Tempting Fate by Lisa Mondello

Piqued, she knotted her scarf around her neck. "We've already been through this, Kyle. I won't take your money."
    She spun on her heels and pushed through the store door with force tantamount to her anger. When she reached the sidewalk, he caught her arm and twisted her around to meet his gaze head on.
    "Hey, this is no big deal. Why won't you let me do something for you?" he huffed. His drawn expression told her he was hurt by her rejection, not angry.
    Seeing his reaction defused some of her anger, but did nothing to squash her pride. "It is to me. I should be able to give my child what she needs without any help from you or anyone else."
    Damn, but she's stubborn, Kyle fumed inwardly. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew her pride would be destroyed, he'd run right back into the store and buy the dollhouse despite her protest. But he knew she'd hate him for it. And he couldn't bear that.
    His mind raced. If she won't take the money from him, maybe he could convince her to take a store credit. "Wait a minute. Let's go back in and see if we can work something out with the manager."
    "What good with that do? I still can't afford it." She sighed and his heart broke in two. It was such a simple thing, buying this damned dollhouse, yet she acted like she'd be giving up her first born child by accepting his gift. It was so ironic, he thought. Lauren was so unlike any of the women he’d known who were always too eager for him to pull out his checkbook for them.
    "Maybe not in one lump sum, but spread out over time, you-"
    "I can't, Kyle." He sensed her embarrassment as her gaze dipped to the ground and she shoved her hands deep into her coat pocket. "The store is not going to give me credit on my salary. It's no use even trying. Even if they did, I doubt I'd be able to make the payments."
    Kyle looked back at the dollhouse in the window. There had to be a way without Lauren feeling that she was compromising her ideals.
    Suddenly, this dollhouse held all the magic of Christmas. It wasn't just a toy, it was a symbol, a home. He envisioned his house and the fantasy he'd created earlier of Lauren and Kristen living there with him. As he peered back at her, he saw a sheen of moisture in her eyes. "Then I'll give you credit," he said, determination spurring him on.
    She sucked in a deep breath, her jaw set, and started to protest, but he put up his hand and cut her off at the pass. There was no way he was going to lose this battle.
    "Hear me out, lady, this is not charity. This is a loan." He sucked in a frosty breath and waited for her next move.
    She tilted an eyebrow and he thought he saw a spark of hope settling in her eyes. Good. It was just what he needed to bring the deal home.
    "It will be strictly business. A little like some of the wheeling and dealing I use to buy property. It's called creative financing."
    "Oh, I see." She rolled her eyes. "And what kind of creative financing are you going to give me? Non-existent payment plan? No thank you."
    The skepticism in her tone did nothing to deplete his resolve. He found the energy and spunk that made him what he was today come back to him tenfold with her stubbornness. She was a challenge, indeed, but no tougher than any of the other challenges he'd faced in his life.
    "We can figure out a workable payment plan. Whatever you decide you can afford comfortably." He could almost hear the wheels in her head spinning, contemplating, and then deciding.
    "With interest, right? I won't take-"
    "I know, I know, you won't take charity." He puffed his cheeks. "No interest."
    She raised her eyebrows and stuck out her chin.
    "Instead of interest," he bargained, placing his index finger to his cheek, "you spend the holidays with me and my family." There. He'd just used his trump card. How could she pass up a family Christmas?
    Her face softened, the wildcat fire in her ebbed away and was replaced by pain. "Christmas is a time for family."
    "And friends. There'll be lots of people at my