were directed at him. “I can’t imagine any young lady not giving you a chance.”

  What was she saying? That she found him attra
ctive? He remembered back to the day of the auction when he’d thought that dating might have been on her mind, that it might have been the reason she bid on him.

  And how laughable was that? It was no wonder Brittany had felt it necessary to burst his bubble in public. His ego was so huge it could rival one of those balloons at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

  Vivian’s life was full—more than full—between her coming baby and her fledgling business. She wouldn’t have time for a relationship even if she wanted one, which he highly doubted. She hadn’t ever mentioned the baby’s father, but he didn’t appear to be part of Viv’s life.

  He wouldn’t burden her further. Instead, he turned the conversation back to himself.

  “You know Brittany Evans, right?”

  “Sure. Not well, though. She was two grades above me in school, as I recall. Pretty brunette. She was a cheerleader and tended to only associate with those in her...‘social sphere.’”

  Nick snorted. “That’s a kind way of saying she was one of the leaders of a clique of snobby popular girls.”

  “Was she? I guess I never noticed.”

  No, Viv wouldn’t have. Even as a teenager, she was the kind of person who was friends with everyone, from the loftiest cheerleader, the star quarterback, and the drum major of the marching band all the way to every kid in the special education classes.

  Brittany, on the other hand...

  What had he been thinking, dating her? She was physically attractive, but her personality had always grated on him. Why was he only now seeing how miserable their whole relationship had been?

  He’d been poor boyfriend material because his heart hadn’t really been in it. Brittany had had every right to trash-talk him.

  “We were dating for a while,” he explained ruefully. “Let’s just say I didn’t pay as much attention to her as she deserved, and she let me know it.”

  “I see.” Viv paused and then shook her head. “Well, no, actually, I guess I don’t see. What does all that have to do with me?”

  Her words sounded suspicious and she narrowed her gaze on him.

  “We had a big, very public breakup last New Year’s Eve at the community party. Brittany basically lambasted me in front of the whole town for being an unfeeling jerk. She called me all kinds of names. She warned the single women in Serendipity—in a very loud voice—that they ought to beware.” A self-deprecating laugh escaped through his pinched lips. “That was pretty much the end of my social life as I once knew it.”