Natural Born Trouble by Sherryl Woods Page A

you?”
    Dani sighed. “Yes.”
    â€œAnd you liked it?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œLiar.”
    â€œOkay, I liked it, so what? It’s not going to happen again. I have made myself very clear on that point.”
    Sharon Lynn tried unsuccessfully to hold back a grin. “Did you really? Did you by any chance make that same point out at Grandpa’s a few weeks ago?”
    â€œYes, I did.”
    Sharon Lynn continued to smirk. “Guess he doesn’t hear too well.”
    â€œHe’s a man, isn’t he? Have you ever known one to listen to a blasted thing we say?”
    â€œActually, Kyle Mason hangs on every word I say.”
    â€œOh, for heaven’s sakes, stop gloating. We all know you caught the last decent man in the universe or so you keep reminding us.”
    â€œHe is extraordinary, there’s no doubt about that. Not that Duke is any slouch. He’s charming and sexy and smart.”
    â€œHow would you know all that? You’ve barely met the man.”
    â€œNot true. He comes in here with his sons all the time.” She glanced up. “In fact, they’re on their way in right now.”
    Dani flatly refused to turn around to look. “Please, please, tell me you are making that up.”
    â€œWhy would I do that?”
    â€œTo drive me crazy.”
    â€œNot me,” Sharon Lynn retorted. “But I’d say someone else is doing a pretty good job of it.” Her smile widened. “Hey, Duke. How’re you doing? Hi, Joshua, Zack. What’s it going to be today?”
    â€œIce cream cones,” Zack replied. “Dad said we could have dessert before dinner tonight. Isn’t that cool?”
    â€œWay cool,” Sharon Lynn agreed.
    Dani felt Duke’s hands settle on her shoulders. A shiver skimmed straight down her spine even before he leaned down and whispered, “Told you so.”
    There was nothing to do but accept the inevitable. Slowly, she swiveled her stool around until she was face-to-face with him. Pure devilment was sparkling in his eyes. His gaze locked with hers and his expression sobered until an exquisite kind of tension shimmered in the air between them. Dani swallowed hard and forced herself to turn away. She smiled at Zachary and Joshua.
    â€œSo what’s this about dessert before supper?” she asked.
    Already licking his double scoop of chocolate ice cream, Joshua paused long enough to say, “Dad says as long as we cross our hearts and promise to eat every bite on our plates, we can do it this way just this once. It’s `cause Dolan’s will be closed by the time he finishes fixing dinner.”
    â€œYeah,” Zachary chimed in. “It takes him a really, really long time to cook, ‘cept when he zaps stuff in the microwave.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œCan you cook?” Joshua asked. regarding her speculatively.
    â€œDani is the very best cook in the entire family,” Sharon Lynn said before Dani could respond. “Her spaghetti sauce would bring tears to your eyes. As for her pot roast, well, let’s just say that Maritza taughther and Maritza has been Grandpa’s housekeeper for practically forever and he has gourmet taste.”
    Both boys’ eyes widened hopefully. “Really? Maybe you could invite us to dinner sometime,” Zachary suggested.
    â€œYeah, we really, really love spaghetti, especially if it doesn’t come out of a can,” Joshua added.
    â€œHey, guys, it’s not polite to invite yourselves over to someone’s house,” Duke said.
    â€œOh, we don’t stand on formality around here,” Sharon Lynn said. “Do we, Dani?”
    Dani gave her a sour look, then forced a smile. “Of course not. The next time I’m doing more than grabbing a sandwich for dinner, I’ll give you guys a call.”
    Duke’s eyebrows rose. “A sandwich? That’s your idea of a healthy dinner?”
    â€œSometimes