Wife On Approval. Leigh Michaels

stay away from the entire project. But it was only fair that the finishing touches had fallen to her; not only had the other two already done their share, but she was the most domestically inclined of the three, the best cook, and the most detail-oriented. And since she hadn’t found just the right occasion to explain to her partners why she’d much rather keep her distance from Austin Weaver, here she was.

      With the casserole safely in the oven, Paige took another look at the clock and gave a sigh of relief. It was just midafternoon, so she’d be well out of the way before the Weavers’ arrival. She put the flowers, their stems freshly cut, to soak in cold water and went looking for vases. Where would Sabrina have put them? The topmost cabinets in the super-efficient kitchen were entirely empty, and the linen closet yielded nothing more promising. Of course, there was no guarantee Austin owned anything of the sort, she reminded herself.

      Paige paused at the doorway of the smaller bedroom and looked in at the sunny yellow carousel horse, the white-painted bookcase crammed with volumes of all sizes and dimensions, the small bed dwarfed by its headboard—an enormous three-story-high dollhouse.

      Austin Weaver had a daughter.

      She’d known the fact for weeks, of course, since even before he’d actually accepted the job at Tanner Electronics. But it wasn’t until Paige was faced with the hard evidence of Jennifer Weaver’s existence—the carousel horse, the bookcase, the dollhouse bed—that the child seemed real.

      Austin Weaver’s daughter. Five years old, and—if the photographs were accurate—a budding beauty.

      Paige walked slowly back toward the living room, where a few silver frames were grouped atop a shiny black baby grand piano. The piano was leased, Sabrina had told her, since Austin thought shipping a grand piano cross-country was hardly practical. Paige had had to bite her tongue to keep from saying that she wouldn’t be surprised by anything Austin chose to leave behind, and that the only really amazing thing was that he’d collected as much baggage as he had.

      She’d settled, instead, for commenting that since Tanner Electronics was paying the bill for his move, and since Caleb Tanner’s attitude seemed to be that whatever his new CEO wanted he was to get, regardless of the cost, leaving a baby grand piano behind had been a needless economy.

      She paused to straighten the silver frames, which were a fraction of an inch out of line. Austin with an infant in his arms. Austin swinging a toddler over his head. The toddler alone, perched on the carousel horse. A slightly older child, her arms and legs just starting to stretch out of chubby babyhood.

      But there was no photograph anywhere she could see of a woman who might be the mother of that toddler…

      Paige wondered if that meant the woman’s picture was so precious that Austin was carrying it with him instead of shipping it ahead with the rest of his possessions. On the other hand, she thought, there might not be a photograph at all. If it had been a divorce…

      Though surely in that case, she mused, wouldn’t it would be more likely that the child would have remained with her mother, instead of being placed in the care of a business executive so high-powered and so driven that companies across the country had competed for his services?

      Too late, Paige heard the click of a key and then, as the front door swung wide, the soft purring voice of the super. “I’m sure you’ll find everything just as you ordered, Mr. Weaver,” Tricia Cade said.

      Paige froze. Not yet, she wanted to say. I wasn’t expecting you till evening, till long after I’ve gone. You can’t come yet.

      Her first instinctive reaction was to dart a look around the apartment, hoping to see an escape route. But the only path from living room to kitchen—and to the service exit where she’d left her belongings—led directly past the front door. For a fleeting instant, she even considered trying to huddle in the shadow of the baby grand piano and hope the coast would clear long enough to let her slip out.

      But to be discovered in hiding would only make things worse; she couldn’t take the chance. And she had nothing to conceal anyway, Paige reminded herself. No reason to run away.

      Maybe it would be just as well to get this first encounter out of the way right now. Even with the super as a witness, it would be a whole lot better to face Austin Weaver now rather than encounter him for the first time in public—maybe even at Sabrina’s wedding, when it would feel as if half of Denver would be watching.

      Besides, though it wasn’t going to be exactly easy, facing him was really no big deal, she told herself. At least it wouldn’t be for Paige, since she was forewarned and prepared. Austin would be surprised, no doubt—perhaps even shocked to see her. There would probably be a little uncomfortable small talk. Then they’d both move on—and that would be it.

      She tried to take a deep breath to prepare herself, but her chest was so painfully tight that she couldn’t seem to draw air into her lungs.

      The super pushed the door wide and made an expressive gesture with both hands. “Welcome home! We’ve all done our very best to make things comfortable for you and your little girl, Mr. Weaver. And I just have to tell you what a darling Jenny is.”

      Paige hardly recognized the woman’s voice; it was a husky, sweet drawl which bore no resemblance to the clipped, irritable tones she’d heard in the office downstairs just a few hours ago.

      “My name is Jennifer,” said an insistent small voice, and like a magnet Paige’s gaze was drawn past the super to the child who was standing just inside the door, her hand tucked into her father’s.

      Jennifer Weaver was tall for five, Paige thought. She was wearing a red parka with fur trim around the hood. The coat wasn’t fastened, and beneath it, Paige could see jeans and sneakers and a sweater with a picture of a cat appliquéd on the front. The little girl’s dark hair was tied back in a pair of ponytails, and there was a watchful, almost mulish look on her face.

      Tricia chuckled and reached down to ruffle the child’s dark hair. “How formal you are, my dear. But I’m sure we’re going to be the greatest of friends.”

      The child sidestepped the touch and moved away from the door and into the entry hall, where she paused, halfway out of her parka. She made Paige think of a ruby-throated hummingbird—delicate and dainty and full of motion even though at the moment she wasn’t going anywhere.

      It took a moment before Paige realized what had stopped the child. Jennifer Weaver was staring at her. “Daddy,” she said, without taking her gaze off Paige. “Who’s that?”

      Paige squared her shoulders and stepped forward.

      The super turned to stare. “Oh, Ms. McDermott. You’re still here.” Her voice was full of disdain.

      “Just finishing up,” Paige said. She was proud of herself; her voice didn’t even tremble. She looked beyond Tricia to where Austin Weaver was standing in the shadow of the doorway.

      She’d caught just a glimpse of him a few weeks ago, when he’d been interviewing for the job at Tanner Electronics. Even that transitory glance had been enough to make her feel hollow. Still, with the first shock past, the worst was over, she’d told herself.

      And now she’d had weeks to get used to the idea of him living in Denver. To ready herself for the inevitable. To get her psyche in shape to meet him once more…

      But she had been wrong, she realized as she got her first good look at the man. That single fleeting sight hadn’t done a thing to prepare her for coming face-to-face with Austin Weaver. And a whole year of thinking about it wouldn’t have done the job, either.

      Paige could feel her heart slowing until each beat was like the pounding of a gong, echoing and reverberating through her body. It wasn’t fair, she thought. The only change in his face—the only sign that he might be startled—was the slight lift of one dark eyebrow. But then, she thought, Austin Weaver had always been a poker player at heart…

      His photographs didn’t do him justice, she thought. It wasn’t a matter of looks, though indeed the chiseled lines of