The Father of Her Son. Kathleen Pickering

reasons she rekindled her friendship with Evan was for her son’s benefit. Evan’s attention to Matt on these workday mornings helped fill in the gap of “guy interaction” that Matt lost when Herby died. The fact that Matt liked Evan alleviated her suspicions about the celebrity anchor’s intentions. In the past few months he’d done well in reestablishing the brief friendship that had been severed as soon as it had begun seven years ago.

      He mussed the boy’s hair as he always did. “Morning, Matt-man. Miss me?”

      Matt grabbed Evan’s wrists with both hands and Evan lifted him off the seat, which set Matt laughing. “Soon you’ll be too big for me to lift you like that, kiddo.”

      Matt’s green eyes, so much like Kelly’s own, lit up with joy. “I know. I’ll be six on Saturday.”

      “And those six years will certainly earn you a present.”

      “Like a Lego set?” Matt was a Lego madman.

      Evan shook his head. “You’ll have to wait and see.” He tucked his napkin into the neck of his light blue shirt, covering a striped tie of various shades of the same color. His smile assured Kelly that he’d forgiven her the television transgression.

      “I’ll take my eggs anytime you find fitting, my dear.”

      Kelly didn’t need to write a ticket for Evan. Once Jake spotted him, he knew exactly how to prepare Evan’s breakfast. Her television anchor celebrity was a creature of habit. Kelly glanced back into the kitchen and saw Jake already preparing Evan’s hash browns and scrambled eggs with Jack cheese and chili peppers.

      She left him to answer Matt’s relentless questions while she attended to other patrons. As she filled coffee cups and took orders, Kelly congratulated herself one more time for not letting on that Evan’s appearance this morning—just as his reappearance four months ago, looking more filled out, worldly wise and more strikingly handsome than ever—had shaken her right down to her well-worn running shoes.

      Before his return, she’d almost forgotten about the hunky black-haired, blue-eyed newsman she’d met her first day on the job. She’d spotted him jaywalking across the street during Manhattan morning hour like Moses parting the Red Sea. When he walked through the doors of Herby’s diner she’d been so taken by his smile that she poured his cup too full, spilling coffee over the counter.

      It was amazing how after seven years, Evan had simply waltzed into Neverland as if a mere day had passed as eager to see her as if he’d never left. He had been quick to explain how the assignment in Paris had turned into a job on the continent. Kelly was surprised to realize she still stewed over his lack of communication over the years and had no desire to hear his excuses. They had struck up a lovely friendship back then that he dropped as abruptly as he had started. Didn’t he know that telephones and email were modern-day conveniences that friends used to keep in touch...even seven years ago?

      In reality, Evan had only grazed her thoughts while he was away. Too much had happened. Between dropping out of college for Matt’s birth, working the diner and those two hard years caring for Herby—the diner’s owner and her salvation before he passed away—Kelly didn’t have much time for quiet musings. She had taken pains to be sure Evan understood that she had no more to offer him than friendship, a cup of coffee and an occasional free meal. She had a son to raise and protect. A business to run. Owning the diner and the apartment upstairs that she’d inherited from Herby afforded her an independence she never expected.

      She had become a mother and businesswoman with intentions of her own, and she meant to stick by them. A distraction like dating, especially with a charming yet intensely career-driven man like Evan McKenna, was simply unwelcome. If she dated at all she’d be better off with a quiet, easy-mannered guy who worked as hard as she did and had no craving for power or fame.

      “Penny for your thoughts, Red?”

      Evan had been watching her with more attention than usual.

      She had been moving at a brisk clip delivering plates and writing up tickets. She hadn’t realized her mind was reflecting so easily on her face.

      “I’m trying to decide if you should get the fresh bacon or the scraps for the stray dogs out back.”

      A bearded man next to Matt guffawed.

      Her son looked mortified. “Mom!”

      Evan drummed his fingers on the counter to a silent beat, exchanging a conspiratorial glance with Matt. Instead of his usual retort, he simply stated, “If you knew what I had planned, you’d give me the whole pig.”

      She turned to face him, planting fists on hips. “What are you up to, Evan?”

      He tapped his breast pocket. “Got something here I’m willing to share to celebrate the interview, despite the fact you missed the show. It all depends on whether you can get a babysitter for Matt.”

      “Mrs. Walsh will watch me!” Matt seemed to know what Evan had planned.

      Reaching into the breast pocket of the impeccable navy suit, Evan slid two tickets across the counter. “Front row seats to Billy Elliot.”

      She couldn’t help but grin. He must have overheard her telling Bunny yesterday that Billy Elliot was the one Broadway show she wanted to see this season. Temptation tugged, but a clearer head removed its silly hand. Nothing would be sweeter than a few hours’ escape into another world, not to mention Evan’s grin seemed to be doing silly things to her heart, which to her surprise, puttered a tad faster in her chest.

      It didn’t matter. Kelly wouldn’t accept the offer. Not only was Evan not her type, there was no room in her plans for a relationship. A boyfriend would only distract her from raising her son. Dating would remove her from the diner for which she was eternally grateful and planned to make more successful than Herby could ever imagine. And lastly, what she was least willing to acknowledge, was that she had never dated...anyone.

      She met Evan’s hopeful gaze with a grin. “Nice try, Evan. Won’t happen.”

      “Oh, Mom.” Matt’s disappointment was palpable.

      “And, I don’t appreciate you tangling Matt into your shenanigans.”

      Evan ignored her. “Look closer. Row One. Center.”

      She pushed the creamer and sugar toward Evan from its place by the napkin box. “I said, no. Now, be a nice patron and eat quickly. I have a busy morning ahead of me.”

      Bunny passed Kelly and stopped when she saw the tickets. Two full plates in hand, she looked from the tickets to Kelly. “Billy Elliot? Are you going?”

      Kelly laughed out loud at her trusted manager, who had no trouble waiting tables when the morning, lunch or dinner rush began. “No, Bunny. You and Evan both know I do not date.”

      Bunny nodded once, then flashed Evan a saucy glance. “Right, then. I’ll be happy to go with you if she’s too lame-brained to go.”

      If Evan was disappointed that Kelly turned him down—yet again, he didn’t show it. This was his eighth try in as many weeks to ask her out. Yet he grinned, shaking his head.

      “Well then, ladies. It looks as though you two should take each other. The show starts at nine. The dinner rush should be over by then.”

      The women exchanged looks. Even though Kelly had sabotaged his interview, Evan still asked her out. Rebuffed again, he was surrendering the tickets. The man was either a fool, a glutton for punishment or uncommonly generous. Something about the playful and confident look in his eyes both intoxicated and unnerved her. For her own security, Kelly needed to be in control when it came to men—but she had to do something. After all, Evan was a friend.

      “Then you must let me pay for the tickets.”

      Evan pushed the tickets back and called to Bunny as she planted the overflowing plates before two businessmen at the other end of the counter. “Take your boss out tonight, Bun. She looks like she could use a break.”

      Wiping