A Perfect Distraction. Anna Sugden

he set her down, keeping a watchful eye in case she darted onto the road, he noticed the English accent. His pulse gave an odd little skip as he recognized her dark eyes and the shape of her nose. This must be Maggie’s daughter.

      Despite her frown, there was a precocious glint in the girl’s eye. “Mummy doesn’t let me talk to strangers.”

      “I’ll bet she doesn’t allow you onto the street by yourself, either.” He bit back a smile at her pout. “You nearly got run over because you weren’t looking where you were going.”

      Maggie came rushing out of the house. The bodice of her flowery cotton-and-lace dress clung to her curves, while the skirt floated around her long legs. Unlike the prim outfits she’d been wearing, the soft fabric enhanced her shapely figure. The roses on the material matched the heightened color in her cheeks.

      His mouth went dry at the blue flower-shaped buttons running down the front, from the scooped neckline to the hem of her skirt. Undo them and the dress would likely fall open. Jake swallowed hard, forcing aside the image of creamy skin that flashed in his head.

      “Emily Marie Goodman, I told you to stay in the house.” Maggie’s glossy braid bounced as she hurried toward them. “If it wasn’t for Mr. Badoletti, you could have been hurt.”

      “But Kitty went over the road. I had to save her.” She batted her eyes at her mother.

      The “innocent” expression didn’t work. “Rules are rules. We have them to keep you safe. Say thank you to Mr. Badoletti and go back inside.”

      The little girl looked as if she might argue, but thought better of it. “Thank you, Mister...” She paused, glaring at him suspiciously. “Are you Mr. Bad Boy?”

      Unsure how to respond to her sudden antagonism, he smiled. “You can call me Jake.”

      “Are you the one who was mean to Mummy?”

      His smile faded. How the heck was he supposed to answer that? It was like that old no-win question: Are you still beating your wife? Why would Emily think he’d been mean to her mother anyway?

      “Um, no. Not...” He faltered, recalling the incident at Mimi’s office.

      Maggie fixed her daughter with a stern look. “Emily!”

      “Thank you, Mr. Bad Boy.” The imp’s tone was grudging. She trotted up the path and went into the house. He and Maggie winced in unison as the screen door slammed.

      As she turned back, Jake noticed the same wariness in her expression as he’d seen after his argument with Nick. The same hint of fear in her dark brown eyes. The same rigid tension in her body. What was she worried about?

      “Cute kid.” He smiled, trying to put her at ease.

      His smile had as little effect on Maggie as it had on her daughter. She watched him cautiously, her gaze assessing, as if she didn’t trust his reaction.

      “I’m so sorry. Emily usually does as she’s told. The arrangements I’d made for her fell through this morning. Medical emergency.” Her words quickened and her voice rose in pitch. “I thought it would be okay to bring her with me.”

      “No problem,” Jake interjected before she wound herself up any further. “Shi...stuff happens. Any kid would be distracted by a cat.”

      “Thank you for catching her. I promise she won’t be any further bother.”

      “It’s okay. Really.”

      She studied him carefully. After a couple of moments, she nodded sharply. “We should get started. Shall we go inside?”

      As Maggie opened the door, the fickle Kitty reappeared, slipping past her and brushing her skirt against the shapely legs he’d been trying not to stare at.

      “After you.” He gestured for her to precede him.

      In the front hall, Emily sat pouting on the bottom step of the double-back staircase.

      “I promise to behave. I won’t touch anything.” She shot a belligerent look at him. “Please may I go back up to the princess room?”

      “Is that all right?” Maggie asked Jake.

      He hadn’t a clue where that was, but said, “Sure, go ahead, Short Stuff.”

      Without waiting for further instructions, Emily charged up the stairs. On the first landing, she came to an abrupt halt when the knob on the stair rail came off in her hands. Immediately, she and Maggie turned to him with identical expressions of fear, their faces pale, their eyes wide.

      “I’m sorry.” Emily’s voice trembled. “I didn’t mean to break it.” She tried repeatedly to slot the knob back, but it wouldn’t stay put. Tears welled, tugging at his heartstrings. “I can’t fix it.”

      Maggie hurried upstairs and wrapped her arms around her daughter, her pose both defensive and protective. “I’m sorry. I’ll inform the owners and pay for someone to come in and repair it straight away.”

      Jake was startled by their terrified reaction to a simple accident. Images from the past few days began to slot together like pieces of a jigsaw. They formed a picture of the kind of baggage Maggie and Emily carried from their past. Anger roiled within him, but he knew he couldn’t show it.

      Keeping his tone easy, he said, “No worries. This is an old house—you expect things to go wrong.”

      Emily regarded him suspiciously, like she was waiting for a catch. A nasty catch. The dread in her eyes was like a punch to his gut.

      “The owners probably meant to fix that knob for years. They’d have probably forgotten to let me know about it, so you’ve done me a favor, Short Stuff. Thanks.”

      He went upstairs and joined them on the landing. They stiffened, but didn’t back away.

      “I’ll take care of that.” He indicated the knob in her hand.

      “Thank you, Mr. Jake.” Her half smile wrenched his heart.

      The imp affected him almost as much as her mother.

      “I can’t believe that call took so long.” Mimi walked onto the landing. “I’m sorry, but...” She broke off as she saw them standing uneasily at the top of the stairs. “Is everything all right?”

      “Fine.” Jake said quickly. “Emily’s going to check out that princess room so her mom and I can do our tour of the house. Isn’t that right, Maggie?”

      “Uh...yes.”

      Emily waited for her mother’s nod before rushing off.

      Mimi looked at Maggie. “Are you sure?”

      Maggie’s uncertain gaze flicked to him. He could see she wanted to believe he wasn’t mad, but something held her back.

      “She’s worried because this came off the banister.” He tossed the knob from hand to hand. “I’m trying to convince her it tells me the house has been well loved and lived in.”

      “You’re absolutely right.” Mimi took the knob from him. “If only all clients understood such things. We’ll add it to the list of items that’ll need fixing, if you’re interested enough in the house to put in an offer.”

      “Works for me.”

      “Speaking of troublesome clients—” she held up her phone “—I’m sorry, but I really need to sort this one out before he blows his sale. You’re in capable hands with Maggie.”

      “For sure. We can manage without you. Right, Maggie?”

      Maggie nodded.

      “Great.” Mimi headed downstairs. “Any problems and I’m only a phone call away,” she added wryly.