Free Courting the Clown by Cathy Quinn

pink?”
    “I have no idea. It’s one of the great mysteries of life. But you will be there, won’t you?”
    Sylvie rolled her eyes. “Of course I’ll be there. I promised. I took the job. You’re still worried I’ll cut and run?”
    “Well...” He grinned sheepishly and looked adorable. She crossed her eyes slightly so he’d morph out of focus. She didn’t need ‘adorable’ added to the mixture. She was just Iffy the clown. Only here because he was desperate to help his daughter. She’d better remember her place. And her place was inside a polka-dotted clown’s suit, about to sit down on a whoopee cushion with cream pie on her red-nosed face.
    “Yes, I am a bit worried,” he confessed. “The girls keep asking about you. I didn’t dare tell them you would be there for sure. I wanted to check with you first.”
    “ You have nothing to worry about. I will be your daughter’s personal birthday clown. I promised. And I’m here, aren’t I, playing Jingle Bells ad nauseum for an astronomical amount?”
    Nick looked up from his sandwich and grinned. “Okay. Point taken. Thank you.”
    That smile would be enough to keep her warm all day.
    Damn.
     
    * * *
     
    “Is Iffy coming, Daddy? To Lana’s birthday? Is she coming?”
    Nick sighed. It has been the first question Emily asked this morning. It had been the last question he’d heard last night, and now it was the first question she asked as he and Lana picked her up from preschool.
    That was the reason he’d stopped by at Robots and Ragdolls today, wasn’t it. For his daughter’s sake, he’d wanted to make sure she hadn’t changed her mind, that she’d be there for Lana’s birthday.
    Sylvie’s lovely eyes and that quirky smile had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.
    He herded his daughters into the back seat, wondering how in the world this had happened. How had his daughters managed to form such an attachment to a total stranger who didn’t even like kids? Had they been infected with Fluffy’s feline temperament, that peculiar trait of always figuring out the anti-cat person and heading straight towards her?
    Come to think of it, had he ?
    He’d certainly been quick enough to convince himself he needed to meet Sylvie for lunch. He’d managed to convince himself that it was imperative to make sure she was still coming to the birthday party – and that he urgently needed to finish up the paperwork regarding her new job.
    Neither excuse held water when he thought about it. He could have had the papers delivered to R&R for her signature. And she’d already agreed to be their clown – she’d taken the job. Just the fact that she’d shown up for work proved that she intended to follow through.
    Yeah, he’d been lying to himself. He’d just wanted to see her again, especially since their meeting had been cut so short. There was something there. Something that intrigued him enough to interfere with his work, intrude on his thoughts when he least expected it.
    He’d been attracted to her personality already there in the snow, behind that ghastly clown’s face. He’d felt almost protective when she confessed to her fear of kids – and had an instant flashback to the first birthday party he’d hosted on his own.
    Then later, he’d been amused and touched by the way she’d reacted towards his children in the restaurant – how she’d tried to hide her apprehension around Emily and her wariness of Lana’s needy gaze. She’d been awkward, but nevertheless tried to engage Lana in conversation and banter with mischievous Emily.
    She might insist that she didn’t like kids, but she nevertheless had an affinity with them – and she didn’t even realize that. The whole package had warmed him to her.
    Then she’d shown up at his office, all cleaned up – a different person. There was nothing he could have recognized about her. Barely even her voice, now that it wasn’t trembling from cold – or fear.
    A lovely woman.
    Shallow that he