Amy looked as good in the black dress as Nicole had the night Andrew had met her. Slender waist, intriguing curves, impossibly long legs. Nicole’s sparkly black coat was thrown over her arm and she was wearing Nicole’s “fake diamonds.” She’d swept her short curls upward, away from her face, which she’d made up with a subtle skill that made her look very glamorous. But no older. She still looked terribly young and vulnerable, in Andrew’s opinion.
He glared at her dumbstruck date. “You will drive carefully, of course?”
Justin snapped his mouth closed and nodded fervently. “Yes, sir.”
Andrew almost winced at the “sir,” but then decided to use the kid’s intimidation for his own purposes. “Don’t get in any hurry. And remember that you’re driving. No booze.”
Amy looked at him with widened eyes and then an amused smile. Justin didn’t seem to question Andrew’s right to issue orders—perhaps because he was still young and used to dealing with protective fathers. He nodded again. “I’ll be careful. And they won’t be serving any booze, anyway,” he added. “It’s a school-sponsored thing for honor students. I’m one of them, by the way.”
“Congratulations,” Andrew replied with a slight smile, marginally reassured.
“Ready to go?” Amy asked her date.
“You bet,” Justin answered a bit too quickly.
Andrew followed them to the front door. Amy waited until Justin stepped out to turn back to Andrew. “Tell Nicky thanks for me, okay? She saved my life tonight.”
Though he was tempted to comment on the dramatic overstatement, Andrew nodded. “I’ll tell her. And you look very nice.”
She dimpled. “Thanks. Give Nicky another message for me, will you?”
“Of course.”
She rose to brush a quick kiss on his jaw. “Tell her I approve. See you around, Andrew.”
Andrew was decidedly bemused when he returned to the den. He sank onto the couch. The orange cat appeared from nowhere and leapt back onto his knee. Andrew stroked it automatically.
He might be okay with this fatherhood thing, he mused. It really was time for him to start a family, before he got too old. He planned to be more actively involved in his children’s lives than his own father had been with him.
He wondered how Nicole felt about children.
The cat meowed, as though to bring him back to reality.
Andrew grimaced and scratched the cat’s pointed ears. “You’re right, of course. It’s much too soon to be thinking that
way. But maybe—”
His mind drifted back to the possibilities.
ANDREW DIDN’T REMEMBER falling asleep on the couch. Nicole woke him with a kiss. “Hey, sleeping beauty,” she murmured. “Time to get up and go to bed.”
Disoriented, he blinked. Last thing he remembered, he had been studying a thick file of international sales projection figures. He looked around, spotted the file on the floor and realized he’d dropped it when he’d dozed off, his head against the back cushions. The cat was still dozing in his lap.
“He looks very content,” Nicole commented, stroking the sleepy feline’s soft head. “I think he likes you. And I’m beginning to suspect that it’s mutual.”
“He’s okay. For a cat,” Andrew said, yawning.
“Well, I think I’ve found a home for him. One of the other waitresses is looking for a pet for her son’s fifth birthday present. I told her how sweet-natured this little guy is, and she said she’s definitely interested.”
Andrew dropped his arms out of a lazy stretch and frowned. “You can’t give the cat to a five-year-old kid. It wouldn’t be safe.”
“Nonsense. This little dear wouldn’t hurt a child, would you, kitty?” Nicole petted the cat until it purred blissfully.
“I wasn’t talking about the kid’s safety. I was talking about the cat’s. A five-year-old isn’t old enough to be responsible for a pet. They don’t understand that living animals aren’t stuffed toys and must be handled carefully.”
“Oh. Well, I’m sure Pam will watch her son.”
Andrew shook his head and kept one hand possessively on the cat’s rumbling body. “No. Tell her she’ll have to find another pet. A dog, maybe. Or better yet, advise her to wait until the kid’s older.”