Sparks Fly with Mr. Mayor by Teresa Carpenter Page B

shrugged.
    â€œSure, baby. Be careful not to tear them.”
    â€œI will.” Faith raced into the house, leaving Dani alone with Cole.
    She should have known better than to doubt him. He hadn’t charmed women the better part of his life without learning how to counter an awkward moment.
    He showed he’d listened, addressed the question in a global manner, and then used his questioner’s own interests to distract her from the original query.
    Very effective.
    â€œSo you do want kids someday?” she asked.
    â€œSure. I like the little guys and I think I’d make a good dad.”
    She angled her head, considering him. Yeah, she did, too. “Are you planning to have a wife, too, or just a few of the little guys?”
    He shot her a mock glare. “Of course I plan to have a wife. I know how the whole family unit works.”
    â€œDo you? Then you know it takes some serious stick-to-it-iveness.”
    He met her gaze straight on. “Contrary to popular opinion, I have been in a few long-term relationships.”
    â€œReally? How long? When?”
    An arched eyebrow berated her for the rapid-fire interrogation. Surprisingly, he answered. “I was with the same girl most of my junior and senior years incollege. And a few years ago I was in a relationship for over a year.”
    â€œSo what happened?”
    â€œWhat do mean? Nothing happened.”
    â€œSo why didn’t you settle down with one of them, start a family?”
    He rolled his shoulders, obviously ill at ease with the direction the conversation had taken. “I wasn’t feeling it. I liked both ladies—a lot—but not enough to build a family on. I didn’t love them, but I didn’t like hurting them either. Now I keep it casual and short-term. We have some good times and no one gets hurt.”
    Dani studied him with narrowed eyes. Really? He expected her to buy a noble excuse for playing the field?
    She found it convenient, but…unpracticed. Being in foster care taught a kid to read people early in life. From the sincerity in his eyes and the lack of tension on his face, Cole truly believed in his love-’em-and-leave-’em system.
    Which made her wonder why he kept spending time with her. She had a child—already too attached to the man—and even before she had married and had Faith, Dani hadn’t done short and sweet.
    Was she high maintenance? No, she didn’t think so, but commitment, yeah, she wanted to know the man was planning to make an effort. She’d had too many people come and go in her life for her to riskher heart easily. And she preferred no affection to the false affection of instant sex.
    â€œIf you don’t stick around and work at a relationship, how will you know when you’ve found the one?”
    He looked around the yard, and she thought evasion , but he kept looking until he landed on her, sweeping his blue gaze over her hair until she felt the need to tug at her unruly ponytail. Then that intense gaze moved down, measuring the cling of her sweatshirt to her breasts and lower to the valley and curves of her body. When his eyes met hers, it took a blink to clear the fog from her mind. He made no effort to hide the awareness, the desire, in his.
    â€œOh, I’ll know. It won’t be work, for one thing. And being with her won’t be something I can walk away from. That hasn’t happened yet.”
    â€œSounds like you have it all figured out.”
    â€œIt’s working so far. Actually, this conversation reminds me I wanted to ask you for a favor. I want to have a thing—you know, a brunch or buffet thing, at my place, to celebrate the christening. Since I’m not currently seeing anyone, I wondered if you’d help me put something together.”
    â€œOh, but—” Dani sat up straight “—Samantha has done so much for me, I wanted to have something here.”
    His assessing gaze rolled around the