Cinderella Story. Elizabeth August

Elizabeth said hopefully.

      He was right, Nina conceded. Besides, she was going to have to get used to having him around. “All right. Sure.”

      Alex had to admit to feeling insulted by her less-than-enthusiastic acceptance of his company. Generally women enjoyed his presence. As before, he found himself thinking that when he came back to Grand Springs in search of Nina, this was not the woman he’d expected to find or anything even remotely resembling the situation he’d expected to find himself in.

      Elizabeth was studying him with interest now, her mouth pursed into a thoughtful pout. “Tommy said he thinks he saw you at the hospital, but he’s not sure. He says it could have been a dream. Are you a doctor?”

      “No, I’m not a doctor. But I was at the hospital.”

      A haunted look came over Tommy’s features. “That machine was scary. They put me way up inside.” His voice trembled. “It was loud, too.”

      He’d barely spoken since she’d brought him home. Now Nina realized he’d been so afraid, it had taken this long for him to be able to voice his trauma. “But the machine didn’t hurt you,” she said soothingly, hurrying to him and drawing him into her arms. “In fact, it helped the doctors. Now they know how to make you feel better.”

      “I don’t want to do it again,” he pleaded, crying quietly into her shoulder.

      Nina was tempted to lie but knew that would shake his faith in her. “I can’t promise you that.”

      “If you do have to do it again, it’ll be easier the next time,” Alex said confidently. “You’ll know what to expect.”

      Tommy stopped crying and lifted his head from his mother’s shoulder to look at the man. “It was really loud.”

      “But the noise can’t hurt you,” Alex replied.

      Tommy drew in a long breath, then asked, “Can I have pepperoni on my pizza?”

      “Sure,” Alex said, startled by the child’s sudden change in subject. Then he recalled some proud parent he’d been cornered by at a party talking about how a child’s mind could jump from one thing to another. Clearly the boy had decided to forget the machine and concentrate on a more pleasant subject.

      “Pete likes plain cheese,” Elizabeth spoke up.

      “And what do you like?” Alex asked, looking her way.

      She shrugged. “I don’t know. Hamburger, I guess.”

      Alex turned to Nina with a questioning look. “What about you?”

      “Anything but onions and green peppers,” she replied, amazed by how calm his words had made Tommy. She was certain that if she’d said the same thing, her son would still be sobbing on her shoulder. She frowned. It had to be one of those male bonding kind of things…if a man says it, then it must be true.

      “I’ll be back soon,” Alex promised, heading for the door.

      Watching him stride out, Nina wondered if he was having second thoughts. That he’d chosen to go get the pizzas, instead of having them delivered, suggested he wanted to escape. Her children had behaved well. Both Elizabeth and Pete seemed to sense Tommy’s trauma acutely and were more subdued than usual. But they had stared, and a crying child usually made most men nervous. She half expected him to send the pizzas back with a messenger and a note saying some important business concern had come up. However, in the event that he did return, she needed to make the atmosphere a little more comfortable. “Mr. Bennett is a friend. He’s going to be around a lot for a while, so I don’t want you staring at him as if he has an eye in the middle of his forehead.”

      “Is he a boyfriend?” Elizabeth asked.

      Nina bit back an emphatic no. “He’s a friend,” she said firmly, hating to lie to the children. She doubted that she and Alex Bennett would ever be anything other than passing acquaintances. But she’d agreed to this charade for Tommy’s sake, and for him, she’d see it through. Wanting to end this discussion, she headed into the kitchen to get the plates.

      Alex used his car phone to call his favorite Italian restaurant and order an assortment of pizzas. He added some ravioli and pasta to the order, as well. Seeing a bakery ahead, he stopped and bought a cake. At a quick-stop shop he purchased sodas.

      He had expected to feel relieved to be out of that apartment with its bevy of children. Instead, he was anxious to return with his gathered goodies. Must be that Good Samaritan syndrome or maybe some primitive instinct that being the male, it makes me feel good to be bringing dinner home to someone, he mused sarcastically.

      A little later, when Nina opened the door for him, her eyes rounded in surprise. “You got takeout from Fredrico’s?”

      Her amazement pleased him. Carrying the boxes of hot food inside, he paused only long enough to put them on the table, then headed back to the door. “There’s a few more things in the car,” he said over his shoulder.

      Nina began to frown as she opened the containers. He’d bought enough for days, and knowing the prices Fredrico’s charged, she guessed he’d spent nearly as much on this one meal as she budgeted for food for a month.

      When he entered carrying the bakery box and a case of sodas, her pride again bubbled to the surface. She followed him into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. “We’re not a charity case,” she said in lowered tones so that her children would not hear. “You don’t have to feel you have to feed us as if we haven’t eaten in days. I have managed to keep food on the table.”

      Alex scowled. “That wasn’t why I bought all of this. I thought you deserved a treat. You’ve obviously been through a rough time lately. And to be honest, I have no idea how much children eat.” He thought of the woman he’d met the night of the storm. That she had disappeared so completely bothered him. “I was hoping to make you smile. As I recall, you have a very nice smile.”

      Nina drew a harsh breath. She’d overreacted. She should consider him Tommy’s guardian angel; instead, she seemed to be trying to find fault in everything he did. “I’m sorry. My pride can get a little out of hand at times.” She smiled a crooked, embarrassed smile. “Thank you. This was very kind.”

      Alex glimpsed the woman from the night of the storm and smiled back, hoping to encourage her to emerge further. “You’re welcome.”

      Nina’s smile stiffened. She knew now why she’d been so guarded with Alex Bennett. She was afraid of him. When he turned on his charm, he stirred emotions within her she didn’t want to feel toward him. They would only lead to trouble.

      Seeing the woman from the storm disappearing again behind shuttered eyes, Alex frowned. “I get the feeling you’re fighting very hard not to like me.”

      “I don’t dislike you. I just don’t see us remaining friends after this arrangement is over. You’ll go back to being a guest at parties, and I’ll go back to being one of the serving people. I figure it’s best if we both remember our places and stay in them.”

      Alex had never thought of himself as a snob, and he didn’t like the picture she painted of him as one. “You’re overly class conscious.”

      “I’m realistic. Just wait and see.”

      What he saw was that her resolve was firm. He’d already determined that keeping a distance between them was the right thing to do, he reminded himself. “Have it your way,” he said without further argument.

      “Mom, when can we eat?” Elizabeth called from the other side of the door.

      “Right now,” Nina replied, exiting the kitchen. She waved the children toward the table. “You can all sit down, and Mr. Bennett can help you get what you want while I get the drinks.”

      “Alex,” he corrected her. Then, in lowered tones for her ears only, he added, “My grandfather is never going to believe you’re my fiancée if you keep