Suddenly a Bride by Kasey Michaels Page B

alone.”
    “You…you’re doing it again,” she pointed out, unable to shift her gaze away from his. “You’re flirting.”
    His smile was like a punch to her stomach. “Yes, I know. How am I doing?”
    “You’re doing rather…rather well, actually. I think you’ve probably had a lot of practice.”
    “Ouch,” Will said, sitting back at last. “Boys? I think I’ve just been sent to my room.”
    “Huh?” Mikey asked, looking at Will as if he’d just grown another head. “Mom said so? How can she say so? She’s not your mom. She’s our mom.”
    “Yes,” Will said as they gathered up the empty cups and napkins and the pizza box and headed for the closest trash can, “but men always listen to women.”
    “But why?” Danny asked in all seriousness. Danny was often serious when he believed rules were involved. Mikey only learned the rules so he could know when he was breaking them.
    “Yes, Will. Why?” Elizabeth asked. “I really want to hear this answer.”
    “All right,” he said as they proceeded to the exit. “Here’s the deal, boys. We men always listen to women because we’re gentlemen, and it’s polite.”
    “Oh. That. Mom says that all the time,” Mikey said, unimpressed.
    Will leaned closer to Elizabeth and whispered, “I could have told him a gentleman also gets farther with sugared rather than unsugared, but I figured he’s still too young for that one.”
    “And yet nobody wonders why men still are allowed to rule the world,” she whispered back at him. But then she smiled, because they were outside again, in the bright June sun, and the clouds were white as sugar against a gorgeous blue sky. She believed, really needed to believe, that Jamie was up there somewhere looking down at her and saying, “Well, it’s about damn time, Liz. Welcome back to the world!”

Chapter Six
    W ill grabbed a towel to sling around his waist as he stepped out of the shower to hear his bedroom phone ringing. He had a momentary thought—all right, a momentary slap of panic—wondering if it might be Elizabeth phoning to cancel. He had pushed things a bit over lunch. Probably pushed too far…and he’d been beating himself up over it ever since, especially since he’d sworn to himself that tonight would be the last date. All right, maybe not sworn.
    Although, she did seem to know how to push back. She’d even seemed to be enjoying herself.
    “Hello,” he said as he slammed down hard on Speaker before the call could go to his answering machine. He could talk Elizabeth out of canceling theirdate, he was sure of that. But you can’t wheedle an answering machine message.
    “Do you have me on Speaker? I hate being put on Speaker. It’s like I’m talking to a mob in an echo chamber or something.”
    He sat down on the side of the bed. “What do you want, Chessie? You got me out of the shower.”
    “Good. Not as good as getting you out of bed at midnight, but I’ll take it. I’m calling because I want to know what in the heck you were talking about last night.”
    “You don’t remember?”
    “Of course I remember. I just want to know why you don’t know what you were talking about last night, that’s all. I’m pretty sure you didn’t. And then I want to know how Elizabeth managed to put you upside down on your head, because I may want to try it someday.”
    “And people wonder why you aren’t married,” Will teased, and then immediately flinched. “Ah, babe, I’m sorry. That was supposed to be a joke.”
    “No, my almost-trip down the aisle— that was a joke. Don’t worry about it. You’re a lawyer. You can’t help but say stupid things.”
    “And what is that supposed to mean?”
    “Hey, you tell me. I’m not the one working off a contempt of court charge. But seriously, Will, have I created a problem for you? I didn’t mean to.”
    Will assured her he was fine, Elizabeth was fine, the whole damn world was just one big bowl of cherries.The two hung up when the bell over