Page 20 of The Single Dad's New-Year Bride

‘Hailey?’ Rilla prompted. ‘It would be such a shame for Callum to miss it, don’t you think?’

Hailey looked at her sister. Just what was Rilla playing at? Wasn’t she the one who had warned her against getting involved with another motherless little boy?

But Rilla was right. Seeing Remi Duconte was not an event to be missed and Callum had been as solid as a rock during the emergency today and had then gone on to scrape her up off the floor, help her into her apartment and administer first aid. She sighed. ‘Will half six be OK?’

Callum shook his head again. ‘No. I couldn’t impose.’

‘Look, I’m offering,’ she said testily. ‘This really is one lecture you don’t want to miss. Unless you’re worried Tom would fret?’ Hailey frowned. ‘I suppose we’ve only just met.’

‘Oh, no. Since his protracted stint in hospital, Tom isn’t particularly bothered about new faces. And he seems to have taken a real shine to you. Besides, you found orchie and let him have two servings of ice cream. You’d better watch out, he’ll be moving in next.’

Hailey forced a smile to her lips as her sisters laughed at Callum’s joke. ‘Excellent. That’s settled, then,’ she murmured.

Except it wasn’t, of course. Was she insane? Things were about as unsettled as the ocean in the middle of a tropical cyclone.

CHAPTER FOUR

HAILEY’S fingers were shaking as she limped to Callum’s door and pushed the doorbell promptly at six-thirty the next evening, mentally cursing Rilla. Apparently her middle sister had changed her mind about Hailey’s involvement with another man and child. ‘Maybe he’s just what you need,’ Rilla had said last night after Callum had left.

She gave herself a shake. It’s just two hours. That’s all. One hundred and twenty minutes. You can do this.

The door flung open and Tom stood there in his pyjamas, his damp hair plastered to his forehead, trusty torch in hand.

‘Hailey!’ Tom threw his six-year-old body at her, hugging her around the waist, crushing his torch against her hip bone.

‘Tom,’ she said, looking down at his sandy-blond head, wincing at the bite of the hard plastic.

His little arms felt good around her waist and though they were skinny his grip was strong. Despite his pallor, Tom seemed so vital. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest at the thought of him ill and frightened, clutching his torch late at night on some big scary oncology ward.

Callum had said Tom had spent a lot of time in hospital so it sounded as if he’d had a stormy course during his treatments. Had he been plagued with debilitating nausea? Or fallen prey to any of the side effects of chemotherapy? Had he lost his hair?

She ruffled his damp locks. Damn it. She didn’t want to know any of this. She wasn’t supposed to be getting involved any more.

‘OK, Tom.’ Callum laughed, amused at his son’s delight. ‘You were supposed to be cleaning your teeth.’

Hailey looked up to find him lounging against a nearby doorframe. The man was looking good enough to eat. He was wearing jeans and an untucked short-sleeved shirt with stripes. His arms looked bulky and very, very touchable. His very short hair emphasised the chiselled planes of his face. She could smell soap and aftershave.

His feet were bare, adding to his casual appeal. Damn it! How could feet be so alluring, for crying out loud? He blasted her with a slow, sexy smile and she almost turned and ran. In fact, had her ankle been up to it, she might have seriously considered it.

She swallowed. ‘Hi.’

Callum inclined his head. She looked tense, hanging onto the doorknob like it was a lifeline. She was wearing a floral skirt that flared around her knees and a navy T-shirt that clung to the generous swell of her breasts. He felt a pull in his groin at her fresh-faced, damp-haired appeal and a punch to his gut at the way Tom clung to her like he’d known her all his life. ‘Hi.’

They stared at each other for a few moments. ‘Teeth,’ Callum ordered Tom breaking eye contact with Hailey.

Tom skipped away and they watched him until he disappeared from sight. Callum returned his attention to Hailey. She gave him a tight smile.

‘How’s your ankle?’ he asked politely.

‘It’s much better, thank you. The swelling’s gone down considerably and I can put most of my weight on it,’ she replied just as politely.

Callum almost laughed. Their stilted conversation would have done two strangers proud. Except they weren’t. Yesterday they’d saved a life and a few days before that he had kissed her. ‘You know, I can cancel going to this thing.’

‘No.’ Hailey shook her head automatically. ‘It’s fine.’

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