Free If the Ring Fits by Cindy Kirk

she’d cast her good sense to the wind in Vegas and married him…?.
    “Will you do it?”
    Mary Karen blinked and pulled her thoughts back to the present. “Pardon me?”
    “The hospital awards banquet is tonight,” he said. “I’d like you to come with me as my guest.”
    Mary Karen had attended this event several times before. She knew the food would be superb, the atmosphere elegant and the mood a tad romantic…which was precisely why she shouldn’t attend. Not with Travis. Too many potential landmines.
    “Think of it as a chance to spend an evening having my undivided attention,” he said, flashing that impudent Travis smile. “If that doesn’t do it for you, think of it as a free meal or an excuse to dress up or whatever else will get you to say yes.”
    He was determined to change her mind, but that wasn’t happening. “It’s tempting but—”
    “C’mon, M.K.,” he said. “Be a sport and say yes.”
    “Don’t you want to go with Travis, Mommy?” Caleb asked, looking up from his coloring.
    “Yeah, Mommy.” Travis leaned forward. “Don’t you want to go with me?”
    For a second she found herself drowning in the depths of those hazel eyes, until she forced her gaze away. “I appreciate the invitation but it’s too late for me to get a babysitter.”
    “If you had one, would you go?”
    She glanced at her sons who’d obviously grown bored with the conversation and were now attempting to turn the place mats into paper airplanes. “You know as well as I do that not just any sitter can handle the three of them.”
    “It’d have to be someone you trusted,” Travis agreed. “If you had such a person or persons, would you go with me?”
    Knowing there was no way she could get a sitter who met her qualifications this late on a Saturday, Mary Karen smiled. “Of course.”
    “Great.” A look of relief crossed Travis’s face. “Then, we’re set.”
    “Uh, not so fast. You have to find the babysitter first.”
    “Boys,” Travis announced. “Your grandma and grandpa will be coming over tonight.”
    “Cool,” Caleb said, smashing the tip of his plane into Logan’s arm and making him howl.
    Connor smiled. “Grandpa always lets me stay up late.”
    “Your grandpa will do as I—what am I saying?” Mary Karen stopped herself. “My parents are playing cards with Ron and Carol Evans this evening.”
    “They were playing cards,” Travis said, a smug smile on his lips. “Carol has the flu and had to cancel. Your parents are now available to babysit.”
    As always, Travis seemed so confident, so sure. But Mary Karen had spoken with her mother this morning, just before she and the boys had left to walk downtown. “How could you possibly know that?”
    “I ran into them a few minutes before Connor found me.”
    “The fact that their plans fell through doesn’t mean they want to babysit,” Mary Karen said, shooting Logan a look that said he’d better stop fussing and disturbing other customers.
    Her three-year-old reacted by punching Connor in the arm.
    Mary Karen sighed. But before she could admonish him, Travis took her hand and began caressing her palm with his thumb. “I told your parents about the banquet and dance this evening.”
    She pulled her hand away before her eyes closed. “Stop that,” she hissed.
    “They were happy to hear you’re going out. Even if it was with me,” he said without missing a beat. “They’ll be over at five-thirty.”
    No fair, Mary Karen wanted to protest. She didn’tneed Travis coming around and playing nice. She needed to stay strong. Do this alone. For her sons’ sakes.
    The boys still asked about their daddy, still wondered why he wasn’t around. They loved Travis. If he became an even bigger part of their lives and then left, they’d be devastated.
    “M.K.” His voice broke through her thoughts. “I want you there. You’re my best friend. That hasn’t changed.”
    Mary Karen felt a momentary twinge of disappointment at the