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Emmie frowned. “I have no idea. As I’ve told you before, Tanner and I are just friends.”

“Then you won’t mind if I give him a call. And who is this gentleman?” Sue asked. She studied Ted, smiling.

Emmie could see the exasperation on Kate’s face and took a deep breath. “This is Ted McAllister. Ted, this is a woman in my book club, Sue Childress.”

Ted bobbed his head. “Hello.”

As Sue left, their food came.

“Thank goodness, she’s gone,” Kate softly said to Emmie. Neither man had noticed their stress.

###

Following a delicious lunch, Brad said, “It was great playing golf with you, Ted. I’ve got to get home. My honey-do list needs some tending to.”

Ted joined in the teasing that followed and turned to Emmie. “Do you have anything that I can do for you at your house?”

“I’m sure I can find something,” she answered, and the wink Ted gave her made them all laugh again.

Emmie’s cell phone rang. “I’d better take this. It’s Lauren. Hi, honey, what’s up?”

“May I come and stay at your house for a few days? There’s construction going on in the building, and neither the baby nor I have been able to sleep much. Rick can bring us out to Ellenton this afternoon. He’ll go back on Monday, but Clark and I will stay for an extra few days, if that’s all right with you.”

Though Emmie hadn’t wanted to introduce Ted to her children this soon, Emmie said, “Sure. That’ll be fine. You remember Ted McAllister, the man from Florida? He’s staying this weekend, too. This will be an opportunity for you to get to know one another.”

“He’s staying there?” said Lauren. “Will it be too awkward? Gemma told me about you two meeting up last week, but I had no idea he’d be at the house for the weekend.”

“No worries. You’ll like Ted, and it’s important for him to get to know you and Rick and to meet Clark.” Emmie glanced at Ted.

“Okay, thanks,” said Lauren. “It’s been awful here. Can you hear the noise in the background?”

“I certainly can,” said Emmie. “We’ll do something simple for dinner. I’ll get some chicken, and Ted and Rick can grill it.”

Their call ended, and Emmie turned to Ted. “I hope you don’t mind. But due to construction in their building, Lauren, Rick, and Clark are coming for the weekend and beyond.”

“We’ll make it work,” said Ted, and Emmie realized how much she liked him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Emmie and Ted got in her car and drove to her favorite gourmet food store. She found it interesting that Ted enjoyed grocery shopping. He even suggested tomatoes, black olives, and pistachios as a garnish on a green leaf salad.

“I didn’t know how much you liked to cook,” she said, smiling at him with delight.

He grinned. “Marylee was an excellent cook, and I picked up a lot of knowledge from her, using it to take care of myself, living alone.”

“That’s really helpful,” said Emmie, picking out the best of the hothouse tomatoes.

They left the store and went home, where Emmie made sure all the baby things were set out, ready to use. At just over three months old, Clark was thriving. Lauren was generous about sending photographs, and she couldn’t wait to see the baby in person.

Ted took a nap in the library while Emmie spent time in the kitchen, preparing a couple of meals ahead. The time spent doing that now would be worth it in the days ahead. Emmie had a feeling that Lauren’s trip back home was, in part, a need for a little babying herself.

When she went to check on Ted, he sat up on the couch and patted the space next to him. “Come here.”

She walked over to him, and he drew her to him and settled her in his lap. “Guess we’d better get in as much time together as we can.”

She snuggled against him, loving the feel of his arms around her. He’d already proved he was a wonderful lover. She enjoyed this gentler attention from him, too.

They were still in the library on the couch when they heard the sound of a car in the driveway.