Mother's Day Babies (Holiday Babies Series) (4 page)

“Can you take us a picture
together, please?” Without hesitation, Lou draped his arm on her shoulder and
smiled for the camera.

“Say cheese,” the American tourist
said to Barbara who’d stiffened. Lou almost thanked him for siding with him.
“Another one? Different pose,” the man suggested.

“Sure.” Lou heartily agreed. He
eased away from his companion but hooked her hand in the crook of his elbow.

“From the side now.” Their
volunteer cameraman seemed to enjoy his new role.

“Of course.” Lou chuckled and
swiveled Barbara to her side.

A huff of annoyance wafted to his
ears. “I don’t need so many pictures.”

Huh... I need them
. “It’s
just for the camera,” he drawled. She answered with a shrug. “Last one. Now
smile, please,” he begged as he wrapped both arms around her waist and leaned
his head against hers.
Good man
. Their photographer clicked before
Barbara jerked back toward him. This was one picture Lou would enlarge, frame,
and set on his night table to guarantee a night of sweet dreams.

“Enough pictures.” Her clipped
tone didn’t bode well.

“Thank you, sir, I really
appreciate it.” Lou took back his camera and shook the man’s hand.

“Have a great time in Paris.” The
old man winked and walked away.

“I hope you’re not upset,
Barbara. I wanted to have some nice pictures with you to remind me of our trip
while I’m lonely in Atlanta.”

Confusion shimmered in her eyes.

Monica’s call had shaken him to
the core, reminding him of the emptiness of his life. Except for his mother, he’d
never known love, or loyalty, or anyone as decent as the woman facing him now—a
twenty-four carat woman.

The need to take Barbara into his
arms and kiss her senseless pummeled his insides. For a moment, he stared at
her and fantasized about the first kiss he’d give her, the first time he’d hold
her, the first time...

He grabbed her shoulders. Imagine,
their first kiss at the foot of the historical tower. A groan escaped him.
“Barbara...”

Panic flickered in her gaze. They
both inhaled at the same time.

Like a flag fluttering in the wind,
her palm rose, trembled, and pressed on his chest. “No, Lou. Let’s not spoil
the moment.” The sweetness of her smile sucker-punched him.

He considered her silently
. Spoil
or enhance?
His blood raced through his veins but his arms dropped to his
sides. Was she still hanging on to her husband’s memory after seven years?

Her fingers knotted on his shirt.
“Lou, you need a good friend who can listen to you. And I need a fun companion
to show me Paris. Don’t complicate things.” She seemed to have recovered her
poise. He grimaced at the way she’d summarized their relationship.

A good friend, a fun companion
.
How about a special woman, a hot lover? With a hiss, he swallowed a lump of
disappointment.

“It’s our first day in this
wonderful city,” she added. “Let’s continue our visit.”

Her words snapped him out of his
brooding. The first day of a two-week vacation. They had plenty of time for
more fun—her way and his way. He recovered his cool. “How about lunch in a
historical café I particularly like? We’ll walk back the same way we came, pass
our hotel, and continue to the
Champs-Elysées,
the most famous avenue in
France.”

Half an hour later, Lou chose a
table at the sidewalk café Fouquet. A waiter approached them. “I had lunch here
several times. Their
Croque-Monsieur
are delicious.”

She raised her eyebrows. “The
grilled sandwiches with ham?”

“You learned a lot about France
before coming. How about a glass of
Bordeaux
to go with it? And later a
mille-feuilles.
It’s what they call the
Napoleons
here.”

“You choose for me.
Mossieur
to eat and
Bordeaux
to drink sounds great to me.” She burst out
laughing. “I know I’m butchering the names with my pronunciation. I’ll wait until
I eat my sandwich to see if I can handle a dessert.”

Barbara slumped in the chair and
wiggled her feet out her shoes to rub her toes against each other.

“Tired?” Lou chuckled as he
stretched his legs to the side.

“Exhausted. Hungry and thirsty,
but delighted with my first day in Paris.”

He took her hand and brushed her
wrist with a kiss. “Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the day so far. I
did too. Tremendously.” He let go of her hand.

Honesty would prevail in any
relationship with Barbara. Worry sprouted in his gut. Too many secrets and sins
marred his past.

How much should he share?

Probably not much. He wasn’t in
the habit of blabbering about himself with the women who briefly crossed his
life.

Monica’s call had darkened his
mood. In spite of his efforts he hadn’t been able to forget about her. Lou
mentally shook himself. He needed a fun subject to cheer him up.

“Tell me about your family,
Barbara. Are all your daughters as strong-headed as Roxanne?”

“Almost.” Barbara chuckled. “Yet
none has given me as many gray hairs as your senior reporter. Madelyn, my
eldest, is a dedicated doctor. She scared the hell out of me when she had
seizures two years ago. Thank God, her colleague, Dr. Nick Preston, helped her.
Now they are happily married and have adopted two adorable twin girls. Heather,
my third daughter, was the first to marry, at eighteen, to our neighbor’s son.
They live on a farm, not too far from my house, and have four boys. Claire, an
architect, is engaged. Her fiancé is also an architect. Tiffany...,” Barbara
hesitated and shook her head. “Sorry, I’m probably boring you with all that
stuff. You know, mothers can’t stop yakking once they start about their kids.”

“Not at all. I love hearing about
your grown up children.” Lou’s interest perked. Was one of Barbara’s daughters
giving her problems? “What’s wrong with Tiffany?” He’d be curious to see how
she handled a difficult child.

“Poor Tiffany, she had a
boyfriend for four years. They were planning to get married when they saved
enough money to buy a house. But she caught him kissing her own friend.”
Barbara twiddled her fingers and met Lou’s gaze. “She was devastated and broke up
with him. He claimed he had too much to drink and apologized. Tiffany doesn’t
want to hear about it.”

“Smart girl. A cheater will
always be a cheater.” He knew it firsthand. His gut twisted with pain as memories
from the past assailed him. “And you? How do you feel about it?”

“At first, I encouraged her to
forgive him. I want to see her settled with a good man like her sisters.”

“She’ll find the good man
eventually. First, she has to stand on her own two feet and be independent.”

“She’s a social worker. Now she’s
applied to medical school. Madelyn is encouraging her.”

 “She’s doing the right thing by
furthering her education. You did a fantastic job with your kids.”

“Not only me. David too. Kids
need a mother and a father.”

“Absolutely.”
A father and a
mother
. The words left a bitter taste in his mouth. “How did you meet
David? I’m curious to learn about the lucky man who managed to gain your love
and keep you so loyal for thirty years and more.”

A deep blush covered her cheeks
and amused him.

“I’m sure he was handsome and
perfect. Tell me more,” he urged.

“Like you, he was bright and
ambitious, generous and courteous. But he was also a wonderful father and he
loved me to death.”

“Ah.” The last sentence rubbed on
Lou’s nerves. At least Barbara had paid him a compliment by comparing him to
Mr. Perfect.

Tough, he would never be a
wonderful father and he would never love any woman to death. Once had been more
than enough.

Damn, he wanted Barbara to stay
around. Stay as what?

Good friends
would suit
him, if only he could control the unfriendly surge of desire that stirred his
blood when he looked at her lovely face for too long. As he was doing just now.

Time flew in Barbara’s company.
After their late lunch, she admitted being too tired to walk along the
Champs-Elysées
.
“It’s already 3:30. I’d rather go to the hotel, soak my feet, and nap.”

“Sounds good. We have the opening
reception tonight.”

“I hope I can make it, Lou. I
don’t know how you and my daughter can keep up with such a heavy schedule,
meetings and receptions. I’d be dead after a while. Not knowing anyone, most
probably tonight I’ll be holing in a corner by myself,” she said with a pitiful
smile. “I’m a homey woman from Kentucky who enjoys cooking.”

****

Three hours later, Barbara took
his breath away when he saw her in the lobby, resplendent in a long green crepe
dress that enhanced her impeccable figure and shiny turquoise eyes. He clamped
his sagging jaw and strolled toward her.

Her radiant smile dazzled him and
her perfume dazed his mind. “Oh Lou, you look stunning in your tux.” Count on
Barbara to blurt her thoughts, loud and clear. That was exactly what he liked
about her—her spontaneity and honesty. With her he knew where he stood.

“You stole my line, my dear. May
I return the compliment? You look ravishing.” He grinned. The
homey woman
from Kentucky
would sure steal many admiring gazes tonight. “When in
France, do as the French do.” He bowed and brought her hand to his lips, brushing
her knuckles with a lingering kiss. The tremors of her fingers delighted him. A
rush of blood tightened his groin.

“Roxanne and Greg already left,”
she casually mentioned, but the sparkles in her eyes betrayed her. Barbara was
not insensitive to his touch.

“Roxanne has clients to meet.
We’re not in a rush.”

In fact, he could spend hours
admiring his lovely companion. With effort he tried to draw his eyes away from
her generous décolletage and the dangling emerald pendant teasing him.
“Beautiful piece of jewelry,” he said to explain his lingering gaze without
having to apologize for lusty fantasies.

“David gave it to me for our
thirtieth anniversary.” Her voice wobbled. “He died six months later.”

Lou mentally punched himself for
his faux pas. Wrong time to remind her of her late husband.

Dammit, this pretty widow from
Kentucky was proving way more complicated to date than the sophisticated single
or divorcee beauties who’d thrown themselves at him over the years. He racked
his brain to compensate for his blunder.

“I love your dress,” he muttered
quickly with his most seductive smile in place. “It suits you so well.” He
studied the fashionable outfit and held his breath, hoping it wasn’t another
gift from the deceased.

Barbara glanced down at her dress
and pulled the shoulders of the dress up, concealing part of her creamy flesh.
“I love it too, although I wasn’t sure it was appropriate for a business
event.” A blush covered her face.

“It’s perfect,” he hastened to
reassure her.

“Roxanne bought it for me when
she received her latest bonus. She advised me to wear it—”

Lou exhaled and made a mental
note to compliment his senior reporter. “She deserved another bonus for her
excellent taste.”

 Barbara chuckled. “No comments.
You’re her boss. I’ll always support you when you encourage good
performance...at work,” she added with a wink.

Pleased with himself for
restoring his companion’s good mood, Lou linked her fingers in the crook of his
elbow. “Let’s go. I want to have fun with my beautiful date.” He bent and
brushed his lips against her cheek.

“Lou, stop it, please. You make
me uncomfortable. We’ve agreed we’re good friends, not dates.”

“Did I?” When had he ever agreed
to such ridiculous deal? He tried for humor. “A little flirtation never hurt
anyone.” Ignoring the pinch of her lips, he walked her toward the ballroom
where the network hosted the opening reception.

“Lou, wait.” She pulled at his
sleeve. “I know I sound old-fashioned, or narrow-minded, or whatever, but I’ve
been out of the dating game for ages. I was eighteen when I got married.”

God, she was so sweet. He almost
imagined her at eighteen, probably the prettiest girl in town. No wonder David
Ramsay didn’t wait long to make her his. “I know, Barbara. You married a
wonderful, handsome and virile man. With him at your side, you didn’t need any
dates. But you’ve been on your own for seven long years. Too long for a
beautiful woman to be on her lonesome.”

Silence hovered between them as
she considered him through narrowed eyes.

Patience, man
. She
stiffened, squared her shoulders and raised her chin, all softness replaced by a
cold determination. And he braced himself for her answer.

“Yes, I agree. I’ve been on my
own for several years, isolating myself.” Her admission hit him with surprise
and delight. “I don’t mind starting to come out of my cave. And what better man
to take me out of it than you, Lou.”

Joy burst in his chest. How he
loved her spontaneity. “Dear Barbara—”

“Let me finish,” she snapped. “I
came all the way to Paris, delighted to be invited by such a smart and
brilliant man, a man who seemed to need me, in spite of his fabulous status in
life.” He clasped her hand and stroked it between his. Her words were music to
his ears. If they weren’t in the hallway leading to the ballroom, he’d have
taken her in his arms and smothered her with kisses, and then...

 “And then,” Barbara continued.
“I enjoyed my day with you even more than I expected.” Lou’s breathing lumped
in his throat and he gazed at her with the silly grin of a teenager about to
fall in love. “Don’t spoil it for me, Lou,” she said in a hiss. “The maximum
flirtation I’ll allow is walking hand in hand when the paved streets of Paris
are treacherous.”

His smile fell. She bit her lip
and hesitated. “Of course we’ll share a goodnight kiss, on the cheek, like good
friends.”