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.Did she?On the other hand, that kiss had broken down a lot of barriers.That kiss had brought them closer.Yet neither of them was acknowledging what had happened.That kiss had shaken her to the very fiber of her soul.But she hadn’t let Chase see how affected she’d been.She couldn’t let him think she was vulnerable to him—not if there might be a battle about the girls…not if there could be a war over who would maintain custody.When Abby came running into the kitchen after finding her doll, Jillian lifted her into her arms and introduced her to Stan.He just smiled and said, “We’ve met already, haven’t we, Abby?”Abby stayed comfortably safe near Jillian’s shoulder, nodded and gave the older man a slight smile.Then she turned to her mommy, put her little hands on each side of Jillian’s face and said at warp speed, “I wanna have ceweal with bananas.”Jillian laughed and kissed her little girl’s hand, savoring this time when she believed that Abby was still her daughter.In a week or so, all of that could change.Abby’s eyes grew large as Chase lifted her into a cart and pushed it through the electronically opened doors of the toy store.“Do you really think the cart is necessary?” Jillian asked.“She might choose a big toy.” There was amusement in his tone.Jillian wasn’t sure what she thought about this whole idea.Abby had been frightened, of course, of a doctor taking a swab of the inside of her cheek.Chase had made her a deal.If she did what the doctor asked, they’d go to a toy store afterward and she could pick out any toy she wanted.He hadn’t asked Jillian about the idea first and that bothered her more than anything else.“What’s wrong?” he asked as they passed through shelves of Easter wrap, plastic eggs and multicolored baskets.Easter was almost two months away.She motioned to the toy store.“You didn’t ask me if I approved of this.”He kept walking.“I saw her fear and wanted to sidetrack her.This was the best way to do it.”“Do you promise Marianne toys whenever she has to do anything hard?”“Not all the time,” he returned defensively.“I like to see her eyes light up.I want to give her anything I can.”“If you give her your love, your time and your attention, that’s all she needs.”Pushing the cart to a stop, he pinned Jillian with an intense look.“Sometimes it’s hard to feel as if I’m giving her enough of all of those when I have to work.Fortunately, with research, I could set my own hours, come home at lunchtime, go to the lab at night after she was in bed.But with Fran gone, I never felt as if I could give her enough time.”Jillian knew the dilemma of trying to be two parents, and it was so obvious from Chase’s voice how much he still missed his wife.Another very good reason not to get too close to him.As they strode up one aisle then down another, Abby talked a mile a minute, pointing to a Little Mermaid doll, a two-foot stuffed parrot and a learning toy one of the girls in her playgroup had shared with her.“It’s a hard decision,” Chase agreed with a smile as Abby picked up the Ariel doll again.“Don’t even think it,” Jillian warned him sternly.He feigned innocence.“What?”“Of buying more than one.”“She doesn’t have many of her own things at Willow Creek.”“No, but she can share Marianne’s toys.Anything we buy we’re just going to have to pack in our suitcase and take along or send separately.”As soon as the words were out of Jillian’s mouth, she wished she hadn’t said them.Was that what was going to happen? Or would Abby be staying at Willow Creek?Quickly turning away from Chase, she grabbed a zoo set from the shelf replete with animals, cages and a ringmaster.As she leaned over the cart and Abby babbled about the tiger and made its roaring sound, Chase said in a low voice, “We’re going to have to discuss what we’re going to do.”Giving Abby the zoo set to examine more closely, Jillian tried to reply calmly.“Not until the test results come back.There’s no point in discussing anything before then.”Maybe she was taking a Scarlett O’Hara philosophy toward all this, but that was the road she had to travel right now.Every minute she spent with Marianne was bringing her closer to the little girl.Every minute she spent with Chase brought her a lot closer to him.She couldn’t seem to keep her heart closed yet she knew the farther she opened it, the more she’d get hurt.Abby was still trying to decide which toy she wanted when Chase’s cell phone rang.After checking the caller ID, he said, “Business.I have to take it.”Although he stepped a few feet away, Jillian could see the expression on his face as he listened to the caller.She also heard Chase ask, “How could they be missing? Ten cases? Stan said he sent them on Monday.” After another pause, he replied, “I’ll look into it.Those bottles can’t be replaced.That’s the last we had of that year.I’ll get back to you by the end of the day.”Abby had set the zoo set aside and was pushing the button on a toy that lit up and played music when Chase crossed to the cart.“Problem?” Jillian asked.“A shipment of wine didn’t get where it was supposed to go.A restaurant in Erie has made us the house choice and they’ve been a good client for about ten years.”“Your uncle took care of it?”“He said he did.”“I met him this morning.”Chase’s brows arched.“What did you think?”“He didn’t have a lot to say.He seemed nice.Were he and your dad close?”“Yes, they were.”She thought about asking Chase whether his mother was seriously thinking about selling the vineyard, but that wasn’t any of her business.His life wasn’t any of her business.At least not now…not yet.Still, she couldn’t help but be curious.“Your uncle said he’s always helped out at the winery.”“Yes, he has.He knows the ins and outs almost as well as I do [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]