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Meagan and Alice launched into a discussion of current music stars and their singing styles, and Meagan proved to be quite up-to-date on contemporary music, though she admitted she didn’t follow the younger musical acts as much. Alice, whose taste in music had always been eclectic, made a snide comment about the teen-idol performers most popular with her classmates. Watching her, Seth tried to hide his amusement at her obvious attempt to appear more mature than the other young teens in front of Meagan.
His smile faded when he noted that Alice seemed to be imitating some of Meagan’s mannerisms, following the older woman’s example in cutting her cheeseburger into neat quarters before eating it, dabbing her napkin tidily at the corners of her mouth after each bite. He really didn’t mind that Alice had befriended the nice neighbor, but he hoped she wasn’t getting too attached. For all he knew, Meagan could lose interest in the kid once her sick leave ended and she returned to her former schedule. Not many single women Meagan’s age wanted to spend time with a thirteen-year-old—not even one as clever and sweet as his daughter, he thought, well aware of his bias.
It had been his idea to invite Meagan to join them for dinner after the concert. He’d figured she hadn’t eaten that early, and she’d confirmed his guess. He’d told her he’d promised Alice cheeseburgers and fries at her favorite burger joint after the concert—a rare treat, since he tried to promote healthy eating most evenings. At the time he’d offered, he hadn’t been sure he’d even be at the concert, but he’d promised to take her to dinner as soon as he could get there afterward. He was relieved he’d been able to make it to the event, though it had required almost superhuman effort to make it there on time.
Meagan had hesitated when he’d extended the invitation to her, but once again Alice had persuaded her to accept. He figured the least he could do was buy Meagan a burger since she had been nice enough to attend Alice’s concert. As kind as her intention had been, it still grated that it had been partially motivated by pity because poor Alice had a busy, working dad. Even though Meagan had assured him she understood the demands of single parenthood, she’d still felt obliged to fill in for him tonight, apparently. He was doubly glad he’d been able to get there, both for Alice’s sake and to prove to Meagan that he really did put his daughter above all his other responsibilities. He couldn’t say why it was so important for her, in particular, to see that.
He’d invited Nina to dinner, too, but Nina declined, saying her favorite television program was on that evening and she didn’t want to miss it. Seth hadn’t missed Nina’s little nod of approval when he’d included Meagan in the outing. Nina had dropped a couple of little hints about what a nice woman Meagan seemed to be and how well she and Alice got along and wasn’t it interesting that such a pretty single woman—emphasis on single—lived so close to his new house?
Seth was more amused than annoyed by his longtime housekeeper’s blatant matchmaking. Meagan seemed to be exactly the type of woman he should date, actually. Attractive, intelligent, and she liked his daughter. He had to admit he had quite a physical reaction to her warm smiles, and he enjoyed watching the emotions dancing through her expressive blue eyes. He’d been keenly aware of her sitting so close to him in the darkened auditorium, her arm bumping his when they applauded, her eyes meeting his in the shadows when they found something mutually amusing.
He’d been aware of the curious glances they’d gotten from his acquaintances among the other parents. They had probably assumed he and Meagan had arranged to meet there. Had that been true, it would have been the first time he’d attended one of his daughter’s school activities with anyone other than his housekeeper or, occasionally, Alice’s maternal grandparents.
He wouldn’t mind getting to know Meagan better—on a one-to-one basis—but what if it didn’t work out? Would Alice be disappointed yet again? Or, equally worrisome, what if it did work out? Was Alice really prepared to share her father’s attention, when he had to ration his time with her as it was? And speaking of time, did he really have enough of it to divide between his daughter and a more adult relationship?
“I felt so sorry for Jeffrey when his voice cracked in the middle of his solo line,” Alice said, calling Seth’s attention abruptly back to the conversation. “Jeffrey was so embarrassed. He’s really nice, in a shy sort of way.”
Something about her self-conscious tone caught Seth’s notice. Did his daughter have a crush on a boy in her choir? Was she old enough to have crushes already? Did he have to start worrying about that now? She wasn’t anywhere near old enough to have a boyfriend, and if she thought she was going to date at thirteen she had another think coming!
And hadn’t he just been sitting there worrying about the consequences of a relationship with a woman he hardly knew? One who might not even be interested in going out with him anyway?
They were quite a pair, he and his daughter. For now, it was probably best for them both to stay single.
“I had a good time tonight, Dad. Thanks for the burger. And for letting me have the hot fudge sundae for dessert. It was so good!”
Tossing his keys on the counter as they walked into the house a while later, Seth ruffled his daughter’s hair affectionately. “You’re welcome, Roo. You deserved it after that great concert.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist for a big hug. “I’m glad you could be there.”
“So am I, kiddo. Though there will still be times when my work will interfere with other things,” he warned her candidly. “I have to make a living for us.”
“I know, Dad,” she said, rolling her eyes a little as she stepped back. “I’m not a little kid, I understand about work commitments. But I’m glad you could come tonight, anyway.”
“Me, too.” He picked up a stack of mail Nina had left on the counter for him and flipped through the envelopes. Bills, mostly. Credit card and insurance offers. A postcard from his favorite men’s clothing store announcing an annual sale on suits. He’d have to check that out, he could use a new suit for summer.
Slitting open a small, square, cream-colored envelope, he drew out a folded card and scanned it quickly. He groaned.
Alice looked around from the sink, where she was cleaning Waldo’s water dish and filling it with fresh water for the night while the dog whined impatiently from the other side of the back door. “What is it, Dad?”
“It’s a reminder for a fancy charity thing I’m supposed to attend. It’s a week from Friday. Clever of DeAnna to send out reminders ten days ahead, this thing’s been scheduled for months and I’d forgotten all about it.”
“You hate fancy charity things,” Alice said sympathetically.
She knew him well. He nodded grimly. “I do. But I’ve got to go to this one. DeAnna is the managing partner’s new wife. He’s going to be checking who supports her at this.”
“Then I guess you have to go.”
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “I guess I do.”
She glanced at the Norman Rockwell calendar attached to the side of the refrigerator with a heavy-duty magnet, the calendar Nina used to keep track of the family’s schedule. “It’s already written down. You just haven’t looked.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it’s on my personal calendar, too. Just been too busy lately to look that far ahead. I’d have seen it eventually.”
“That’s the night of my sleepover party at Gayla’s house for her thirteenth birthday. Her mom’s hiring a party planner and we’re going to learn how to decorate cupcakes all fancy like they do on the food channel shows. We’re going to do piping and everything.”
“Sounds like fun. Don’t eat too many sweets,” he said automatically, still scanning the party reminder.
A gusty sigh was her response as she carried the bowl of water to the door. He reached out to open the storm door for her, using his body to block Waldo’s eager attempt to dash inside to cause chaos. Seth was still skeptical that obedience classes would work any miracles with this particular dog. But the instructor had assured him when he’d signed up Waldo for the classes that Labradors were usually quick to learn. Waldo appeared to be mostly yellow Lab, though Seth suspected a slightly more rambunctious breed might be mixed into the bloodlines.
“So, Dad, have you asked anyone to go with you to the fancy thing yet?” Alice inquired when she came back inside a short while later. “You know, a date?”
“Well, no. I told you, I forgot all about it.”
“You can’t go without a date,” she scolded, shaking her head. “That would make you look all pathetic, like you don’t have a social life.”
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