It Happened One Night

“What do you want?” he asked, clearly unhappy about seeing her again. “I figured when I didn’t call you back yesterday that you’d get the idea that I don’t want to have anything to do with you or the brat.”

“You couldn’t possibly want to avoid having to talk to me as much as I want to avoid talking to you,” Kiley said, wondering what she’d ever seen in the man. “I only called yesterday because I need to know your blood type.”

“What do you need that for?” he demanded as if she’d asked him to reveal some deep, dark secret.

“It’s for Emmie’s medical records,” she said, thinking quickly.

“Is that it?” he asked, looking suspicious.

“That’s it,” she assured him. When he told her his blood type, she nodded. “Thank you.”

Without another word, she turned to walk back to the booth where Piper still sat talking to Amanda. Kiley had known in her heart that her suspicions were well-founded, but to have them confirmed was almost more than she could come to terms with.

She had done enough research on blood types and establishing paternity by that method to know that for the past three years the man she had thought to be Emmie’s father, wasn’t. Now all she had to do was find the right time and way to tell Josh Gordon that the little girl he fondly called the “pony princess” was his daughter.

* * *

Driving across Royal, Josh went through four traffic lights on yellow and, looking both ways, rolled through two stop signs as he sped toward Kiley’s. When she’d called, she wouldn’t tell him what was wrong, only that it was urgent that she see him right away.

When he finally pulled into her driveway, he barely had the engine turned off before he was out of the car and sprinting his way up to her door. Not bothering to knock before he entered the house, he stopped short when he spotted Kiley sitting in the armchair beside the couch, glaring at him.

“Are you and Emmie all right?”

“We’re just fine,” she answered. “But you’re not.”

A strong sense of relief washed over him. She was upset, but otherwise, she and Emmie were okay. “So what’s wrong?”

“You know what’s wrong,” she accused, her brown eyes sparkling with anger. “How dare you?”

“How dare I what?” He feigned ignorance, but he had a good idea why she was in a snit.

“You used my friendship with Piper to steer me to the dress shop where you had made arrangements to pay for my dress,” she accused.

He glanced at the garment bag from one of Royal’s exclusive boutiques draped over the back of the couch. He’d figured she wouldn’t be overly happy with him, but he hadn’t counted on her being downright furious that he had arranged to buy the dress she would be wearing to the Christmas Ball.

Slowly closing the door, he looked around as he walked farther into the living room. “Have you already got Emmie in bed for the night?”

“Yes. Why?”

He nodded. “That’s good. I’d hate for her to have to listen to us argue. It might upset her.”

“There isn’t going to be an argument,” Kiley insisted. “You’re going to take your dress and leave.”

“Sorry, honey, you’re going to have to keep it,” he said, grinning. “It isn’t my size.” He knew immediately that a flippant remark was the wrong thing to say.

Her eyes narrowed and her cheeks turned crimson as her obvious anger rose. “You bought it. You can keep it, take it back or stick it where the sun never shines.” She shook her head. “It really doesn’t matter to me. Just take it and go.”

“Now, honey—”

“Don’t you ‘now, honey’ me, Josh Gordon.” She stood up and came to stand in front of him. “Let’s get something straight right now,” she said, poking him in the chest with her index finger. “I’m not a charity case. I pay my own way.”

After her reaction to his glib comment, he knew better than to grin. But damn she was cute when she was all fired up about something.

“I understand that you want to be independent and I respect that, Kiley,” he said, reaching out to put his arms around her. When she tried to push herself free, he tightened his arms and pulled her more fully against him. “But I also know an evening gown wasn’t something you planned to buy.” He brought his hand up to lift her chin until their gazes met. “I asked you to go with me to the ball because I wanted you to have a good time, not to wreck your budget.”

“I could have charged it,” she insisted.