Typical fare for a bachelor who never ate at home. Then again, he did say he usually ate most of his meals at the hospital.
That was a dismal thought. Unless he had good company.
It was none of her business, but that didn’t stop her curiosity. A good-looking guy like that, there was probably a line of eligible women interested in keeping him company as he ate his late-night hospital-cafeteria food. Maybe he even had a girlfriend—though she certainly wouldn’t be a very good girlfriend if she wasn’t willing to help him out with the kids.
If there was someone, maybe she worked. What else would she do with her time? Maybe she would help him care for the kids in the evening. Because he hadn’t said anything about her being a live-in nanny for the month.
Probably because of the girlfriend. What were the chances of a guy like Cullen Dunlevy being unattached? He probably had someone he could count on in the evening.
Beyond the fireworks and breathless delight of a relationship, wasn’t one of the best things about being involved knowing you had someone you could depend on? Not in the boring sense of the word, but someone solid. Someone you could count on.
That did sound boring.
Maybe that was her problem. Maybe dependability was just a nice way of saying boring. Maybe that was why Josh had broken their engagement.
No, he’d told her she was too fat, that he didn’t want to settle for someone who didn’t care enough to keep in shape. She was an ample size ten, sometimes spilling over into a twelve. She was curvy and she loved to cook.
To her, food was love. And while she was miles from being thin, she’d never felt fat. She was healthy.
Until the day he’d voiced his repugnance and walked out on her, she’d thought those were the qualities he’d loved about her.
Not so.
Her heart ached at the memory as she grabbed the bag of grapes and carrots and shut the refrigerator door. The kids could snack on them while waiting for the pizza to be delivered.
She’d stop by the store tonight after she got off work and pick up some healthy, kid-friendly food so they wouldn’t have to keep ordering in.
They all sat down at the table to start playing the game as they waited for the pizza. Lily asked, “What do you all like to eat?”
“Cookies!” shouted Megan.
“Chicken nuggets,” said Bridget.
Hannah tugged on Lily’s sleeve and motioned for her to lean closer. Lily did.
“I like mac and cheese,” the little girl said.
“Do you?” Lily asked.
Hannah nodded enthusiastically.
“I happen to make the best mac and cheese in the world.”
The little girl’s eyes grew large. “You do?”
Lily nodded and noticed that the other kids were quietly watching her, except for George. He was fiddling with the game piece shaped like a race car, spinning it on the board, seemingly unaware of the food talk happening at the table.
“I don’t suppose anyone would like me to make mac and cheese tomorrow, would they?”
The girls hooted their appreciation. Hannah climbed into Lily’s lap and leaned forward to position her game piece, the dog, at the starting square. But George still sat stoically, making the race car spin the way someone might set jacks atwirl.
“What do you like to eat, George?” Lily asked.
The boy didn’t answer. Megan nudged him.
“Ms. Palmer wants to know what you like to eat,” she said.
The boy shrugged, indicating he wasn’t the least bit interested in their conversation.
Lily decided not to push him. “You don’t have to call me Ms. Palmer. Why don’t you call me Lily?”
Hannah leaned back and looked up at her. “Hi, Lily.” She giggled.
“Hi, sweet Hannah,” Lily answered.
Hannah giggled again and twirled one of Lily’s curls around her finger.
George spun the car so hard that it sailed off the board and skidded across the floor. It disappeared in the space between the wall and the refrigerator.
“Crap!” George growled.
Hannah and Bridget both clasped their hands over their mouths.
“George!” cried Megan. “You’re not supposed to say words like that. If Mom were here, you’d be in so much trouble.”
“Yeah, well, she’s not here anymore.” He turned his angry gaze on Lily. “What are you going to do about it, Lily?”