Six Hot Single Dads. Lynne Marshall

       Twelve

      Mama had given her marching orders—cook for the man. A homemade, South Carolina low country, George family dinner. Shrimp and grits—the kind of dinner her mother would have made when there was money for groceries. For dessert, a coconut layer cake, six layers, the way her grandmother had made it. Ashley knew every step by heart.

      But first, clothes. The black pencil skirt she’d worn to work yesterday was fine, but the smell of smoke had permeated her silk blouse just from twenty minutes out in the hall. She hoped Marcus would feel okay if she borrowed one of his dress shirts for a little while. She’d take it to the cleaners when she was done with it. Plus she wanted to see his bedroom.

      When she rounded the corner into his room, she was greeted with masculine splendor, much like the rest of the house. A tufted brown leather headboard crowned the head of his bed. A white duvet and pillows topped it with a gray wool blanket cast aside. The bed was still unmade, a rumple of sheets. Of course—the housekeeper would be by soon.

      Ashley couldn’t help it—she crept over to the side of the bed and turned, perching precariously on the edge of the mattress. Her hand smoothed over the silky sheets. Damn him. He would have to buy bedding with a high thread count. Probably the finest Egyptian cotton. She knew she shouldn’t have been doing it, but there was something so comforting and cozy about sitting where he’d been sleeping mere hours ago. More than comforting—it was a bit titillating. His naked chest and back had touched these sheets. The morning after he’d rejected her, she’d forced herself to wash the memory of him from the bedding.

      Atop a gorgeous wood chest next to the bed sat a white-shaded reading lamp, an alarm clock and a silver-framed photograph of him and Lila. She was probably only a few months old in the picture, the two of them nose to nose, her tiny, dimpled hands touching his face, the two of them grinning. Their mutual adoration was so evident it made Ashley’s heart ache. They’d been through so much. Together. There had to be days when Marcus felt as though it was just he and Lila against the world. After these many months, would he even be able to make room for a woman in their lives? Would he trust another woman with not only his heart but also the heart of his sweet little girl? Marcus’s protective tactics made one thing clear—he’d risk his own heart far before he’d risk Lila’s.

      She ventured into his closet, a shrine to meticulous organization. The man would probably pass out if he ever saw the condition of her closet, bursting at the seams with dresses and shoes—good God, the shoes. She thumbed through his shirts, admiring a few, finding a French-blue one that didn’t look like it was too horribly expensive. Except that it was probably incredibly expensive. She slipped into it, buttoned it and rolled up the sleeves. With some creative tucking to make it look less like she was swimming in a shirt, she headed back down the hall.

      Noises came from the kitchen—the housekeeper.

      Ashley marched over and held out her hand. “Hi there. I’m Ashley. You must be Martha.”

      The woman’s bright blue eyes were wide with surprise. “You’re the matchmaker. I watch your show all the time.” She dropped the towel she was using to wipe the counters, her hand flying to her face. “You had a fire. I saw the firemen in the hall just now. I’m so sorry.”

      Ashley nodded. “Yes. Thank goodness it wasn’t a total loss. I’m headed over there right now. I need to get a few of my things and try to see about getting everything fixed up.”

      “You aren’t going to have the same builder come back, are you? They were horrible.”

      Ashley sighed. Why had she been so stupid? “I know that now. I’m so sorry if they were an inconvenience for you.”

      Martha picked up her towel and ran some water in the sink. “I just don’t like to see Mr. Chambers get so upset. He works very hard and he’s a great boss. He gave me two weeks off with full pay when my husband had back surgery. He even had meals sent to our apartment.”

      Now that she knew Marcus, she shouldn’t have been even the slightest bit surprised that he would do something like that. “That was very generous of him.”

      “He’s a good man. A very good man. And his daughter is an angel. Of course, he protects her like he’s a bear, but that’s what a father does. Especially when she doesn’t have a mother.”

      Ashley wasn’t sure whether she should feel better that Martha’s information confirmed that her feelings for Marcus were warranted, or if she should feel like she might never match up to his epic goodness. He clearly had a generous heart. He just hid it from a lot of people.

      “Well, you don’t need to worry about preparing dinner for tonight,” Ashley said. “I’m taking care of that. I want to thank Marcus for all he has done for me.”

      Martha’s face lit up. “How nice. I’m sure he’ll love it.”

      Ashley retrieved clothes, toiletries and several pairs of shoes from her apartment, rushing through the whole thing as quickly as possible. She had to escape the smoke smell—it was everywhere. She didn’t even go into the kitchen. The pictures had been enough. She had her talks with Lieutenant Williams and the insurance adjuster out in the hall, then returned to Marcus’s apartment and threw everything in the wash. She left a message for the new contractor she hoped she’d be able to hire this time around, then embarked on her shopping trip, managing to remain under the radar for most of it, having to stop only once to take a quick photo and give an autograph.

      When she returned to Marcus’s apartment, she changed into jeans and a tank top, getting right to work by first putting the cake