Falling for Mr. Wrong by Inara Scott Page B

worthless.”
    Ross squinted, confused. “What do you mean, refused?”
    “I believe his exact words were, ‘It will be a cold day in hell before I sign anything over to you.’”
    “Why are you bothering to pursue the idea if he won’t sell?”
    “You’re the hero of Hollyhock Manor.” Herriot grinned, exposing those blindingly white teeth in a feral grin. “I think he’ll sell it to you.”

Chapter Nine
    Kelsey lifted a lid and stirred the contents of the small saucepan. A thick, lumpy mass of white goo congealed on the surface of the spoon, defying all attempts to shake or whack it loose. After a moment of hesitation, she used her finger to send the mass back into the pot. Then, under the watchful eyes of the children, she forced herself to lick her finger clean.
    “Is it ready?” Matt asked, leaning forward in a hopeful manner.
    “Yep.” Kelsey steeled herself not to shudder at the taste. “Why don’t you check the bread and see if it’s done.”
    Matt opened the oven door and gazed inside. “Um, I think so? It’s a little black on top. Is that okay?”
    Luke rolled his eyes. He was leaning against the center island in the kitchen, looking every bit the cynical teenager despite being only eleven years of age. “It looks horrible. I don’t know why you tried to make Alfredo.”
    “Because it’s Daddy’s favorite,” Julia offered, from her seat at the island. “Remember? He always used to order it from Alessandro’s. And today was his big presentation. So we made it to celebrate.”
    “Yeah, I know that ,” Luke replied. “I’m just saying it was a stupid idea. Besides, if Dad really liked Alessandro’s Alfredo so much, we could have stayed in New York and had it whenever we wanted.”
    Pushing aside a stray piece of hair with the back of her hand, Kelsey grabbed an oven mitt and pulled the long baguette from the oven. Unfortunately, Luke did have a point. The bread was black on top, and when she pulled it apart, chunks of poorly-chopped garlic sat poised like exposed land mines, just waiting for the unsuspecting to take a bite.
    When she’d suggested cooking Ross a treat to celebrate his big presentation, she’d expected the kids to pick chocolate chip cookies or cake. It had therefore been a big surprise when Matt suggested they make a pasta Alfredo dinner. All three kids had agreed that it was his favorite meal, so, hiding her hesitation with a brave smile, Kelsey had picked out the easiest recipe she could find. Still, given the age and skill level of the chefs—herself included—even easy had proven challenging.
    Carefully, she set down the bread and turned to examine the pasta, which was sitting in a colander in the sink. To her horror, what had once been a pot of nice firm strands of spaghetti had become a solid, pasta-shaped rock.
    “Hmm.” She nibbled on her lower lip. Cooking had seemed like a good afternoon activity to keep the kids occupied, something they could all participate in equally, and it had been fun, as long as she managed to tune out Luke’s complaints and focus on the entertainment of grating cheese and measuring milk and butter. But now came the tough question of what to do with their creation, and whether they should take the final step of actually consuming it.
    “Maybe some oil would loosen it up,” she offered, half to herself, half to the kids.
    “Oh, that’s going to taste fantastic,” Luke drawled.
    Through gritted teeth, Kelsey said, “That’s it, Luke. One more nasty comment and you’re headed to your room.”
    “Fine,” Luke snarled back. “I’m going there anyway.”
    He turned and marched up the stairs. Kelsey sighed. Despite all her efforts, at the end of day five, other than a few reluctant smiles and halfhearted laughs scattered throughout the day, he was just as bitter as he had been the day they met.
    It was hard to believe that she’d spent a full week with the Bencher kids. Even harder to believe that she hadn’t made a total