.

less decided not to, but if she didn’t tell someone, she was going to explode.

      “He seems nice,” she said, keeping her voice low. “He invited me to a party on Friday night.”

      Several long seconds ticked by before Sam or Claire said anything, and then they were both talking at once.

      “That was fast.”

      “You already have a date with him?”

      “How did that happen?”

      “Are you sure this is a good idea, hon?”

      No, she wasn’t sure of anything, including her spur-of-the-moment decision to tell Sam and Claire. “It’s not a date,” she said. “Not a real one.”

      “If it’s not a ‘real’ date, what kind of date is it?” Sam asked.

      “It’s sort of a fake date.” Except it had sounded okay when she’d said it in her head. Out loud it sounded ridiculous. She could hardly blame them for laughing. “It’s really just one of those crazy coincidences. You know what my mother’s like. She wanted to set me up with a date for my aunt’s Fourth of July barbecue, and Nate’s family tried to arrange a date for him to take to his sister’s birthday party. So we’re going together. We’re not interested in dating dating, so this is a perfect arrangement. Neither of us has to suffer another blind date, and our families back off with their matchmaking.”

      “So you’re going on two fake dates, and both will be spent with your families?”

      “Our families are the reason we’re doing this. If we went out, just the two of us, then it would be a real date. That’s not going to happen.”

      “Isn’t this going to get complicated?” The ever-practical Claire never took risks.

      To Kristi, being at her aunt’s barbecue with Bernie Halverson was complicated. Especially if he tried to kiss her. Just the idea of it made Kristi shudder. Nate wasn’t likely to kiss a woman he wasn’t dating, and she probably wouldn’t mind if he did.

      “What are you going to tell Jenna?”

      She’d been wondering the same thing. She still had to set an example for her daughter, after all. “I’ll downplay the whole thing, make sure she understands we’re just friends.”

      “I hope you have fun,” Claire said. “You deserve it. I’m sorry if I didn’t sound supportive at first, but you caught me by surprise.”

      “And we don’t want to see you get hurt,” Sam said. “I’m sure it’s nice to meet another single parent, though. You both already have a lot in common.”

      “Not really. For one thing he’s smart, and I mean really smart.”

      “And hot,” Sam said.

      Claire laughed. “Hot and smart. Two more things he has in common with our Kristi.”

      “I wish. He’s not just average, everyday smart. He’s university-professor smart. He studies all kinds of scientific things about plants and hybrids. You should see the books he reads. I don’t even know what some of the titles mean. And then there are Greek gods, Roman gods. He’s a walking encyclopedia.”

      “What do Greek and Roman gods have to do with hybridized plants?” Claire asked.

      “Nothing. We were talking about our dogs’ names.”

      “S-o-o-o…” Sam drew out the word for effect. “Let’s get this straight. He’s single, he’s smart, he’s hot, he obviously must love dogs, but all you want is a fake date.”

      “I said yes to the date because there are no strings attached. You know me well enough to realize there’s no way I’ll take a chance on another deadbeat.”

      Kristi heard the groans and knew rolling eyes accompanied them.

      Claire spoke first. “Sweetie, you said it yourself. He’s smart. And last time I checked, university professor is not exactly a deadbeat occupation.”

      “And he’s hot,” Sam said.

      “You know what I mean.”

      “We do,” Claire said. “You’re a wonderful mom, an amazing woman—”

      “Who deserves to have a hot guy in her life,” Sam said.

      “Enough! The two of you sound like my mother.” Except that her mother had yet to come up with anyone who qualified as hot. “I should get back to work. I’ll see you at our next meeting. Nine o’clock, right?”

      “That’s right,” Claire said. “At the usual place.”

      “It’s in my calendar. I’ll see you both then.” Kristi tucked her BlackBerry into her bag and tried to refocus on the lists she’d been working on before taking the call. What was the point? She closed the book and shoved it in her bag. She needed to check on Molly and Martha anyway. It was her job to keep an eye on them till their father was back from the market.

      * * *

      NATE PARKED HIS SUV in the driveway, got out and carried two bags of groceries through the breezeway and the side door that led to the mudroom and kitchen. A couple of hours ago he’d congratulated himself on having his personal life firmly back in his control, but all the way to the market and back he’d pondered the newsflash that, according to Kristi, he was a deadbeat.

      Seriously? He’d wanted to let her know that his mother was throwing two parties this weekend instead of just one. He didn’t want to talk about it in front of the girls, so he’d planned to invite her to join him in the kitchen.

      Molly and Martha’s chatter had drifted past the door, which was slightly ajar. Luckily they hadn’t seen him. He had heard Kristi’s voice, too, but she hadn’t been in the girls’ room. She was in his office across the hall, sitting there in his chair with her back to the door and her phone to her ear.

      She said something about no strings attached, and then she’d said, “You know me well enough to realize there’s no way I’ll take a chance on another deadbeat.”

      She had paused, listening to what the other person had to say. He had hightailed it back to the kitchen, not wanting to hear any more.

      Kristi had agreed to go out with him because there were no strings attached. Fair enough. They were both on the same page. But did she really think he was a deadbeat? Had he completely misinterpreted all the signs?

      As he put the groceries away he debated what to do. He supposed he should let Kristi and the girls know he was back, but he was in no hurry to face her. Instead he poured himself a cup of coffee and stared out the kitchen window. He still had to break the news that there were two parties this weekend instead of one, and by now his mother would have told Britt he was bringing a date. Hell, she’d probably sent out a press release.

      Maybe you’re looking at this from the wrong perspective, he told himself. Kristi had agreed to pose as his date at his sister’s birthday party if he would reciprocate and attend her aunt’s barbecue. No strings attached. That’s what she’d said; that’s what they both wanted. If going together to these functions meant no blind dates, no unexpected setups with strangers, did it really matter what she thought of him? Not one bit, he decided. She wasn’t perfect, either. Not that he’d seen any major flaws yet, but she was bound to have at least one.

      “Daddy, come see our room.”

      He swung around, expecting to see Molly. Instead he got an eyeful of Kristi, holding Martha’s hand on one side and Molly’s on the other. They were all smiling at him.

      He mustered a smile in return and set his coffee cup on the counter. “Let’s take a look.”

      He joined them, avoiding eye contact with Kristi. Both girls seemed content to hold her hands, so he was left to follow them down the hall. They stopped outside the bedroom door, Molly and Martha grinning impishly. He humored them