Ordinary Girl, Millionaire Tycoon. Darlene Gardner

then met her eyes, but barely.

      “How about those steaks?” Art said. “Can I pick you out two nice top sirloins?”

      Sofia willed her lips not to tremble. “You know what, I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll make Tony a nice lasagna instead.”

      His eyebrows drew together, and his expression appeared pained. She waited, hoping he’d say something to stop her from leaving.

      “I’ll see you around then, Sofia,” he said.

      She nodded, turned and walked blindly down a mercifully empty aisle for the exit. If there’d been a bed in sight, she’d have thrown herself down on it and cried.

      “Mrs. Donatelli.” A petite woman with salt-and-pepper hair appeared from an adjacent aisle, flagging her down before she reached the exit. Sofia recognized her as a teacher at the local high school. “I’m Mary Winters. I taught English to Tony years ago.”

      Not trusting her voice not to wobble, Sofia said nothing.

      “I’m heading up a charity drive to fight illiteracy, and I was wondering if you could—”

      “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this right now,” Sofia said and banged through the door to the street.

      Everybody wanted something from her, it seemed, except the one man to whom she’d gladly give her heart.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      KAYLEE MOVED around the cute little two-bedroom, one-bath house as though in a trance. And maybe she was, because she’d been with Tony for half the morning and had yet to come clean about why she was in McIntosh.

      “You can move in tomorrow if you like it. All I’d need is first and last months’ rent plus a security deposit,” the owner offered. He was a kindly, white-haired gentleman named Mr. Stanton who reminded her of her maternal grandfather, who used to slip her five-dollar bills on the sly. She needed a whole lot more than five dollars now.

      “What do you think, Kaylee?” Tony prompted.

      She thought matters had quickly spiraled out of control. She was inside a house she couldn’t afford with a man who didn’t know she’d come to McIntosh to meet his stepmother.

      After confirming the relationship by consulting the phone book Kaylee found in a dresser drawer in her motel room last night, she’d dialed the listed number, intending to invent an excuse for why she couldn’t meet him. An operator’s recorded voice had come over the line, informing her that the number had been changed and was now unlisted.

      Resigned to meeting Tony this morning as planned, she’d spent a restless night during which she’d decided to immediately tell him she suspected she could be his stepsister.

      Except he’d been waiting for them in the driveway, and the moment of truth had been easy to put off. Worse, she hadn’t been able to resist asking him about his childhood.

      He’d soon gotten around to telling her about Sofia, although he hadn’t mentioned the lottery. Tony said Sofia had constantly surprised him when he was growing up. Presenting him with a congratulatory balloon for making the honor roll. Driving him to Cincinnati to see a ball game on his birthday. Baking him a chocolate cake for no good reason.

      His friends, he said, used to wish she was their mother. Even with a full-time job, she’d been a tireless volunteer: room mother, religious-education teacher, team mom.

      The more he talked, the more she’d ached for her fantasy of having Sofia for a mother to become reality.

      “Kaylee?” Tony’s voice again. He repeated, “What do you think?”

      She could tell what Tony thought. Joey’s impression wasn’t hard to figure, either. He was swinging from an old tire that hung from the sturdy branch of a grand oak tree around back.

      “I need to think about it,” she told him, then addressed Mr. Stanton. “Can I get your phone number so I can contact you later?”

      “Don’t think too long. The classified ad will be in the newspaper tomorrow, and I figure I’ll get plenty of interest,” he said before shuffling off in search of pen and paper.

      Tony regarded her closely. “If you’re worried about the upfront cost, we could ask Mr. Stanton if he’d be willing to waive the security deposit.”

      Kaylee felt her face heat. She’d taken another look at her finances before they’d started their search and the rent she could afford to pay was distressingly low.

      The reality was that she’d let her heart rule her head. Again. She’d rushed to McIntosh, which was no more affordable than Fort Lauderdale. Not on a waitress’s salary with child-care costs thrown into the mix.

      She needed to relocate to a bigger city where better-paying jobs and housing choices were more plentiful. Even then, she’d probably have to advertise for a roommate to share expenses.

      “Kaylee, how does that sound?”

      She bit her bottom lip while she resigned herself to confiding in him about her financial problems. If she didn’t, he’d keep on showing her places she had no prayer of renting.

      “That won’t help.” Kaylee squared her shoulders but couldn’t meet his eyes. “I can’t afford to live here.”

      He was silent for a moment. “Doesn’t Joe’s father pay you child support?”

      “He’s not in the picture,” she said evasively, hoping he’d take the hint and leave the subject of Joey’s father alone.

      “Then let’s ask Mr. Stanton if he’ll lower the rent.”

      Kaylee shook her head. “He wouldn’t be able to lower the rent enough.”

      Tony started to say something else but then Mr. Stanton reentered the room and handed her a piece of scrap paper.

      “Here’s my number,” he said. “I don’t have one of those cell phones but the grandkids bought me an answering machine last Christmas so you can leave a message if I’m not in.”

      Kaylee thanked him and gathered up Joey. Tony was a strong, silent presence at her side. He’d probably never had money problems in his life.

      Because Tony knew McIntosh better than she did, he’d insisted on driving that morning. She settled uncomfortably into the passenger’s seat, loathe to start a conversation.

      What could she say that wouldn’t sound like she was asking for a handout? And, oh, Lord, she’d shrivel up and die if he offered her money.

      “That house was nice, Mom,” Joey piped up from the backseat. “Did you see how high I went on the swing? And I found a beetle in the yard.”

      “Lots of backyards have beetles, Joe-Joe,” Kaylee said.

      She wondered why he didn’t answer until she heard the beeps that signaled he’d turned on his GameBoy.

      She tried to admire the colorful spring blossoms on the passing trees, but her eyes burned with embarrassment. The silence, though, was worse. She started to wish that Tony would say something. Finally, he did.

      “How did you manage things in Fort Lauderdale?”

      “I shared a duplex with another single mother. She worked days. I waitressed nights. Between us, there was always somebody home to watch the kids. It worked out great until she moved in with her boyfriend.”

      “Is that when you decided to come to McIntosh?”

      He was fishing, no doubt trying to discover how she’d come to be in McIntosh without a job and so little money. Recognizing the perfect opening for her confession, her breathing grew short and her palms dampened.

      “Yeah!” Joey suddenly yelled from the backseat.

      Kaylee whirled to find Joey staring down at his GameBoy, a rapt expression on his face.