Match Me If You Can (Chicago Stars #6)(40)

“It was Julie and Tess’s idea,” Molly said. “Annabelle volunteered to help out.”

Annabelle thought about explaining that Julie and Tess were the Calebows’ oldest children, fifteen-year-old twins, then realized Heath wouldn’t need an explanation. He’d have made it his business to know all about Dan and Phoebe’s four children: the twins, twelve-year-old Hannah, and nine-year-old Andrew. He probably knew their favorite foods and when they’d had their last dental checkups.

“The twins are volunteering at a summer day care center that serves low-income families,” Molly went on. “They work with the four-and five-year-old girls, supervising activities to jump-start them in math and science. They wanted to throw a party just for fun.”

“Princess party!” Pippi shrieked again, hopping up and down.

“I can’t tell you how glad I am you’re here,” Molly said. “Tess and Julie woke up with fevers this morning, so we’ve been a little frantic. Hannah’s going to help, but she gets emotionally involved, so she’s not entirely reliable. I tried to call Kevin and beg him to reconsider, but he and Dan have taken the boys somewhere and they’re not picking up. Wait till they hear who saved them.”

“My pleasure.” Heath projected such sincerity that Annabelle would have believed him if she hadn’t known better. No wonder he was so good at what he did.

They heard the sound of an engine and saw a yellow minibus approaching. Molly turned to the door. “Hannah, the girls are here!”

Seconds later, twelve-year-old Hannah Calebow emerged. Thin and awkward, she resembled her Aunt Molly more than her mother, Phoebe. Her light brown hair, expressive eyes and slightly asymmetrical features bore the promise of something more interesting than conventional prettiness when she grew older, although at this point it was hard to tell exactly what. “Hi, Annabelle,” she said as she came forward.

Annabelle returned the greeting, and Molly introduced Heath as the minibus stopped in front of the house. “Annabelle, why don’t you and Heath help Phoebe in the backyard while Hannah and I get the girls unloaded?”

“Maybe you should be a little careful around Mom,” Hannah said in a soft, anxious-to-please voice. “She’s in a bad mood because Andrew got into the cake this morning.”

“It just keeps getting better and better,” Heath muttered. And then he headed for the flagstone path that led around the side of the house. He walked so quickly that Annabelle had to trot to catch up with him.

“I guess I should apologize,” she said. “I’m afraid I might have let my—”

“Not one word,” he said on a single ominous note. “You screwed me over, and we don’t have a thing to say to each other.”

She hurried to his side. “I wasn’t trying to screw you over. I thought—”

“Save your breath. You wanted me to look stupid.”

She hoped that wasn’t true but suspected it might be. Not stupid, exactly. Just not so together. “You’re totally over-reacting.”

That was when the Python struck.

“You’re fired.”

She stumbled on one of the flagstones. There was no emotion in his voice, no expression of regret for good times and shared laughs, only a stony declaration.

“You can’t mean that.”

“Oh, I mean it, all right.”

“It’s a kids’ party! It’s no big deal.”

He walked away without another word.

She stood chilled and silent in the shadow of an old elm. She’d done it again. Once more, she’d let her impulsiveness lead her into disaster. She knew him well enough by now to understand how much he hated being put at a disadvantage. How could she have believed he’d find this amusing? Maybe she hadn’t. Maybe the person she’d really intended to sabotage was herself.

Her mother was right. It couldn’t be entirely coincidental that everything Annabelle attached herself to failed. Did she believe she didn’t deserve success? Was that why all her ventures ended in disaster?

She leaned against the trunk of the elm and tried not to cry.





Chapter Nine




Heath was furious. He didn’t like looking foolish under any circumstances, but especially not in front of Phoebe Calebow. Yet here he was, completely out of his element. If the party had involved teenagers, he’d have been fine. He liked teenagers. He knew how to talk to them. But little kids—little female kids—were a mystery to him.

His anger against Annabelle grew. She thought putting one over on him was funny, but nothing involving Phoebe amused him. Where business was concerned, he didn’t play games. Annabelle knew that, but she’d decided to test him, and he’d had to cut her off at the knees. He wouldn’t let it bother him, either. Sentiment and second-guessing were for losers.

He focused on the Calebows’ backyard with its swimming pool, climbing trees, and open stretch of well-used yard, all of it designed for a large family. This afternoon, pink filmy crap hung from the trees, around the flagstone patio, and over the jungle gym. It also festooned tiny tables where pink balloons bobbed in the breeze above the back of each small chair. Glittery dresses like the one Pippi Tucker wore spilled from pink cardboard cartons, and a battered pink wagon held a pile of plastic slippers. Fake pink jewels decorated a throne-shaped chair sitting in the middle of the patio. Only the green dragon pi?ata dangling from the branch of a maple tree had escaped the pink plague.